Reflective poems

All poems by Sri Chinmoy

The majority of these poems have been selected from Sri Chinmoy's poetry series Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees and Twenty-Seven Thousand Aspiration-Plants.

If we believe
In our own
Self-transcendence-task
Then there can be
No unreachable goal.


Never allow anyone
To clip the silver wings
Of your golden dreams.


Go beyond, farther beyond!
Do not limit yourself
By comparing yourself with others
Or even with your own self.


Victory
Can never be mine
If I am not willing
To take chances.


Do not think
That you cannot do it.


Adversity makes you dynamic.
Adversity endows you with
Faith in yourself.


Never stop
Once you have started.


Two of my long-lost companions
Have now come back:
My inner poise
And my outer courage.


There is no such thing
As impossibility!


No matter how many times I fail
I shall not give up,
For my goal
Will not accept
Any defeat.


If you dare to fail,
You are bound
To succeed.


What is a challenge,
If not a friend
In disguise
To strengthen us?


You must trust yourself,
Even when the whole world
Doubts you.


Self-transcendence means
Self-expansion
In every way.


I do not give up
I never give up.


The fullness of life
Lies in dreaming
And manifesting
The impossible dream.


Deepen your faith
In yourself.
Nothing will be able to frighten
And weaken you.


If you wait for opportunities
To become easily available
Then you will never be able
To succeed in life.


Don't discuss,
Don't think,
Just do!


If your progress in one field
Is obstructed,
Go another way.
Only do not give up
The idea of progress.


Enthusiasm
Rules the inner world.
Determination
Rules the outer world.
Therefore
Happiness has become
His real name.


Do not accept failure!
If you accept failure
You are lowering yourself
In your own estimation.


Keep trying!
It so often happens
That the last key opens the door.


Trust not what you hear,
Trust not what you see,
But trust
What you feel.


The cheerfulness of
The heart
And the determination of
The mind
Can perform any miracle
They want to.


Life has no limits
It is the mind that creates
Life's so-called limits!


Not to believe
Is to invite
Failure.


The real destination
Is always ahead of us
Not behind.


Wisdom knows
No fear, no doubt
And no failure.


If you want to succeed
In your outer life,
Then you must always hold fast
To your inner beliefs.


Do not give up!
It is only believing
That keeps us alive
And inspires us to look forward.


To achieve success
In any field of life,
An all-out self-giving effort
Is required.


Determination and impossibility
Are never to be found
Together.


Be careful of your mind!
Your mind can trick you
Any day,
At any moment.


The beginning has to be
At any moment.
The end has to be
Never.


If we are going to be
Successful in life,
Then we must put all our dreams
Immediately into action.


Bring to the fore your hidden
Capacities,
Not only to do something great,
But also to become something good.


If your concentrated will-power
Is focused on your destination,
You will definitely reach the goal.


Continue, continue and continue,
And all the time try to transcend
Your previous limits.


Determination
Is absolutely necessary
In order to transcend ourselves.
There is no other way.


By thinking positively
That you can be better,
You can have hope and determination
To do better in the future.


I do not allow anybody
To intimidate
My determination.


Thinking is becoming.
Therefore, be extremely careful
In your thinking.


A willingness-mind,
An eagerness-heart
And
An enthusiasm-life
Can easily defy age.


The outer strength disappears
When the inner power
Goes to sleep.


Stop your lethargy-life
A new supply of energy
Will immediately be yours.


Yesterday's accomplishments
Are definitely meant
For yesterday only.


The willingness of the mind
Is surprisingly powerful.


Think of yourself as a river
Constantly flowing at top speed.
Your mind
Will never be discouraged,
And your heart
Will never be disheartened.


We must never hesitate.
Today we may take short steps,
But tomorrow we may take
Long, longer, longest steps,
And the day after tomorrow
We may run and sprint
And arrive at our Destination,
Far beyond our imagination.


Let us not delay our journey.
Let us not halt anywhere.
Even if we take a sidestep,
We shall come back to the right track
And reach our destination.


Do not waste away
Today's golden opportunity
It will never come back.


Where the battle is,
The goal also
Has to be there.


You have to explore the unknown
If you want to get blessings
From the Unknowable.


If the heart's belief
Does not become the life's action,
Then that belief is hardly better
Than disbelief.


Be regular, be punctual
And be all determination.
You are bound to succeed!


There is nothing
That is not within the reach
Of an aspiring human being.


Challenge
All your insurmountable obstacles.
You are bound to succeed.


We must not wait for anything
Until tomorrow,
Never!
He who has hope
Along with determination
Will one day see his life
Fully blossomed.


To win life's ultimate race,
What we need
Is only endurance and patience.


Self-discovery
Can only be found on
Self-conquest.


The vision that has
No determination
Cannot be manifested
On earth.


An enthusiasm-life
And an eagerness-heart
Know no insurmountable barriers.


Do not think of retiring,
Even when you think your duties
Are all done.
Retirement and enlightenment
Can never be found together.


My mind's readiness
And my heart's willingness
Are as powerful as ocean waves.


A bright future is there for us all
If we feel that we are becoming
Younger than yesterday
To embrace new dreams
And new promises.


Be brave!
Embrace new challenges.
Your victory will be manifested
In your self-discovery.


We make progress
Not be crying for yesterday's realities,
But by smiling at today's dreams.


When you are determined
To face bravely
The difficulty ahead of you,
The difficulty itself surrenders to you,
To your wide surprise.


A hero-warrior
Achieves extraordinary things
In his life
Because he does not allow himself
To be pushed by destiny's wind.


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


An enthusiasm-mind
And as aspiration-heart
Can do the imposssible
Whenever they want to.


To be in love with a sweet dream
Is the beginning
Of a blossoming, illumining
And fulfilling reality.


The determiantion
In your heroic effort
Will permeate your mind and heart,
Even after your success
Or failure
Is long forgotten.


You will always remain
Unfamiliar to defeat
If you carry a smile
That touches every heart.


I swim in the sea
Of silver light.
I cycle along the road
Of gold delight.
I run with the smile
Of the beyond.


The sky calls me,
The wind calls me,
The moon and stars call me,
The green and dense groves call me,
Smiles call me, tears call me,
A faint melody calls me,
The morning, noon and eve call me.


Each individual
Is a runner along eternity's road,
Passsing on
The inspiration-torch of life.


Determination
Can change your mind.
Determination
Can change your heart.
Determination
Can change your life
Altogether.


No preparation, no attempt.
No attempt, no progress.
No progress, no perfection.
No perfection, no satisfaction.


There is only one dream
That will always be perfect
In your lifetime,
And that is the dream
Of self-transcendence.


Where your sacrifice is,
There will as well be your delight.


Determination and enthusiasm
Can easily bring about
A totally new and inspiring life.


When we become the wildfire
Of enthusiasm
Nothing can remain unaccomplished.


Do you want progress?
If so never, never, never
Be afraid of any obstacle
On your way.


Where there is
Eagerness
There can be no
Failure.


Your tremendous success and progress
Will transform
Your temporary pressures
Into enrichening treasures.


No patience, no perseverance,
The outer success and the inner progress
Will remain a far cry.


To preserve your life's simplicity
And your mind's sincerity,
Always take the positive side of life.


We shall definitely be successful in life,
If we take each outer difficulty
As an inner opportunity.


Discouragement sets in
When we stop challenging
The mounting pressures of life.


Do not allow fear
To claim your heart
As its home.


Depression paralyses
The life-energy
Of the body.


Who imposed heavy loads
On you?
Look carefully within.
You will see that they are all
Self-imposed.


Let us not stop!
If we stop,
Despair is bound
To devour us.


If you choose to be
In life's continuous flow
And in life's dynamic movement,
Despair you will find nowhere.


Movement is always equipped
With the capacity to destroy
The stagnant negativity
Of the mind.


The beauty that embodies a dream
Has also the power
To manifest a reality.


Do not be absorbed in your troubles.
Dive deep within to bring to the fore
Your adamantine will.


Have patience!
Today's great difficulties
Will tomorrow bring in
Rich blessings.


A journey accompanied
By the mind's doubt
Is full of danger.


~ Sri Chinmoy