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Sri Chinmoy (August 27, 1931 – October 11, 2007), born Chinmoy Kumar Ghose, was an Indian spiritual Master who began teaching meditation in the West when he moved to New York City in 1964. A prolific author, artist, poet, athlete and musician, he is perhaps best known for holding public events on the theme of inner peace (such as concerts, meditations, and races) and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He taught meditation on the spiritual heart as a core spiritual practice, as well as encouraging prayer and performing dedicated selfless-service as a way to personal enlightenment, or God-realisation as described by Eastern philosophies.

Early years in India (1931-1964)
Chinmoy was the youngest of seven children, born in Shakpura village in the Chittagong District of East Bengal (now Bangladesh). His parents were Shashi Kumar Ghosh, a railway inspector turned banker, and Yogamaya Ghosh. He lost his father to illness in 1943, and his mother a few months later. In 1944, the 12-year-old Chinmoy joined his brothers and sisters at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, South India. There he spent the next twenty years in spiritual practice, including meditation, study in Bengali and English literature, and work in the ashram’s cottage industries. During his time at the ashram he was a champion sprinter and decathlete.

In the West (1964–2007)
In 1964 Chinmoy immigrated to New York City. In 1966, he opened the first of what later became over 100 meditation centers around the world that teach meditation and spiritual philosophy.

Between 1968 and 1970, he gave talks at Yale, Harvard, Cornell, Brandeis, Dartmouth, and The New School for Social Research. He also toured Japan and the Far East. In April 1970, he began conducting "Peace Meditations at the United Nations," an NGO holding non-denominational services open to UN delegates and staff. In late 1970 he made his first European tour, including talks at Oxford and Cambridge. By 1971 he had begun delivering monthly lectures at the UN's Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium, with the support of then Secretary-General U Thant.

Chinmoy's interest in the UN stemmed from a belief that it is the "heart-home of the world body" and a vehicle for "universal oneness."

He continued to travel, lecture, found new meditation centers. In April 1975, he gave a series of seven talks at Harvard Divinity School dedicated to the memory of John F. Kennedy. In July 1975, he offered the opening meditation at the National Day of Prayer ceremony at the UN, and at a similar ceremony in April 1976.

While in America in the 1970s, Sri Chinmoy attracted followers such as musicians Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin. John McLaughlin was a follower of Sri Chinmoy from 1970 to 1975. During this period he formed a jazz fusion group called the Mahavishnu Orchestra, 'Mahavishnu' being the spiritual name given to him by Sri Chinmoy. The group recorded several albums, including Love Devotion Surrender. Much of the music had devotional lyrics and themes. In 1972, John McLaughlin took Carlos Santana to meet Sri Chinmoy at one of his weekly meditation meetings at the United Nations. Santana also joined Chinmoy's path and released his albums under the name 'Devadip' (meaning 'the light of the lamp of God'), the name given to him by Chinmoy, until he and his wife left in 1981. Chinmoy offered the musicians a disciplined spiritual path that forbade the use of drugs and alcohol and encouraged music and poetry as expressions of thankfulness to the Divine. Other composers and musicians who were spiritually inspired by Chinmoy include Leonard Bernstein, Roberta Flack, Narada Michael Walden, Clarence Clemons, and Boris Grebenshikov. Leonard Bernstein described Chinmoy as "the very model of abundance in the creative life."

Olympic gold-medalist Carl Lewis was also advised by Sri Chinmoy. In his autobiography, Carl Lewis writes about this relationship. Carl Lewis learned to meditate from 'Guru', as he calls him, and practices these techniques regularly. A devoted Christian, Carl Lewis states that his involvement with Sri Chinmoy was a step forward to spiritual fulfillment which strengthened his Christian beliefs.

"Atmananda" Frederick Lenz became a follower around 1972, but in 1981 he broke with Sri Chinmoy and became a guru on his own. Spiritual author "Purushottoma" Lex Hixon was a member of the Sri Chinmoy Centre in the 1970s.

Sri Chinmoy opened up meditation centres and gave music concerts around the world, and many of his talks and writings were published. Chinmoy advocated "self-transcendence" by expanding one's consciousness to conquer the mind's perceived limitations. In the spirit of self‑transcendence, a number of his students have completed extraordinary feats of endurance. Members of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team have swum the English Channel over forty times - the most by any athletic organisation. Other feats include ultra-distance running, including the Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race, mountain climbing and long distance cycling. Ashrita Furman currently holds 151 Guinness world records - the only person in history to achieve this. Ashrita says "the meditation he learned from Sri Chinmoy helps him to perform beyond his expectations"

Sri Chinmoy travelled widely and dedicated his many activities and events founded by him to peace. He met with world figures and was often described as an ambassador of peace. He never charged any fees for his spiritual guidance or music performances. He was respectful towards all religions and religious figures of the world. It is estimated that he attracted 7000 students in his lifetime. His path is recognised as a contemporary system of yoga, practiced under the guidance of a guru, or spiritual teacher. Unlike other older traditions, withdrawal from the world is not considered necessary for spiritual progress.

In 2007, Sri Chinmoy was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by 51 Icelandic members of Parliament, and a number of professors around the world. Over the years Sri Chinmoy had ongoing friendships with Mikhail Gorbachev, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa Desmond Tutu  and US Congressman Gary Ackerman.

Chinmoy passed away in his home in Jamaica, Queens, New York on October 11, 2007. Mikhail Gorbachev wrote that his death was “a loss for the whole world” and that “in our hearts, he will forever remain a man who dedicated his whole life to peace.”

Art


In 1974 he began painting colorful acrylics on abstract themes - which he called "Jharna-Kala" or "fountain-art". The format of his artworks ranges from huge murals to small pen and ink drawings. In 1991 he began drawing birds, which he said symbolize the freedom of the soul. His art has been displayed in the Louvre in Paris, the UNESCO offices in Paris, the Mall Gallery in London, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, and the United Nations Headquarters. Some works have found permanent homes in London's Victoria and Albert Museum and the Museum of Modern Art in St. Petersburg.

Music
Chinmoy composed thousands of short musical compositions, written with lyrics primarily in Bengali and English.

In 1984, he began a series of free musical performances that he named "peace concerts" where he would play various instruments and offer silent meditation between each instrument. During a concert he would usually play 10-15 different instruments, such as a variety of flutes, esraj, cello, dilruba and synthesizer, as well as improvising white keys of piano and pipe organ. He gave over 700 free peace concerts in venues such as London’s Royal Albert Hall, New York’s Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan, the Louvre in Paris, and the Sydney Opera House.

Poetry
Sri Chinmoy began writing poetry at an early age, with his early efforts written in his native Bengali tongue. However, he learnt English metre and rhyme and most of his poems have since been written in English. His first English poem was written in 1955 and was entitled “The Golden Flute”. In later years, he increasingly wrote short poems of a few lines. In total, it is claimed Sri Chinmoy wrote over 120,000 poems though many of these poems are actually short aphorisms. In 2001, Sri Chinmoy was invited to recite his poetry at the United Nations as part of a UN sponsored event of promoting Dialogue Among Civilizations Through Poetry. On September 11, 2011, three of Sri Chinmoy's poems on hope were recited by New York State Governor David Paterson at a ceremony to mark the tenth anniversary of 9/11.

Sri Chinmoy's inspirational writing has been praised by many, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who wrote: "These sweet gems of wisdom written by my dear friend Sri Chinmoy are timeless truths full of encouragement, love and goodness...These chapters fill us with indomitable hope and enthusiasm for life."

Sri Chinmoy's teachings
Sri Chinmoy taught that meditation on the spiritual heart brings the light of the soul forward to reach the highest reality as soon as possible. Chinmoy states: “We are all seekers, and our goal is the same: to achieve inner peace, light and joy, to become inseparably one with our Source, and to lead lives full of true satisfaction.” He taught that rapid spiritual progress could be made with divine love, divine devotion and divine surrender. He described divine love as self-offering and self-expansion; divine devotion as an expression of divine love as dedicated action; and divine surrender as a merging of the finite self with the infinite. His path is not one of earthly renunciation or asceticism, but a middle path where the seeker has the opportunity to renounce, or transform, the negative qualities which stand in the way of union with the Divine. Chinmoy built up a world-wide following of disciples.

Sri Chinmoy recommended meditation during the quiet atmosphere of the early morning, before starting daily activities. As the traditional Hour of God, between three and four a.m., known as the Brahma Muhurta, may not suit the western lifestyle of keeping late hours, Sri Chinmoy recommended that his disciples meditate at six a.m. every morning. Reading Sri Chinmoy's writings, singing his songs and performing dedicated service were also considered forms of meditation for his disciples. Sri Chinmoy believed that running and physical fitness were a help to the inner spiritual life as well as to the outer life of activity, and encouraged his followers to run daily. Although influenced by Hinduism, his path catered to an international community of seekers from diverse backgrounds. He also encouraged his students to offer free meditation classes to the public, similar to the way his peace concerts were always offered free of charge.

Interfaith
An integral part of Sri Chinmoy's teaching is the respect for other paths and religions. He wrote:

"True religion has a universal quality. It does not find fault with other religions. [...] Forgiveness, compassion, tolerance, brotherhood and the feeling of oneness are the signs of a true religion. ]"

Sri Chinmoy’s efforts to promote inter-faith harmony resulted in him being invited to open the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago (1993) and Barcelona (2004) with a silent meditation. During the 2004 Opening meditation, Sri Chinmoy said: "During my Opening Meditation I am praying for the oneness of all religions."

Sri Chinmoy said that although he was brought up in the Hindu tradition, he felt that his only religion was the 'Love of God': "I was born into the Hindu religion, but now my only religion is to love God and to be of service to God. Love of God embraces all religions: Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam and others."

United Nations
Chinmoy believed the UN offered the best hope of international peace and reconciliation. In April 1970, Sri Chinmoy was invited by UN Secretary-General U Thant to give twice-weekly meditations for UN delegates, staff and representatives of NGOs as the director of the meditation group called “Sri Chinmoy: Peace Meditations at the United Nations” in New York. These and other programs promoting the ideals of the UN still continue under the auspices of the Peace Meditation at the United Nations.

To Sri Chinmoy, the United Nations is the “heart-home of the world-body”, embodying the hopes and dreams of the world-family. "The ideas of the United Nations are universal peace and universal brotherhood, and the ideals of the United Nations are a oneness-world-family and a oneness-heart."

After directing the peace meditations, which had been attended by many UN employees and diplomats, for 37 years, more than 700 UN staff, ambassadors, members of the American Congress, and representatives of various religions, paid tributes to Sri Chinmoy following his death during a posthumous celebration at the UN headquarters in New York. During the ceremony at the UN, Daw Aye Aye Thant, the daughter of former UN Secretary-General U Thant, said in her speech: "In a letter to Sri Chinmoy in April 1972, my father wrote, "You have indeed instilled in the minds of hundreds of people here the moral and spiritual values which both of us cherish very dearly. I shall always cherish the memorable occasion of our meetings at the United Nations." [ … ] I feel fortunate to have known Sri Chinmoy and to have been in his presence many times, and to have known many members of the Group."

Athletic programs
Chinmoy encouraged physical activity to play a vital role in the search for enlightenment. In 1977 the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team was founded, which holds running, swimming, and cycling events worldwide, from fun runs to ultramarathons. In 1987 he created the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run (temporarily renamed World Harmony Run), held every two years. The first Peace Run was launched in April 1987 at the World Trade Center in New York City in an effort to raise world consciousness about the need for peace, based on the slogan "Peace begins with me." An official theme song "Oneness-Home" was composed by Narada Michael Walden and recorded by Whitney Houston. Olympic gold-medalist Carl Lewis, who was also advised by Sri Chinmoy throughout his Olympic career, is the spokesman for the torch relay.

In 1978, he received a distinguished service award from Runner's World magazine "for dedicated service to humanity through the promotion of running."

Chinmoy continued to enter races from his youth until his sixties, completing more than 200 road races, including 21 marathons and five ultra-marathons. When a knee injury hampered his ability to run, Chinmoy turned his attention to tennis and weightlifting.

His marathon team has sponsored ultra-distance events including the Self-Transcendence 6 & 10 day and the Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race, described by the New York Times as the "Mount Everest of ultramarathons". Many of Sri Chinmoy’s followers run daily for health and physical fitness.

Lifting and Feats of Strength
Chinmoy took up weightlifting in 1985, at the age of 54 and accomplished feats of strength to inspire others to go beyond their limits. He conducted unique lifts in which he raised heavy weights and even large objects such as elephants, or groups of people on a platform, using a modified calf raise machine.

Bill Pearl, former Mr. Universe, acted as Master of Ceremonies at many of Sri Chinmoy's strength exhibitions. Introducing one of Sri Chinmoy's strength exhibitions in 1999, Bill Pearl wrote: "Today you are going to see some amazing feats of strength that I myself - and I have been in the industry for fifty-five years - would not even attempt to perform." Sri Chinmoy, said his motivation for lifting was to inspire others, especially those of an older generation.

""If I can inspire anybody in this world, then I feel that my life is meaningful. With my weightlifting, I am offering my physical strength to inspire people.""

In a program created in 1988 known as 'Lifting Up the World With a Oneness-Heart', Sri Chinmoy lifted people of inspiration while they stood on a platform overhead. Chinmoy described his motivation: 'I lift them up to show my appreciation for their achievements.' Among some of the 7000 people he lifted include: Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu Muhammad Ali, Sting, Dr. Jane Goodall, Eddie Murphy, Susan Sarandon, Roberta Flack, Yoko Ono, Jesse Jackson, Jeff Goldblum, Sid Caesar, Richard Gere and Helen Hunt. Rabbi Marc Gellman wrote in Newsweek of the experience:

""I remember the miraculous day of May 23, 2001, when Sri Chinmoy lifted me, my pal Father Tom Hartman, and a platform up into the air. Together—with the platform—we weighed more than 500 pounds. (I had a very heavy cell phone in my pocket!) Sri Chinmoy took a seat underneath us and pushed up. With his two 70-year-old arms, he lifted us up into the air.""

In April 2011, a documentary film about Sri Chinmoy's feats of strength titled Challenging Impossibility was featured at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film chronicled Sri Chinmoy’s training and how it culminated when he held a public demonstration of his feats of strength at age 73 in the presence of such strength experts such as 5-time Mr. Universe Bill Pearl, 3-time Mr. Olympia Frank Zane, 2002 World’s Strongest Man Hugo Girard, the Vice-President of the International Federation of Bodybuilders and Chairman of the Professional Division Wayne DeMilia, and 9-time Olympic Gold-Medalist Carl Lewis.

Awards
A summary of award highlights includes:


 * 1978 Distinguished Service Award Presented by Runner's World magazine "for dedicated service to humanity through the promotion of running" in 1978.


 * 1993 Honorary Doctorate of Humanities and Peace Studies University of Southern Philippines in Cebu City, the Philippines in 1993.


 * Sri Chinmoy Peace Mountain, an unscaled Himalayan peak in Nepal was dedicated by King Birendra of Nepal in 1995.


 * Sri Chinmoy Tulip named for an orange Triumph tulip edged with yellow by the International Cultivar Registration Authority for the Tulip in 2005. The Tulip was cultivated by Jan Ligthart of Breezand, the Netherlands.

Poetry

 * (1979–1983) Ten Thousand Flower-Flames - Agni Press (100 volumes)
 * (1983–1998) Twenty-Seven Thousand Aspiration-Plants - Agni Press (270 volumes)
 * (1998–2007) Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees - Agni Press (50 volumes... unfinished)
 * (1973) The Dance of Life
 * (1974) The Wings of Light
 * (2000–2007) My Christmas-New Year-Vacation-Aspiration-Prayers (51 volumes)

Spiritual Plays

 * (1973) Sri Ramachandra - My Rama is My All - A play on the life of Sri Ramachandra
 * (1973) The Singer Of The Eternal Beyond - A play on the life of Sri Krishna
 * (1973) Siddhartha Becomes The Buddha - A Play on the life of Lord Buddha
 * (1973) The Son - A play on the life of Jesus Christ
 * (1973) Lord Gauranga: Love Incarnate - A Play on the life of Sri Chaitanya
 * (1973) Drink, Drink, My Mother's Nectar - A play on the life of Sri Ramakrishna
 * (1973) The Heart Of A Holy Man - various plays on spiritual figures
 * (1973) Supreme Sacrifice - a book of spiritual plays
 * (1974) The Descent of the Blue - A play about the life of Sri Aurobindo

Books of Sri Chinmoy in Library of Congress

 * Arise! Awake! Thoughts of a Yogi; Chinmoy, Sri, ISBN 0-8119-0207-2
 * Astrology; the supernatural and the beyond; Chinmoy, Sri, ISBN 0-88497-037-X
 * Commentaries on the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita : the three branches of India’s life-tree; Chinmoy, Sri, ISBN 0-88497-113-9
 * Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita; the song of the transcendental soul; Chinmoy, Sri, Published/Created: Blauvelt, N.Y., R. Steiner Publications
 * Death and reincarnation: eternity’s voyage; Chinmoy, Sri, ISBN 0-88497-038-8
 * Garden of the soul : lessons on living in peace, happiness, and harmony; Chinmoy, Sri, ISBN 1-55874-314-6
 * The garland of nation-souls : complete talks at the United Nations; Chinmoy, Sri, ISBN 1-55874-357-X
 * The goal is won; Chinmoy, Sri, ISBN 0-88497-092-2
 * God is-- : selected writings of Sri Chinmoy; Chinmoy, Sri, ISBN 0-88497-059-0
 * Gorbachev : the master-key of the universal heart; Chinmoy, Sri, ISBN 0-88497-984-9
 * Heart-songs : everyday prayers & meditations; Chinmoy, Sri, ISBN 1-56838-103-4
 * The inner promise; paths to self perfection; Chinmoy, Sri, ISBN 0-671-21720-8
 * Light of the Beyond : teachings of an illumined master; Chinmoy, Sri, ISBN 0-88497-481-2
 * Meditation : man-perfection in God-satisfaction; Chinmoy, Sri, ISBN 0-88497-444-8
 * Mother India’s lighthouse: India’s spiritual leaders; flame-heights of the West; Chinmoy, Sri, Published/Created Blauvelt, N.Y., R. Steiner Publications
 * Mother Teresa : humanity’s flower-heart, divinity’s fragrance-soul; Chinmoy, Sri, ISBN 1-885479-08-5
 * My flute; the poetry & teachings & philosophy of Sri Chinmoy; Chinmoy, Sri
 * My Lord’s secrets revealed; Chinmoy, Sri, Published Herder and Herder
 * Nelson Mandela : the pinnacle-pillar of mother earth; Chinmoy, Sri, ISBN 0-88497-043-4
 * The silent teaching : a selection of the writings; Chinmoy, Sri
 * Songs of the soul; Chinmoy, Sri, Published Herder and Herder
 * The spiritual life : selection of writings; Chinmoy, Sri
 * The Supreme and his four children; five spiritual dictionaries; Chinmoy, Sri, ISBN 0-8303-0121-6
 * A true disciple; Chinmoy, Sri, Published/Created Jamaica, NY : Agni Press, c1998.
 * The wings of joy : finding your path to inner peace; Chinmoy, Sri, ISBN 0-684-82242-3
 * The wisdom of Sri Chinmoy; Chinmoy, Sri, ISBN 1-884997-23-6
 * Yoga and the spiritual life; the journey of India’s soul; Chinmoy, Sri, ISBN 0-88497-040-X

Books and True Stories of Sri Chinmoy on Hindu Guru Nigamananda
Sri Chinmoy had written a great deal on Hindu spiritual Guru Nigamananda of India.

Books

 * (English)
 * (Spain)
 * (Spain)

Stories

 * (English)
 * My Guru Is The Highest
 * Dream Becomes Reality
 * Temptation-Power Almost Succeeds
 * Not The Outer Form, But The Inner Essence
 * Body's Beauty Fails; Soul's Beauty Sails
 * Divine Love Consoles Human Loss
 * Swami Nigamananda (Not an Avatar)
 * The Master's Protection-Arms
 * Attachment-Cry Versus Oneness-Sky
 * A Mere God-Lover


 * (German)
 * Was ist das Wesen der Versuchung? (What is the being of the temptation?)
 * Was meinst du, wenn du sagst: „Die Schönheit des Körpers vergeht; die Schönheit der Seele segelt.“? (What do you mean if you say: "the beauty of the body passes; the beauty of the soul segelt".?)
 * Wie wichtig ist es, an seinen eigenen Guru zu glauben?'' (How important is it, to believe in its own guru?)
 * Sollte man seinen Guru immer als das Höchste betrachten?'' (Should one regard its guru always as the highest?)
 * Schönheit (Beauty)


 * (Serbian)
 * MOJ GURU JE NAJVIŠI (My Guru is the highest)


 * (Hungarian)
 * Történet a szépségről (The Story)

When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.