Reflections on a Unique experience

Tuesday 16th October, 2007.

Visitors continue to arrive at Aspiration Ground, the final resting place of guru, Sri Chinmoy.

Sitting on the court, there is a sense of timelessness, as 24 hours a day people come to sit and meditate in silent contemplation. The silence is only very gently broken by a continuous flow of meditative music; some from the recordings of Sri Chinmoy, and others live performances from his students.

There is great beauty in the simplicity of the events unfolding. There is no set procedure, no formal time of meditation; in fact it feels there is no beginning and no ending. There is just a continuous line of pilgrims, who wait very patiently for their opportunity to pass the current resting place of Sri Chinmoy’s body.

It would be a mistake to describe this as a period of mourning. There is, of course, the very human grief of losing a loved person. But, at the same time, there is an awareness of the continued spirit, which Sri Chinmoy wished to offer. Amidst the feelings of human loss, there is also an increasing sense of real joy and happiness. I often recall the words of Sarada Devi, (consort of Sri Ramakrishna)

“The difference between a spiritual man and an ordinary man is very simple. Easily you can know the difference between the two. An ordinary man cries and sheds bitter tears when death approaches him; whereas a spiritual man, if he is really spiritual, he will laugh and laugh when death approaches him, for to him death is fun, nothing else”.

Related

• Farewell Sri Chinmoy by Sumangali Morhall
• Final poem – prayer of Sri Chinmoy
• Tributes from Sri Chinmoy Centre