With unseasonably warmer weather lately, we were fortunate to have the
tent opened up in the back so many people could sit outside on the
regular tennis court seating and still see the events at the front of
the tent. The function lasted four hours from beginning to end with
many exciting and inspiring moments.
Of course words cannot do justice to the feeling of what was truly
happening inwardly as we shared and received many blessings and
inspirational performances from others tonight. Ramamoorthy sang two
songs quite soulfully: Dheyane Janani and Jiban Debata to set the
mood at the start. Hiyaphul and Rashmani then came up to sing Hey
Gopal and Swapane Aso, joined by Sri Chinmoy himself, the creator of
almost all the songs being sung tonight.
Sri Chinmoy then read out the `My God-Hunger Cry' Prayers for the next
few weeks as we repeated them one at a time. This in itself is a form
of meditation which is at once interactive and introspective.
Kokan then came up and recited a number of poems by Sri Chinmoy in his
own powerful and soulful style. He also received a gift from Sri
Chinmoy for all his soulful recitals recently.
Aparajita was next to share his experiences from a recent trip to
India. He was there for many weeks teaching meditation and singing
songs by Sri Chinmoy to seekers in New Delhi. He showed slides as he
told many sweet stories of the kind hearted seekers there transporting
us to a land where the ancient devotion meets with the modern striving
for progress and growth. Many seekers were from advanced educational
institutions, yet the aspiration and sincere longing for a life of
devotion to God seemed to be present wherever Aparajita went.
Ashrita then shared with us a video of his most recent World Record
attempt and success in balancing 223 cigar boxes on his chin for over
5 seconds. He had to stack them all individually in such a way that he
could pick them up and place them all on his chin without having them
fall for at least five seconds. It looked very difficult and
precarious at the same time. Sri Chinmoy said that he gets `scared to
death' when he watches Ashrita's feats.
Mukul then shared with us a video about a project called `Kids to
Kids'. Part of the humanitarian aid organization called `Oneness-Heart
Tears and Smiles', this program offers opportunities to children
around the world to share things with other children who may be in
need of even the basic essentials of life. It encourages children to
become more self-giving and conscious of other people in other
countries and cultures. Sri Chinmoy commented that he felt that we can
expand our heart by first feeling like we belong to our parents, and
our village, then our town, province, country and then the world. He
said that "When we use our love there is no distance."
Next was Satyajit's performance and singing group. We sang Khama Karo
and The Supreme Chant after reciting this poem:
"My Supreme, My Supreme, My Supreme.
God can easily obliterate my past blunders
If He sees that the tears of my heart
Are absolutely sincere and pure."
Satyajit recited very soulfully and powerfully some prayers and
aphorisms of Sri Chinmoy as the musicians played in the background.
This style of performance is unique to Satyajit's group and can be
quite powerful and uplifting during a meditation.
Ranjit and his brother Unmesh then came up in their traditional Indian
dress with ochre turbans and simple single stringed instruments. They
sang two songs in Bengali, one of Sri Chinmoy's and one other
devotional song which seemed to transport us to the simple devotion of
an Indian village.
Sri Chinmoy always celebrates Akuti's birthday at this time of year.
She is the oldest living disciple at 91 but looks quite younger and
gets around like someone 30 years younger. She has been the president
of the Connecticut Centre for over 37 years and still lives in
Connecticut but travels down to New York quite a bit. In celebrating
her birthday tonight, Sri Chinmoy said, "You are my heart's true joy
and my life's true pride." He then offered her `infinite gratitude,
gratitude, gratitude' as the cake came out and we sang the two
birthday songs. Sri Chinmoy then handed out a special prasad made for
the occasion, giant cookies wrapped in a bright silver foil.
After a few more birthday blessings and prasad as midnight approached,
we slowly made our way home into the warm November night which seemed
now a bit more silent and peaceful after a long and eventful evening
at Aspiration-Ground.
Gratefully,
Arpan
Originally posted on Sri Chinmoy Inspiration Group #19186