Chinmoy Kumar Ghose (27 August 1931 – 11 October 2007), better known as Sri Chinmoy,Sands 2001, According to legal papers signed in November 2006, his name is Chinmoy Kumar Ghose aka Sri Chinmoy. Sri Chinmoy is the name under which the guru has taught, published, composed and performed since approximately 1972. (See front and back matter of referenced works.) He was previously known as Chinmoy Kumar Ghose (e.g. "Many at U.N." New York Times 8 November 1971: 42). He signed most of his paintings and drawings C.K.G. ("C.K.G." Jharna-Kala Magazine 1.1 (April –June 1977): 1). was an Indian spiritual leader who taught meditation in the United States after moving to New York City in 1964."Hindu of the Year: Sri Chinmoy clinches 1997 'Hindu Renaissance Award'". Hinduism Today. December 1997. pp.34–35. Retrieved 2 December 2016. Chinmoy established his first meditation center in Queens, New York, and eventually had seven thousand students in 60 countries.McShane, Larry. "Charismatic guru Sri Chinmoy dies in NYC". USA Today. 12 October 2007. He was an author, artist, poet, and musician; he also held public events such as concerts and meditations on the theme of inner peace.Dua, Shyam (ed). The Luminous Life of Sri Chinmoy: An Authorised Biography. Tiny Tot Publications, 2005. p. 66. Chinmoy advocated a spiritual path to God through prayer and meditation. He advocated athleticism including distance running, swimming, and weightlifting. He organized marathons and other races, and was an active runner and, following a knee injury, weightlifter. Some ex-members have accused Chinmoy of running a cult.
Biography Early years in India
Chinmoy was the youngest of seven children, born in Shakpura, Boalkhali Upazila, in the Chittagong District of East Bengal, British India (now in Bangladesh). He lost his father to illness in 1943, and his mother a few months later. Chinmoy began his practice of meditation at the age of 11. In 1944, the 12-year-old Chinmoy joined his brothers and sisters at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, where his elder brothers Hriday and Chitta had already established a presence.Dua, Shyam (ed). The Luminous Life of Sri Chinmoy: An Authorised Biography. Tiny Tot Publications, 2005. pp. 18, 22.Chinmoy, My Brother Chitta 1998, p. 58. It was Chitta that gave Chinmoy his name which means "full of divine consciousness".
In the ashram he spent the next 20 years in spiritual practice, including meditation, study in Bengali and English literature,Chinmoy, My Brother 1998, pp. 60, 65. athletics, and work in the ashram's cottage industries.Chinmoy, Sri Chinmoy Answers, Part 23 2000, p. 28 and Chinmoy, How Nolini-da 2004, pp. 6–7. Chinmoy claimed that for about eight years, he was the personal secretary to the General Secretary of the ashram, Nolini Kanta Gupta. Chinmoy translated his writings from Bengali into English.Chinmoy, Sri Chinmoy Answers, Part 23, Agni, New York, 2000, p. 28
Move to the United States According to Sri Chinmoy, in 1964 he was prompted to move to the United States in response to a "message from within" to be of service to people in the West searching for spiritual fulfillment.Chinmoy, Sri Chinmoy Answers, Part 23, Agni, New York, 2000, p. 48 With the help of Sam Spanier, Eric Hughes, and other American sponsors connected with the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, he emigrated to New York City.Chinmoy, Sri Chinmoy Answers, Part 23 2000, p. 28.
He applied for a job as junior clerk at the Indian consulate, despite his lack of formal education. He received support and encouragement from his colleagues and bosses and was invited to give talks on Hinduism. He started to give talks at universities and later, at the United Nations.Sri Chinmoy, Sri Chinmoy Answers, Part 23 2000, pp. 40–50
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Sri Chinmoy continued giving lectures and talks at universities around the U.S. on spiritual topics. In 1974, he gave lectures in 50 states at 50 universities, and these lectures were published as a six-part book series entitled 50 Freedom-Boats to One Golden Shore (1974). In the 1970s and 1980s he traveled around Europe, Asia, and Australia lecturing at universities, resulting in the publication of The Oneness of the Eastern Heart and the Western Mind.Sri Chinmoy, 50 Freedom Boats to One Golden Shore, 1974, Agni Press, Parts 1-6. Chinmoy has also published books, essays, spiritual poetry, plays, and commentaries on the Vedas.
In 1966 Chinmoy opened a Sri Chinmoy Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico.Sri Chinmoy, 'Sri Chinmoy Answers, Part 3 Agni Press, 1995, p6 Up until the late 1970s the main Sri Chinmoy study centers were in New York, Florida and the West Indies.Sri Chinmoy, Earth's cry meets heaven's smile, part 3, Agni Press, 1978. Over the next few decades Sri Chinmoy Centers were opened and established in multiple cities in the US, Europe, Australasia, South Africa and South America totaling 350 centers worldwide. In 1973, the New York Times wrote that Sri Chinmoy was "revered in India as one of the few holy men to have reached Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the absolute highest level of consciousness".
During the 1970s Chinmoy began playing and composing on the flute and esraj. In 1984, he started giving free 'Peace Concerts' around the world. The largest concert was in Montreal, for 19,000 people.Sri Chinmoy in Concert. US.SriChinmoyCentre.org. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
While in America in the 1970s, Sri Chinmoy attracted followers such as musicians Carlos Santana, John McLaughlin, Narada Michael Walden, Roberta Flack, Clarence Clemons, Premik Russell Tubbs and Boris Grebenshchikov. Sri Chinmoy offered the musicians a disciplined spiritual path that forbade the use of recreational drugs including alcohol and encouraged music and poetry as expressions of thankfulness to the Divine.Weinstein, Norman. Carlos Santana: A Biography. ABC-CLIO, 2009. p. 50.
Santana and McLaughlin stayed with Sri Chinmoy for a number of years before leaving. In 1973 they released an album based on Sri Chinmoy's teachings, titled Love Devotion Surrender. McLaughlin was a Sri Chinmoy follower from 1970 to 1975.Stump, Paul. Go Ahead John: The Music of John McLaughlin. SAF Publishing, 2000. p. 92. , In 1971 he formed the Mahavishnu Orchestra, named for the spiritual name Sri Chinmoy had given him. McLaughlin introduced Santana to the guru,Nigro, Nicholas. The Spirituality of Carlos Santana. Hal Leonard Corporation, 2014. GoogleBooks pt. 8.Slavicek, Louise Chipley. Carlos Santana. Infobase Publishing, 2006. p. 80. and Santana and his wife Deborah were subsequently Chinmoy followers from 1972 to 1981. Santana said, "Without a guru I serve only my own vanity, but with him I can be of service to you and everybody. I am the strings, but he is the musician. Guru has graduated from the Harvards of consciousness and sits at the feet of God."Heath, Chris. "The Epic Life of Carlos Santana". Rolling Stone. 16 March 2000. Retrieved on 10 August 2008. Under the spiritual name Devadip – meaning "Lamp of God", "Eye of God", and "Light of God"Santana, Deborah. Space Between the Stars: My Journey to an Open Heart. Random House, 2009. p. 241. – that Chinmoy gave him, Santana released three albums: Illuminations (1974), Oneness (1979), and The Swing of Delight (1980). In 2000, he told Rolling Stone that things soured between him and Chinmoy in the 1980s. Santana emphasized that he took much that was good from his years with the guru, even though when he left, Sri Chinmoy "was vindictive for a while. He told all my friends not to call me ever again, because I was to drown in the dark sea of ignorance for leaving him." In 2017 Santana told Rolling Stone, "I'm really grateful for those 10 years I spent with that spiritual master."Browne, David. "The Last Word: Carlos Santana on Turning 70, Trump's 'Darkness'". Rolling Stone. 13 July 2017.
Spiritual teacher Frederick Lenz became a follower around 1972, but in 1981 he broke with Sri Chinmoy and became a guru on his own. Spiritual author Lex Hixon was a member of the Sri Chinmoy Centre in the 1970s.Greenfield, Robert. Spiritual Supermarket: An Account of Gurus Gone Public in America. Saturday Review Press, 1975. p. 203.
Sri Chinmoy advocated "self-transcendence" by expanding one's consciousness to conquer the mind's perceived limitations,Chinmoy, Sri. "Limitation", university lecture in: The Oneness of the Eastern Heart and the Western Mind, Part 1. Agni Press, 2003. and this was applied to athletics. Olympic gold-medalist runner Carl Lewis was advised by Sri Chinmoy. He learned to meditate from Sri Chinmoy, and practices the techniques regularly. A devoted Christian, Lewis stated that his involvement with Sri Chinmoy was a step forward to spiritual fulfillment which strengthened his Christian beliefs.Lewis, Carl with Marx, Jeffrey. Inside Track: My Professional Life in Amateur Track and Field. Simon and Schuster, 1990. pp.56–61. In 2011 Lewis appeared in the short documentary Challenging Impossibility, which features the feats of strength demonstrated by Chinmoy.
According to the team's website, members of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team have swum the English Channel over 40 times. Other Chinmoy-sponsored athletic events include ultra-distance running, including the Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race; mountain climbing; and long-distance cycling. In 2010 Ashrita Furman, who holds over 150 Guinness World Records, stated that "the meditation he learned from Sri Chinmoy helps him to perform beyond his expectations."
In 1987 Sri Chinmoy inaugurated the Sri Chinmoy Oneness Home Peace Run, a relay style run for peace through many countries of the world where runners carry a flaming torch representing harmony. Sri Chinmoy described his concept as a "grassroots effort for peace". The 'Oneness Home' theme of the Peace Run, is that people are all peace-longing citizens on one single planet. "Worldwide torch relay reaches Cornwall". BBC News. 11 June 2011.
In 1991 Sri Chinmoy initiated the 'Oneness Heart Tears and Smiles' humanitarian service which sends food and medicine to those in need. The organisation, which as of 2007 served 136 countries, began with members of the Sri Chinmoy Centre distributing humanitarian aid to needy children and adults worldwide.Rouen, Ethan. "Sri Chinmoy, Spiritual Leader, dies in Queens". New York Daily News. 12 October 2007.The Oneness-Heart-Tears and Smiles – About Sri Chinmoy. OnenessHeart.org. Retrieved 27 July 2016. It works with NGOs or governments, and provides health, medical, and educational supplies to recipient nations. It is served by health professionals and private volunteers on five continents, in programs which provide disaster relief, regional development, and health and medical supplies.Oneness – Heart, Tears and Smiles. Crossroads Global Hand. Retrieved 27 July 2016.Welcome to The Oneness-Heart-Tears and Smiles International. OnenessHeart.org. Retrieved 27 July 2016. The 'Kids to kids' program sponsored by the Oneness Heart Tears and Smiles encourages school children to prepare packs of school supplies and toys for disadvantaged children in other communities.Poirier, Tracy. "'Kids To Kids' program embraced at east end school". Orléans Star. 10 May 2007.
Chinmoy travelled and dedicated his many activities and the events he founded to peace. He met with world figures, and was described as an ambassador of peace. Chinmoy met Mother Teresa on five separate occasions. On their second meeting in Rome, Italy during October 1994, Sri Chinmoy presented her with an award. During the ceremony, Mother Teresa said to Sri Chinmoy: "I am so pleased with all the good work you are doing for world peace and for people in so many countries. May we continue to work together and to share together all for the glory of God and for the good of man." Chinmoy met with Diana, Princess of Wales, at Kensington Palace on 21 May 1997.