A Comparative Timeline of World Events and the Life of Sri Chinmoy

 

                             

 

1973

1 JANUARY

The European Union admitted Britain, Ireland and Denmark.

 

8 JANUARY

The trial of Watergate burglars began in Washington, DC.

 

14 JANUARY

Elvis Presley gave a concert in Hawaii. It was the first worldwide telecast by an entertainer.

 

15 JANUARY

President Richard Nixon announced the suspension of all US offensive action in North Vietnam.

 

20 JANUARY

President Nixon was inaugurated for his second term.

 

22 JANUARY

Former US President Lyndon B. Johnson (held office 1963-69) died at age 64.

 
 

27 JANUARY

The first issue of Meditation at the United Nations magazine was published in New York.

27 JANUARY

A cease-fire officially went into effect in the Vietnam.

 

28 JANUARY

Peace Accords were signed in Paris between the US, North Vietnam, South Vietnam and South Vietnamese revolutionaries.

 
 

14 FEBRUARY-7 MARCH

Sri Chinmoy gave a series of 4 lectures on Kundalini Yoga at New York University. These were published the next year in Kundalini: The Mother-Power.

22 FEBRUARY

The US and Communist China agreed to establish liaison offices.

 

MARCH

The Mahavishnu Orchestra released the album Birds of Fire. The title is from Sri Chinmoy’s poem ‘Revelation’.

 

3 MARCH

Singer Roberta Flack received a Grammy Award for ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’.

 

7 MARCH

Sheikh Mujibar Rahman (1920-1975) was elected first Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

 

17 MARCH

Pink Floyd released their album ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ in the US.

 

23 MARCH

The US performed a nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

 
 

23 MARCH-20 JUNE

Sri Chinmoy wrote a series of 1,000 poems later published as The Dance of Life.

 

28 MARCH-2 MAY

Sri Chinmoy gave a series of 6 lectures at Columbia University, New York.

29 MARCH

The last US troops left South Vietnam, ending America’s direct military involvement in the Vietnamese War. The War had resulted in the deaths of 58,167 Americans, 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong and 2 million civilians.

 

APRIL

Mother Teresa was awarded the inaugural Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion.

 

3 APRIL

The first handheld cellular phone call was made by Martin Cooper in New York City.

 

4 APRIL

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held to mark the completion of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. They became the tallest buildings in the world.

 
 

15 APRIL

An article about Sri Chinmoy appeared in The New York Times.

3 MAY

The Sears Tower in Chicago was completed. It became the tallest building in the world, surpassing the World Trade Center Towers.

 
 

25 MAY

Former United Nations Secretary-General U Thant attended the première of Sri Chinmoy’s play Siddhartha Becomes the Buddha in White Plains, New York.

 

30 MAY

Sri Chinmoy dedicated a Meditation Tree at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

30 MAY

Erskine Childers (1905-1974) was elected as the 4th President of Ireland.

 
 

11 JUNE-4 JULY

Sri Chinmoy gave a series of 11 lectures at universities in England, Scotland, Ireland, Switzerland and Germany. They were published the following year in My Rose Petals, Part 2.

 

15 JUNE

Sri Chinmoy had a private meeting with President Eamon de Valera of Ireland.

19 JUNE

President Nixon met with Russia’s leader Leonid Brezhnev in the White House.

 
 

27 JUNE

Sri Chinmoy’s second audience with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican.

JULY

Mahavishnu John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana released the album Love Devotion Surrender in the US. The title is drawn from Sri Chinmoy’s writings.

 

10 JULY

The Bahamas became independent after three centuries of British colonial rule.

 

19 JULY

France resumed nuclear tests at Mururoa Atoll over the protests of Australia and New Zealand.

 

28 JULY

The Summer Jam at Watkins Glen, a massive rock festival, attracted over 600,000 fans.

 

AUGUST

The Mahavishnu Orchestra released the album Between Nothingness and Eternity. The title is from a poem by Sri Chinmoy of the same name.

 
 

27 AUGUST

Sri Chinmoy held an 8-hour meditation in New York to celebrate his 42nd birthday.

28 AUGUST

USSR performed an underground nuclear test, while France performed another nuclear test at Muruora Island.

 

20 SEPTEMBER

Tennis star Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in straight sets in the nationally televised ‘The Battle of the Sexes’ tournament in Houston, Texas.

 
 

20 SEPTEMBER

Sri Chinmoy and legendary sitar player Ravi Shankar met for the first time at the home of Mahavishnu John McLaughlin in Queens, New York.

22 SEPTEMBER

Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) was sworn in as US Secretary of State.

 
 

2 OCTOBER

Sri Chinmoy offered a programme in honour of Mahatma Gandhi at the United Nations.

6 OCTOBER

The Yom Kippur Arab-Israeli War began.

 
 

7 OCTOBER

Sri Chinmoy wrote 150 poems in 24 hours. 

17 OCTOBER

The Arab States imposed an oil embargo against countries supporting Israel, triggering an energy crisis.

 
 

17 OCTOBER

Ustad Ali Akbar Khan gave a private concert on sarod for Sri Chinmoy and his students in Queens, New York.

 

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER

Sri Chinmoy completed a second series of 1,000 poems for the year.  It was published the following year as The Wings of Light.

20 OCTOBER

Queen Elizabeth II opened the Sydney Opera House.

 

22 OCTOBER

Pablo Casals, Spanish cellist, conductor and composer, died in Puerto Rico at age 96.

 
 

26 OCTOBER

Sri Chinmoy offered a tribute to President John F. Kennedy of the USA and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India at the United Nations.

6 NOVEMBER

Abraham D. Beame (1906-2001) was elected Mayor of New York City.

 

11 NOVEMBER

Egypt and Israel signed a US-sponsored cease-fire accord.

 
 

28 DECEMBER

The Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Carlos Romero Barceló, presented Sri Chinmoy with the Key to the City. 

 

During 1973

Sri Chinmoy wrote full-length plays on Sri Krishna, Sri Ramachandra, the Buddha, Sri Chaitanya, the Christ and Sri Ramakrishna.

 

During 1973

Sri Chinmoy’s Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita was published by Rudolph Steiner, New York.

 

During 1973

Sri Chinmoy’s book of essays about Indian luminaries, Mother India’s Lighthouse, was published by Rudolph Steiner, New York.

 

During 1973

Sri Chinmoy’s book The Supreme and His Four Children was published by Fleet Press Corp., New York.