Sri Chinmoy









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Profile
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Beliefs
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Links
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Bibliography
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    I. Group Profile

    

    

      

    1. 
Name:
Sri Chinmoy

      

    2. 
Founder:
Chinmoy Kumar Ghose, known as Sri Chinmoy

      

    3. 
Date of Birth:
1931

      

    4. 
Birth Place:
Bangladesh

      

    5. 
Year Founded:
1964

      

    6. 
Brief History


      Sri Chinmoy was orphaned at the age of 12.  At that time he entered Aurobindo Ashram, a
  spiritual community in South India.  As a child Chinmoy had profound mystical
  experiences (Melton, 1991, p.96). He resided at the ashram for 20 years practicing
  meditation and spiritual discipline.  There he attained the level of Nirvikalpa Samadhi
  which is "the highest mystical state compatible with functioning in the physical world"
  (Jackson, p.3).  In 1964 he received a call from God that took him to New York.  Three
  years after his arrival he founded the first Sri Chinmoy Centre.  Today there are Sri
  Chinmoy Centres in 50 different countries the purpose of which are to provide a place
  to hold meditation classes and athletic events. ("Sri Chinmoy, the Composer")   For the
  past 30 years Sri Chinmoy has resided in Jamaica, New York promoting world peace and
  helping people search for inner truth.

      

    7. 
Sacred or Revered Texts:


      The Vedas, The Upanishads, and The Bhagavad Gita are the most sacred and influential
  texts used by Chinmoy and his followers. (Chinmoy, 1996)   In addition some of the many
  books authored by Sri Chinmoy could also be considered sacred.

      

    8. Cult or Sect:
      9. 
Negative sentiments are typically implied when the concepts "cult" 
and "sect" are employed in popular discourse.  Since the Religious 
Movements Homepage seeks to promote religious tolerance and 
appreciation of the positive benefits of pluralism and religious 
diversity in human cultures, we encourage the use of alternative 
concepts that do not carry implicit negative stereotypes.  For a 
more detailed discussion of both scholarly and popular usage of the 
concepts "cult" and "sect," please visit our 

Conceptualizing "Cult" and "Sect" page, where you will find 
additional links to related issues. 

      

    9. 
Size of Group:


      5,000 followers worldwide, 1,500 in the United States, and 1,000 in Canada (Melton,
  1996, p.876).

      

    

    

    

    
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Profile
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Beliefs
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Links
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Bibliography
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    II. Beliefs of the Group

    

      

      Sri Chinmoy spent 20 years in the Aurobindo Ashram of South India, but does not
  consider his work a succession of that of Sri Aurobindo Ghose, a well known yoga master.
  Chinmoy strongly emphasizes meditation and seeks to live his life as an example of
  peace.  World peace, world cooperation, international harmony, and personal harmony are
  what he is striving to achieve.   He has dedicated his life to spreading the message
  that it is not only possible and but fate for the world to unite as a family and
  together aspire to peace (Chinmoy, 1996, p.xi).  Chinmoy claims that his role as a
  Spiritual Master is "to help seekers live so that these inner riches [peace, joy, light,
  and love] can illumine their lives."(Chinmoy, 1996, p.255) Chinmoy attempts to spread
  his message through literature, music, art, and athletics (See Remarks below).  Chinmoy
  places a special emphasis on the surpassing of self-imposed limitations.   He does not
  claim to be the Supreme Guru but he does claim to believe in one.  Sri Chinmoy is not
  just an audience group as it may appear.   He has devout followers which he calls his
  children.

      The life he encourages for his "children" is one of regular meditation, living and
  working in the world, vegetarianism, and celibacy (Melton, 1996, p. 876).  Chinmoy is
  accepting of other religions and ways of living but strongly encourages followers to
  strive to achieve his ideals.

      
 Remarks:


      Sri Chinmoy is recognized as a writer, musician, artist, and athlete.  Chinmoy has
  written over 1,300 books most of which are transcripts of his talks, collections of
his poetry
 or selections of spiritual aphorisms (Melton, 1991, p. 97).  As a musician Chinmoy has
  given approximately 470 Peace Concerts since 1984. (According to "The Brooklyn Website"
  p.1)  He has written approximately 13,000 songs to date and plays at least 70 different
  musical instruments!(Jackson, p.3)  Chinmoy has drawn 5-1/2 million "Dream-Freedom-Peace
  Birds" that are being exhibitted around the world.  (According to "The Brooklyn Website"
  p.2)  Chinmoy is probably most well known for promoting endurance runs and marathons
  worldwide.  He founded the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team which organizes approximately 500
  races around the world each year.   The reason for doing this is not to raise money (it's
  a nonprofit organization) but to promote peace across the world.

              An honor bestowed on Chinmoy is that he is Spiritual Advisor to the United
  Nations (Chinmoy, 1995).  For the past 23 years he has offered prayer and meditation
  meetings for anyone to attend every Tuesday and Friday at the U.N. (According to "Sri
  Chinmoy" Hinduism Today Issue 94-02 p.1).  Secretary-General U Thant, a personal friend
  of Chinmoy's, originally invited Chinmoy to offer the weekly meditations  (According to
  "Nepals' Monarch..." Hinduism Today Issue 95-04, p.1)

              Another method Chinmoy uses in order to spread his message of peace is to meet
  with world leaders.  He has met with dozens in the past and has been described as the
  international ambassador of peace (Melton, 1996, p.876).  He has met with Pope Paul VI
  (According to "Bomb Threats" webpage p.1), Nepal's Monarch (King Birendra), (According
  to "Nepals' Monarch..." Hinduism Today Issue 95-04, p.1) and Mikhail Gorbachev.
  Chinmoy is reported to be a close friend and confidant of Michail Gorbachev.

      

    

    

    

    
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    III. Links to Sri Chinmoy Web Sites

    

    

      
"About Sri Chinmoy"


      A short page that lists the accomplishments of Sri Chinmoy.  There is also a picture
  of him here.

      
http://www.peacerun.com/Chinmoy.html


      
American Atheist


      This is a slanderous account Sri Chinmoy's group by a former follower.  It is
  especially concerned with a specific "Peace Plaque" that has been placed at the Statue
  of Liberty by Sri Chinmoy.

      
http://nowscape.com/atheista.011


      
The Brooklyn Website
  "World Peace Not From Destruction But From Illumination of The Mind"


      Sri Chinmoy Offers Peace Program At Hiroshima and Nagasaki.This page is relates a
  summary of Sri Chinmoy's 7-week tour of Japan.  Sri Chinmoy met the Peace Torch being
  carried in the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run, one of history's longest relays.

      
http://brooklynny.com/neighborhoods/stories/srichinmoy.html


      

  "Bless You Sir, May I Jog Another?"


                                       by Devon Jackson: Outside magazine October, 1996This
  is an account of the world's longest footrace that took place in Queens, New York.  There
  is an interesting discussion of Sri Chinmoy's history and accomplishments interspersed
  throughout it.  There is certainly a satirical flavor present in this paper.

      
http://outside.starwave.com/magazine/1096/9610febl.html


      

  "Nepal's Monarch Dedicates Unscaled Peak to Peace"


                                       from Hinduism Today:  Issue 95-04.  An account of
  Chinmoy's visit to Nepal including a conversation with King Birenda.

      
http://www.spiritweb.org/HinduismToday/95-04-Nepals_Monarch.html


      

  "Hinduism in a Nutshell!"


                                       This is a valuable page for those who are not
  familiar with Hinduism.  It covers the basic features of Hinduism, Beliefs, Goals,....
  and provides definitions of frequently used words associated with Hinduism.

      
http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/%7Ehsc/hindu.html


      
                                 Peace
  Poems by Sri Chinmoy


                                       This page gives examples of Chinmoy's Peace Poems.

      
http://www.peacerun.com/peacepoems.html


      

  Sri Chinmoy


                                       This is an interview from the magazine Hinduism
  Today:  Issue 94-02.  Sri Chinmoy discusses his views on, among other things, how he
  views American's family life.

      
http://www.spiritweb.org/HinduismToday/94-02-Sri_Chinmoy.html


      

  Sri Chinmoy, the composer


                                       A short history of Sri Chinmoy.  This also contains a
  picture of him.

      
http://www.neue-dimension.com/neudim/portraits/chinmoy_e.html


      
"Welcome to the Sri Chinmoy
  Peace Run"


       This is the homepage for the Peace Run '97, a marathon sponsored by Sri Chinmoy's
  marathon team.  It offers many other links to related topics.

      
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/peacerun/


      

    

    

    

    
  |
Profile
   |
Beliefs
   |
Links
   |
Bibliography
   |


    

    



    IV. Bibliography

    

    


    

    Chinmoy, Sri. 1995.

    
The Garland of Nation-souls: Complete Talks at the United Nations
. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications.

    

    Chinmoy, Sri. 1995.

    
Heart Songs, Everyday Prayer & Meditations.
  Minneapolis, MN: Hazeldon.

    

    Chinmoy, Sri. 1996.

    
Commentaries on The Vedas The Upanishads & The Bhagavad Gita
.  New York: Aum Publications.

    

    
Hinduism Today
. 1995.

    "Nepal's Monarch Dedicates Unscaled Peak to Peace." Available on line at:

    http://www.spiritweb.org/HinduismToday/95-04-Nepals-Monarch.html

    

    Jackson, Devon. 1996.

    "Bless You Sir, May I Jog Another?"
Outside Magazine
 (October) Available on line at:

     http://outside.starwave.com/magazine/1096/9610febl.html

    

    Melton, J. Gordon. 1996.

    
The Encyclopedia of American Religions
.Detroit: Gale Research. pp 875-76.

    

    Melton, J. Gordon. 1991.

    
Religious Leaders of America
.Detroit: Gale Research. pp. 96-97.

    

    Union of International Associations. 1996.

    "The World Guide to Religious and Spiritual Organizations."New Providence, NJ: Munchen.
  p. 205.

    

    


    

    

    
Created by
Victoria Johnston


    For Sociology 257, Fall, 1997

    Last modified: 07/18/01