Sri Chinmoy dedicates his book of 401 rhyming poems ‘From the Source to the Source’ to his brother Chitta who inspired him in the poetry-world.
Dedication
Right from my infancy my brother Chitta has inspired me, encouraged me and taught me lovingly and unreservedly how to devotedly and successfully enter into the poetry-world. Therefore today with my heart's boundless gratitude I am offering my seeker-poet's flower-gathering to him, the Source of my poetry-world.
Chinmoy
7 January 1978
Published in From the Source to the Source
In the morning, Sri Chinmoy gives the following prayer:
My ever-increasingly
Compassionate Lord Supreme,
I am praying to You
With my heart’s silence-tears.
Do accept the cheerful surrender
Of my mind’s freedom.
In the evening, Sri Chinmoy hands his disciples a card with this prayer and his soulful request printed on it:
As old as you are, in silence most soulfully, most soulfully, recite this prayer and, I assure you, you are going to get results in terms of happiness, achievement and fulfilment. And it is my wish that every year on the 7th, no matter where you are, do this prayer. Every year, as long as you are on earth.*
Listen to Sri Chinmoy reciting this prayer
Recorded during the 1998/99 Christmas trip
* The number of times to recite this prayer is equal to your age in years.
A visitor in the inner world
Remarks by Sri Chinmoy
in Cancún, Mexico
On January 7th, we had our first seven-hour meditation for this year. I do hope that we can have a seven-hour meditation on the 7th of every month.
During the meditation, when the disciples were singing “Nimne dharanir,” the great spiritual Master Gorakshanath came to me in the inner world and said, “When I was on earth I performed so many miracles.”
Gorakshanath had tremendous occult and spiritual power. Because of him, for months there would be no rain. If I say there should be no rain, immediately there will be a downpour!
The higher you go, the less you perform miracles outwardly and the more you perform miracles inwardly. Again, sometimes a hero-warrior has to examine whether his swords are sharp or not, if they are blunt or if they are still working. He has to see if they are in good condition. Otherwise, they can be rusty and dusty. But, in the case of most spiritual Masters, all this takes place inwardly. — 9 January 1998
Published in The World-Experience-Tree-Climber, part 8
An Indian Family
story told by Sri Chinmoy
at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
While talking with the wife of an Indian family, Sri Chinmoy asked her the names of all the family members, commenting:
I had a friend, a very, very, very close friend whose name was Mavinehandra. He was from Gujarat. In your case, you are not from Gujarat.
Mavinehandra is a Gujarati name, and you are from Bombay. In Bombay they do not usually give that name. Only in Gujarat they give it. In 1950, this Mavinehandra was a very, very, very close friend and a great admirer of mine.
Regarding the name Dilip:
In ancient days there was a king whose name was Dilip. There is no actual meaning to the word Dilip. Only because he was a very, very, very great king, many, many people have the name Dilip. But the name itself has no actual meaning. The meaning is only that he was a very mighty, powerful king. From his time, people started giving the name Dilip. The meaning is only that he was very powerful and very kind-hearted.
I am very happy that your whole family has come here on our Christmas Trip. Some day we may see you in New York, if possible.
To the wife, while addressing the whole family:
You are from Bombay.
To the husband:
You are from Maharashtra. I am very happy that you have read my book on Shivaji. When I was a schoolboy, our teacher asked us to write an article on Shivaji. I am a great admirer of Shivaji and Ramdas, his Guru. Our school teacher used to give marks out of four, not out of one hundred. My teacher was so pleased with my article on Shivaji that he gave me eight out of four! I have great admiration for Shivaji. He was a great king.
Bengalis are very proud. They do not like to follow others! But our India’s greatest poet, Rabindranath Tagore, asked the Bengalis to join together with the Marathis and say, “Victory to Shivaji!”
Sri Chinmoy recites a poem in Bengali:
Tagore wrote that immortal poem. It is such an excellent poem.
Bengalis have the greatest admiration for Shivaji, and also for his Guru, Ramdas. Shivaji had a spiritual guide, a spiritual Master, and he obeyed his Master. Once Shivaji said, “I do not want this kingdom any more. I want to give it up.”
Ramdas said, “No, you have to be king.” Then he gave Shivaji a piece of his ochre cloth and said, “This will be your flag, this colour.” Shivaji kept that flag. He always took advice from his Guru, Ramdas.
To the husband:
Your father-in-law’s name is Ghanashyama. Very sweetly you say the word Ghanashyama! “Shyama” means Lord Krishna and “Ghana” is dark or very dense. “Ghana” is something very thick, very deep, intense and dark. Ghanashyama is another name, an epithet, for Lord Krishna, because his skin was not as fair as that of Rama and others.
Published in Only One Power
Austerity versus Wisdom
by Sri Chinmoy
at the Novotel Palm Cove Resort, Cairns, North Queensland, Australia
Once I was walking in the gully at Aspiration-Ground, and I saw myself as a skeleton in a past life. I was practising such austerity at that time! I was absolutely all bones. I looked so ugly! My appearance was what you would call ugliness incarnate. I saw only my bones — I was thinner than the thinnest. I passed the austerity-examination in that incarnation.
What good does austerity do? If I want to go to God, shall I cut off my legs and say, “See how much I love You, God! See, I have cut off my legs! Without legs I am coming to You.” God will say, “Why did I give you legs?”
God has given us air. Some people meditate while practising severe breath control. God will say, “Why did I give them air? Why did I create things that are not going to be used?”
In every aspect of life God says, “Be normal, be natural. Be normal and natural. Then go forward, go forward, go forward and enter into the divine life.”
Not by cutting off our legs, not by practising austerity shall we go forward. Those days in the Himalayan caves belong to the past. Those austerities do not apply now.
Sri Ramakrishna said, “You have to cross the water. The boat is in the water, but the boat is not affected by the water.” The boat is carrying people across the water. The boat will not sink. Do we need to go under the water in order to prove that we care so much for our destination? No! Wisdom saves us by telling us to enter into the boat.
Again, wisdom may tell us, “Recite this prayer fifty times or seventy times once a year.” * But it may happen that even that we cannot do! Then God says, “I need a special kind of yoga for these people.” He is simplifying, simplifying and simplifying the course to the extreme, but we want more simplification. God is so kind to us. He has already simplified the game for us to such an extent. Even so, He says, “All right, all right, you people are not serious enough in your spiritual life, but at least do this much.” Even that if we do not do, God says, “I shall have to create another course for you that is easier than the easiest!”
* Here, Sri Chinmoy refers to his special prayer for January 7th (above), which he composed in 1992.
Published in Our Sweetest Oneness