A rainbow-garland
1.
Every morningI weave a rainbow-garland
With my heart-beauty
And my soul-fragrance,
And then I place it
At the Feet
Of my Lord Supreme.
2.
I was born of God’s Grace,To see His Face
In the streaming tears of my heart
And in the beaming smiles of my soul.
3.
You do not have to surrenderTo destiny.
The power of destiny is limited.
The power of your soul is unlimited.
Be one — and remain one —
With your soul
All the time.
4.
My devotion-heart-eyesTearfully, smilingly and self-givingly
Follow the Footsteps
Of my Lord Supreme.
5.
When I lookAt my Lord’s Eye,
I become
A tiny, tender plant.
6.
When I enterInto my Lord’s Heart,
I become
A fully blossomed tree.
7.
When I prostrate myselfAt my Lord's Feet,
I become
The measureless Harvest.
8.
Light isSelf-expansion.
9.
Power isSelf-annihilation.
10.
Light eventuallyConquers.
11.
Power eventuallySurrenders.
12.
God lives everywhere,But He prefers to live
In the heart-prison
Of every human being.
13.
Mother KaliIs at once
Terrifying
And sleeplessly
Self-giving.
14.
Whenever I amThe boss of my life,
I get no peace.
15.
Each heartIs destined to swim
In a sea of bliss.
16.
Nobody is perfect,But perfection is guaranteed.
By whom?
By God Himself.
17.
When God’s Grace descends,Even a mind black as clouds
Can be transformed
Into a cloudless sky.
18.
Ignorance-night disappearsWhen the heart-tears
Start climbing.
19.
Every dayThe seeker must try
To drape his body
With his Lord’s Name.
20.
I needGod the Companion
And not
God the Magician.
21.
Every dayMy soul flies
In the sky of blossoming
And becoming.
22.
My Lord,Blame me, shame me,
But please do not forget
To tame me.
23.
A simplified lifeIs a God-satisfied heart.
24.
The outer mapDirects us
To God’s Eye.
25.
The inner mapDirects us
To God’s Feet.
26.
God pretendsTo understand my mind,
But actually
He does not.
27.
My surrender becomesThe fragrance
Of God’s Heart.
28.
Every dayMy Lord Supreme beckons me
To be under
His fear-dispelling Feet.
29.
My eyesAre earth-bound.
30.
My heartIs Heaven-free.
31.
God shares His SecretsOnly with those souls
Who have crossed
The ocean of expectation.
32.
DesireIs the slave
Of the mind.
33.
AspirationIs the child
Of the heart.
34.
Whether I shall realise GodIn this lifetime or not —
God has given the matter
Much thought.
35.
Each desire-thoughtIs an imprisoned convict.
36.
Each aspiration-willIs a Heaven-bound journey.
37.
God's Compassion-EyeIs the only possession
Of my heart.
38.
A soulful cryIs a Heaven-fragrance
Here on earth.
39.
Sound vehementlyDislikes silence
Only to be embraced
By silence.
40.
God’s Promise God will keep —Someday I shall definitely
Please God
In His own Way.
41.
FinallyMy Lord has removed
His world-complaint-acceptance-box.
42.
I liveIn between
My heart-openness
And
My God-closeness.
43.
My God-onenessDepends on
My heart-cries
And
My life-smiles.
44.
My outer hopesRevolve around
My inner promises.
45.
Morning prayersAre
God-whispers.
46.
God’s Love-HandsFeed us.
47.
God’s Power-HandsProtect us.
48.
My heart’s aspiration-criesFly
In Infinity’s sky.
49.
KnowledgeIs the mind-product.
50.
WisdomIs the heart-fountain.
51.
My heartIs made of
My life’s tears
And
My soul’s smiles.
52.
God gives Surrender-lessonsOnly to
The first-class seekers.
53.
God is theDecision-maker
For those whose surrender
Is complete.
54.
Regularity runs.Punctuality sprints.
55.
When I claim God,He immediately gives me
His own Heart-Strength.
56.
God tells me to treasure —And not measure —
His Heaven-kissed Smile.
57.
God’s CompassionWe may lose,
But not God's Forgiveness.
58.
God the DelightPrepaid
My earth-journey.
59.
God the PrideWill prepay
My Heaven-pilgrimage.
60.
My Lord and I are two expertsIn telling lies.
Can you imagine what I tell God?
I tell God that I love Him only.
Can you imagine what God tells me?
He tells me that He loves me
Infinitely more than I love Him.
We two deserve lifelong imprisonment.
61.
Whenever I do something wrong,Either consciously or unconsciously
I blame God.
God smilingly, lovingly,
Unreservedly and unconditionally
Takes the blame.
62.
Last time when I saw God,I told Him that I think of Him only,
All the time.
I could not believe when God told me
That He also does the same,
Vice versa.
63.
GodLoves to examine
My life.
64.
God’s EyeLoves to embrace
My heart.
65.
God’s FeetLove to show me the way
To my Destination.
66.
Every day God advises meTo revise my heart-songs
And my life-book.
67.
God tells meThat each heart-song of mine
Adds to the fragrance
Of my soul.
68.
My life’s outer voiceIs very aggressive.
69.
My life’s inner voiceIs extremely progressive.
70.
When I pray,I become
My heart-rose.
71.
When I meditate,I become
My life-lotus.
72.
I prayTo make my heart
Happy.
73.
I meditateTo make my life
Perfect.
74.
While I am slowly walkingAlong Eternity’s Road,
I learn the geography
Of earth.
75.
While I am speedily runningAlong Eternity’s Road,
I learn the history
Of Heaven.
76.
God and IAre two
Expectation-beggars.
77.
God and IAre two
Frustration-prisoners.
78.
God is not disturbedBy His age —
Why should I be?
79.
In each lifeCalamities and opportunities,
It seems,
Are overwhelming.
80.
We are all huntingFor God’s Beauty
And God’s Fragrance.
81.
At every momentWe must try to please God
With our readiness, at least.
82.
My Lord,It is high time
For me to change my name
To gratitude.
83.
My heart-roomI keep open
Only for my Lord’s
Secret and sacred Visits.
84.
DisobedienceBetrays us
Ruthlessly.
85.
HesitationAnd insecurity
Belong to
The same family.
86.
We please God most satisfactorilyOnly when we do not know
Why we cry and weep
For Him.
87.
Time passes by.The mind-worries
Do not stop.
88.
Millennia come and go.For humanity
To please God in God's own Way
Remains a far cry.
89.
God, I am sorry,I cannot surrender to You today.
“My child, why not?
Why not?
Just give it a try!
Who knows, there is every possibility
That today you will succeed.”
90.
My Lord,No matter how hard I try,
I cannot surrender to You.
“My child, try, continue trying!
You can and you will.”
91.
Each broken heartIs a self-pity-hunger.
92.
Humanity and Divinity —Both wish for
A second chance.
93.
TransformationIs not
Our mental hallucination.
It is an imagination
That will blossom into reality.
94.
SpiritualityDares to brave
Life’s turbulent hurricanes.
95.
The aspiration-heart knowsWhat is real love
And
What is counterfeit love
For God.
96.
God’s scoldingsFrighten the mind
And
Illumine the heart.
97.
Ego hasThe loudest voice.
98.
Surrender hasThe sweetest voice.
99.
At the end of God’s day,God’s Promises fly and fly
In ecstasy-sky.
100.
At the end of my day,My hopes sigh and sigh
In bitter disappointment.
101.
I am alive —That is
God’s outer miracle.
102.
I love God —That is
God’s inner miracle.
103.
My Lord,Will You be
My aspiration-supplier?
“My child, first tell Me,
Will you be
My manifestation-supporter?”
104.
My Lord says to my mind-room:“I shall come to see you
Only when you are
Immaculately clean.”
105.
My Lord says to my heart-room:“I shall come to see you
Only when you are
Absolutely pure.”
106.
When I go to GodWalking very slowly,
God opens and closes His Eyes
At long intervals,
Heaving heavy sighs.
107.
When I go to GodWhistling,
God eagerly waits for me
With His open Arms.
108.
We can turnEach pure thought
Into an earth-fulfilling opportunity.
109.
God pushes and pullsThe unwilling.
110.
God protects and leadsThe willing.
111.
Two things do not run short:My Lord’s Compassion
And my doubts.
112.
An ignorance-lifeSees no exit-door.
113.
May every day beMy heart-victory-day.
114.
May every day beMy mind-defeat-day.
115.
God does not take any intermissionFrom His Heaven-day and earth-night
Performances.
I must do the same
To prove that I am
His beloved child.
116.
O curiosity-consumedGod-miracle-watchers,
God-realisation will never
Befriend you.
117.
God believes meWhenever I say anything to Him.
I disbelieve God
Whenever He says anything to me.
What an irony of fate!
118.
My mind ridicules God,My heart loves God
And I question God.
119.
The moment I tell GodThat I do not need Him,
He immediately hurls
His disappointment-arrows
At me.
120.
The heartOf each human being
Is a masterpiece of God.
121.
A God-devotion-teardropIs what I need
Every day.
122.
My existence hasOnly one Master
Who is carrying me
To the Shore of God-oneness
And God-fulness.
123.
My life beginsWith my Master’s eyes
And ends
At my Master’s feet.
Editor's note
The poems in this volume were written by Sri Chinmoy during the period from 2 to 11 August 2005. A number of them were set to music by the author on 26 August 2005 and were among the songs published in July 2006 in a song book entitled A God-Devotion-Teardrop.Book title selected by Sri Chinmoy Centre Publications NY from Sri Chinmoy’s poem on page 1.
Inside photos by Sarama, Bhashwar and others.
