Words of Wisdom
“…the poet is truly the thief of fire.”
-- Rimbaud
From the seer-poet, we expect timeless gifts of wisdom, of inner sight. In ages past, his revelations would have been sung, chanted or intoned, passed down by word of mouth from generation to generation. Nowadays, it is more likely that we will read his creations flat on a page. Is it still possible to experience the great soul-power behind our modern literature of wisdom?
The broad appeal of Sri Chinmoy’s aphorisms suggests that he has succeeded in making his wisdom come alive in our imaginative vision. He has achieved a height of simple, bare and direct expression which carries us to an expanded level of awareness. “Simplicity,” he has written, “has nothing to hide.” On the contrary, in simplicity he has found the words of the greatest intensity and power.
Emerson wrote of poets, “…we sing as we are bid.” In the same way, Sri Chinmoy’s choice of language and image often seems not only inspired but also inevitable. He has found the self-revealing words to frame his vision and, what is equally true, they have found him. Thus there is a feeling that comes with his poems that he is the instrument by which they are written.
A sprinkling of examples of Sri Chinmoy’s aphorisms only serves to reinforce our conviction that a vast wisdom encircles all the various themes of which he writes. There is here an intensity of vision and a depth of compassion for humankind which transfigure ordinary speech.
God expects his worshippers
To heal this broken world.
If we do not aspire,
Then we are definitely
Living in exile on earth.
Self-giving
Is
The miracle of miracles.
To be God’s partner,
You have to be God’s
Lover and server first.
God’s Eye beckons.
God’s Heart feeds.
Heaven watches us.
Earth instructs us.
Prayer starts
With a question.
Meditation concludes
With the Answer.
God shall remain
Infinitely more beautiful
Than mankind shall ever imagine.
Each life, indeed,
Is a masterpiece
Of the Supreme.
These few aphorisms, selected from just 2,000 or Sri Chinmoy’s more than 100,000 such creations, are sacred utterances to live by. They offer strength, consolation, courage, confidence and inspiration. To read them is to realise that they invite repetition, even incantation. They are mantras for our modern age, resonant sound-forms of abiding truths.
