Author: Nirbhasa Magee

Exhibitions of Sri Chinmoy’s Artwork


In 1974, Sri Chinmoy took up painting as yet another field through which he could inspire his fellow man. He called his painting ‘Jharna-Kala’ meaning fountain-art’ in his native Bengali, or art flowing from the inner source. Sri Chinmoy says of his painting:


“The whole picture does not come to me at once. As I start painting, I see a streak of light right ahead of me and devotedly I try to follow that streak of light. But on some rare occasions the light is so powerful that I envision the painting long before I have actually touched the paper, I don’t bring it forth; it comes to the fore from within. In the light the colour is there. Each time I see the streak of light, I see the colour.”

In the years following his entry into the art world, Sri Chinmoy produced an enormous number of paintings – almost 200,000 in the year 1975 alone. In 1991 he began a new series of drawings titles ‘Soul-Birds’ – drawings of birds that capture aspects of the human soul. To date he has drawn over 15 million of these birds.

Sri Chinmoy’s paintings have been displayed in such notable galleries as the Louvre; in addition, exhibitions have been held in national houses of parliament and UN-affiliated organisations across the world. At the time of writing, there are travelling exhibitions of Sri Chinmoy’s artwork in quite a few countries all across the world: last year saw exhibitions in London and Paris, and a recent exhibition was held in the Ukraine early this year.

Read more about Sri Chinmoy’s art on this site…

Related links:

Personal websites of Sri Chinmoy’s students

Quite a few students of Sri Chinmoy have set up their own spaces on the Internet where they can share inspiration, give an insight into the joys and challenges of the spiritual life, and share some of the experiences they have had with their teacher.

Ashrita.com: Ashrita has been meditating with Sri Chinmoy for over 35 years. In 1978 he felt an inner calling to transcend his capacities by breaking Guinness World Records – and thats what he’s been doing for the past 29 years! He now holds over 60 records, by far the most records held by one person. His recent blog has accounts of record breaking attempts, travel stories, and humorous asides on life in general.

Jogyata Dallas’s site at Sri Chinmoy Centre: Jogyata hails from Auckland, New Zealand and has been a student of Sri Chinmoy’s for 25 years. Jogyata’s writing has great depth and feeling and captures a real sense of the adventure that is the spiritual life, as he shares the ups and downs of his own journey and relates lots of nice experiences he has had over the years with Sri Chinmoy and with other students.

Sumangali.org: Sumangali Morhall has a tremendous talent for prose and poetry, much of which can be viewed on her personal section of the Sri Chinmoy Centre site. She has only just started sumangali.org in the last couple of months, but we definitely look forward to some writing gems from her new site.

RichardPettinger.com: Richard is webmaster of poetseers.org, the most comprehensive collection of spiritual poetry on the Internet. In addition, he is quite a good amateur cyclist, finishing 4th in the National Championships in 2005. His personal site and blog contains a potpourri of articles about meditation, spirituality, cycling, economics (his day job) and a lot of humour!

April Celebrations

Every April and August, Sri Chinmoy invites his students from all over the world to visit him in New York. During that time he generally meets with his students twice a day. During these meditation functions Sri Chinmoy meditates with his students, but there are also singing and instrumental performances, soulful poetry and prayer recitals, inspiring stories, illumining theatre productions and more. Here are just a few of the things that happened this time around:

  • Sri Chinmoy had three significant weightlifting sessions as part of his initiative to inspire his fellow world-citizens to realise their own true potential. In addition to the lifts of hot air balloons and rose fountain described in a previous blog entry, he also lifted overhead some special guests as part of the ‘Lifting up the World with a Oneness-Heart’ program, which honours men and women of inspiration by lifting them up in both body and spirit.
  • Sri Chinmoy also frequently performed on a beautiful new synthesizer, which was crafted for him by his Swiss student Panchajanya Burri. Sri Chinmoy composed a song about Panchajanya in appreciation of all his hard work.
  • The focal point of these celebrations was April 13th, which marked the 43rd aniversary of his arrival in the West. Sri Chinmoy expressed his gratitude to the soul of the United States of America for being his host for 43 years. The day consisted on many performances by Sri Chinmoy’s favourite singers and musical groups, inspiring speeches by famous friends and well-wishers who had come to congratulate him, and some fond memories and reminisces by Sri Chinmoy himself.
  • There were some truly remarkable play performances in the duration of the two weeks. The first remarkable play was about Thomas Jefferson, and his struggle on behalf of freedom of religious conscience. The play describes Jefferson’s authorship of the Statute of Religious Freedom for the state of Virginia, and its eventual passing into law some years later when Jefferson had moved on to become US ambassador to France. This law was to become the inspiration for the First Amendment in to the Unites States Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion for all. Another extremely accomplished play, directed by Natabara Rollinson, was the second in a three-part series depicting the childhood of Lord Krishna, the great Indian spiritual figure. The first part was performed in Bulgaria for Sri Chinmoy and his visiting students in January this year, and the third part will be performed in August. This chapter detailed Krishna’s gradual transformation from a playful young cowherd into a young prince who realises he must defeat his wicked uncle Kamsa to ease the suffering of his people. These plays are of a remarkably professional standard considering the limited amount of time the international crew have for rehearsal and stage construction.
  • This April saw the inauguaration of a new athletics event, the Self-Transcendence Invitational Marathon. Unfortunately the marathon took place at the tail end of some of the worst April weather on record, but many of Sri Chinmoy’s students produced very inspiring performances to break their personal best times.

Sri Chinmoy’s 43rd Anniversary in the West.

Sri Chinmoy arrived in New York on April 13th 1964. For the past 43 years he has sought to offer the ancient teachings of yoga, in the dynamic and modern West. This April, with his students from around the world, Sri Chinmoy celebrated his 43rd anniversary of arriving in the West. Amongst other activities, he participated in some unusual weightlifting events. On one occasion he lifted two hot air balloons weighing between 369lbs and 397lbs.

Sri Chinmoy Lifting

Two Inspirational Lifts by Sri Chinmoy

In the space of three days last week, Sri Chinmoy accomplished two remarkable lifts as part of his effort to inspire others through lifting heavy weights. Through his lifting achievements, he hopes to encourage the world around him to try and transcend their own capacities. “If we remain in a childlike heart, then age can never be a barrier and there is no end to our progress”, he said when asked about his lifting.

Always on the look out for new objects to lift, his first lifting session saw him on a cold morning in New Jersey, where he lifted two hot air balloons. The first balloon – resembling a pink rabbit – was expertly guided into place onto the lifting platform by its pilot, Tom Robins, and some of the gas was then released so the balloon exerted a weight on the platform. Sri Chinmoy performed a succession of lifts with the balloon as the gas was gradually released, with the highest weight lifted being 369 pounds.

Then a second balloon was expertly steered into place – a gaily coloured balloon making its maiden flight that very morning. Again Sri Chinmoy performed a succession of lifts, the highest this time weighing in at397 pounds.

Mr Robins, who was in the balloons when they were being lifted, later remarked: In over two decades of flying balloons, this is the most wonderful and uplifting experience I have ever had. I do not know where Sri Chinmoy’s power comes from, but I have felt it today and it is spectacular!”

Two days later, Sri Chinmoy was in New York City, on the 43rd anniversary of his arrival in the west. This time, out of appreciation for the United States of America, which has been his home since 1964, he lifted overhead a huge stone fountain containing 50 roses, one for each state. The total lift, including apparatus, amounted to 312lb.

Just before the lift, Sri Chinmoy offered the following expression of gratitude to the soul of America:“America the Beautiful, you have showered your choicest blessings, concern and encouragement upon my God-aspiring heart and man-dedicated service for long 43 years. I am offering 50 roses from my heart-garden lovingly, devotedly and self-givingly to the beauty, prosperity and divinity of each state.”

Short Poems

Sri Chinmoy has written countless short poems which express in small portion part of his spiritual philosophy. Sri Chinmoy has never written a complete overview of his philosophical viewpoint. In some ways his prolific output of prose and poetry give a glimpse into the potential limitless expression of spirituality. Each poem and aphorism adds to the depth of spiritual philosophy. At the same time the poems are purposefully short and concise helping the reader to meditate on the message of the poems.

Some selections from Seventy – Seven Thousand Service Trees volume 39

The Divine Love
Does not speak –
It only acts.

38,029

The inner hunger
Is much more intense
Than the outer hunger

38,007

More short poems of Sri Chinmoy http://www.shortpoems.org/srichinmoy/index.html

I always try to speak with my heart

I always try to speak
With my heart
When I speak to God

38,264

Everyone, without exception
Has to sit
For the God-realisation-examination
Either in the near future
Or in the distant future

39,251

The mind path
Is, indeed,
A constant obstacle course.

39,244

No more shall I be interested
In my mind-jungle.
From now on , I shall stay always
Inside my heart-garden.

39,238

Poems by Sri Chinmoy.

From Seventy Seven Thousand Service Trees vol. 40

To Be A Chittagonian

Sri Chinmoy was born in the district of Chittagong and spent the first 12 years of his life in the tiny Indian village of Shakpura. In 2006 he composed his 13,000th song and dedicated it to Chittagong

In 2003 Sri Chinmoy said of Chittagong

“My Chittagong,
May the world-citizens
To your heart-beauty throng.”

“Chittagong is the chief Indian Ocean port city in the south-east of Bangladesh. The name also refers to one of the six divisions in Bangladesh. Even though Bengali, a derivative of Sanskrit, is spoken and taught throughout Bangladesh, the residents of Chittagong Division much prefer to speak their own dialect. The curious thing is that Chittagong dialect has no official status and is not taught at any level in schools. It exists solely as an oral language, with subtle variations from north to south, and from Muslim to Hindu. In the written form, correct Bengali is used exclusively.”

From article by Dr Vidagdha Bennett “To Be a Chittagongian”

Early life of Sri Chinmoy in Chittagong

World Harmony Run

The World Harmony Run is an initiative founded by Sri Chinmoy. It seeks to bring people together in a spirit of friendship and harmony. The essence of the Run is summed up with the motto “harmony begins with me”. If people can bring more harmony into their own lives this will spread to their friends and the wider community. The aim of the Run is to meet with many people from different cultures and traditions and share the common aspiration for a better world.

The World Harmony Run takes place in each of the 5 main continents. The European leg recently started in Portugal and will not finish until October in Holland.

Mark Collinson from Bristol took part in the WHR last year for over 6 months. He shares some of his experiences from the run here: World Harmony Run 2006 – A Short Note

It was almost 12 months ago that I embarked on an amazing 6 month journey with the European leg of the World harmony Run that was to take me through 30 countries and leave me with such wonderful memories that they will stay with me forever.

For regular updates on the progress of the World Harmony Run you can visit the website of the run: World Harmony Run

(1) Photo from Morocco

notes from Sri Chinmoy Triathlon Festival

See also: previous entry: Sri Chinmoy Triathlon Festival

For the last few years it has been my task to set up swim courses. Measuring distance on the water is the key factor, and a few different methods have been employed over the years. A cumbersome, now obsolete method, used a string on a reel with a counter attached. The string
was tied to a swim buoy and, as you moved away, the counter told you how far away you were. Laser-sighting binoculars were much better. You aim them at an object, press a button, and instantly you have a digital readout of the distance. But they were expensive, and not
waterproof! One pair met their watery end in Lake Burley Griffin. So, for the last few years I have used a small GPS from a camping store. It’s accurate to within a few metres, it’s waterproof, and it floats.

I put all the swim buoy weights into the boat. They weigh about 20kg each, and are made from concrete. Then I inflated all the swim buoys. They are big yellow plastic cone shaped things. To inflate them, I use the high-tech method of employing a 20-year old vacuum cleaner with
the hose stuck in the other end, so it blows air instead of sucking. I motored out onto the lake with a big procession of buoys towing along behind.

I had been congratulating myself on having worked out all the swim courses in advance. I had to set a 500m course for the Sprint Triathlon, a 1.5km course for the “Classic” Tri, and a 3.2 km course for the Champions Challenge. The Sprint required only one swim buoy. The Classic required four. These courses I had set in previous years. The Champions Challenge was a new course. I had done some measurements on a map, and it seemed to be a simple extension of the Classic course. I had designed m maps for the race, and they had been on the
web for months.

After setting the Sprint and Classic, I discovered, to my surprise, that there wasn’t enough room for the course I had planned. If you got Champs Challenge course you can see the course I wanted to set. Instead, I had to go a long way eastwards to set the first Champions Challenge buoy. When I say first, I mean the first buoy that isn’t also part of the Classic course. Okay, it’s not so easy to explain. I always end up with a sheet of paper full of figures from the GPS readings as I try to figure out the trigonometry. By the time I finished it was after dark.
All the Sri Chinmoy Centre members, locals and visitors, were at the Centre for a meditation. I had toyed with the idea that I could motor up Sullivans Creek in the boat and get to the Centre that way. But I hadn’t brought my clothes for meditation, and anyway it was too late by the time that I had finished with the swim courses….

Wow! This is an exciting post! All about GPS readings and swim buoys!
Hopefully the next one will feature topics with a more general appeal!

post by Rathin