What I wanted and what the Supreme gave to me⁷

Cheyechhilam kabi hate Karle amai rishi kabi Cheyechhilam jogi hate Karle amai abatar Cheyechhilam bhera hate Karle amai singharaj Cheyechhilam pada dhuli Dile amai tomar mala Tomar mukut tomar singhasan

“I wanted to become just a poet,
But You have made me a Seer-Poet.
I wanted to become a Yogi,
But You have made me an Avatar.
I wanted to become Your lamb,
But You have made me Your lion-king.
I desired the dust of Your Feet,
But You gave me Your Victory-Garland,
Your Crown and Your Throne.”⁸

This song I wrote at eight o’clock last night on the way from Kuala Lumpur to Penang, Malaysia, on Malaysian Airlines Flight 2683. This song is immortal. It is extremely, extremely, extremely important to me. I would like everybody to sing it very, very soulfully.

This song is about what I wanted and what the Supreme gave to me. I wanted oneness with God, but God not only made me one with Him, He also made me His representative. In your case also, if you pray to the Supreme for a drop of His Compassion, He will come to you with an Ocean of Compassion. If you want something divine from God and if you make a sincere effort, then God will give you much more than you ever asked for. But you have to go step by step. You need patience, and you must cheerfully wait for God’s choice Hour.

There is a famous story about two men who asked Narada when they would realise God. One man had been practising austerities and yoga for many years. He asked Narada when he would realise God, and Narada told him that he would have to wait only three more incarnations. As soon as the man heard that he had to wait three incarnations, he became very sad and disheartened. Then there was a drunkard who never prayed and meditated. He also asked Narada when he would realise God. Narada said, “Look at this tamarind tree. You see how many leaves it has. It will take you as many incarnations to realise God as this tree has leaves.” When the drunkard heard this, he was so happy. He said, “Oh, I am going to realise God! I am going to realise God!” As long as the drunkard knew that he would one day realise God, at God’s choice Hour, he was ready to wait for millions of years. Because of his surrendered oneness with God’s Will, the drunkard realised God long before the seeker who had been practising yoga but did not have patience and surrender.

If you do not have patience and if you do not have surrender, then you are no better than the first seeker. You have to surrender to God’s Will and practise a different kind of life. Then God will do everything for you. God will say, “Since there is sincerity in your surrender, I shall forgive all your past mistakes. You do not have to worry.” This has happened in the case of many seekers. Some people were not divine before they accepted the spiritual life, but then they became divine. Unfortunately, some of them later became undivine once more, even to the extreme.

Again, some people do not become too divine and also they do not become too undivine. There are quite a few seekers like this who have a so-called balanced life and do not go to either extreme. They may be wallowing in the pleasures of comfort; they do not have the urge to go to the highest. At the same time, they do not want to go down, either. They do not want to go up and they do not want to go down.

For me, it is easier to climb up the stairs than to go down. When I climb up the stairs, I get more strength. When I go down, I suffer. That is why I always want to go up, up, up.