Video by Utpal Marshall
On March 3rd 1979, Sri Chinmoy completed his first marathon in Chico California in a time of 4:31:34. Each year since then, his students in New York and around the world have honoured him by running the 26-mile distance.
Video by Utpal Marshall
On March 3rd 1979, Sri Chinmoy completed his first marathon in Chico California in a time of 4:31:34. Each year since then, his students in New York and around the world have honoured him by running the 26-mile distance.
Together with his brothers and sisters, the twelve-year-old Chinmoy joins the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry where he stays for the next twenty years before coming to the West. His eldest brother Hriday had already left the family home in Chittagong almost twelve years earlier to join the Ashram. On this day, all seven children of Shashi Kumar and Yogamaya Ghosh are reunited.
A twenty-year-old ‘Chinmoy’ competes in track and field events, including the pole vault, on Sports Day at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, India.
Sri Chinmoy offers a prayer, entitled ‘Serve and Love’, at St. Paul’s Chapel, Columbia University, in New York, NY, USA.
Sri Chinmoy delivers a lecture, entitled ‘Human Art, Divine Art, Supreme Art’, at the Hammarskjöld Auditorium at the United Nations in New York, NY.
Sri Chinmoy delivers a lecture, entitled ‘Consciousness’, at St. Xavier High School, New York, NY, USA.
Sri Chinmoy holds a meditation for his students at a picnic area in Hidden Valley Park, near Woodstock, New York. He offers everyone bags of prasad containing 100 items in honour of the recent completion of his 100 ‘Everest-Aspiration’ talks.
Sri Chinmoy offers a concert in the Museo del Arte, in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Sri Chinmoy takes a group of children on a trip from New York to Niagara Falls. During the long bus ride, the children ask him a number of questions and he, in turn, asks each of them several questions. These are later published in a book entitled, Niagara Falls versus Children’s Rise.
Sri Chinmoy performs a concert sponsored by the Hindu Temple Society of North America and the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan at the Ganesh Temple in Flushing, NY, USA.
Sri Chinmoy lifts 19 champion runners and athletes, including Sudhahota Carl Lewis, 9-time Olympic gold medallist; Butch Reynolds, Olympic gold and silver medallist, 400m; and Jim Hines, Olympic gold medallist 100m, at the ‘The Morning of Champion-Hearts Supreme’ at Aspiration-Ground in Jamaica, NY, USA.
Sri Chinmoy offers a Peace Concert (360) — the 22nd of 39 concerts held in honour of Swami Vivekananda — at Aspiration-Ground in Jamaica, NY, USA.
Sri Chinmoy writes thirty-eight poems in tribute to John F. Kennedy, Jr. (25 Nov. 1960-16 Jul. 1999) — one for each year of his life on earth. The poems are later published in John Kennedy: The World-Treasure-Home.
Sri Chinmoy receives the Heart of Burkina Faso Award.
Sri Chinmoy hosts a ‘Lifting Up the World with a Oneness-Heart’ programme at Aspiration-Ground in Jamaica, New York, USA. He also offers a short esraj concert.
India Post, published in America, reports on Sri Chinmoy’s involvement in the fourth Parliament of the World’s Religions in Barcelona, Spain.
Sri Chinmoy offers a Peace Concert at Snug Harbor Cultural Centre on Staten Island, NY, USA.
A talk by Sri Chinmoy
in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium at the United Nations
First see it and then do it: this is human art. First feel it and then do it: this is divine art.
First see it and then draw it: this is human art. First feel it and then draw it: this is divine art. First live in the inner world with your capacity-light and then live for the outer world's necessity-life: this is supreme art.
Calculation of earth's beauty is human art. Liberation of earth's beauty is divine art. Perfection of earth's beauty is supreme art.
Human art declares, "Nothing succeeds like success." Divine art affirms, "Nothing proceeds like progress." Supreme art whispers, "Nothing satisfies like service, divine service, soulful service."
The lofty height of human art is the inspiration-moon. The sublime depth of divine art is the aspiration-sun. The illumining goal of supreme art is Eternity's perfection-day.
Beauty's possession is human art, the art of earth. Beauty's distribution is Heaven's art. Beauty's satisfaction is supreme art.
Earth's possession of beauty is earth's art. Heaven's compassion for beauty is Heaven's art. God's Perfection in beauty is supreme art.
Human art looks around while running towards the goal. Divine art looks ahead while running fast, faster, fastest towards the goal. Supreme art does not run, does not fly, does not dive; supreme art becomes what the Inner Pilot, the Supreme Artist, wants it to become.
Human art is the reality that we have, the reality that needs its expression, the reality that needs world-acceptance, world-appreciation, world-admiration, world-adoration. Divine art is the divinity that we see in the inner world and the outer world — in the world of our earthly experiences, earthly realisations, earthly sacrifices and earthly achievements. Supreme art is the divine reality that is constantly transcending its own height for God's ever-new creation, ever-new revelation, ever-new manifestation and ever-new perfection.
Human art is the leaf-experience of our life-tree. Divine art is the flower-realisation of our life-tree. Supreme art is the fruit-perfection of our life-tree.
A leaf inspires us: therefore, we run towards our destination. A flower purifies us; therefore, our speed becomes tremendous and we run fast, faster, fastest. A fruit energises us; therefore, we become chosen instruments to fight against teeming darkness and ignorance, to conquer the undivine forces within us and finally, to establish in ourselves the real, the divine, the eternal silence-life and eternal perfection-beauty.
Each creation of God has the real in it. This real reality is the soul. Now, the soul of a bench or a chair need not and cannot be as developed, as illumining, as fulfilling as the soul of an advanced seeker or a realised Master. So if we want to draw a bench or a chair, we may draw it well; but our inspiration is bound to fail us after a few minutes when we try to draw a chair, a bench or a table. But if we draw something or someone that has contributed considerably to the world of aspiration and light, then naturally our inspiration will last a long, long time. In this case, inspiration is the precursor of aspiration, aspiration is the precursor of revelation and revelation is the precursor of manifestation, which is none other than God-perfection: complete, absolute perfection.
The human artist is great, undoubtedly great. The divine artist is good, unmistakably good. The supreme artist is he who cares neither for greatness nor for goodness, who longs for only one thing: God-satisfaction, the satisfaction of God the Supreme Artist in and through him. He doesn't need greatness, he doesn't need goodness; he only longs for God-satisfaction in his life.
Published in Union-Vision
India Post News Service
BARCELONA, Spain: The Parliament of World’s Religion, only the 4th in the world, was held in Barcelona, Spain from July 7-13.
During Sri Chinmoy’s Opening Meditation, the entire audience joined with him in pin-drop silence, each praying in their own way.
These moments symbolize the very heart of the Parliament: people from all faiths joining together in oneness for the betterment of the world. This is an urgently important message at this very moment.
The Parliament of the World’s Religions, which began in Chicago in 1893, was the first and is the largest global interfaith gathering in the world.
Sri Chinmoy, who is nearly 73 years old and resides in New York City, has led the silent interfaith Meditation at the United Nations for diplomats and staff twice weekly since 1970. He has initiated many interfaith programs through culture, sports and dialogue.
The Council of the Parliament invited Sri Chinmoy to offer the Opening Meditation by stating “We think such a starkly singular and wordless presence will be the perfect entry for participants into the Parliament experience. And we can think of no one better to do it than you.”
Published in India Post, VOL 10. No. 520, July 23, 2004
by Sri Chinmoy
at Aspiration-Ground, Queens, New York
Today’s Peace Concert I am dedicating prayerfully, soulfully and devotedly to Swami Vivekananda, with whom strength indomitable was born — and no, not even an iota of fear!
Published in Vivekananda: Divinity's Soul-Rainbow and Humanity’s Heart-Blossom
Only a peace-bird-heart
Can fly in God’s own Rainbow-Sky.
Published in My Heart’s God-Songs
Sri Chinmoy lifts Sudhahota Carl Lewis, 9-time Olympic gold medallist, and 18 other champion runners and athletes who had participated in the New York Games, at a special programme called ‘The Morning of Champion-Hearts Supreme’ held at Aspiration-Ground in Jamaica, New York.
Sudhahota’s remarks:
This is a very special time for me. Although a lot of people may not know it, I’ve known Sri Chinmoy for the better part of six years. Just about everyone here is a good friend of mine. I’ve known them for years. This is almost like home to me. Every time I’m in the area, I visit Sri Chinmoy. And he and many of his disciples actually came to the 1984 and 1988 Olympics to see me. So I feel like this is always family here. To have some of the other athletes witness this and share in this experience is a special thing for me.
I don’t know if everyone recognised the song that they sang [‘Sudhahota’], but Sudhahota is actually my spiritual name, and that’s how I’m known around here. I’m glad that some of the other athletes were able to meet Sri Chinmoy, because he’s an inspiration to all of us. He continues to help us to aspire and to be very positive, and also to meditate and find our inner peace. That’s what’s very important, for it’s something that we can transmit to everybody. It goes beyond the boundaries of sports.
Everyone here is very special to me spiritually. So I just hope we have more and more family members, and that Sri Chinmoy can continue to inspire you the way he does me.
Sri Chinmoy offers a prayer, entitled ‘Serve and Love’, at St. Paul’s Chapel, Columbia University, in New York.
To serve God I need only one thing:
Joy.
To serve mankind I need only one thing:
Patience.
To love God I need only one thing:
Purity's Breath.
To love mankind I need only one thing:
Humility's Soul.
Published in The Oneness of the Eastern Heart and the Western Mind, part 2
Thirty-eight poems by Sri Chinmoy
John Kennedy:
The 20th Century choice
Of the American heart.
John Kennedy:
The 21st Century voice
Of the American soul.
Your highest height
You surprisingly concealed.
Your deepest depth
You astonishingly concealed.
Why?
To selflessly mingle
And be inseparably one
With the common run.
You plied your life-boat
Between the simplicity-shore
And the spontaneity-shore.
Opportunity and prosperity
Befriended you
Right from the very first breath
Of your life.
But you chose your own
Hard-earned capacity
To be your dearest
And most cherished friend.
In your inner life
You ran unnoticed
On the determination-track.
In your outer life
You played noticed
In the recreation-ground.
Destined you were
To be a conductor supreme
Of the world-harmony-symphony.
But alas, your fate unknowable
Has made it otherwise.
You breathed
The ocean-vast breath of oneness.
A rarity, indeed!
To have a quick, secret glimpse
Of you
Is to proudly enjoy
The morning blossom-smiles.
Yours is the heart
Of a newness-beauty-dreamer.
Yours is the soul
Of a fulness-fragrance-seeker.
Whoever is adoring you
Is worshipping
In the depth of your heart
A yet to be fully manifested
God-Dream.
Mother’s dream, father’s promise
And sister’s pride
Have been playing hide-and-seek
In your heart-garden.
In the world-sympathy-consolation-ocean
Your heart-cherished sister, Caroline,
Is swimming fast, very fast.
May your sister, Caroline,
And you, her fondness-cradle-
Treasure-brother, John,
Together swing in the Heart-Garden
Of Immortality.
Your heart-intimacy
Smilingly disarmed
Your mind-supremacy.
The ill-fated human beings
Discovered in you
Their confidence-assurance-
Divinity-panorama.
To our great joy and satisfaction,
You were wont to consult your conscience
For everything.
In your outer life
You were the possessor
Of two Heaven-dreaming eyes.
In your inner life
You were the giver
Of an earth-feeding heart.
Amidst your admirers and adorers,
All your movements invariably created
An atmosphere of festivity.
No, no, no!
Yours is not the legacy
Of a futile promise.
Yours is the legacy
Of a yet to be finished
Cosmic play.
You preferred
The culture-life-creativity-evolution
To the whirlwind of world politics.
You are at once
America’s hope revealed
And
America’s promise unmanifested.
My aspiring heart is telling me
That your earth-departure
And Heaven-arrival
Shall convincingly, unmistakably
And eternally remain
An insoluble world-mystery.
Alas, we are living
In an unfading
Doubt-attraction-invasion-world.
Alas, confusion-weeds are not removed.
On the contrary,
To our deepest sorrow,
They are fast growing.
As God has garlanded you
Compassionately and proudly,
Even so, may God garland the tears
Of all American hearts.
Publicly and openly we see in you
The streaming tears
Of God the creation.
Secretly and sacredly we see in you
The ever-blossoming, ever-consoling
And ever-assuring Smiles
Of God the Creator.
Continue, continue!
Your soul-music is being heard
By the length and breadth
Of America the Beautiful
And
America the Brave.
The indomitable spirit
Of your life-partner, Carolyn,
Has not come to a final halt.
Her mind-brilliance and her heart-lustre
Shall permeate the world of creativity
In God’s own Way,
At God’s choice Hour.
Your earth-bound life is no more
With the fellow citizens
Of your beloved America.
May the Heaven-free beauty-petals
Of Time
Fall into their soulful prayer-hearts.
Your family-life-tragedies
Have been mind-devastating
And heart-rending experiences
Of America.
Yet, unparalleled shall forever ring
Your family’s inspiration-bells
In the inmost recesses
Of the American heart.
Kennedy — this very name
Is a Himalayan climb of inspiration,
Aspiration and dedication.
No hyperbole,
Your Father and Mother
Won the garland of Immortality.
And you, too,
Now have unmistakably won it.
May our peace-prayers
For your goodness-flooded soul
Reverberate to the limitless
Unhorizoned horizons.
May your very name,
John Kennedy,
Inspire the American despair-heart
To proudly jump
Into the sparkling enthusiasm-river.
John Kennedy:
The world-treasureJohn, John, John Kennedy, John, John!
America's Dream-Hope-Promise-Dawn.
Sweetness, firmness, newness, fulness.
American heart’s dearness, fondness.
Tragedy tears: the world-treasure.
The Heights of your Soul, beyond measure.
Published in John Kennedy: The World-Treasure-Home