Great Throughts Treasury

This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.

Sri Chinmoy, born Chinmoy Kumar Ghose

Indian-born Bengali and American Contemporary Spiritual Leader, Author, Poet, Athlete and Artist

"Our philosophy Is progress. In our self-transcendence Is our tremendous joy."

"Transcendence is perfection. Perfection is transcendence When we transcend our capacities, Immediately we get an inner joy, An inner thrill, Which is another name for perfection. No perfection can ever be achieved Without self-transcendence."

"Since your life has become A loud self-proclamation-drum, How will you ever feel the joy Of a transcendence-satisfaction-life?"

"Centuries of my totally Forgotten hopes Are reborn. Therefore I am smiling Today. My God is the witness; My despair is the witness. Centuries of my unconsciously Sealed inner treasures Are unsealed. Therefore I am dancing Today. My God is the witness; My inner penury is the witness."

"My mind is crying pitifully At the confusion-shore. My heart is crying sleeplessly At the frustration-shore. My soul is smiling blissfully At the perfection-shore."

"My Supreme, my Supreme, my Supreme! Smiling and smiling You go before me. Blessingfully and compassionately You keep the path ready for me. Yet my mind is so unmindful And my heart is so ungrateful, Alas, alas! My Supreme, my Supreme, my Supreme!"

"O my soul, If you want to come down, Then come down with your Eternal moon of love. O my body, If you want to go up, Then go up with your Eternal sun of strength."

"The sacred heart of the moon Is from the secret Smile of God. The sacred breath of the sun Is from the open Dance of God."

"The moon’s silver feet Give my heart joy beyond measure. The sun’s golden eye Transports my life Into the world of Transcendence-Treasure."

"The sun is dancing, The moon is dancing, The stars are dancing. I am dancing this moment With the sun, moon and stars. Next moment I am sailing With the sky. The sky makes me feel That I am the vastness of Infinity’s Heart; The sun, moon and stars make me feel That God’s creation is for ecstasy’s beginningless birth And endless journey."

"The descending fire descends; The ascending fire ascends. The smile of Light Watches their tasks divine From across the empty space Where the hands of ether Salute the golden mystic sun."

"The morning sun Greets your accomplishment-life. The evening sun Salutes your new hunger. The inner sun Perfects your life of deception, Guides your life of aspiration And Fulfils your life of abnegation Through the power of love-devotion."

"The rainbow comes and goes With a charming body. The outer sun comes and goes With a vast body. The inner sun stays and stays With its boundless And deathless Love-light."

"Do you want happiness? Then ask your mind to love sincerity. Do you want happiness? Then ask your mind to love simplicity. Do you want happiness? Then ask your mind to love serenity. Do you want happiness? Then ask your mind to love purity."

"Every day I pray to God To turn my mind into a serenity-flower, My heart into a purity-flower And my life into a simplicity-flower."

"Happiness means The serenity Of the mind."

"Where is Heaven, If not in the serenity of the mind, Purity of the heart And simplicity of the life?"

"Each thought Is the creator Of a new experience."

"Sometimes people cherish negative thoughts. They get a kind of pleasure from them. They feel that fear, doubt and jealousy are necessary. Each thought has power of its own. Positive thought has a power and negative thought also has a power. With positive power we build; with negative power we break. Each positive thought is creation and each negative thought is destruction. When a negative thought comes, we have to feel that it is a thief. A negative thought comes in the form of doubt, fear, jealousy, hypocrisy or meanness. We have to feel that each negative thought has come to commit a theft, to take something away from our inner life and inner wealth."

"Among the fearless soldiers that fight for your victory in life, character has no equal. Character is the colossal hope of human improvement within and without. Character is blazing sunshine in the soul’s abode, the body. A perfect society is built upon mutual trust. Character is the source of that trust. Character is just what we inwardly are and outwardly do. The secret of inner success is constancy to our highest character. Character gives the key to open the most beautiful doors of life: Peace of Mind and Delight."

"Spirituality encompasses everything; therefore, it includes human character, too. To have a good character is to have honesty, simplicity, spontaneity, absence of anger, pride and so forth. When an ordinary human being possesses all these qualities, we call him a man of good character."

"In the spiritual life good character is of paramount importance. Good character means that life-energy soulful, boundless energy-is operating in and through the seeker. If the seeker does not see the boundless Energy, Peace, Light and Bliss, then how can he remain in his highest consciousness?"

"Purity and character come simultaneously. If someone has inner purity, then he also has good character. And if there is somebody with good character then he is maintaining in his inner life tremendous purity. Purity is the ladder we climb up in order to reach God’s Abode. If there is no ladder, then how can we climb up?"

"Hope Knows no fear. Hope dares to blossom Even inside the abysmal abyss. Hope secretly feeds And strengthens Promise."

"To hope is to see with the eye of the heart. To hope is to make the heart captain the vital and the body. To hope is to send darkness-night into exile."

"Hope pulls the heart of tomorrow into the body of today."

"The hope of a human child is to get the highest degree or diploma. The hope or climbing aspiration of a divine child is to receive and achieve Peace, Light and Bliss in infinite measure. To hope is to feel the presence of the inner sun."

"Hope and faith are two intimate brothers; they always go together. Hope nourishes faith and faith treasures hope."

"Hope is not an idle term. Hope is the reality that can and does reveal itself to us at God’s choice hour. To hope is to know the secret of achievement."

"Hope is at once both simple and profound. It is hope that binds Heaven and earth. Hope is the bridge between Heaven and earth. It is hope that makes us feel, at the beginning of our spiritual journey, that we are of God and that we are for God."

"World peace can be achieved When, in each person, The power of love Replaces the love of power."

"The moment enthusiasm Leaves us, Our life-energy decreases Beyond our imagination. My entire being Must be surcharged with Enthusiasm-flood. Enthusiasm is a divine gift, And this divine gift We get from higher worlds. Enthusiasm lost, Life-satisfaction is lost; God-perfection in man Remains a far cry. Enthusiasm has success In it. Enthusiasm is progress In itself. Daring enthusiasm and abiding cheerfulness Can accomplish everything on earth Without fail. My enthusiasm needs No imagination-flight, For it is always A rich harvest."

"Worries and anxieties Torture The greatness of the mind. Joy and satisfaction Befriend The goodness of the heart. The human mind Is conscious Only of a joyless road. O my mind, You talk too much! Do follow my heart That lives in silence."

"When I am in my mind, My mind gives me what it has: Sighs. When I am in my heart My hear gives me what it is: Delight."

"Delight is Eternity’s Treasure and Immortality’s Life. A delightful child may very often lose his life of delightful experience when he grows into an adolescent. His experience of this kind of delight can be something quite transitory. But when real divine delight enters into an aspirant, it is an everlasting experience. Now, what is the divine meaning of delight? The divine meaning of delight is Immortality in one’s entire being."

"My body’s delight Is my ignorance-sleep. My vital’s delight Is my aggression-sword. My mind’s delight Is my suspicion-eye. My heart’s delight Is my oneness-embrace. My God’s delight Is the message of My Self-transcending Beyond."

"Delight is our source, Delight is our course And Delight is the all-illumining, All-fulfilling force In us, With us And For us."

"Yesterday my need was world-conquest. I failed. Today my need is my own survival. I am failing. Tomorrow my need will be a surrendered life. I shall fail."

"Our philosophy is the philosophy of wisdom: first things first. Most human beings are wanting in peace, peace of mind. They enter into the hustle and bustle of life right in the morning, and during the whole day they do not have even an iota of peace. We feel that if we can do first things first we are being wise. Early in the morning, if we can pray to God for at least a few minutes, that means we are doing first things first. We feel it is money-power, material wealth, that will give us satisfaction. But it is not material power; it is the inner power, spiritual power, that gives us real satisfaction. If God the Almighty Father is satisfied with us, if He is pleased with us, then He will grant us peace of mind. And once we have peace of mind, no matter where we go and what activities we enter into, still we feel a sense of satisfaction. Right now satisfaction is a far cry. But early in the morning if we pray to God and meditate on God for a few minutes, then we get peace of mind to some extent. And this peace of mind is undoubtedly true satisfaction in life. "

"“The survival of the fittest.” Indeed, this is the zenith of the human knowledge. The divine knowledge is the revival of the dead souls, the souls that do not aspire."

"Sympathy Is the fresh Happiness-dawn-bringer To humanity Sympathy Is the manifestation Of oneness – wisdom. Sympathy Is infinitely stronger And sweeter Than kindness. Sympathy Is the perfect Revelation Of divinity. Sympathy Is heaven’s Sunshine Sympathy Is by far the best In drying up Others’ tears. Sympathy Is sorrow’s Unparalleled Friend. Sympathy Is the nectar-delight Of a bleeding heart. Sympathy’s Inner name Is sacrifice. Sympathy Is the illumining light Of compassion-tears. Sympathy Is a fountain-heart Of concern."

"Ultimately everything Becomes boring. Even great miracles Become boring. Even the tremendous powers of the cosmic gods Become boring. Even God the Omniscient Becomes boring. Even God the Omnipotent Becomes boring. But, but, but God the All-Love Never becomes boring, Never."

"Happiness Don’t be in love with machinery. There is no happiness there. Don’t be in love with money. There is no happiness there. Be in love with your heart-life. There, only there, Is the flood of happiness."

"The mind chases happiness. The heart creates happiness. The soul is happiness And it spreads happiness All-where."

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace"

"My morning love of God Liberates me from the frets And fevers of life. My afternoon love of God Protects me from world-dangers And world-tragedies. My evening love of God Inspires me to stand On the battlefield of life To distribute the Breath of God."

"Dear children, the Golden Boat is not mine. This Boat belongs to the Supreme. We are all passengers on this Boat. You may say that I am an experienced passenger because I have been on this Boat for a longer time than you have been. But I wish to say that this Boat belongs to the Supreme. Right now He has only a few hundred passengers on this Boat, but a day will dawn when he will have seven thousand passengers or even more. And in the near or distant future the Boat of the Supreme, where we are all now seated, will carry not only seven hundred or seven thousand individuals, but the whole of humanity to the Golden Shores of the Beyond. The Transcendental Supreme in His Golden Boat will carry all of us to the Golden Shores of the ever-transcending Beyond."

"Of all the gifts You have offered to God, Your happiness-gift He treasures most."

"Instead of telling the world What it is supposed to do, Why don’t you immediately do it yourself ? In this way, I assure you, Your happiness will be surprisingly multiplied."

"I am very happy Because I have conquered myself And not the world. I am very happy Because I have loved the world And not myself."