April 5

Ke jai amare bale jai

 

Lyrics:

Ke jai ke jai ke jai amare bale jai
Kena ami kandi dibanishi hiya anginai


Published in One Thousand Lotus Petals, Part 2.

 

Nineteen Thirty-One

 

Lyrics:

Nineteen thirty-one, nineteen thirty-one!
My Heaven-days were done.
Nineteen thirty-one, nineteen thirty-one!
My earth-life I came to embrace.
Nineteen thirty-one, nineteen thirty-one!
My breath became God’s Fountain-Grace.
Nineteen thirty-one, nineteen thirty-one!
God's Victory-Garland I won, I won, indeed, I won, I won!
Nineteen thirty-one, nineteen thirty-one!


Published in Enthusiasm, Part 11

 

April 5

Sri Chinmoy runs the Masters 5 KM (3.1 miles) in a time of 22 minutes and 16 seconds at Prospect Park in Brooklyn.

 

Sri Chinmoy runs a 2-mile race in a time of 13 minutes and 54 seconds at Compo Beach in Westport, Connecticut. He places 2nd in the men’s 40-49 years age group; 37th in the men’s division; and 44th overall in a field of 94 participants.

 

The Soul of the Shoe

A story by Sri Chinmoy

 

When I was ready to go out walking the day before yesterday, it was quite dark. But I did not turn on the porch light when I put on my shoes. As a result, on my left foot I put a Nike shoe and on my right foot I put something else. Believe it or not, a shoe not only has a sole but also a soul. The soul of one shoe was telling me, “I will hurt you if you wear me.” It was addressing me very devotedly.

I asked, “Why?”

The soul said, “Look at your shoes.”

When I looked, I saw that I had two different kinds of shoes on. One was already starting to hurt because it was new. The right one was perfect, but the left one was the wrong shoe. So I went back and put on another shoe.

On that day I walked four miles, so definitely the shoe would have hurt me.


Published in Run and Become, Become and Run, part 19

 

April 5

 

7 Million Birds Painted

 

New York — The New York-based artist, musician and peace philosopher Sri Chinmoy has reached his goal: He just completed his seven millionth "Dream­-Freedom-Peace-Bird". The native Indian painted over 200,000 of his birds in the shape of coloured line drawings in four days only on his peace concert-journey for the 50th anniversary of Indian Independence in Augsburg and Rome in March. Amongst the personalities, who congratulated him for his project, are Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela.


Published in the German Bavarian daily subscription newspaper, Münchner Merkur, Weekend 5/6 April 1997, World Mirror, page 10 (Circulation: 400,000)

 

April 5

Photo by Bhashwar Hart

 

Sri Chinmoy at the Wooster Street Jharna-Kala gallery in Soho, New York.

 

April 5

No Nation is Unwanted

A lecture by Sri Chinmoy
at the Dag Hammarskjöld Auditorium, United Nations, New York

 

No nation is unwanted. Every nation is wanted. Every nation is needed. Every nation is indispensable. Each nation is great. The greatness of each nation lies in its deep love for other nations and in its self-giving to other nations.

Why does an individual love others? An individual loves others because he knows that if he does not love others, then he remains imperfect and incomplete. Why does one give of oneself to others? One gives of oneself to others because he has discovered the undeniable truth that self-giving is truth-loving and God-becoming. And what applies to an individual human being can equally, appropriately and convincingly apply to a nation.

Sir Winston Churchill once made a most significant remark: “When abroad I do not criticise the government of our country, but I make up for it when I come home.” Self-criticism is necessary; self-criticism is obligatory. If each nation values self-criticism when it is at home, then perfection-sun will not remain a far cry. Self-criticism is the harbinger of self-enquiry. Self-enquiry is the harbinger of God-discovery. In God-discovery man rises above the ignorance of millennia.

The great German philosopher Schopenhauer said, “Every nation ridicules other nations, and all are right.” Who can deny this most deplorable fact? At the same time, who does not have the courage to think and feel that this fact need not and cannot be an abiding truth? Why do we ridicule others? We ridicule others precisely because our jealousy has not yet left us. We ridicule others because they do not have what we have or because we do not have what they have.

Now a nation may have hundreds of good, divine and even astonishing qualities, but if that nation is wanting in the inner quality, the feeling of oneness, then it cannot have true satisfaction. Everlasting satisfaction is out of the question. Again, if a nation is not blessed with many striking qualities and illumining capacities but nonetheless has the inner quality, a sense of inseparable oneness, then that nation is the creator of fulfilling joy, the distributor of fulfilling joy and the fulfiller of fulfilling joy.

Each nation is a petal of a flower, an inner rose, an inner lotus. If one petal is ruined, then the entire flower loses its beauty; and when a flower loses its beauty, it loses everything. Each nation is like a note in a song. If one note is not properly sung, then the entire song is ruined.

Each nation has the capacity to fulfil all nations through self-giving, and this self-giving is nothing other than God-becoming. Here at the United Nations, each nation shall offer its illumining capacities and fulfilling qualities to all the other nations. Together all nations will walk, together all nations will run, together all nations will fly and dive toward the same goal, the goal of everlasting Reality. When we reach and become the everlasting Reality, we shall see that we have transformed the animal in us and immortalised the divine in us.

How can a nation be happy, purposeful and fulfilled? A nation can be happy, purposeful and fulfilled if it thinks less and meditates more. A nation can be happy, purposeful and fulfilled if it plans less and acts more. Thinking is quite often confusing. Planning is quite often frustrating. Too much thinking and too much doubting and suspecting go together. Too much planning and too much worrying go together.

Meditation and action have a different story. Illumining meditation is self-discovery. Illumining action is self-mastery. The more one can meditate soulfully, the sooner he reaches his destination. The more one can act devotedly, the sooner he manifests God-Life, Truth-Love, Light-Delight. A seeker-nation with God-Life sees God’s Body, the universe. A seeker-nation with Truth-Love feels God’s Heart, the universal Reality. A seeker-nation with Light-Delight becomes God’s Soul, the universal Goal.


Published in The Tears of Nation-Hearts

 

Time Changes

A talk by Sri Chinmoy
at Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York

 

Time changes. This is an old lesson. We have all learned it. We change, too. This is a new lesson. What do we change? We change our consciousness. Consciousness is the thing that connects us either with death or with Immortality. In the desire-bound world death reigns supreme. In the aspiration-free world Immortality reigns supreme.

Why do we change? We change precisely because even after the fulfilment of the desire-world, we are not satisfied. Even an iota of satisfaction has not dawned on our mental horizon, vital horizon and physical horizon. But in the aspiration-world we do not need anything to satisfy us; we do not need any accomplishment to satisfy our inner urge. The moment we cry deep within, we feel a sense of satisfaction. We do not have to wait for any result. While crying we get a sense of satisfaction. The result, the most satisfactory result, is the cry itself.

How do we change? We change for the better from the desire-world to the aspiration-world, from the chasm of death to the Sea of Immortality. We change on the strength of our inspiration and aspiration. Inspiration is the divine reality which always carries us forward far, farther, farthest. Aspiration is the divine reality which lifts us up high, higher, highest. Inspiration for the forward movement, aspiration for the upward movement.

When do we change? We change when God’s Hour strikes. What is God’s Hour? It is the chosen Hour when everything is done in us sooner than at once. It is not done by human beings, but by God the Eternal Pilot, in and through human beings. God does not expect anything in return. At God’s Hour His Justice-Light is replaced by His Compassion-Height. At that time God makes the individual consciously feel that he is of infinite Light, and he is for immortal Delight. At God’s choice Hour man becomes a constant burning flame of gratitude. This flame of gratitude eventually grows into the sun. Inside that sun humanity’s aspiration looms large, and eventually there comes a time when divinity finds humanity to be its perfect instrument to please the Absolute Supreme in His own Way.

Time changes. This is our old lesson. We change, too. This is our new lesson. When time changes, quite often we feel that we are helpless, hopeless and useless. Time does not wait for us. At every moment we are forced to act like true beggars, for we have not been able to accomplish what we wanted to accomplish. But when we learn the new lesson — that we change, too — we feel that at every moment we are making progress. At every moment we are listening to an inner call. At every moment we are preparing ourselves to fulfil an inner need. At every moment we are preparing ourselves to learn the art of self-giving, for in self-giving the Supreme message of God-becoming thrives. Our Goal is not only to see the Face of the Golden All, but also to grow eventually into the Golden All.

We change. We change always for the better, for we are seekers of the ultimate Truth. In us is the message of God-Perfection and God-Satisfaction. We change. We change always for the better, precisely because in us is the eternal hunger, the perennial hunger, to become one with the universal Truth and the transcendental Reality.


Published in Wisdom-Waves in New York, part 2

 

April 5

 

Sri Chinmoy meets with Pir Vilayat Khan, Head of the Sufi Order in the West, at the Interfaith Observance for the World Day of Prayer at the United Nations in New York.

“I wish to say that your presence here is a blessing to our gathering. You are truly representative of the spirituality of our home, India ... Sri Chinmoy, it is my privilege to say how open our hearts are to receive you ... where you bless us by your presence ... Ever since I met you for the first time, the link between us has always grown in strength, although we have seen each other only three or four times. But I want to say how greatly I value the meaning of that bond, because it is the one of true dedication to the service of God.”  — Pir Vilayat Khan

 

 

Sri Chinmoy meditates with Pir Vilayat Khan, Head of the Sufi Order in the West, at the United Nations in New York.

 

April 4

An Old Friend

A story by Sri Chinmoy

 

After the race* a tall, thin gentleman came up to me and said, “Do you remember me, Sri Chinmoy?”

At first I thought, “How am I going to remember who he is, even though I am looking at him?” Then I remembered that his name was John Graham. He was formerly with the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. It was he who wrote a letter to the U.S. State Department arranging for my talk there last year, and I thanked him deeply.

He said, “I was glad to be of help to you.” He told me his timing for the seven-mile race. It was about an eight-minute pace. My timing is better for seven miles, but I didn’t tell him.

Before he left the U.S. Mission, I gave him an interview after one of our meetings at the United Nations. During the interview he had asked me how he could bring forward and utilise his power. So I had given him an answer and he had remembered it. He had even memorised some of my words and he quoted them to me.

After he left the U.N. he went to India to give lectures on “How to change the world.” He was at Gandhi’s ashram. For seventeen years he has been in politics. Now he has learned about spirituality and he is a real seeker. Still he is giving lectures. His theme is always “How to change the world.”

* Sri Chinmoy was watching the Seven-Mile Reversible Race in Central Park.


Published in Run and Become, Become and Run, part 6

 

Photo by Pulak Viscardi

 

Sri Chinmoy offers the opening meditation for the Martin Luther King Programme, sponsored by the UN Society of Writers at the United Nations in New York.