Ananda Tour in the Balkans

The British music group Ananda travelled to the Balkan countries recently for a series of seven meditative concerts dedicated to the music of Sri Chinmoy. They performed in Macedonia, Serbia and Bulgaria for audiences ranging from 100 to 300 people.

Ananda on stage in Nis (Serbia)

Ananda’s group members are male students of Sri Chinmoy living in the UK and Ireland. The group creates haunting and soul-stirring arrangements of Sri Chinmoy’s soulful and meditative songs and just released their fourth album.

Apart from their concerts, they also gave a series of lectures on meditation and spirituality in five of the cities they visited.

Ananda Music.co.uk

 

 

 

 

The group members

World Harmony Run 25 years anniversary

On April 27th the World Harmony Run/Peace Run celebrated its 25th anniversary. The World Harmony Run was founded by Sri Chinmoy in 1987 to foster good will and world peace by running with a Peace Torch all over the world. The Run has visited over 140 countries to date and annually reaches about one million people.

Sri Chinmoy Centres from all over the world celebrated the anniversary by organizing special World Harmony Run events in their respective cities.

In Ljubljana,Slovenia, (left) runners carried the Peace Torch to a site where they will plant a Sri Chinmoy Peace-Tree in October.
In Groningen, The Netherlands (right) 140 school children released balloons with wishes for peace attached to them.

Self-Transcendence 6 – 10 Day Race 2012

The 15th annual Self Transcendence 6 / 10 day race, organised by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team, recently started in Flushing Meadows, NY.

start

The two ultra distance races, run concurrently around a loop in Flushing Meadows, New York, have attracted a top field of international ultra distance runners.

 

The races are organised by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team and staffed by volunteers who come to races. Sri Chinmoy was a keen advocate of distance running as a way for people to try and transcend their physical, mental and spiritual limitations.

Continue reading “Self-Transcendence 6 – 10 Day Race 2012”

Oneness-World Peace-Family Festival in South Africa

Recently in South Africa, students of Sri Chinmoy organised a festival which brought together spiritual seekers and peace-lovers from many different countries.

Among the events was a tree planting ceremony attended by officials from the nearby Parks Department, accompanied by a plaque with quotes from Sri Chinmoy and the United Nations Declaration.

Later on, members and friends of the Sri Chinmoy Centre met together for an evening of japa (meditative chanting).

Radio Sri Chinmoy Streaming Channel

At Radio Sri Chinmoy, we have a new streaming channel featuring some of Sri Chinmoy’s vocal recordings.

The Streaming channel is available using Windows Media player, iTunes, Flash and Winamp.

See home page of www.radiosrichinmoy.org for details.

We will be adding more streaming channels and also adding new content to Radio Sri Chinmoy, in the near future.

Sri Chinmoy was a prolific composer of songs. He often performed his own compositions at his 777 Peace Concerts which he offered around the world during his lifetime.

 

European Concert Tour

Recently, members of the Sri Chinmoy Centre participated in a European ‘Songs of the Soul’ Concert tour at venues in Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria and Slovakia.

 

songs of the soul

A variety of groups performed arrangements of songs composed by Sri Chinmoy

The concerts played to packed venues in the different cities. More photos and details can be found at: Songs of the Soul

Continue reading “European Concert Tour”

Sri Chinmoy’s 80th Birthday

August 27th, 2011 was the 80th anniversary of Sri Chinmoy’s birthday.

New York Councilman and Park Director complete the world's longest garland in honour of Sri Chinmoy's 80th birthday. (photo Prashphutita)

To mark the occasion, Ashrita Furman and 170 members of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team created a new Guinness World Record for the world’s largest garland of flowers.

NY-Councilman and Park Director complete the world's longest garland (photo-Jowan-Gauthier)

Using 80,000 carnations, the team created a 2.15 mile garland of flowers around a lake in Flushing Meadows, New York.

Ashrita Furman spoke of the event:

“My friends and I have a tradition to express our gratitude to Sri Chinmoy as he inspires us to discover inner peace, joy and strength through meditation. On the occasion of Sri Chinmoy’s 80th birthday anniversary we wanted to do something special. The huge garland expresses the deep gratitude we feel. There was an great feeling of oneness and harmony because people from 35 countries were connected by the garland in a circle symbolising planet earth.”

Continue reading “Sri Chinmoy’s 80th Birthday”

World Harmony Run – John O’Groats to Lands End

In the UK, the World Harmony Run is travelling the entire length of the country from John O’Groats in Scotland, to Lands End in the tip of Cornwall in South England.

Lake District

Members of the World Harmony Run team running through the Lake District.

 

 

Edinburgh

Members of the World Harmony run team in Edinburgh

The World Harmony Run was founded by Sri Chinmoy to promote the ideal of peace, harmony and friendship.

Harmony shall echo
And re-echo
Throughout the length
And breadth of the world
When each human being
Values the beauty
And divinity
Of self-offering.

– Sri Chinmoy 1

temple

On route, the World Harmony Run team visited the largest Tibetan monastery in Europe.

  1.  Sri Chinmoy, My God-Commitments, Agni Press, 1992. ↩

Feats of Strength and Inner Peace

The film Challenging Impossibility gives a unique insight into how Sri Chinmoy used weightlifting to inspire other people, and also the link between outer strength and inner peace.

calf-lift

The film is  playing at the Tribeca film festival and has gained significant interest for its inspirational message. In a A Monument to Strength as a Path to Enlightenment, the New York Times reflects on how body builders and weightlifters were drawn to the unusual combination of a Spiritual Teacher and person who lifted heavy weights.

“…Those three — and other bodybuilders like Bill Pearl and Mike Katz — would attend the guru’s lifting exhibitions and were intrigued and inspired by a man of normal size and physique lifting such heavy weight later in life…”

A Monument to Strength, New York Times

The film is directed by Sanjay Rawal and Natabara Rollosson, you can view a short interview at Cinema Blend on the inspiration behind the film.

Sri Chinmoy saw a strong connection between outer strength and the inner peace gained from prayer and meditation.

The Feats of Strength, Pop up Museum, on 18 Jay Street is displaying a small selection of Sri Chinmoy’s weightlifting apparatus. See: Pop Up Gallery at Challenging Impossibility.

 

Photo top: Calf lift – 2,300lbs from 2004 Weightlifting Anniversary.

Related

Related Articles

Sri Chinmoy’s Music

Sri Chinmoy was a prolific composer and performed on a variety of instruments.

” When somebody is singing or playing music, it is very easy for us to identify with it because we are on the same level. But music can be found everywhere. Music is oneness with God’s Infinity, Eternity and Immortality. Music is a universal language. We do not need any other language.” 1

– Sri Chinmoy

To Sri Chinmoy, music has the capacity to awaken the soul and elevate the aspiring consciousness.

“Music is psychic enlightenment. Music is the supreme fulfilment of the aspiring human soul.” 2

– Sri Chinmoy

 

A small selection of some of Sri Chinmoy’s recordings can be found at:

 

  1. Sri Chinmoy, Sri Chinmoy Answers, Part 27, Agni Press, 2000. ↩
  2. Music and Religion ↩