1201. When you change your name

When you change your name
Into endurance-hour,
God immediately changes His Name
Into Assurance-Power.

1202. If you have the sincerity-courage

If you have the sincerity-courage
To declare that you are weak,
Then God has the Compassion-Capacity
To make you strong.

1203. Unlearn and learn

Anything that binds you,
Unlearn it.
Anything that blinds you,
Unlearn it.
Anything that limits you,
Unlearn it.

Anything that awakens you,
Learn it.
Anything that liberates you,
Learn it.
Anything that fulfils you,
Learn it.

1204. If your mind is divinely practical

If your mind is divinely practical
And
If your heart is supremely sensible,
Then you can do everything
Cheerfully, easily and perfectly.

1205. The deeper you descend

In your meditation,
The deeper you descend
To see your source,
The clearer becomes
Your light-road.

1206. Two things unthinkable

A doubting mind
Does two things unthinkable:
First it secretly betrays you,
And then it openly tells you
How much it has been helping you
All along.

1207. God's Way

If God’s Way
Is the right way,
Then my way too
Can be the right way.
How?
Just by following sleeplessly
God’s Way.

Since God’s Way
Is not so difficult,
Then let me surrender
My way to God’s Way.
Then my way immediately becomes
As easy as God’s Way,
God’s perfect Way.

1208. If you can brave the shock

If you can brave the shock
Of discovering that you are not the person
You thought yourself to be,
Then you are already on the road
To self-recovery,
Leading
To self-discovery-kingdom.

1209. We realise the highest Truth

We realise the highest Truth
Only when we are fully prepared
To renounce the hungry cry
Of our desire-life.

1210. Your destructive impurity

Be careful!
Your destructive impurity
Can easily disguise itself
As creative purity.

1211. A new intensity

A new intensity
Will easily save my life.
A new immensity
Can gloriously fulfil my heart.

1212. I need God

I need God.
Can you not pray for me?
God wants you.
Can I not go instead of you?

1213. Conceal your self-interest-cry

Conceal your self-interest-cry.
God’s Satisfaction-Smile
Will, in no time,
Enlighten you.

1214. Your heart's name

Stark frustration is your heart’s name,
Simply because you want to see
God’s Satisfaction-Delight
Only on your terms.

1215. Why do you need another enemy?

Why do you need another enemy,
As if your own usual self
Is not enough?

Why do you need another friend,
As if your constant Companion, God,
Is not enough?

1216. Ask your mind to protect itself

Ask your mind to protect itself
Before it thinks of protecting you.
Ask your heart to protect you
While it is protecting itself.

1217. Do you know why?

Do you know why
You do not want to dominate others?
You do not want to dominate others
Because you are amazingly strong.

Do you know why
You do not blame others?
You do not blame others
Because your heart-life is flooded
With the qualities of sainthood.

1218. The book of self-knowledge

You have nothing to do, you say.
I tell you,
Just study the book of self-knowledge.
You will become
The greatness-mind
And
The goodness-heart.

1219. The only wall

The only wall that stands
Between you and God
Is the wall of your false
And unfounded
Imagination-night.

1220. One day you will see

One day you will see
That God and His endless Compassion
Never interfered
With you and your hungry desire-life.

1221. Your volley of questions

Are you ready
With your volley of questions?
God has already left with me
All the answers.

1222. Your heart will get satisfaction

Why do you hide your impurity-mind
From your purity-heart?
Do you not know that your heart
Will get tremendous satisfaction
By purifying and illumining
Your impurity-mind?

1223. A peace-flooded home

Your artificial strength
Is a haunted house.
Your real strength
Is a peace-flooded home.

1224. God's creative ability

God has already given you
What He has:
His creative ability.
Can you not give God
What you have:
Your cherished inability?

1225. God's Assembly-skies

Have faith in your yet unawakened powers.
Someday they will be awakened,
Fully awakened,
And then they will help you become
A distinguished member
Of God’s Assembly-skies.

1226. How can you expect?

Your body is all temptation.
Your vital is all deception.
Your mind is all illusion.
How can you expect your heart
To be all perfection?
How can you expect your soul
To be all satisfaction?
How can you expect God
To grant you a new creation?

1227. God will find you the way

If you sincerely admit
That you are lost in the quagmire of life,
Then God will definitely find you the way,
The sunlit way,
To return Home.

1228. If you come to me now

If you come to me now,
I shall immediately show you
The Vision-Eye of God.
If you do not come,
I shall show you
The orphan-tears
Of your complete failure-life.

1229. What can you expect?

What can you expect from a world
That loves beauty’s deception
Infinitely more
Than duty’s perfection
And
God’s Satisfaction?

1230. A boat that knows no shore

Alas, alas,
You and I are sailing
In a boat that knows no shore.
You are your self-deception
And
I am my self-glorification.

1231. The contradiction-sky

The contradiction-sky exists.
Why?
Because your God is in your doubtful mind
And my God is in my baneful tongue.
The contradiction-sky will disappear
The moment your God and my God
Live happily in our soulful hearts.

1232. You need an explanation-life

You need an explanation-life.
I need a revelation-life.
God needs for you and me
His Eternity-Infinity’s Compassion-Life.

1233. Each senseless thought

Each senseless thought
Is a useless life.
Each useless life
Is a godless failure.

1234. Even so

As water cannot be dry,
Even so,
Your heart cannot be dry.

As a thief can empty your wallet,
Even so,
Your mind can empty
The joy of your life-vessel.

1235. If I can see God's Face

If I can see God’s Face
Even once,
I am sure He will make
Some room for me
To stay in His Heart
As long as I want to.

1236. When I am sincerity incarnate

When I am sincerity incarnate,
I try to save my life from myself.
When I am insincerity incarnate,
I proudly dare to save
The entire world.

1237. Do not trust

Do not trust the animal in you,
For it is dangerous.
Do not trust the human in you,
For it is treacherous.
Do trust the divine in you,
For it is always harmonious,
Plus gracious.

1238. Just relax!

Relax, just relax!
Lo, to your wide astonishment
Your cruel difficulties
Are also relaxing with you.
They feel that they rightly
Deserve some rest.

1239. Something really valuable

If you really want something really valuable,
Then get rid of the thing
That is worthless and useless in your life.
What is really valuable?
A heart in its faith-home.
What is worthless and useless?
A mind in its doubt-cave.

1240. He is a real danger to himself

He is a real danger to himself
Who thinks that God needs him desperately.
His danger is imminent
If he thinks that God needs him
Infinitely more than he needs God.

1241. The present way

The present way
Is not the way to become good.
The present way
Is not the way to love God’s creation.
The way to become good
Is to pray sleeplessly.
The way to love God’s creation
Is to meditate unconditionally.

1242. The key to liberty

How can you have the key to liberty,
When you have developed incredible faith
In the false strength
Of your life’s blind futility?

1243. You do not know

You do not know
That you do not have the truth.
He knows
That he does not have the truth.

I do not know
That I have the truth.
But God knows
That He has His Eternity’s Truth
And that He is His Infinity’s Truth.

1244. I shall not choose

I shall not choose.
Therefore,
I shall not lose.

I shall not lose.
Therefore,
I can now smile like a morning rose
And an evening star.

1245. A perfectly celestial smile

What you are now
Is an artificially mechanical cry.
What I want you to be
Is a perfectly celestial smile.

1246. Do not be disappointed!

Do not be disappointed!
God-Discovery is not an impossible task.
He has done it.
Even I have done it.
You, too, will do it before long.
Do not be disappointed!

1247. Two incredible facts

Two incredible facts:
God was chasing my desire-tiger.
My doubting mind was untiringly
Following God.

1248. Yours is the mind

Yours is the mind
That uses fear to exploit you.
Yours is the heart
That uses love to glorify you.

1249. Go alone!

Go alone, go alone!
God has been waiting for you
For a long time.
Go alone, go alone!
God will never ask you
To account for others.

1250. A relief to discover

What a relief to discover
At long last
That I can easily live outside
The ruthless desire-snare.

1251. Companions

Your mind’s hesitation
And your heart’s frustration
Will always be found together.

1252. Do not complain

Do not complain, do not complain!
Are you a prisoner?
Do not explain, do not explain!
Who has accused you?
Nobody.

1253. Your life is not your own

Your life is not your own.
Why do you look around and move around?
Don’t you know that
Your life is God’s own Treasure-Bliss?

1254. Sacrifice what you have

Sacrifice immediately what you have
For what you can have,
If you are truly wise.
What you have
Is endless ignorance-night.
What you can have
Is sleepless God-Delight.

1255. Peace needs no interpretation

Peace needs no interpretation.
Love needs no explanation.
Oneness needs no revelation.

1256. A stranger to deception

You have to allow
Either your doubtful mind to conquer you
Or your soulful heart to conquer you.
For my sake, at least,
Allow your soulful heart to conquer you.
I tell you,
You will soon realise
That I am a perfect stranger to deception.

1257. Do you really want to be happy?

Do you really want to be happy?
Then discourage your anxiety-life.
Do you really want to be perfect?
Then sleeplessly claim God as your own,
Very own.

1258. Let me realise You today

Lord,
Let me realise You today.
I shall definitely pray to You tomorrow.

“Son,
Let Me love you only today.
I am sure you will not mind
If from tomorrow
I start loving others, excluding you.”

1259. God's Compassion-Eye

God’s Compassion-Eye
Is my journey’s eternal map.
God’s Forgiveness-Heart
Is my journey’s eternal strength.

1260. How can you be happy?

How can you be happy
When you have chosen yourself
To be your sole advisor?

How can you blame God
When you have declared yourself
To be another God?

1261. Soaring wings

O my dying mind,
I tell you,
You do not have to die.
Just agree to sit
On the soaring wings of my heart.

1262. My heart's aspiration-light

Sweet is my heart’s
Aspiration-light.
Sweeter is my life’s
Dedication-height.
Sweetest is my soul’s
Perfection-delight.

1263. Your love of soul-freedom

Your constant love of soul-freedom
Indicates that you are
Of God the One
And
For God the many.

1264. Self-control

Self-control means wisdom-light.
Wisdom-light drinks deep the delight
Of the ever-transcending Beyond.

1265. Each dream

Each dream is a hunger-need.
This hunger-need is
The beginning of a new life
And
The end of an old death.

1266. Aspire or retire

He who retires does not aspire.
He who aspires does not retire.
He who is, at once,
A truth-seeker and a God-lover
Ever aspires and never retires.

1267. My common enemies

My common enemies:
Fear and doubt.
My common friends:
God and Truth.
Enemies tell me
I cannot become.
Friends tell me
I already am.

1268. Appreciation is a miracle-power

Appreciation is a miracle-power.
It expedites the accomplishments
Of my heart’s inner cry
And
My soul’s inner smile.

1269. Life-mastery never stops

Life-mastery never stops.
Self-discovery never stops.
Truth-recovery never stops.
God-Satisfaction never stops.

1270. Worthy causes

Try to champion worthy causes!
Fight against ignorance-night.
Fight against the buffets of fate.
Fight for nature’s transformation-light.
Fight for tomorrow’s victory-dawn.

1271. Try to befriend the perfection-will

To master life’s teeming problems,
Come out of the snare of teeming desires
And try to befriend the perfection-will
Of Infinity’s satisfaction-heart.

1272. Each service-heart

Each service-heart
Sculptures the perfection-beauty
Of tomorrow’s self-transcending
New world.

1273. Fight against complacency

Fight bravely, fight
Against complacency!
Your victory-splendour
Will never be preceded
By the flaming arrows
Of anxiety-night.

1274. His life's ignorance-chain

When he broke his life’s ignorance-chain,
He broke it for all his fellow-travellers
Who sail with him in the Golden Boat
With the Himalayan aspiration-cry.

1275. If you have perfect faith

If you have perfect faith
In the weight of your soul’s
Tremendous influence,
Then your aspiration-dedication
Is bound to succeed triumphantly
And proceed sleeplessly.

1276. Life-satisfying energy-blossoms

Put back your faith
On your heart’s throne.
Yours will be the inexhaustible
Life-satisfying energy-blossoms.

1277. No aspiration is hopeless

No aspiration is hopeless.
No dedication is helpless.
No realisation is fruitless.
No perfection is meaningless.

1278. His heart thrives on adversity

His heart thrives on adversity.
His life thrives on austerity.
His soul thrives on prosperity.

1279. Every step of progress-smile

My every step of progress-smile
Helps my world within
And my world without
To reach my Lord’s
Satisfaction-Heart.

1280. A child of yesterday

Ingratitude is as old
As man himself.
Gratitude is a child
Of yesterday.

1281. My self-examination

I call it
My self-examination.
God calls it
His Self-Satisfaction.

1282. Secrets of a peaceful life

The supreme secrets of a peaceful life:
Expect not; just give.
Delegate not; just start and continue.
Retire not; just aspire for self-transcendence.

1283. Do not ignore me

Misuse me, abuse me,
But do not ignore me,
My Lord.
Strike me, kill me,
But do not forsake me,
My Lord!

1284. You will reap disaster

You will reap disaster
If you live in a tiny insecurity-hole
And dine with jealousy-eyes.

1285. A land of orphans

He arrived in a land
Of helpless, defenseless and soulless orphans
At the very end of the road:
Doubt.

1286. The golden key

My heart’s soulfulness-fragrance
Has the silver key.
My soul’s oneness-beauty
Is the golden key.

1287. A dedicated God-believer

A dedicated God-believer
Can never be frustrated.
A dedicated God-lover
Can never fail.

1288. Fools

O my tiny desires,
Why are you such fools?
Why do you not try to grow
Into brighter than the brightest
Aspiration-flames?

1289. Two royal paths

A doubting mind
And a strangling vital
Are unquestionably two royal paths
Leading to complete destruction-death.

1290. A dangerous trap

When I do not aspire,
A dangerous trap of ignorance-night
Captures my outer joy
And destroys my inner poise.

1291. Someday my Lord will give me

Someday my Lord will give me
The heart that knows
How to pray sleeplessly
And
How to meditate unconditionally.

1292. He stood against

He stood against
All human doubtings.
He stood against
All animal growlings.
He stood against
All his own shortcomings.

1293. Fame is a flickering flame

Fame is a flickering flame.
Success is a fleeting breath.
Progress is a sailing boat.

1294. A Himalayan promise

Oblivion-gloom
Is bending over him.
He has completely forgotten
Who he is:
A Himalayan promise
From God’s Vision-Eye.

1295. Human love, human life

Human love
Is an unchanging night.
Human life
Is a soulless bondage.

1296. My birthright

On earth
Transformation-sound is my birthright.
In Heaven
Satisfaction-silence is my birthright.

1297. A friend of sleepless night

When I was a friend
Of sleepless night,
My life became
My breathless pride
And
My endless height.

1298. The heart has many roads

The mind has only one road:
The division-road.
The heart has many roads:
Soulfulness-road,
Fruitfulness-road
And oneness-road.

1299. My mind was born to follow

Before, I did not know,
But now I do know
That my searching mind was born
To faithfully follow
My aspiring heart.

1300. Silence clings

Silence clings
To his heart’s aspiration-cry.
Silence clings
To his life’s gratitude-flames.

Editor's introduction to the first edition

This is the thirteenth volume in a series of ten thousand “flaming flower-poems” which Sri Chinmoy is placing devotedly, unreservedly and unconditionally at the Compassion-Feet of God, our Beloved Supreme. They stand as a supreme offering from the unfolding beauty of his flower-heart and the flaming heights of his realisation-sun. Indeed, a treasure-tower which will at once be claimed by humanity’s self-ascending cry and Divinity’s God-descending Smile.

Editor's note to cover photo

Dr Norb Sander, pioneering sports physician and winner of the 1974 New York Marathon, receives a trophy from Sri Chinmoy after winning the Sri Chinmoy 10-mile run in New Canaan, Connecticut on 2 December 1977. Inspired by Dr Sander’s cheerful and devoted attitude during the run, Sri Chinmoy also presented him with a watch. Dr Sander, in turn, remarked that in over 20 years of running, the Sri Chinmoy race had been one of his most inspiring running experiences.

Editor's note

Some poems in this first edition were later selected by the author for a special collection of 207 Flower-Flames (FFP). The author also chose to revise some of his original poems for this anthology:

FF-1247: FFP 205 (revised version).
FF-1255: FFP 65 (revised version).