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Twenty-Seven Thousand Aspiration Plants

Life is given to each human being
For a very special purpose.
This secret each human being
Must discover for himself.


For a human being
The most important thing
Is to try every day
To gravitate towards
The Ultimate Truth.


Nobody can overestimate
The beauty,
The power
And the delight
Of self-conquest.


If we can dive deep within
On the strength of our prayers
And meditations,
We shall clearly see
That peace comes to us
From all directions.


We suffer from one foolish malady,
And that malady is
Our God-search without
Instead of within.


If you want to liberate yourself
From the meshes of ignorance,
Never, never hesitate
To meditate.


If you live in the mind,
Problems will always remain,
For the mind is where problems begin.


Each seeker has to realise
That he is destined
To be a traveler
To the ever-transcending Goal.


Not only do we not value it,
But we simply do not
Want to value it
When we achieve the thing we want
Easily.


The little things,
More often than the big things,
Are helping us considerably
Towards our perfection.


Our present world-experiences
Are disheartening and heartbreaking,
But I do believe that our hope
Of world-transformation
Will eventually be fulfilled.


A day will come
When this world of ours
Will be liberated from misunderstandings,
Limitations and weaknesses.
It will be a happy, illumining
And fulfilling oneness-family.


During my deep meditation,
I lose all my mind's differences
The way a river loses
All its differences in the sea.


Without arriving at the foot
Of the aspiration mountain,
We try to climb the mountain.


I must realise
That my God-satisfaction
Is only a prayer away.
Therefore, let me embark
On my prayer-journey
Lovingly and confidently.


Laugh at yourself
Openly
If you want
To transcend yourself
Secretly.


The mind,
Even while looking,
Sees nothing.


The heart,
Even without looking,
Sees everything.


Patience in the presence
Of teeming obstacles
Is the only way
To surprisingly succeed in life.


Each soul has its unique way
To spread God's Light
Throughout the length and breadth
Of the world.


There remain only two choices
In my life:
Either I look forward
Towards my destination,
Or I look backward
Towards the animal kingdom.


Abandon the ancient roads
That wanted to lead you to God
Through self-torture.
Accept the new road of life-acceptance
And God-service in man
To please God
And to please the Real in you.


The mind's old conflicts
Can be conquered
Only by the heart's
New solutions.


A big zero-mind
Can easily have
A super hero-heart.


What is the human mind
If not a conscious and constant
Comfort-search-attempt?


Alas, most human beings
Live in the world
Of unfulfilled personality.


The power of love
Is extremely beautiful and fruitful.
The love of power
Is extremely dangerous and contagious.


The mind cannot, but the heart can
Distinguish the outer wants
From the inner needs.


Total satisfaction
Will be all ours
If we allow our hearts
To guide us.


Self-giving
Is the sacred secret
Of our happiness-life.


Although
Spirituality sleeplessly needs
Enlightenment,
It does not have to shun
Child-heart-amusement
On its way to the destination.


Since there is nothing
Unconquerable,
We must sleeplessly dare
To do the right thing
And the right person.


An inner experience
Is infinitely more valuable
Than others' lofty wisdom
Thrust upon us.


The acceptance
Of responsibility
Is not the acceptance
Of a burden
But the multiplication
Of opportunity.


According to me,
I am God's frustration.
According to God
I am still in preparation.


What is the mark
Of real enlightenment?
The mark of real enlightenment
Is ceaseless and sleepless
Contentment.


Be a sweetness-flute
When you deal with the world.
Be a thunderbolt
When you deal with yourself.


Do not allow your mind
To wrestle with uncomely thoughts,
For it will unmistakably fail.
Just ask your heart
To illumine your thought-world.
It will instantly change
The face and fate
Of each and every thought.


Perfection dawns
Through regular practice
In a punctual manner.


The moment I say and feel
That I am an eternal beginner,
I become the possessor
Of boundless joy.


There can be no human mind
That does not give its owner
A hard time.


Over the years I have had
Many bosses.
Needless to say, my mind
Was by far the worst.


Make up your mind!
What do you want -
Ego-mastery or ego-slavery?
Choose the right thing!

The sorrows of the outer life
Cannot touch
The unshakable poise
Of the inner life.


Alas, each human being
Is eager to proclaim
That he is a truth-finder
Without first being a truth-seeker!


A wrong-doing life
Always follows
A wrong-thinking mind.


If it is true
That God hides from us,
Then it is equally true
That we do not search for Him.


If you want to succeed in life
In any field,
Then you must cultivate
A razor-sharp concentration.


Return to your childhood's
Forgotten dreams.
You will be able to expedite
The fulfilment of your life's realities.


Notes

Twenty-Seven Thousand Aspiration Plants is a series of aphorisms that Sri Chinmoy began composing in 1983 and completed in 1998. The poems on this page are excerpts from that series.