3001. Unless you lose yourself

Unless you lose yourself completely
In the Compassion-Heart of God,
How can you and how will you
Find yourself smiling
At the Protection-Feet of God?

3002. The main problem with my mind

The main problem with my mind is this:
It thinks that it can advise God
About creating a better world.

3003. Your God-attempt

Just for a fleeting second
You are enslaved by a hostile thought.
This does not mean that
You can never be free any more.
I assure you,
Your God-attempt will,
Without fail, liberate you
And will grant you
Tomorrow’s perfection-joy.

3004. If you want to be perfect

Soulfully smile,
Sleeplessly cry
And
Unconditionally serve,
If you want to be always perfect
In the world of becoming and transcending.

3005. The fond child of God

Falsehood never thinks it is falsehood.
It thinks that it is
Nothing other than truth.

Truth knows that it is truth.
It also knows something more:
It knows that it is
The fond child of God.

3006. The art of commanding yourself

If you want to free yourself
From the constant demands of others,
Then immediately learn the art
Of commanding yourself.

3007. I am suffering

When I feel that
I am suffering for myself,
It actually means that
I am suffering from myself.

When I feel that
I am suffering for God,
It means that
God, out of His infinite Bounty,
Has made me a chosen instrument of His.

3008. Why are you being tortured?

Who is torturing you?
Not God, definitely!
Why are you being tortured?
You are being tortured
Because of your overfed mind,
Underfed heart
And uninvited soul.

3009. Your soul will please you

You have asked your mind
To supervise your heart.
Now both of them are unhappy.
Your mind misunderstands your heart,
And your heart does not know
What your mind actually wants.
Such being the case,
Can you not ask your soul
To supervise both these younger members
Of its family?
I tell you, your soul will please
Your mind and your heart.

3010. My Lord's Quality and Quantity

My Lord is at once
His Quality and His Quantity.
In my heart He abides
In His Compassion-Quality.
In my mind He abides
In His Forgiveness-Quantity.

3011. To solve your problems

You want to solve
All your inner problems.
Alas, you are unable to do it.
I will tell you the secret of secrets:
To solve all your inner and outer problems
Just try to solve one problem —
Realise God in His own Way.
Lo and behold, your inner and outer problems
Are nowhere to be found.

3012. Truth helps us in our quest

Why do we want to hide
Anything from truth?
Does it punish us?
No!
Does it condemn us?
No!
What does truth do, then?
It only helps us in our quest
For our self-illumination
And our God-realisation.

3013. Time for a new boss

Your mind is a deaf and blind boss.
It is high time for you
To have a new boss.
Look!
Your new boss, your heart,
Is eagerly waiting to give you a job
Which will inspire you and encourage you
To grow into Satisfaction-Delight.

3014. If you have a wrong thought

If you have a wrong thought,
Then replace it with a right thought.
If you have a wrong mind,
Then place it under the care of
Your compassion-heart
And
Your illumination-soul.

3015. Always try to remain untouched

Always try to remain untouched
By the wild vital world
And by the unlit mental world.
Then only, the psychic world
Will appreciate your beauty
And admire your purity.

3016. They are not ready

Purity is eagerly waiting
To welcome my vital.
Sincerity is eagerly waiting
To welcome my mind.
Beauty is eagerly waiting
To welcome my heart.
Prosperity is eagerly waiting
To welcome my life.
Alas, the members of my body-family
Are not ready,
And I have no idea
When they will be ready.

3017. Each wants to dominate

My vital wants to dominate my mind.
Therefore, my mind is extremely angry.

My mind wants to dominate my heart.
Therefore, my heart is extremely sad.

My body wants to dominate my life.
Therefore, I am totally lost.

3018. You can be happy

You can be happy
Only when your mind accepts the fact
That somebody else has more knowledge-light
And your heart accepts the fact
That somebody else has more wisdom-delight.
Who is that somebody?
None other than your own
Eternity’s blue bird — your soul.

3019. You think, I think

You think you are great
Because God thinks of you.
You think you are good
Because you love God.

I think God thinks of you
To transform your earth-bound mind.
I think you love God
Because there is no one else
You can truly love.

3020. Can your life not be satisfied?

Your mind is satisfied
With God’s Compassion-Sky.
Your heart is satisfied
With God’s Forgiveness-Moon.
Can your life not be satisfied
With God’s Justice-Sun?

3021. Tomorrow's silence-beauty

The moment he turned his back
On the past,
The golden dawn
Of tomorrow’s silence-beauty
Invited him to ride
In the chariot of the transcendental Sun-God.

3022. Run against all odds

Run, don’t stop!
Run against all odds.
You have no legitimate grounds
For complaint,
For it is you who have made the choice.
Needless to say,
The right choice is to sleeplessly run
And reach the destined Goal,
And at the end of your journey’s close
Forever to sit
At the Feet of your Beloved Supreme.

3023. On the eve of his venture

On the eve of his hazardous venture
Three extremely intimate friends of his
Quite quietly deserted him:
His volcano-will,
His sky-peace,
His sun-joy.
Alas, alas, alas!

3024. Two powerful rivals

Two powerful rivals:
The suspicion-power of the mind,
The aggression-power of the vital.
These two rival powers
Constantly fight,
But neither of the two
Wins or loses.

3025. A special prayer

My Lord Supreme,
My heart has a special prayer:
I long to be
Consciously and constantly useful
In Your Service-Light
And for Your Eye’s
Sole Satisfaction-Delight.

3026. If your mind can imagine

If your mind can imagine
And if your heart can feel
That at the end of your Heavenward journey
God will grant you
His stupendous Satisfaction-Smile,
Then no fear, no doubt can torture you
Or prevent you from completing
The seemingly long and arduous climb.

3027. I did not listen

I heard God speak,
But I did not listen to Him.
I heard my Master speak,
But I did not listen to him.
I heard my inner voice speak,
But I did not listen to it.
Therefore, my life within
Is dancing with appalling disasters
And my life without
Is suffering an agonising retreat.

3028. Push and pull

Push and pull.
If you know how to push aside
The deception-coal,
You will automatically learn how to pull in
The perfection-diamond.

3029. A nagging sense of emptiness

You are suffering
From a nagging sense of emptiness.
Do you know why?
Because you have renounced
The silence-moon and the sound-sun
Of your soul-bird.

3030. Only two significant messages

There are only two significant messages.
The first message is:
My heart’s gratitude-machine
Is operating extremely well.
The second message is:
My Lord’s Forgiveness-Machine
Is never out of order.

3031. The life of mendicant-hope

His is the life of mendicant-hope,
Because his mind never sees and feels
The soulful gladness
Of his fruitful heart.

3032. A fruitful peace-life

The success of his great work
Granted him a delightful emotion-life.
The progress of his good work
Granted him a fruitful peace-life.

3033. My grateful eyes and heart

The difference between
My grateful eyes and my grateful heart
Is this:
My grateful eyes
Proclaim God’s Compassion-Moon;
My grateful heart
Proclaims God’s Forgiveness-Sun.

3034. The symphony of a hopeful day

His vision-heart
Enjoys the symphony of a hopeful day.
His reality-life
Suffers the symphony of a hurtful night.

3035. Two inexplicable things

One thing
Is painfully inexplicable:
My utter failure-life.
Another thing
Is amazingly inexplicable:
God’s Compassion-Confidence in me.

3036. An ardent submissiveness

To arrive at the core of everything
What you need is an ardent submissiveness
To Eternity’s infinite Source.

3037. Under the brightest morning

He lives under the brightest morning
Simply because
Morning is the time when he can see truth
Most beautifully and most powerfully
In God’s inimitable Way.

3038. Why do you pretend?

Why do you pretend to see?
Why do you pretend to know?
Why do you pretend to feel?
Why do you pretend to be?
Do you know why?
Because unconsciously
You appreciate, admire, adore and love
The greatness and goodness
In God’s universal Reality-Existence.

3039. Oneness is generous

Insincerity is treacherous.
Jealousy is dangerous.
Humility is harmonious.
Oneness is generous,
Unimaginably generous.

3040. We are given chance after chance

Again and again
We are given chance after chance
To dive deep within
So that we can clearly see and feel
That our previous attempts
Lacked either sincerity-light
Or determination-power,
Or both.

3041. If you know about truth

If you are innocent
And do not know anything about truth,
Then truth does not hold
Anything against you.
But if you are clever
And know everything about truth,
Yet do not practise truth
In any sphere of your life,
Then the justice-light of truth
Can and will eventually torment
Your earthly existence.

3042. If you are truly spiritual

If you are truly spiritual,
Then you do not have to prove your goodness
To the world at large.
What you have to do
Is soulfully enjoy
The purity of your heart’s dawn
And the beauty of your life’s day.

3043. You do not have to be a loser

The only human being responsible
For losing in the battlefield of life
Is the loser himself.
But I am telling you,
Cry within and smile without sleeplessly!
You do not have to be
One of those deplorable losers.

3044. Someone advised you

Someone advised you and helped you
In your search for Truth.
Once you discovered the Truth,
To your wide surprise
You saw that your previous Helper and Adviser
Was none other than God Himself.

3045. You have the capacity

My Lord,
You have the capacity
To love the world with Your Eye.
You have the capacity
To satisfy the world with Your Heart.
My Lord,
Will You not give me the capacity
To admire Your Eye?
Will You not give me the capacity
To adore Your Heart?

3046. If you are faithful

If you are faithful,
Then the world-doubt
Will not be able to torture you.
If you are pure,
Then the world-impurity
Will not be able to torture you.
For your Beloved Supreme
Will always keep you
Far beyond the snares of doubt and impurity.

3047. You are with God

You think that God is great.
You think that God is good.
When you think that God is great,
You are with God
In His Dream-Boat.
When you think that God is good,
You are with God
At His Reality-Shore.

3048. Why don't you smile and dance?

You are crying
Because the quantity of your mind’s doubts
Is as vast as the ocean.
Why don’t you smile and dance,
Since you know that the quality
Of your heart’s faith
Is as pure as a morning rose?

3049. If you depend on the positive

If your vital depends
On positive determination,
If your mind depends
On positive decisions
And if your heart depends
On positive aspiration,
Then, in your case,
God-realisation cannot remain a far cry.

3050. My actions lined with religion

My actions lined with religion
Teach me how to fear God.

My actions lined with Yoga
Teach me how to love God.

My actions lined with God Himself
Teach me how to become
A supremely chosen instrument of God.

3051. A fount of admonition

If you are a sincere God-seeker
And you are not in a high consciousness,
God will not waste a moment
Before blessing you with a gift:
A fount of admonition.
Why does He do this?
He wants to prove that He is making you
Into His representative-light.

3052. Three unthinkable suggestions

My mind has given me
Three unthinkable suggestions:
It wants me not to care
For the world around me any more.
It wants me not to be so strict
With my pleasure-life.
It wants me to disregard the inner pressure
Of my heart’s aspiration-cry.

3053. A mistrusting mind

As long as you have a mistrusting mind,
Your life, inner and outer,
Will be assailed by frustrating mankind.

3054. Another name for absurdity

Atheism is another name for absurdity,
For there is no human being
Who is empty of faith
In something or in someone.
God, being the universal Existence-Life,
Embodies that very thing
Or that very person.

3055. A fine sense of contrast

I always enjoy a fine sense of contrast
Between a truth-seeker and a God-lover.
To me, a truth-seeker is running
Towards his destined Goal.
To me, a God-lover’s Goal
Is right in front of his vision-eye.

3056. His sincerity-life is totally lost

Impurity has blinded his mind.
Insecurity has blighted his heart.
Therefore, his sincerity-life
Is completely ashamed and totally lost
When every day it stands
Before his inner self.

3057. A desire-life is ultimately caught

A desire-life always looks
For new haunts of pleasure,
But is ultimately caught
By merciless frustration-pressure.

3058. Three immovable convictions

My Lord Supreme,
I need only three immovable convictions:
My heart can and will love You
Even if You do not love me.
I shall unlearn the teachings of my mind
So I can learn everything from my soul
At my heart’s school.
I shall not leave You
Even if You leave me,
Thinking that my life
Is an utterly hopeless case.

3059. Stupidity has a free access

Stupidity has a free access
To the excesses of your poetry.
Therefore, the earth-beggar
Does not care for your light,
And the Heaven-Emperor
Does not even know who you are.

3060. Three glorious qualifications

He is the possessor
Of three glorious qualifications:
He can see the Face of God
At any time.
His heart and God’s Heart feed each other
Sleeplessly and breathlessly.
Until God is fully manifested here on earth
He will not wear the crown
Of his own God-realisation
Even for a fleeting second.

3061. The train of your self-discovery

If your heart is fired
With aspiration-potentiality,
If your mind is fired
With determination-possibility
And if your life is fired
With dedication-practicality,
Then the train of your self-discovery
Will not remain a far cry.

3062. Each temptation

A pure self-giving heart
And a sure God-loving life
Will never allow themselves
To be sprinkled with small temptations,
For each temptation
Attacks the self-giver and God-lover
With an unscrupulous ignorance-day
And a ferocious destruction-night.

3063. A profitable partnership

The disciple and the Master
Enjoy a profitable partnership:
The Master gives the disciple
The capacity to cry for God;
The disciple helps the Master
To receive a Smile from God.

3064. A fearless expectation of success

Since yours is the mind
That cherishes a fearless expectation of success,
What your heart needs immediately
Is a purity-cry
And what your life needs immediately
Is a certainty-smile.

3065. The world is not listening to you

The inner world
Is not listening to you.
The outer world
Is not listening to you.
What you have now
Is a sinking hopelessness-boat
And what you are now
Is a sour-bitter flavour of resignation.

3066. If you can become a better listener

If you can become a better listener,
God’s Compassion will immediately become
A better adviser.

If you can become a better God-lover,
God’s Satisfaction will immediately become
A better bestower.

3067. If your mind develops

If your mind develops
A bad opinion of your pure heart
Even by mistake,
Then it will never, never be able
To see the vision-eye
Of Heavenly Blue.

3068. Three inevitable companions

A truth-seeker and God-lover
Has three inevitable companions:
A soulful cry,
A beautiful smile
And
A fruitful God.

3069. Two peerless boons

God is so pleased with him
That He has granted him
Two peerless boons:
An experiment-eye in vision-prophecy
And
An experience-heart in reality-ecstasy.

3070. Question their right

O my truth-searching mind,
Instead of surrendering
To the hostile attacks
Of teeming doubts,
Dauntlessly question their right
To overpower you.

3071. Stand firm

O my truth-searching mind,
Instead of surrendering
To the hostile attacks
Of aggression-destruction,
Stand firm and face
Its bold buffets.

3072. Challenge and regain

O my truth-searching mind,
Instead of tolerating
The constant repetition
Of stark anxiety,
Challenge it and regain
Your long-lost poise.

3073. Do not be afraid

O my truth-searching mind,
Do not be afraid of impurity.
Ignore its powerful domination.
It can never hurt
Your real self.
It can only create a curable separation
Between you and your dear ones.

3074. Three alternatives

Remember, O my mind,
You have three alternatives:
You can go
Either from darkness to light
Or from light to darkness,
Or you can remain
In your self-created unawareness.

3075. Follow your soul

Your soul is on its way
Back home.
Follow your soul.
Cover the same distance
As it does daily.
Your triumphant journey is certain.

3076. Sail on your aspiration-voyage

Sail on your imagination-voyage.
Your discoveries will be beautiful.
Sail on your aspiration-voyage.
Your discoveries will be beautiful
Plus fruitful.

3077. God's Freedom-Height

My vision-light shall reach
God’s Freedom-Height.
God’s Freedom-Height shall grant me
God’s Satisfaction-Delight.

3078. Love enlightenment more

If you fear punishment,
Then why don’t you love
Enlightenment more?
In enlightenment
Punishment is an undeniable unreality.

3079. See if I am correct

You can be happy
If you say good-bye
To useless thoughts.
Do it, and see if I am correct.

You can be happy
If you say good-bye
To the soulless mind.
Just try it, and see if I am correct.

3080. They choose you

You fool,
They choose you not because
They want to help you.
They choose you because
They want you to help them,
Daily and unreservedly.

3081. If you persist

Do not give up.
If you persist,
Tomorrow’s peace will come
And feed your mind today,
And tomorrow’s perfection will come
And touch your life today.

3082. Our mutual satisfaction-delight

Some people are not happy
If they do not cry inwardly daily.
Are you one of those?
If so, then you and I
Are sailing in the same boat.
Our oneness will be founded
On our mutual satisfaction-delight.

3083. To believe in human promises

To believe in human promises
Is as absurd
As building a hope-tower
On a hopeless ground.

3084. Only God has power

Have no fear.
Nobody has any power of his own.
Only God has power,
And His Power is another name
For His Love, sleepless Love.

3085. Your loneliness-fire

Are you ready to go home?
If so, then start!
Be not afraid.
Even if you have to walk alone,
I tell you, your loneliness-fire
Will burn the hostile forces
That are around you.

3086. The real story

How do you know that
The life that interests you
Will interest God?
The real story has to be
Completely the reverse.

3087. You owe your success-life

You owe your success-life
To your outer courageous mind.
You owe your progress-life
To your inner spacious heart.

3088. Truth wants you

Truth does not want you
To be engulfed by your mind.
Truth does not want you
To be enchanted by your vital.
Truth wants you
Only to be enlightened
By your heart.

3089. My Lord's great Satisfaction

My awareness means my confidence.
My confidence means my perfection.
My perfection means my Lord’s
Great Satisfaction.

3090. Your last gift

My Lord Supreme,
You have given me countless gifts.
Do give me one more gift.
You and I may call it
Your last gift:
A gratitude-heart.

3091. My heart is crying

My heart is crying
For a pure friend,
My mind is crying
For a sure friend
And I am crying
For a self-transcending friend.

3092. Empty deception-praise

O my vital,
You are tired of everything
Save one thing:
Empty deception-praise.

3093. I am completely lost

I am completely lost between
The most difficult test-question —
Who am I?
—
And the most strict answer-examiner —
My own sincerity.

3094. I shall need You only

The day before yesterday
I needed You and also needed others.
Alas, I did not need You only.

Yesterday I loved You
And also loved others.
Alas, I did not love You only.

But from today on, my Lord,
I shall need You only
And I shall love You only.

3095. God has the sincerity

God has the sincerity
To tell me
That He loves me.
Alas, I do not have the sincerity
To tell Him
That I badly need His Love.

3096. Oneness-joy

O my mind,
You are wrong when you attribute
Oneness-joy to yourself.
Oneness-joy belongs to the heart alone.
Yours is division-sorrow.

3097. I shall never be lost

I shall never be lost.
Do you know why?
Because every day
My life is the soulful joy
Of a faithful hope.

3098. Ask your heart

Before you look for security from him,
Can you not ask your heart
To give you implicit faith
In his sincerity?

3099. Every day I am deceived

O my clever body,
Every day I am deceived
By your striking promises
And fantastic assurances.

3100. God has the time

I am so busy
That I do not have the time to think
Of my pure heart.
God is also busy, like me.
Nevertheless, He has the time
To lovingly think
Of even my impure mind.

Editor's introduction to the first edition

This is the thirty-first 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

At a recent meeting of the Meditation Group at the United Nations, Sri Chinmoy greets his long-time friend, United Nations Ambassador Zenon Rossides of Cyprus. On many occasions Rossides has ardently championed the cause of the Meditation Group and, over the years, has participated in many of its programmes. At one gathering of the Meditation Group, Rossides said, “I want to praise Sri Chinmoy for what he is doing. His work is far more important than all the conferences in the United Nations.”

Sri Chinmoy responded, “In you we truly have found a spiritual brother and also a lighthouse — the lighthouse at the United Nations that beckons seekers and also shows them the way and guides them.”

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-3074: FFP 120 (revised version).