July 8

Photo by Adarini Inkei

 

The story of the photo

by Adarini Inkei
adapted from an interview
with Utpal Marshall for Perfection Journey

 

“The photo was taken on July 8, 1988, in Washington, DC, at an outdoor Peace Concert Sri Chinmoy gave at the Jefferson Memorial, overlooking the Potomac River*. 

“Sri Chinmoy was in a white dhoti, and the whole background is kind of white. The blue carpet was giving a feeling of the sea. Everything was white and blue.

“It is one of my favourite photographs of Sri Chinmoy. I took it just moments after he had finished.

“The air was charged with energy as storm clouds roll in across the Potomac. Within minutes the rain will pour down on us.

“Sri Chinmoy at that time was walking back and forth. He said he had to walk back and forth seven times in order to come down from this high plane that he was on.

“The picture is not perfect. It is a little grainy. But the feeling you get from that picture is unbelievable. For me, there is this peace and this vastness.”

*A tidal basin inlet of the Potomac River.

The Jefferson Memorial

Comments by Sri Chinmoy
the next day, 9 July 1988

 

When I went to Washington, D.C., I spent a long time inside the Jefferson Memorial. The design I liked so much, but the statue of Jefferson really disappointed me.

They showed him as a military man — with a heroic spirit. But his so-called outer heroism was nothing in comparison with his inner vision and wisdom-light. These were his main qualities. America loves dynamism, and the outer dynamism of a soldier this statue has. But the inner wisdom of a statesman or true world leader the statue does not show.

On the wall were some significant statements by Jefferson. Unfortunately, he came long before the world, especially America, was prepared for his beautiful and powerful wisdom-light. Always prophets come at least one minute before the world is able to appreciate them. When they are here, they are not accepted. They have such wisdom, but they are not taken seriously. Only afterwards does the world accept and appreciate them.

Published in The World-Experience-Tree-Climber, part 6

 

July 8

 

The Forum becomes a Parliament of Religions

Sri Chinmoy is praying for the oneness of all religions during his Opening Meditation of the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Barcelona on July 7th, 2004.

Published in La Vanguardia, page 56

 

July 8

Photo by Pranavananda Hixon

 

Sri Chinmoy meets with Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, Head of the Sufi Order in the West, at Willow, near Woodstock, New York.

 

Sri Chinmoy and Pir Vilayat Khan

An excerpt from the meeting
a Willow, New York

Sri Chinmoy: I am fortunate and blessed to be here with the supreme Authority on Sufism. He is not only the supreme Authority but also the supreme embodiment of love and truth in the Sufi tradition. He has a heart and I have a heart. The Supreme, out of His infinite Bounty, has granted us two aspiring hearts, and both of us are safe in each other's hearts, are happy in each other's hearts, are illumining and fulfilling in each other's hearts.

I have come here to share with you soulful meditation and also I have come here to be in the company of a supremely holy man, Pir Vilayat Khan. I am extremely grateful to all the seekers of truth and light who have given me the opportunity to be of dedicated service here for an hour or so. Nothing gives me greater joy and fulfilment than to become a server of truth and light in the hearts of aspiring mankind. With your kind permission I will hold meditation.

Pir Vilayat Khan: Sri Chinmoy, it is my privilege to say how open our hearts are to receive you in this temporary abode, where you bless us by your presence. You said so many nice things about me. I wish to say that your presence here is a blessing to our gathering. You are a true representative of the spirituality of our home, India.

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.

Published in AUM – Vol.II-2, No. 7, July 27, 1975

 

 

Sri Chinmoy lifts David Lange, Prime Minister of New Zealand, in Auckland, New Zealand.

 

July 7

 

YOGI OPENS LARGEST ONE-MAN ART SHOW IN HISTORY

 

NEW YORK — What is probably the largest one-man art show in history opened July 7 at a block-long gallery in New York’s Soho art district. 

On display were seven thousand paintings — some as large as 9x16 feet — by spiritual Master Sri Chinmoy.

They formed part of the 27,000 works the Yogi completed in an eight-month period.

The exhibit at The Jharna-Kala Gallery, 220 Mercer St. (near Broadway) is open seven days a week and will extend through August 29. On the evening of that day there will be a gala closing, to which art lovers and interested seekers are cordially invited.

Published in Anahata Nada, Vol. II, No. 7, August 1, 1975

 

July 7

 

Sri Chinmoy offers the opening meditation at the Fourth Parliament of the World’s Religions at the Universal Forum for Cultures in Barcelona, Spain.

 

July 7

 

Video by kedarvideo

 

Sri Chinmoy offers the opening meditation and performs a concert at the Fourth Parliament of the World’s Religions at the Universal Forum for Cultures in Barcelona, Spain.

The Council for the Parliament officially asked Sri Chinmoy to lead the opening of this momentous event in silence as a “perfect entry for participants into the Parliament experience.” Adding, “We can think of no one better to do it than you.” This is the fourth such Parliament ever held, and Sri Chinmoy’s second time offering the silent opening meditation. Sri Chinmoy first offered the opening meditation at the 100th anniversary of the original Parliament, held in Chicago in 1993.

 

July 7

The Aspiring Life

A lecture by Sri Chinmoy
at L’Aula, University of Geneva, Switzerland

 

Dear seekers, dear sisters and brothers, I wish to give a short talk on life. Needless to say, I shall speak on life from the spiritual point of view.

Life is a lost opportunity if I do not aspire. Life is a gained prosperity if I aspire. Life is a lost soul if I do not aspire. Life is a gained goal if I aspire. Life is an animal-destruction if I do not aspire. Life is God-Perfection if I aspire.

When I do not aspire, earth does not need me and Heaven does not need me. When I aspire, earth needs me and Heaven needs me; also, God needs me. There was a time when I lived the desiring life. At that time, I wanted to capture the world; I wanted to own the world. Now I aspire. I wish to become a perfect instrument of God. I wish to serve humanity and be constantly dedicated to humanity.

For me, life is a forward march. For me, life is an upward climb. For me, life is an inward dive. When I march forward, I see God's Sound-Power. When I climb upward, I see God's Silence-Power. When I dive deep within, I feel God's Love-Power. God's Sound-Power has awakened my life. God's Silence-Power has liberated my life. God's Love-Power has immortalised my life.

My life needs inner guidance. When I am guided by my Inner Pilot, my life is safe amid earth's storms. When I am guided by my Inner Pilot, I am certain amid the world's insecurity. Life does not mean only to know the truths about God. Life means an intimate connection, an inseparable union, with my Inner Pilot. In order to be guided by my Inner Pilot, in order to know Him intimately, I have to pray and meditate. I have to know that each thought that I think is a prayer. I have to know that each action that I take is a meditation. In order to pray well and have a good meditation I have to offer my gratitude to my Pilot-Supreme. It is His Compassion that has given me the capacity to pray and meditate.

When I pray, I climb up God the Tree. When I meditate, I bring down the mangoes from above and distribute them to aspiring souls. Both my prayer and my meditation are of paramount importance. If I do not climb up God the Tree, then I remain unrealised. If I do not climb down with the fruits, then God remains unmanifested. Perfection dawns only when I am realised and God is manifested.

Countless human beings are afraid of the spiritual life because they feel that it will take them away from the life they are now living. They feel that their present life is a life of satisfaction. At times, when they are mercilessly frustrated by the life that they are now living, they feel the necessity of God and the divine life. But to them, God is a stranger and the divine life is something unknown. They feel that a stranger and an unknown life cannot be trusted. But here they are totally mistaken. God is not and cannot be a stranger. And the divine life is the real life. The real life is something that inspires us and makes us feel that Infinity, Eternity and Immortality are our birthright.

Nothing can be more normal and natural than a divine life. The life that we are leading now is abnormal and unnatural. Why? Because it has made friends with darkness, ignorance and bondage. How can ignorance offer us God-Beauty, God-Light and absolute Truth?

When we make progress in our spiritual life we feel that our life is of God and our life is for God. What we want from life is satisfaction and nothing else. When we live the desiring life, no matter what we gain, there can be no satisfaction. We have an unceasing hunger that constantly wants to devour others and the entire world. By devouring others and devouring the world we cannot have satisfaction. We can have satisfaction only by establishing our inner oneness with the rest of the world. In order to achieve satisfaction we must walk along the road of aspiration and not along the road of desire.

We have seen that the world's richest man wants to become still richer. No matter how much money he gets, his needs increase more, and the more his needs increase, the more he becomes a beggar. The seeker wants to decrease his desires. The more he decreases his desires, the sooner he sees the Face of God. When he decreases his desiring life, only one desire remains; that desire is the aspiration which comes from the very depth of his heart. This aspiration wants only one thing: God. Aspiration feels that just realising God is not enough; it also wants to manifest God here on earth in His own Way. When our aspiration has realised God and manifested God in His own Way, then supreme Satisfaction dawns both in Heaven and on earth.

Published in My Rose Petals, part 4

 

Everest-Aspiration

Smile, Love and Claim

A talk by Sri Chinmoy
at Caldwell College in Caldwell, New Jersey

 

Smile, my friends, my soulful friends, smile. Let us smile. True, this world of ours is full of suffering and excruciating pangs, but that is no reason why we should not smile. We must smile in order to unburden the world’s suffering-burden. We must smile in order to diminish its untold pangs.

Love, my friends, my soulful friends, love. Let us love. True, this world of ours is full of hatred and disbelief, but that is no reason why we should not love and why we should not believe. We must love and believe in order to empty the hatred-sea. We must love and believe in order to break asunder the cliffs and peaks of disbelief-mountain.

Claim, my friends, my soulful friends, claim. Let us claim. True, this world of ours has deceived us and betrayed us. Nevertheless, we must claim the world, for it is our bounden duty to change the face of the world. Unless and until we claim the world, we can never transform this world; therefore, we must claim this world as our own, very own, with a view to transforming it.

Finally, we must not forget to smile at our Beloved Supreme, to love our Beloved Supreme and to claim our Beloved Supreme, for He is our Eternity’s own, and we are His Eternity’s own.

We shall smile at our Beloved Supreme precisely because He is divinely great. We shall love our Beloved Supreme precisely because He is supremely good. We shall claim our Beloved Supreme precisely because we are His Eternity’s chosen instruments. Him to please in His own Way, Him to fulfil in His own Way — it is for this we all saw the light of day. He is our Source. In Him we see, in Him we feel, in Him we fulfil our journey’s course.

Smile, love and claim. This world of ours is undoubtedly a projection of our Beloved Supreme, although it is far from perfection. But there will come a time when we shall be able to radically transform the face of this world and turn it into Perfection-Reality.

Let us smile at God, love Him and claim Him, for He is all-where only for us, unconditionally for us.

Published in Everest-Aspiration, part 1

 

I Need

A talk by Sri Chinmoy
at the Logan Campbell Centre in Auckland, New Zealand

 

I need Forgiveness from God. But alas, where are my faith-blossoms, where?

I need Compassion from God. But alas, where is my aspiration-heart, where?

I need Love from God. But alas, where is my oneness-world, where?

I need Affection from God. But alas, where is my surrender-life, where?

I need Peace from God. But alas, where is my silence-mind, where?

I need Encouragement from God. But alas, where is my intensity-eagerness, where?

I need Concern from God. But alas, where is my readiness-response, where?

My Lord Supreme, I have now come to realise that I have not pleased You in any way at any time. I feel that mine is a hopeless case.

"No, My child, yours is not a hopeless case, no!"

My Lord Supreme, do tell me what I must do.

"My child, purify your heart, simplify your mind, energise your vital and awaken your body-consciousness. My child, do not allow yourself to be struck down by stupidity any any more. Do not allow yourself to enjoy ignorance-sleep any more. Do not allow yourself to be paralysed by self-doubt — no, never! Do not allow your mind to remain inside the dark cave within you. Do not offer even an iota of affection to your insecurity. Be a constant prayer-cry and a constant meditation-illumination."

My Lord Supreme, I do not know how to pray. I do not know how to meditate. Is there any way You can teach me how to pray and how to meditate? Is there any way You can shorten the distance to my destination? Is there any way you can expedite my spiritual journey?

"My child, I am telling you the supreme secret: cry like a child, sleeplessly cry; and smile like a child, sleeplessly smile. If you can cry sleeplessly for My Compassion-Eye, then you will learn how to pray. If you can smile sleeplessly inside My Satisfaction-Heart, I shall teach you how to meditate. Only cry and smile, smile and cry, My child!"

Published in My Heart’s Peace-Offering

 

For the World Parliament of Religions, Sri Chinmoy composed 35 prayers and drew soul-birds. This were later published in I Bow to the Soul of the Parliament of Religions 

sb

Love begins the Cosmic Game.
Oneness completes the Cosmic Game.

#12

 

soul-bird

I wish to become
A climbing flame
And not a devouring fire.

#25

 

soul-bird

We all must know
That God’s only real Name is
Forgiveness, Forgiveness, Forgiveness.

#35

 

sp

 

July 7

 

Sri Chinmoy achieves a lift of 50 pounds using his right arm only in Jamaica, New York. For lifts under 100 pounds, (Sri Chinmoy first raises the weight from the ground to shoulder height and then proceeds to lift the weight above his head to a full-arm extension. He names these lifts the “Body, Heart and Soul One-Arm Lift.”)

 

July 7

Photo by Sarama Minoli

 

Sri Chinmoy, on the opening day of the exhibition of his Jharna-Kala artworks at 220 Mercer Street, Greenwich Village, New York.

 

Photo by Adarini Inkei

 

Sri Chinmoy completes 13 large Jharna-Kala paintings, including one finger painting, at Aspiration-Ground in Jamaica, New York.

 

The Finger Painting

 

Sri Chinmoy’s finger painting

 

Sri Chinmoy answers a question
the next day — 8 July 1990

 

Question: The last painting you painted the other night was very striking to me because it seemed that every time you touched the painting with your fingers, you blessed it. Is that painting any more special because there was no object, such as a paintbrush, between you and the painting?

Sri Chinmoy: There is a great difference. When I use my fingers directly, I have tremendous affection, not for the piece of paper or the canvas, but for my hand. At that time, it is not the paper that is responding; it is something else. My affection is entering into the painting itself and it is reciprocal. From the painting also I am getting tremendous affection. I press this finger, that finger and then each time, inside the fingers, I am seeing the souls. Each of us has one main soul, and again each part of us has a soul, each limb has a soul. So when I was painting, first I was seeing the soul of one finger, and then I was seeing the soul of another finger. Then I was seeing the soul of my little finger — cute, very, very cute and beautiful, most beautiful. I was using my hands to paint, but you cannot call them hands at that time. They were so beautiful. At night sometimes all of a sudden there is light because a firefly comes. My hands were like that. When I was painting with my fingers, I saw my hands spreading light everywhere. The fingers were so cute, all of them, especially my little finger. I was getting such joy and thrill from the little one.

So there is a great difference between when I use either a sponge or a brush and when I use my fingers. I personally get much more joy from using my fingers. But then to do one painting takes such a long time. How long can you continue?

Published in Sri Chinmoy Answers, part 17