Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees

There is only one way
To arrive at the destination:
Begin.

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All that you need
May not be before you
Or around you,
But all that you need
Is definitely within you.

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If we can illumine the mind,
By virtue of our prayers
And meditations,
Its capacities will be unimaginable.

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Love is something
That never cared to learn
How to judge anybody.

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If you can create harmony
In your own life,
This harmony will enter
Into the vast world.

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It is better
To make mistakes
Than to lie idle.

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Enrich the lives of others.
Lo, your heart has become
Infinitely rich.

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A happy life is the clear indication
Of a tamed mind
And disciplined thoughts.

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When you become
Your heart's soulfulness
The whole world will love you
Far beyond your imagination.

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Humanity has given me
Heavy burdens,
But God has given me
Two strong shoulders.

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Our adamantine determination-power
Can easily tame
All our stray and unwilling thoughts.

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O seeker,
Do not be doomed
To disappointment.
Behold,
The sunny sky of your soul
Is beckoning you.

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Optimism, optimism!
Keep a profound optimism.
Bow to your future Goal.
Your Goal will not fail you,
And you will not fail your Goal.

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The soul comes to the fore
And tells the darkness-mind
"Come home, come home!
For such a long time
I have been waiting for you."

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It is not easy,
But we must tame and train
Our old, unwilling thoughts
For a higher life
And richer achievement
In the inner world.

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Seize every moment
To transform the undivine into the divine,
And the divine into the perfect.

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I believe in
The magic transformation
Of life:
We can establish universal oneness
Through our prayer and meditation.

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Do you want to be happy?
Then force your mind to be
Inside the breath of your heart.
This is the only way
To keep yourself happy.

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I am determined
To smash the pride
Of all the negative qualities
That torture me day in and day out.

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Do you want to be happy,
Really happy?
Then just think
Of your outer life less,
A little less,
And live more,
A little more,
In your inner life.

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Believe me, O seeker!
When you smile,
All your negativity-poison disappears
In the twinkling of an eye.

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Finally, I have joined God
To see and feel everything
With love.

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

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The sun shines
Everywhere,
Yet the human mind
Remains unlit.

---

The human life
In me
Has to learn
Many things divine.

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There is no way
To achieve goodness
Without offering it first.

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Our mind-windows
Have to be cleaned every day
If we want to see truth through them.

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The experience of God-ecstacy
Costs nothing.
It only needs the effort.

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By constantly analysing
Yourself,
You are only paralising
Your mind.

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Leave behind
Not your words
But your deeds for mankind.

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We all live
A life of imperfection.
Therefore our life
Is in need of
Constant repair.

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To better oneself
Means to be
A good citizen of the world.

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What the mind has
Is nothing more
Than a flickering lamp
Of reason.

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To be a good citizen of the world
Means I am not only for myself;
I am also for the rest of the world.

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If I do not accept myself
As imperfect,
How am I going to transcend
My limitations?

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We forget to remember God.
Therefore our life on earth
Remains uninspired, unillumined
And unfulfilled.

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To help others go
In the right direction,
We must go in that direction
First.

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Life is void
Because we do not dare
To look deep within.

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

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Alas, we are begging our unhappy mind
To make us happy.
Let us knock at our heart-door
The right door,
Which can and shall make us happy.

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When we appreciate the good qualities
In the height and depth of a country,
Its soul gets the inner strength
To awaken again
The members of its own family:
Its countrymen.

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My achievements I treasure
Only when
They make others prosper.

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The outer capacity
Comes from the awareness
Of the inner necessity.

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If we can all become good citizens
Of the world,
Then the face and fate of the world
Will change overnight.

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

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

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Concentrate! Concentrate!
Discouraging, destructive
And uncomely thoughts
Will not be able to capture you.

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Every second
Either you are going to miss
Or you are going to avail yourself of
A golden opportunity.

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If you are wise,
You will try your utmost to seize
Each God-given opportunity.

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Why do we play sports?
To develop fellow feeling;
To serve humanity.

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Why do we watch sports?
To receive inspiration, enthusiasm,
Joy and courage.

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Each religion
Is a different branch
Of the same life-tree.

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My prayer and meditation
Have made me realise
That love of God
Is the only religion.

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If we truly love God,
We will cherish all religions
In the depths of our heart.

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The world is indeed one family -
Sisters and brothers
With the same Father:
God.

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The world is indeed one family -
Different names and faces,
But all are children of God.

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We are all leaves, flowers and fruits
On the different religion-branches
Of the birthless and deathless life-tree.

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Let us care about loving God
And not worry about
Which religion is the best.

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If I truly love God,
I go beyond the boundaries
Of religion
And feel oneness
With all God's children.

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If the world is going to change,
First we will have to change
In our hearts.

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After many, many years of centuries,
Humanity will come to realise
That without light
There can be no true satisfaction.

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How long can the world deny the light?
The day will come when the world
Will be sick of its darkness.

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If we offer others concern
And compassion,
Their good will can only expedite
Our own progress.

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Notes

These poems excerpts are from the series of aphorisms by Sri Chinmoy titled: Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees

• Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees at Sri Chinmoy Poetry.

• Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees part 1 at Sri Chinmoy Library.