27,000 Aspiration-Plants, Part 1

For many of us, the inspiration to write poetry visits us without advance notice, stays but fleetingly, and then departs. However, on a summer's day in New York in 1983, spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy had a different experience. The inspiration came to him to write 27,000 short poems. He had no idea how many years this epic project would take, or even if it was humanly possible. But he rode the crest of this wave of inspiration and poems started flowing forth -- poems about the inner life, about meditation, about the struggles of the mind and the small victories of the heart. There were poems that encompassed the sweep of centuries, while others celebrated the simple beauty of sunrise and sunset. In many ways, the poet became a divine cartographer, mapping the vast inner realms of the soul. The years passed by and still the poems streamed from his pen. Finally, in 1998, almost 15 years later, he celebrated the end of his epic journey. As he writes in one poem:

Life's perfection-road
Is very long,
But the journey is richly rewarding.

These poems are offered in 27 separate e-books, comprising 1,000 poems each. The books can be picked up in those moments where you feel the need for a surge of inner courage, an uplifting message, or merely a reminder of what is real in this transient world. Sometimes we just need to be re-focused on our spiritual path and Sri Chinmoy's wise and lucid words have a way of clearing our minds of obstructions and guiding us to our own spiritual awakening. Essentially, these are poems to live with, to re-read again and again so that they resonate, like mantras, in one's entire being.