9701. I Am Great, I Am Good

I am great,
Not because I sincerely pray to God,
But because God, out of His boundless Bounty,
Has given me the unparalleled opportunity
To live in His Vision-Eye.

I am good,
Not because I soulfully meditate on God,
But because God, out of His boundless Bounty,
Has given me the unparalleled opportunity
To live in His Compassion-Heart.

9702. If You Are Leading A Human Life

If you are leading a human life,
Ordinary and unaspiring,
Then expectation is your morning illusion
And evening frustration.

If you are leading a divine life,
Simple, sincere and pure,
Then aspiration is your morning joy
And evening peace.

9703. A Beautiful Day Has Dawned

O Lord Supreme,
A beautiful day has dawned for us.
Please tell us what we should do
During the entire day.

“My sweet children,
You are now praying to Me
And meditating on Me
Devotedly and soulfully.
The entire day try to think and feel
That you are eternally of Me alone
And eternally for Me alone.”

9704. How Can My Mind Think Of You?

My Lord,
How can my mind think of You
When it is suffering so much?

“My child,
Tell your mind
That it does not have to think of Me.
It only has to think of My Peace.”

9705. How Can My Heart Feel You?

My Lord,
How can my heart feel You
When it is suffering so much?

“My child,
Tell your heart
That it does not have to feel Me.
It only has to feel My Bliss.”

9706. How Can My Vital Know You?

My Lord,
How can my vital know You
When it is suffering so much?

“My child,
Tell your vital
That it does not have to know Me.
It only has to know My Oneness.”

9707. How Can My Body Have Faith In You?

My Lord,
How can my body have faith in You
When it is suffering so much?

“My child,
Tell your body
That it does not have to have faith in Me.
It only has to have faith in My Compassion.”

9708. I Only Want To Know

I do not want to know
How I have failed
And why I have failed.
I only want to know
How I can succeed,
For I know that I shall definitely succeed.
When?
Soon, very soon!

9709. It Will Not Take Much Time

Since your heart is
Exceedingly beautiful,
It will not take much time
For you to make your life
Supremely fruitful.

9710. Then I Shall Claim You

My Lord Supreme,
I have given You
My aspiration, dedication and surrender.
What else do You want from me
So that I can be a perfect instrument
Of Yours?

“My child,
Be constantly pure in your aspiration.
Be constantly humble in your dedication.
Be constantly sincere in your surrender.
Then I shall claim you
Not only as a perfect instrument of Mine
But also as My own, very own.”

9711. Your Unwillingness To Change

My Lord Supreme, I know, I know,
My insincerity, my impurity
And my doubt hurt You.
Is there anything else that hurts You?

“Yes, My child, there is something else.
Your unwillingness to change your nature
Hurts Me infinitely, infinitely more
Than your insincerity, impurity and doubt.”

9712. I Shall Every Day Give You

“Children, My dear children,
I shall every day give you
What I have:
My Infinity’s Love.
I shall every day give you
What I am:
My Eternity’s Compassion.”

Father, dear Father,
We shall every day sleeplessly give You
What we have:
Our insecurity-lives.
We shall every day soulfully give You
What we are:
Our gratitude-flames.

9713. My Sincerity Tells Me

My sincerity tells me
God is.
My purity tells me
God does.
My receptivity tells me
God is for me,
For me always.

9714. The Easiest Way To Please You

My Lord Supreme,
Do tell me the easiest way
To please You.

“My child, from today on
Think of yourself infinitely more
Than you think of others,
Until the time comes
When I ask you
To think of Me infinitely more
Than you think of yourself.
This is the absolutely easiest way
To please Me.”

9715. To Become A Perfect Instrument

To become a perfect instrument
Of your Beloved Supreme
You need only two things from Him daily.
During the day
You need His Compassion
So that in the battlefield of life
Your searching mind can succeed
And your crying heart can proceed.
During the night
You need His Forgiveness
Because unconsciously, if not consciously,
You make friends with ignorance-sleep.

9716. Give And Become

Soulfully give what you have.
You will realise
That you have given nothing.
Consciously become what you are.
You will realise
That you have become everything:
A perfect instrument
Of your Beloved Supreme.

9717. Something Special

Not only every day but at every moment
Your Lord Supreme does something
Very special for you.
When you are lethargic,
He stands behind you
And pushes you forward.
When you are energetic,
He stands before you
And pulls you forward.

9718. My Heaven-Bound Journey

Since I have taken my duties
Seriously and soulfully
And I have fulfilled my obligations,
Inner and outer,
Nobody will be able to delay
My Heaven-bound journey.

9719. It Is Unmistakably Obvious

It is unmistakably obvious
That nothing great, nothing good
And nothing abiding
Can ever breathe outside the love-citadel
Of one’s own inner being.

9720. His Heart He Spends

His heart he spends in discovering
The beauty, purity and divinity
Of love.

His life he spends in manifesting
The promises of his Heaven-free
Soul-reality.

9721. Nobody Can Stop Me!

Nobody can stop me!
In the inner life
My heart is my own revolution.
In the outer life
My mind is my own determination.

9722. Your Heart's Door

Keep your heart’s door closed.
You will see that your own success
Is no success at all.

Keep your heart’s door open.
You will see that the success of others
Is also your success.

9723. If You Cannot Expand Your Heart

If you cannot expand your heart
And establish your oneness
With your highest Self,
Then in God’s Eye
You will be totally lost.

9724. He Was Dearest To God

He was dearest to God
Because he offered to help others
Without being requested.

He was dearest to God
Because when others requested his help
He felt they were carrying
Nothing other than God’s Message.

9725. Your Heroic Effort

The determination in your heroic effort
Will permeate your mind and heart
Even after your success or failure
Is long forgotten.

9726. To Please God In His Own Way

To please God in His own Way
You know what you are supposed to do:
Just live in the heart
And not in the mind.

9727. The Joy In Your Hearts

Whenever you do something
Great and good,
Your Master feels he has done it.
Whenever your Master does something
Great and good,
Try to feel you have done it.
Then the mutual joy in your hearts
Will last eternally.

9728. The Dark Ignorance-Tunnel

The dark ignorance-tunnel
May seem endless to you,
But he who has already passed through it
Knows it is only a matter of time
Before you will also emerge
Into the effulgence of God’s infinite Light.

9729. The Golden Shore Is Waiting

Although you are experiencing
Repeated defeats and failures,
Do not give up!
Always remember
The Golden Shore is waiting
For nobody else but you.

9730. The Nature Of Divine Friendship

The nature of divine friendship:
If one friend loses,
The other’s oneness-heart will break.
If one friend wins,
The other’s oneness-heart will make him feel
It is he who has won.

9731. The Ultimate Victory

Although God is prepared to fail
Every day, every hour and every minute
When he deals with our human nature,
He knows that His is the ultimate Victory.

9732. Cherish Only The Divine Fear

Human fear is absolutely useless!
Why be afraid of anybody or anything?
Cherish only the divine fear
That you may do something
Which will bring suffering
To your Beloved Supreme.

9733. If You Can Identify

If you can identify
With your friend’s achievements,
You will share his happiness.
If you cannot identify
With your friend’s achievements,
You will act like his worst enemy
In the inner world.

9734. You Will Never Be Blessed

If you cannot conquer
Your outer greed,
You will never be blessed
With an abiding inner hunger.

9735. The First Rung

Determination is the first rung
On the evolution-ladder,
Not only for unaspiring people
But also for those
Who have wholeheartedly accepted
The spiritual life.

9736. A Disgrace To His Heart And Soul

Because he was failing badly
In his life-examination,
He was a disgrace not only to his soul
But also to his heart,
Which was sincerely aspiring
To make him a good truth-seeker.

9737. I See Failure All Around

Although I see failure
All around me,
I shall always strive to maintain
My inner oneness with God.

9738. If You Have The Capacity

If you have the capacity
To please God for one day,
Then, without fail,
You have the capacity
To please Him always.

9739. Your Empty Heart

Your empty heart
Is the beginning
Of your silence-delight-experience.

9740. Purity's Oneness-Light

I have only one prayer,
And that prayer is simple and constant.
What do I pray for?
Purity’s oneness-light
Within and without
At each human breath.

9741. A Representative Of God

If you want to realise who you are,
Then start acting like
A representative of God
And not a representative of ignorance.

9742. Do Not Separate Them

The real in you
And the unknowable in you
Are always the same.
Do not separate them
If you want to live
In the oneness of self-perfection
And God-satisfaction.

9743. Positive Energy

Curiosity cannot create
Positive energy.
Sincerity can not only create
Positive energy,
But can also offer it to others.

9744. If You Do Not Renounce

If you do not renounce
Your negative thinking habits,
Then the darkness-forces will announce
Their destruction-victory inside you.

9745. What Can You Expect?

What can you expect
From poor God
If you wilfully resist
His unconditional Compassion-Arrival?

9746. Struggle Against Darkness!

Struggle!
Struggle vehemently against darkness!
Your soul, the blue bird inside your heart,
Desperately wants from you
The transformation of your earth-life.

9747. Your Mind's Resentment

Be careful!
Your shameless mind’s
Heartless resentment
Can indefinitely delay
Your soulful heart’s
Supreme enlightenment.

9748. Since Your Vital Is Not Ready

Since your vital is not ready
To give up the idea of hiding,
How can you expect the world
To give up the idea of exposing you?

9749. Your Unwilling Mind Knows

Your unwilling mind knows
What resentment is.
Your loving heart knows
What oneness is.

9750. He Was For Those

God granted him
His own Self-Transcendence-Smile
Because he was unreservedly for those
Whose needs came to his notice.

9751. Your Hope Of Peace

Since yours is a calm and serene mind,
Your hope of promoting world peace
Shall not remain an unfulfilled dream.

9752. Beyond Imagination

I hate your complex mind
Beyond my imagination.
I love your simple heart
Beyond your imagination.

9753. Not To God's Taste

If God’s strictness
Is not to your taste,
Remember that your life’s barrenness
Is not to God’s taste.

9754. To Accomplish Something Great

If you really want to accomplish
Something great in life,
Then be quick to battle against ignorance
And, if needed, exercise your divine authority.

9755. An Unconditional God-Lover

He who is an unconditional God-lover
Is a spark of God’s special Light
And the centre of God’s special Love.

9756. He Has Satisfaction

He has satisfaction.
He is perfection.
Therefore, he has fulfilled
His two Himalayan commitments.

9757. Your Heart's God-Vision

The entire length
Of your life’s God-manifestation
Is founded upon the strength
Of your heart’s God-vision.

9758. A True God-Lover's Stillness

When I pray,
I start with a beggar’s nothingness.
When I meditate,
I start with a true God-lover’s stillness.

9759. No Real Agreement

There can be no real agreement
Between what my vital wants
And what my heart needs.

9760. Your Faith Has Strength

Do you know
That your faith has enough strength
To carry even your impurity to God?

9761. Your Aspiration-Light

Your aspiration-light
Must always stand above
Your previous desire-night
In its determination-strength.

9762. My Divine Willingness

My human nothingness
Does not change me.
My divine willingness
Can and does change me.

9763. My Crying Heart

My crying heart
Is an inexperienced child.
My doubting mind
Is an experienced fool.

9764. The Great Sleeper

O my body,
Everybody knows that you are
The great sleeper.
Can you not prove to the world
That you are something else as well:
A sacred temple of the evolving God?

9765. Two Things I See

When God’s Breath touches my sleep,
Two things I immediately see:
God’s Compassion-Tree
And
My own gratitude-plant.

9766. Your Only Reality-World

You have danced in the desire-world
For many, many years.
Do you not believe in
The ecstasy-breath of newness?
Can you not see
That you have a free access
To the aspiration-world as well,
And that this aspiration-world
Is your only reality-world?

9767. The Lion Deep Within

Dive deep within.
You will see a lion
In its own lion-poise.
The day is fast approaching
When this lion will roar and roar,
Announcing the Victory
Of your Lord Supreme.

9768. Total Strangers

Anxiety and worry,
You are total strangers
To my aspiring life.
I can be of no help to you!
Therefore, why do you not leave me?

9769. When You Speak Ill Of Others

When you speak ill of others,
You have already exposed
Your own inner weakness
To the outer world.

9770. A Dreamer Of God-Dreams

Unless I become a sleepless dreamer
Of God-Dreams,
My heart shall remain a fount
Of orphan-tears.

9771. A Strong Curiosity

The mind says to the heart,
“I am not ready
And I may never be ready
To pray to God,
But I have a strong curiosity
To see God.
Therefore, will you not take me
In your boat
And pilot me to the Golden Shore?”

9772. When I Disappoint My Soul

When I disappoint my soul,
I not only weaken my life
But also sadden
My Lord’s Compassion-Heart.

9773. No Match

If you are not sincerely aspiring,
Then remember,
The unkindness of the world
Is no match for your own unkindness
To your all-loving soul.

9774. What You Think Of Yourself

Tell me, my friend,
What you think of yourself,
Not what you know about yourself,
For that is what
Will definitely inspire me.

9775. If I Do Not Prevent

If I do not prevent
Discouraging thoughts from attacking me,
That means I am allowing
Someone to threaten me
With a taut and strangling rope.

9776. Truth's Great Friend

Since truth has repeatedly told you
That you are its great friend,
Why do you need falsehood
To befriend you?

9777. The Universal Disease

Everybody knows
What the universal disease is:
Doubt.
But does anybody care
For the real medicine,
Or for any medicine at all?

9778. A Very Pleasant Entertainment

The enlightenment of a seeker’s life
Is nothing other than
A very pleasant entertainment
In God’s Heart-Garden.

9779. A Leisure Activity

To love the purity of silence-delight
Is to divinely enjoy
A God-manifesting leisure activity.

9780. My Unmistakable Conviction

I always belong
At my Lord’s Forgiveness-Feet:
This is my absolutely
Unmistakable conviction.

9781. I Appreciate Your Mind

I appreciate your mind
Because it sincerely pursues.
I admire your heart
Because it richly achieves.

9782. Truth Is Illumination

My vital does not want
To hear the truth from you,
For it feels that truth is punishment.

My heart wants to hear
Only the truth from you,
For it feels that truth is not punishment
But illumination.

9783. God Is An Insider

God is not an outsider.
God is an insider,
Closer than the closest,
The only one who protects
And illumines you.
Why, then, are you afraid of Him?
Why are you so unkind to Him?
Why do you not love Him?
Why do you feel
That you do not need Him?

9784. God Is No Intruder

Who told you
That God is an intruder?
He is not!
He is only the greatest Perfection-Lover
And Satisfaction-Promoter.

9785. The Meaning Of Human Life

The ultimate meaning of human life
Lies in the sleepless thrill of self-giving
To the world of aspiration-heart.

9786. A Long Talk With God

I had a long talk with God.
He told me two most important things
About the mountain-smile
Of my aspiration-heart:
It has conquered the division-mind
Of the world,
And it has welcomed God the Doer
Secretly
And God the Lover
Openly.

9787. What You Want To Be

What you have is a blundering mind.
What you are is a forgotten hope.
What you want to be
Is the question of questions,
Which God alone can answer.

9788. If Your Mind Loves Sincerity

If your mind loves
Indisputable sincerity,
Then your heart will quickly become
The master of your life.

9789. An Unforgivable Insult

O my mind,
My heart is so well-liked
By my Lord Supreme!
Therefore, do you not see that it is
An unforgivable insult
When you criticise
My pure and self-giving heart?

9790. I Wanted To Admire

I wanted to admire
The beauty of Infinity.
Alas, my mind’s incapacity
And my mind’s impurity
Have forced me to surrender
To strangling Eternity.

9791. Success-Progress-Stories

Since you are quite comfortable
With your mind’s frequent inconsistencies,
How can anybody teach your life
Success-progress-stories?

9792. Unless I Become A Positive Voice

Unless I become a positive voice
To myself,
My heart shall remain
An utterly disappointed hope.

9793. God's Satisfaction-Delight

Where is God’s Compassion-Light?
It is inside the sound
Of my prayer-dream.

Where is God’s Satisfaction-Delight?
It is inside the silence
Of my meditation-mountain.

9794. He Shrouded His Life

His spiritual life was stung
By a piercing criticism-arrow.
Therefore, he deliberately shrouded his life
In top secrecy.

9795. The Cemetery Of Yesterday

You want to know today
Where my teeming doubts are.
Well, I have found a suitable place
For them to stay.
They are in the cemetery of yesterday.

9796. Two Ecstasy-Wings

A vast inspiration flashes across my mind:
I shall weep until my heart-bird
Receives from Above
Two ecstasy-wings.

9797. His Own Obedience-Life

Now that he has achieved perfection
In his own obedience-life,
His heart is swimming
In the sea of delight.

9798. Death And Its Friend

Man’s love for the unnatural life
And for the finite realities
Has created death
And its good friend, ignorance.

9799. Beauty Prays

The outer beauty prays to God
For more beauty.
The inner beauty prays to God
For more responsibility.

9800. The Sunshine That Crosses My Path

Hope lights the candle of delight
Inside the temple of my silence-heart today.
Once more I am able to claim my Lord Supreme
As my own, very own.
From today on I shall be
The sunshine that crosses my path.

Editor's introduction to the first edition

This is the ninety-eighth 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 Captain Jack McDonell, Commanding Officer of the Naval Air Station at Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, with a few of his books on 3 May 1975. Later Sri Chinmoy conducted a meditation in the station chapel.