Sri Chinmoy's Poetry
Sri Chinmoy - A Seer poet (1931 - 2007)
It is with great sadness that Sri Chinmoy passed away at 7am on the 11th October 2007. We take this opportunity to sincerely thank you all for your love, support and kind testiments to Sri Chinmoy's extraordinary life. Tribute to Sri Chinmoy
PURCHASING - Select poetry titles from Inspiration category, then purchase from Online Booksellers, or Heart-Light Distributors.
In the ashram:
From an early childhood writing in his native Bengali, then as a devoted aspirant in the Sri Aurobindo ashram, Sri
Chinmoy chose poetry to convey the blossoming realities of his spiritual growth. Sri Chinmoy's description of an inner experience he had at the age of twelve, shows the heights of his spiritual awareness at such a tender age, and is a prelude to the uniqueness and clarity in spiritual expression of this blossoming seer poet. "..Whenever I had the opportunity, I flew to the edge of the ever-blue sea and took my seat there in solitude. My bird of consciousness dancing, slowing, rose to the sky and lost itself up there..I found only a sea of sweet and serene light."
Since arriving in the West in 1964, where Sri Chinmoy first learnt English metre and rhyme, the vastness of the author's poetic and literary output has grown to considerable proportions. To date Sri Chinmoy's poetry volumes contain over 110,000 poems and aphorisms, translated into twenty-five languages in over 1,550 publications. Two of his earliest poetry series completed in America between 1979-1983, Ten Thousand Flower-Flames and between 1983-1998, Twenty-Seven Thousand Aspiration-Plants contain respectively 10,000 and 27,000 aphorisms each.
Just completed is Sri Chinmoy's largest poetry epic begun in 1998, Seventy-Seven Thousand Service- Trees, seventy-seven volumes of 1,000 aphorisms in each.
When a seeker reads
Again and again
The spiritual poems
That give him tremendous joy,
He feels and knows
That this very joy
Is nothing other than
His own soulful meditation
And his own real inner awakening.
~Sri Chinmoy
So profuse and focused is Sri Chinmoy's poetic capacity that in one 24 hour
period in 1996 the author scribed 1,301 poems. These were published in a 13
part series titled - Two God-Amusement-Rivals. During the period 1971 to 1981, thirteen major volumes of his works, representing over nine thousand poems were also published. In 1956 at the age of twenty five Sri Chinmoy composed his first English poem, called - The Golden Flute.
Spiritual Master:
As
a spiritual Master Sri
Chinmoy's poetry is constantly evolving, as are his own
realisations within
the infinite transcendental Reality. Above all Sri Chinmoy is
a poet of the 'inner landscape', he has the
extraordinary capacity of conveying every nuance of his feelings,
awareness, love and joy in his journey with our Beloved Lord
Supreme. Examples of Sri Chinmoy's capacity to articulate very profound spiritual experiences are found in two of his classical
poems - The Absolute, and The Pilgrims of the Lord Supreme.
Sri Chinmoy identifies closely with the inner struggles that seekers face in their daily aspiration, his poetry like a beacon of light, pointing to the ultimate goal of their inner journey. Through simple yet profoundly deep poetic expression Sri Chinmoy's wisdom and personal experience inspires, encourages and guides seekers with their every step.
Seer Poet:
Based on his sublimely deep meditative experiences, Sri Chinmoy like the great seer poets brings to aspiring individuals a glimpse of the higher realities. He encourages seekers to meditate, to
go beyond the limitations of the physical mind to discover the silence
and vastness of their higher Self, within the compassion and love of the
spiritual heart. He encourages seekers to strive for self improvement, to sincerely
offer their best qualities and be responsible world-citizens within our global
world-family.
Sri Chinmoy explains that our goal is to transcend our imperfections in order to grow
closer to our Creator, the Lord Supreme. Slowly and steadily this world
shall be transformed through the strength of our united and aspirating hearts, and world harmony shall ultimately prevail through
compassion, oneness and our dedicated self-giving actions.
He constantly reassures us that even though
the journey may seem long, we should never stop! For each step increasingly
brings us closer to the Supreme with our deepening awareness, inspiration, happiness and fulfilment.
Lasting peace must begin
Within the depths of the individual,
And from there spread
In ever widening circles
For world change.
~Sri Chinmoy~
In comparison to his early poetry style of longer poems, a noticeable characteristic of Sri Chinmoy's in recent years has been the use of short and inspirational mantric poetic aphorisms -
A little ripple
Wakes the sea.
A tiny thought
Shakes the world.
~ Sri Chinmoy
Whatever form of poetic expression Sri Chinmoy uses, his words powerfully
resonate within the very core of your being. From the silent depths of
your heart, Sri Chinmoy releases fresh levels of - aspiration, energy,
inspiration, compassion and joy.
Comments
on Sri Chinmoy's poetry style by Professor Kusimita Pedersen, compiler
of Sri Chinmoy's poetry compilation - Here is the Place.
"The poems of Sri Chinmoy are not quite like anything else being written today...his poetry flows from deep well of inner experience and illumination...the poems seem simple, but they have internal complexity and depth...they have a sense of mystery...he aims right for the heart...he has evolved his distinctive style over decades of composition."
“My physical death
Is not the end of my life -
I am an eternal journey.”
- Sri Chinmoy
* This poem is the last poem written during Sri Chinmoy’s lifetime, written on the evening of the 10th October. Sri Chinmoy passed away at 7am on the 11th October 2007.
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Please note: As we intend to publish excerpts from many of Sri Chinmoy's limited edition publications, this site shall be continually expanded. Be aware though that most of these titles are no longer commercially available. None the less, we strongly feel that because of their literary merit, particularly their spiritual Light and inspiration, that they are far too important not to be shared with our global audience.
You may still however be able to purchase a copy or two of these older compilations from Heart-Light Distributors or Aum Publications.
Poetry themes: On occasion you may find an aphorism repeated in different themes. This is intentional so as to continue the inspiration that aphorism brings through the themes it represents.
Copyright:
The poetry of Sri Chinmoy is available for non commercial use under the Creative Commons License. You are welcome to use any poems on this site on your own website, providing you mention the author and provide a link back to this site - Sri Chinmoy Books/Poetry
See also: Sri Chinmoy's - official poetry site
