5201. Just outside your heart's door

Just outside your heart’s door
God in His supreme Beauty
Is standing.

Just inside your heart’s door
God in His supreme Duty
Is working.

5202. Slavery to ignorance

Man’s conscious oneness
With God’s Will,
And man’s conscious offering of gratitude
To God’s Compassion
Will make man’s future slavery to ignorance
Impossible.

5203. My first decision

My first decision:
I shall not criticise the world
Any more.
My last decision:
I shall love the world
Exactly the same way
My Lord Supreme loves the world.

5204. Weakness must aspire

Weakness must quickly aspire
For strength.
Strength must unmistakably aspire
For oneness,
The only satisfaction.

5205. To make your life real

To make your life real
You must be more affectionate
To your heart
And more indifferent
To your mind;
You must be more strict
With your vital
And more patient
With your body.

5206. Live in naturalness

Live in naturalness
If you want to grow
Into the fulness
Of God’s Vision-Reality.

5207. What you really need

What you really need
Is Eternity’s emptiness
Within
And Infinity’s fulness
Without.

5208. The power of inspiration

The power of inspiration
Tells me to realise God.
The power of aspiration tells me
How close my heart is to God,
How far my mind is from God
And why my little ego-“I”
Can never realise God.

5209. A liberated life knows

A tempted mind thinks
That everything is beautiful.
A liberated life knows
That everything is meaningful.

5210. An all-existent divinity

A non-existent sincerity
His mind has.
A non-existent purity
His heart is.
But an all-existent divinity
His life will before long become.

5211. A cluster of memorised ideas

Your mind cherishes
A cluster of memorised ideas.
How do you then expect
The nectar-delight of Himalayan ideals?

5212. The tortures of noisy ambitions

O noisy ambitions,
Your tortures are infinitely worse
Than the tortures of the doubtful
And suspicious mind.

5213. The fragrance of God's Breathing

Not only do my soul and my heart enjoy,
But also my stupid mind enjoys,
The Fragrance of God’s Breathing
While I silently and unconditionally meditate.

5214. He who does not suffer

He who does not suffer
From ingratitude’s cruel blows
Is divinely great,
Supremely good
And
Transcendentally perfect.

5215. Intuition travels alone

Intuition travels alone
In supreme secrecy
To prove to the world
That God the Creator
Keeps all His Promises
To God the creation.

5216. Two perfectly useless concepts

Two perfectly useless concepts:
I can do whatever I want.
My life can do without
Any higher guidance.

5217. My heart needs the Christ

My mind needs the Bible
Because it is so soulful.
My heart needs the Christ
Because He is so fruitful.

5218. When the mind does not pray

When the mind does not pray,
The heart sighs
And the soul sheds sleepless tears.

5219. The inner beauty grows and glows

The inner beauty does not die;
It grows and glows.
It grows to feed the outer world.
It glows to dance with the inner world.

5220. The most powerful competition

The entire world can see
The most powerful competition
Between the mind’s deliberate unwillingness
To realise God
And the heart’s sleepless willingness
Not only to realise
But also to manifest God.

5221. He accuses his soul

He no longer accuses
His doubting mind.
He no longer accuses
His insecure heart.
He accuses only
His weak soul.

5222. The mind can and will find rest

The troubled mind
Can and will find rest
Only when it learns
The magic art of complete surrender
To God’s Will.

5223. I can realise God

Yes, I can and shall
Realise God.
Yes, my life can and will
Manifest God.

5224. He is supremely beautiful

He is beautiful, supremely beautiful,
Not because he has inside his body
An inconceivable array of stars,
But because every day he sees
The Face of his Beloved Supreme
And every day he plays with
The Heart of his Beloved Supreme.

5225. Do not die unsung

O my heart,
Do not die unsung.
O my mind,
Do not die unsettled.
O my vital,
Do not die unchallenged.
O my body,
Do not die untransformed.

5226. To climb the sky's long stairs

If you want to climb
The sky’s long stairs,
You have to love the Unknown
And bow to the Unknowable.

5227. You can never be homeless

If you live inside your heart,
With your soul
And for your Beloved Supreme,
Then you can never be homeless.

5228. The first danger sign

An impure vital
Is the first danger sign
In a seeker’s aspiration-life.

5229. An imperial thunderbolt

What you need
Is an imperial thunderbolt
To frighten your unaspiring heart
And your ungrateful life.

5230. The crown of success-light

Humility, humility:
The crown of success-light
Which alone can destroy
The wild arrogance of decades
In man’s unaspiring nature.

5231. The first surprise

The first surprise:
God has gladly become man.
The last surprise:
Man shall infallibly become God.

5232. His strength has failed

His strength has failed.
His surrender has succeeded.
His gratitude has received the prize.

5233. True freedom

True freedom is not
To build and break in one’s own way,
But to grow and glow
Only in God’s Way.

5234. Unless you live sleeplessly

Unless you live sleeplessly
For God the Vision-Eye,
How can you eventually grow
Into God the Reality-Delight?

5235. Love is something to give

Love is something to give.
Devotion is something to give.
Surrender is something to give.
Gratitude is something to become.

5236. The conscious presence of God

Gratitude is not only
The absence of imperfection
But also the conscious presence
Of the bountiful God.

5237. An evil thought

An evil thought
May or may not break bones.
But an evil thought
Can and does break hearts.

5238. The Infinite has embraced the finite

The Infinite has cheerfully embraced
The finite
So that mortals can successfully grow into
The Immortal.

5239. God's Compassion-Sea saves

Always it is God’s Compassion-Sea
That saves and illumines the seeker,
And not the seeker’s merit-drops.

5240. We really live

We really live
When we give to God what we have:
Ignorance.

We really live
When we do not give to the world
Our shallow wisdom.

5241. A prayerful heart

A prayerless heart
Is a powerless life.
A prayerful heart
Is a fruitful life.

5242. A sleepless love for the world

O my eyes,
I feel sorry for you
Because you cannot love the world
Without hoping to be loved in return.

O my heart,
I am so proud of you
Because you do not expect the world
To love you,
Although your life
Is a sleepless love for the world.

5243. A most tragic end

An anxiety-mind
And an insecurity-heart
Are the seeds
Of a most tragic end.

5244. His aspiration wings

Like an arrow that wings
Through darkness,
His aspiration wings
Into the beauty of Light.

5245. The illusion of possibility

The illusion of possibility
Can never solve any problem
Either in the desire-life
Or in the aspiration-life.

5246. History obeys the will

History either obeys the will
Of some chosen men
Or accepts the despair-hearts
Of ordinary mortals.

5247. If you want to proceed

Muster your determination
If you want to succeed
In the battlefield of life.
Surrender yourself
Constantly and cheerfully to God’s Will
If you want to proceed
With the spiritual leaders of humanity.

5248. The agony of wild impatience

The agony of wild impatience
Tortures humanity’s mind
And ruins the poise
Of humanity’s heart.

5249. In the same dark room

A confusion-mind
And a contradiction-vital
Live together
In the same absolutely dark room.

5250. The last flicker of life

The last flicker of life
Awakened him to see
Once and for all
The countless Himalayan blunders
In his life.

5251. If you choose God

If you choose yourself,
You have nothing to gain
And nothing to lose.
If you choose God,
You not only gain everything,
But also reign over everybody.

5252. A fresh disappointment

Every day you will meet
With a fresh disappointment
If you want to conquer your loving heart
With your doubting mind.

5253. An uncritical friendship

An uncritical friendship:
Did it ever exist?
Does it exist now?
Will it ever exist in the future?
The answers are all unmistakable:
No, no, no!

5254. Each dream of my heart

Whenever there is a collision
Between my heart’s dream
And my mind’s reality,
I always take the side of my heart,
For each dream of my heart
Is newness and sweetness incarnate.

5255. All the ugly faces

How can you be happy,
How can you be satisfied,
When to discover beauty’s truth
You search all the ugly faces
And not all the beautiful hearts?

5256. A loving chain

My mind’s suspicion-night
Is a binding chain around nothing.
My heart’s wisdom-light
Is a loving chain around everything
That I unmistakably have and eternally am.

5257. I need no nest

I need no nest
Until I see that others
Are properly rested.

I need no rest
Until I see that others
Are completely satisfied.

5258. Get the correct answer

Is it your impurity-mind
That is killing you?
Is it your insecurity-heart
That is killing you?
Is it your fear of impossibility
That is killing you?
Dive deep within
And get the correct answer.

5259. Perdition is looking for you

As you are looking for
Constant recognition
In the outer world,
Even so, sleepless perdition
Is looking for you
In the inner world.

5260. A loser's heart of sorrow

A loser’s heart of sorrow
Is apt to sadden my heart
But also to illumine my life.

5261. Selflessness means

Selflessness means
That the breath of happiness
Is here
And the life of happiness
Is now.

5262. To fulfil a happy promise

To fulfil an unhappy promise
I look at my own eyes.
To fulfil a happy promise
I look at God’s Heart.

5263. A sweet whisper

A sweet whisper
From an unknown goal
Has perfected my heart
And liberated my life.

5264. Chains of expectation

If your mind still has
Chains of expectation,
You will definitely be doomed
To dire disappointments.

5265. A soulful sacrifice

Unless you can muster all your life-activities
Into a soulful sacrifice,
Do not expect to become
A choice instrument
Of your Lord Supreme.

5266. I am very busy

I am very busy,
And I intend to remain so.
No matter how desperately
Death wants to meet with me,
I simply cannot afford to grant
An interview to death today.

5267. God yields

God the creation
Yields only to a soulful server.
God the Creator
Yields only to a dream-flooded lover.

5268. An atmosphere of silence-delight

You can make a bold attempt
To be your true self
Only when you treasure
An atmosphere of silence-delight within
And an atmosphere of silence-light without.

5269. God commands the strength I have

God commands the strength I have
To richly increase.
Death commands the strength I have
To quickly decrease.

5270. The loneliness of your mind

The loneliness
Of your yesterday’s mind
Must not puncture
The newness-beauty
Of your today’s heart.

5271. Success without self-admiration

Success without self-admiration
Is divinely great.
Success after God-adoration
Is supremely and eternally good.

5272. To have an iota of Bliss

The robust conviction of your mind
And the tall superiority of your vital
Must pale into the insignificance
Of nothingness
Before you can have an iota
Of God’s Satisfaction-Bliss.

5273. God's Forgiveness-Heart

Self-praise is ready
To strangle you.
God’s Forgiveness-Heart is more than ready
To forgive you
In season and out of season.

5274. Before you hurt others

Before you hurt others,
Hurt yourself first.
It will make you wise.

Before you love yourself,
Try to love others first.
It will make you perfect.

5275. If you acquire wisdom

If you purchase knowledge,
You will be able to go as far as
The door of your mind.
If you acquire wisdom,
You will be able to fly to the highest Beyond,
Sit at God’s Protection-Feet
And look at God’s Satisfaction-Eye.

5276. What your mind needs

What your mind needs
Is a lightning-swift insight.
What your heart needs
Is a soft and sweet touch
From your Eternity’s Beloved Supreme.

5277. An extremely easy task

My mind thinks
It is an impossible task
For me to pray to God.

My heart feels
It is an extremely easy task
For me to claim God.

5278. Before I studied God's Face

I had thoroughly read
God’s Heart
Long before I studied
God’s Face.

5279. What God cares for

What is it that I need
And God does not need?
Determination-fire.
What is it that God
Constantly cares for
And I never care for?
My own self-transcendence.

5280. Become a flower of purity

Success you want?
Then become a self-styled
Man of duty.

Progress you want?
Then become a God-created
Flower of purity.

5281. The fruitfulness of my fulness-soul

First I must appreciate
The sweetness of my silence-heart.
Then only shall I appreciate
The fruitfulness of my fulness-soul.

5282. My soul has invited me

My soul has invited me
To share its supernal beauty.
I am now inviting my soul
To share my infernal insecurity.

5283. I shall fear God

I shall fear God
So that I can learn from Him
How to create fear
Inside my own suspicious mind.

5284. Each faithful heart

Each faithful heart
Embodies the sacred beauty
Of Heaven’s silver dreams.

5285. An unprecedented joy

His reverent regard
For the Compassion-Eye of Heaven
Has given him an unprecedented
And permanent joy.

5286. My heart pines

My heart pines
For the music of my soul
Inside my confusion-cleared mind.

5287. Do tell me something new today

Earth, O earth,
Do tell me something new today.
Tell me, have you not yet seen
God’s Vision-Eye?

Heaven, O Heaven,
Do tell me something new today.
Tell me, have you not yet felt
The quenchless thirst of helpless humanity?

5288. A moon of hope

Earth loves him
Because inside his heart
Earth has found a moon of hope.

Heaven loves him
Because inside his eyes
Heaven has found a sun of promise.

5289. My heart does it

I just tell my heart what to do —
That is all —
And my heart does it.
It loves God.

I tell my mind what to do,
How to do it and why to do it.
Even then, my mind is totally reluctant
To do it.
It does not love God.

5290. I shall fill my divinity-ocean

Even God does not want me to do
Two things in one single day.
Why then do I have to blame myself?
Today I have emptied my stupidity-sea.
Tomorrow I shall completely fill
My divinity-ocean.

5291. What I want to tell the world

God does not love me:
This is not what I want
To tell the world.
I need God, only God:
This is what I want
To tell the world.

5292. I do know where God lives

I may not know who God is,
But I do know where God lives.
He lives beyond the grasp
Of my desire-life,
Within my aspiration-breath.

5293. I am grateful to God

I am grateful to God
For having faith in my wishful dreams.
I am grateful to God
For having faith
Even in my fearful realities.

5294. What God desperately needs

What God actually needs
Is not my life’s soulfulness.
What God desperately needs
Is my mind’s immediate willingness.

5295. Three insoluble puzzles

His outwardly restless life
Puzzles me.
His inwardly ascetic life
Puzzles me.
His unconditionally surrendered soul
Puzzles me.
To me, he is three insoluble puzzles.

5296. He will be loyal to God

Do not laugh at him.
Today he is absolutely loyal
To himself.
Tomorrow he may be loyal to you.
And who knows,
The day after tomorrow
He may be loyal to God, and to God alone.
Therefore, his absolute perfection
Need not remain a far cry.

5297. God is building a prison

God had to build a special prison
To imprison your impurity-mind.
Now God is building a new prison
To imprison your insecurity-heart.

5298. The only exception

He regards himself as an exception,
The only exception,
When Heaven is indifferent
To all human beings.

He regards himself as an exception,
The only exception,
When earth does not cry to reach
The highest heights of Heaven.

5299. He saw into my heart

In a twinkling
He saw into my heart
And knew that my soulful happiness
Would remain young forever and forever.

5300. The song of God's manifestation

O my soul,
Let us renew our old dream.
Let us sing the song
Of God’s full manifestation on earth.

Editor's introduction to the first edition

This is the fifty-third 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 presents a plaque to Dr Sardar Dhillon, India’s High Commissioner to Canada, on 4 August 1982 at the United Nations. After meditating with Sri Chinmoy and members of the meditation group, Dr Dhillon remarked, “Swamiji, I am grateful that you are working in such a place as the United Nations to spread your message to the whole world. I pray to the Lord that He will be able to give you long life and strength to enable you to spread your vision to all human beings.”