The Absolute

This book is a collection of Sri Chinmoy’s poems selected from his entire body of poetic work that spans over six decades. He started writing poetry from the age of thirteen and continued writing even in the last year of his life. As a child he was thoroughly trained in the craft of the poetic art. All his early poems were written from within the poetic restraints of meter and rhyme. Only later in his poetic career he wrote in free verse. Speaking of his poetry, Sri Chinmoy said, “Throughout my poetry-journey, my poetry-tree has cherished various branches: philosophy, prayer, religion, spirituality, my love of Nature’s beauty, my love of word-making, which the English language indulgently allows me to explore, and my abiding love, concern and hope for this world of ours.” Because of the shear originality, sincerity, honesty, and truth in his poems, the cadences of Sri Chinmoy’s poetry, like the poet himself, will travel through time for centuries and centuries to come offering hope, strength and salvation to many an earnest traveler in his or her journey through life.



About the Author



A renaissance man of our modern times, Sri Chinmoy was a poet, an author of essays, a composer, an artist, a sportsman, and a lover of humanity. Sri Chinmoy always considered himself a student of peace. He was always open to new ideas and implementing new ways to make our world a better place. He established a wide range of cultural, humanitarian and spiritual programs on every continent. In new ways, these projects foster the ancient and universal values which underlie all great cultures and faiths. Sri Chinmoy wrote several books of prose and poetry, composed over 21,000 pieces of music, played over 777 Peace Concerts in venues like Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall and was an avid runner, tennis player and champion weightlifter. He had offered hundreds of lectures at universities throughout the globe. At galleries worldwide, including the Carrousel du Louvre and UNESCO in Paris and the Russian National Museum of Decorative Arts, selections of Sri Chinmoy’s paintings and 16 million “Dream-Freedom-Peace-Bird” drawings have given joy and inspiration to countless people.