Part I
SCA 32-42. On 19 December 1993 the staff of the international monthly newspaper //Hinduism Today// invited Sri Chinmoy to visit and bless their premises on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami and his disciples lovingly welcomed Sri Chinmoy and some of his students to their ashram for a traditional puja and a tour of the beautiful grounds, followed by a special luncheon. Afterwards Sri Chinmoy was interviewed by the Editor of //Hinduism Today//, the Reverend Sivasiva Palaniswami; the Managing Editor, the Reverend Arumugaswami; and other senior editors. These are excerpts from Sri Chinmoy's answers to their soulful questions.Visiting Hinduism Today
Sri Chinmoy: You sow the seed of light everywhere. Your own dedication is touching the very heart of humanity’s aspiration.Editor: We only live and exist because of people like you, believe me.
Rev. Palaniswami speaks briefly about the publication and then Sri Chinmoy’s students perform the song that Sri Chinmoy composed for Hinduism Today.
Editor: How precious that is! This definitely is a first in our editorial offices. I wonder, in the spirit of that glorious benediction, if you might say a few words that could help guide our efforts. Every order of Hindu monks has something — perhaps an eye clinic or a school for children or orphans — to balance their contemplative enterprises. You are the great example of “giving back.” Hinduism Today is our contribution, and we need to know from you how to do it better — what you would like to see. What does the Hindu heart and soul need from all of us?
Sri Chinmoy: No hyperbole, your Hinduism Today not only embodies the supreme wisdom-light of the hoary past, but also reveals and manifests the infinite Compassion, the infinite Concern and the infinite Blessings of the Indian Trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva: Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver and Shiva the Transformer. According to Indian theory, Lord Shiva plays the role of the destroyer. But according to my aspiring heart, he never destroys anything; he only transforms. He transforms our ignorance-night into wisdom-light. Not only the Blessings, Compassion and Concern of the Trinity, but also the Blessings of the Indian cosmic gods and goddesses I see and feel when I read your Hinduism Today.
Over the years I have studied many, many books on Hinduism written by scholars, professors, truth-seekers and God-lovers, and before I pass behind the curtain of Eternity, I shall read and study many more. Also, I personally have offered my tiniest drop of aspiration to the infinite ocean of Hinduism. But among all these books, your magazine stands unparalleled. I use the term ‘magazine’, but it is not merely a magazine. It is not just a few pages of paper with ink. It is not something that is read just to stimulate our vital or feed our curiosity — far from it! Your Hinduism Today is a divine and sumptuous feast that is nourishing the God-hungry heart of the entire aspiring mankind.
When I read Hinduism Today, I definitely see the divine dances of the Indian cosmic gods and goddesses and hear their celestial music. The loftiest vision of the Indian gods and goddesses you are so devotedly, lovingly and self-givingly offering to the world at large with utmost humility, which is absolutely the best quality that we human beings can ever dare to aspire for. Your Hinduism Today is flooded with supernal humility.
We are living in the scientific age of computers. The poor Vedic seers did not have computers; they did not even dream of them. Another reason I appreciate and admire your Hinduism Today is that it offers the ancient lore of the Vedic seers but distributes it in the ultra-modern way. The twentieth century demands a different type of treatment, and you are combining the inner world of silence and the outer world of sound most perfectly. Both worlds you are bringing to the fore and keeping together.
I am so happy to learn that this magazine will touch many parts of the world, and especially India, where Hinduism had its origin. In Hinduism, the truth-seeker and God-lover claims each creation of God as his own, very own. By virtue of his prayers and meditations, he offers to the world at large the Message-Light and the Nectar-Delight of the ever-transcending Beyond.
Hinduism Today, to your all-illumining soul I bow and I bow. Hinduism Today, to your all-loving heart I bow and I bow. Hinduism Today, to your all-serving life I bow and I bow.
Editor: Thank you, Guru. The staff has assembled a number of queries. I think each one of them has some questions.
Sri Chinmoy: I would be most happy to be of service to you. Nothing would give me a greater sense of satisfaction than to be of service to other aspiring human beings, because in our hearts we are all the time growing together and in our souls we are all the time glowing together.
