1901. My life is silent

My mind is silent
Because it has realised
God the Power.

My heart is silent
Because it has realised
God the Compassion.

My life is silent
Because it has realised
God the Forgiveness.

1902. A great exception

Because he is
A great exception,
God has allowed him
To travel into His boundless Silence.

1903. When will it end?

Lord,
When will it end —
My insecurity-cry?

Lord,
When will it end —
My impurity-smile?

Lord,
When will it end —
My insincerity-breath?

1904. Never allow it to disappear

Lord,
Never allow it to disappear —
Your Forgiveness-Sun.

Lord,
Never allow it to disappear —
Your Compassion-Sky.

1905. I think of God

I think of God
Because
I need Him unavoidably.

God thinks of me
Because
He loves me sleeplessly
Plus unconditionally.

1906. Cancellations

Fear cancels joy.
Love cancels fear.

1907. Truth lives

Truth lives for God.
God lives for man.

1908. Love the world

Love,
Love the world.
Otherwise, you will be forced
To carry the heaviest load:
Your own bitter self.

1909. The perfect work

The perfect work
Of perfect patience
Is a perfect victory-smile.

1910. We shall be caught red-handed

Since we brought nothing with us
Into the world,
We shall be caught red-handed
If we attempt
To take anything away with us
When we leave this world.

1911. A purity-heart

A purity-heart
Is the author
Of our blossoming faith.

1912. A lost mortal

Science falsely calls
The seeker in me
A perfect lost mortal.

1913. A God-seeker

A God-seeker will
Ultimately and inevitably
Know God.

A God-lover will
Quickly and absolutely
Become God.

1914. Faith without surrender

Faith without
Surrender-flames and gratitude-drops
Is unutterably useless.

1915. No destruction-fear

No destruction-fear
In oneness-love.
No oneness-love
In destruction-fear.

1916. The supreme message

His purity-heart
Has given him this supreme message:
God is sleeplessly,
Equally
And
Unconditionally
For all.

1917. Two perfection-crowns

Two true perfection-crowns:
An aspiration-heart
And
A dedication-life.

1918. In all my prayers

In all my prayers
Two things always loom large:
God’s Forgiveness-Heart
And
My gratitude-flame.

1919. Immediate needs

The immediate needs
Of a God-seeker:
A gratitude-heart
And
A surrender-life.

1920. God the Truth

God the Truth
My mind admires.
God the Love
My heart needs.

1921. Ask and learn

Ask, you will learn.
Learn, you will ask.
Continuously ask,
Soulfully learn.

1922. Remembrance

Remembrance
Of past happiness-freedom
Is forgetfulness
Of present despair-bondage.

1923. God's religion

What is God’s religion?
God’s eternal Dream
Of a perfect humanity.

1924. Two unparalleled aims

Two unparalleled aims
Will always haunt me:
Promise to the end,
Hope to the end.

1925. Silence

What is silence?
Eternity’s confidence-strength.

1926. Man's transformation-hour

Man’s transformation-hour:
When will it strike, when?
God’s Satisfaction-Tower:
When will it be built, when?

1927. My sincerity

My sincerity
Is my Lord’s Beauty in me.
My gratitude
Is my Lord’s Power in me.
My patience
Is my Lord’s Silence-Confidence in me.

1928. I am eagerly waiting

I am eagerly waiting for the day
When Mother Earth
Will unmistakably claim to be
The only haven of Heaven.

1929. Two blessingful gifts

O my Lord Supreme,
Two blessingful gifts
I desperately need from You:
A confidence-heart of speed,
A vigilance-body of service.

1930. A touch of sadness

Alas,
Because of my aimless seeking,
I see a touch of sadness
In my Beloved Supreme.

1931. Your flaw-seeking eyes

Because of your flaw-seeking eyes,
Your heart-beauty’s sunset-hour
Is fast approaching.

1932. A perfect stranger

Since you want to be
A perfect stranger
To unspeakable anguish,
You must try to breathe
The breath of the inner guidance.

1933. O blossoming moment

O blossoming moment
Of my golden heart,
Where are you hiding,
Where?

1934. The heritage of my soul

O my doubting mind,
Don’t pollute my heart’s innocence,
Which is the heritage
Of my soul’s divinity.

1935. His Sun's golden Eye

I pray to God to give me
His Moon’s silver Feet.
I meditate on God to give me
His Sun’s golden Eye.

1936. The art of awakening

The art of awakening
Is the aspiring man’s
Eternal pilgrimage.

1937. The most vehement weapon

What is suspicion
If not the most vehement weapon
Of ignorance?

1938. Become the heart-beauty

Do you want to assimilate
Your God-experience?
If so, then become
The heart-beauty of silence-hours.

1939. Inspiration, instruction, perfection

O my mind,
My heart is definitely willing to be
Your inspiration.

O my heart,
My soul will smilingly be
Your instruction.

O my soul,
My Lord will sleeplessly grant you
His Perfection.

1940. I shall need God the Love

Yesterday
I needed God the Power.
Today
I need God the Love.
Tomorrow and every day
I shall continue to need the same —
God the Love.

1941. Everything becomes illumining

At first
Everything is surprising.
Then slowly and steadily
Everything becomes illumining.

1942. Follow your heart

Do you want to understand God?
If so, then change your mind
And follow your heart.

1943. You are absolutely right

If you think that
Someday
You can become another God,
Then you are absolutely right.

1944. Choose freedom

Choose freedom from ignorance-night.
God will grant you your choice,
Plus God will love you
Infinitely more.

1945. Only a fool

Only a fool
Thinks that he is independent.
Only a fool
Feels that he is indispensable.

1946. A man of wisdom

A man of wisdom
Can never be deceived
By an ignorant man.
But an ignorant man
Can easily deceive
Another ignorant man.

1947. Each prayer

Each prayer
Is divinely important.
Each meditation
Is supremely significant.
Each experience
Is soulfully fruitful.

1948. Sweet is my Lord

Sweet is my Lord
Because He is knowable.
Sweeter is my Lord
Because He is known.
Sweetest is my Lord
Because He invites me
To play hide-and-seek with Him
Every day.

1949. Every argument

Each and every argument
Is apt to evade
The true truth.

1950. Arguments

Arguments
Often prefer
Religion to truth.

1951. Yesterday I was on earth

Yesterday I was on earth
To be myself.

Today I am on earth
To rise above myself.

Tomorrow I shall be on earth
To surrender my new self
To God’s Will.

1952. Almost nobody

Who wants to succeed outwardly?
Almost everybody.
Who wants to change outwardly or inwardly?
Almost nobody.

1953. The echo

How I wish my heart
Always to be the echo
Of its original source:
The soul.

1954. He is taking you

He is taking you
To a false destination.
Yet you are praising him
And rewarding him.

1955. If you want to deceive truth

If you want to deceive truth,
Then unconsciously
You will strangle yourself.

1956. Love and serve

Love!
You will know
What the human life
Is all about.

Serve!
You will know
What the divine life
Is all about.

1957. Strange neighbours

Sincerity and self-deception
Are two strange
And unusual neighbours.

1958. Confusion-cave

Attractions,
Repulsions
And
Contradictions
All live in the selfsame
Confusion-cave.

1959. The worst danger

That self-deception
Is the worst possible danger,
Who wants to know and believe?
Perhaps nobody!

1960. The role of a doer

I have played
The role of a dreamer
Long enough.
I am tired of it.
Now I want to play
The role of a doer,
Dynamic and selfless.

1961. Simplicity is needed

Simplicity is needed
To entertain God.
Sincerity is needed
To explain God’s Justice-Light.

1962. Change yourself slowly

Change yourself slowly
And cheerfully.
Conditions will change immediately
And unimaginably.

1963. Self-discovery

Self-discovery knows how to live
Forever.
Self-glory is forced to die
Sooner or later.

1964. Explore!

Explore, explore!
You will never deplore.
On the contrary,
You will learn about life
More and more perfectly
And satisfactorily.

1965. Longing for the undesirable

It was you who did not want
Your new life to resemble
Your old life.
Why, then,
Are you longing for the undesirable?

1966. Be aware!

Be aware!
God definitely exists.
Be awake!
God will come and knock
At your door.

1967. Even if you stop

Lord,
Even if You stop loving me,
I shall keep on loving You,
For You are my Eternity’s
Only Beloved Supreme.

Lord,
Even if You stop caring for me,
I shall keep on serving You,
For You are my Eternity’s
Only Sovereign Absolute.

1968. Something better

There does exist
Something infinitely better,
Higher and richer
Than our earthly desires.

1969. Three self-discoveries

Something is wrong in me:
This is my first self-discovery.
It can be corrected:
This is my second self-discovery.
My third self-discovery is this:
God will correct it for me
Out of His infinite Bounty.

1970. Don't be a fool

Don’t be a fool
And assume
That you already know
What you need to know.

1971. Fixed ideas

Your rigid and fixed ideas
Cannot help you at all
In your inner life of aspiration.

1972. Do love my self-giving life

My dear Lord,
Do guide my searching mind,
Do strengthen my aspiring heart,
Do love my self-giving life.

1973. Oneness-satisfaction

Submission,
No!
Domination,
No!
Oneness-perfection,
Oneness-satisfaction,
Yes, yes!

1974. Your own responsibilities

Fulfil your own responsibilities.
Lo,
Others’ responsibilities
Are already fulfilled.

1975. Your heart-flower

Look at your heart-flower
And smile.
You will be able to solve
Your most pressing problems.

1976. My freedom lives

My high freedom lives
In God’s Compassion-Eye.

My higher freedom lives
In God’s Forgiveness-Heart.

My highest freedom lives
In God’s Oneness-Embrace.

1977. Read his face

Read his face
Quickly.
You will know his heart
Unmistakably.

1978. The best definition

The best definition of prayer
Is to practise it daily.
The best definition of meditation
Is to experience it soulfully.
The best definition of yoga
Is to live it sincerely.
The best definition of God
Is to love Him, and Him only,
Unconditionally.

1979. Your doubting mind

Do not forget
That your doubting mind
Has hit and hurt you badly
Countless times.

1980. Long for anything divine

Long for anything divine,
And it will immediately
Start to approach you.

1981. Who can be trusted?

Who on earth can be trusted?
Only the God in man.

Who on earth can be appreciated and admired?
Only the man who obeys God.

1982. Deepen your faith

Deepen your faith
In yourself.
Nothing
Will be able to frighten
And weaken you.

1983. Remind yourself

Early in the morning
Every day
Remind yourself
That you are not going
To follow the world.

1984. The only satisfaction

Attachment is not satisfaction.
Detachment is not satisfaction.
Enlightenment-achievement
Is indeed satisfaction,
The only satisfaction.

1985. Art

Art is not
The imitation of nature
But the transformation of nature.

1986. Loved and needed

You are loved,
Therefore
You are significant.
You are significant,
Therefore
You are needed.

1987. Because we embrace

Because we embrace
Dark desires,
Quick blows shatter us.

1988. Lord, will you forgive me?

My dear Lord,
Will You forgive me?
“I shall forgive you, My son,
Only if you believe in Me.”

1989. Lord, do you love me?

My sweet Lord,
Do You love me?
“In My entire Universe
This is the only question,
My child,
That I shall not be able to answer.”

1990. My first discovery

My first discovery:
God cares for me.
My last discovery:
I need God.

1991. My meditation

My meditation
Is my sound-perfection.

My meditation
Is my silence-satisfaction.

1992. Around the clock

I aspire to be
In my prayer-flames
Around the clock.

My Lord is spontaneously
In His Compassion-Sun
Around the clock.

1993. Because you love God

Because you love God
And God alone,
I shall not only allow you
Unreservedly
But also help you
Unconditionally
To escape from earth-limitation-life.

1994. Because I sincerely love you

Because I sincerely love you,
I shall not only plead with you tirelessly
But also force you vehemently
To pray and meditate daily.

1995. My inner journey

My prayer
Is my inner preparation.

My meditation
Is my inner journey.

My contemplation
Is my inner journey’s destination.

1996. I shall not carry

O my mind,
I shall not carry with me
Your soulless mistakes.

O my vital,
I shall not carry with me
Your ruthless frustrations.

1997. My only satisfaction

My Lord,
My entire being
Is dying to clasp Your Feet
As its only satisfaction.

1998. The delight in meditation

The delight in meditation
Is a multiplying
Satisfaction-delight.

1999. To be poor and weak

To be poor and weak
Is not a virtue
Either spiritually
Or otherwise.

2000. It is never too late

It is never too late
To transform one’s nature
Completely.

It is never too late
To satisfy God
Unconditionally.

It is never too late
To realise God’s Heart,
Reveal God’s Life
And
Manifest God’s Breath
Here on earth.

Editor's introduction to the first edition

This is the twentieth 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

Sri Chinmoy meets with the late President of Ireland, Erskine Childers, on 7 July 1974 in Dublin. The President commented, “I have been reading your book, The Garland of Nation-Souls, which I like very much. I, too, believe in meditation… I really believe that in these days of turmoil and strife, we all need something like meditation.”