9001. Do Give Me The Capacity

My Lord,
Do give me the capacity
To see the Divinity
In everything You do
And to grow into that Divinity
At every moment.

9002. Gratitude Flows From The Heart

True gratitude can never come
From the mind.
It has to flow from the heart
To the mind, vital and body
Until everything that we have and are
Is a sea of gratitude.

9003. My Golden Dreams

At night
I treasure my golden dreams.
In the morning
I put them immediately to work.

9004. A God-Loving Thought

Do not have the same unaspiring thought
Again and again.
Have a new thought this time,
A God-loving thought.

9005. Love Divine

Love divine
Is the fragrance-purity
That the Unknown uses
To bring to the fore
The hidden divinity
Of the known.

9006. I Shall Not Give Up

O human mind,
Your incalculable mischief-life
Is past correction.
Yet I shall not give up on you,
For I need your perfection-smile.

9007. Turn To God Alone

Since God is interested in human affairs,
Can you not humbly and gratefully
Turn to God alone
For His supreme Guidance?

9008. A Perpetual Possibility

Because I know
That my life is nothing but
A perpetual possibility,
With my heart’s lucid stillness
I try to advance progressively forward,
Always forward.

9009. If You Do Not Train Your Mind

If you do not train your mind,
There shall come a time
When your life will be forced
To strain itself
And you will be thrown
Into a disaster-sea.

9010. Excellent Intention-Flowers

It is not a hard task
For enthusiasm to grasp
The beauty and purity
Of excellent intention-flowers.

9011. The Pangs Of Mortality

There was a time when my life lived
In the blue dwelling of divinity.
Alas, now it is forced to endure
The pangs of mortality.

9012. Do Not Crave Ceaseless Glory

Do not crave ceaseless glory.
You will be forced to experience once again
The failure-life of your hoary past.

9013. Smiling Is Easier Than Crying

Smiling is easier than crying.
Therefore, I smile.
Loving is easier than smiling.
Therefore, I love.
Surrendering is easier than loving.
Therefore, I surrender.

9014. Save Yourself First

Save yourself inwardly first,
And then try to save others.
Only if you are saved inwardly
Can you become a perfect instrument
Of your Beloved Supreme
And a perfect helper of mankind.

9015. Make God Happy

There is only one way
In God’s entire creation
To be happy,
And that way
Is to make God happy.

9016. The Unbending Champion

When the unbending champion
Bows with humility,
He immeasurably adds to the glory
Of his previous victories.

9017. To Reap The Richest Harvest

To reap the richest harvest
Of my aspiration-heart,
I shall listen
To the silence-flooded Whispers
Of my Inner Pilot.

9018. Two Messages

What I needed was an orphan-cry.
This was the message
That I received from my Lord Supreme
Last year.

What I need is an emperor-smile.
This is the message
That I have received from my Lord Supreme
This year.

9019. Beware Of Outer Sympathy

Beware of outer sympathy,
For its immediate neighbour
Is attachment-net.

9020. His Hope-Life Is Shattered

He wanted to conquer
The ugliness of his mind.
He wanted his heart-garden
To grow Heaven-flowers.
He has not succeeded in fulfilling
Either desire.
Therefore, his hope-life is now
Completely shattered.

9021. A Pure And Self-Giving Heart

A pure and self-giving heart
Is always the key
To Truth’s transcendental Door.

9022. My Dreams

I come to earth
To offer my silver dreams.
Alas, earth does not
Care for them.

I go to Heaven
To offer my golden dreams.
Alas, Heaven already has
Plenty of them.

9023. Depending Entirely Upon God

Now that you are depending
Entirely upon God the Forgiveness,
God the Compassion
Will turn your evil scars
Into divine stars.

9024. I Have Already Informed My Soul

I have already informed my soul
That I shall from now on
Implicitly listen to its commands.

I have already informed my intellectual life
That I shall no longer
Continue my friendship with it.

9025. True Happiness

True happiness
Is not a mental hallucination.
True happiness
Is not a complacent feeling.
True happiness
Is the spontaneous feeling of joy
That comes from knowing
You are doing the right thing
And leading a divine life.

9026. A Joy-Distributor

A God-lover is a joy-distributor
In the inner world
And an ignorance-hunter
In the outer world.

9027. Aspiration Without Dedication

Aspiration without dedication
Is like a slow runner
Who knows where the goal is
But is bound to arrive shockingly late.

9028. Renew Your Spiritual Life

Every day renew your spiritual life.
Every day think and feel
That yours is the life
Of blossoming beauty and nourishing purity.

9029. Your Ultimate Vision And Reality

Every day offer yourself consciously
To your ultimate Vision and ultimate Reality.
Your ultimate Vision tells you
That you are of the Supreme.
Your ultimate Reality tells you
That you are for the Supreme,
The Supreme alone.

9030. You Are False To Yourself

God will reveal
All His Secrets to you
Only when He sees
That you are not false to yourself.
You are false to yourself
When you think you already are
Another God.
You are false to yourself
When you feel you can never become
Another God.

9031. You Are True To Yourself

You are true to yourself
When you constantly think and feel
That your heart’s cry
Comes from God alone
And your life’s smile
Goes to God alone.

9032. Two Seeds Are Not Germinating

The Supreme is extremely sad
Because two seeds He has planted inside you
Are not germinating:
Your life’s purity-seed
And your heart’s gratitude-seed.

9033. If You Want To Make God Happy

If you want to make God happy,
Every day pray and meditate
Lovingly,
Soulfully
And selflessly.

9034. Your Worst Quality

You enjoy playing hide-and-seek
With ignorance-night:
This is your bad quality.

You sometimes compromise
With ignorance-night:
This is your worse quality.

You surrender quite often
To ignorance-night:
This is your worst quality.

9035. Their Beauty Is Now Deeply Hidden

When God gave you
The body, vital, mind and heart,
They were so beautiful!
Alas, you have not properly used them.
Therefore, their beauty is now deeply hidden.

9036. To Use God's Gifts Properly

There is only one way
To use God’s Gifts properly,
And that is the way of obedience,
Inner and outer.

9037. Your Soul Listens To The Supreme

Your soul listens to the Supreme
Consciously and constantly.
That is why it always maintains
Its unparalleled beauty.

9038. What Obedience Is

The mind knows what obedience is,
But it wants to enjoy
The world of doubt
Infinitely more than the world of faith.

The vital knows what obedience is,
But it wants to enjoy
The world of destruction
Infinitely more than the world of dynamism.

The body does not even know
What obedience is.
Therefore, what can you expect of the body?

9039. The Heart's Immediate Descent

The heart at times cherishes
The mistaken belief
That the body, vital and mind,
In spite of their disobedience,
Live in the world of joy.
Alas, the pure oneness-heart
Is tempted to join them,
Only to begin its immediate descent.

9040. Your Soul Is Happy

Your soul is the only reality
That obeys the Supreme
Sleeplessly, breathlessly and unconditionally.
Therefore, your soul is happy
And will remain eternally happy.

9041. Another Name For Beauty

Happiness,
Not pleasure,
Is another name for beauty.

9042. Obey Your Lord Supreme

Obey your Lord Supreme
Inwardly and outwardly.
In no time you will grow into
His Beauty transcendental
And His Beauty universal.

9043. You Fail Again And Again

My sweet Lord,
Why do I fail again and again
In my spiritual life?

“My child,
You fail again and again
Because deep inside you there is something
That cleverly and secretly instigates you
To enjoy a failure-life
Infinitely more than a success-life.”

9044. You Are Not Meant To Fail

You are not meant to fail.
You are meant always to succeed and proceed.
When you stop cherishing
Your insecurity, jealousy
And feeling of unworthiness,
You are bound to succeed
As well as proceed.

9045. He Wants His Dream Fulfilled

Your Beloved Supreme wants you
To succeed,
For He desperately wants His Dream
To be fulfilled.

9046. The Courage Of The Vital

The courage of the vital
Is dynamism.
The courage of the mind
Is its acceptance
Of only pure thoughts.
The courage of the heart
Is its oneness with the Vast.

9047. No And Yes

No, no, no!
No to darkness,
No to ignorance,
No to unwillingness!

Yes, yes, yes!
Yes to soulful love,
Yes to sleepless devotion,
Yes to breathless
And unconditional surrender!

9048. His Psychic Courage Vanished

He prayed to God
For an iota of peace.
Alas, when God offered him
A boundless Peace-Flood,
His tiny heart became frightened,
And his psychic courage vanished.

9049. Happiness Will Ride With You

Along life’s pathway
Happiness will ride with you
In your chariot
If you smilingly and lovingly
Feed your heart’s aspiration-cry.

9050. A Living Dynamo

A spiritual Master is a living dynamo
Who at every moment
Inwardly and outwardly offers
Inspiration and aspiration in abundant measure.
The world has only to accept them.

9051. Music Is Meditation

Music is meditation
If it is sung soulfully by good singers
Or even sung badly by singers
With soulful hearts.

9052. A Good Leader

A good leader cares only for
The manifestation of the Supreme.
Therefore, he will always try to receive
New inspiration and aspiration
From the eagerness of those
Who are following him.

9053. Secretly Observe

Secretly observe
Those who are spiritually strong
So that by following their example
You can conquer your own weaknesses.

9054. His Sincere Progress-Life

His sincere progress-life
Came to a halt
When complacency powerfully entered
His inner and outer life.
Why did complacency enter?
Because he allowed his ego to make him feel
That he was perfect, absolutely perfect.

9055. When We Have Established Peace

The soul’s abundant peace
We have not brought into the heart.
What little peace the heart has
We have not brought into the mind.
And where is peace in the vital or body?
Only when we have established peace
In our entire being
Can there be peace all over the world.

9056. World-Division Will Be Transformed

What separates
The countries of this world?
The human mind.
When the mind develops
The divine love which the heart has,
World-division will be transformed
Into world-oneness.

9057. For Your Illumination

He is not meditating
For his own realisation.
That is already done!
He is meditating
For your illumination.

9058. Listen To Its Echo

Repeat God’s Name
During your highest meditation
And listen to its echo
Deep inside your heart.

9059. A Beautiful Golden Boat

Imagine a beautiful Golden Boat
Sailing on a river
Towards a Golden Shore.
You are in that Boat, O seeker,
Sailing on that very river,
And eventually, without fail,
You will reach that Golden Shore.

9060. As Long As You Can Remember

As long as you can remember
That you have done
And will continue to do
Something great and good for God,
You will be able to maintain
Constant joy and enthusiasm
In your inner life.

9061. These Hands Must Obey

These hands must obey my Lord Supreme.
These eyes must obey my Lord Supreme.
This mind must obey my Lord Supreme.
This heart must obey my Lord Supreme.
Everything that I have
And everything that I am
Must obey my Lord Supreme.

9062. You Remain In The Mind

He remained in the psychic consciousness
Through years of higher education.
You proudly remain in the mind,
Though you are totally uneducated.

9063. Who Is Strong?

Who is strong?
He who is sincerely happy
In his spiritual life.

9064. Someone From Whom We Came

There is Someone from whom we came
And to whom we are going back,
Consciously or unconsciously,
Slowly or speedily.

9065. Just Run Towards God!

If you are awakened,
Just run towards God!
You will not actually leave
Anyone behind,
For soon others will also wake up
And run towards the same Goal.

9066. Today I Am Running

Today
I am no longer sleeping,
I am no longer crawling,
I am no longer walking.
Today I am running
Faster than the fastest
Towards my destined Goal.

9067. Start Your Inner Race

Just start your inner race
Without waiting to see
Who else is ready to run with you.
When others see you have reached your goal,
They will also be inspired to run.

9068. When You Have A Smiling Face

When you have a smiling face
And a loving heart,
You allow your Master to live
In Heaven itself.
When your face is sad
And your heart is miserable,
You force him to live in a place
Worse than hell.

9069. If You Want To Be Happy

If you want to be happy,
See yourself always
As a four-year-old child
Playing inside the Heart-Garden
Of your Beloved Supreme.

9070. God's Hope And God's Promise

Because God Himself
Is an Eternal Child,
He has infinite hope.
God’s Hope and God’s Promise
Both live inside
His chosen children.

9071. God Cannot Do Anything

God cannot do anything
For those who think
That they are too old to begin.
But He can and will do everything
For those who feel
That they are eternally young.

9072. If You Feel You Are A Child

If you feel you are a child,
You will not have to run after purity.
Purity will run after you.

9073. Spiritual Energy Must Be Channelled

Spiritual energy is like the Ganges
Flowing from the Himalayas.
It must be channelled
If it is not to be wasted.

9074. A Fanatic

I am more than ready
To be called a fanatic
So long as I can remain
In the Supreme’s Boat.
For it is only the Supreme’s Boat
That can safely carry me
To my Satisfaction-Goal.

9075. A Crazy Heart

You do not need
Any other human being
To tell you that you are crazy.
Your own mind
Quite often tells your heart
That it is crazy to compel you
To get up so early to meditate.

9076. He Did Not Follow You

He did not follow you
On your spiritual journey,
But because he was your friend,
His love and concern compelled him
To help you in every way.

9077. Your Soulful Service

Your soulful service requires
Both your inner life’s
Aspiration-heart
And your outer life’s
Dedication-hands.

9078. Each Moment Is An Opportunity

Each moment is an opportunity
To think of God
And to feel God’s Presence.
In everything that you do,
Feel that you are touching
The very Breath
Of your Beloved Supreme.

9079. Suffering The Same Pain

Because he knew that his Beloved Supreme
Was suffering from earth’s excruciating pangs,
He felt it was his bounden duty
To shoulder some of his Beloved’s responsibility
And suffer some of the same pain.

9080. No Excuse

True, your Lord Supreme is asking you
To think first of your own self-discovery,
But that is no excuse to allow
Meanness towards others
To enter into your life in any way.

9081. If You Do Something Wrong

If you do something wrong,
I shall not feel miserable.
I shall only pray to the Supreme
To illumine you
So that you will not make
The same mistake again.

9082. They Will Come To Join You

If you are always thinking
Of those who are not aspiring,
Neither you nor they
Will ever approach perfection.
Strive always to remain in the room
That is illumined.
A time will come when those
Who are in darkness
Will come to join you there.

9083. Surrender Your Dear Ones

The Supreme is taking care
Of each of His children
In a very special way.
Surrender your dear ones to the Supreme
In the same way you have surrendered
Your own life to Him.

9084. He Cast The Temptation-Net

After he jumped out of
The Boat of the Supreme,
He cast the temptation-net
To try to take others with him,
So that they, too, would not reach
The Golden Shore.

9085. Accept And Use His Capacity

He who has inwardly asked you
To serve Him
Is acting in and through you
With His own divine Capacity.
If today you accept and use
His Capacity,
Then tomorrow you will be able to receive
Even more capacity
To become His more perfect instrument.

9086. Be Grateful To Your Soul

Always be grateful to your soul,
For it is your soul that has inspired you
And led you
To walk along the sunlit road of aspiration.

9087. Your Own Illumination-Room

First discover your own illumination-room
And dwell in it all the time.
Only then will you be able
To welcome inside it
Others who seek your help.

9088. His Only Friend

Yesterday he saw his Master
As a friend.
Today he is feeling his Master
As his best friend.
Tomorrow he will realise his Master
As his only friend.

9089. Who Is Your True Family?

Who is your true family?
Your spiritual brothers and sisters
Who are following the same road,
Eternity’s Road,
To the same supreme Goal.

9090. The Hand Of The Supreme

Look!
The Hand of the Supreme
Is beckoning us:
“Come, My children, come!
The Hour has struck for you.”

9091. He Found His True Joy

He left those who were still sleeping
To grow in Eternity’s lap
And found his true joy and satisfaction
In serving those
Who wanted to run like deer
Towards the destined Goal.

9092. If You Can Always Remember

If you can always remember
The Compassion, Concern and Love
That God has given you,
Then no hostile force can ever stand
Between you and your Beloved Supreme.

9093. Continue To Perform Soulfully

Continue to perform soulfully
The work which God has given you.
To serve God is the greatest honour,
Even if the world does not recognise it.
Then, one day, even the world will admit
That you, and nobody else,
Served God faithfully
In His own Way.

9094. My Foolish Human Nature

My foolish human nature
Thinks that nothing I get in life
Is meaningful,
While everything that others get
Is supremely meaningful.

9095. A New Life-Awakening

Winter does not last forever.
When spring arrives,
Winter fades away.
Even so, attacks by the negative forces
Cannot last forever.
They are eventually succeeded
By a new life-awakening.

9096. The Sunshine Of Your Heart

Remain always in the sunshine
Of your heart
Until you see that its illumining rays
Have also flooded your mind.

9097. Are You For God?

You say you are discouraged
Because you are still far away
From the Golden Shore.
I say it does not matter
Whether you are near your Goal,
But only whether you are for God
And will always be for God.

9098. His Undivine Mind Followed Him

He entered into the Himalayan caves
For solitude and peace
Only to discover that his undivine mind
With its impure thoughts
Had accompanied him even there.

9099. One Less Imperfect Being

I do not worry about others.
If I can reach my perfection-goal,
At least there will be
One less imperfect being
On this earth.

9100. Only Love In My Heart

From now on
I shall have only love
In my heart,
And this love will be only
For my Beloved Supreme.

Editor's introduction to the first edition

This is the ninety-first 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

Hernan Padillo, Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, presents Sri Chinmoy with a special certificate for his participation in the pre-inaugural ceremonies of the first Pan American Masters Track and Field Championships held in San Juan from 30 August to 1 September, 1980. The Mayor told Sri Chinmoy, “Your Inaugural Meditation here at the first Pan American Masters Championships was an invaluable moment of peace and oneness for all the participants and spectators.”