Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, part 90
8901. A Series Of Daring Visions
A series of daring visions:I shall love the world
The way my Lord Supreme
Loves the world.
I shall become as perfect
As my Lord Supreme
Wants me to be.
I shall never, never miss
My God-appointment-hour.
8902. The Spiritual Message Of Tennis
The spiritual message of tennis:Love, serve
And finally surrender
To the Supreme in the winner.
The loser who cheerfully surrenders
To the Supreme in the winner
Becomes himself a real winner
In the inner world.
8903. My Heart Is Meant For Crying
My heart is meant for crying,Crying for oneness, constant and inseparable,
With my Lord Supreme.
My soul is meant for smiling,
Smiling in oneness, constant and inseparable,
With my Lord Supreme.
8904. When My Soul Identifies
When my soul identifiesWith my body, vital and mind,
It embraces suffering.
When my soul identifies
With its own highest Reality,
Easily it can remain
Far beyond the realm of sorrow.
8905. God's Monument Of Delight
If you can sincerely feelThat your mind is an instrument of God,
Then God will definitely turn your mind
Into His own Monument of Delight.
8906. Adversity May Hide
Adversity may hidePossibility-buds,
But adversity can never hide
Inevitability-flowers.
8907. Be Wise And Accept
Although you do not careTo have anything from God,
God wants to give you His Kingdom.
Although God does not need
Anything from you,
He wants to give you His Throne.
Be wise and accept them
With a gratitude-heart.
8908. Establish Your Friendship
God is more than eagerTo cancel your teeming weaknesses
If you are ready to cancel
Your friendship with fleeting faith
And establish your friendship
With abiding and soulfully childlike faith.
8909. A Life Of Unanswered Questions
Your life will remainA life of unanswered questions
Because your heart does not keep alive
The Message of God’s Love.
8910. You Will Be Able To Escape
Sooner or laterYou will be able to escape
Your mind’s stupidity-sea,
But your life will never
Be able to escape
God’s Compassion-Sun.
8911. Its Cynical Eye Of Distrust
Alas,This world of ours
Takes enormous pride
In its cynical eye
Of dark distrust.
8912. Your Life Is Begging For Happiness
Your mind thinksNothing is worth believing.
Your heart feels
Nobody is worth loving.
No wonder your life
Is constantly begging for happiness
Here, there and everywhere.
8913. A Very Strange Life
His is a very strange life:He soulfully keeps his heart
In the company of God,
While he deliberately keeps his mind
In the company of man.
8914. False Friends
It is good to have friends,But be careful of those
Who try to lean very heavily on you
And sap every drop of your spiritual energy.
Are they friends?
No, they are just leading your soul
To a life of bankruptcy.
8915. Each Uttered Word
Each uttered wordCan be a revealing experience.
Each unuttered word
Can be a rewarding experience.
8916. My Soul Is Smiling Blissfully
My mind is crying pitifullyAt the confusion-shore.
My heart is crying sleeplessly
At the frustration-shore.
My soul is smiling blissfully
At the perfection-shore.
8917. My Lord Is Postponing His Visit
Impurity,Stop biting my mind!
Ingratitude,
Stop killing my heart!
Because of you two
My Lord is postponing His Visit.
Needless to say, I am miserable.
8918. Only The Chosen Few
Only the chosen fewWill not be subdued
By the ruthless torture
Of inhuman earth-life.
8919. Absolutely No Difference
There is absolutely no differenceBetween his pleasure-life
And his unholy mind.
8920. You Are Now Fully Ready
You are now fully readyTo accept God’s Vision for your life,
Because you feel you have been tortured enough
By the agony of your long-lingering
Pleasure-life.
8921. The Corruption Of Your Mind
Do not allow your pure flower-heartTo inherit the shameless corruption
Of your blind and wild mind.
8922. A Conscious God-Manifesting Machine
His hands are concern-machines.His eyes are compassion-machines.
His heart is an illumination-machine.
And he himself is a conscious
God-manifesting machine.
8923. If I Love God
If I love God,Then what is wrong in expecting God
To help me?
If I love my ignorance,
Then how can I blame my ignorance
For embracing me?
8924. The Key To Your Success
Not your mind’s Himalayan excellenceBut your heart’s sleepless surrender
Is the key to your inner and outer success.
8925. A Self-Giving River
Your vision-light will haveNo reality-delight
Unless your life becomes
The constant flow
Of a self-giving river.
8926. Attraction And Aversion
Attraction unconsciously bindsThe human in us.
Aversion consciously strengthens
The inhuman in us.
8927. A New Future
Anyone who will listen to his soulWill see a new future
Blossoming in the heart
Of his tomorrow’s happiness.
8928. The Ignorance-Child
Rock the ignorance-child to sleep.Otherwise,
This child will, without fail,
Destroy your love of God
And your oneness-joy with God.
8929. Completely Lost
The world is completely lostBetween your manifested stupidity
And your unmanifested divinity.
8930. The Secret Of Success
The secret of successIs an outer commitment
And an inner enlightenment.
8931. A Man Of Integrity
If you want to be a man of integrity,Then what you need
Is a heart of morning purity
And a life of evening simplicity.
8932. The Futility-Night Of Ignorance
Ego-boosting praiseAnd a self-defeating life
Will eventually be found living together
Inside the futility-night of ignorance.
8933. A Life Of Illumination-Day
I was what I was:A mind of phantom-moment.
I am what I am:
A heart of aspiration-hour.
I shall be what I shall be:
A life of illumination-day.
8934. The Silence That Illumines
Mine is the silenceThat hurts my Lord Supreme.
My Lord’s is the Silence
That illumines my life.
8935. Wrong Seeing
Wrong seeingIs torturing the world.
Wrong thinking
Is ruling the world.
8936. Your Meditation-Passport
When the time arrives for youTo leave this life for another life,
If you wish to go
To a beautiful and soulful world,
Then you will need a valid passport,
And that passport is your meditation
Here on earth.
8937. You May Not Be Able To See Him
Do not take your Lord Supreme for granted.When you go to the other world,
You may not be able to see Him
At your sweet will
If you have not sincerely tried to satisfy Him
During the years and years He offered you
Countless opportunities on earth.
8938. An Unfortunate Master
He was an unfortunate Master.He had poor instruments.
But still he continued to serve his Beloved Supreme,
Only waiting for the day
When his fate would change
And he would have new and excellent instruments
To manifest the Vision
Of his Beloved Supreme.
8939. Your Wandering Thoughts
You are sitting at the feetOf your Master,
But your wandering thoughts
Are taking you away from him
Farther than the farthest!
8940. To Invite Your Spiritual Death
How to invite your own spiritual death?Make friends with
Self-satisfied complacency.
How to prove you are a real God-seeker?
Climb higher and dive deeper
To transcend your teeming weaknesses.
8941. Precious Chances
Many precious chancesHave passed away.
Alas, my heart is still without
A soulful cry
And my life is still without
A fruitful smile.
8942. Do Not Expect
Do not expectAnything from Heaven.
Do not demand
Anything from earth.
8943. Heaven's Brightest Morning
Heaven’s brightest morningShines only on the minds
That live far away from
The doubt-country.
8944. Miracles Are Everywhere
Miracles are everywhere to be foundWhen I surrender my infinite desires
To my immortal aspirations.
8945. Late In Almost Everything
I was late in almost everything.I did not mind.
I am late in almost everything.
I do not mind.
I shall be late in almost everything.
I shall not mind.
But I was not late,
I am not late
And I shall never be late
In one thing:
My awareness of
My Lord’s Compassion infinite
Since He began His Vision-Reality-Game
In and through my Heaven-free soul
And my earth-bound life.
8946. Be It Known
Be it knownTo the whole world
That I am no longer
Desire’s friend.
8947. Do You Know?
Do you knowThat you have deliberately enchained
Your soulful heart?
Perhaps not!
Do you know
That you have completely forgotten
Your fruitful soul?
Perhaps not!
8948. Become A Universal Light
I do not mindIf you want to become
A missionary,
As long as you first become
A universal light
And a transcendental delight.
8949. I Sincerely Feel Sorry
O my mind,I most sincerely feel sorry
That you have been suffering
So much from yourself.
8950. The Illumining Beginning
The longing for perfectionIs the illumining beginning
Of God’s God-Satisfaction in man.
8951. Ask Truth
Ask Truth if you are correct.Do not ask anybody,
Not even yourself,
If Truth is correct.
8952. Meditate Now!
Meditate now,At this very moment!
Who knows?
Your soul may not get
Another opportunity to inspire you
In this lifetime.
8953. God Loves To Live
God the BeautyLoves to live
Inside my heart’s cry.
God the Power
Loves to live
Inside my life’s smile.
8954. Opportunity Asks
Opportunity enthusiasticallyAsks me to run.
Ability cautiously
Asks me to crawl.
8955. The Same Mistake
Every day I makeThe same stupid mistake:
I do not care to speak to God
Inwardly or outwardly,
Prayerfully or selflessly.
8956. Infinity's Eternal Truth
A brilliant mindMay know where the truth is,
But a pure heart
Unmistakably and lovingly
Embodies Infinity’s eternal Truth.
8957. A Few Speeches Undelivered
O my mind,Can you not leave a few speeches
Undelivered here on earth?
I would be so happy;
The entire world would be so happy;
Perhaps, eventually, you too!
8958. No Substitute
As there is no substituteFor a gratitude-heart
In my inner life,
Even so, there is no substitute
For a surrender-mind
In my outer life.
8959. The Land Of Soulful Action
The human mind enjoysLiving in the land
Of perpetual preparation.
The divine heart enjoys
Living in the land
Of soulful action.
8960. Danger Will Meet You
You are swayedBy the winds of emotion.
Therefore, danger will meet you
In the morning,
Disaster
In the afternoon
And destruction
In the evening.
8961. See Divinity In Everything
If you sincerely want to make progress,Try to see divinity in everything.
If you don’t want to make progress,
You need not see divinity in anything,
Not even inside
God’s own transcendental Perfection.
8962. My Purity's Love-River
I may not be succeeding,But I am soulfully trying
To bathe all human beings
In my purity’s love-river.
8963. O World
O world, although I am in you,Since I am not of you,
I am not for you.
Because I am of God,
I am not only with God
But also for God.
8964. Each Divine Thought
Each divine thoughtIs a new window
Which a God-lover can open
Onto a realm of God’s
Self-Transcendence-Delight.
8965. Immortality's Satisfaction-Smile
His heart of consolation,His soul of illumination
And his life of perfection
Have the stamp of Immortality’s
Brightest satisfaction-smile.
8966. Your Shameless Ingratitude
You say that you are all alone,But I see within you and without you
God’s Compassion-Flood and Forgiveness-Sea.
Such being the case,
Are you not your shameless ingratitude?
8967. We Worship The Elusive Flame
Alas, we worship the elusive flameInside our mind
Instead of the illumination-sun
Inside our heart.
8968. Each Other's Company
A mind of wisdom-lightAnd a heart of vision-delight
Breathlessly enjoy
Each other’s company.
8969. The Abyss Of Lifeless Nothingness
Self-delusionIs the root cause
Of your continued existence
In the abyss of lifeless nothingness.
8970. God Is Right Inside
God is away, far awayFrom my sound-prayer.
God is near, very near,
In fact, right inside,
My silence-meditation.
8971. The Footsteps Of Faith
My heart shall sleeplessly followThe footsteps of faith
So that it can safely and swiftly reach
The Palace of my Lord Supreme.
8972. His Soul Knows Who He Is
His mind does not know who he is.Yet it tries to describe him.
His heart does not know who he is.
Yet it tries to reveal him.
His soul knows who he is.
Therefore, his soul and his God
Are taking care of him
All the time.
8973. God Wants You To Be Sincere
Do not pretendTo be good.
God wants you to be sincere.
Your sincerity-drops
And God’s Satisfaction
Will, without fail, meet together.
8974. Looking For The Unknown
You are looking for the unknown.Someday you are bound to meet with it.
Will you be happy then?
No, you will not!
You will be happy
Only when you meet with the Unknowable,
For that Unknowable Reality
Is your Beloved Supreme.
8975. A Life Of Surrender
A life of surrender is always neededEither to please the soul of Heaven
Or to please the body of earth.
8976. Yours Is The Heart That Longs
You will be happy only whenYours is the heart that longs
For the Transcendental Smile
And yours is the life that longs
For the Universal Cry.
8977. Promise, Promise
Promise, promise,How beautiful you are,
How powerful you are!
Each time my soul comes down,
It brings you
With a higher and deeper inner conviction
To manifest my Lord Supreme.
8978. A Child Of God
My mind is a sleepingChild of God.
My heart is a crying
Child of God.
My soul is a self-giving
Child of God.
And I am a dreaming
Child of God.
8979. Shoplifting In The Ignorance-Store
You think you are very wise,But you are not.
You are just a clever man.
What you have learnt is nothing
But how to shoplift in the ignorance-store.
8980. Live In Today's Joy
God does not want youTo relearn yesterday’s sorrow.
He just wants you
To learn and live in
Today’s joy.
8981. Only One Answer
There are countless questionsAbout God,
But only one answer:
God is His own Eternity’s
Satisfaction-distribution.
8982. The Less The Human Mind Knows
The less the human mind knowsAbout ignorance-night,
The better.
The more the divine heart knows
About God’s Vision-Eye,
The better.
8983. If You Hide Your Aspiration-Cry
If you hide your aspiration-cryFrom your own heart,
Then who is going to look for it?
Nobody!
No, not even God,
The Compassionate One.
8984. There Is Nothing Wrong With You
There is nothing wrong with you.What you need is only
A little more soulful effort
To satisfy your Eternity’s Inner Pilot.
8985. My Tearful Failure-Cry
Why do you ask me to repeatMy frustration-life, O earth?
Do you get malicious pleasure
In my tearful failure-cry,
Or is it all due
To your brutal indifference?
8986. My Heart Is Suffering
My heart is sufferingFrom chronic pain,
Not because my mind
Does not love God,
Not because my mind
Does not need God,
But because my Lord Supreme
Has tried in vain, time and again,
To illumine and immortalise my mind.
8987. You Are Abandoning God
You are abandoning GodIn order to make friends
With doubt’s insecurity-cry.
Ask your soul if you are doing
The right thing.
Ask your soul if there is any way
It can awaken you.
8988. Your Unconsidered Action
Your unconsidered actionIs a well-preserved complacency
That will meet in the end
With the wildest destruction-frown.
8989. I Am My Mind's Sound-Fear
I am my mind’s sound-fear.I am my heart’s silence-tear.
I am my life’s helpless beggar.
Yet I long to be a faithful instrument
Of my Lord Supreme.
8990. Another Heart
My Lord must give His worldAnother heart,
So that this new heart can capture
His Aspiration-Vision
And His Perfection-Manifestation.
8991. If You Sing Heedlessly
O God-seeker,If you sing heedlessly
The glory of the world’s desire-life,
Then you are painting disaster
And nothing else
In your Heaven-forsaking and earth-bound life.
8992. One Fragile Hour
If a seeker can remainInside his aspiration-heart
For one fragile hour,
He can stem the flood
Of all his yesterday’s sorrows.
8993. Your Soul's Unmeasured Flames
If you can treasureYour soul’s unmeasured flames,
God will definitely ask you
To become a choice instrument
In His Vision-Reality-Manifestation-Game.
8994. A Heart Flooded With Peace
A self-giving seekerHas a heart flooded with peace,
And this heart can easily outlive
The world’s inner war
And outer destruction.
8995. Do Not Listen To Your Mind!
Do not listen to your mind!If you listen to your mind,
You will not see the Golden Boat
That plies between your soul-shore
And your God-Shore.
8996. His Only Rival
There was a timeWhen adversity
Was his heart’s only rival.
Now prosperity
Is his life’s only rival.
In the future he himself
Will be his only rival.
Himself he will transcend
Not in his own way,
But in God’s Way.
8997. The Song Of Newness
When my heart singsThe song of newness,
My life becomes
The dance of fulness.
8998. There Is No Difference
There is no differenceBetween today’s desire
And tomorrow’s shame.
There is no difference
Between today’s aspiration-cry
And tomorrow’s realisation-smile.
8999. Chained To Mortal Fame
If you allow yourselfTo be chained to mortal fame,
How can you play with God
His immortal Game?
9000. Surrender Your Common Sense
Surrender your common sense:That you are only a human being.
Surrender your earthly goal:
Name and fame.
Receive immediately what God has for you:
His Eternity’s Immortality-Crown.
Editor's introduction to the first edition
This is the ninetieth 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 soulfully dedicates this book to his beloved brother Mantu, whose picture appears on the cover. The photograph of the poet has been superimposed alongside it.