24 May 1998
There was an orphan boy.
His name was Madal Chinmoy.
He hailed from a wee village, Shakpura.
He became his Family’s ananda fuara.
He lost his Father at the age of eleven.
The following year, his Mother
Was summoned by Heaven.
At the age of twelve, he came to Pondicherry
To be a passenger of his Master’s Ferry.
Sports he liked and became a mountain-champion,
But neglected not his dream of God-union.
One night his Guru Supreme
Entered into his sweetness-dream,
Said:
“Get up to meditate. Get up to meditate.
In years to come you will have to navigate
The birthless and deathless mankind’s sorrows
To the Golden Shore of Tomorrows.
Give due importance to your body, vital,
Mind, heart and soul
To help the world reach its destined Goal.”
Madal, kettledrum of the cosmic Gods,
Became Chinmoy Consciousness-full.
God’s Compassion-Eye made him
A teacher of His inner School.
His student-life he took as his life’s bondage-night.
Therefore, his heart pined for Freedom-Light.
Now that he is a teacher of the inner School,
He realises that he is an unspeakable fool.
Humanity’s transformation-fate
Is a completely closed iron gate.
He breathlessly cries to God,
“Save me, my Lord, save!”
“For you, no rest. Sunlit Path you needs must pave.
For you, no rest, no rest, not even a fleeting rest
Because in you I have found My Heart’s Satisfaction-Nest.”
“O Lord, I am crying, bleeding and dying.”
“Who prevents you from smiling and flying?”
The whole world came to him.
He desperately wanted to hide.
His Absolute Lord commanded him
All-where with Him to ride.
Editor’s notes
1. “Ananda Fuara” means “fountain of delight” in Bengali.
2. Madal came to Pondicherry to become a permanent resident of Sri Aurobindo’s Ashram.
3. Sri Chinmoy originally dictated this poem to Nishtha Baum.