The Wings of Light, part 1

1. Thank you, my Lord

Thank you, my Lord,
For unwinding my vital life.

Thank you, my Lord,
For unlocking my mental life.

Thank you, my Lord,
For illumining my psychic life.

Thank you, my Lord,
For fulfilling my dreaming life.

2. Stay forever

Love, stay on earth
Forever,
Please.

Bliss, stay in Heaven
Forever,
Please.

Gratitude, stay in my heart
Forever,
Please.

Compassion, stay in God’s Heart
Forever,
Please.

3. Not because

I think of God
Not because I love Him.

God thinks of me
Not because He loves me.

I think of God
Not because He thinks of me.

God thinks of me
Not because I think of Him.

I think of God
Because He alone knows how to smile.

God thinks of me
Because I alone know how to cry.

4. In a minute

In a minute
I shall meditate on God.
Lo, God is crying with joy.

In a minute
I can realise God.
Lo, God is running with joy.

In a minute
I can and I shall manifest God.
Lo, God is flying with joy.

5. My daily visit with God and man

From my daily visit with God
I learn one thing:
Surrender unconditional.
First He asks me to do something,
And then He does it for me.

From my daily visit with man
I learn three things:
Depression constant,
Frustration immediate,
Destruction total.
First man gives me
His possessions,
And then he claims them again
As his own.

6. You

You had what you needed:
Inspiration.

You have what you need:
Aspiration.

You shall have what you will need:
Realisation.

Inspiration made you run
To the farthest end.

Aspiration makes you fly
To the highest height.

Realisation shall make you dive
Into the deepest depth.

7. I need

I need an idea
To prove my life.

I need an ideal
To prove my love.

I need a Goal
To prove my perfection.

8. To become

I must defeat
My black weaknesses
To become a real God.

I must surrender
My blue love
To become a real Man.

9. My declaration

Who was I?
God’s starting point.

Who am I?
Vitamin L, Love.

What do I need?
I need the declaration
Of my dependence
On God’s
Reality-Light.

10. Look

Look ahead;
There is no black sinner.

Look behind;
There is no white saint.

Look above;
There is no grey sky.

Look below;
There is no gold joy.

11. Four pioneers

Silence
Is the pioneer-sea of Love.

Love
Is the pioneer-moon of Bliss.

Bliss
Is the pioneer-sun of Perfection.

Perfection
Is the pioneer-will of Sound.

12. Three questions answered

The first question:
Where from?

The second question:
Where to?

The third and last question:
How?

The first answer:
From God-sky.

The second answer:
To God-sea.

The third and last answer:
Through self-transcendence.

13. Deeply, strongly and unreservedly

Yesterday I enjoyed
Fear’s company.
We loved each other
Deeply.

Today I am enjoying
Doubt’s company.
We love each other
Strongly.

Tomorrow I shall enjoy
Will’s company.
We shall love each other
Unreservedly.

14. Where are you?

O Voice of Silence,
Where are you?
I need your golden wings to fly.

O Voice of Sound,
Where are you not?
I want to live there.

O Voice of God,
Where are you?
For my sake, do not hide
Any more.

15. My three freedoms

Thought
Was my first freedom.

Will
Is my last freedom.

Surrender
Is my eternal Freedom.

16. My teachers

God the Teacher tells me:
“Be unconditional!”
I tell God: “I am trying.”

Man the teacher tells me:
“Be impartial!”
I tell man: “I already am.”

Dream the teacher tells me:
“Be jovial!”
I tell Dream: “I am practising.”

Reality the teacher tells me:
“Be practical!”
I tell Reality: “Alas, will I,
Can I ever be practical?”

17. Look ahead!

Look ahead!
There is no thief
To steal away your aspiration.

Look ahead!
There is no tiger
To devour your prayer.

Look ahead!
There is no man
To doubt your realisation.

18. I have two teachers

In my private room
I talk to two teachers:
God and dog.

My God-Teacher
Teaches me how to
Lead and Guide.

My dog-teacher
Teaches me how to
Follow and Serve.

My teachers
Are supremely
Satisfied with me.

My God-teacher
Has made me the
Leader and Guide
Of the cosmic gods.

My dog-teacher
Has made me the
Follower and Server
Of mankind.

19. Every man is a pilot

Every man is a pilot.
Like a doubt-king
He pilots his barren life
To the land of nowhere;
Like a faith-king
He pilots his dream-boat
To the Shores of Infinity.

20. Somebody to care for me

Somebody cared for me.
Who?
My success-noon cared for me.

Somebody cares for me.
Who?
My progress-beauty cares for me.

Somebody shall care for me.
Who?
My perfection-splendour shall care for me.

21. When

When fear was in charge
Of my life-river,
The Ocean of Infinity
Was a far cry.

When doubt was in charge
Of my life-day,
The Sun of Eternity
Was a far cry.

When insecurity was in charge
Of my life-breath,
The Sky of Immortality
Was a far cry.

22. The click of a camera

The click of a camera
Brings down Immortality
Into a fragile human frame.
The soul of the Infinite
And the body of the finite
Play hide-and-seek
In the Heart-Smile
Of the Absolute Supreme.

23. God smiled at me twice

God smiled at me twice:
Once when I meditated
To renounce the world;
Once when I renounced
The world to meditate.

God blessed me twice:
Once when I cried and cried
For a mounting inner flame;
Once when I offered Him
My Realisation-sky.

24. It will not last

It will not last.
Your feeble insecurity-knife
Will soon stab God’s Compassion-Heart.

It will not last.
Your black doubt-spot
Will soon breathe God’s Perfection-Love.

25. The ideal disciple

The ideal disciple
Is he who believes
Before he sees.

The ideal disciple
Is he whose mind
Is inside his heart.

The ideal disciple
Is he whose heart
Lives for his soul.

The ideal disciple
Is he whose soul
Distributes his goal.

27. His realisation

His lofty realisation runs:
A hero in the physical world
Is only a zero;
A hero in the vital world
Is less than a zero;
A hero in the psychic world
Is not only a divine hero
But also the supreme pride of God.

28. Ask me the right question

Ask me the right question.
“Who is God?”
God is your integral Self.

Ask me the right question.
“Where is God?”
God is inside the meanness of your mind
And the vastness of your heart.

Ask me the right question.
“How is God?”
His Mind thinks He is sick,
His Heart feels He is weak,
His Soul announces that He needs rest.
His Goal predicts that He will enter
Into a new Cosmic Game.

29. Give the Giver

Give the Giver your smile.
He will increase His love-flames
And offer them to you.

Give the Giver your gratitude.
He will increase the Light of His Power-tower
And offer it to you.

Give the Giver your snow-white love.
He will empty Himself
And make Himself your surrender-slave.

30. Unity and multiplicity

Unity is good.
Unity with multiplicity is better.
Unity in multiplicity is by far the best.

Who owns unity?
The climbing heart.

What is unity with multiplicity?
The vision of the soul
In the manifestation of life.

Where is unity in multiplicity?
In the Silence-seeds,
Time-flowers
And
Sound-fruits of God.

31. The red light and the green light

I have two intimate friends:
The red light
And
The green light.

The red light warns me
And cautions me
And finally commands,
“Stop!”

The green light inspires me
And encourages me
And finally whispers,
“Start!”

My red friend
Teaches me patience.
My green friend
Teaches me dynamism.

My red friend tells me
My life is precious.
My green friend tells me
My goal is precious.

My red friend
Perfects my will.
My green friend
Fulfils my dream.

32. Rejection-acceptance-expectation

I reject my hopeless fate,
I reject it totally.

I accept the world’s helpless fate,
I accept it unreservedly.

I expect God’s deathless Fate,
I expect it devotedly.

33. My family members are at war

My faith and my fear
Are at war.

My faith and my doubt
Are at war.

My faith and my insecurity
Are at war.

What is fear?
Self-torture.

What is doubt?
Self-mortification.

What is insecurity?
Self-annihilation.

34. God smiled and cried

When he was consorting
With self-love,
God smiled.

When he was consorting
With self-pride,
God smiled.

When he was consorting
With self-pity,
God smiled.

But

When he was consorting
With self-transcendence,
God cried, soulfully cried.

35. A great fog

There is a great fog
Between
Human love and Pride divine.

There is a great fog
Between
Human desire and Aspiration divine.

But

There is no fog,
No, none at all,
Between
Human surrender and Perfection divine.

36. Our earthly wants and our Heavenly needs

Our earthly wants never shrink, never.
They enormously swell
And endlessly multiply.

Our Heavenly needs shrink
And shrink
And shrink.
They become smaller than a tiny ant,
Vaster than the vastest ocean —
To fulfil God’s Will.

37. Fear-doubt-insecurity-uncertainty

Dark fear invades my body.
Wild doubt fills my mind.

Feeble insecurity empties my heart.
Eyeless uncertainty veils my soul.

Yet my life-river cheerfully
Wants to flow
Into the stream of the Will-Supreme.

38. Faith, confidence and assurance

Faith, sweet Faith!
Why have you forgotten me?

Confidence, bold Confidence!
Why have you denied me?

Assurance, sure Assurance!
Why have you betrayed me?

Faith, your quick forgetfulness
Tortures my heart.

Confidence, your shameless denial
Pierces my mind.

Assurance, your unpardonable betrayal
Veils my soul.

39. Since no escape

Hard I tried to escape from You
But I sadly failed.
Therefore I accepted You.
Since I accepted You
I must fulfil Your ageless Will.
Your Will alone
Shall free my mind
From the cluttered and devouring cave
Of my wild destruction-night.

40. Our marathon talk

With my mortal comrades
I make appointments
And then we barter
Our thought-waves.
But with God, my Lord Supreme,
I make no prior appointments.
Sooner than at once
I enter into His Heart-Room
And enjoy our marathon talk.

41. God and I are enriched

I am enriched
By the laws
Of my ego-night.

God is enriched
By the loss
Of His Justice-might.

42. I do not

I do not rebel against God.
I do not quarrel with God.
I do not even question God.

Why?
Why?
Why?
Because I know:
He who rebels remains an unfulfilled soul,
He who quarrels remains an unillumined soul,
He who questions remains an unsatisfied soul.

43. They tell me and I tell them

They tell me:
“Let your deeds prove.”

I tell them that my deeds
Have already proved
That I cannot exist without God
Even for a fleeting second.

I tell them that my deeds
Have already proved
That the world does not need
My wise advice.

I tell them that my deeds
Have already proved
That God’s Compassion-Sun
Depends not
On my aspiration-candle.

44. He played

He played with power.
Alas, no beauty therein.

He played with speed.
Alas, no beauty therein.

He played with compassion.
Alas, no beauty therein.

He played at last
With the self-giving love.
Lo!
Beauty within,
Beauty without,
Beauty below,
Beauty above.

45. Persist-resist-smile-cry

Persist,
You will succeed.
Resist,
You will succeed.
Smile,
You will succeed.
Cry,
Lo, you have already succeeded:
You have perfected your love-life,
You have manifested God’s Reality-Dream.

46. What can God do? What can you do?

What can God do?
Just give Him a chance.
He can and will make
You
Another God.

What can you do?
Ah, you have already done it.
You have made God
Your perfect slave,
Perhaps unintentionally.

47. They know

His body knows
What quick deterioration means.

His vital knows
What sad depression means.

His mind knows
What wild frustration means.

His heart knows
What true destruction means.

And he himself knows
What death-invitation means.

48. Claim

Claim the darkness-shack.
Once you get it,
Ignorance will immediately
Share it with you.

Claim the Illumination-Palace.
Just claim it, that’s all.
You do not have to work for it;
God Himself will gladly
Offer it to you.

49. Happiness guaranteed!

Happiness guaranteed!
Just think of God first,
Offer your heart last
And see what happens.

Happiness guaranteed!
Just hear devotedly first,
Speak quietly last,
Stay in the middle
And see what happens
Unreservedly and unconditionally.

50. A slow walker and a silent talker

God I am a slow walker.
Will you wait for me
At Your Palace?

“Son, I am a silent talker.
Will you listen to Me
In the love-room of your heart?”

God, I want to live in Your Palace.
“Son, I wish to stay in your heart.”

The Sri Chinmoy Library