Entries from November 2008 ↓

Throughout the year, the Sri Chinmoy Centre in New York offer free introductory meditation classes for people wishing to learn how to meditate. Recent classes have been well attended with over 400 people attending different sessions.

The meditation classes are based on the teachings of meditation teacher, Sri Chinmoy. Sri Chinmoy, born in India, lived in Queens, New York from April 1964 to his mahasamadhi in October 2007. As well as establishing a thriving meditation centre in New York, there are now Sri Chinmoy centres in over 60 different countries.

The essence of meditation is to experience the peace buried deep within. As Sri Chinmoy says:

” I meditate
So that I can inundate
My entire being
With the omnipotent
Power of peace.”

- Sri Chinmoy

For more information about New York Meditation, kindly visit: NYC meditation.org

Also pages at Sri Chinmoy Centre – New York Meditation

Sri Chinmoy in New York Times

Photo by Jowan

Report by Manatita

It is undoubtedly true to say that Oslo city in the last couple of days was quite cold. Today, however, October 27th, 2008, at about 1230 hrs, the breeze was quite fresh and the sun was shining intermittently in and through the heavens. Here at Honnorbryggen, Aker Brygge Port, Oslo, Norway, a small but expectant group of about one hundred and fifty people, were gathered together, eagerly and enthusiastically awaiting a very special Ceremony. It was about 12.30 p.m; the second World Harmony Interfaith Walk, and the unveiling of the Sri Chinmoy Statue at the Eternal Peace Flame, was about to begin.

The Walk commenced about 12.45 p.m. Present were Interfaith guests, dignitaries, ambassadors, friends, well-wishers and spectators alike. Two Interfaith delegates carried the lighted World Harmony Run (WHR) Torch, which served as a symbol of friendship, harmony and mutual understanding of the need for universal peace.

The World Harmony Interfaith Walk arrived at the Eternal Peace Flame and the Statue at about 1300 hrs. There Husiar – one of the main organisers of the programme – acted as Master of Ceremonies and conducted the proceedings. To welcome the runners, a Norwegian Children’s Choir, known as Aspirant Kortet, and their lovely conductress, gave an enchanting performance of the World Harmony Run song, the Norwegian National Anthem and a sweet, childlike and traditional song called Fola, Fola, Blakken. As the WHR runners were introduced, they ran into the Ceremony, and were heartily received by all present. The Interfaith leaders were asked to lead the group in a minute of silence for peace. They all offered a prayer, and Husiar concluded with another minutes’ silence.

Present were the Deputy Bishop of Oslo, Olav Dag Haughe, Imam Hafiz Mehboob Ur-Rehman, Spiritual Leader of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Norway, Venerable Minh Tanh, Head of the Vietnamese Buddhist Society in Norway, Mr. Gopal Sharma, past President of the Sanatan Hindu Temple, Alia Kirsten Arnesan, Head of the Sufi group in Oslo and Rabbi….

The former Mayor of Oslo, Mr. Svenn Kristiansen’s speech preceded him, as it was uncertain as to whether he would arrive on time. However, he turned up immediately afterwards, and was honoured with the Torch Bearer Award of the World Harmony Run, for being an open-hearted champion of world peace. In his speech the former Mayor recognized the importance of the World Harmony Interfaith Walk, and expressed his pride in seeing people from so many countries working together to promote peace in their day to day lives and in their communities. Former Mayor Kristiansen also mentioned Sri Chinmoy and his gift of the Eternal Peace Flame, to the people of Oslo, his dedication to fostering religious harmony and oneness amongst peoples and nations. He also pledged his support for these noble ideals. He finally thanked the children and youth, recognizing them as the hope and promise of the world.

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Sri Chinmoy always saw sports – and running in particular – as tremendously beneficial to the spiritual life, both in terms of keeping the body healthy and for the opportunities it afforded for people to reach their highest potential. In 1977, he founded the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team to serve the worldwide running community, and it has since grown to be the largest organiser of endurance sports events in the world. One very popular race it organises is the 24 Hour Self Transcendence Race in London every October. Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team member Matthias Eckerle went over to help, and he has kindly provided us with this eyewitness report:

The race started at 12pm Saturday, continuing around a 400m track right through the night till 12pm the next day. The field of runners came from many different countries. As well as organising the race, there were also two members of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team participating. One of the, Asprihanal Aalto from Finland, has the distinction of being a four-time winner of the world’s longest race, the 3100 Mile Self-Transcendence race. Alongside the faster runners, it was especially aspiring to see many older people also participating – the oldest was 77 years!

For me, it was a nice experience to take care of the runners and to meet their requests for coffee, tea and soup – even after hours of running most of them were still able to smile! With in a couple of hours, we knew the names of all the runners, and they really appreciated this personal treatment.

Some of them (including the winner) ran very fast in the beginning before slowing down towards the end of the race. Others were mre constant, including Asprihanal, who in the last hour put on a surprising burst of speed to run 7 kilometers in 40 minutes to end up in 7th place. One of our jobs as helpers is to run along with the runners forthe last 2 or 3 minutes to mark thir finishing spot – I was running with Asprihanal, and it was a very nice feeling – he really is a very humble guy who doesnt think of boasting about his considerable achievements.

The race was won by Chris Finhill covering a distance of 243km followed in 2nd place by Ireland’s Eoin Keith who ran 235km, breaking the Irish national record along the way. However, a race like this is really all about competing, and at the end everybody was honoured with a race medal and photo commemorating their achievement. It was very inspiring for me, and I think I will definitely work towards entering this race myself at some point in the future.

Race photos: Alan Young