My God-Hunger-Cry – by Sri Chinmoy
In October of 2005, Sri Chinmoy began a series of prayer-poems entitled My God-Hunger-Cry. We are delighted to feature them here and hope they bring you joy and inspiration.
My God-Hunger-Cry – by Sri Chinmoy
In October of 2005, Sri Chinmoy began a series of prayer-poems entitled My God-Hunger-Cry. We are delighted to feature them here and hope they bring you joy and inspiration.
Selected Tributes to Sri Chinmoy II
We continue to receive an overwhelming number of kind words and tributes about Sri Chinmoy. This is a small selection from the past 2 days.
- See also : Selected Comments Part I
- Tributes at Sri Chinmoy.org
- Please feel free to Post Your own Tribute
~
From: Prince Dipokusumo
Yogyakarta, Indonesia,
October 15, 2007
Dear Our Beloved Guru Sri Chinmoy,
We can’t believe when we heard about you but we believe that you are still there as always for the whole word with your big love.
Thank you so much for your love and joy to our family and many people in our country, Indonesia.
Having a beautiful experience with you in Jamaica, New York in June 2006 is an unforgettable memory. We remember that we went to court everyday for meditating, singing, and listening your beautiful music; we followed you meditating in UN; we gathered with the others to celebrate Father’s Day; we took a nice picture in front of your house; we visited your wonderful museum and celebrated Prince Dipokusumo and also Adhityo’s birthday.
Then several months after we came back to our home town, a beautiful, cute and adorable baby girl was born. We name her Saraswati. It has so much bless we have that we can’t write one by one.
A beautiful memory on the Christmas trip in Penang, February 2006 that we were there for the whole family and you lifted us up. It was a remarkable experience. Another memory that keep in mind when you and your brother, Sinuhun met for the first time in the real world in the Surakarta Palace in 2003. Hopefully, you will meet him in the beautiful and peace place.
Also we still remember when you lifted up Prince Dipokusumo and his big family from Surakarta Palace in 2003 with the witness of Sinuhun. It was a remarkable memory that we never forget.
Guru,
You are our inspiration and motivator to create many beautiful things in this life....... Guru,
We won’t say good bye to you because we believe that you have a special duty from GOD. Your spirit, your love, your energy, and your soul will still leave in our heart, forever.Many thanks for our beloved Guru, father, uncle, grandfather Sri Chinmoy. We love you.
From Surakarta Palace — Indonesia
Prince Dipokusumo
Princess Febri
Adhityo, Maharani, Gayatri, Saraswati
Hartono Brotoasmoro
Lia
Haryo
Ama
Jojo
~
finding one’s way in life is difficult even in the best of times
the presence of inspiring human beings is the surest way of receiving help and guidance in these matters
5 years of my life were spent under the direct tutelege of sri chinmoy
there are but a few real and true human beings to whom i will never ever be able to repay my debt of gratitude.
the principle reason for this is that they have transcended the merely human and attained the all.
sri chinmoy is one of these human beings my gratitude to him will remain forever endless.
- Mahavishnu
~
A big soul has left this world, a great spirit went on a journey, a unique personality has touched many hearts and will always be with us.
Brigitte McMahon - Olympic Champion Triathlon
~
“We have lost a great spiritual leader. The world is a poorer place without Sri Chinmoy. I am grateful he has left such a legacy of work and teachings with us and I am sure his spirit will continue to work through many of us.”
- Alison Streeter
Swum the English Channel 43 times; holder of the record for the most crossings.
~
Sri Chinmoy’s life has been dedicated to spread peace and harmony around the world. With his generosity and positive energy he has touched the hearts of millions. Like his soul his message will live forever.
Francois Gay - Mr. Olympia Natural Bodybuilding
~
Sri Chinmoy’s name was introduced to us through World Harmony Run and we thought what a great man this was to initiate something so ’simple’ yet meaningful to pass the message of peace and harmony. We applaud his effort and may the Run continues on as an ongoing tribute to this great man. Our deepest condolence and sympathies to those close to him.
Harlinah Rahman
From Darussalam Mosque, Singapore
~
When we remember our beloved Guru, the sweetest person who ever lived, the universe itself is not big enough to hold our tears. But now we have to go deep within and try to realise Sri Chinmoy the Divine. He is here. He is inside every heart, inside our life-breath, whispering, “Go on!” We must not fail him.
Dr. Vidagdha Bennett
~
I have never been able to truly comprehend all that I know was done for me through Sri Chinmoy, but the one true thing I knew was that there was a miracle action moving through me from the first day that I met him. And because of his earthly presence my life was changed for eternity- to see clearly my soul’s mission, to know that there can be only one outcome in life; to one day know God as Sri Chinmoy has known God.
Anukampa Lisa Walden
~
During my last fews years of living near Guru’s center in Jamaica, I have known him from close proximity. He lifted me and my mother. When he used to see me on the street or shops, he used to talk to me, in bengali. We used to talk breifly and say hello to each other. What a wonderful man !! I feel proud to be from Chittagong, where guru was born. Guru - Thank you so much for giving me a chance to know you, to talk you. Bless me from heaven. You will be missed, but not forgoten.
Shikrithy
~
Dearest Guru,
At the Khumba Mela of 1977 in Prayag (Allahabad) India, I gave a copy of your beautiful Jharna Kala rose to Ma Anandamoyee. She looked at it for a very,very long time while saying atcha, atcha,atcha which means wonderful,wonderful,wonderful.
Ram.
Sri Chinmoy was an amazing person. I am so glad that he was a part of my life. Watching all those years of his “Lifting up the World” campaign, brought thousands of people together. Meeting his supporters and their true love for his teachings.
The world has lost a true peace-making person, he should have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He traveled around the world bringing leaders to his side and each walked away with something more. If you had that opportunity to meet and be with Guru, you know what I mean.
Karen Clark
www.helpanimalsinc.org~
As a close friend of our family we call him chinmoyda, when ever he visited his spiritual home town of pondicherry i never missed to meet him in my in-laws house. i was gifted everytime to take him round in my car. Today i am honoured to live in his house and our whole family is grieved on his demise.
we pray to the Divine mother for his soul to rest in peace.
gunasekaran
~
Sri Chinmoy will be sadly missed by his disciples and anyone whose heart he has touched. Through his spiritual teachings, he has made us aware of our Supreme, our God and our inner pilot who are one and the same.
He ranks among the greatest spiritual teachers that have ever graced this earth.
He has recently been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, which in our opinion, he has earned many times over for his good works toward achieving lasting peace in the world.
He will live for ever in the hearts of his disciples and will continue to be concerned about our spiritual well
being as he has promised.
John N Dion
~
I’ve never met Sri Chinmoy, but I feel as if I know
him personally. I’ve been eating at his follower’s
restaurants in Evanston, Il, San Francisco, CA &
Melbourne, Australia since my college days (30 plus years) and a true sense of peace and serenity always
washes over me when I enter one of them -what
a respite from the madness of the “outside” world!
I’ve enjoyed reading Sri Chinmoy’s tribute to his friends Mother Teresa and Princess Diana, fellow peace-makers. I’m sure they are all together now in
a better place.
Peace and Blessings upon you, Sri Chinmoy and my
sympathy goes out to your family and followers.
George in San Francisco
~
I am still deeply contemplating how a great spiritual Master like him affected me as a young person during my years of tutorship with him in the early eighties. It provided me with invaluable “contrast’ about otherwise ‘no questions asked’ worldly choices we are presented with in Western life.
He was an incredible and great enigma and certainly no hypocrite. I still remember the gentleman , at the time in his late fifties , running marathons. He had extraordinary commitment, concentration and determination to see an idea through.Many monks are quite sedentary and sit long hours . Not this Master - he could and did both (meditation and vigourous athletics).
He never chose the easy way out for himself.
To try and inaugurate a monastic-like meditation centre in New York City of all places or near the downtown areas of other great cities was a challenge which he relished. He constantly sought ways to transcend himself and encouraged others to do the same. A powerful inner life and a dynamic involvement in the outer world were like 2 wings on a bird in his philosophy.
(excerpt)
....
Raoul Bedi
Vancouver, BC
CANADA
Active until the very end: the last week of Sri Chinmoy's earthly sojourn
On Wednesday 3 October, Sri Chinmoy held a meditation function for his students at which many of the musical groups which usually play on Wednesdays performed. This was his first meditation function with his New York students since he returned from playing musical concerts in St. Petersburg, although he had been having walking meditations where students would arrive at his house and walk past in a loop whilst he meditated on them. During the function, Sri Chinmoy related many amusing incidents from his Russian trip.
On Friday, a meditation function was held where members of the general public were also invited to come along. Students that had been on Sri Chinmoy's path for over 30 years were invited to come up and recite a short prayer or poem.
Another walking meditation took place on Saturday afternoon, and then a meditation function on Saturday night. Most of the Saturday night meditation function was taken up by improvised pieces of spiritual theatre. A heart-warmingly funny play was performed by the theatre troupe led by Databir Watters and Abakash Konopiaty - consisting of incidents in the life of Databir! Databir is well known in the centre for being dynamism, enthusiasm and sweetness incarnate - he is in his sixties now, but is still the driving force behind the daily games of frisbee that a group of New York students have every day after their morning meditation. (Read Ashrita Furman's blog to find out what happened when someone tried to steal his wallet during a visit to Russia three years ago) Sri Chinmoy thought that this play was marvelous. Also that night, there was a play based on a story from the Mahabharata by Udar Robinson's group - a year earlier, Sri Chinmoy had given them the name "Udar: the Unbounded Troupe".
On Sunday, there was another walking meditation, and Sri Chinmoy also spoke at length on the importance of valuing the outer guidance of a meditation teacher.
On Tuesday 9 October, Sri Chinmoy hosted his last distinguished guest - Alan Nazareth, a retired Indian ambassador who had served his country in many different locations around the world, including the United States. Upon his arrival in the West in 1964, Sri Chinmoy worked in the Indian Consulate in New York for three years, before embarking full-time upon his life's service to humanity. The Ambassador was Sri Chinmoy's boss for a very short time in 1967 before he left, and in the ensuing years he came to quite a few of Sri Chinmoy's concerts and other activities. Alan Nazareth is currently managing trustee of the Sarvodaya International Trust which works to uphold and spread the ideals espoused by Mahatma Gandhi, and he writes and lectures extensively on applying Gandhian ideals to the modern world. During his visit, he and Sri Chinmoy discussed the life's work of Mahatma Gandhi, and Sri Chinmoy then presented his guest with an award honouring his years of service for his native country and for the world.
Sri Chinmoy's creative output continued right up until the day before his passing - he composed several new songs on Wednesday.
Wednesday night was the last meditation function that Sri Chinmoy held with his students. He spoke quite a lot during the function, wondering aloud about the outcome of the Nobel Prize that was to be announced in a couple of days and casting some humorous observations on the relationship between the two words 'peace' and 'harmony'. At that function, the poetry book My Christmas-New Year-Vacation-Aspiration-Prayers, part 52 was made available for sale, consisting of 91 prayer-poems Sri Chinmoy wrote during his stay in Langkawi, Malaysia in early 2006. The ninety-first poem in this book, and the last poem published during Sri Chinmoy's lifetime, has now attained an immortal status:
“My physical death
Is not the end of my life -
I am an eternal journey.”
One person who was present at the meditation function recalls Sri Chinmoy holding this book of poetry and wondering aloud "Will it ever end?". We know know that was indeed a rhetorical question, for with Sri Chinmoy's passing from this earthly plane, something has been set in motion which will propagate onwards into Eternity.
Photo by: Jowan Gauthier, Sri Chinmoy Centre Galleries - (of Sri Chinmoy in St Petersburg)
Sri Chinmoy's memorial service
Sri Chinmoy's memorial service took place yesterday, attended by thousands of his students and dozens of luminaries from all around the world.
The ceremony opened with some minutes of meditation, filling the space with a deep and profound silence. This was followed by two of Sri Chinmoy's mantric songs peformed by his favourite musical group, an all female ensemble who have performed at venues all over the world.
Then Shivaram Trichur, a student of Sri Chinmoy's since the very earliest days of his coming to America, read out some ancient Indian slokas, or scriptural verses, concerning the immortality of the soul. Among them was this one, invoking the eternal relationship between a meditation teacher and his student:
Saha nav avatu,
Saha nav bhuknatu,
Saha nav viryam haravavahai.
(May he protect us both.
May he nourish us both.
May we both work together with energy, indomitable and endless.)
- from Kali-Saṇṭāraṇa Upanishad, translation by Sri Chinmoy.
There were also performances by a group led by Satyajit Saha; this group performed arangements of Sri Chinmoy's music and writings every week at Sri Chinmoy's meditation functions. This was followed by another group which performed an arrangement of Smile, My Soul, Smile, also written by Sri Chinmoy.
Then luminaries from all around the world came up to pay their respects; many who could not attend sent heartfelt messages of appreciation and condolence which were read out. You can read many of those tributes on SriChinmoy.org.
Then a choir of Sri Chinmoy's students sang the song 'When I am Gone Away', that Sri Chinmoy asked be performed only upon his Mahasamadhi - the name given to the process by which spiritual Masters leave the body and enter into the soul's world:
When I am gone away,
Remember me, O children sweet,No, not because I failed,
No, not because I cried,
No, not because I tried,No, not because I saw my Lord in you,
No, not because I served my Lord in you,
No, not because I fulfilled my Lord in you,No, not because I was your Pilot true,
No, not because I was your 'Infinite' blue,O but because my life was all gratitude, gratitude, gratitude
To you, to you, my children sweet, to you.
Then one by one, all those present, students and visitors alike, filed up to the casket where Sri Chinmoy's body lies, and placed a beautiful rose at the foot of the casket in appreciation of Sri Chinmoy's life work. In the background, a recording was played of Sri Chinmoy singing the mantra 'Gratitude' over and over again, spontaneously composing the music as he sang.
Today (October 15th), people are still arriving to pay their respects to the earthly body Sri Chinmoy has left behind. Many musical groups that used to play soulful music at Sri Chinmoy's meditation functions are now performing in the background for the visitors, creating an unearthly spiritual atmosphere in this beautiful warm and sunny day.
My God-Hunger-Cry – by Sri Chinmoy
In October of 2005, Sri Chinmoy began a series of prayer-poems entitled My God-Hunger-Cry. We are delighted to feature them here and hope they bring you joy and inspiration.
Tribute To Sri Chinmoy (essay)
October 13, 2007: Tribute To Sri Chinmoy (essay) by M.
Sri Chinmoy explains that the consciousness of a realised soul is deeply connected on every level with all those around him. He writes of the lowing of the cows at the passing of Ramdas Kathiya Baba. In 2003, I took this as a point of departure to write a play called The Last Crossword. Set in ancient India, it was about a disciple who takes the master's presence for granted. One day, he wakens to find that a cow is lowing, and even a tiger is shedding tears. He has a series of misadventures, until he finally realises the truth: the Master has taken his Mahasamadhi.
Today, I am that cow, I am that tiger, and I am that disciple.
Sri Chinmoy used to say something most significant: that a spiritual master represents hope to suffering humanity. I grew up with a lot of sadness in my family, and even as an adult it's difficult to shake that sadness. For me, Sri Chinmoy's living presence in the physical represented hope. As a human being, I related to him as another human being. He was my friend. As a human being, my loss is inconsolable.
I had been making some videos I thought he would like. I hoped to give them to him. One was a documentary about Robert F. Kennedy. When his brother was killed, Robert was devastated for a long time. At Jacqueline's suggestion, he began reading a lot of poetry - especially the Greeks. He became fond of these words by Aeschylus:
"He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep, pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart. And in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us, by the awful grace of God."The documentary showed how grief ultimately strengthened Robert Kennedy and brought out his compassion for all suffering people everywhere.
When he walked onto the podium at the Democratic Convention - August 27, 1964 - there was a spontaneous demonstration of applause that lasted 22 minutes. Finally, the crowd allowed him to speak. He said:
"When I think of President Kennedy, I think of what Shakespeare said in Romeo and Juliet:
'When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars, and he shall make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night, and pay no worship to the garish sun.'"
As a human being, my loss is inconsolable. In struggling to come to terms with grief, I am heartened by the living legacy of Sri Chinmoy: his writings, music, art, and record of accomplishments, his devoted students determined to continue the work. I take heart also in these words by the late African-American songwriter Bernice Johnson Reagon:
They are falling all around me, They are falling all around me, They are falling all around me, The strongest leaves of my tree. Every paper brings the news that, Every paper brings the news that, Every paper brings the news that, The teachers of my sound are moving on. Death comes and rests so heavy, Death comes and rests so heavy, Death comes and rests so heavy, Your face I'll never see, I'll never see you any more. But you're not really gonna leave me, You're not really gonna leave me, You're not really gonna leave me, It is your path I walk; It is your song I sing; It is your load I take on; It is your air I breathe; It's the record you set that makes me go on; It's your strength that helps me stand; You're not really, you're not really gonna leave me. I will try to sing my song right, I will try to sing my song right, I will try to sing my song... Be sure to let me hear from you.As a poet, I like the ambivalence of the second to last line, which seems to say: I will try to sing my song - but maybe I won't get it right, maybe nobody will listen, but at least I'll sing it.
As human beings, we are afflicted with many problems. One which I happen to suffer from is the feeling that what I have to offer isn't good enough - that I need to study more, practice more, edit more, fix this, fix that, and then I will have something worth offering.
No one was ever a more kind reader of my poetry than Sri Chinmoy. No one ever showed so much love in response to even the smallest offering, however imperfect. The reason he could show us so much love is that he saw his Lord Supreme in us.
As a spiritual being, I try to take heart in Sri Chinmoy's words from his play The Buddha and Ananda, where the Buddha says:
"Ananda, do not cry for me. I tell all of you not to cry for me. Ananda, I have told you repeatedly that everything is transient on earth. There is nothing everlasting here. Anything that comes into life will have to give up life. ... My spiritual journey began with renunciation and compassion, and today, at the end of my journey's close, I offer to the world the same message: renunciation and compassion. O Ananda, do not grieve."- From: Siddhartha Becomes the Buddha
I am reminded of what I wrote to a friend at the death of another friend who I loved: "Cosmic character that he is, he is teaching us all the lesson of impermanence. May we use his gift well."
After two days of constant grieving, finally I was able to meditate. And in meditation, many things became clearer. Much of my grief was selfish, coming from the grasping part of my nature. Sri Chinmoy was MY friend, MY friend. I NEEDED him. How could he just die? So selfish. And that selfish part of my nature lived in a fool's paradise: Sri Chinmoy would always be around, and I would have infinite opportunities to see him. So foolish.
In my meditation, a photograph became central to coming to clarity - a photo I remembered from Radio Sri Chinmoy, where Virendra Gauthier and other band members are playing, and Sri Chinmoy is passing by in his little cart. In the last years of his life, he found walking difficult and painful.
In truth, Sri Chinmoy fulfilled in every way imaginable the role which he himself described in this poem from My Flute:
I have become the world's lowest slave Your Breath to serve in man, the grave.Everything he fulfilled, fulfilled, fulfilled. Those things left undone were undone only because there was no receptivity on earth. Never did he fail to make a valiant effort to accomplish something for his beloved Lord Supreme, and for humanity. Now it will take literally hundreds of years for humanity to catch up to his speed, his vision. How can I mourn when I was given the great privilege to be among the first generation to witness his incredible sacrifice?
The spiritual part of my being tries to help me, console me, by teaching me these things. But as a human being, I am still inconsolable. I would give anything to see Sri Chinmoy on earth for just one more day, so that I could give him presents I was saving for him, and thank him again for all he has done for me - for his infinite patience, kindness, and compassion. I want to cling, cling, cling to Sri Chinmoy. That is my grasping nature. And every time I think that spiritual wisdom has triumphed over human emotion, I find there are still more tears to be cried.
But then I remember the photograph. Would I really want Sri Chinmoy to stay on earth indefinitely in a body that can no longer match his tireless vision? Only a selfish person would want that.
Sri Chinmoy helped thousands of people find freedom. For most of us, it was spiritual freedom; but he also encouraged political freedom - freedom for East Timor. In nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, Prof. St-Amand of the University of Ottawa cites this as one of his outstanding accomplishments.
Sri Chinmoy also championed freedom in art. This is not yet so well known, because few critics have taken in the full breadth of vision his music, art and poetry embodies. But it's all there for future historians. I take heart that Sri Chinmoy will be reborn when he is discovered in this way. His art will be new when a new generation sees it with fresh eyes and discovers its boundless depths. He will be a new guru when a new generation dares to look inward, and finds there a loving, reassuring presence guiding their own fragile steps to freedom.
The biggest lesson my spiritual self tries to teach me is that Sri Chinmoy is still very much alive. The great messenger of freedom has now been freed from the cage of the body; but in the inner world his spirit burns brightly and constantly.
The Soul-Bird
by Sri Chinmoy
O world-ignorance, Although You have shackled my feet, I am free. Although You have chained my hands, I am free. Although You have enslaved my body, I am free. I am free because I am not of the body. I am free because I am not the body, I am free because I am the soul-bird That flies in Infinity-Sky. I am the soul-child that dreams On the Lap of the immortal King Supreme.
M.
See also: Poetic tributes by M.
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