Our members
We come from all backgrounds and walks of life, brought together by our shared love of meditation, spirituality and world-service.
Contents of this page: | 1. Our inner life:
How we joined the Sri Chinmoy Centre • Our experiences of meditation and spirituality • Stories with our teacher, Sri Chinmoy |
2. What keeps us busy (besides meditation): |
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3. Writing and poetry by Sri Chinmoy's students |
More stories
Meditation experiences by Sri Chinmoy's students.
Seeing the God inside my son
Utsahi St-Armand Ottawa, CanadaMy 5 a.m. strategic meditations
Sanchita Fleming Ottawa, CanadaExperiences of meditation
Preetidutta Thorpe Auckland, New ZealandMy wife's soul comes to visit
Jogyata Dallas Auckland, New ZealandA Divine Phone Call
Jogyata Dallas Auckland, New ZealandReflections on meditation
Janaka Spence Edinburgh, United KingdomMeditation: Touching The Infinite
Jogyata Dallas Auckland, New ZealandGetting through difficult times in your meditation
Banshidhar Medeiros San Juan, Puerto RicoAn intense, concentrated Fire
Toshala Elliott Auckland, New ZealandSpirituality means speed
Patanga Cordeiro São Paulo, BrazilHow I became interested in meditation
Abhejali Bernardova Zlín, Czech RepublicMeditation Nights at the Sri Chinmoy Centre
Preetidutta Thorpe Auckland, New ZealandMore stories
Sri Chinmoy's students recall some of their treasured memories.
A demonstration of the Master’s occult powers
Arpan De Angelo New York, United StatesMy Life with Sri Chinmoy: a book
Tejvan Pettinger Oxford, United KingdomMy first experience with Sri Chinmoy
Nayak Polissar Seattle, United States'I could find out myself, but it was so much easier asking your soul'
Mridanga Spencer Ipswich, United KingdomAn airport meditation experience
Jogyata Dallas Auckland, New ZealandGrowing up on Sri Chinmoy's path
Aruna Pohland Augsburg, GermanyI know where you are
Kamalakanta Nieves New York, United StatesIf a wish comes from the soul, it will be granted
Kamalakanta Nieves New York, United StatesHow I learned from Sri Chinmoy
Pradhan Balter Chicago, United StatesMeditation functions with Sri Chinmoy
Kokila Chamberlain Bristol, United KingdomIf I could remember this in my daily life now, I'd be a very high soul
Charana Evans Cardiff, WalesThe day my Guru accepted me as his disciple
Banshidhar Medeiros San Juan, Puerto RicoSri Chinmoy's inner guidance
Kailash Beyer Zurich, SwitzerlandMusic
At Sri Chinmoy's request and encouragement, there are many musicians within the Centre who make arrangements of his meditative songs and perform them free of charge to the public. Here is a small selection of groups:
Some of our musical members
Hridananda Andres Ramon
Originally from Colombia, Hridananda came to Iceland to study and now calls it home. A versatile musician and composer, he assists with arranging Sri Chinmoy's melodies to be performed by the 75-member Gandharva Loka Orchestra at concerts around the world.
- Stories »
- Audio »
Samalya Schafer
Samalya became a student of Sri Chinmoy when he was 19. A talented athlete, he holds a current Marathon PB of 2.28h
- Stories »
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- Gallery »
Agnikana Senkyrova
Agnikana has been surrounded by music since her childhood and leads a group that plays spiritual music in concerts all over Europe. She is also a fast runner over short and long distances.
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More stories
Experiences of sport and self-transcendence.
How sports and fitness became part of our spiritual life
Banshidhar Medeiros San Juan, Puerto RicoHow meditation helped me swim the English Channel
Abhejali Bernardova Zlín, Czech RepublicFailures are the pillars of success
Anugata Bach New York, United StatesAll I needed was the Supreme, and I would always win
Pragati Pascale New York, United States10-Day Race: Staring into the Infinite
Patanga Cordeiro São Paulo, BrazilHow Sri Chinmoy appreciated enthusiasm
Prachar Stegemann Canberra, AustraliaA few of our athletic members
Samunnati Lehonkova
Our best female marathon runner with a PB of 2:28, Samunnati competed in the 2016 Olympics for her native Ukraine
Vajin Armstrong
Vajin is one of New Zealand's top distance runners, winning the prestigious Kepler Challenge in 2011 and the Swiss Alpine Marathon in 2016
Abhejali Bernardova
Abhejali is a talented athlete! She first swum the English Channel in 2011 and completed the 'Oceans Seven' of famous open water swims in 2019. She most recently completed a 'Channel Triathlon' - swimming, biking and running all the way from Dover to Prague.
Working in a spiritual enterprise
Many of Sri Chinmoy's students work in restaurants and stores dedicated to offering Sri Chinmoy's meditative consciousness to the public. Pranlobha Kalajian who works in the Silence-Heart-Nest restaurant in Seattle, describes what her working day is like.
Members who work in enterprises
Aruna Pohland
Aruna is the proprietor of the Cosmos-Heart, a charming little café in the centre of Augsburg which serves coffee and cakes in a peaceful setting.
- Stories »
- Gallery »
Smarana Puntigam
As well as managing a gift store on Vienna's busiest street, Smarana has also completed ultrarunning's toughest challenge - the 3100 Mile Race - seven times.
- Stories »
Padmasini Guillet
Padmasini lives in the south of France, where she runs a delightful cafe called Tripti Kulai. She is also the official translator of Sri Chinmoy's writings and travels all over the world to give talks on meditation.
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Peace-runners
Sweta Pradhan
An enthusiastic runner, Sweta helps to organise the Sri Chinmoy Oneness Home Peace Run in her native Nepal, and has been part of the international team for the North American leg on three occasions.
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Harita Davies
Harita is the US co-ordinator for the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run. She is also a formidable runner, having run the world's longest race - the Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile race - three times.
Bayarkhuu Batbayar
Bayarkhuu has travelled the world as part of the international Peace Run team, taking part in runs in Scandinavia, Australia, Japan and Korea
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Creativity
Sri Chinmoy encouraged us to use meditation to enhance our capacities in many fields - including writing, poetry, art and photography. Here is a selection of musings from our members...
My love of spiritual poetry
Manatita Hutchinson London, United KingdomSri Chinmoy's biography, written by one of the most famous Bengali authors
Mahatapa Palit New York, United StatesThe Random Dog
Toshala Elliott Auckland, New ZealandBhutan, A Country Less Travelled...
Ambarish Keenan Dublin, IrelandA Mountain Meditation
Jogyata Dallas Auckland, New ZealandThe Swimming Relay
Toshala Elliott Auckland, New ZealandArt and Photography
Ashish Zubaty
Ashish's specialities are cooking and photography. He also is an enthusiastic participant in the World Harmony Run, having joined the international team on runs through Australia, the USA and Ireland.
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Apaguha Vesely
Apaguha travels all over the world as part of the Peace Run international team. An immensely talented photographer, he likes to offer public slideshows from his travels, combining stories with pictures of nature and people.
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Papaha Gosline
Papaha owns a gallery and art studio that focuses on showing spiritual contemporary art and producing commercial design. Inspired by the Sri Chinmoy's example, he lives a very athletic lifestyle teaching tennis part time, along with enjoying many other sports activities in sunny San Diego.
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