Part I — Soulful tributes

1.

You are the most beloved
Of the chosen few
To be garlanded
By Father-God in Heaven
And Mother-God on earth
For your supremely unparalleled contributions
Towards changing the face and fate
Of the suffering world-community.

2.

You are your soul's
Transcendental summit.
You are your heart's
Universal door.
You are your mind's
Invincible courage.
You are your life's
Sleepless sacrifice.

3.

Two Germanys have emptied
Their streaming tears
And blinding fears
Inside your vastness-oneness-heart.

4.

You are a supreme optimist.
Quite often you take the risk of losing.
But your Inner Pilot
Every day helps you win the victory-banner
In the battlefield of life.

5.

There comes a time
When you desperately need everybody.
But do they all come?
Unfortunately not!

Only your confidence comes.
It comes to the fore,
And it guides and leads you
To the Golden Shore.

6.

Not one but many
Most significant lessons
All human beings
Are learning from you.

To name only a few:
Never too late
To do the right thing;
Never too late
To be the right person;
Never too late
For the transformation of the mind,
For the satisfaction of the heart
And for the perfection of human life.

7.

Yours is the mind
That never suffers
From determination-decay.

Yours is the heart
That refuses to hear
The whispers of failure-night.

Yours is the life
That never falls
Into the abysmal abyss of self-pity.

8.

Peace-hunger
Is your inner name.
Peace-server
Is your outer name.

9.

You are telling
Each and every citizen
Of the world
That what we desperately need
Is inner grace
And not limitless space.

10.

In God's supreme
Satisfaction-Directory
Your compassion-height
And justice-light
Are listed first.

11.

You are the tallest pillar
Of earth-transformation.
You are the brightest light
Of Heaven-manifestation.

12.

The crying heart of humanity
Desperately needs you.
The smiling eye of Heaven
Proudly blesses you.

13.

Every day
You sail your confidence-boat
Across your life-river.

14.

Every day
The seeker-sprinter-heart in you
Speedily and gloriously
Crosses the delight-finish-line.

15.

Every day
You tell the world,
"When it comes to self-giving,
Never hesitate!"

16.

Every day
You tell the world
That confidence blossoms
Only in oneness-garden.

17.

Every day
Your adversaries ruthlessly
Criticise you.
Do you know why?
Because their hope-progress-life
Has come to a virtual halt.

18.

Every day
Your own faith-umbrella
Saves you
From the doubt-poison-shower
Of your foes.

19.

Every day
The earth-aspiration-climber
In you journeys
To an uncharted horizon.

20.

Every day
Your mountain-summit wisdom-light
Illumines all the corners
Of the globe.

21.

Every day
The questioning world
Likes to have you available
For your perfect answers
To its teeming problems.

22.

Every day
Your luminosity-soul
Is eager to save the world
From the sharp dagger of despair,
And also to clear away
The world's thickest ignorance-fog.

23.

Every day in the inner world
You are a pioneer world-society-builder,
And in the outer world
You are a most convincing satisfaction-enhancer.

24.

Every day
Your heart-song-fragrance
Is inimitably illumining humanity's mind,
Inspiring humanity's heart
And fulfilling humanity's life.

25.

There is not a day
When negativity-thief
Dares to steal away
Your sincerity-purity-joy.

26.

What each and every human being
Needs on earth
Is a confidence-fulfilment-rainbow-heart
Like yours.

27.

You are your heart's
Perpetually fathomless poise.
Therefore, the storms of disappointment
Cannot prevent you
From piloting your life-boat
To the Golden Shore of the Beyond.

28.

The sacredness
Of your sleepless willingness-promise
To bring about a new world,
A world of long-lost trust,
Is high Heaven's peerless boon to mankind
Through you.

29.

Crushed hopes of past generations
You are deleting
From the tablets
Of the human mind.

Beauty's hope,
Duty's promise,
Divinity's fulfilment
You at once embody and reveal
To the world at large.

30.

You are telling the world
Never to give up.
The transformation of the human mind
Is definitely taking place —
Slowly, steadily and unerringly.
Your own compassion-eye and compassion-heart
Are radiant witnesses.

31.

Two are the never-failing
Benefactors of humanity:
Your mind's wisdom-light
And your heart's oneness-height.

32.

The superb dancer in you
Most delicately dances
The intricate dance of diplomacy.

33.

You are telling the whole world
That there is no yawning gulf
Between the mind's willingness
And the heart's capacity.

34.

In your inner life
You are indeed a giant step
In the evolution of
Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.

35.

Secretly and sacredly
You wiped the ceaseless tears
Of two German worlds.

You are destiny's individual farmer,
Harvesting a bumper crop
For the collective world.

36.

You have most gloriously exhibited
The teamwork between
A truth-searching mind
And a love-manifesting heart.

37.

You are teaching the world
How to say good-bye
To the mind's lingering sighs
And the heart's anguished sobs.

38.

You are hope-aspiration-cries
Of the inner world.
You are promise-fulfilment-smiles
Of the outer world.

39.

Your heart cradles
Aspiration.
Your mind cradles
Determination.
Your life cradles
Manifestation.

40.

You have transformed
Humanity's smallest hopes
Into divinity's widest scopes.

41.

Your mind is always receptive to new ideas,
Your heart to new ideals
And your life to new goals.
The most significant
Of all your goals
Is a universal oneness-heart-home.

42.

Your heart's inner silence-patience-seeds
Have silenced the outer pride-sound
Of many world figures.
Needless to say,
Their defeat is no humiliation,
But an illumination —
Not only for them,
But for all nations.

43.

You tell the world:
Progress, progress, progress!
Progress within, progress without.
That progress is not and cannot be
A prisoner of time.

44.

The Pilot Supreme
Of the Soviet Union
Tiptoes and whispers:
Perestroika —
To see the world with a new mind,
To be the world with a new heart,
To serve the world with a new breath.

45.

While green in age,
You began to launch
Your aspiration-rocket;
You began to explore
Your vision-reality-frontier.

46.

You tell the world
That as the human mind
Tends to be a problem-maker,
Even so, the divine heart
Is a problem-solver.

47.

Berlin Wall collapse:
Your compassion-heart
Was the cause;
The German smile
Was the effect.

48.

Eternity's silence:
This is indeed
Your aspiration-heart.

Infinity's sound:
This is indeed
Your dedication-life.

49.

You have just one simple
And spontaneous question:
O world of my heart and soul,
Are you feeding your need
Or are you feeding your greed?

50.

Within,
An aspiration-flower grows
In every thought of yours.
Without,
A dedication-fragrance spreads
In every action of yours.

51.

The world-transformation-capacity
Lies in the climbing heart-cries
Of each human being.
Indeed, you are a radiant example.

52.

Your compassion-heart
Leans towards the loser
To console,
And then soon, very soon,
To extol.

53.

Unwavering sincerity
Is not the order of the day.
Therefore, hard is it
For all and sundry
To swim along with you
In your sincerity-flowing
Thought-streams.

54.

Fast you think.
Faster you act.
Fastest you become.
Therefore, you are never
Battered and tossed
By the waves of self-doubt.

55.

Smilingly you touch
The head of impossibility.
Carefully you feel
The heart of impossibility.
Powerfully you transform
The life of impossibility
Into definite practicality.

56.

Again and again you fly
The banner of peace-victory,
Even in hopelessly irreconcilable
Hours of hostility.

57.

Unreservedly you please
The inner world of aspiration.
Therefore,
Eventually the outer world of dedication
Will lovingly and adoringly accept you.

58.

In the inner world
Your Lord is
God the Compassion-Height.

In the outer world
Your Lord is
God the Justice-Light.

59.

A sleepless sufferer
Of Eternity's ceaseless cries
You were.
And now a fathomless
Freedom-smile-bestower
You are.

60.

The oneness-lover in you
Tells the citizens of the world
That indifference subtracts
And criticism divides,
But concern adds
And self-giving multiplies.

61.

Ignorance-earthquake
Is not only continuous,
But also dangerous
To the extreme.
How to stop it?

Confidently you appear
With the following solution:
From now on let us live
In our affection-compassion-flooded
Heart-nest
And not in our division-suspicion-intoxicated
Mind-palace.

62.

Alas, while you want to do away with
The armour of destruction,
Some countries enjoy being laden with
The armour of suspicion.

63.

Your mind
Is inspiring the world
To run a non-stop
Willingness-marathon.

Your heart
Is inspiring the world
To run a non-stop
Concern-marathon.

Your life
Is inspiring the world
To run a non-stop
Interdependence-marathon.

64.

Indifference is the beginning
Of the inner war.
Suspicion is the beginning
Of the outer war.

With your wisdom-flooded mind
And compassion-flooded heart,
You are sending inner war
And outer war
Into exile.

65.

Before you became
The pilot of the world-peace-boat,
This world of ours
Was sinking deeper and deeper into despair.
And now, what do we see?
A most powerful hope-light-dance!
Long live, long live,
The fondness-child of Stavropol!

Part II — You are your heart's wisdom-light

"My heart is in your hearts"

My heart is in your hearts. My life is in your lives. You see in me your own growing confidence and the end of separation-night. I see in you my soaring fulfilment and the perfection of our oneness-fulness.

1.

Similarly, the perfection-lover in the wise President Gorbachev says: "Well, suppose we made mistakes. So what? It is better to rectify them than sit and wait." President Gorbachev illumines his adversaries instead of destroying them. In this inimitable way, he and his friends, both new and old, walk, march and run towards the same destination: a oneness-peace-world.

"Two Mahatmas"

Two Mahatmas: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi of India and Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev of Russia.

India's freedom-champion Mahatma Gandhi teaches, "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."

Many world figures over the years have ruthlessly spoken ill of President Gorbachev. With his indomitable mind and his compassionate heart, the supreme Pilot of the Soviet Union has smilingly forgiven them. Slowly and steadily a peaceful life of harmony is blossoming in the heart-garden of Mother-Earth.

"The ideal of communism"

The ideal of communism is to work according to your capacity and to receive according to your necessity. Can this theory have any equal? The Vedic seers of the hoary past had this kind of unparalleled vision for world-harmony, world-peace and world-fulfilment.

Theory is one thing, but practice can be completely different. It is the practice that affects human life. Alas, alas, Stalin's practices destroyed the beauty and fragrance of the communism-flower. But President Gorbachev reminds us with his direct and to-the-point statement that the very idea of communism is not something to be feared or hated:

2.

Some blame you because you do not want them to remain where they are: inside pitch-dark caves. Others blame you for not wholeheartedly helping them run at their fastest dream-speed.

Those who do not want to budge an inch are fervently requested by you to move forward and bathe in the beauty and purity of tomorrow's dawn. Those who are over-eager but have no capacity to run the fastest along the world-progress-road, are compassionately and powerfully cautioned by you to stop indulging in meaningless fantasies.

3.

Dauntlessly you have been wrestling with the unwillingness of your relentless adversaries. To our great joy and satisfaction, their doubting minds are disappearing. Needless to say, your heart of magnanimity will help them bury their deplorable mistakes in oblivion. And then illumining understanding and fulfilling interdependence shall reign supreme.

4.

Each individual wants to be the boss. You tell them there is an easy way to accomplish that objective — to double and redouble their heart's aspiration-cries and their life's dedication-smiles.

Your inspiration-heart consoles the needy sooner than the soonest. You tell those who fall that they do not have to fall any more. You tell those who are pushed that they will not be pushed any more. You tell those who are eyeless that they do not have to remain visionless any more. You tell all people that their aspiration-purity, dedication-duty and satisfaction-prosperity are unmistakably interdependent.

5.

As ill luck would have it, some world-figures still want to enjoy the supremacy of their nuclear power in the peace-dreaming age. And what do you want? You want sincerely, sleeplessly, plus immediately, the unmistakable and final end of the arms race.

6.

I am keeping my heart-door completely open. O world-citizens, do come in and claim me as your own. I am for you, sleeplessly for you.

Part III — Raisa Maximovna Gorbachev

Raisa, O rainbow-queen

Raisa, O rainbow-queen
Of culture-light,
The soul-wisdom-giver
Of summit-height.

Indeed, a thunder-roar
And flower-fragrance,
An effulgence-glow,
Empty of ignorance.

Russia's seed, Raisa,
A cosmos-tree,
Snow-white fondness, oneness
And fulness free.

My Soviet sisters

My Soviet sisters,
Come to the fore!
Hide not, hide not;
Run to the shore!

Lag not behind,
Lag not behind!
Treasures in us
The world must find.

Not in front, not behind

Not in front, not behind,
But always side by side,
You two enjoy oneness
And complete fulness-ride.

First

First
In inspiration-light
To the President.

First
In aspiration-height
With the President.

First
In encouragement-might
For the President.

First
In fulfilment-delight
With the President.

First
Russian child
Admired, adored and loved
By the four corners
Of the globe.

"I respect all faiths"

Raisa Maximovna Gorbachev, O Sister of the Soviet Union, your momentous utterance runs: She who respects all faiths is a supreme seeker. To believe in the natural goodness of people is in itself a high attainment. Each human being has to have faith in something. Without faith one cannot exist. Your faith is in the goodness of human beings. For us that very thing is God, for God is all Goodness. Therefore, you do believe in God.

Now President Gorbachev comes to our assistance with a confident step forward, inward and upward to raise the consciousness of humanity. Compellingly, he declares:

"I am casting the vote"

I am casting the vote for the one whose mind is justice-light. I am casting the vote for the one whose life is dedication-delight. Who is he? Who else, if not my husband-partner?

"Fathomless compassion-heart"

The measureless earthquake-destruction-sufferer is being consoled by the fathomless compassion-heart.

"This is what we should be doing."

On seeing a display of restored watches and clocks in Geneva in 1985, Raisa Gorbachev noted, "This is what we should be doing, restoring things instead of destroying things."

With your enlightened mind and compassionate heart, you are teaching the world how to swim in the sea of wisdom-light.

Part IV — First meeting

1.

At his first meeting with the author, President Gorbachev warmly tells him, "I have heard so much about you and your work. We must work together for world peace." The meeting took place on 29 May 1990 at the Canadian Governor-General's Residence in Ottawa.

Sri Chinmoy offers his utmost gratitude to President Gorbachev, stating, "You are the master-key of the global heart. You have liberated the world from bondage-night, and you have brought to the fore the inner freedom which we need so desperately. Before, people were in darkness, and now you have brought light to them."

Sri Chinmoy reads the words to the song he has composed for President Gorbachev. Visible on the back of the pamphlet is a photograph of the President with Mrs. Gorbachev, which the President later noticed with great joy. Looking on is President Gorbachev's interpreter.

At the same meeting, R. David Hamilton, a student of Sri Chinmoy, presents President Gorbachev with a book of letters from prominent Canadians expressing their deepest appreciation for the Soviet leader's work for world peace.

"O master-key of the global heart"

The following are introductory words on a tape recording of songs dedicated to President Gorbachev, sent to him the evening of his first meeting with the author.

29 May 1990

Dear President Gorbachev,

O master-key of the global heart, this evening you bestowed upon me and my two Canadian student friends your blessingful affection, compassion and oneness. For that, our hearts are all gratitude to you.

With my soulful gratitude-heart I am offering these songs to you. The first one is written by me, and the subsequent ones are from your own momentous utterances.

Dear President, your heart of compassion and affection I shall most devotedly treasure. Indeed, as I wrote in my song, "Gorbachev, Gorbachev, all-where the peace-blossom-tree," you have brought to the fore the inner freedom of humanity. You have liberated much of the world from bondage-division-night. Therefore, both the ascending cries of humanity and the descending smiles of divinity you embody.

May the Soviet Union and Canada, in your oneness-heart, divinely grow and supremely glow.

Yours in the Almighty Father
in Heaven,

Sri Chinmoy

Politics and spirituality¹

Spirituality
Can enter into politics.
Spirituality
Does not dismiss politics.

Politics can claim spirituality.
Likewise,
Spirituality can claim politics.
Politics and spirituality
Are branches of the same life-tree,
And this life-tree
Is all oneness-peace.

Spirituality is the heart.
Politics is the body.
These two are at once
Interdependent
And indispensable to each other.

The body is the flower.
The heart is the fragrance.
The flower charmingly reminds us
Of our universal beauty.
The fragrance breathlessly reminds us
Of our transcendental divinity.

Gorbachev the flower
Our outer world unsurpassably loves.
Gorbachev the fragrance
Our inner world unreservedly treasures.

Part V — Song-offerings

The master-key of the global heart

Freedom-grower, Freedom-giver, Freedom-delight!
The liberator-sun of the world's division-night.
Love-peace-fountain, Mikhail,
Earth and Heaven's oneness-thrill.
Gorbachev, Gorbachev, all-where the peace-blossom-tree.
The master-key of the global heart, bondage-world free.

Songs composed to quotes by President Gorbachev

WE CAN EITHER CLIMB TOGETHER

"We can either climb together or fall into the abyss."

— President Mikhail Gorbachev

ACT ACCORDING TO THE TRUTH

"Act according to the truth. This is the most difficult science."

— President Mikhail Gorbachev

WE HAVE CAST OFF MANY FETTERS

"We have cast off many fetters, and like a bird set free, we won't return to our cage."

— President Mikhail Gorbachev

MAN IS BEGINNING TO EXPLORE

"Man is beginning to explore the galaxy. But how much remains undone on earth?"

— President Mikhail Gorbachev

Rastrapati Gorbachev

/Rastrapati Gorbachev Gorbachev Gorbachev/
/Dyuloker bhuloker tumi mahananda rab/
/Himaloy netabir paramer jayamala/
/Duniyar sabakar pantha kariyacho ala/

President Gorbachev, Gorbachev, Gorbachev,
You are the supreme nectar-delight-sound
Of Heaven and earth.
You are the Himalayan hero-leader,
And God's Victory-garland you are.
You have illumined humanity's road
Leading towards the Goal supreme.

Russia Bharat

/Russia Bharat Bharat Russia/
/Sathe sathe chale hasiya hasiya/
/Ek bhab ek mati ek gati/
/Chidakashe ati druta unnati/

Russia-India, India-Russia,
Smiling and smiling,
Together they are marching forward,
Together they are flying upward,
Together they are diving inward.
With oneness in willingness,
With oneness in inspiration,
With oneness in one goal,
With faster than the fastest
Progress-speed,
They are flying
In their oneness-heart-sky.

"An Indian saying"

President Gorbachev said, "An Indian saying has it that a road on which people meet each other halfway is the shortest road. Our two peoples have been following exactly such a road for decades."

Beloved President unparalleled,
The Indian heart loves your vastness-heart
The Indian mind needs your illumination-mind.
The Indian life treasures your magnanimity-life.

Moscow

Moscow, Moscow, Moscow, Moscow!
Power within, above, below;
World-charm, world-sound, world-attention;
Pilgrim-souls' sweet, fond affection.

Russia

/Russia Russia Russia Russia/
/Uthecho jagiya timir nashiya/
/Punorai bishwas bhagabane/
/Nijere ditecho tar jaya gane/

Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia!
You are awakened,
Having destroyed darkness-night.
Once more you have regained
Your complete faith in God,
The Lord Absolute Supreme.
And now you are sleeplessly
Offering your very existence,
Singing and singing
His Victory-Songs.

East Germany no more!

To President Gorbachev: the liberator of East Germany.

East Germany no more!
West Germany no more!
Division-night has bowed
To oneness-fulness-core.

No more the Berlin Wall

No more the Berlin Wall.
Fondness-oneness-equal.

Long twenty-eight years

Long twenty-eight years
Of suffering-nights,
And now the German sky enjoys
Ecstasy's flights.

Behold, nowhere barrier

Behold, nowhere barrier,
Nowhere barrier!
A German soul
Is a oneness-warrior.

Gan geye ekatar hath

/Gan geye ekatar hath dhare sabakar/
/German Germany chale aji/
/Sathe ache abanir alomoy taranir/
/Paramananda kripamoy majhi/

Clasping hands,
Today the Germans and Germanys
Are singing their oneness-song.
The Boatman of infinite Compassion
And infinite Delight
Has given them shelter
In His Heart's
Illumination-Boat Supreme.

One life became two lives

One life became two lives.
One hive became two hives.
One life, one hive again,
Silenced division-pain.

Part VI — Inspiring luminaries

Well-wishers of the Soviet Union

Many are the well-wishers of the Soviet Union. Some are sincere, while others are not. But the Holy Father, whose heart is pure sincerity and whose life is blessingful concern, offers these words of encouragement and appreciation to President Gorbachev:

President Gorbachev, the universal oneness-light-seeker and the universal oneness-might-inspirer, responds:

Together

Together we shall sail.
Together we shall weather the storm.
Together we shall reach
The Golden Shore of the Beyond.

United Nations

O body of the world,
O soul of the world,
In you the silence-nest
Of cosmic oneness-rest.
Yours is the nectar-role
To end earth's sombre dole.
Our souls desire to flow
In your duty's vision-glow.

The present Pilot of the United Nations-boat, Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, called President Gorbachev's historic U.N. speech of 7 December 1988 "remarkable for its vision and far-reaching ideas."

In his turn, President Gorbachev spoke about the U.N. with glowing admiration. Unfortunately, not many have highly appreciated the United Nations. But President Gorbachev said about the U.N. and its Secretary-General, "God is on your side at the United Nations."

These few precious words will forever shine in the heart-history of the United Nations. Only a supreme seeker can feel the necessity of spirituality and God at the United Nations. From his aspiration-heart and dedication-life, President Gorbachev reveals to the entire world what the United Nations actually stands for in the annals of history.

Prime Minister Thatcher of Great Britain

Prime Minister Thatcher of Great Britain describes President Gorbachev as the first Soviet leader to speak openly and freely about almost any subject. In a gesture of confidence rarely seen in the political world, she says, "If he told me he was going to do something, I would implicitly accept his word."

When Prime Minister Thatcher returned to Great Britain from her trip to Russia in the Spring of 1987, she stated, "This has been the most fascinating and invigorating visit I have ever made abroad as Prime Minister." She called President Gorbachev "a man of destiny."

Prime Minister of Canada, Brian Mulroney

Prime Minister of Canada Brian Mulroney's high intuition and deep conviction are supremely significant as he speaks of President Gorbachev:

"He's clearly in command, and I think it augurs well for the future. I was very impressed."

Chancellor Helmut Kohl of Germany

The magnanimity of President Gorbachev's heart shines not only in the world of aspiration, but also in the world of manifestation. The supreme Pilot of the Soviet Union not only says the right thing, but also does the right thing at the opportune time. To Chancellor Helmut Kohl of Germany, he is a heart of consolation-assurance.

To quote Chancellor Kohl, "Mr. Gorbachev assured me unmistakably that the Soviet Union would respect the right of the German people to decide to live in one state."

The President of France, Francois Mitterrand

The President of France, Francois Mitterrand, courageously shares his luminous inner conviction about President Gorbachev with the rest of the world:

"You are the first leader from the Soviet Union to have recognised a political entity within this European Community."

One Europe

One Europe. The supreme visionary in President Gorbachev brings to the fore the uncharted brightness and fulness of tomorrow's Europe: Strasbourg, France
6 July 1989

1990 Nobel Peace Prize

President Gorbachev smiles powerfully upon hearing the news of winning the Nobel Peace Prize for his foreign policy.

Telegram from Sri Chinmoy
October 15, 1990

President Gorbachev
The Kremlin
Soviet Union

Our beloved President Gorbachev,

Today the soul of the world is swimming in the sea of delight. You deserve the Nobel Peace Prize infinitely more than anybody else has ever deserved or will ever deserve. In your oneness-heart the peace-loving world feels its supreme security.

A humble admirer of yours,

Sri Chinmoy

O Peace Nobel Laureate, Gorbachev!

O Peace Nobel Laureate, Gorbachev!
You are peace-lovers' oneness-heartbeat-throb.
Gorbachev, peace-blossoms are your inner gifts.
Gorbachev, freedom-joys are your outer lifts.

O Pilot Supreme of the Soviet Union!

O Pilot Supreme of the Soviet Union!
Your country's hunger-torture-dominion
Soon, very soon your bleeding heart shall end.
Your soul is the world's fondness-fulfilment-friend.

President Gorbachev's all-embracing soul

President Gorbachev's
all-embracing soul invites:

Come, come,
O each and every peace-loving citizen
Of the world!
Together we can.
Together we shall.
Together we must.

Editor's note

Captions without attribution in the book are the author's inner interpretation of the photograph.