8601. My Chosen Present

I shall not allow my aspiration-life
To become my forgotten past.
I shall keep it always
As my chosen present.

8602. Feast And Fast

I am enjoying at one and the same time
The feast of inner triumphs
And the fast of outer defeats.

8603. The Glory Of Unlearning

The glory of learning
The desiring mind knows.
The glory of unlearning
The searching mind must learn
Before it can dive deep
Into God’s Ecstasy-Sea.

8604. Enemy And Friend

His doubt-enemy
Can easily be brought under his control
If he does the needful
Cheerfully and powerfully
With his faith-friend.

8605. Difficult And Easy

What is extremely difficult for man
But extremely easy for God?
A constant Satisfaction-Smile.

What is extremely easy for man
But extremely difficult for God?
An endless dissatisfaction-cry.

8606. Your Future Success-Life

You feel sad that your defeat-life
Has arrived so quickly.
But I assure you that your future success-life
Will arrive not only quickly
But also certainly.

8607. His Heart Is Enjoying

His heart is enjoying
His today’s Heaven-bound flight.
His mind is enjoying
His yesterday’s ignorance-failure.

8608. Your Mind's Doubt-Cloud

Your mind’s doubt-cloud
Has totally eclipsed
Your heart’s hope-moon
And your soul’s promise-sun.

8609. Permanent Residents Of Heaven

He and his heart
Are permanent residents of Heaven,
And do not care for earth at all.
Therefore, he and earth
Cannot be of any real help
To each other.

8610. If God Wants Me To Proceed

If God wants me to succeed
In my life’s outer journey,
Then He will give me
His Vision-Eye.

If God wants me to proceed
In my life’s inner journey,
Then He will give me
His Satisfaction-Heart.

8611. His Supreme Assistant

In the inner world
His heart’s purity-smile
Is his supreme assistant.

In the outer world
His mind’s sincerity-cry
Is his supreme assistant.

8612. The Dead Are Not Forgiven

Who says the dead are forgiven?
No, they are not!
Only those who again and again
Try to transcend themselves
Will be cheerfully forgiven
In God’s Compassion-Heart
By God Himself.

8613. Imagine And Reveal

If a simple mind
Can imagine God,
Then a pure heart
Can easily reveal God.

8614. You Think Of God

You may not know
When I think of God,
But I know
When you think of God.
You think of God when God tells me
That He has two
Supremely chosen instruments.

8615. Ready To Show

My humble prayer is eager to see
What God has for me.
My proud mind is ready to show
What it has for God.

8616. Schooled In Enlightenment

If you can be consistent
Like the ancient truth-seekers
And God-lovers,
You will soon be schooled
In enlightenment.

8617. Unwillingness To Change

Not because you are clothed
In a frail body,
But because of your obdurate
Unwillingness to change,
Your life is a misery-haunted house.

8618. Love Your Soul More

Love your soul more and more.
Your soul will teach you
How to break ignorance-chains
And untie bondage-knots.

8619. Each Soul-Boat

Each soul-boat is anchored on earth
For a brief sojourn.
Then it goes back to its Heaven-harbour
To renew its God-manifestation-promise.

8620. Do Not Give Up!

Do not give up!
He who gives up
Never reaches the Satisfaction-Shore.
Who knows?
Each attempt of yours may bring you
Many exceptionally heart-enlightening
Heaven-prosperities.

8621. Can You Not Forget My Past?

O my present life,
Can you not forget my past
The way my future life
Will forget your own ignorance-torture?

8622. If Your Heart-Life Is Thirsty

If your heart-life is thirsty,
Then quench it immediately
With your soul’s all-loving promise
To God
And with His Eternity’s Immortality’s
Will-power.

8623. Impossible Plus Unnecessary

Since the Divinity of my soul
Has not changed,
How can the Eternity of my life
Change?
It is simply impossible
Plus unnecessary.

8624. Soulfully Wait

You have already seen
Your mind’s limitation-room.
Now what you are going to see
Is your soul’s vastness-kingdom.
Just soulfully and unconditionally wait.

8625. Delighted And Disgusted

Delighted, I say to God:
“Father, let Thy Will be done.”
Disgusted, God says to me:
“Son, let your temptation-greed fulfil itself.”

8626. A Sleeplessly Cheerful Commitment

Unless a seeker’s life
Is a sleeplessly cheerful commitment
To God-realisation,
His goal will always remain
A far cry.

8627. The Harvest Of God's Smile

Cry deep within
Unreservedly
If you want to collect
The harvest of God’s Smile.

8628. If You Can Never Regain

O my mind,
If you can never regain
Your lost simplicity,
How can you ever receive
God’s Satisfaction-Delight?

8629. Because You Want To Become

Just because you want to become
A true truth-seeker
And a perfect God-lover,
Yours cannot be the life
Of criticism and complaint-luxury.

8630. The Unparalleled Hardship

Because his inner life has learnt
To love the unparalleled hardship,
God is sharing with him
His Immortality-ownership.

8631. Incessant Disputes

I see incessant disputes
Between the impurity of my mind
And the aggression of my vital.
Alas, I am completely helpless!

8632. Divinity's Ease

There is no such thing
As an uneasy peace.
Peace is always
Divinity’s ease.

8633. To Obey At Every Moment

To obey at every moment
God’s transcendental Decisions
Is to continually manifest God-Satisfaction
In God’s aspiring creation.

8634. The Revelation Of What You Have

The revelation of what you have
May not please the world,
But the revelation of what you are
Is definitely going to teach the world.

8635. Your Old Friend, Ignorance

When uncomely thoughts
Walk into your mind,
You have to know
That your old friend, ignorance,
Is telling you he still wants to keep you
Under his firm jurisdiction.

8636. Confusion-Problems

If you want to solve
All the confusion-problems
Of your mind,
Then resolve to live
Inside the illumination
Of your heart-sky.

8637. The Heaven-Rejected Category

If you do not allow yourself
To be perfected by God’s Compassion-Light,
Then you will without fail
Belong to the Heaven-rejected category.

8638. Each Forward Step Of His

Each forward step of his
Is an upward and inward dedication
To the all-pervading God.

8639. There Are Higher Things On Earth

Do not expect.
Do not demand.
There are higher things on earth
Than expectation and demand.
Try a heart of gratitude
And a life of surrender.

8640. Your Despair-Station

Look what your expectation-train
Has done to you:
It has brought you speedily
To the helpless moans
Of your despair-station.

8641. The Morning Of God's Hour

The morning of God’s Hour
Is beauty’s smile.
The evening of God’s Hour
Is purity’s song.
The night of God’s Hour
Is divinity’s silence-flooded dance.

8642. An Impossible Task

If you allow your mind to doubt
And at the same time
Ask your heart not to be
A victim of despair,
Do you not think
That you are trying to succeed
At an impossible task?

8643. If Education Is Self-Cultivation

If education is a sophisticated
Mental exercise,
Then I do not need it
And I definitely do not want it.
But if education is self-cultivation
And longing for God-Satisfaction,
Then I badly need it
And I definitely want it.

8644. Your Reward

To see the gate of Heaven wide open
Is undoubtedly your reward
For having silver faith in yourself
And golden faith in your Lord Supreme.

8645. God's Perfect Home

When I love God,
God agrees with me more.
When God agrees with me more,
He tells me something secretly:
“My child, your heart has now become
My perfect Home.”

8646. A Detour

Why do you have to take a detour
On your spiritual journey?
Why?
Is it because
Your heart’s sincerity is not enough?
Is it because
Your mind’s determination is not enough?
Is it because
Your life’s integrity is not enough?

8647. My New Start

If I am not afraid to start again,
Then there is no reason
Why my Lord Supreme
Will not be compassionate enough
To help me with my new start.

8648. More Time, More Trust

If my mind can give God
More time
And if my heart can give God
More trust,
Then my Lord will give me
Not only a better
But a better than the best
Life of satisfaction-peace.

8649. The World-Heart Will Give You

The world-mind has given you
Countless troubles.
The world-heart will give you
Ever-transcending triumphs.

8650. I Shall Help You

I shall help you
Defeat your mind.
I shall help you
Discover more good qualities
In yourself.
I shall help you
See God singing and smiling
Inside your peace-flooded heart.

8651. If I Love God's Love

If I love God’s Love
For myself,
Then I am really great.

If I love God’s Love
For humanity,
Then I am really good.

If I love God’s Love
For God’s Revelation
In God’s own Way,
Then I am really perfect.

8652. Each Aspiring Heart

Each aspiring heart
Must be the hyphen between
Heaven’s forgiveness
And
Earth’s happiness.

8653. What Kind Of Faith Is It?

What kind of faith is it
That does not produce
Power in your mind,
Love in your heart
And peace in your life?

8654. Every Day You Will Have To Face

If every day you do not clean
Your mind-room,
Then rest assured that every day
You will have to face
Your life’s unavoidable doom.

8655. Develop The Capacity

If you want the capacity
To grant wings to your dreams,
Then you must develop the capacity
To see a beautiful soul-bird
In your life-reality.

8656. You Trust God

You trust God.
Therefore, God will always rescue you.
You need God.
Therefore, God has given you
His own heart-satisfying Meditation.

8657. Because God Is So Great

The human mind says
To the human being:
“God is so great.
Why and how should He speak to me?”

The divine heart says
To the divine being:
“Just because God is so great,
He is always ready to speak to me.”

8658. Just Because I Know

Just because I know
I am God’s child,
I can be happy.

Just because I know
God loves me,
I should be kind to myself.

Just because I know
God is playing
His Satisfaction-Game
In and through me,
I must make myself
Cheerfully perfect.

8659. God's Transcendental Dream

Do you think God will ever allow you
To destroy His transcendental Dream
Of the ultimate perfection
Of your earthly journeys
Which He has been nourishing for millennia?

8660. His Heart's Starlit Faith

A true truth-seeker and God-lover
Is he whose outer and inner life
Are powerfully anchored
Inside his heart’s starlit faith.

8661. The Transcendence Of Suffering

True, suffering has reality in it.
Who denies it?
But the transcendence of suffering
Also has reality in it.
Who can disbelieve it?

8662. To Suffer And Not To Speak

To suffer and not to speak
Is the sign of
Either a stupid fellow
Or a genuine seeker.

8663. A Great Idea

A great idea can change failure
Into success.
A good idea can transform human aspiration
Into God’s own transcendental Satisfaction.

8664. A Much-Needed Experience

When I fail,
I must not think
That God is not for me.
When I fail,
I must think
That God, out of His infinite Bounty,
Is giving me a much-needed experience
For my earth-bound life
And heavenward journey.

8665. It Was He Who Loved Ignorance

The closer a seeker is
To God’s Compassion-Light,
The clearer it becomes to him
That it was he who loved
Ignorance-night,
Not ignorance-night
That loved him.

8666. Its Life-Illumining "Yes"

At long last my life has found
Its life-illumining “yes”
In its surrender-heart
To God’s blessingful Vision-Eye.

8667. Have More Faith In Your Heart

Have more faith in your own heart.
Your heart is your own divinity-magnet
Which will pull you up
To God’s Transcendental Heights.

8668. Your Self-Examination

Take each problem in your life
As your self-examination,
And each self-examination
As your Lord’s Satisfaction
In your heart’s perfection-cry.

8669. How Can I Have A Sorrowful Life?

How can I have a sorrowful life
When my Lord Supreme does not have one?

How can I have a fearful heart
When my Lord Supreme does not have one?

How can I have a doubtful mind
When my Lord Supreme does not have one?

8670. What Else Is A Miracle?

God the Infinite needs
Man the finite.
What else is a miracle?

Man the finite can easily love
God the Infinite.
What else is a miracle?

8671. The Door

The door
That God’s Compassion-Height opens,
No one can shut.

The door
That God’s Justice-Light shuts,
No one can open.

8672. Your Selflessness

God is not
In your uselessness,
But God is always
In your selflessness.

8673. He Did Not Feel Sad

When God did not call him
On the phone,
He did not feel sad.
The very fact
That God had wanted to call him
In the first place
Was enough to flood his whole being
With joy.

8674. Your Life Will Never Fail

Your mind has already failed
In God’s Vision-Eye,
But your life will never fail
In God’s Compassion-Heart.

8675. I Am Personally Responsible

If I think that I am personally responsible
For the purification of my mind,
Then I am not mistaken.

If I think that I am personally responsible
For the transformation of my life,
Then I am not mistaken.

If I think that I am personally responsible
For the satisfaction of my Lord,
Then I am not mistaken.

But if I think that I am personally responsible
For the transformation of God’s creation,
Then I am totally, totally mistaken.

8676. God Himself Commanded Me

You want to know
If I consulted God
Before advising my mind to be pure
And my heart to be sincere.
I must say
That I did not consult God,
But God Himself commanded me
To speak to my mind
About its purity
And to my heart
About its sincerity.

8677. As Soon As You See

As soon as you see a gratitude-flower
In your heart
And a surrender-fruit
In your life,
Offer them to your Lord Supreme,
Not only cheerfully,
But also unconditionally.

8678. Not Possession But Progression

Nothing has to be taken as possession
Either in the inner life
Or in the outer life.
But everything should be taken
As soulful and powerful progression
In both the inner life
And the outer life.

8679. What My Mind Solely Needs

What my mind solely needs
Is God’s Justice-Length.
What my heart solely needs
Is God’s Compassion-Strength.

8680. The Outer Man Wants Success

The outer man wants success.
The inner man wants progress.
The supreme man wants self-transcendence.
And God wants Satisfaction
In His entire creation.

8681. God Loves Us

God loves us even after
We have failed Him.
We need God even after
We have realised Him.

8682. Music Of The Sound-Universe

The loud music of the sound-universe
Tells me what God does
For its perfection.

The sweet music of the silence-universe
Tells me what God is
For His own Satisfaction.

8683. If You Prolong Your Life

If you continuously prolong your life
Inside your mind-desert,
When and how can you expect to live
Inside your heart-garden?

8684. The Thirst Of Your Pure Heart

Since you are concerned only
With satiating your wild vital,
The thirst of your pure heart
Will always remain unquenched.

8685. The Pilot Of Human Fate

Frustration-sound
Is the pilot of human fate.
Illumination-silence
Is the pilot of divine fate.

8686. It Is Imperative To See

It is imperative to see
Where your mind is running,
Where your vital is sleeping,
Where your heart is dying.

8687. The Hesitation Of The Mind

The hesitation of the mind
Forces man to take
Unforgettable lessons
From the sorrow-teacher.

8688. His Heart's Feeble Gratitude

Each man
Can at least try to nourish
His own heart’s feeble gratitude
To God.

8689. Ask Your Life

Ask your present life
To forget your past life.
Ask your future life
To illumine your past life
And liberate your present life.

8690. The Poison-Shaft Of Envy

Although his life is pierced
By the poison-shaft of envy,
He is trying with all his heart
To carry envy to the Light of Infinity.

8691. Ignore And Deplore

The future ignores
The mighty past
And deplores
The failing present.

8692. Our Lampless Outer Universe

Our lampless outer universe
Will have to weep
Until earth’s sorrow
Becomes Heaven’s ecstasy.

8693. His Heart Of Self-Offering

His heart of self-offering
Is a stupendous smile
Amidst earth’s dark frowns.

8694. A Sad Memory

Each undivine thought
Leaves the seeker
With a sad memory.

8695. Control Your Animal Vital

Control your animal vital,
Or this vital of yours
Will be the annihilation
Of your heart’s aspiration-life.

8696. Unless A Seeker Prays

Unless a seeker soulfully prays
And selflessly meditates,
His ignorance-bound life
Will return like the revolving years.

8697. A Hallowed Thirst

Each aspiration-heart
And each dedication-life
Is a hallowed thirst
For the Lord Supreme.

8698. A New Satisfaction

If you can have a new hope,
God will give you a new heart.
If you can have a new heart,
God will give you a new oneness.
If you can have a new oneness,
God will give you a new satisfaction.

8699. Three Simple Lessons

God wants to teach me
Three simple lessons:
A soulful cry,
A beautiful smile
And a fruitful life.

8700. Truth's All-Perfecting Wings

When divine beauty
Penetrates the world,
Truth reveals
Its all-perfecting wings.

Editor's introduction to the first edition

This is the eighty-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

Sri Chinmoy receives a medallion honouring his service to the New York community from New York City Council President Paul O’Dwyer on 8 December 1975. In a letter to Sri Chinmoy following the presentation, O’Dwyer wrote, “I shall not easily forget the time Sri Chinmoy paid a call to my office … For a brief moment the simple reverence of Sri Chinmoy brought peace and tranquillity to a place of turmoil. Many visitors have come and gone, but none made such a lasting impression.”