Author: Nirbhasa Magee

 

On Wednesday 3 October, Sri Chinmoy held a meditation function for his students at which many of the musical groups which usually play on Wednesdays performed. This was his first meditation function with his New York students since he returned from playing musical concerts in St. Petersburg, although he had been having walking meditations where students would arrive at his house and walk past in a loop whilst he meditated on them. During the function, Sri Chinmoy related many amusing incidents from his Russian trip.

On Friday, a meditation function was held where members of the general public were also invited to come along. Students that had been on Sri Chinmoy’s path for over 30 years were invited to come up and recite a short prayer or poem.

Another walking meditation took place on Saturday afternoon, and then a meditation function on Saturday night. Most of the Saturday night meditation function was taken up by improvised pieces of spiritual theatre. A heart-warmingly funny play was performed by the theatre troupe led by Databir Watters and Abakash Konopiaty – consisting of incidents in the life of Databir! Databir is well known in the centre for being dynamism, enthusiasm and sweetness incarnate – he is in his sixties now, but is still the driving force behind the daily games of frisbee that a group of New York students have every day after their morning meditation. (Read Ashrita Furman’s blog to find out what happened when someone tried to steal his wallet during a visit to Russia three years ago) Sri Chinmoy thought that this play was marvelous. Also that night, there was a play based on a story from the Mahabharata by Udar Robinson’s group – a year earlier, Sri Chinmoy had given them the name “Udar: the Unbounded Troupe”.

On Sunday, there was another walking meditation, and Sri Chinmoy also spoke at length on the importance of valuing the outer guidance of a meditation teacher.

On Tuesday 9 October, Sri Chinmoy hosted his last distinguished guest – Alan Nazareth, a retired Indian ambassador who had served his country in many different locations around the world, including the United States. Upon his arrival in the West in 1964, Sri Chinmoy worked in the Indian Consulate in New York for three years, before embarking full-time upon his life’s service to humanity. The Ambassador was Sri Chinmoy’s boss for a very short time in 1967 before he left, and in the ensuing years he came to quite a few of Sri Chinmoy’s concerts and other activities. Alan Nazareth is currently managing trustee of the Sarvodaya International Trust which works to uphold and spread the ideals espoused by Mahatma Gandhi, and he writes and lectures extensively on applying Gandhian ideals to the modern world. During his visit, he and Sri Chinmoy discussed the life’s work of Mahatma Gandhi, and Sri Chinmoy then presented his guest with an award honouring his years of service for his native country and for the world.

Sri Chinmoy’s creative output continued right up until the day before his passing – he composed several new songs on Wednesday.

Wednesday night was the last meditation function that Sri Chinmoy held with his students. He spoke quite a lot during the function, wondering aloud about the outcome of the Nobel Prize that was to be announced in a couple of days and casting some humorous observations on the relationship between the two words ‘peace’ and ‘harmony’. At that function, the poetry book My Christmas-New Year-Vacation-Aspiration-Prayers, part 52 was made available for sale, consisting of 91 prayer-poems Sri Chinmoy wrote during his stay in Langkawi, Malaysia in early 2006. The ninety-first poem in this book, and the last poem published during Sri Chinmoy’s lifetime, has now attained an immortal status:

“My physical death
Is not the end of my life –
I am an eternal journey.”

One person who was present at the meditation function recalls Sri Chinmoy holding this book of poetry and wondering aloud “Will it ever end?”. We know know that was indeed a rhetorical question, for with Sri Chinmoy’s passing from this earthly plane, something has been set in motion which will propagate onwards into Eternity.

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Photo by: Jowan Gauthier, Sri Chinmoy Centre Galleries – (of Sri Chinmoy in St Petersburg)

Sri Chinmoy’s memorial service took place yesterday, attended by thousands of his students and dozens of luminaries from all around the world.

The ceremony opened with some minutes of meditation, filling the space with a deep and profound silence. This was followed by two of Sri Chinmoy’s mantric songs peformed by his favourite musical group, an all female ensemble who have performed at venues all over the world.

Then Shivaram Trichur, a student of Sri Chinmoy’s since the very earliest days of his coming to America, read out some ancient Indian slokas, or scriptural verses, concerning the immortality of the soul. Among them was this one, invoking the eternal relationship between a meditation teacher and his student:

Saha nav avatu,
Saha nav bhuknatu,
Saha nav viryam haravavahai.

(May he protect us both.
May he nourish us both.
May we both work together with energy, indomitable and endless.)
– from Kali-Saṇṭāraṇa Upanishad, translation by Sri Chinmoy.

There were also performances by a group led by Satyajit Saha; this group performed arangements of Sri Chinmoy’s music and writings every week at Sri Chinmoy’s meditation functions. This was followed by another group which performed an arrangement of Smile, My Soul, Smile, also written by Sri Chinmoy.

Then luminaries from all around the world came up to pay their respects; many who could not attend sent heartfelt messages of appreciation and condolence which were read out. You can read many of those tributes on SriChinmoy.org.

Then a choir of Sri Chinmoy’s students sang the song ‘When I am Gone Away‘, that Sri Chinmoy asked be performed only upon his Mahasamadhi – the name given to the process by which spiritual Masters leave the body and enter into the soul’s world:

When I am gone away,
Remember me, O children sweet,

No, not because I failed,
No, not because I cried,
No, not because I tried,

No, not because I saw my Lord in you,
No, not because I served my Lord in you,
No, not because I fulfilled my Lord in you,

No, not because I was your Pilot true,
No, not because I was your ‘Infinite’ blue,

O but because my life was all gratitude, gratitude, gratitude
To you, to you, my children sweet, to you.

Then one by one, all those present, students and visitors alike, filed up to the casket where Sri Chinmoy’s body lies, and placed a beautiful rose at the foot of the casket in appreciation of Sri Chinmoy’s life work. In the background, a recording was played of Sri Chinmoy singing the mantra ‘Gratitude’ over and over again, spontaneously composing the music as he sang.

Today (October 15th), people are still arriving to pay their respects to the earthly body Sri Chinmoy has left behind. Many musical groups that used to play soulful music at Sri Chinmoy’s meditation functions are now performing in the background for the visitors, creating an unearthly spiritual atmosphere in this beautiful warm and sunny day.

Sri Chinmoy wrote this song for his students in 1974, and asked that it be sung only upon his entry into Mahasamadhi and departure from this earth. During the memorial service for Sri Chinmoy yesterday, the song was sung by a choir of Sri Chinmoy’s students in a way that brought heaven down to earth.

When I am gone away,
Remember me, O children sweet,

No, not because I failed,
No, not because I cried,
No, not because I tried,

No, not because I saw my Lord in you,
No, not because I served my Lord in you,
No, not because I fulfilled my Lord in you,

No, not because I was your Pilot true,
No, not because I was your ‘Infinite’ blue,

O but because my life was all gratitude, gratitude, gratitude
To you, to you, my children sweet, to you.

Thank you to Michael for inspiring this post; you can read more about this song on his comment on our tribute form, and also read an indescribably beautiful essay he wrote in tribute of Sri Chinmoy on the Sri Chinmoy Centre site.

Photo by: Kedar Misani, Sri Chinmoy Centre Galleries.

Today, 13 October 2007, the Honorable Gary Ackerman, Member of Congress from New York’s 5th District, offered a soul-stirring tribute to Sri Chinmoy’s life. Congressman Ackerman represents the district where Sri
Chinmoy lived. They were close, personal friends for many years.

Gary Ackerman pays tribute to Sri Chinmoy here…

Tributes have begun arriving from world leaders and inspirational figures from all around the globe; they are being posted on Sri Chinmoy’s official site as they become available to us. among them include moving and heartfelt messages from President Mikhail Gorbachev, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and 9-time Olympic gold medal winner Carl Lewis. View the tributes here…

In addition, Gary Ackerman, the Congressman for the district in which Sri Chinmoy lived, arrived today to pay his respects to his dear friend of many years, and spontaneously gave an incredibly moving speech:

“..Death in itself is confusing. It is even more confusing when somebody who has exhibited such unbelievable dynamism, such strength, such humility, such power, somehow seems gone from our lives. But that is not the truth. It may be the reality, but it is not the truth. Because what is a visionary, but for his vision? The visionary may be gone, but the vision is here...each and every one of us has been privileged, because we have been touched by a great master-teacher, a great inspirer, who has given us a message, a message to live by...”

Read the entire text of that speech…

There is also a very nice article on Sri Chinmoy’s passing in the New York Times…

On the Wednesday night before his passing away the following morning, Sri Chinmoy held a meditation function for his students at which copies of his latest book of poetry were made available for sale. The book was the 52nd instalment of a series entitled My Christmas-New Year-Vacation-Aspiration-Prayers, consisting of prayer-poems Sri Chinmoy wrote on his visits to other countries between November and February each year.

The final prayer-poem in this series reads as follows:

“My physical death
Is not the end of my life –
I am an eternal journey.”

This poem is the last poem published during Sri Chinmoy’s lifetime.

 

• View tributes to Sri Chinmoy….

Thousands of Sri Chinmoy’s students, friends, admirers and well-wishers from all around the globe are gathering in Sri Chinmoy’s home district of Jamaica Hills, New York to remember this soul whose life was one long outpouring of service to humanity. Sri Chinmoy’s body has been made available available for viewing by his students and wellwishers 24 hours a day, and a growing stream of visitors have begun to fly in from all corners of the globe.

There is a tremendous sense of peace and stillness emanating from the place where the casket is currently lying, with incense wafting through the air and recordings of Sri Chinmoy’s soul-stirring singing being played in the background. Despite their sadness at his passing, Sri Chinmoy’s students have not forgotten that his main mission was to train them to be of service to humanity, and many of his New-York based students have gone to great lengths to make sure all the visiting students are looked after at very short notice.

In these difficult times, the large international family that is Sri Chinmoy’s students have been a great source of mutual support and strength to each other. In mourning the passing of Sri Chinmoy’s mortal body, we will never forget that the love, inspiration and inner peace he showed to all is a gift that will last for eternity.

• See tributes to Sri Chinmoy on comment form…
  

NEW YORK, NEW YORK–(Marketwire – Oct. 12, 2007) – Internationally renowned peace leader and spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy passed away yesterday morning in his home in Queens, New York. The cause of death was a heart attack.

Respected and loved worldwide, Sri Chinmoy’s philosophy for world peace was manifested through a wide array of activities, ranging from literature to art to sports to music. The universal nature of his philosophy embraced and encouraged people of all backgrounds, faiths and nationalities to work together for peace.

Hailed as a modern day renaissance man, Sri Chinmoy wrote over 1600 books of prose and poetry, composed over 20,000 pieces of music, played over 800 Peace Concerts in venues like Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall and was an avid runner, tennis player and champion weightlifter.

President Mikhail Gorbachev wrote,

“Your enormous and significant activities are helping people to live better lives in peace, friendship and love. Whatever you dedicate yourself to – art, poetry, drawing – all this is connected with peace, peace amongst people and peace amongst nations.”

Sri Chinmoy was born on August 27, 1931 in a small village in east India. Orphaned at the age of 11, Sri Chinmoy traveled with his six brothers and sisters to a spiritual community in south India, where he spent the next 20 years in intense prayer and meditation. Heeding an inner call, he traveled to the United States in 1964 and made New York City his home.

In the 43 years since his arrival in the West, Sri Chinmoy became a model of the potential of humankind. Opening centers throughout the world for peace and harmony he tirelessly traveled the globe to share his inspiration and goodwill.

Of his contributions to peace, President Nelson Mandela wrote,

“It is a very rare gift indeed for humankind to be blessed with such a selfless individual who has dedicated his entire life to the service of world peace. Your work has inspired spiritual growth, resilience and well-being, especially in view of the present and unprecedented onslaughts against humankind. Yours is a voice of reason we all must heed.”

A champion of interfaith harmony, Sri Chinmoy was beloved by religious leaders of all denominations. From Mother Teresa to Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II to the Dalai Lama, Sri Chinmoy was celebrated as a true servant of God.

“I am so pleased with all the good work you are doing for world peace and for people in so many countries,” wrote Mother Teresa. “May we continue to work together and share together, all for the glory of God and for the good of man.”

Sri Chinmoy was an ardent supporter of the United Nations. Since 1970 he had served as the leader of the Peace Meditation at the United Nations, an association of delegates and staff he founded under the aegis of the third UN Secretary-General U Thant.

“The outer message of the United Nations is peace. The inner message of the United Nations is love. The inmost message of the United Nations is oneness,” said Sri Chinmoy.

Javier Perez de Cuellar, the fifth UN Secretary-General said,

“Sri Chinmoy, you are the heart of the United Nations. In all the years I was Secretary-General and even before, you were always with us. Your message was always with us, and we were being inspired by you.”

Sri Chinmoy’s love of sports spanned a lifetime and resulted in a number of landmark programs for peace and self-transcendence. In 1987, Sri Chinmoy founded the World Harmony Run, the world’s largest relay for peace involving tens of thousands of participants in over 70 nations.

Sri Chinmoy also founded the Sri Chinmoy Marathon team which is a leading promoter of ultra distance races, sponsoring events ranging from marathons to the world’s longest footrace, a 3100 mile run.

“The physical and the spiritual must go together,” taught Sri Chinmoy. “They cannot be separated.”

In this light, Sri Chinmoy astounded sports heroes and luminaries through a weightlifting career which he began in 1986, at the age of 55. Weight being anything but insurmountable, Sri Chinmoy credited his inner peace for the ability to lift thousands, sometimes even tens of thousands of pounds. From cars to animals to small planes, Sri Chinmoy lifted almost every object imaginable in various styles of strongman lifts.

“I have learned from Sri Chinmoy that the size of the arm does not make the man; the size of the heart makes the man,” said five-time Mr. Universe and Best Built Man of the 20th Century, Bill Pearl. “Nobody on earth has done what Sri Chinmoy has done.”

A musician since his youth, Sri Chinmoy made dozens of recordings, composed over 20,000 songs, and offered more than 800 Peace Concerts – all free of charge.

“Sri Chinmoy has a tremendous, a fantastic creative urge!” exclaimed Indian maestro Ravi Shankar.

A humanitarian, Sri Chinmoy’s service organization, the Oneness-Heart-Tears and Smiles collected and distributed millions of dollars of medical supplies throughout Asia and Africa. Dedicated to easing pain and alleviating suffering, Sri Chinmoy once wrote, “My Lord, do give me the capacity to wipe every tear from every heart.”

Sri Chinmoy practised a life of spiritual discipline and never married. Over 7,000 people continue to follow his philosophy through the over 100 Sri Chinmoy Centres worldwide.

Links

• Sri Chinmoy.org
  
• Extended Biography of Sri Chinmoy
• Kind Words on Sri Chinmoy
• Passing of Sri Chinmoy at by S. Neil Vineberg
• Sri Chinmoy dies in New York – at New York Daily News

Please feel free to leave comments on the tribute form in the post immediately below this one.

Recently, Sri Chinmoy was in the beautiful city of St Petersburg, and as ever he managed to fit a whirlwind of activities into one short trip. Among the highlights of the trip was a concert of meditative music he gave for the general public, in which he invited his friend Purushottama Boris Grebenshikov, the Russian music legend to play a couple of songs. Purushottama combines music inspired by cultures all around the globe with exquisitely poetical lyrics reflecting on life and its true meaning, and was recently seen in New York playing a concert at the United Nations to honour the work and ideals of the global body.

Sri Chinmoy also gave a concert in a children’s hospital that specialized in treating leukemia. The Oneness-Heart Tears and Smiles humanitarian organisation founded by Sri Chinmoy in 1990 has been a leading supplier of leukemia equipment and medicines to Russia, and has been credited with being a factor in the marked improvement of the way leukemia is treated in that country. Incidentally, the first mission of the Oneness Heart Tears and Smiles was to respond with aid to the Russian winter food crisis of 1990; it has now gone on to deliver valuable humanitarian aid in over 24 countries. You can read more about the organisation’s work in Russia here…

It was also a chance for Sri Chinmoy to meet and meditate with his students from the former Soviet Union. More than a third of Sri Chinmoy’s students come from these countries, and Sri Chinmoy has long admired the one-pointed aspiration and determination of spiritual seekers and of the Russian soul in general, a view fondly reflected in the name he was inspired to give this group of countries – the Oneness Dream-Boat Shore. “Russia is like a flower, a beautiful flower full of fragrance.”, reflects Sri Chinmoy. “For a number of years, the flower was unable to offer its beauty and fragrance because of man’s mind-made rules. Some Russians made rules which came from the mind, not from the heart….Now the heart-power has again come forward, and the mind-power, which is full of doubt and other negative forces, has surrendered. Russia the flower, Russia the soul, is coming to the fore. Now that Russia is fully awakened spiritually, the entire world will derive tremendous blessings and be able to make very, very fast progress.”

Related links:

Ashrita Furman was in St.Petersburg with Sri Chinmoy, and also found time to break another Guinness record, and plenty more incidents besides: read more on Ashrita’s blog…