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The Beyond is caught by the seeker's vision-speed

— photo by Sarama

Each moment¹

Each moment is an opportunity. Each meditation time is the greatest opportunity, no matter which consciousness you were in in the morning or at noon, or even just before you came into the meditation hall. If you do not meditate well owing to this or that, blaming a third person or the entire world or even blaming yourself does not help at all. Each meditation time is like the Supreme knocking at your heart’s door. He stands before your heart’s door, and knocks for you to open it. If you keep it closed, He just goes away.

Each moment is important in your life, but each second during meditation is of absolute utmost importance. If you have depression, frustration, anger, insecurity, jealousy, impurity, undivine thoughts or undivine ideas or an unaspiring life, during meditation you must throw all these things into the ocean of the Supreme’s Compassion. Otherwise, you become the most deplorable loser.

Once you have accepted the spiritual life, you have to be extremely wise. There are many, many, many — countless — people on earth who have not accepted the spiritual life. They do not know and they will never never know what a divine opportunity is, what a supreme opportunity is. Each moment during meditation is both a golden opportunity and an inner examination. If you do not pass this inner examination, then no matter how many years you stay with your Master or how many times you come into this world, you will remain practically the same human being — the same undeveloped, unillumined human being.

You should feel that you are extremely fortunate, for you are in a divine boat. And you should feel infinitely more fortunate that the Pilot Supreme has infinite Concern and Compassion for you. But most of the time His infinite Compassion, His infinite Concern either you misunderstand or you ignore, you don’t have the receptivity to feel or you do not value.

Nothing will remain permanent in a seeker’s life, nothing except the infinite Compassion of our Beloved Supreme. If you can receive this infinite Compassion, then when you leave the body Heaven’s Door will be wide open for you. But if you misuse this Compassion, then there is nothing that you will be able to show to Heaven’s Door-Keeper. So at every moment try to value the infinite Compassion of the Supreme which, out of His infinite Bounty, He gives you. He is under no obligation to give, but He gives unconditionally. If you do not accept unreservedly when He gives you unconditionally, then nothing will be able to help you or save you, illumine you or carry you to the other shore. Out of anxiety, worry, depression, frustration, anger, fear and all negative qualities, if you forget to value the most valuable thing both on earth and in Heaven — His Compassion — then you are throwing away an unparalleled divine gift.

Unless and until you value the Supreme’s Compassion, the gratitude-flower will never blossom in you. It is Compassion that you have to value first in your life. If you don’t value it, then why should you develop gratitude? And if you don’t develop gratitude, then you are still in the animal kingdom. So at every moment value the Supreme’s supreme Compassion, which is constantly descending from above. If you accept it and value it, if you can treasure it at every moment as something which will always remain unparalleled in your inner and outer life, then yours will be the life of satisfaction, supreme satisfaction.

Name, fame, earthly prosperity and earthly achievements will always prove to be useless, useless, useless even for those who are not sincere seekers. There comes a time when even an ordinary human being, who has not accepted and who will not accept the spiritual life seriously, will not hesitate to say that earthly achievements all end in frustration. The possessions of the desire-life, the achievements of the desire-life, will always end in frustration. Only one thing has the capacity to give satisfaction and will always give satisfaction, and that is oneness — conscious, constant, complete, unreserved and unconditional oneness with the Will of the Supreme.

Who says that you do not know the Will of the Supreme? Is there anybody who does not know the Will of the Supreme? No, if you remain in the heart, then at every moment you will know what God’s Will is. But if you remain in the mind, never, never will you be able to know the Will of the Supreme. You may get grandiose thoughts and lofty ideas, but they will not be the Will of the Supreme. Life’s victory or defeat, life’s acceptance or rejection, are not the ultimate Reality in the Eyes of the Supreme. He laughs at our acceptance or rejection of a thing, at our victories and defeats. But He triumphantly smiles at us when His Will becomes our will. We do not have to become great in the outer world to prove to the world or to Him that we are worthy instruments of His. Never does He care for our earthly status. He cares only for one thing: our constant oneness with His Will.

We think we are beggars, but the Supreme is also a beggar. At each moment we beg Him to grant us millions of things. He begs us sleeplessly to grant Him only one thing: our soulfully surrendered oneness. This is His only desire. You can say, “Why does He have to beg, since He has everything and He is everything?” He begs because He feels this is the easiest, safest and most effective way to bring humanity close to Him. If He shows His omnipotent Power to bring us close to Him, He will break the instrument into pieces. But if the instrument can feel the sweetest Compassion of the Supreme, the infinite Flood of the Supreme’s Compassion, and if he or she can remember this Compassion, this is the safest and surest way.

At each moment you can be the happiest person both in Heaven and on earth. The Supreme’s universal Consciousness, transcendental Consciousness — these can be your constant, illumining and fulfilling friends, if you want to have them as your own. But you have to do only one thing: give what you have and what you are. What you have is willingness, and what you are is eagerness. Willingness and eagerness: your willingness to become entirely His, constantly His, and your eagerness to be utilised by Him in His own way at every moment. If you give these, you don’t have to give anything else. Then you will become His unparalleled, eternally unparalleled instrument.

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The giver and the receiver²

My Lord Supreme, You accept from me my hungry desires as though these things are tremendously valuable.

My Lord Supreme, You accept from me my teeming worries and anxieties as though these things are extremely beautiful.

My Lord Supreme, You accept from me my poisonous doubts as though these things are remarkably meaningful.

My Lord Supreme, You accept from me my untiring insecurity and my unending impurity as though these things are going to adorn Your Heart.

My Lord Supreme, You accept from me my ocean-vast ingratitude as though it is something that is going to richly satisfy You.

My Lord Supreme, when You give me Your Peace, Your Love, Your Joy, Your Compassion and Your divine Blessings in boundless measure, I get joy, true. But Your Joy, while giving, far surpasses my joy in spite of the fact that I am the receiver and You are the giver.

My Lord Supreme, when I give You my undivine qualities unreservedly, You get much more joy and satisfaction in receiving than I get in giving.

My Lord Supreme, You are always great. You are always good. Will there ever be a time when I shall be able to defeat You in anything?

“My child, you have already defeated Me.”

I have defeated You? Impossible, my Lord, impossible! How can I ever defeat You? Tell me, how?

“My child, I need you infinitely more than you need Me. My need for you far surpasses your need for Me. Does this not prove that you have defeated Me badly?

“Now let Me explain this secret and sacred philosophy of Mine to you. You do not know who you are, but I know who you are. You think that you are ignorance incarnate, but I see you as an experience of Mine. I see you as My own evolving life. I see you as My dream-manifesting reality.

“It is not you, it is I. It is not yours, it is Mine. It is I who am always in the process of unveiling and becoming and becoming and unveiling. Thus it is I who sing in and through you My Eternity’s song: Oneness. It is I who dance in and through you My Infinity’s dance: Perfection. It is I who cry and smile and smile and cry in and through you My Immortality’s silence-sound: Satisfaction.”

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Hope³

Hope is my mind’s secret fear.
Hope is my heart’s sacred courage.
Hope is my life’s daring experience.
Hope is my soul’s illumining success and fulfilling progress.
Hope is my Lord’s ascending Perfection and my Lord’s transcending Satisfaction.

AUM

We the members of the Meditation Group at the United Nations have only one friend, a soulful friend, a oneness-friend: hope. We started with hope-friend. Hope-friend and hope-life were synonymous in our case. And this hope-life was firmly established on February 29th, 1972 when I had the golden opportunity to meet with former Secretary-General U Thant, who embodied colossal hope for the entire world. U Thant’s life itself became the grandiose flood of hope. A simple school teacher from Burma became the principal teacher of the comity of nations. Here his teaching life did not come to an end. He went one step further, serving divinity in humanity with the message of the all-illumining and all-fulfilling truth.

The message of his soulful heart was, “No compromise; no compromise with falsehood. Truth is paramount. Truth alone can save, illumine, perfect and fulfil the world.” Hope-vision he discovered. Hope-realisation he became. Hope-illumination he offered to the world at large. This was our beloved brother U Thant, the U.N. pilot who will ever be remembered for his simplicity-life, kindness-heart and oneness-soul. In him we observe that the finite hope of today does not have to remain with the finite fleeting hope forever. It can slowly, steadily and unerringly grow into infinite life-saving and life-illumining reality.

U Thant’s compassion was at times misunderstood by the human souls. But his oneness with large nations and small nations, with all and sundry, was never, never misunderstood, for what he was, what he is and what he will forever remain is simplicity’s oneness, purity’s oneness and divinity’s oneness.

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Ten Thousand Flower-Flames

A weeping God

A thinking mind
Is
A sinking life.

A sinking life
Is
A dying promise.

A dying promise
Is
A weeping God.

Four elevators

Doubt-elevator never works.
Fear-elevator seldom works.
Confidence-elevator occasionally works.
Aspiration-elevator sleeplessly works.

One thing

One thing to see carefully:
Sincerity.
One thing to feel soulfully:
Purity.
One thing to offer unreservedly:
Gratitude.
One thing to become unconditionally:
Surrender.

God will be yours

Concentrate bravely.
God the Power will be yours.

Meditate soulfully.
God the Love will be yours.

Contemplate selflessly.
God the Bliss will be yours.

Destitute

Your mind is destitute
Of promise-seed.

His heart is destitute
Of gratitude-fruit.

My life is destitute
Of perfection-tree.

Only one thing

I have only one thing:
Hope.

I give only one thing:
Promise.

I am only one thing:
Experience.

A fleeting smile

A fleeting smile:
My beauty-face.

A lasting cry:
My hunger-height.

An undying nothingness:
My promise-life.

My Lord invited me

When my life was long in aspiration
My Lord invited me to see His Eye.

When my life was long in dedication
My Lord invited me to feel His Heart.

When my life was long in surrender
My Lord invited me to sit at His Feet.

When my life was long in gratitude
My Lord invited me to sing with Him.

My passport

Lord Supreme,
Your Compassion
Is my passport to Freedom-light.

Lord Supreme,
Your Forgiveness
Is my passport to Perfection-height.

Lord Supreme,
Your Blessing
Is my passport to Satisfaction-delight.

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Three meditation exercises

1 March 1980

Peace

At the top of the head is the Crown centre — Sahasrara chakra we call it. Imagine that this centre is opening up seven times — imagine, but don’t count them. Each time it opens, it rotates one full circle. While it is rotating, chant either “peace” or “AUM” or “Supreme”, or you can try two of the three.

Afterwards, please see me seated on the top of the snow-clad Himalayas. I am seated at the top, the way you see Lord Shiva meditating on the top of a mountain, and you are at the foot. Do not chant “Supreme” or “peace” or anything else at that time. Only try to observe me there at the top of Mt. Kailash. Above me is only the moon, and below are all of you meditating most soulfully.

Light

At the Third Eye try to imagine a disc. Imagine that the disc is rotating clockwise, and seven times chant “light” or “AUM” or “Supreme”, whichever you want.

Then inside that rotating disc please imagine seven very very bright flames. Try to imagine me playing with those seven flames, and at times try to see that I have become one with those tiny flames, instead of playing with them.

Delight

Please imagine a disc rotating around your Heart centre. Now you will chant “delight” or “AUM” or “Supreme.” Inside that circle, which is the Heart centre, Anahata Nada, where the soundless sound comes from, please imagine that your heart is a flower-garden, absolutely larger than the largest. Inside that large garden try to see a most beautiful swimming pool, very big. The water of the swimming pool is silver. There you are swimming, diving, and doing all sorts of things that give you joy. Then see inside the swimming pool the Golden Boat. Enter into the Golden Boat, and while you are entering it, please try to imagine that your entire being has become totally golden.

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The core of India's light

Adharma

Lawlessness

If the seeker can live in a oneness-heart, then he can easily avoid the snare of lawlessness.

Agni

The Fire God

The Fire God consumes our ignorance-night. He also energises our aspiration-cry.

Ahamkara

Pride

Pride destroys our satisfaction-beauty in the inner world and our perfection-reality in the outer world.

Ananta

Endless

When I love only God unconditionally, endless is my satisfaction-delight. When I love only myself sleeplessly, endless is my frustration-destruction.

Asura

Demon

The demons consciously make us feel how weak and helpless we are in their strong presence. The demons unconsciously make us feel our sleepless and deathless oneness with the inner Pilot, our Beloved Supreme.

Asvamedha

Horse Sacrifice

In India the horse sacrifice grants us tremendous name and fame, but satisfaction may remain a far cry. Oneness-realisation will grant us not only boundless satisfaction, but also the message of ever-transcendence.

Bhakti

Devotion

Devotion intensifies the seeker’s inner hunger, purifies his outer greed and solidifies his integral perfection.

[To be continued]

Interview on "Hawaii Health Line"⁵

Interviewer: As I indicated earlier, with me in the studio this morning we have Sri Chinmoy. Sri Chinmoy, for those of you who are not familiar with the name, is an Indian spiritual Master. He is the founder and director of the Meditation Group at the United Nations in New York. He is an exponent of Yoga and Eastern Philosophy. Sri Chinmoy spent most of his early years living in an ashram. He is an accomplished composer and musician of music for meditation. And Sri Chinmoy is someone who knows a great deal about meditation, the benefits of meditation, and the experiences that are available through it not only in the area of consciousness but also in the area of physical health. We are going to be talking primarily about meditation, and along with that we are going to be discovering and exploring something of the personality and the being of Sri Chinmoy.

Sri Chinmoy, welcome to “Hawaii Health Line”. There are a lot of questions that I would like to ask you. I would like to start by finding out something of your early life. You grew up in an ashram?

Sri Chinmoy: I was brought up in an ashram, where I prayed and meditated for twenty years, and also I took physical exercises to keep my body fit. So I am very happy to be here because this program is about physical fitness and spiritual awareness. These things perfectly fit in with my philosophy and my code of life.

Interviewer: Was your method of physical fitness primarily in the field of Hatha Yoga, or were there other things as well?

Sri Chinmoy: In my case it was mainly athletics. Of course, I took a few Hatha Yoga exercises, but I was very good in track and field, and in volleyball and football — what you call soccer.

Interviewer: How about some of your musical experiences. When did these first begin to appear?

Sri Chinmoy: At the age of 4 or 5 I started singing. My sister taught me how to sing. Then, when I was in my adolescence, God blessed me with a good singing voice. I learned hundreds of songs, and composed a few as well. Here in America I started composing songs regularly. Quite a few thousand go to my credit. They are all spiritual songs, soulful songs, songs that can and will help us immensely in our spiritual life.

Interviewer: How do you feel that music plays a part in the spiritual life of an individual?

Sri Chinmoy: The role of music in the spiritual life is extremely important and significant. God is the Supreme Musician, and His entire creation is all divine Music. At every moment we can be His conscious instruments. And spiritual music itself is an instrument to bring us to our universal Reality. It is like a tree that has all the branches, leaves, flowers and fruits.

Interviewer: Then there is, of course, the old idea of man being a hollow bamboo flute that God plays?

Sri Chinmoy: Yes, that is what we are all striving for — to be the instruments of the Supreme.

Interviewer: You are referred to as an Indian spiritual Master.

Sri Chinmoy: I am referred to as a spiritual Master, but I will always call myself a seeker, an eternal seeker learning at the Feet of my Beloved Supreme. A seeker is walking along Eternity’s road, which has no beginning and no end. Life is the greatest opportunity, and at every moment we can all avail ourselves of this opportunity to make progress.

Interviewer: You are saying that we are all disciples?

Sri Chinmoy: We are all seekers. Some are consciously seeking, some are unconsciously seeking. But if we consciously do something, then we derive more benefit.

Interviewer: The term ‘Master’ is something that very often Westerners have difficulty with. Could you talk about the relationship between a Master and a devotee or a disciple?

Sri Chinmoy: A spiritual Master is he who illumines the student, the seeker. The Master is like a private tutor who helps the seeker learn the inner knowledge or wisdom so that he can fight against ignorance, and swim in the sea of wisdom-light. A private tutor carefully teaches the student, and helps him in every way to learn the subjects. Then when the student sits for the examination, he does well because the tutor has taught him. So a spiritual Master is he who carefully teaches the student how to pass the inner examination. But there is only one real Master, and that is the Lord Supreme. We others are only His instruments.

In one particular field if I know a little more than you do, then I can help you. If you know something better than I do, then you can help me. In a family if the older brother knows something better than the rest of the family, then he helps them to learn it. But he will not claim to be the father at that time. The older brother will tell the younger one, “I know a little bit more than you do about our Father, so I will tell you where He is and how you can go to Him.” We who are called Masters are of that type. We are members of the same family trying to teach the younger ones to value, to appreciate, to admire, to adore our Father.

Interviewer: Are you saying that maybe we are all masters in some area at any given moment?

Sri Chinmoy: Certainly. If I want to know something about how a radio station operates, you will be in a position to teach me. In this field I am totally helpless, and if I want to learn something about it, then I will go to someone who knows, and learn from him.

Interviewer: The kind of surrender that you talk about — the willingness to totally give yourself to a Master at any given moment in time — takes a lot of courage, doesn’t it?

Sri Chinmoy: This is a matter of personal choice and inner conviction. Previously I always listened to my mind. My mind told me to do things, and I tried to do them because my mind was the boss. But I was not satisfied. Now I want my heart to be the boss. My heart is telling me that there is another way — that if I can identify myself with some higher reality, then I will have more satisfaction, more perfection in my life.

Interviewer: What I hear you saying is that the mind itself never gives satisfaction.

Sri Chinmoy: The mind never gives satisfaction, and finally the mind itself will be fed up with its own imperfection. The mind tells us, “Do this, and you will be happy.” And we do it, but we never become happy.

Interviewer: It tries to convince us of happiness.

Sri Chinmoy: It tries to convince us, but real happiness we will never get from the mind. And there comes a time when the mind accepts failure. Right now the mind is not deliberately fooling us. The mind thinks it knows, but unfortunately it does not know. The mind wants to convince us of some realities, but when we investigate, we see that the mind was totally wrong. The mind wants to give us happiness, but it fails. Then it sees that when we enter into our heart’s door and we live inside the heart’s room, there we are getting joy. Who doesn’t want to have joy? The mind also wants joy, so the mind at that time becomes the student of the heart.

Interviewer: That’s interesting. The mind then surrenders to the heart.

Sri Chinmoy: The mind also needs happiness and peace.

Interviewer: Let’s talk about the heart, what in the Eastern tradition is referred to as the path of Bhakti. I’d like to talk about meditation at this point because what we are indicating here is something that very often is lost in the teaching of meditation. It is believed by many that meditation is an experience of the mind, when in fact it is not, although the mind is involved initially.

Sri Chinmoy: Meditation is something beyond the mind, because the mind is limited, and meditation is unlimited. When we meditate we become aware of our universal reality, of our universal Oneness. The mind always thinks of “I,” “my” and “mine.” But the heart is self-giving and integral. When we give we become infinitely more. A tiny drop gives its reality, its existence, to the mighty ocean. It gives only a tiny drop. But when it gives wholeheartedly, when it surrenders its separate existence, it becomes one with the ocean itself. What we give, in return we get infinitely more. Self-giving is God-becoming. The moment we give ourselves soulfully, devotedly, unreservedly and unconditionally, we become the Infinite, as a tiny drop offers itself to the ocean and becomes the ocean. When we offer our little earthly existence to our Beloved Supreme, we become immediately and inseparably one with His universal and transcendental Reality.

Interviewer: Visiting with me in the studio this morning is Indian spiritual Master Sri Chinmoy, who is the Director of Meditation at the United Nations and the Director of some 150 or so meditation centres all over the world. While Sri Chinmoy is in Hawaii he is going to be giving two concerts and meditations, one of which will feature a guest appearance by rock star Carlos Santana. One of Sri Chinmoy’s students is here, Clifford Watts. And I’ve asked him to tell us a little about these concerts.

Cliff: The first one is on Thursday, January 3, at 7:30 at the Assembly Hall at Neil Blaisedale Centre. The second one will be held Sunday, January 6, at Central Union Church. Admission is free to both concerts. The format is one in which Sri Chinmoy begins by meditating silently with the audience, then he plays a recital of Indian music on the esraj. The esraj is an instrument played with a bow, and it makes an ethereal sound with sympathetic strings. This aids the seeker in getting into a meditative consciousness. Several choral groups and instrumental groups will perform. The concert will conclude with an offering of prasad, where each seeker will have an opportunity to come up to Sri Chinmoy and receive a piece of fruit which he has blessed. This is a tradition of Indian spiritual Masters.

Interviewer: Could you take a few minutes and talk with the audience about meditation — what it is and what it isn’t? What are some of the reasons and the benefits of meditation?

Sri Chinmoy: Meditation is self-discovery. We try to discover many things, but unfortunately we do not try to discover ourselves. When we discover ourselves we will see clearly that we are the chosen instruments of God. A chosen instrument is he who has peace of mind, and who can offer peace of mind to the rest of the world. Meditation always helps us to see the universal Truth, universal Beauty and universal Delight in ourselves. When we meditate we feel that the world has a real meaning. For many or for most human beings the world has nothing to offer except suffering, misery and unfortunate experiences. But when we meditate we find that the world is not so. It has beauty, it has purity, it has oneness. The world is God’s creation, and God is all Light and Delight, so how can His creation be all suffering? When we pray and meditate we try to discover the supreme secrets. These secrets show us how we can be always serving mankind and fulfilling our highest reality.

Interviewer: What about meditation techniques? What do you suggest that people use as a method of meditation?

Sri Chinmoy: If one does not have a teacher, then I advise the seeker to try to make the mind calm and quiet, and not to allow any wrong thoughts. As soon as one is assailed by a wrong thought, one has to try to destroy it. One has to open only to encouraging, illumining and fulfilling thoughts. If hatred enters into my mind, I will try to replace it by love. If insecurity enters into my mind while I am meditating, I will try to replace it by security. And if there is doubt about my spiritual capacity, I will immediately try to bring faith to the fore to conquer the doubt.

Interviewer: How about the regularity of meditation? How often should we meditate?

Sri Chinmoy: Regularity is of paramount importance. Every day we eat at least twice, if not three times. Similarly, we have to feed our soul. To satisfy or to meet with the demands of our physical body we eat a few times a day. We have to meditate in the same way to nourish our soul, to nourish our inner existence.

Interviewer: So what you are suggesting is that at least for a few minutes before you sit down to eat, that is a good reminder to meditate.

Sri Chinmoy: Let us do the first thing first. The soul was created before the body. So first we have to feed the child who came into the family first. First comes the soul, then comes the body. If we think of the body first, we will be putting the cart before the horse. I do not advise my students to meditate seriously immediately before a meal. But at least twice a day every sincere seeker should meditate.

Interviewer: There are several people who would like to ask you questions. Let’s take a call.

Caller: I would like to know if I’ll do well in my job in 1980.

Interviewer: Sri Chinmoy is not here to do psychic readings. He is a spiritual Master. He teaches meditation, and he would be happy to talk with you about your spiritual development, if you have a question along those lines.

Caller: When I listen to Sri Chinmoy on the radio I feel tremendous divine Love emanating from him, and I am wondering how I can be more receptive to that divine Love.

Sri Chinmoy: You can be more receptive to the divine Love if you can feel every day that your Source is all Love, and that you are on earth to offer at every moment in thought and action the love that you already have. At every moment you are assailed by thoughts, so at every moment you can offer love through each thought. And each time you do something you can feel that this action is nothing but an expression of love. Offering love through thought and action right now is of supreme importance in your life. While thinking and while acting if you can feel that you are offering love to mankind, to the rest of the world, then you can be more receptive to the universal Love which is all for you.

Caller: Why are you here helping Americans when there are millions of people starving in India?

Sri Chinmoy: God did not send me to earth to be a social worker. My mission is to feed those who are inwardly hungry. By working in America I am fulfilling the Will of the Supreme Lord.

Caller: I’m a runner, and I’ve seen a poster in a shop just recently for a run with Sri Chinmoy’s name. Sri Chinmoy must be a runner as well as a meditation Master. I was just wondering what he had to say about that?

Sri Chinmoy: Physical fitness is of great importance in our life. If the body is in good condition, then we can do all our activities well. Running in the outer life makes us active and dynamic. Also the outer running reminds us that we must also run inwardly. Each human being is walking along Eternity’s road, but if we can run in the inner world instead of walking, then our progress will be much faster, and we will reach our goal sooner. So in order to be strong, healthy and dynamic we run in the morning or do physical exercises. These qualities in our outer life help us considerably in our inner life. And when we pray and meditate it also helps us in our running, because through prayer and meditation we can develop intense will power. This will power can help us to do extremely well in our outer running.

Caller: I find that when I am listening to Sri Chinmoy speak what I hear sounds very familiar and very normal, although I always thought that meditation was something quite remote. The way he expresses it makes it seem very close and practical. Can Sri Chinmoy comment on that?

Sri Chinmoy: It is a wrong conception when people think that meditation is something abnormal, or that they have to enter into the Himalayan caves in order to realise God. God is everywhere. When we approach God with our heart we feel closeness and oneness with the rest of the world. When we pray and meditate properly we feel that there is only one family, and that is God’s family. If we approach the reality with our heart, then we will see that there is nothing but oneness. We have to meditate in the heart, with the heart, and for the soul. If we do, then we will always feel abiding oneness within us.

Interviewer: My guest in the studio today is Indian spiritual Master Sri Chinmoy, and we’ve been talking about meditation and our relationship with the divine. One of the ways in which creation is expressed through Sri Chinmoy is in the area of music. He has composed thousands of pieces of music. There is one piece that he has dedicated to Hawaii, that he has called “Hawaii”. Would you like to tell us a little bit about your experience with this song?

Sri Chinmoy: A week ago I composed this song. This is my soulful dedication to the soul of Hawaii. I have been deeply moved, inspired and energised by the inner and outer beauty of Hawaii. Here we see two aspects of the divine Reality: power and beauty. Usually we do not see these two mighty attributes together. But here I see both beauty and power. When I look at the mountains I see beauty and power. When I look at the sea I see beauty and power. When I look at nature all around it is all beauty and power. When I look at the individuals who live here I see beauty and power. Beauty and power together have inspired and illumined me here in Hawaii, and the result is this, my most humble and most soulful offering to the soul of Hawaii.

Hawaii, Hawaii, Hawaii
O Eastern Sun, O Western Sky,
Quality heart, quantity mind
Truth seekers,
Life lovers in you find.

Now I wish to sing the song.

[The music composed by Sri Chinmoy appears in the _Songs section of this issue.] _Interviewer: Thank you very much; it’s lovely. You’ve been listening to spiritual Master Sri Chinmoy singing a song that he composed about a week ago. I love that idea of the beauty and power of Hawaii side by side. A lovely thought, a lovely thought.

One thing I wanted to mention — earlier you were talking about radio. One of the very powerful things that I feel is unique to radio is that radio is a very emotional medium. It is the medium of the heart, whereas television is a visual medium. I think that one of the things that happens with this program, and with other radio programs as well, is that the listener gets a kind of inner feeling about the person who is being interviewed. I think that today the listeners, in addition to hearing what you are saying, have had the opportunity to get a very deep feeling about you. You have been talking about the heart, and I hope that they have been able to feel the bottomless aspect of your heart and of your work. And I want to really commend you for the things you are contributing not only to individual people and seekers, but to the entire planet through the United Nations. We do live on one planet.

Sri Chinmoy: Absolutely true. And we are of one family; therefore, we should be for the one family: mankind. Meditation teaches us the consciousness of oneness, and it is that awareness which unites both Heaven and earth.

Interviewer: It’s almost 10 after 11, and I know that you have another engagement. I would love to have you join us again sometime when you are here. You are certainly most welcome, and this has been thoroughly delightful.

Sri Chinmoy: I wish to thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me the golden opportunity to be of real service, dedicated service to many, many sincere seekers here in Hawaii.

[This was the end of the interview with Sri Chinmoy. Following are some comments made on the air by the interviewer and a colleague from the radio station after Sri Chinmoy had left.]

Interviewer: Sri Chinmoy is someone who has the power to do things gently. Sometimes I get the feeling that we do things roughly, you know — hastily and aggressively, because we are afraid to do them gently. We feel that if we whisper, no one will listen to us, so we shout. But not Sri Chinmoy. Sri Chinmoy is the meditation director at the United Nations. He’s one of those who focuses for meditation on the planetary scale. It is quite an experience to be in his presence. When we first started this program I was talking about one of the key aspects of having an inner experience. Sometimes I think that it’s not what we say but what we are that’s most important.

Sri Chinmoy made a couple of points that I would like to reiterate. And perhaps for the balance of the program we can talk about meditation. Sri Chinmoy was pointing out that most of us don’t know who we are, and if we are trying to find out, then we are seekers. If we are constantly seekers, then we will continually find new aspects of ourselves. It was interesting that he does not refer to himself as a spiritual Master, but says he is a seeker and that we are all seekers.

Colleague: What really struck me during the song was that there was a quality in his voice which was really strong. When he speaks he is quiet. But when he was singing, when he sustained notes, it wasn’t loud but there was strength, you could hear his strength in his voice. I could see the man himself, too, and he’s in fantastic physical condition — very good-looking, very secure, totally in control. A very lovely person.

Caller: I think he is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard. I feel he has a tremendous amount to offer to people.

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Hawaii

Hawaii, Hawaii, Hawaii!
O eastern sun, O western sky!
Quality-heart, quantity-mind:
Truth-seekers, life-lovers,
In you find.