A Poetic Offering by Sri Chinmoy, Leader of the peace Meditation at the UN.
Food has God. God is Food.
Food has life. God is Life.
Food has reality. God is Reality.
Food has sound-success.
God is Sound-Success.
Food has silence-progress.
God is Silence-Progress.
I eat. I eat to survive. From my very birth I have been seeking nourishment. Food saves my life from starvation. Food saves my life from extinction.
Mine is the hunger that does not permit me
To think soulfully.
Mine is the hunger that does not permit me
To act selflessly.
Mine is the hunger that does not permit me
To pray to God constantly.
Mine is the hunger that does not permit me
To meditate spontaneously.
Mine is the hunger that does not permit me
To love God unconditionally.
I know my food-hunger is reasonable and inevitable. But my power-hunger is unreasonable and unpardonable. Finally, my God-hunger is incomparable and insurmountable.
To my great sorrow, poverty attacks plenty. To my widest astonishment, plenty invades poverty. One of the lofty principles of the United Nations is: “Poverty anywhere in the world is a threat to prosperity everywhere.” Indeed, this is a heart-unifying and lifefulfilling message. The United Nations was founded upon the vision-hunger for world peace. I am sure there shall come a time when that vision will be transformed into realiry-in spite of today’s teeming, threatening and frightening clouds over the firmament of the United Nations.
O body, I tell you a supreme secret:
“Shortage is poverty.”
O vital, I tell you a supreme secret:
“Rivalry is poverty.”
O mind, I tell you a supreme secret:
“Doubt is poverty.”
O heart, I tell you a supreme secret:
“Insecurity is poverty.”
O life, I tell you a supreme secret:
“Impurity is poverty.”
O truth-seeker, I tell you a supreme secret:
“Disobedience is poverty.”
O God-lover, I tell you a supreme secret:
“Ingratitude is poverty.”
I eat to live.
Indeed, this is my wisdom-light.
I live to eat.
Indeed, this is my ignorance-night.
God says to my desire-life:
“Love to live.”
God says to my aspiration-life:
“Live to love.”
God says to my realisation-life:
“Love to become a oneness-heart.
Live to be a perfection-life.”
1 February 1980
Above was also published in: United Nations: The World’s Oneness-Home – book 2005 May 11