3901. My heart's only choice

My Lord,
True, You do not show me Your Face.
But that does not mean
I cannot feel Your Heart.

My Lord,
True, I do not feel Your Heart.
But that does not mean
I do not know who You are —
You are my heart’s only choice.

3902. You call it self-command

You call it self-command.
I call it wisdom-light.
You call it wisdom-light.
I call it God-Delight.

3903. Our mental power

Each time we remember something,
We exercise our mental power.
Each time we rightly exercise
Our mental power,
We expedite God’s Hour.
Each time we wrongly exercise
Our mental power,
We delay God’s Hour.

3904. One of the true immortals

When you keep your mind on earth,
You become an object of pity.
When you send your mind to Heaven,
You become one of the true immortals.

3905. The world's useless gifts

The world has nothing to tell you.
The world has nothing to give you.
Yet you are eagerly waiting for
The world’s meaningless advice
And
The world’s useless gifts.

3906. A bright place

The existence of a dark place
Means there is somewhere a bright place.
Who knows,
That bright place could be
Your own tiny little heart.

3907. The heart's own illumination

If your mind admits
That it lives in confusion,
Then your heart will definitely
Have the capacity
To grant your mind
The heart’s own illumination.

3908. A spiritual Teacher knows

A spiritual Teacher knows
That his sea of compassion
Is another name
For his own perfection
Within and without.

3909. I have the heart to thank you

If I have the mind to thank you
For granting me liberation,
Then I also have the heart to thank you
For your satisfaction in me.

3910. A special way for me

My Lord,
You have a secret plan for me.
Therefore, I need You.
My Lord,
You have a special way for me.
Therefore, I love You.

3911. I am sailing

I am sailing the silver boat
Of my self-examination.
Soon I shall arrive
At the Golden Shore
Of my self-perfection.

3912. Free and perfect

Your doubting mind
Will be free
Only when you see the truth.

Your aspiring heart
Will be perfect
Only when you spread the truth.

3913. It seems that you are interested

It seems that you are interested
Only in immortalising
Your past defeats
And not in caring for
Your future victories.

3914. You do not have to worry

You do not have to worry
About suspicion.
Just do not live
Inside your binding mind.

You do not have to worry
About your aspiring heart.
Just lead a faithful life.

3915. You are haunted

You are haunted by the feeling
That people deceive you all the time.
Can you not be inspired by the knowledge
That God loves you dearly all the time?

3916. Your self-mastery

Your self-mastery
Is exceedingly powerful.
Your God-discovery
Is eternally fruitful.

3917. If you think you have problems

If you think you have problems
With your mind,
Then immediately try to feel
The ready-made solutions
Inside your heart.

3918. God the Compassion-Monarch

If you think you have problems
With your self,
Then can you not feel
That the problem-shooter
Is fast approaching you?
Lo, God the Compassion-Monarch
Is standing right in front of you.

3919. I try

I try to visualise
God the Beautiful One.

I try to seek
God the Powerful One.

I try to merge into
God the Bountiful One.

3920. God exists for me

I doubt;
Therefore, I am doomed
To exist only for myself.

I believe;
Therefore, God wants to and does
Exist for me.

3921. When you find

When you find
A faithful son in yourself,
You will find
A cheerful father in me.

When you find
A competent daughter in yourself,
You will find
A confident father in me.

3922. To see your bountiful face

My Lord,
Someday I would like to see
Your bountiful Face.
“My child,
Someday I would like to feel
Your soulful heart.”

3923. Wake up!

Wake up, wake up!
Your ignorance-night is flying away.
Look upward, inward and forward!
Your knowledge-day is dawning fast.

3924. When I run with God

When I run with God outwardly,
He gives me His blessingful Eyes.
When I run with God inwardly,
I give Him my awakened heart.

3925. Your eyes have the beauty

Your eyes have the beauty
Of a seer-poet.
Your heart has the purity
Of a God-intoxicated saint.

3926. Two misfortunes in life

There are only two misfortunes in life:
One is that we do not know
What to do,
And the other is that we cannot forget
What we have done.

3927. Your patience-tree

In between your failure-tree
And your triumph-tree,
The tree that is growing
Is known as your patience-tree.

3928. Oneness-satisfaction

Who says that gentleness
Is not real strength?
Who says that strength
Is not oneness-satisfaction?

3929. When my Lord pulls me

When my Lord pulls me,
I feel that my desire-life
Is extremely heavy.

When my Lord pushes me,
I feel that my aspiration-life
Is extremely light.

3930. My life likes to know

My desire-life likes to know
Where God is.
My aspiration-life likes to know
How God is.
My realisation-life likes to know
If God is pleased with me.

3931. If you care to make me happy

O my mind,
Give up your mechanical thinking;
O my mind,
Give up your artificial searching;
O my mind,
Give up your shameless doubting
If you ever care to make me happy.

3932. My mind wants only attention

The difference between my mind
And my heart is this:
My mind wants only attention from me
All the time,
But my heart wants
My soulful support.

3933. A perfect answer

A calm mind means
A perfect answer.
A perfect answer means
The enlightenment of earth
And
The satisfaction of Heaven.

3934. I try to please God

I try to please God
Because He knows that I can do it.
I try to please man
Because he thinks that I cannot do it.

3935. Who is really wise?

You have two persons inside you.
Tell me, which is really wise:
The one who always wants to see
Beauty inside you,
Or the one who always wants to see
Ugliness in others?

3936. Do you want to change yourself?

Do you want to change the world?
Then change yourself first.
Do you want to change yourself?
If so, remain completely silent
Inside the silence-sea.

3937. You want to love them

They want to destroy you.
That is what they think.
You want to love them.
That is what you know
And that is what you can and will do.

3938. If you want God the Quantity

If you want God the Quantity,
God may appear to you
As God the Quantity.
But if you want God the Quality,
God will not only come to you
As God the Quality
But also as God the Quantity.

3939. God wants one thing in your life

God wants one thing in your life
And you want something else.
He wants you not only to see
The limitless in yourself,
But also to see yourself
As limitless.
And what do you want?
You want to see only the small limits
Of your feeble possibilities.

3940. Surrender yourself

Surrender yourself
To the beauty of Truth,
To the purity of Light,
To the Divinity of God’s
Transcendental Height.

3941. If you run fast

In the inner world
If you run fast
You will outlast the bondage
Of ignorance-night.

In the outer world
If you run fast
You will enjoy
God’s Companionship-Trust.

3942. He still has a chance

When he is one
With his wild vital,
He thinks he is another God.

When he is one
With his pure heart,
He feels that he still has a chance
To become a truth-seeker
And a God-lover.

3943. Two compeers

I have two compeers
Deep inside my heart.
One is the dreamer
Of God’s Beauty universal.
The other is the lover
Of God’s Majesty transcendental.

3944. O my heart of beauty

O my heart of beauty,
O my heart of purity,
From this very moment
I shall never act against you.

3945. I shall follow you unreservedly

O my beautiful heart,
O my soulful heart,
O my prayerful heart,
From this moment on
I shall never speak ill of you.
I shall do what you do.
I shall say what you say.
I shall follow you unreservedly
And unconditionally.

3946. To live in the Eternal Now

To live in the Eternal Now
A seeker needs
The beauty of a child’s heart,
The purity of a saint’s mind,
The divinity of a yogi’s eyes.

3947. Before you can repair your mind

Why are you wasting your time
Trying to repair your mind?
Long before you can repair your mind
You will be compelled to retire
From the world.

3948. To be one's own teacher

To be one’s own teacher
Is to unconsciously welcome
Unwanted and even undeserved problems.

3949. There can be no strength

There can be no strength
Inside a confusion-mind.
There can be no beauty
Inside an anxiety-heart.
There can be no divinity
Inside an avarice-life.

3950. Surrender to the sky-silence

If you want to conquer
The thunder-sound of the outer world,
Then you must first surrender
To the sky-silence of the inner world.

3951. If I do not dare to fight

If I do not dare
To fight against ignorance
At every moment,
How will God,
My Beloved Supreme,
Share His Throne with me?

3952. Nothing is beyond repair

My Lord,
My heart is in unendurable despair.
“My child,
For Me nothing is beyond repair.”

3953. For my Lord's Compassion-Heart

For my Lord’s Compassion-Heart,
Nothing is too late.
For my mind’s confusion-night,
Everything is too late.

3954. When I come to you confidently

When I come to You confidently,
What will You give me, my Lord?
“My child, I shall give you
My bountiful Gifts unconditionally.”

3955. What you need to have

Life has given you
What you unconsciously wanted to have:
Frustration.
You can consciously get from life
What you need to have:
Illumination.

3956. I gave you what I had

My Lord,
Yesterday I gave You what I had:
My Himalayan pride.
Today I am giving You what I have:
My gratitude-plant.
Tomorrow I shall give You
What I shall have:
My ecstasy-sea.

3957. The power of a radiant sunrise

Your mind is crying
For the preconceived power of a sunrise
Which may not be truly illumining.
Your heart is longing
For the power of a radiant sunrise
Which is at once illumining and translucent.

3958. Two miracles

You want to see miracles.
Do you not know that every day
You perform two miracles?
Is it not true that every day
Your knotty mind thinks of God?
Is it not true that every day
Your haughty vital argues with God?

3959. Because you are extremely weak

Because you are extremely weak,
You think that God is not as powerful
As He should be.

3960. Your heart's satisfaction-house

Unless you open your mind’s belief-room,
You will not be able to enter
Your heart’s satisfaction-house.

3961. Your very old associate

My Lord, when will You
Wipe away my tears?
“My child, the day you give up
Your very old associate: fear.”

3962. A blessingful gift

You are entitled to enjoy life
Only when you feel
That it is a blessingful gift from Above,
And not a merited award.

3963. The journey's fulfilling initiation

Self-awakening is the journey’s
Fulfilling initiation.
Self-giving is the journey’s
Fulfilled culmination.

3964. This is your task

Do not contradict yourself.
That is others’ task.
Move forward,
Dive inward,
Fly upward
Quickly and confidently.
Indeed, this is your task.

3965. I am thanking you

I am thanking you,
O my desire-life,
For you have told me
That God is powerful.

I am thanking you,
O my aspiration-life,
For you are telling me
That God is merciful.

I am thanking you,
O my realisation-life,
For you are going to tell me
That God is beautiful.

3966. I shall forgive and forget

I shall forgive and I shall forget.
I shall forgive my past unwillingness
To meditate on God.
I shall totally forget
My very, very old friend:
Ignorance.

3967. My God-reliance manifests

My self-reliance liberates
The human in me.
My God-reliance manifests
The divine around me.

3968. Be not a rank fool!

Be not a rank fool!
Your ego-excitement is one thing
And your life-enlightenment
Is something else.

3969. Tell your mind

Tell your mind
What it needs
Is an inspiration-river.

Tell your heart
What it needs
Is an aspiration-fountain.

Tell your life
What it needs
Is a dedication-sky.

3970. What a mind you have!

What a mind you have!
Your mind is not happy
Unless it feels miserable.

What a vital you have!
Your vital is not happy
Unless it is despicable.

3971. How can you be happy?

How can you be happy
When you have a suspicious mind?
How can you be happy
When you have an infectious vital?
How can you be happy
When you have an irreligious heart?

3972. Do you know yourself?

Do you know yourself?
No!
Do you know others?
No!
Why not do the first thing first?
Know yourself.
Then see what happens later on.

3973. His heart wishes

His heart wishes
It had as much purity
As his mind thinks it has.

3974. The more you love the divinity

The more you love the divinity
Inside your life,
The sooner God’s Reality
Will flower inside your heart.

3975. To go beyond yourself

To like your mind
Is the first step.
To love your heart
Is the second step.
To go beyond yourself
Is the third and last step.

3976. He is not a poor man

He is not a poor man
Who does not have money-power.
But he is indeed a poor man
Who fails to be a God-lover.

3977. Wrongs and rights

A sincere man thinks more
Of his wrongs
Than of his rights.

An insincere man thinks more
Of his rights
Than of his wrongs.

I myself would like to think more
Of God’s Forgiveness-Light
Than of God’s Justice-Height.

3978. If you want to free yourself

If you sincerely want to free yourself
From attachment-jungle,
Then associate yourself with the seekers
Who have more faith in God
And more love for God
Than you have.

3979. The strength of fulness

Nervousness is quite often
The fear of newness.
Newness is quite often
The multiplying strength of fulness.

3980. Each good thought

Each good, pure and useful thought
Is a solid power
For our daily use.

3981. Unless you lead your own life

How can you be happy
Unless you lead your own life?
How can you be happy
Unless God gives you the wisdom-light
To claim Him as your very own?

3982. You are working for others

You are working every day
For others.
You have no time to work
For your own self.
No wonder you and your frustration
Have become inseparable!

3983. Your life's salvation-smile

You can conquer all frustration
If you can bring to the fore
More of your hidden capacity,
Which is your life’s salvation-smile.

3984. A clear mind

A clear mind needs
The beauty of a pure heart.
A pure heart needs
The divinity of a sure soul.

3985. Awaken the human life

The animal life and the human life
Are fast asleep inside you.
Do not awaken the animal life.
Only awaken the human life
So that it can be a good student
Of the divine life.

3986. Who is standing in your way?

Who is standing in your way?
None other than your demanding vital.
Whom else do you suspect?
Your shamelessly sleeping body.

3987. The end of your mind's confusion

Self-examination means
The end of your mind’s confusion.
The end of your mind’s confusion
Means the beginning of your God-satisfaction.

3988. Your own brother

If your sincerity
Is not your own brother,
Who else, then, can be?

If your purity
Is not your own sister,
Who else, then, can be?

3989. If you can think correctly

If you can think correctly,
Then your life will see perfectly.
If your life can see perfectly,
Then God will come to you
Not only freely but also immediately.

3990. Once you stop being frightened

Once you can stop being frightened
By your vital,
Nothing and nobody
Will ever be able to frighten you.

3991. Observe your actions

Observe your actions.
You will become brave.
Learn from your reactions.
You will become wise.
Surrender your actions and reactions
To God’s Will.
You will become perfect.

3992. How can you not succeed?

How can you not succeed
When you have an awakened mind?
How can you not proceed
When you have an illumined heart?

3993. If you want to expand your mind

If you want to expand your mind,
Then every day
Spend as much time as possible
With your heart.

3994. To transform your life

If you want to transform your life
Radically,
Then immediately give up
Your false sense of teeming guilt.

3995. If your life is real

If your life is real,
Then only
Your heart can be happy.
If your mind is free,
Then only
Your body can be happy.

3996. If you choose

If you choose
The enjoyment-world,
How can you refuse to accept
The rebuffs of the enlightenment-world?

3997. Do not be discouraged

Do not be discouraged.
If you are discouraged,
You will be enraged before long.
Once you are enraged,
Your aspiration-life
Will immediately be encaged.

3998. Awareness is strength

Awareness is strength.
Strength is unity.
Unity is the beauty of Infinity
And the reality of Immortality.

3999. Confidence is calmness

Confidence is calmness.
Calmness is fruitfulness.
Fruitfulness is the result
Of the seeker’s self-transcendence.

4000. Do you want to be fruitful?

Do you want to be powerful?
Then empty the doubt-poison
From your mind-vessel.
Do you want to be fruitful?
Then fill your heart-vessel
With the tears of your aspiration-cry.

Editor's introduction to the first edition

This is the fortieth 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

Indian Ambassador to the United Nations, Rikhi Jaipal, chats with Sri Chinmoy after presenting one of Sri Chinmoy’s paintings to UNICEF on behalf of the Indian Government on 29 March 1979. The painting became part of a travelling exhibit promoting the International Year of the Child. During the presentation Ambassador Jaipal said, “There can be no higher religion than our common allegiance to humanity, which is inherent in the Charter of the United Nations and which is the message that is implicit in the teaching of Sri Chinmoy.” When Sri Chinmoy later thanked Ambassador Jaipal for his kind words, the Indian diplomat said to him, “You are doing so much for America, this is the least I can do for you.”