Aphorism cards and incense
In Australia, an enterprise 'Incense of the World' has combined its business of incense with handing out aphorism cards by Sri Chinmoy.
by Grahak Cunningham
It is not often you meet travelling salesman who sell goods that help make the world a better place but Victorian Pushpendra Uppal has a selection of goods he has peddled for nearly 20 years that help do just that- well they help the world smell better anyway – incense. The company he helped develop with owner Guni Warmington in Melbourne, Incense of the World has been spreading its fragrant wings since 1998 with clients in every state and a distribution network of high end incense from manufacturers throughout Bali, Nepal, India and Japan.
Pushpendra wasn’t initially destined to become a travelling incense salesman. It was science that Pushpendra was initially drawn to as his father Rajinder Kumar was an industrial chemist, who arrived from India in 1958. Interestingly Rajinder didn’t really migrate to Australia by choice. Whilst furthering his studies to be a doctor in India, he was bitten by a dog and developed a Hydatid cyst infection which spread to his spine, a rare complication. Pushpendra’s grandfather, a doctor, contacted the World Health Organisation to find the best place for treatment for his eldest son. A call went out around the world for experts in this field and the answer came from Dr Samuel Fitzpatrick in Hamilton, Victoria. Sheep were commonly infected with the parasite and a doctor there had developed a treatment regime from treating sheep workers who contracted the disease. Through Rotary funding and after almost a year of hospital and rehabilitation Rajinder moved to Melbourne and obtained a job the next day. He eventually found an Aussie wife and had twins, Veeraja and Pushpendra. The then unusual mixed racial marriage was quickly embraced by the family back home in New Delhi at the prospect of bringing two bouncing twin boys into the fold.
Following in his father’s footsteps Pushpendra studied Science at university as did his brother, but with a love of India’s heritage and customs, incense was in his veins. He jumped at the chance to work selling incense products and the opportunities that come with it. “I generally visit stores which are there to better people. Health food stores, gift stores, book stores and so on. I get to travel all over the country and visit manufacturers overseas. It is a great job. I love it.”
Pushpendra has been in Western Australia for the last month, visiting customers in the South West, Great Southern, Metropolitan and Mid West regions. If you hire a car from the airport and it smells extremely nice, it was probably his and the remnants of the Japanese incense he sells still floating through the air. It is his favourite type as the Japanese are most renowned for their subtlety, purity and beautiful visual presentation of incense. “The Japanese have elevated the use of incense to a poetic and cultural dimension without equivalent in the world,” he said. “Each blend of incense has been created and refined over centuries and is made in strict accordance to the ancient traditional Japanese lore. The Japanese appreciate 'incense time' at Koh-do (Incense Ceremony) as we enjoy 'tea time' for relaxation, refreshment and communion with others.”
Incense of the World endeavours to support cottage industries on the sub-continent. It distributes products like paper journals from the Himalayas and Tibetan incense from a Buddhist Nunnery in Nepal. Their production provides important employment for low income families whilst preserving the age-old incense and paper-making techniques of past generations. Whilst the workshop was badly damaged, thankfully none of the incense workers or their family members were hurt in the recent earthquake.
“We enjoy giving back. Proceeds from incense and journal sales support the preservation and replantation of Lokta in Dolkha and Sindhupaichok, Nepal. We also give away aphorism cards by Sri Chinmoy which are found on the counters of many different stores in Australia and in many countries around the world.
These cards help touch people in a positive way.” To date over 1.3 million have been given out in Australia alone. With sayings like ‘You follow your heart’s love and your life’s happiness will follow you.’ they have a positive impact on whoever reads them. As do the fragrant blends that Pushpendra distributes throughout the nation. “Fragrances remind us of home, garden, friends, ceremonies, the memories of childhood,” he explains. “Without the sense of smell, our lives would be far less interesting. Incense aims to touch on that part of ourselves.”
Monk Party
Monk Party is a New Zealand based musical group made up of a father and son duo Pragunya and Nelson Myers-Daley. Recently, they have recently been offering a series of concerts in Australia and New Zealand.
Monk Party’s influences include the kirtan devotional music scene, ancient Indian mantras, plus a wide range of world and spiritual music. Last August they played in front of a capacity crowd with Krishna Das which Nelson rates as one of his career highlights “It was fantastic,” he said “and a real honour”.
The melodies of Sri Chinmoy which Monk Party play, aim to uplift and inspire the audience. Sri Chinmoy once said that “music will play a most important role in bringing about world oneness.” Nelson’s favourite instruments in fact come from right around the globe and are northern African and Arabic drums, flute and harmonium. Other instruments the group uses include darbuka, riq, cajón, frame drums, badhran, pennywhistle, nylon guitar, gongs, chakra bells and bansuri
flute. Their excess baggage bills are apparently huge!
Besides their own concerts, they have played at Diwali festivals, meditation classes and have had several radio interviews with the interviewers obviously interested in their music and spiritual lifestyle. In performances the audiences loved watching them play.
Monk Party has released three CD’s with the fourth set to hit the stands over the next few weeks. Monk Party’s arrangements also contain a modern ambience and dynamism which has made them more appealing to a wider
audience. The young people in our crowd were really inspired and were still raving about them months later at meditation classes. With their new CD set for release they are pretty inspired. “This album is the work of songs that we have been performing for the last year and a half. Each song has evolved in a very natural way, the arrangements are quite simple but we try to play the songs in a way that inspires people and brings forward peace and dynamism,” said Nelson. “We are very influenced by middle eastern music so on this album we have for the first time in our recordings the ‘oud’ which is a beautiful fretless instrument that captures the haunting aspect of Sri Chinmoy’s melodies and brings a new addition to our sound. We also have a wide range of percussion drums which are used in traditional music such as Spanish, Indian and Arabic music. Pragunya’s guitar playing in this CD gives the whole project the warmth, direction and feel which is interwoven within each melody. “In this album we hope to offer our love of music and touch people’s hearts with the devotional aspect of life.“ The oud was a predecessor of the sarod and it is really nice. One of the many instruments that they play in their set.
Original reporting by Grahak. Published Inspiration Sun, Issue #4.
Projects for happiness
Members of the Sri Chinmoy Centre have been involved in various projects promoting happiness, including participation in the United Nations International Day of Happiness.
An event at Panorama Cafe, New York entitled "Happiness in Poetry”, which included sharing short poems and aphorisms on the theme of happiness.
In one of the largest bookstores in Bratislava, Slovakia, there was an event to mark a new translation of the popular book - 'The Jewels of Happiness' by Sri Chinmoy. The event was called “The Secret of Happiness” to honour the spirit of the International Day of Happiness.
A beautiful atmosphere was created by Agnikana’s muisc group. Before the event, each participant received a card with a quote about happiness
from the new card series “Be Happy.” During the program, the presenters talked about happiness and read excepts from the book.
Two videos were also shown: one about the book’s author, Sri Chinmoy, and the second video featured readings by Addwitya Roberta Flack
and Madhurima Judith Light on happiness.
Jharna Kala Exhibition.
In Iceland the international Day of Happiness was celebrated at an event at the UNESCO Literary House in Reykjavik. Bhikshuni, a student of Sri Chinmoy, was invited as a guest poet/speaker. Icelandic disciples under the direction of Suballabha also participated, performing three of Sri Chinmoy’s songs for the occasion, including an arrangement by Laufey of Sada Susanga.
Related- Quotes on Happiness by Sri Chinmoy
- A Quest for happiness - Article by Abhinabha
The Peace Run in the Balkans
Recently, the European leg of the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run has started passing through the Balkan countries.
A white peace dove for peace in the city of Banja Luka in Bosnia-Herzegovena. (9th May)
The run has met many local communities where people have participated in initiatives for peace, such as this.
Mr. Borut Pahor, President of Slovenia received the Peace Run at his residency in Ljubljana. (4th May)
Throughout the run, the Peace Run visit local schools where the next generation of young people are able to participate in the event to promote peace and harmony in our daily lives.
A symbolic and meaningful meeting on a bridge between Croatia and Bosnia i Herzegovina. The meeting included members of the international team of Peace Runners, local dignitaries and local schoolchildren (9th May)
Over the next few weeks, the Run will visit Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania on its long journey to finishing in Rome, Italy towards the end of the year.
“This world of ours has everything save and except one thing: peace. And this peace has to start from within. If I have peace of mind, then only can I be of help to you. If you have peace of mind, then only can you be of help to me.”
– Sri Chinmoy
The Sri Chinmoy Peace Run does not seek to raise money or highlight any political cause; it seeks to offer a practical method to encourage people's heart-felt wish for peace in the world. You can follow the Peace Run at Peace Run.org
Related- Peace Run at Sri Chinmoy.org
Recent publications of Sri Chinmoy's writings
The past few months have seen publications of Sri Chinmoy's writings in many places around the world to an appreciative audience.
Be happy
To celebrate the International Day of Happiness on March 20th, the Czech Sri Chinmoy Centre published a new box of gift cards entitled “Be Happy,” decorated with beautiful photographs and aphorisms on happiness by Sri Chinmoy. The advertising featured beautiful posters which could be seen all over the Czech Republic.
Freedom and Peace
During the last week of November all major bookstores in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan - in more than 150 cities - started selling a new compilation of Sri Chinmoy's writings, entitled “Freedom and Peace: About Yoga, Meditation and the Art of Living on Earth.” The book is a sort of introduction to the philosophy of Sri Chinmoy, compiled by the Sri Chinmoy Centre in Moscow book. The book was published by one of the biggest publishing houses in Russia. The photo shows a presentation of the new book at the White Clouds bookstore in Moscow on January 15th.
On December 1st, the official Russian Sri Chinmoy Library site: www.srichinmoylibrary.ru was launched.
New translation of the Jewels of Happiness
In mid–March the Slovakian Sri Chinmoy Centre launched a new translation of The Jewels of Happiness in the largest bookstore in Bratislava, Slovakia. The event was called “The Secret of Happiness” to honour the spirit of the forthcoming International Day of Happiness.
The Garden of Love Light
Sri Chinmoy’s collection of Bengali songs The Garden of Love-Light was published in Bangladesh on January 30th with Bengali and English versions, both by Sri Chinmoy, on facing pages. The launch, which featured many prominent speakers including a TV presenter and respected author, was covered in newspapers and on TV. As part of the programme, Rintu Chakravarty sang a selection of the songs from the book. The book was on sale at the popular Dhaka Book Fair throughout the month of February.
Books by Sri Chinmoy's Students
Auspicious Good Fortune, a spiritual memoir by Sumangali Morhall which has been translated into several languages, is being released as an audio book.
“The book is beautifully written and well-crafted.... It gives a rare insight into the fascinating, conflicted life of a very modern spiritual seeker.... It is an extraordinary tale and highly recommended.” Kindred Spirit Magazine
Eat to Run is a new book by Stutisheel Lebedev, nine time finisher of the Sri Chinmoy Self Transcendence 3100 Mile Race - the world's longest race. The book talks about many of the experiences and discoveries Stutisheel had in getting the proper nutrition for the race.
A presentation on holistic nutrition took place in New York City at The Oneness-Fountain Heart Restaurant. Stutisheel shared his experience on how to develop effective nutrition for maximum performance in extreme sport, as well as in day-to-day life.
30th Anniversary of Sri Chinmoy Peace Mile
On 9th March 2016, local schoolchildren and members of the Peace Run participated in a short event to mark the 30th Anniversary of the Sri Chinmoy Peace Mile in Battersea Park.
Several schools came to participate in this simple event which sought to mark the importance of cultivating peace and harmony within our communities.
In 1986, Sri Chinmoy came to Battersea Park to found, with members of the London Council, the first Peace Mile. The Peace Mile was the first of many 'Peace-Blossoms' - a place where runners could run a measured one mile loop at a location dedicated to peace. In the past 30 years, many thousands of Londoners have run and walked along this stretch of Battersea Park by the River Thames and the Buddhist Peace Pagoda.
At this event, children were introduced to the runners of the Peace Run and then ran the one mile race along the Peace Mile.
Other photos from the Peace Mile Celebration
Related
Peace Run 2016
The 2016 Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run has begun its journey across different continents, with the European leg recently starting in Portugal. Later in the year, this global relay torch run will also take place in north America, Australasia, Asia and Latin America.
The Peace Run was founded by Sri Chinmoy in 1987; in the past three decades the Peace Run has visited thousands of locations across the globe, giving many people the opportunity to participate in this grassroots initiative for peace and harmony.
The Peace Run welcomed by a school in Matosinhos, Portugal.
The runners will run in relay many kilometres across Europe.
An aphorism by Sri Chinmoy -
Further reading"Every day
We must try
To make at least one person
Happy."
- ‹ previous
- 97 of 337
- next ›
Except where explicitly stated otherwise, the contents of this site are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. read more »
SriChinmoyCentre.org is a Vasudeva Server project.