Moving On
November 2007
Sri Chinmoy, a spiritual teacher who dedicated his life in the service of humanity, passed away on the morning of October 11, 2007.
In his 43 years in the West, he endeavoured to inspire and serve mankind with his prayers and meditations, literary, musical and artistic works.
The genial Indian-born spiritual leader, who used strenuous exercise and art to spread his message of world harmony and inner peace, died on Thursday at his home in Jamaica, Queens, where he ran a meditation centre. He was 76. The cause was a heart attack, said representatives of his organisation, the Sri Chinmoy Center.
Sri Chinmoy spread his philosophy through his own way of life, exercising and creating art and music. His followers said he had written 1,500 books, 115,000 poems and 20,000 songs, created 200,000 paintings and had given almost 800 peace concerts.
Drawing upon Hindu principles, Sri Chinmoy advocated a spiritual path to God through prayer and meditation. He emphasised 'love, devotion and surrender' and recommended that his disciples nurture their spirituality by taking on seemingly impossible physical challenges.
Sri Chinmoy gathered with his disciples at a private clay tennis court off 164th Street that doubled as a verdant meditation site known as Aspiration Ground. He built a worldwide network of meditation centres, and had more than 7,000 disciples. On 11th, at the compound, Sri Chinmoy's followers – dressed in their traditional white attire – lined up at an altar where he lay in an open coffin. Memorial services are planned throughout the weekend.
After a knee injury ended his running, in his 60s, Sri Chinmoy began lifting weights and within several years could shoulder-press more than 7,000 pounds on a special lifting apparatus. He publicly lifted heavy objects including airplanes, schoolhouses and pickup trucks, to help increase awareness of the need for humanitarian aid.
Mr. Gorbachev wrote that Sri. Chinmoy's passing was 'a loss for the whole world' and that 'in our hearts, he will forever remain a man who dedicated his whole life to peace.'
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