Programme Honouring Ananda and Darshanika Guruge

On 21 April 2007, Dr. Ananda Guruge³ and his wife, Darshanika, joined Sri Chinmoy and his students at Aspiration-Ground meditation garden. Excerpts from the function follow.

The Singers performed songs that Sri Chinmoy dedicated to Dr. Guruge and Darshanika.

Sri Chinmoy (to Darshanika): These songs are my prayerful songs, and I have dedicated them to your souls, to your beautiful, most beautiful, powerful, most powerful souls. We sang to you all the songs that are dedicated to your soul and to his soul, most beautiful, most powerful souls.

(To Dr. Guruge) I love her, I love you, I admire you and I adore you.

Remarks by Dr. Ananda Guruge: Sri Chinmoy, your Holiness, it is with great delight that Darshanika and I look forward to these two events in April and in August. Every song that was sung here has not only been prayerful, but brings memories that are very dear to both of us. We remember the moments when these songs were composed, how they were sung.

I remember when you wrote the song about the glasses and the non-glasses. That day I forgot my glasses in the room in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. When I walked in, you immediately noticed that I was without glasses. Now after thirty years I am reading without glasses. And on the eve of my going to get my operation done for the eyes, you called to say, “I am putting a force, a strong force on you. Everything will go well.”

These are wonderful things that we will never forget. You predicted that I would be one day without glasses. With glasses I have one character, without glasses I will have another character. As I listen to the words of the song, I find that without glasses I am supposed to be more compassionate, and I always try to develop compassion because that is what has driven me.

These are memories that go very far, very deep, that bring about great affection, and we always value the sentiments that you express. Darshanika and I have found in you a friend, and more than that, a great brother. That’s why we love you, we have the greatest affection for you.

There is some kind of connection that brings you and Darshanika and me together, and this we always remember. Every incident in our life, there is some way that you come in. We are very grateful to you, and on this occasion too, I want to pay my respects and say you have served this country for 43 years. Humanity you have served even longer. And we wish you the best of health and long life, and the loyalty of all of us. Thank you very much.

Sri Chinmoy: From the depths of my silence-heart I am offering you my soul’s infinite gratitude, my heart’s infinite gratitude and my life’s infinite, infinite, infinite gratitude, for you and Darshanika are so kind to join our family. Now we belong to the same family, and the same aspiration we have to please our Lord Buddha in His own Way. Lord Buddha has showered His choicest Blessings upon us – upon you, upon Darshanika and upon me – His infinite Blessings. We are carrying his inner light. Wherever people are hungry for it, we are extremely eager to offer his light. You have received in measureless measure Lord Buddha’s light.

Five or six times or even more, when I was in Thailand, Lord Buddha came to make me happy, extremely happy, with His blessingful presence. I received his Blessings, unconditional Blessings, in measureless measure. And one kind of blessing I tell you, which you will not believe, is a blessing of scolding. He is my elder brother. He not only loves me, but also scolds me. Swami Vivekananda also loves me, and at times scolds me. Why? I call it my compassion. They call it my utter stupidity.

Many, many years ago I was at that time in Greece. Out of the blue, Ramana Maharshi came to do the same. They love me, forgive me to say, they admire me like anything. At the same time they are very, very strict with me. They say that I am indulgent to the extreme, and I challenged them. I said, “Yes, when you were also on this earth planet, I know what kind of life you lived. There is not a single moment when you did not shower compassion, not only upon your disciples, your children, but upon the whole world.”

When we are on earth, we show compassion. We are bound because we know how much others suffer, how much we suffer. But when spiritual Masters are in another world, Heaven, they become strict. Lord Buddha has such affection and such appreciation. At the same time, I got scoldings because he is my elder brother. Affection I get. Love I get. Appreciation I get. But scoldings I also get.

I can hide it from my disciples and say, “Oh, they come only to appreciate.” They do appreciate, but they feel it is their bounden duty to scold the younger ones. I am helpless when I see my spiritual children. At that time God only blesses me with forgiveness. And then in return I get something more valuable: gratitude, gratitude, gratitude.

Then come the sufferings of humanity. How many cancer patients I have to deal with – four, five, six, seven. Some cases are very, very serious. Sometimes outwardly I cannot concentrate all the time. I have many, many inner beings who are my bodyguards. Outwardly, I have only a few bodyguards I can count on. But I have inside me, you will not believe, thousands of inner beings – not hundreds, but thousands.

These inner beings listen to me, they help me, they protect me, they guide me, so I can deal with thousands of people – my students, my friends, even my well-wishers. I have such love for my well-wishers, such concern for them – for that I need inner guards. These inner guards really save me, protect me. Otherwise, I could not have lived on earth for so many years. They always protect me.

Sometimes my outer guards receive scoldings from me, because I love my spiritual children more than I love myself. Those whom I care for, on the one hand, get tremendous affection, love, encouragement, fondness, sweetness. On the other hand, I am very, very strict with those people whom I really care for. Again, my affection for them cannot be measured.

Please, please feel my constant love, sleepless love, joy and gratitude to you both.

I will be in Oslo at the end of this month. Then in the middle of May I will be in Mongolia. A funnier than the funniest thing is happening. The leader of a poetry club wanted to make all the arrangements for me. He scheduled my programme, what I should do. Then somebody who is in charge of a peace movement in Mongolia wanted to make a programme for me. A fight was going on.

I told the leader of our Centre in Mongolia, Dildar, that I am going there unconditionally. For seven years I have been promising I shall come. This time I have said I am coming there unconditionally. Then I told Dildar, although I am saying unconditionally, do not remain idle. Try to do many things, but if you do not succeed in doing anything, I will not blame you.

Now a message has come from Dildar, our leader, that the President does not want them to do anything. The President will do everything for me. The President did not allow the poetry group, he did not allow the peace movement to make the arrangements. Last week I got the message that the President himself wants to do everything for me.

Dr. Guruge: I could write a letter to President Enkhbayar because I am in communication with him. A few years ago he was Prime Minister. He has taken some action with regard to what he called Buddhist economics. My International Conference the year before last was on Buddhism and economics. And a new book that is coming out a couple of months from now will be on Buddhism, economics and science, and there is a chapter on him. I am going to find out the days that you are going, and write him a letter saying who you are and what you do for the world. He is a great idealist himself. He has applied some principles like Buddhist economics to the country, bringing spirituality into economic development. He is a highly spiritually oriented person. (Applause.)

Sri Chinmoy: Here is a brother’s affection and concern for another brother. Your letter will be of tremendous importance.

Dr. Guruge: I am very happy because he is a person whom you should also come to know. I am very sure that he will be greatly inspired by your message and by what you do. And Mongolia is a beautiful country. I was there a long time ago. You will enjoy your visit.

Sri Chinmoy: Then my last trip may be to Ukraine. There the President came to one of our art exhibits. He liked it very, very much. He wants to have an exhibit at his palace.

I am extremely, extremely grateful to you. When you feel it is the proper time, kindly write to the President of Mongolia. Lord Buddha’s Light has descended upon him, on that country. I will be lifting fifty white horses when I am there. I understand the horses are small, so I will lift two at a time. Recently I lifted quite a few horses, and here I offered gratitude to the fifty states of America, for 43 years here. To the soul I offered my gratitude.

Dr. Guruge: I hope they will arrange a trip to some very important archeological places, something you will enjoy very much. There is a great Buddhist culture.

Sri Chinmoy: The other day Dildar was telling us that they have revised their history. When you study a little bit of history, you hear that Genghis Khan was very ruthless, according to us. Now they are saying he was a saint. Books are coming out, Dildar told us, all in favour of him, such high appreciation. And there was a time when we could not appreciate him.

Dr. Guruge: You will be very surprised also when you go there, that most people will have Indian names, because Sanskrit has gone to Mongolia. We have found a large number of Sanskrit works, both classical Sanskrit as well as Buddhist Sanskrit, in ancient Mongolian libraries. Once upon a time it had been a very rich country as far as literary efforts. It’s a wonderful country. A few years ago Enkhbayar was the Prime Minister, and he is so popular, he became the President.

Sri Chinmoy: I know you are very busy. If your health had been better, I would have invited my sister Darshanika to come. But now I do not dare. Your health should be better. Then only I can invite her to go to Mongolia. We are going on the 13th of May.

Dr. Guruge: I am going on the 27th of May to Bombay. I am giving two speeches, and then I also may have to go to Bangkok. I’m quietly getting back to my normal schedule.

Sri Chinmoy: Only I wish you to recover faster, faster, before you go to Bombay, Mumbai. There the Indian spirit is very fast. There are many places in India where they still believe in bullock cart speed, but in Bombay the spirit is very fast.

Dr. Guruge: It has developed very rapidly, with many changes. Bombay has become almost like San Francisco; it is the financial centre of India.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Concern: A Reality of the Heart, Agni Press, 2025
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/crh