The genesis of Sri Chinmoy’s Peace Concerts can be traced back to one auspicious day in June 1965, when he was asked by the Indian Consulate, at the behest of the Asia Society, to set tune to three ancient Bengali poems and sing them at a recital to be held at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.
With barely a week’s notice, the young Chinmoy was desperate to find a harmonium. As it happened, Sher Singh, the security guard at India House, was more than happy to sell him one. In true Indian manner, Chinmoy bargained with the seller, eventually procuring it for just $6. The kind heart of Sher Singh won out. Chinmoy’s first offer of $25 was refused and when they both agreed upon $7, Mr. Singh returned $1 to Chinmoy’s hand.
“That week I practised those three songs on Sher Singh’s harmonium at least forty times. Before the actual performance, during my lunch hour, I had to go to the Asia Society and sing before the Society’s leaders. They were very satisfied.”1
His career as a concert musician had begun.
At his lectures in the late ’60s and early ’70s, Sri Chinmoy would often play the harmonium and sing a few traditional spiritual songs, as well as some of his own original compositions from an ever-increasing repertoire.
In the summer of 1975, Sri Chinmoy began practising a variety of Eastern and Western instruments, culminating in a twenty-seven instrument concert on his birthday, August 27.
Although the variety of instruments Sri Chinmoy has played since then can be numbered in the hundreds, there are two instruments that have become synonymous with Sri Chinmoy’s musical performances over the years – the Indian esraj and the Western flute.
He first began playing the esraj in New York on February 17, 1976. And in early March that same year, during a lecture tour of Australia, Sri Chinmoy learnt to play the Western flute.
During his lifetime, Sri Chinmoy gained worldwide recognition as a prolific composer and a consummate musician. In 1984, he offered the first of what he called ‘Peace Concerts’ to an audience of 8,500 people in Cologne, Germany. For the next twenty or more years, he travelled the globe sharing the message of peace through his music. His largest concert was held in the year 2000, when 19,000 people gathered to hear him at the Molson Centre in Montreal, Canada.
When asked how his concerts bring peace to the world, he answered with characteristic humility: “In my case, I feel that when I play soulful music and when I sing my spiritual songs, I can offer whatever peace I have to humanity. So this is my way of offering.”2
In total, Sri Chinmoy offered almost 800 Peace Concerts, performing in capacity-filled venues, sharing inspiration with audiences around the world. Speaking on the inspiration behind the concerts, Sri Chinmoy remarked
“When I offer peace concerts,” he said, “thousands of people pray with me and meditate with me. I play different musical instruments and sing for about two hours. The peace-lovers who come to listen inspire me, and I inspire them. Everything is based on inspiration.”3
– Animesh Harrington
Concert Series
Within the Peace Concert umbrella, Sri Chinmoy also did particular series of concerts, dedicated to a particular theme. Of particular note are:
1984 — “Peace: God’s Beauty in His Oneness-Home”
1992 — Concerts dedicated to President Mikhail Gorbachev.
1993 — A series of 39 concerts dedicated to Swami Vivekananda
1995 — 50 concerts dedicated to the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations
1996-97 — 50 concerts in honour of India's 50th anniversary of independence.
1998-99 — New Millennium Series.
The following is a list of Sri Chinmoy’s Peace Concerts.4
Video of Peace Concerts
Video of Sri Chinmoy Peace Concerts. Photo by Dhanu from Montreal Concert, Canada, 1991.
Endnotes:
1 Sri Chinmoy, My Consulate Years, Agni Press, Jamaica, NY, 1996, p. 35.
2 Sri Chinmoy, Sri Chinmoy Answers, Part 30, Agni Press, Jamaica, NY, 2001.
3 Sri Chinmoy, Sri Chinmoy Answers, Part 23, Agni Press, Jamaica, NY, 2000.
4 Originally published in 500 Compassion-Blessing-Blossoms with new additional information and amendments supplied by concert organisers.
– Animesh Harrington