Immortality's Dance

1. Desire-life, destruction-life

A desire-life is too young
To know what true life is.

A frustration-life is too ignorant
To know what true compassion is.

A destruction-life is too wild
To know what God-perfection is.

2. When I was in Heaven

When
I was in Heaven
I was told
That God did not need me.

When
I was on earth
I had the feeling
That God needed me constantly.
At least that is what I personally felt.

3. The robbers

Who has robbed my soul?
Ignorance-thief.

Who has robbed my heart?
Darkness-thief.

Who has robbed my life?
Desire-thief.

4. Master and disciple

Risks he takes
For his Master's God-manifestation.

Ignorance-sea he drinks
For his disciple's God-realisation.

5. Conscience

Conscience is not a tender heart.
Conscience is the truth-bearer
Of a glowing heart
And
A fulfilling life.

6. Preparation

To escape from life
Is to prepare for death.

To conquer death
Is to prepare for God-satisfaction in Heaven
And God-manifestation on earth.

7. Divine conquerors

To love is to conquer
Without danger.

To serve is to conquer
Without pride.

To surrender is to conquer
Without error.

8. A common error

Temptation is a common error
In the life of a human being.

Suspicion is a common error
In the life of a human mind.

Fear is a common error
In the life of a human heart.

Indifference is a common error
In the life of a human soul.

9. Confusion

His desire to know
Who has created this world-suffering
Has confused his mind totally.

His desire to know
Who is not God-Light and God-Truth
Has confused his heart unmistakably.

10. I left the world

I left the world of darkness
Not because I was too wise
But because I was too weak
To transform it.

I left the world of light
Not because it was too powerful
But because I found its supreme necessity
Was to expand through me
To the wider world.

11. We are great

You neither reward nor punish;
Therefore
You are great.

He neither examines nor rewards;
Therefore
He is great.

I neither punish nor ignore;
Therefore
I am great.

12. Outer voice, inner choice

His outer voice
Ruthlessly frightens him.

His inner voice
Unreservedly enlightens him.

His outer choice
Triumphantly binds him.

His inner choice
Unconditionally liberates him.

13. Don't you know that?

The animal in you
Is fond of destruction-night.
Don't you know that?

The human in you
Is fond of suspicion-might
Don't you know that?

The divine in you
Is fond of perfection-light.
Don't you know that?

The Supreme in you
Is fond of satisfaction height.
Don't you know that?

15. Where is satisfaction?

Above is no satisfaction.
Below is no satisfaction.
Within is no satisfaction.
Without is no satisfaction.
Where then is satisfaction?
Satisfaction is in
Eternity's self-giving
And
Humanity's God-becoming.

16. His is the life

In God's Eye
His is the life of God-experience.

In man's eye
His is the life of utter failure.

In his own eyes
His is the heart of perfection-light,
His is the vital of frustration-night.

17. Time

Don't laugh at time!
Time will devour you.

Smile at time!
Time will bless you.

Cry for time!
Time will reward you.

Stay with time!
Time will treasure you.

Go beyond time!
Time will fulfil you.

18. Their great art

Dream is Heaven's great art.
Reality is earth's great art.
Compassion is God's great art.
Ingratitude is man's great art.

19. Not I, never!

Who wants to remember
His animal hunger?
Not I, never!

Who wants to remember
His human failure?
Not I, never!

Who wants to remember
His divine compassion?
Not I, never!

Who wants to remember
His absolute perfection?
Not I, never!

20. Three abodes

Live in your heart;
Opportunity will awaken you.

Live in your soul;
Capacity will reward you.

Live in your Goal;
Divinity will immortalise you.

21. The greatest favour

His deserters did him
The greatest favour.
Do you know who his deserters were?
They were
His doubt-knife,
His fear-fife
And
His frustration-life.

22. O watcher

O watcher of the skies,
Real vastness is in your mind.

O watcher of the moon,
Real beauty is in your heart.

O watcher of the sun,
Real glory is in your soul.

23. See and adore!

Who brought death into the world?
You alone and nobody else.
See and confess!

Who will bring immortality into the world?
He alone and nobody else.
See and admire!

Who will bring perfection into the world?
I alone and nobody else.
See and adore!

24. Beauty

Sometimes it is a blessing,
Sometimes it is a curse.
What is it?
Beauty.
Beauty of the
Life-illumining soul
Is a blessing.
Beauty of the
Life-binding body
Is a curse.

25. I am grateful

Earth conceals my impurity;
Therefore
I am grateful to earth.

Heaven conceals my insecurity;
Therefore
I am grateful to Heaven.

God conceals my worthlessness;
Therefore
I am grateful to God.

I conceal my desire-night;
Therefore
I am grateful to myself.

26. The cause of his death

Days spent without hope
Are one cause
Of his fast-approaching death.

Days spent without promise
Are the cause
Of his immediate death.

27. My journey's end

Yesterday
Wild self-love was my journey's end.

Today
Blind man-love is my journey's end.

Tomorrow
Kind God-love will be my journey's end.

28. The deceivers

You are a deceiver.
You have deceived
God in man.

He is a deceiver.
He has deceived
Man in God.

I am a deceiver.
I have deceived
Both God and man.
How?
Ask God the Compassion.
Ask man the innocence.

29. Enemy and friend to none

Enemy to none.
Friend to none.
Who is he?
A man in the Himalayan cave.
A man in the self-immolation cave.

30. I need him

I do not need him
Whose God is Honour.
I do not need him
Whose God is Success.
I need him
Whose God is Dream-Reality.
I need him
Whose God is Progress-Delight.

31. A mutual relationship

Doubt and I
Cherish
A mutual dislike;
Therefore
We are really happy.

Faith and I
Cherish
A mutual liking;
Therefore
We are truly happy.

Impurity and I
Cherish
A mutual unawareness;
Therefore
We are really and truly happy.

32. Let me decide

Who shall decide,
You or I?
If you decide
You will suffer
Eventually.
If I decide
You will prosper
Immediately.
Therefore
For your own good
Let me decide.

33. Immortality's dance

Acquired superiority
Is stupidity's dance.

Accepted inferiority
Is stupidity's dance.

Accepted equality
And
Acquired divinity
Is Immortality's dance.

34. Mix with God

Don't mix with him.
He will end in frustration.

Don't mix with her.
She will end in suspicion.

Don't mix with me.
I shall end in destruction.

Mix with God.
He will begin with Compassion;
He will end with Satisfaction.

35. He has returned

From doubt to denial
He went.
From denial to doubt
He has returned.

From God-aspiration to man-realisation
He went.
From man-realisation to God-aspiration
He has returned.

36. His honest doubt

He has surrendered his honest doubt;
Therefore
God is loving him and embracing him.
What was his honest doubt?
How could he be another God?

37. His dreams

His Heaven-dream was starving.
He knew it,
But he was helpless.

His earth-dream is crying.
He knows it,
But he is helpless.

His heart-dream will be flying.
He shall know it;
Therefore
He shall be thoughtless.

38. Death and life enjoyers

The death of ignorance-sleep
A God-lover enjoys.
The life of silence-transcendence
A God-knower enjoys.

39. His days

His earth-days
Are giant-lances.
His Heaven-days
Are God-trances.
His immortal days
Are Perfection-glances.

40. The lover eternally is

The sleeper dies.
The dreamer beholds.
The seeker becomes.
The lover is,
Eternally is.

41. My visions of light

Beauty's depth
Was my first vision of light.
Duty's height
Was my second vision of light.
Immortality's life
Was my third and last vision of light.

42. A mortal loss, an immortal gain

I do not have a mind,
And I consider it a mortal loss.
I do have a heart,
And I consider it an immortal gain.

43. What do you do?

Father, O Father, what do You do
Here in my heart?
"I dream My cosmic Dream."

"Daughter, O daughter, what do you do
Here in My Mind?"
I plead with You again and again
To keep me always in mind.

44. A God-lover and God-server

To become
A God-lover is to love
The real in oneself unreservedly.

To become
A God-server is to serve
The immortal in oneself unconditionally.

45. Two fools

You are a living fool;
Therefore
Your hopeless fate has brought you
To me
To be my disciple.

I am an undying fool;
Therefore
My helpless fate has brought me
To you
To be your Master.

46. Before and after

Before I read the book of death
I was happy.
After I read the book of life
I was happy.
Before I read the book of doubt-poison
I was happy.
After I read the book of faith-nectar
I was happy.

47. We love each other

Lord, I love You;
I need Your earth-visiting Feet.
Lord, You love me;
You love my heaven-visiting eye.

48. They have gone back

You have gone back
To your mind again
To shake hands with confusion-night.
He has gone back
To his heart again
To be blessed by illumination-height.

49. The doubter

Secretly he doubts God in man.
Openly he doubts man in God.
Unreservedly he doubts
Man's aspiration-bud
And
God's Compassion-Flood.

50. Our earth-life and Heaven-life

Aspiration-beauty
Our earth-life has.
Perfection-lustre
Our Heaven-life is.

The Sri Chinmoy Library