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.
Sri Chinmoy delivers a lecture, entitled ‘Perfection’, at the University of Ottawa, in Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Sri Chinmoy delivers a lecture, entitled ‘Spirituality and Art’, at the School of Visual Arts in New York, NY, USA.
Sri Chinmoy delivers a lecture, entitled ‘Psychic Power and Will-Power, at New York University in New York, NY, USA.
Sri Chinmoy offers an inspirational message, entitled, ‘Grievances’, in Jamaica, NY, USA.
Sri Chinmoy meets with Bernard Weatherall, Speaker of the British House of Commons, at Westminster Abbey in London, UK.
Sri Chinmoy offers a Peace Concert (132) at Glasgow City Hall in Glasgow, Scotland.
Sri Chinmoy offers an organ recital (14) at the University Chapel, Glasgow University, in Glasgow, Scotland.
Sri Chinmoy offers a Peace Concert (160) at Progress-Promise in Jamaica, NY, USA.
Sri Chinmoy meets with Emil Zatopek — three-time gold medallist at the 1952 Olympics for 5 km, 10 km and marathon — at he Sri Chinmoy Cup, a masters competition for athletes aged 40 years and over, held in Prague, Czech Republic. The event, attracts 2,000 spectators and athletes, and is organised by the 1992 Olympic decathlon champion, Robert Zmelik, in honor of Sri Chinmoy’s visit to Prague.
Sri Chinmoy competes in the Sri Chinmoy Cup — a special event organised by current Olympic decathlon champion, Robert Zmelik, in honor of Sri Chinmoy’s visit to Prague —held at Slavia Praha Sports Stadium in Prague, Czech Republic. His results in the field events are — 8.38 metres for the 4 kilogram shot put; 21.04 metres for the 1 kilogram discus; and 23.58 metres for the 600 gram javelin. He records a time of 16.60 seconds for the 100-metre race, which he runs with current Olympic decathlon champion Robert Zmelik. Emil Zatopek is the official starter for this special event.
Sri Chinmoy offers a Peace Concert (429) — the 29th of 50 concerts held in honour of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations — attended by a capacity audience of 15,000 people, at the Sportovní Hala Sparta, in Prague, Czech Republic.The concert is broadcast live on national radio.
Sri Chinmoy is interviewed by Martha Sawyert Allen, who writes a column called ‘Faith and Body’ for the Star Tribune, the largest newspaper in Minnesota. The telephone conversation takes place at 9:30 a.m. on 8 October and the article is published on Saturday, 14 October 2000.
Sri Chinmoy answers a question on ‘Politics and the Spiritual Life’ at Aspiration-Ground in Jamaica, NY, USA.
October 6th, 7th and 8th sees a three-day exhibit of Sri Chinmoy's art at Manhattan's prestigious School of Visual Arts. The brief showing is viewed by hundreds of artists, art lovers, art students and art teachers. On the last day of the exhibit Sri Chinmoy gave a short talk on art and spirituality, and answered questions. This is a transcription of the talk. School of Visual Arts, 8 October 1975.
Sri Chinmoy: Dear Dean Gorman, a few minutes earlier I had the unique occasion to speak with you. Your purity, simplicity, clarity and integrity have touched the very depth of my heart. Today you have given me the golden opportunity to be of service to the God lover in the artists and art lovers here at this illustrious school. To me, there can be no difference between a true God lover and an art lover. I offer my most soulful gratitude to you for giving me this opportunity to be of service to seekers of Truth and Light and lovers of universal art.
Before I give a short talk on spirituality and art [see below], I wish to sing a devotional song.
[Sri Chinmoy sings Dipta Madhuri, a Bengali song written and composed by himself.]
Published in AUM – Vol. 2, No.10, 27 October 1975
Sri Chinmoy’s lecture at the
School of Visual Arts in New York
Spirituality is realisation, realisation of one's universal oneness with the Absolute Reality. Art is manifestation, manifestation of the cosmic consciousness which each human being embodies. Spirituality is transcendental joy. Art is universal beauty. Joy is the source; beauty is the source. We came into this existence from boundless joy. In joy we grow, and at the end of our journey's close, into joy we shall retire. This joy we experience only when we live in the soul, in the world of the real Reality. If we live in the outer world, our life is nothing but excruciating pangs.
Spirituality is the essence of an ideal. This ideal illumines the world, the world that cries to elevate its consciousness. Art is the expression of an idea. This idea inspires the world to dive deep within and to move forward constantly. Spirituality is an upward movement and art is a forward movement. Spirituality is a soaring bird and art is a running athlete.
Spirituality has a friend: aspiration. Art has a friend: inspiration. Our aspiration-friend tells us that when we reach our destined goal we not only see the face of our goal but we also grow into the very image of our goal. Our inspiration-friend tells us to run forward, for there is the goal. That goal is awaiting us. At God's choice Hour we are destined to reach that goal.
A seeker tells his artist-friend, "Not this, not this, my friend. Something else here on earth and there in Heaven." The artist-friend tells the seeker, "This is it. This is the thing that you actually want. I have precisely what you want."
There is real spirituality and false spirituality, real art and false art. Real art does not imitate anything, not even nature. Real art does not imitate; it only represents. Real spirituality does not reject anything; it only accepts and transforms. Real spirituality is not asceticism. It does not advocate living in hermit caves. Real spirituality is based on vision. Real spirituality tells us to accept life and to transform the undivine in life. Today's imperfection need not be the imperfection of tomorrow. Tomorrow's perfection can dawn provided we cry soulfully, ceaselessly and unconditionally for illumining light.
Human art and divine art. The human art is social and commercial success. The divine art is constant outer and inner progress. Success and progress. Success stimulates us. Progress energises and immortalises us. Success is a short-lived life. Progress is an abiding life. Success can easily be followed by frustration, and inside frustration looms large destruction. But when we make progress in our inner and outer life, we feel a sense of satisfaction. Progress is of paramount importance in our life here on earth.
The human artist and the divine artist. The human artist has as an aim: greatness. The divine artist has a goal: goodness. Greatness consciously or unconsciously creates supremacy. If I have greatness, I must needs be much higher than you. This is the only way I can exercise supremacy and lord it over you. Goodness does not do this. If I have goodness, I can establish my inseparable oneness with you. But if I am higher than you, then I cannot establish my oneness with you on the same footing. To the desire-loving world, God is great. To the aspiration-loving world, God is good.
A divine artist always tries to establish oneness with art, music, poetry. He feels that it is oneness that can offer satisfaction, not separativity or a sense of duality.
With your kind permission I wish to say a few words about my own art. I have been a seeker from the dawn of my life, praying and meditating to realise the ever-transcending Reality. I have been serving seekers regardless of their religion for many years. Service is an outer manifestation of the divinity within us. Inner divinity can easily he manifested through soulful art. My art, which has been on display here at your school for the past few days, is another form of my service to all of aspiring mankind.
Published in AUM – Vol. 2, No. 10, October 27, 1975
by VIDAGDHA BENNETT
On October 8th, a sunny Sunday morning in Prague, 2000 spectators and athletes attended the Sri Chinmoy Cup, a masters competition for athletes aged 40 years and over.
The event was organized by current Olympic decathlon champion, Robert Zmelik, in honor of Sri Chinmoy’s visit to Prague. The meet was also graced by the presence of Olympic immortal Emil Zatopek.
The thunderous applause that greeted Zatopek when he stepped onto the field brought back stirring memories of the days when his name rang through stadia around the world during his 5000, 10,000, and marathon victories.
In recalling the great achievements of these two Czech heroes, Sri Chinmoy said, “We shall never give up our dreams. Today’s dream tomorrow will blossom into reality.”
A special feature of the day was a 100m dash in which Robert Zmelik and Sri Chinmoy ran together. The official start was given by Zatopek.
Another highlight of the meet was the participation of more than 250 athletes from the former Soviet Union who had travelled to Prague to attend Sri Chinmoy’s Peace Concert that evening.
Some had made the journey by train from as far away as Siberia. The Peace Concert was held at a vast indoor sporting arena in Prague and attended by a capacity crowd of 15,000 people. It was also broadcast live on national radio.
Sri Chinmoy (age 64) center, poses with current Olympic decathlon champion Robert Zmelik (age 26) and Olympic immortal Emil Zatopek (age 74) at the Sri Chinmoy Cup in Prague, Czech Republic, Oct. 8. Photo by: Projjwal
Published in National Masters News, 207th Issue, November 1995
by Martha Sawyert Allen
who writes a column called ‘Faith and Body’ for the Star Tribune, the largest newspaper in Minnesota. The telephone conversation takes place at 9:30 a.m. on 8 October and the article is published on Saturday, 14 October 2000.
Question: What do you try to accomplish with your concerts?
Sri Chinmoy: With my concerts I try to be of devoted service to mankind and to be a good citizen of the world. It is my wish that we all cultivate the inner hunger to become good citizens to inspire the whole world and to work together for the betterment of the world.
Question: Do you find Westerners open to your Eastern concepts, or does it take extra training?
Sri Chinmoy: I feel that Westerners have always been open to our Eastern concepts. They readily, lovingly, soulfully and self-givingly have accepted our Eastern concepts.
Question: Does it take extra training?
Sri Chinmoy: No, it does not. Their hearts are completely ready. Therefore, it does not take extra training for them to accept the spiritual way of India.
Question: Please talk a little more about some of your teachings that we are not familiar with — for instance, how jealousy can ruin our lives.
Sri Chinmoy: Jealousy means division. Anything that divides us will eventually ruin us. When we are jealous, we see only our little self as our own, our very own. The larger self, which is the world-self or universal self, we forget entirely. Jealousy is one of the things that divide us, and these things will eventually destroy us unless we conquer them.
Question: How does one truly reach one's own pure heart?
Sri Chinmoy: One can reach one's own pure heart in two ways: either by soulfully repeating the word "purity, purity, purity" or by cultivating sincere tears in one's heart. In these two ways, one can automatically be blessed or inundated with most genuine purity. Again, to have a pure heart we have to bring devotion, sincere, genuine devotion, to the fore in our life.
Question: Please say a little more about your statement that, for the beginner, meditation seems to be the highest reality, but when one becomes an advanced seeker one knows that meditation only leads to the highest reality.
Sri Chinmoy: Meditation is both the way and the goal. In the beginning, meditation plays the role of a staircase. We need a staircase to climb up to a certain height. Then there comes a time when we see that this meditation not only leads to the highest but actually embodies the highest. We say that God is the Boat, God is the Boatman, God is the Way and God is the Goal. In exactly the same way we can describe meditation. With meditation we go up, up, and up until finally we become the meditation itself. And this meditation embodies the universal Light, the universal Delight, God the Creator and God the creation at the same time.
Question: You work with people of many faiths. Do you accept that all faiths are valid?
Sri Chinmoy: I do accept that all faiths are valid. They are all equally important.
Question: Do you have some standard for what is a valid faith?
Sri Chinmoy: No. All the religions embody divinity in infinite measure. I take them all as one. But in my case, I say there is only one faith, one religion, and that is love of God. I love God according to my capacity. You love God according to your capacity. Someone else loves God according to his capacity. All religions, all faiths, are equally true and equally divine. Again, the universal truth is that there is only one religion, and that religion is our love of God.
Question: What is your ultimate desire?
Sri Chinmoy: My ultimate desire is to see a world inundated with peace and bliss. And I would like to take part, soulfully and self-givingly, in that divine project.
Question: How would the world be if it followed your hope for it?
Sri Chinmoy: If the world becomes one with my hope, then there will be no misunderstandings, no disputes, no conflicts and no fights, no wars. Only harmony will reign supreme. Harmony will cover the length and breadth of the world.
Question: Of all the people you have met, who has the closest understanding of what you teach?
Sri Chinmoy: Over the years, I have met with many world figures. I must say, Mother Teresa proved to me that she was at once my mother and my sister. This moment she was all affection for me, like a sister; the next moment she was all compassion for me, like a mother. She was the one who was closest to my real spiritual life. She understood me, I feel, more than anybody else, because she herself was the most devoted child — the darling, you can say — of the Saviour Jesus Christ.
Question: Don't you ever get discouraged at the state of the world, with all the fighting, violence and unhappiness?
Sri Chinmoy: Yes, for like everyone, I have both the divine in me and the human in me. The human in me does get discouraged. But the divine in me is never discouraged, because the divine in me embodies infinite poise and peace. The divine in me accepts the world as it is. It is the bounden duty of the divine in me to be of service to mankind and to pray to the Absolute Supreme to elevate the consciousness of mankind. Therefore, the divine in me is never discouraged. The human in me at times is definitely discouraged. But again, this discouragement does not last long. The divine in me illumines the human in me so that it does not suffer for a long time from discouragement.
Each individual can become discouraged when his desire is not fulfilled, when his aspiration is not fulfilled, when his sincere and devoted service is not accepted by the world. But again, if he sees that the Supreme Pilot within him is guiding him and piloting him to the destined goal, to what we call the Golden Shore of the ever-transcending Beyond, then his discouragement does not last more than five seconds or five minutes, or a maximum of an hour. In my case it does not last more than 35 minutes, no matter how discouraged I am. After five seconds or 35 minutes, the human in me becomes inseparably one with the divine in me, and then there is no such thing as discouragement or sadness. At that time, I am dealing with Infinity's Joy, Light and Bliss. Infinity's Joy, Light and Bliss are blessing me and showering their wealth upon my devoted head and surrendered life.
Published in Conversations with Sri Chinmoy
by Sri Chinmoy
at Glasgow City Hall in Scotland
Peace
Is the oneness-home
Of God the Creator
And God the Creation.
Sri Chinmoy reciting this prayer...
Sri Chinmoy plays the baby flute...
Sri Chinmoy plays the New Zealand double flute...
Recordings from Blue Aspiration-Plants In Green Dedicatio-Garden Vol. II
Video by kedarvideo
Sri Chinmoy offers a Peace Concert Sportovní Hala Sparta to an audience of 15,000 in Prague, Czech Republic.
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:
O United Nations, I bow to you. O United Nations, I bow to you. O United Nations, I bow to you.
Today’s Peace Concert I am prayerfully offering to the all-illumining soul of the United Nations, to the all-aspiring heart of the United Nations and to the all-serving life of the United Nations.
Listen to Sri Chinmoy offering his Peace Concert dedication...
Sri Chinmoy’s remarks following the concert:
I wish to offer my life’s prayerful love and my heart’s soulful gratitude to the soul, heart and life of the Czech Republic. I also wish to offer gratitude from the inmost recesses of my heart to each and every individual present here who has so kindly and compassionately listened to my music. With my prayerful music I try to offer my love and peace to all those here and elsewhere who are hungry for peace, genuine peace.
Mankind has everything else save and except peace. Let us dive deep within to discover the most precious divine reality within, and then let us bring to the fore this divine reality, which is peace. Let us pray and pray, and meditate and meditate, so that we can bring about world peace. And let us pray and meditate to inundate this world with peace: shanti, shanti, shanti.
Once more, to each peace-seeker, peace-dreamer and peace-lover present here I am offering my gratitude-heart. In this connection I wish to offer my heart’s deepest gratitude to two Olympic champions, two Czech immortals, Emil Zátopek and Robert Změlík, whose kind and compassionate presence I deeply appreciate and value.
My seeker-friends, my peace-loving brothers and sisters, to you I offer my prayerful, soulful and self-giving heart.
Published in My Prayerful Salutations to the United Nations
Comments by Sri Chinmoy
I was in Switzerland and Germany for three days — October 3rd to the 5th. On the second day, in Zurich, I lifted 57 people in one day. For me, it was a new record. From 34 people it went up to 57. Then the following day, we went to Munich and there I lifted again. This time it was 43 people. So altogether I lifted 100 people on this trip.
Among them were quite a few very important people. One of them was a great bodybuilder from Los Angeles. His name was Tony Pearson. He was Mr. Universe in 1980, and claimed he got his inspiration from Arnold Schwarzenegger. He told me that he has read much about me and also heard much about me. He was full of appreciation and very kind-hearted. We took seven or eight pictures together.
I also lifted a bodybuilder from Haiti — Paul-Jean Guillaume. He was Mr. Universe in 1986 in a lighter weight category. He was extremely nice. He told me that right from his childhood, he was dead against drugs. Right after he told me this, Tony came and said, “I am not as clean as he is. He is very strict, disciplined. I am not as clean, as pure, as this fellow.” Indirectly he was confessing.
Then a few runners came who are eminent in Switzerland. In Munich one tennis player came. His name is Max Wunschig. He was the German tennis champion for 22 years. He defeated Becker also. Now he no longer plays internationally. He is extremely, extremely nice.
When Tony Pearson saw a photo of my 7,000-pound lift, he immediately believed it. In front of so many people, he said, “I believe it. It is all mental power.”
Many bodybuilders say that they have heard so much about me, but they call me an old man. In Korea, Arnold Schwarzenegger also called me an old man.
When I lifted the German tennis champion, Max Wunschig, he was very happy. Afterwards, he was examining my biceps. Then I started examining his biceps. His biceps were larger than mine.
Then he was saying, “No, no, it is not your biceps that are doing this but your mental power, mental power.”
We also had Germany’s number one marathon runner, Christophe Herle. His timing is 2:09. Before I lifted him, I was talking to him. He is very, very nice. I said that my best timing is 3:55. He did not laugh. He was smiling.
Then he asked me how many times I had run a marathon. I told him that I have run 22 marathons.
He has run only four marathons.
In Germany I lifted a bodybuilder called Peter Hensel. He was previously a weightlifter in East Germany. Now he lives in West Germany. In 1985 he was Mr. Universe. His bodyweight was 250 pounds. When we added 13 pounds for the apparatus, it came to 263 pounds—much more than I had lifted before.
Then a very beautiful incident took place. Disciples were sitting on the ground around the apparatus praying. He was extremely moved to see so many people praying and meditating in a soulful consciousness. So he also started praying to God, he said, to make him lighter. He has done weightlifting all his life, so he knows what a heavy weight 263 pounds is. He was deeply moved that I wanted to lift him. So when he saw so many disciples praying and meditating for me to lift him, he was praying to God to make him lighter. He has such a good heart.
Many, many pictures were taken of me lifting Peter Hensel. With my left hand, first I lifted him a little and quickly brought him down. Then immediately I lifted him properly with my left hand. He is the heaviest person I have ever lifted. This became my new record.
Since my left hand was successful, I wanted to try with my right hand. Then my right hand gave me trouble. At first, I lifted it just a little, but I was not satisfied, so I brought it down. The second time I lifted, the result was the same. I lifted a little, but my arm was not fully extended, so again I brought it down. Then I got disgusted. For everything we get three chances. So I said to myself, “I have one more chance. This time I have to lift.”
I told Peter, “I am taking two minutes’ time.” He knows what I mean. I am sure he also used to take time between lifts when he was weightlifting. Sometimes two minutes’ rest is absolutely necessary. So I took rest and then I took off my tracksuit jacket and in my T-shirt I approached the apparatus for the third time. This time it immediately went up. Then it was all over. I was so happy.
Was it not stupidity on my part? When I had done so well with my left hand, it was not enough. Why did I want to show off? Such a heavy weight! One hand was not enough?
Peter Hensel told us a story that one time he was supposed to be in a weightlifting competition the following day. That night, in a dream, he saw a kind of light and he felt that the weight was very light. Then the following day he had the competition and with no difficulty he lifted up the heavy weight. So that was his inner experience.
Anyway, these are some of the happy and fulfilling experiences from our trip to Switzerland and Germany.
Just three days ago in a German magazine there was an article about the ultra-runner Yiannis Kouros. There it showed me lifting Yiannis after his victory at our 1,000-mile race. Then in the same magazine, on the cover, was a picture of Peter Hensel taking exercise. At that time I had not yet lifted him. When I lifted Yiannis, the weight was 165 and when I lifted Peter, the weight was 263—practically 100 pounds difference!
Published in My Weightlifting Tears and Smiles, part 3
Sri Chinmoy competes in the Sri Chinmoy Cup held at Slavia Praha Sports Stadium in Prague, Czech Republic. His results in the field events are — 8.38m for the 4kg shot put; 21.04m for the 1kg discus; and 23.58m for the 600 gm javelin. He records a time of 16.60 sec. for the 100-metre race, which he runs with current Olympic decathlon champion Robert Zmelik.
Sri Chinmoy’s lecture at the
University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
Perfection is what I have inherited from God in my inner life. Transformation is what I have inherited from God in my outer life.
What is perfection? Perfection is realisation. Perfection is manifestation. Perfection in the inner world means realisation. Perfection in the outer world means manifestation. A seeker is a fusion of individuality and personality. When a seeker carries his selfless individuality into the highest Vision of Reality and offers his all-loving personality to the Absolute Beyond, he achieves perfection in the world of Infinity's Eternity.
Some people say that perfection exists neither in heaven nor on earth. I cannot see eye to eye with them. Perfection does exist both in heaven and on earth. The very cry of earth is perfection. The very smile of heaven is perfection. Earth's soulful cry and heaven's glowing smile must go together. Then only will satisfaction dawn on God's Face. God can have satisfaction only when earth's cry and heaven's smile run together. When earth cries we must not think that earth is inferior to heaven, and when heaven smiles we must not think that heaven is superior to earth. No, it is not so. It is God, the growing man, who cries in and through earth to realise all that he can eventually be. And it is again God, the fulfilled man, who smiles in and through heaven in realising what he already is.
Perfection is an impossibility: this is what today tells us. But tomorrow will tell us that perfection is an inevitability. There is always some time lapse between the planting of a seed and the harvest. In the spiritual life, the seed is aspiration and the harvest is realisation. Without aspiration, realisation can never dawn. What is aspiration? Is it something that we already have, or is it something we are going to have? It is both. If we say that we have aspiration, we are right because we do think of God and meditate on God at times. If we say that we do not yet have aspiration but are someday going to have it, we are also right, because our love for God is neither spontaneous nor constant. When we sit at the feet of Eternity, we realise that aspiration is bound to be followed by realisation. And after we have made friends with eternal time, we come to understand that realisation was always there, hidden in our aspiration.
Perfection means living, spontaneous, constant oneness with the Inner Pilot. If we have a free access to the inner life, then perfection is our very soul and at the same time our only Goal. Now, why is it that we are still imperfect? We are imperfect precisely because we do not consciously cry for perfection in ourselves. We demand, or at least expect, infinitely more perfection in others than in ourselves. He and she are imperfect and I am trying to perfect them, we say. But is it not absurd on my part to criticise and try to perfect others when I myself am imperfect? In this we make a Himalayan blunder. If we are sincere enough, we will realise that we spend too much time thinking of others. It is good to think of others, but not with our criticising, jealous, unlit mind. If we think of others with our soul's light, our soul's oneness, then automatically we are running toward perfection.
Let us think of perfecting ourselves, and while thinking of ourselves let us include the entire universe, or embody the entire universe in ourselves. Then we do not have to think of each individual on earth, for all are inside us. When I meditate, my entire body meditates with me. I do not have to think of my internal organs; they are inside me, meditating and aspiring with me. Similarly, during your concentration, meditation and contemplation, if you can feel that the entire universe is within you and that you are running toward your Goal, then the universe in totality will run with you.
We are all aspirants, seekers of the Infinite Truth, Light and Bliss. If we do not achieve perfection in our inner and outer life, who else can achieve perfection? It is we, the seekers of the Infinite, who have to embody, realise, reveal and manifest perfection. At every moment of our earthly existence, in fleeting time and in eternal Time, we have to embody the message of perfection. If we feel that the eternal Time is somewhere else and that only the fleeting time is at our disposal, we are mistaken. If we live in the body, we are making friends with fleeting time. If we live in the soul, we are making friends with eternal time. Since we are in the body, let us try to bring down the highest perfection from above into the body. If we can live in the soul even while in the body, let us reveal our already achieved perfection to the world at large.
My imperfect gift to God is yesterday, yesterday's experience. God's perfect gift to me is today, today's realisation.
Published in Eastern Light for the Western Mind
A lecture by Sri Chinmoy
at the Loeb Student Center of New York University, New York
AUM. I wish to offer a short talk to you on psychic power and will-power, but before I do, I wish to make a fervent request to all of you. That is, to make a sincere attempt to become one with the psychic power-consciousness and the will-power-consciousness. We shall meditate together and this meditation will be founded on our spiritual imagination. For a few seconds or for a minute or so we shall try to imagine inside the very depth of our heart, the golden dawn. We shall imagine the golden dawn. This golden dawn is nothing short of our psychic power-consciousness.
All present try to meditate on the golden dawn with Sri Chinmoy.
AUM. Now let us meditate on our forehead. Let us imagine that it is now midday. It is twelve o’clock and the sun is very, very bright. It is a blazing sun inside our forehead, in between the eyebrows but slightly above. There burns a blazing sun and it is twelve o’clock noon. This is for our identification with the will-power consciousness.
Seekers present join Sri Chinmoy in meditating on this blazing sun.
We have meditated on the psychic power consciousness by imagining the golden dawn inside the very depth of our hearts. We have meditated on the will-power consciousness by imagining the blazing sun, the midday sun, inside our forehead, inside our third eye.
Now I wish to give a short talk on psychic power and will-power. Psychic power is the power of our aspiring heart. We have a human heart which is just a muscle, and we have a spiritual heart which is an aspiration centre. When we use the term aspiring heart, we refer to our spiritual heart. So psychic power is the power of our spiritual heart which is within us, in the very depth of our human heart. Will-power is the power of our daring mind, the mind proper that is inside our head. It constantly challenges reality to bring about perfection in reality or to get satisfaction from reality.
Psychic power is the power of oneness, conscious oneness, constant oneness, illumining oneness and fulfilling oneness. It is oneness with others, oneness with many and oneness with all. It is oneness with Infinity.
Will-power is the power of newness: conscious newness and continuous newness, newness in thought, newness in deed, newness in dream, newness in reality.
Psychic power is a friendship-power. It awakens the friend in all. It sees no enemies around it, only friends. It looks around and sees nothing but friendship. Friendship reigns supreme.
Will-power quite often plays the role of a leader. Consciously or deliberately it manifests itself through leadership. Again it very often unconsciously plays the role of a leader and subsequently does not know what its objective was, i.e. whether it was perfection or satisfaction, illumination or salvation. It totally forgets about the objective because it made an unconscious effort. So in a broad sense, psychic power is friendship and willpower is leadership.
Psychic power is the truth-power that ultimately prevails. India’s motto runs, Satyameva jayate: “Truth alone prevails;” nanritam: “not falsehood.” Psychic power always feels the necessity of truth-realisation. It feels that if it can identify itself with the Ultimate Truth, then it will last forever, as the Truth itself will last.
Will-power is constantly daring, challenging, becoming and fulfilling the reality the way it feels the reality has to be manifested and fulfilled. Sometimes before it exercises its power, it enters deep within to get inner light. But quite often, by dint of the force accumulated inside the mind, inside the brain, inside the forehead or inside the third eye, it exercises its own capacity or reality. This is what will-power does.
Psychic power is our soulful oneness, oneness with the Source, oneness with God’s Silence-Reality, oneness with God’s Sound-Reality. It is oneness with what God has and what God is. This oneness we have felt and heard in the supreme utterance of the Saviour Christ: “I and my Father are one.” This lofty, supreme utterance was founded on the Christ’s soulful identification or oneness with his Heavenly Father. This is the psychic power that expressed, revealed or manifested the supreme reality. Then again, the Christ exercised will-power boldly, unfalteringly, unmistakably, with utmost inner conviction, when he declared: “I am the Way and I am the Goal.”
Psychic power is the blossoming flower of our consciousness. Inside us there is a gratitude-flower. This gratitude-flower slowly, steadily and unerringly blossoms, and the world devotedly, sincerely and unreservedly enjoys the beauty and fragrance of the gratitude-flower that is blossoming within us.
Will-power is the elephant-power that we feel within us and around us. This will-power we can use in a constructive way or in a destructive way. The sincere seekers, not to speak of the spiritual Masters, always use will-power in a constructive way. But the insincere seekers use this power in a destructive way. Psychic power is always used in a constructive way. It is the power of a little child. The psychic being acts as the soul’s representative on earth. It always tries to please the eternal Father in the Father’s own way; so it is constructive. But he who has will-power is, in terms of earthly years or in terms of evolution, like an adult. He may not ask his father how to operate, for he thinks and he feels that he knows how to deal with everything; that he knows the whole world. As a result, while he is using his will-power, he may make a himalayan blunder. Although he is using it for a constructive purpose, the result may be totally destructive.
Psychic power is softness, sweetness and forgiveness. But forgiveness is actually justice-light which operates in and through compassion-reality. This compassion-reality is the oneness-reality with the blind earth-consciousness. By virtue of his complete, constant and inseparable oneness with the world, the Christ said: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” But if an individual wants to challenge the world, wants to lord it over the world, wants to maintain supremacy all the time, then he will not walk along the road of sweetness, softness, kindness, affection and love, not to speak of forgiveness. No, he will always play the role of an autocrat, a dictator, a sovereign. He will try to identify himself with Caesar: “I came, I saw, I conquered,” or with Napoleon Bonaparte. With indomitable energy either he will try to conquer or devour the world.
Psychic power is the child-consciousness, the divine and immortal child-consciousness within us. This child-consciousness says to the Father Almighty: “Father, eternal Father, infinite Father, I love You and I need You. I love You only and I need You only…” The Almighty Father immediately says: “My child, you already have Me. You have Me in My entirety. You have My Vision, transcendental Vision. You have My Reality, universal Reality. Both My transcendental Vision and My universal Reality are all yours. You are part and parcel of their existence and they are part and parcel of your existence.”
Will-power is the adult consciousness within us. The adult says to his Father: “Father, I want You and I have You.” The Father says: “Are you sure that you have Me?” The son says: “Yes, I am sure.” The Father says: “Then prove it.” When the son can prove to the Father that he has got his Father and can claim his Father as his own, divinely, triumphantly and supremely, then the Father says: “Son, you are right. Now conquer ignorance. If you conquer ignorance, you will totally satisfy Me. This ignorance is the root cause of world perdition, world-destruction. I want My world to prosper, to grow and glow. Conquer world-ignorance.”
To the psychic-child consciousness the Father says: “My child, I have already told you that you have Me. Now claim Me here, there, everywhere; within and without, claim Me. If you only claim Me, that will be more than enough for you to satisfy Me in My own way. Just claim Me at every moment as your own, very own. That is what I want from you: your acceptance. And the moment you can claim Me soulfully, devotedly, unreservedly and unconditionally, you can become what I have and what I am. What I supremely am and what I eternally have, you shall become.”
Psychic power is the growing, glowing, illumining and fulfilling divinity within us. Will-power is the daring, challenging, marshalling, devouring, conquering, fulfilling and manifesting reality within us. These two powers can work together if they want to. If the younger brother and the older brother want to work together, then that is absolutely the right thing, the ideal thing. The older one will get softness, sweetness, kindness and all charming qualities from the younger one; and the younger one will get all dynamic and ignorance-challenging qualities from the older one. The younger one will get the capacity to manifest divinity on earth triumphantly along with the older one.
Let us call psychic power our eye-power and willpower our arm-power. With our eye-power we envision reality. This is undoubtedly a power of the highest order. Our arm-power is our strength, physical and otherwise. When we use our willpower, we want the reality to act in our own way. But our own way can easily become God’s way provided we exercise our eye-power and become one with God’s Will.
If we dive deep within before we use our willpower, then it can never be an obstacle, it can never be a hindrance. Far from it! Only we shall become one with God’s adamantine Will and God’s ever-transcending Reality. Will-power as such is not bad or discouraging. It depends on who uses it and how it is used. If the sincere seeker uses it on the strength of his oneness, in accordance with God’s Will, then will-power is a veritable blessing, instead of an unfortunate curse.
Psychic power right from the beginning plays the role of dependence, divine dependence on the loving, compassionate Will or guidance of his Beloved Father Supreme. In psychic power the question of making deplorable mistakes does not arise. This power is safe. The child feels that the Father, the Source, will always take care of him, will guide him, mould him, shape him, perfect him and satisfy him the way the Father eternally wants to.
Published in AUM – Vo.l 3, No.10, 27 October 1976
an inspirational message by Sri Chinmoy
Alas, alas, alas!
Grievances reign supreme in my life.
I have a grievance
Against my ignorance-night.
I have a grievance
Against my darkness-depth.
I have a grievance
Against my illusion-life.
I have a grievance
Against my frustration-body.
I have a grievance
Against my aggression-vital.
I have a grievance
Against my confusion-mind.
I have a grievance
Against my hesitation-heart.
I have a grievance
Against the idleness-promises
Of my soul.
I have a grievance
Against the fruitlessness-dreams
Of my Beloved Supreme.Alas, alas, alas!
O my Beloved Supreme,
Do tell me how I can free myself
From the tyranny of grievances.
"My child,
You can free yourself
From the tyranny of grievances
If you can once and for all feel
That we all love you —
Your body, vital, mind, heart, soul
And I love you.
It is your feeling of conscious oneness
With us
That can easily free you
From your teeming grievances against us.
Try, My child, try;
You will succeed.
Yours will be the abiding peace,
Illumining light,
Nourishing delight
And
Fulfilling satisfaction."
Published in Aurora-Flora
Answered by Sri Chinmoy
at Aspiration-Ground in Jamaica, New York
Question: Should we participate in the political movement that is going on now in our country?
Sri Chinmoy: There are many ways to participate in the life of one’s country. If we simplify the answer, we can say there are two ways: one is the inner way and the other is the outer way. The inner way is to pray to the Supreme for the fulfilment of your aspiration — whatever you feel best for your country. The outer way is to take sides with one party and join in the demonstrations, and risk being injured or killed. That I do not advise for my disciples. The inner way is the way of prayer. You can adopt one party, but do not join a demonstration or become involved in violent activities.
We can pray inwardly for whatever we feel is best; but outwardly we should not enter into the political fray, because that will not at all help our inner progress. Our inner progress depends on our inner prayers. We may feel that one side is right. If we feel one side is right, definitely we have every right to pray to the Supreme for the victory of that particular side. Then we have to surrender and say: “Supreme, I feel that this side is by far the best, so I am praying to You for its success. But if this side fails, I shall place the results at Your Feet with equal happiness.”
Always pray for whatever you feel best. If you want to do something good, it is a matter of your feeling. You are feeling the necessity of helping your country. To pray for the improvement of your country is not an ordinary desire; it is a great aspiration. To pray for your country is not like a silly desire to have five houses or ten cars — no! There are certain desires which are as good as aspiration. At that time they do not remain desires; they become aspiration itself. Praying for the betterment and improvement of your country is definitely an inner aspiration.
If your prayer is not successful, do not feel miserable. You have the right to pray for the right thing, but the results you have to place at the Feet of God. Lord Krishna taught us, “You have the right to action, but not to the fruits thereof.”
Your inner prayers I will deeply appreciate; but outwardly if you take one side and enter into the political arena, God knows what is going to happen. Let people criticise us. Let them say that we are cowards because we do not come onto the battlefield. I will say that there are many ways to enter onto the battlefield. The real battlefield is inside us.
We have every right to pray for the success of the particular party that we choose. We may not be aware of which side the Supreme has taken, but we have every right to pray to the Supreme for the victory of the particular party we have chosen, because it concerns our own Motherland.
Published in Only Gratitude-Tears