The works of Sri Chinmoy
The message and actions of spiritual leader and peace philosopher Sri Chinmoy on inner peace and global unity have touched the hearts and resonated with millions of people around the world, with accolades from some of the world's most respected figures.
Sri Chinmoy is an Indian-born, American-based spiritual teacher, peace philosopher and multi-faceted artist who has spent his life in the service of peace and humanity. From 1970 until his death, he was the leader of peace meditations at the United Nations, but also held peace meditations at other institutions such as UNESCO, the United States Congress and parliaments of various countries.
His humanitarian efforts for the betterment of humanity and world peace took many forms, which are still active in the cause of peace today. The Sri Chinmoy Oneness- Home Peace Run (World Harmony Run) is a worldwide torchlight peace run held several times a year. This international programme has already covered a distance of more than 635,000 miles through more than 155 countries, with millions of people taking a step for peace and solidarity between nations. Sri Chinmoy was an active and respected sportsman. His name is associated with the Sri Chinmoy Self- Transcendence 3100 mile ultra running race, which is still held regularly and is officially the world's longest ultra running race.
As part of the Peace Blossoms programme he founded, Sri Chinmoy has worked tirelessly to strengthen international solidarity, with more than 800 landmarks dedicated to world peace around the world. Sri Chinmoy's Peace Blossoms serve as a daily reminder to the world of our common aspiration for individual and international harmony," he said.
153 countries have joined this global programme, whereby their leaders have officially declared their countries as Sri Chinmoy Peace Flower Nation members of the Peace Flower Programme. The programme aims to strengthen national cooperation, dialogue and commitment to peace.
In addition to his transnational programmes, his artistic work encompasses the richness of the quest for peace and self-realisation through more than 1,600 volumes of poetry, essays and short stories, many of which have been translated into more than 25 languages around the world. In recognition of the creation of these unparalleled literary works, his literary work was honoured with the World Peace Literature Award in 1995.
In addition to his books, he has given hundreds of award-winning lectures around the world and in all states of the United States at universities such as Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, Yale and the University of Tokyo. For his efforts and contributions, he has been awarded honorary doctorates by several universities.
His musicianship has reached monumental proportions with the recognition of many of the world's great musical legends and Grammy Award-winning artists. He has composed more than 23,000 songs and given more than 770 free peace concerts around the world in famous concert halls such as London's Royal Albert Hall, the Sydney Opera House, New York's Carnegie Hall and Tokyo's Budokan Hall. His largest audience in 2000 was 19,000 people in Montreal, Canada.
His abstract paintings, which he called Jharna Kala, which means source art in Bengali, comprise a collection of 140,000 paintings and nearly sixteen million bird drawings, exhibited worldwide in such prestigious venues as the Louvre in Paris, the United Nations in New York, Carnegie Hall, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Harvard University, Il Saggiatore in Rome, and the Künstlerhaus in Vienna. These works, created in a deep meditative state, carry a message of peace and bring colour to the viewer's life.
Sri Chinmoy was known to the world as a peace philosopher and artist, but he was also highly respected and respected in religious circles as a spiritual teacher and leader, although he never founded a religion. He was invited to open the Parliament of the World's Religions on several occasions.
As a spiritual teacher he has disciples all over the world. He called his yoga the way of the heart, combining the inner peace of the East with the outer dynamism of the West. The organizations he has founded around the world, in addition to organizing free cultural and sporting events at Sri Chinmoy Centres (which are held in the spirit of the master's philosophy), have raised and distributed tens of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid to countries on six continents of the world since 1990. At the special request of the UN Under-Secretary-General, his organization has pioneered the sending of humanitarian aid to needy peoples in many countries.
Its humanitarian service organisation, Unity Heartbeats and Smiles, has collected and distributed millions of dollars worth of medical supplies across Asia and Africa.
Sri Chinmoy, as a student of peace (he referred to himself only as a student of peace), has engaged in dialogue with many leaders and eminent personalities on world peace and spiritual values, promoting the dream of a shared world peace. They included heads of state, ambassadors, representatives of many religions, university leaders, artists, performers and sportsmen.
His lifelong work and service for peace has been recognised with many major awards around the world, including the highest honours of several countries and organisations.
- Pilgrim for Peace Award - International Peace Centre, Rome
- (previously awarded to Mother Teresa, President Mikhail Gorbachev and Pope John Paul II)
- Gandhi Peace Prize - shared by Coretta Scott King and Sri Chinmoy
- World Literary Peace Prize - Washington University, English Department
- Canadian Ambassador for Peace - Statement by hundreds of Canadian parliamentarians
- Ambassador for Peace of Malta - by unanimous vote of the Maltese Parliament
- Médaille d'Or (Literary Gold Medal) - Lutéce International Academy, Paris
- Presidential Medal - Michail Kovac, President of Slovakia
- Nehru Medal - UNESCO, Paris
- Honorary Doctorate - Pontifical Catholic University, Campinos Brazil
- Peace Teacher Award - University of Texas at Austin, Department of Sociology
- Universal Voice for Peace Award - University of Ottawa, Department of Music
- Citation from Cambridge University - Dean of the Chapel, King's College
- Citation from Harvard University - Harvard University Pluralism Project
- The UN Heart for Development - Mr. Mark Mallock Brown, Assistant Secretary-General,
- Director, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
- Citation from Oslo University - Institute for Cultural Studies
- Jesse Owens Humanitarian Medal - Jesse Owens Foundation
- Mother Teresa Medal - Boris Trajkovski, President of Macedonia
- Presidential Medal of the President of Macedonia - Macedonia's highest award
- Presidential Medal of Honour of Indonesia - Indonesia's highest award
- East Timor Freedom Medal - East Timor's highest award
- Pro Cultura Hungarica - Hungary's highest cultural award
- Distinguished University Professor - Russian Institute of Pediatric Hematology
- Gold Medal of Honour of the Moscow International University
- Medal of Peace and Friendship between Nations, Vietnam
- One of the highest Vietnamese honours awarded to foreign nationals
- Heart of Europe Award - Austria, Members of Parliament of the major parties
- Medal of the Republic of Hungary - President of the Republic Ferenc Mádl
- Doctor of Philosophy in Peace Studies
- and the promotion of world peace - International University, Cambodia
- Doctor of Philosophy in Peace Studies
- Stamford University, Bangladesh
Other university awards and recognition:
- Honorary Visiting Scholar, 1978 (given by Pacific School of Religion, University of California at Berkeley, USA)
- World Citizen Humanitarian Award - World Citizen Humanitarian Award, 1991 (World Peace University, Oregon, USA)
- Matsunaga Institute for Peace Award, 1993 (given by: University of Hawaii Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace Hawaii, USA)
- Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations Honorary Degree, 1994 (conferred by St. Petersburg State University, Russia)
- Honorary Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations - Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations Honorary Degree, 1994 (Donetsk University, Ukraine)
- World Peace Literature Award, 1995 (given by the University of Washington Department of English, Seattle, Washington, USA)
- Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Science, 1995 (awarded by St. Mark's Major Seminary and College, Minnesota, USA)
- Doctor of Philosophy in Peace Education Studies, 1995 (conferred by the Pontifical Catholic University of St. Mary's Seminary and Minster of the Catholic Church, Brazil)
- Dreamer of Peace Award 1998 (awarded by the University of British Columbia, Canada)
- A Student of Peace Award, 1998 (given by the University of Victoria, Canada)
- India's Peace-Service-Tree Award, 1998 (given by Florida International University, USA)
- Peace Educator Award, 1998 (given by: University of Texas at Austin Department of Sociology and Ad Hoc Committee on Peace and Conflict Studies, Austin, Texas, USA)
- The Dreamer of a Peace-Filled World Award, 1998 (presented by the University of Hawaii, Hawaii, USA)
- Universal Voice of Peace Award, 1999 (given by the University of Ottawa, Canada)
- Messenger of the Millennium Award, 1999 (given by: St. John's University Department of Theology and Religious Studies, Queens, NY, USA)
- Citation of Honour from Harvard University, 2000 (given by St. John's Seminary, St. John's Seminary, Queens, New York, 2000): The Pluralism Project at Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA)
