December 23
Sri Chinmoy plays one of his own compositions on the piano at a classical music recital, held at the Unitarian Church in White Plains, New York.
December 23
I Shall Not Accept Defeat
A talk by Sri Chinmoy
Christmas Trip in Miami, Florida
Yesterday on the bus we had an intuition contest. I wrote down three lines, and I invited the disciples to use their intuition about what I had written. Three disciples were the winners. They did not say exactly what I had written, but the words were to some extent correct.
Today I wanted to have another intuition contest, but while I was writing down the message, a very short message, it became too important. Since it was such a significant message, I did not want you to enter into an intuition contest. Now I am telling you the message:
I shall not accept defeat, no matter how strong the forces of ignorance are here on earth. I shall not accept defeat, I shall not accept defeat. I shall manifest the Supreme. The Supreme I have realised in the Supreme’s own Way. I will never, never manifest the Supreme in the human way. In the divine way, in the way that I have realised Him, that will be the way that I manifest Him. I have realised Him with utmost sincerity and dedication. In the same way, with my chosen instruments, I shall have to manifest Him before I leave this earth.
Mine is not the way to accept defeat from the ignorance that sometimes captures and conquers my disciples. When I see the so-called good ones or close ones at times enjoying ignorance, I feel that I have every right to become more strict with my life to fulfil my mission on earth. Defeat is not in my life. In the battle against ignorance, I will never accept defeat. When my disciples defeat me in ping-pong or some other game, I accept my defeat with greatest joy because they are my dearest spiritual children. But when it is a matter of ignorance, I will never accept defeat.
Dear ones, some of you say that when I exercise my divine authority and tell you who I am, at that time you believe me. But I wish to tell you that you do not have to know who I am. As a matter of fact, nobody will ever know who I am. No matter how sincerely you try, you will never, never know.
Do not try to know me. It is trying to do the impossible. Only try to do the right thing, the thing that I have always asked you to do both in the inner world and in the outer world. If you can do what I have asked you to do, that is more than enough for you to reach the highest and become one with the highest. But if you want to know me in your own way, with your mind or your vital, then you will know me only as another human being. All the limitations that you have, you will ascribe to me also.
If you want to exercise your imagination, naturally you will discover millions of defects in my inner life and my outer life. Human beings are apt to discover defects. Since you are seeing not with my eyes, but always with your own eyes, naturally you will never, never, never — never is the right word — realise me. But if you do the right thing in the inner world and the outer world, then you will realise the highest that is meant for you.
Your highest and my highest are not the same. When a child jumps up, he reaches a certain height. That is his highest height. Then if somebody who is taller than the tallest jumps up, and if he has the capacity, he will reach the ever-transcending height. His height and the child’s height are not the same. Similarly, you will reach the highest according to your capacity and with my boundless love and compassion, and that is more than enough.
I know in the inner world what I have to do. In the outer world also, when the hour strikes, I will do the needful — if it is not with your help, then it can be with somebody else’s help. You may not be the supremely chosen instrument, but a third person will arrive out of the blue. Instruments are needed. Without instruments, we cannot do anything. Since God gave me a mission and all the necessary instruments may not be in view, out of nowhere they will arrive. I shall achieve the Supreme’s Victory with you, or with new instruments, if needed.
Published in Live in the Eternal Now
Morning Prayer
by Sri Chinmoy
at the Grand Central Hotel, Singapore
My Supreme, my Lord Supreme, my Beloved Supreme, do tell me the names of the things that I have to do without fail during the day.
"My sweet child, My divine child, My perfection-loving child, you have to change your earthly age twice a day. That is the only thing you have to do. First you have to think that you are only a three-year-old child who knows nothing about the ugly existence of doubt-night. Then you have to think that you are a 99-year-old human being who soon will pass behind the curtain of Eternity. Since your days are numbered, it does not become you to make friends with your volcano-vital.
"My perfection-loving child, if you faithfully change your age twice a day and live as an eternal child in the heart-garden of your soul, then your life's perfect perfection and My complete Satisfaction in you will before long dawn. Try, My child; you will succeed! You are bound to succeed, for you are destined to manifest and fulfil My Immortality's Vision-Light here on this planet earth.
Published in Fifty-Four Morning Prayer-Cries and Morning Meditation-Smiles
Christmas Trip Stories
by Sri Chinmoy
in Kuantan, Malaysia
If the mind can be illumined by the heart
There is a disciple who has a most powerful intellectual mind, but luckily it has surrendered to his heart. If his mind had not surrendered to his heart, God knows what kind of disciple he would have been! Because he surrendered his intellect so sincerely to his heart’s wisdom, he is a very, very good disciple. The mind can destroy; again, if one can pull the mind into the heart, it is a tremendous success.
Some disciples were born intellectuals, but I am so happy that they have put the brilliance of the mind inside their heart. Some of my very, very close disciples have had problems because of their powerful intellect. I spoke very seriously to them, and now they do not use that intellectual mind in a wrong way. Sometimes my seriousness works!
If the mind can be illumined by the heart, then the mind and the heart will be able to go together. Right now, inside everybody there is a constant fight going on between the two. At times the mind becomes faithful, like a little puppy following a very big dog. It has happened in some cases, and it is still happening. But if the mind and the heart both remain aloof, then there is a very serious problem. Everything at that time the person sees with a negativity-mind. Negativity comes forward always. When the mind is not under control, immediately we get an attack from negativity. There is no rhyme or reason for it.
Somebody is walking in the street. You have nothing to do with that person, but you immediately form a bad opinion of him. Or let us say that your friends are moving around with very good, compassionate and affectionate feelings. As soon as you see them, all your negative thoughts you inject into them. They will immediately say, “What happened, what happened?” They have not done anything wrong.
If the intellectual mind, the negative mind, is not illumined by the heart, dryness will reign supreme. The intellectual mind loves dryness. In the spiritual life, we never want dryness! Sri Ramakrishna used to say, “Give me juicy stories!” He did not want dryness. At times he wanted to enjoy earthly news, earthly humour, as everybody does. When the intellect is not purified by the heart’s affection and compassion, the intellect becomes a very serious obstacle. It feels that it knows everything. It is all dryness; there is no sweetness.
Intellectual people who cherish dryness create suffering for their dear ones. Again, the dear ones are at times so kind that they understand their intellectual family members and friends. If the two parties have tremendous affection and compassion for each other, then the intellect surrenders to that affection and compassion. When the intellect enters into the heart, it is overwhelmed by the affection, sweetness and concern of the heart. Then intellectual people can become very, very happy.
Sri Aurobindo wrote that the intellect was the helper in the beginning, but then it became an obstruction. Many, many good things we want to have in the beginning of our life. Then we get them, and at times we misuse them or we overuse them. At that time they become veritable obstacles in our life. Those very things become weapons. Then we pray to God for God’s Grace. When God’s Grace descends, at that time the obstruction goes away, because God’s Grace swallows pride, intellect and all other problem-makers. But the heart also has to be fully prepared to save the mind. If the heart is not strict and eager to save the mind, then the mind runs amok.
Again, I am so happy that many so-called intellectual giants on our path have accepted the spiritual life so sincerely. They give full value to the spiritual life, and their intellect is under full control.
When kindness fails
Once upon a time, two disciples of a spiritual Master had a very unfortunate experience. One disciple was not doing well, and the other one was trying so hard to encourage and inspire him. There is perhaps something called being overly kind. One disciple was very, very kind and wanted to help the other one and do the work of the other one. Alas, the second disciple, instead of taking the help of the first one, rejected his help and did something absolutely wrong from the spiritual point of view. This is what happens at times. We try to please someone in our own way, but when our consciousness is not high, no matter how we try to help the person who has become a victim to irritation or some other undivine quality, we cannot be of any service to him.
At times it seems as though nothing works in this world! In one of her books Mother Teresa said, "I thought love could conquer everybody.” But then she said that, from her own experience, she had discovered that it was not true, not true. She said, “I loved, but I could not succeed in certain circumstances.” Sometimes even love cannot succeed. Then what shall we do? We always say that power does not succeed; love succeeds. But there came a time when Mother Teresa, who was all compassion, self-giving and forgiveness, said, “Even love does not work.” What can we do at that time?
In my case, many, many times when my kindness, softness, tenderness, politeness and everything else fails, fails, fails, then I use my powerful scolding, and it works. When I scold someone, inwardly I am so miserable. Outwardly I am pretending that I am very, very angry, but inside my heart I know how much I myself am suffering from the scolding that I am giving to someone.
This kind of thing I do for some good disciples who work very hard. When I appear to be angry with them, I suffer much more than they suffer. Outwardly I do not show them kindness and compassion, but this is only what is visible in the outer world. I become two individuals: one individual to use justice-light, and one individual to take the suffering. Inwardly, I am all kindness, all forgiveness.
The capacity of meditation
Prayer and meditation both are needed, true. But if we can enter into the meditation-world seriously, then we will see the difference between meditation and prayer. Prayer is needed, but prayer only says to God, “Give me, give me, give me!” Good things we are asking for, true. But during our meditation, we dive deep within. At that time we house the Infinite. The finite houses the Infinite. The mind cannot believe it: how can the finite house the Infinite? But it does house the Infinite. That is the capacity of meditation.
When God wants to discuss something, God takes meditation as His eldest son with whom He can discuss anything. When we deal with the prayer-world, we see that prayer is a little child. God can show His Affection, Sweetness and Fondness to the prayer-world, but He is not going to discuss anything serious with the prayer-world. But in the meditation-world, God gives advice to those who do excellent meditation. He even discusses things with them, as a father speaks with the eldest child in the family. The father and mother discuss things with the eldest one. They have such confidence in him.
The prayer-world is good, very good. Instead of breaking things here and there, a little child prays to God to get God’s Attention, Blessings and Love. But if we really want to describe the difference between prayer and meditation, we can say that prayer is like a child asking for something, and meditation is like a grown-up who is at once diving deep within and going up, all the time.
Sometimes one has to be a strict judge of the whole spiritual realm. Spiritual Masters do have the authority to tell the difference between prayer and meditation.
Published in God-Made, God-Moulded, God-Shaped
December 23
Sri Chinmoy draws a special Soul-Bird artwork for his beloved dog Kanu, which takes him 5 hours and 15 minutes to complete.
Tribute to Kanu
“Kanu is the sun of my heart,
The wave of delight.
Nobody is a stranger to him.”
— Sri Chinmoy
Sri Chinmoy postponed the celebration of his 700,000 birds for one more day. It was December 23rd — the first anniversary of the day that one of his two little dogs had passed away.
When the sickly white puppy was first brought to him, almost twelve years before, he had given it the name ‘Kanu’, an epithet of Lord Krishna. It was not expected to live, but it defied the odds and lived for many years in Sri Chinmoy’s home, bathed in affection and love. When this gentle soul departed, it left a void in the hearts of Sri Chinmoy and his students.
Now, one year later, Sri Chinmoy honoured Kanu’s memory with songs and meditation. That evening, he created his lasting tribute to Kanu. Working on an 18” x 24” sheet of paper, the artist applied gold metallic ink and red, blue and pink ballpoints to create something truly unique. He portrayed his little dog in its customary pose — sprawled on the couch, thin legs sticking straight out to the side and back slightly arched, as though resting on a cushion. This frame was clearly discernible in red ink pathways across a vast mosaic of birds. Even Kanu’s form was composed of birds, giving it an otherworldly effect, as of a being not tied to this terrestrial life. Sri Chinmoy gave the finishing touches to this poignant memorial to Kanu at 8:30 a.m. on December 24th. Five and a quarter hours of concentrated work had gone into this page. It contained 14,854 birds – and one beloved dog.
— Vidagdha Bennett
One Million Heartbeats from a Universal Love-Heart
December 23
A report about Sri Chinmoy meeting with José López Portillo, President of Mexico, at the Presidential Residence in Los Pinos in Mexico City, Mexico, published in El Universal newspaper.
December 23
Video by kedarvideo
Sri Chinmoy offers a Peace Concert (289) for the President of Malta Censu Tabone, his wife Mrs. Tabone and invited guests, at the Presidential Palace in Valletta, Malta.
January 8
Masters Games on today
by Henry Dyer
THE National Stadium tracks will come alive when the Sri Chinmoy Games — a track meet for men and women over 50 years will be held for the first time.
And the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run — the world’s longest running relay will be going through the country after 80 countries.
It will be the last leg of the relay which has involved over 500,000 people from around the world.
The Peace Run was devised by Sri Chinmoy, 62, who is here in the country on a Peace Tour in the South Pacific.
The current Peace Run began in Australia in March last year with Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne being dedicated to world peace.
Runners from the tour group will start off at Sukuna Park carrying a flaming torch of Peace to Ratu Nausori Park where the National Sevens will be held before returning to the National Stadium for the beginning of the Sri Chinmoy Master’s Games.
The “Ambassador of Peace” as he is renowned for is 62 years old and he was a [running] student of former world sprint champion Carl Lewis, who was also a student of the Peace man in meditation classes.
The group was in Apia, Western Samoa, where the Samoan Sports Minister won the celebrity 100m race-walk.
Sri Chinmoy considers sports at any age an important factor for the development of inner peace, for spiritual growth and a positive balanced lifestyle.
The winner of any athletic event to him is not the only one who stands first, but also the person who goes beyond his or her previous achievement or just gives his best.
Two of his students Carl Lewis and Muhammad Ali are just examples of his teaching and many others.
Interested athletes are to be at the Stadium before the Masters Games begin at 5 pm.
Published in THE FIJI TIMES — SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 1994
An article about Sri Chinmoy’s Peace Concert appears in the Guang Ming Daily newspaper, a Chinese-language newspaper published in Malaysia.
Translation:
Guang Ming Daily
January 8, 1999 (Friday)November 21st, Wuyin Year of the Lunar Calendar
Penang/D11 (Penang 7th)
SRI CHINMOY, who is known as the messenger of peace, will hold a peace music concert at the Penang Chinese Assembly Hall at 8:00 pm on the 9th of this month (Saturday).
The music concert is free and open to people from all walks of life to listen to this once-in-a-lifetime event.
Dr. Nayak Polissar, the head of the Sri Chinmoy Centre, said so at a press conference held in Huatang today.
Those present also included Huatang Acting Chairman Wang Jilong, General Affairs Deng Guobin, Chen Sencai, Ke Jinshu and Zhang Jinxiang, etc.
He said that the music concert will be hosted by the Penang Chinese Assembly Hall and presented by the Sri Chinmoy Centre.
The multi-talented Messenger of Peace Sri Chinmoy will be presenting music at the aforementioned concert to celebrate the spirit of goodwill in Malaysia.
He went on to say that the 67-year-old Sri Chinmoy had composed thousands of songs in the past, expressing his inner feelings for peace.
At the concert on the 9th of this month, he will use at least 10 different instruments to perform his selected works.
The instruments used include those from India, Japan and Europe and various musical instruments and flutes from other countries.
Among the songs performed will also be his ode to Malaysia and its historical heroes, which will be sung by the International Sri Chinmoy Peace Choir.
Sri Chinmoy has held no less than 550 peace music concerts in many countries around the world. In several places such as Tokyo and Washington, the number of audiences attending the concerts exceeded 10,000.
In addition, he said, the Sri Chinmoy Centre is also holding a ‘Peace Run’ on Sunday (Monday) and will run to Penang Island, making goodwill and peace visits at 10 to 15 schools.
He pointed out that the ‘Peace Run’ will start on the morning of the 11th of this month at 7:30 from Batu Ferringhi Sands Hotel, and visiti Peiping and along the way Choi School, Tanchen Bungah National School, Special Education Primary and Secondary School, Tanjung Sitiya National High School, Penang Girls High School, Pulau Pool Skating, Abbey Secondary School, Allan Girls Primary School, and Wright Street Abbey Primary and Secondary School are scheduled to disperse at 1:30 pm.
The Sri Chinmoy Centre is a United Nations cultural and educational institution, NGO, based in New York.
Captions:
Left photo: Messenger of Peace Sri Chinmoy is playing a difficult musical instrument.
Right photo: Dr. Nayak Polissar, Director of Sri Chinmoy Centre (2nd from right) at the press conference, Zhang Jinxiang and Ke Jin from left, Acting Chairman Wang Jilong, and Bosandini on the right.
December 24
“A true man of peace”
His Highness, Malietoa Tanumafili II, has been described by the visiting International Ambassador for Peace, Sri Chinmoy, as “simple, kind-hearted and a true man of peace”.
In Apia on 21 December Malietoa Tanumafili II, Head of State of Western Samoa, offered his warm welcome to Samoa to International Ambassador of Peace Sri Chinmoy during a private interview at his official residence.
The spiritual leader, who is visiting Samoa from 20 December to 29 December, with more than 150 students from 25 nations, praised the Head of State, stating, “I have met with many leaders from many countries, but none as simple, as kind-hearted, as pure or as self giving as you. You are a true man of peace.”
To Sri Chinmoy, Malietoa responded: “I believe that you, Sri Chinmoy, are the one who is bringing peace to earth.” Sri Chinmoy is a leading proponent of global peace by fostering peace within individuals of all nationalities and faiths, and by initiating a wide variety of ongoing grassroots activities.
During their meeting, Sri Chinmoy presented the Head of State with the “Lighting [Lifting] Up the World with a Oneness-Heart” Award for the Samoan leader’s dedicated service to his people and to the world at large. This award has been presented to heads of state, Nobel laureates and other eminent world servers for their unique contributions to humanity.
After receiving the medallion, the Head of State lovingly placed it upon his head, as he described to Sri Chinmoy the Samoan Custom “when one receives very sacred gifts.”
During their meeting the two men held aloft the Peace Torch of the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run, a relay run for global harmony and peace which spans more than 80 nations and involves millions of citizens and world leaders every two years.
During his stay in Samoa, Sri Chinmoy will offer two Peace Concerts for the public on December 22 and 28 at 8.00pm at the John Williams Building free of charge.
During the programmes he will perform his own peace filled compositions on 15-20 instruments from around the world.
Students of Sri Chinmoy offered free classes on meditation for people of all faiths and walks of life on 23 December at 7.30pm at St. Mary’s Primary School Savalalo and on 27 December at 7.30pm at the Marist School at Mulivai.
“When we meditate,” explained Sri Chinmoy, “we make the mind calm, tranquil and full of peace.” He added, “Let us first have individual peace. From individual peace we will have collective peace.”
Caption:
Mr Sri Chinmoy and Malietoa Tanumafili II
Published on pages 1 & 2, in the Samoa Observer, Friday, 24 December 1993
January 10
Interview in Yogyakarta
Sri Chinmoy answers questions posed by a reporter in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Question: I would like to ask what the basis of your meditation is.
Sri Chinmoy: It is very simple. We all know what prayer is. With folded hands, we pray to God, whom you call Allah. At that time, we ask God to take us to the highest Height and to give us joy, peace, love and light so that we can become good citizens of the world.
When we pray, it is like climbing a tree. We feel that God is at the top of the tree and we are begging Him to come down and give us His inner Treasures. Again, we are climbing up the tree and going high, higher, highest.
When we meditate, it is like climbing down the tree. We have received many delicious fruits, and now we are bringing them down and we shall offer them to our dear ones and to humanity at large. With meditation we come down and share our fruits — that is, our joy — with others.
Question: Is your meditation like a religion?
Sri Chinmoy: No, there is no religion involved. I was born a Hindu and perhaps you were born a Muslim. If we remain all the time in our respective religions, I may say that my Hinduism is the best and you may say that your Islam is the best. Then a third person will come to contradict us both and say, “No, Christianity is the best.” Like this, the religions may at times compete.
But ours is a way of life. We want to become good citizens of the world, and for this we have to love the Divine in humanity. There is not a single religion that does not love God. When we only care about loving God and we do not worry about whose religion is the best, then there is no problem. Our love of God becomes a way of life. But if we remain in the competition-world, we will claim that our own religion is the best.
I always say that our path is not a religion, but a way of life, based on love of God. So there is no problem.
Question: So you can say you are still a Hindu?
Sri Chinmoy: Yes, I am a Hindu. I was born in the Ghose family. My surname is Ghose, which is a Hindu name. How can I deny it? I was born into a Hindu family, so I am a Hindu. But when I mix with my friends, I only use the name Chinmoy. My friends know me as Chinmoy. They do not have to use my surname. Similarly, if I can establish my oneness with the rest of the world and see others as my friends, or as my brothers and sisters, I do not need to think of religion at that time. We have to establish our love and oneness with others, although we all have different religions. Real religion is love of God.
If I truly love God, then I have to go beyond the boundaries of religion and feel my oneness with all of God’s children. But if somebody asks me what religion I was born into, immediately I will have to say that I was born into the Hindu religion.
Question: What can you say about world peace?
Sri Chinmoy: This world has everything save and except peace. Powerful countries say they want peace. Everybody talks about peace. But when we talk about peace, many times we are only juggling with the word ‘peace’. We know the word ‘peace’ so well, but we are only throwing balls into the air.
The problem is that everybody wants peace in a very peculiar way. I may say that as long as I am your lord and you are my servant, we can have peace. I want peace provided I am allowed to stand in front of you. It is not enough for me to stand alongside you. No, I have to be one step ahead of you and you have to remain behind me; then only there will be peace. This is what the world thinks and feels.
But we can never get peace by lording it over others. It is only when everybody is on the same footing that there will be peace. Real peace lies in inseparable oneness. If you are here, I am also here. If you are there, I am also there. This is peace.
Question: Your meditation group wants world peace, but I do not think it is a big enough group to make an impact on world leaders.
Sri Chinmoy: Our meditation group prays and meditates. We feel that if the world is going to change, it will have to change in the heart first. Prayer and meditation come from the heart, not from the mind. The mind is not going to give us peace. It has to get peace from somewhere else, and that place is the heart.
The soul has infinite peace. The heart has peace to a certain extent because it is receiving peace from the soul. But if we can regularly pray and meditate, then our heart will be in tune with God all the time and it will definitely get peace in abundant measure.
The heart is ready and eager to give peace to the mind, but right now the mind is not receiving what the heart has to offer. People who are in the mind are only using the word ‘peace’. They do not feel the necessity of peace, whereas those who live in the heart because of their prayer and meditation do feel the necessity of peace. It is through prayer and meditation that we can intensify and expand this feeling in our heart and eventually bring the message of peace to the mind. I believe that all those who pray and meditate are helping people who sincerely want peace in the world.
Question: Do you believe that world peace will be a reality?
Sri Chinmoy: Yes, I do believe it, only I cannot say that tomorrow the whole world will be inundated with peace.
It is like sowing a seed. Today you have put a seed into the ground, but you cannot expect a tree to grow overnight. First it has to become a tiny plant and a sapling, and only after that will it grow into a giant banyan tree. Right now our prayers and meditations are like seeds. It will take time for them to germinate; but it is only a matter of time.
Question: I was invited to your musical performance, but I see that you do not play music by composers like Mozart or Beethoven. You play in a different way.
Sri Chinmoy: I do not dare to compare myself with the great, immortal composers. I am only playing the music that I have composed from my soulful heart. I am a man of prayer. From my prayer-life and my meditation-life I have received inspiration, and this spiritual inspiration I try to convey to the world at large through my music.
Mine is soulful music. It has peace in it. In every way I am trying to offer peace, through my music as well as through my prayer and meditation. Music is part and parcel of my spiritual life.
Question: Is it all right if people call you a prophet?
Sri Chinmoy: No, no, no! I am not a prophet and I do not claim to be a prophet. I am a God-lover. I love God and I pray to God. What I claim to be, every person can also claim to be. I say that I am a God-lover and you can also say the same thing. We are all in the same boat.
Published in You Belong to God
Suva is a peace city — mayor
SUVA'S Lord Mayor, Councillor Manoa Dobui, declared the capital city a Sri Chinmoy Peace Capital on Saturday in honour of a visiting peace ambassador who ended his tour of Fiji yesterday.
Sri Chinmoy and 200 students sponsored a peace run over the weekend that looped from Suva to Nausori, and a track meet at the National Stadium.
Suva becomes the sixth Sri Chinmoy Peace Capital, joining the capital cities of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Iceland and Scotland.
At Saturday’s dedication ceremony, presided over by the Deputy Lord Mayor David Blake.lock, Sri Chinmoy said: “Suva is known as the city of surprises.'”
Noting that a few centuries ago Fiji was a warlike nation, he went on: “Now, here on the soil of Suva and in the heart of Fiji, the dance of peace and universal oneness is reigning supreme.”
Sri Chinmoy arrived in Fiji on December 30 after a stop-over in Samoa.
His visit to Fiji also included a public concert last Wednesday at the Suva Civic Center.
He flew out of Fiji yesterday for the Cook Islands and Tahiti.
He then returns home to New York later this month.
Published in THE FIJI TIMES — MONDAY, JANUARY 10, 1994, page 5
Oldies bring out best
ATHLETICS is not only about winning and beating others — it is about competing and inspiring other athletes to bring out the best qualities in each other.That was the message at the Sri Chinmoy Masters Games at the National Stadium on Saturday.
The Games was inspired by peace ambassador Sri Chinmoy who was in the country on a peace tour of the South Pacific.
Sri Chinnmoy took part in the 100 metres event.
Among those who turned up to witness the event was Parliamentarian Vincent Lobendahn who participated in the celebrity walk.
The Games also marked the end of the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run the world’s longest running relay that went through 80 countries.
On Saturday runners from the Chinmoy group carried a torch to the Ratu Cakobau Park in Nausori where they handed it to the town mayor Pita Mawi.
From there the group proceeded to the National Stadium.
Sri Chinmoy spokesperson Vasanti said the purpose of the run was to promote peace through sports. “For older athletes it is not so important to win but to complete the race,” Vasanti said.
The oldest athletes were Daniel Tui Cakau and Sarama Minoli both 67. Local fun run veteran Joeli Bera 57 also participated.
Athletes took part in the one mile, 100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres and 800 metres in six age categories.
Published in THE FIJI TIMES — MONDAY, JANUARY 10, 1994, page 28
January 4
Questions and Answers on the Soul
These questions were presented in writing to Sri Chinmoy by Mrs. Barbara Callen of New York City. A few days later, on 4 January 1967, Sri Chinmoy answered them orally during an interview with her. Mrs. Callen records his exact words, taking everything down in shorthand.
Question: Is the soul always with the person during his lifetime, or can it leave him temporarily, even making its home elsewhere?
Sri Chinmoy: As a rule, the soul always remains with the person during his lifetime, but it can leave the body for a few minutes, or a few hours at most, while the person is asleep. It can also leave the body for a short period while the aspirant is in a deep state of meditation. Then one can see one's own body. One may see it as a dead body or a dynamic body or as a shaft of light facing one's soul, or in many other ways. Of course, at that time, one sees the body with the eye of one's own soul. To come back to the question, the soul must remain with the person during his lifetime.
Question: During sleep, does the person's soul make journeys?
Sri Chinmoy: Yes. The soul makes journeys to different levels of consciousness. There are seven higher worlds and seven lower worlds. Generally the soul travels in these worlds during sleep. Almost everyone's soul is fortunate enough to have access to some of these worlds, but very few are conscious of these experiences while they are happening, or remember them after they awake.
Question: Can a person's body and consciousness so change during his lifetime that he becomes fit for a finer soul to enter him?
Sri Chinmoy: A finer soul does not enter him. But if the person's body and consciousness are transformed totally, then the soul that he already possesses will be in a position to fulfil its Divine Mission here on earth most effectively, in all its supernal, detailed perfection.
Question: Does a change, such as purification, during the lifetime, change the soul?
Sri Chinmoy: It is the same soul which accepted ignorance and now, throwing away the veil of ignorance, comes closer to its own Divine plenitude and Divine Manifestation.
Question: When we think another's thoughts, we let ourselves 'tune-in' to his 'psychic' agitations. However, if we 'tune-in' to one whom we believe to be grounded in the source of his being, his soul, would this be a valid practice, at least until one's own spiritual unfolding developed?
Sri Chinmoy: First of all, let us be clear about the use of the word 'psychic'. As I use it, 'psychic' is not a synonym for 'occult', but pertains to the psychic being. There is no agitation in the psychic being, which is a divine spark, to say the least. We usually let ourselves 'tune-in' to others' vital or mental agitations. Certainly it is a valid practice to 'tune-in' to an enlightened soul. That is what one should do in the beginning or until one has the capacity to unfold oneself spiritually. That is why we say that if you remain calm and quiet and allow the Divine thoughts of your spiritual Guide to enter into you, you will become flooded with Peace. This kind of 'tuning-in' is not only a valid and correct practice, but is essential for one who has placed himself under a spiritual Master.
Question: How does one know if his soul is happy?
Sri Chinmoy: First of all, one has to believe that one has a soul. One has to know and feel where the soul abides, that is its location in the body. In order to know and feel the soul, one has to aspire. During his ardent aspiration, his spiritual journey, he can actually discover whether the soul is happy or not. He will feel that his soul is happy only when he sees and feels joy within and without, and also when he does not find fault with God’s creation and God’s Divine Dispensation.
Question: Are there two sets of instructions within the person, one from his deepest nature which includes and unfolds all in goodness and compassion — and the other, which is clever about 'me' and 'mine'?
Sri Chinmoy: Yes. There are two sets of instructions within the person. Goodness and compassion come from the very depth of one's being, whereas, me and mine come from the surface. Me and mine cannot come from the very depths.
Question: Can the soul be equally represented in dreams either by an old woman, wrinkled and wise, as well as by a young baby babbling a new language?
Sri Chinmoy: Yes. The soul can be represented in dreams by an old woman or by a young baby. In order to give a particular experience to the outer being, the soul can assume any form in dreams. One's own soul can be compared to the gradual growth of a seed into a tree. This is what we call the evolution of the soul.
Question: Is the soul both male and female?
Sri Chinmoy: The soul itself is neither male nor female. But when the soul starts its journey and takes a female body — then in all its incarnations it will take a female body. If it once takes a male body, then in all its incarnations it will take a male body. It is impossible to change the sex. In the whole history of mankind, there has been an exception here and there… but very rarely.
Question: Does the soul get new instruction in its development, or does it merely uncover what it has always known?
Sri Chinmoy: If you say 'experience' rather than 'instruction' the question would be more accurate. Only God, or the Cosmic Self, can instruct the soul.
The soul is uncovering what it has always known, but while it is uncovering, it is growing and enriching itself by taking into itself the divine essence of its earthly experiences. Meanwhile, the physical consciousness is becoming more and more conscious of the soul's unlimited Divine capacity. In essence, the soul, being one with God, is uncovering what it has always known. But in the process of evolution, its "becoming" and "knowing", "knowing" and "becoming" move together and are complementary processes in the lap of the Supreme Truth.
Question: Is it the soul that must surrender to the Cosmic Self?
Sri Chinmoy: Yes. The soul has to surrender to the Self — the Self which, in Indian terms, is called Param Atman, which is unmanifest. This Self does not take human incarnation, nor enter into creation; whereas the soul accepts a human body and accepts limitation, imperfection and ignorance. Each human being has an individual soul. This individual soul, which takes a human body, is not all-pervading, omniscient or omnipotent. The Self is. The soul, in its upward evolution, can some day merge into the Self and become as powerful as the Self.
Question: The individual soul limits itself in time and space by taking on a body — but the Self (Param Atman) is outside of time and space; one who has the vision of the Self sees totally the creation and the Beyond. Is this correct?
Sri Chinmoy: This is absolutely correct.
Question: Is it the soul that makes the decision in selecting a new body in each incarnation?
Sri Chinmoy: Yes. It is the soul that makes the decision in selecting a body, but with the direct approval of the Supreme or the Self. The choice is made to give the soul the opportunity to manifest more and more of its inner Divinity in each incarnation and to fulfil the Will of the Divine here on earth.
Question: Does the soul experience loneliness? If so, how does this differ from the superficial need to have the company of others, whether we like them or not, but simply because we want someone to talk to?
Sri Chinmoy: The soul experiences loneliness only when the body, vital, mind and heart, which are supposed to cooperate with the soul in fulfilling the Divine Mission on earth, do not cooperate. At that time it experiences loneliness. But it does not act like a human being. It does not waste its time, as would a human being, who feels that just by talking to others the sense of loneliness will disappear. The soul, in its loneliness, aspires most intensely to bring down Peace, Light and Power from above into the physical, the vital, the mental, so that the total being can cooperate with the soul to fulfil the Divine. When Peace, Light and Power descend into the physical, vital and mental, the person becomes conscious of his inner life and true happiness. With Peace, Light and Power, a higher consciousness descends. With this higher consciousness, the person will naturally respond to the soul's need.
Question: Does the soul make demands on a person so that he has to change his ways?
Sri Chinmoy: The soul does not make demands as such. It is not like a mother making demands of her child at every moment, saying, "I am telling you such and such for your own good." What the soul does is to send a kind of Divine Inspiration. This inspiration can, at times, be so vivid and spontaneous that the person may feel it to be a kind of inner imposition made by his inner self on his outer personality. The soul does not demand. On the contrary, it sympathises with human failings and imperfections and tries to identify itself with these failings, and then, with its inner light, it tries to help the person to change his ways.
Question: How different is this from the demands the ego makes?
Sri Chinmoy: We now know that the soul does not make any demands. When the ego makes a demand, it is all self-centered — 'I', 'me' and 'mine'. The ego wants to possess and be possessed. When the soul wants to have something, it is not for its own personal benefit, but is for the fulfilment of the Divine. The ego, by feeding the outer personality, wants to fulfil itself, and this is simply impossible, as there is no end to its cravings. The ego eventually meets with frustration; whereas the soul, by fulfilling the Divine Will, realises its own absolute fulfilment.
Published in AUM – Vol. 2, No. 6, 27 January 1967
Peace envoy here with students
AMERICAN philosopher Sri Chinmoy is in Fiji with about 210 students and followers as part of a goodwill tour of the Pacific.
Sri Chinmoy, 62, is a poet, philosopher, artist, composer and peace ambassador from New York.
After spending three days in Nadi, Sri Chinmoy travelled to Suva yesterday.
He will hold a free peace concert tomorrow at the Suva Civic Centre.
During the concert, Sri Chinmoy will perform his own compositions on a variety of instruments.
Members of Sri Chinmoy Centres International have flown in from America, Canada, Britain, France, Switzerland, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Russia for the Pacific tour.
Sri Chinmoy International’s public relations officer, Nishtha Baum, described the movement as a non-denominational group with members from different walks of life.
Ms Baum said that in this way, Sri Chinmoy would evoke a peaceful atmosphere to create a lasting sense of inner peace.
“A master of meditation, Sri Chinmoy, infuses his music with a spiritual quality that touches people’s hearts in a most unusual way.”
According to Sri Chinmoy, this experience of inner peace is the cornerstone for world peace.
“Many who have witnessed his deep trance-like meditations and haunting music have described it as a transforming experience,” said Ms Baum.
Sri Chinmoy has staged hundreds of such peace concerts around the world and written books explaining his philosophy of peace.
Sri Chinmoy and his accompanying students will also sponsor a Masters track meet for men and women over 50 at the National Stadium next Wednesday afternoon.
The track meet is part of his programme of promoting the cause of peace through sports.
The organisation sponsors sporting events like a peace run and a round-the-world relay.
Ms Baum said that Sri Chinmoy, a champion sprinter in his youth, sometimes participates in track meets.
Sri Chinmoy comes to Fiji after a nine-day visit to Western Samoa where he staged two peace concerts and paid a courtesy call on the head of state, Malietoa Tanumafili II.
His current tour also includes stops in the Cook Islands and Tahiti.
Caption:
SRI Chinmoy ... on tour in the Pacific with a 210-strong group.
Published on page 14 of THE FIJI TIMES, Tuesday, January 4, 1994