6601. Just One Positive Step

Take just one positive step.
Every day say:
“My heart is of God
And my life is for God.”

6602. My Heart Has Been Crying

Centuries come and go.
My mind does not know
What it has been doing all along,
But my heart knows
What it has been doing.
It has been crying
For the presence of the Infinite
Inside the tiny body-cave
Of the finite.

6603. Somehow I Have Lost My Way

Somehow I have lost my way.
Alas, I now see the road ahead
Constantly lengthening,
Bewildering and frightening me.

6604. God Has Invited You To His Party

God has invited you to His Party.
Do not forget to carry with you
Your heart’s gift:
Absolutely pure gratitude.

6605. The Freedom Of True Independence

If you are willing
To run the race of oneness-light,
Then only can you enjoy the prize:
The freedom of true independence.

6606. God's Forgiveness-Light

If you are bathed
In God’s Forgiveness-Light,
Then no dust of earth
Will be able to cling to you.

6607. The Beckoning Hands Of God's Smile

The beckoning Hands
Of God’s hopeful Smile
Will, without fail, one day greet
The fruitful cries
Of man’s prayerful heart.

6608. My Steady Mind

My steady mind sits and dreams
At the foot of my Lord’s Perfection-Tree.
My ready heart climbs up and devours
My Lord’s Satisfaction-Fruits.

6609. Your Confusion-Boat Will Sink

Your mind’s confusion-boat will sink
Only when you are ready to sail
Your heart’s illumination-boat.

6610. Your Friendship With Humanity

Your friendship with humanity
Is founded upon your curiosity.
Therefore, do not blame God
If you find yourself completely lost
Inside a dark nothingness-night.

6611. Your Orphan-Life

Because yesterday your mind
Enjoyed its indifference-night,
Today your orphan-life
Is drowning in the sea of helplessness-night.

6612. How Do You Dare Pressure God?

How do you dare pressure God
To invite you to His Delight-Feast,
When you are all the time treasuring
Your heart’s insecurity-hunger?

6613. A Lasting Connection

The silence-touch of Eternity
Has unconditionally granted me
A lasting and transcending
Oneness-connection with God.

6614. His Soul Lives For

His mind lives for knowledge-light.
His heart lives for affection-delight.
His life lives for perfection-might.
His soul lives for transcendence-height.

6615. His Mind's New Discovery

His mind’s new discovery:
God is Forgiveness-Delight.
His heart’s new discovery:
God is Justice-Light.

6616. How Can You Be Always Happy?

How can you be always happy
When your life does not go beyond
The domain of your mind’s
Superficial investigation?

6617. A Transformed Man

A transformed man
Is the perfect manifestation
Of a blossomed God.

6618. Earth's Beauty, Heaven's Beauty

Earth’s beauty
Is in its soulfully smiling hope.
Heaven’s beauty
Is in its peacefully loving promise.

6619. Your World's Future Guide

Your world’s future guide
Is not your promise,
Not your hope,
Not even your surrender,
But your heart’s gratitude-plant.

6620. Their Perfect Oneness-Home

A mind of simplicity,
A heart of purity
And
A life of duty
Live together
In their perfect oneness-home.

6621. Trials

Trials in the outer world
Awaken you.
Trials in the inner world
Illumine you.

6622. God's Compassion-Supply

God’s Compassion-Supply
Is more abundant
Than even our extravagant requirements.

6623. His Life's Surrender Wins

His heart’s purity
Penetrates the impenetrable.
His life’s surrender
Wins the Transcendental.

6624. Man Has No Choice

Man is nothing but a quenchless pride-flame.
Therefore he has no choice.
Helplessly he is humiliated
By a stark ignorance-frown.

6625. The Love Of A Pure Oneness-Heart

The love of a pure oneness-heart
Has every right to correct
If necessity demands.

6626. The Taut Knot Of Bondage

You fool,
You have been dangling
For such a long time!
When will you seize the opportunity
Or feel the necessity
To untangle the taut knot
Of your bondage-life?

6627. God's Unconditional Grace

What has God’s
Unconditional Grace done?
It has made me see
That I the finite
Not only embody
God the Infinite
But will some day reveal
God the Infinite.

6628. No Matter How Much You Eat

No matter how much you eat
Of your desire-food,
You are bound to be frustrated.

No matter how little you eat
Of your aspiration-food,
You are bound to be eventually emancipated.

6629. Hope Illumines My Mind

Hope illumines my mind.
Promise liberates my heart.
Perfection immortalises my life.

6630. A Singular Stroke Of Light

A singular stroke of light
Has liberated him
From his long-cherished
Fanciful illusions.

6631. Follow God's Example!

Follow God’s Example!
He does not want to plumb
The depth of my life’s ignorance-sea.
He only wants to measure
The height of my heart’s surrender-plant.

6632. Jealousy Sees Too Much

Jealousy sees too much.
Insecurity imagines too much.
Pride knows too much.
Doubt destroys more than the most.

6633. Heavenly And Earthly Words

Heavenly words should be weighed
And not counted.
Earthly words should be forgotten
And not treasured.

6634. An Earth-Bound Life

An earth-bound life
Is impurity’s nothingness.
A Heaven-free life
Is purity’s Immortality.

6635. Each Time I Think Of Him

Each time I think of Him,
I become His Beauty’s
Perfection-Bird
And His Duty’s
Satisfaction-Wings.

6636. A Pure Thought

A pure thought
At a God-chosen Hour
Can and shall
Save this poor and weak world.

6637. The Creation-Game

Unlike illusory dreams,
All realities have a special purpose,
A special goal in the Creation-Game
Of the Lord Supreme.

6638. I Need A Place To Smile

I need a place to keep my heart
Where nobody will tell me “No!”
I need a place to smile
Where nobody will ask me “Why?”

6639. God's Compassion-Sea

God’s Compassion-Sea
Has seized his inspiration-mind.
God’s Satisfaction-Shore
Has seized his aspiration-heart.

6640. Indulgent Earth

Indulgent earth did not realise
That it was keeping his life imperfect.
Indifferent Heaven did not want to feel
That it was keeping his aspiration-heart starved.

6641. We See His Lofty Head

Because of his powerful feet,
We see his lofty head
Far above the hurtful clouds
In an ignorance-nourished sky.

6642. Illusory Phantasmagoria

Your mind unconsciously treasures
Illusory phantasmagoria.
Therefore, you are consciously forced
To remain in a world
Where imperfection reigns supreme.

6643. A Seeker-Heart Knows

A man of thought thinks he knows
Because he has knowledge-light.
A seeker-heart unmistakably knows
Because it is all satisfaction-delight.

6644. My Thought-Flags Are Obedient

As my thought-flags are obedient
To my illumined mind-breeze,
Even so, my surrender is
Unconditionally obedient
To my liberated soul’s vision-eye.

6645. Do Not Allow Earth

Do not allow earth
To resist your heart’s
Perfection-hoping cries.

Do not allow Heaven
To ignore your soul’s
Life-illumining smiles.

6646. Where Is The Difference?

Where is the difference
Between a giant mind
And the futility of confusion-discovery?

6647. A Sleeping Cancer

Each impure thought is a sleeping cancer
Which will soon play its role
Most successfully
In weakening your heart
And taking away your life-breath.

6648. An Ignorance-Heart

An ignorance-heart
Is a huge reservoir
Of great disaster
In life’s unknown abyss.

6649. The Pinnacle-Height Of Love

The pinnacle-height of love
Can never be challenged.
The immeasurable depth of silence
Can never be revealed.

6650. If You Are Ready To Wrestle

If you are ready to wrestle
With your darkness-mind,
Then God is also ready,
More than ready,
To nurture your soulful heart’s
Aspiration-cry.

6651. My Heart Says To My Mind

My mind says to my heart:
“Will you please praise God for me?”
My heart says to my mind:
“Will you please pray to God
To bless me?”

6652. Success Depends On

Success depends on
Only one thing:
Inspiration.

Progress depends on
Only one thing:
Aspiration.

6653. Anger Eventually Surrenders

The animal anger
Eventually surrenders
To the heart-breaking tears and sobs
Of the loving heart.

6654. An Unthinkable Tragedy

It is bad enough
To have today
As a goalless day,
But to have Eternity
As a goalless reality
Would be an unthinkable
And unfathomable tragedy.

6655. If Your Life Is Afraid

If your life is afraid
Of reality,
How can God transform
Your human mortality?

6656. Earth's Imperfections

Earth’s imperfections
To go unnoticed?
Impossible!

Heaven’s compassion
To disown the world?
Impossible!

6657. If You Are Caught

If you are caught
By the expectation-chain,
How can you escape
The powerful blows
Of despair-night?

6658. How Can God Walk Beside You?

How can God walk beside you
When you have allowed
Disappointed hopes
To invade you?

6659. As Your Mind Has The Power

As your mind has the power
To command your life-movements,
Even so, your heart
Must develop the power
To control, command and transform
Your mind.

6660. Before He Met God

Inwardly he was fearful,
Outwardly he was bashful
And secretly he was sorrowful
Before he met God.

6661. The Tears Of My Innocence-Heart

What stabs my life most mercilessly?
The helpless and sorrowful tears
Of my innocence-heart.

6662. By Ignoring Burdens

By magnifying the heaviness
Of my life’s burdens,
My mind gets tremendous pleasure.
By totally ignoring my life’s burdens,
My heart receives soulful joy
And powerful satisfaction.

6663. My Lord Will Clasp My Hands

My Lord Supreme can and will
Clasp my hands
Only when I prayerfully and soulfully
Love His Heart
Beating inside my own little heart.

6664. A Peace-Manifesting God-Lover

Only a genuine God-dreaming seeker
Can eventually become
A peace-manifesting God-lover.

6665. Each Thought

True, each thought
Is not a striking thing,
But it is a living thing.

True, each man
Is not manifesting the truth,
But he is definitely embodying the truth.

6666. First Be The Lover

First be the lover
Of consecration.
Then become the ladder
Of perfection.

6667. Not I, But God In Me

Not I, but God in me
Is absolutely responsible
For my nature’s total transformation.

Not God, but I myself
Have caused intolerable suffering
For both God the Creator
And God the creation.

6668. One Particular Salvation

My poor mind needs
Only one particular salvation:
Immediate relief from its self-declared war.

6669. O My Gold-Shining Mind

O my gold-shining mind,
I sincerely admire you.
O my diamond-distributing heart,
I sleeplessly need you.

6670. To Reach The Summit

To reach the summit of Heaven
I shall have to get
Either a sleepless cry-push from earth
Or a spotless smile-pull from Heaven.

6671. Your Heart-Wisdom

Your head-knowledge
Must be transformed
If you want to be truly happy.
Your heart-wisdom
Must be continuously transcended
If you want to be perfectly perfect.

6672. The Loftiest Task

To meet God without an intermediary
May not be impossible,
But it is surely the loftiest
Mountain-climbing task.

6673. Before God-Realisation

Before God-realisation
No thought can be completely perfect.
After God-realisation
The reign of imperfect thought collapses.

6674. Your Heart Will Be Shattered

Your heart will be shattered by sorrow
If you force it to live
In tomorrow’s ephemeral imagination-world
Instead of in today’s eternal Reality-Now.

6675. Happy At Being Happy

Unhappy at being unhappy:
This is a deplorable human incident.
Happy at being happy:
This is a valuable divine experience.

6676. Your Unparalleled Treasure

Do not allow your doubting mind
To lord it over your God-loving heart.
Your God-loving heart
Is your unparalleled treasure.

6677. Discard Your Worthless Worries

Discard your worthless worries
As dirty, worn-out garments
If you never want to abandon yourself
To wild despair-disaster.

6678. Time And Space Contradict

Time and space contradict each other
Because of my conscious
And deliberate unwillingness
To sing with time
And embrace space.

6679. The Contents Of Consciousness

Two are the sublime contents
Of consciousness-height:
A self-giving existence-light
And a God-becoming oneness-delight.

6680. Perfection Must Dawn

Perfection must dawn
In your aspiration-cry.
If not, you can never succeed
In your inner journey.

6681. Who Can Satisfy God?

Who can satisfy God
In God’s own Way?
He who yearns to see
God’s universal Reality-Delight
Inside His transcendental Vision-Light.

6682. No Torture As Excruciating

No torture
Is as excruciating
As your long-cherished
Self-doubt.

6683. My Soul Raised High

My consecrated heart stopped
Not only the cries
Of the descending man
But also his descent.

My liberated soul not only raised high,
Very high,
The life of the ascending man,
But also increased enormously
The beauty of his smile.

6684. A Soulfully Receptive World

What I need
Is a soulfully receptive world
To hear
My heart’s blue bird singing.

6685. Why Do You Have To Worry?

Why do you have to worry
Whether others cherish your talents,
As long as God cherishes them?
Why do you have to worry
Whether others please your heart,
As long as you please God’s Heart?

6686. You Have Made Me Truly Happy

At last you have made me truly happy
By confessing that your bitterness
Is all due to the fact
That others are enjoying
A life with no suffering.

6687. A Supernal Radiance

Because he thinks and knows
That it is imperative
For us to change ourselves,
A supernal radiance
Has filled his face.

6688. What Is The Meaning Of Life?

What is the meaning of life?
Perfection-flower.
What is the meaning of work?
Satisfaction-fragrance.

6689. He Who Sincerely Aspires

He who sincerely aspires
And soulfully serves,
Does not, cannot and will not retire.

6690. How Do You Bind Yourself?

How do you bind yourself?
Not with a rope
But by not appreciating
Others’ divine qualities.

6691. Nobody Except Your Own Soul

Nobody except your own soul
Has the right to tell you
What is right in front of your life,
What is right inside your life
And what is right above your life.

6692. The Abysmal Abyss Of Foolishness

A seeker touches the abysmal abyss
Of foolishness
When he thinks and feels
That God’s earth-intense Closeness
And His Heaven-free Closeness
Will remain a far cry.

6693. My Body-Cage

My soul-bird loves my body-cage
Only when it is kept fit,
Pure and absolutely immaculate.

6694. Try To Breathe In Wisdom-Delight

If you dare to breathe in ignorance-night
With no fear of being strangled,
How is it that you do not
Try to breathe in wisdom-delight
To be completely liberated?

6695. Bitter Is The Sound-Life

Sweet was the sound-life
Before we accepted the life
Of self-giving spirituality.
But now extremely bitter is the sound-life,
For the silence-life has dawned
And is illumining our heart within
And our life without.

6696. A Life Of Total Futility

You will realise
That yours is a life of total futility
When your heart is completely empty
Of God’s Promise-Light
And God’s Satisfaction-Height.

6697. Sincerity You Need

Sincerity you need
Before you need humility.
Simplicity you need
Before you need sincerity.
God’s Compassion-Divinity you need
Before you need simplicity.

6698. A Theoretical Surrender-Life

A theoretical surrender-life
Is better than
A doubtful and unaspiring life.

A practical surrender-life
Is nothing other than
A cheerful God-manifestation-life.

6699. If You Fail To Pray And Meditate

Your earthly sojourn will be tortured
By sharp pangs,
If you fail to pray and meditate
With your heart’s silence-joy.

6700. The Fare

What is the fare
From earth to Heaven?
The fragrance-beauty
Of a gratitude-heart.

Editor's introduction to the first edition

This is the sixty-seventh 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

Bill Rodgers, America’s foremost runner, meets with Sri Chinmoy on 21 April 1981 in Boston. As the two discussed their respective running philosophies, Rodgers told Sri Chinmoy, “I have heard so much about you — your books, your running.” In parting, the Master told Rodgers, “You stand for everything that is good in the running community.”