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.
Getting through difficult times in your meditation
Banshidhar Medeiros San Juan, Puerto RicoMeditation Nights at the Sri Chinmoy Centre
Preetidutta Thorpe Auckland, New ZealandSelf-transcendence in meditation
Kailash Beyer Zurich, SwitzerlandMy wife's soul comes to visit
Jogyata Dallas Auckland, New ZealandReflections on meditation
Janaka Spence Edinburgh, United KingdomHow I became interested in meditation
Abhejali Bernardova Zlín, Czech RepublicWhere the finite connects to the Infinite
Jogyata Dallas Auckland, New ZealandA Divine Phone Call
Jogyata Dallas Auckland, New ZealandExperiences of meditation
Preetidutta Thorpe Auckland, New ZealandAn airport meditation experience
Jogyata Dallas Auckland, New ZealandThe most beautiful and fulfilling of all possible experiences
Jogyata Dallas Auckland, New ZealandSeeing the God inside my son
Utsahi St-Armand Ottawa, CanadaMore stories
Sri Chinmoy's students recall some of their treasured memories.
A spiritual name is the name of our soul, and what we can become
Nayak Polissar Seattle, United StatesWhen I met Sri Chinmoy for the first time
Baridhi Yonchev Sofia, BulgariaMy Life with Sri Chinmoy: a book
Tejvan Pettinger Oxford, United KingdomGrowing up on Sri Chinmoy's path
Aruna Pohland Augsburg, GermanyHumorous moments with Sri Chinmoy
Toshala Elliott Auckland, New ZealandThe Impact of a Yogi on My Life
Agni Casanova San Juan, Puerto RicoThe relationship between Guru and disciple
Baridhi Yonchev Sofia, BulgariaIt does not matter which spoon you use
Brahmacharini Rebidoux St. John's, CanadaWhat drew me to Sri Chinmoy's path
Nikolaus Drekonja San Diego, United StatesThe day I recieved my spiritual name
Banshidhar Medeiros San Juan, Puerto RicoI just knew from the moment I saw him
Ashrita Furman New York, United StatesMy first Guru
Adarini Inkei Geneva, SwitzerlandPresident Gorbachev: a special soul brought down for a special reason
Mridanga Spencer Ipswich, United KingdomMusic
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
Ghantika Hammerl
Ghantika and her whole family became students of Sri Chinmoy. Ghantika plays the saxophone in Bartika's Jazz Group, an all-female group that performs Sri Chinmoy‘s melodies in a combination of jazz, rock and pop styles.
- Audio »
Adarsha Kelly
Adarsha is a very powerful and soulful singer - Sri Chinmoy greatly admired his singing and would sometimes invite him to sing during his own concerts. He sings in many concerts each year, including the world wide 'Songs of the Soul' concert series honouring Sri Chinmoy's musical legacy.
- Audio »
Sadanand Magee
Sadanand plays all kinds of percussion instruments, especially the Indian tablas. He travels to more than 15 countries a year to play meditative music, mainly as part of the Songs of the Soul concert series.
- Audio »
More stories
Experiences of sport and self-transcendence.
How meditation helped me swim the English Channel
Abhejali Bernardova Zlín, Czech RepublicIs it unspiritual to care about winning?
Tejvan Pettinger Oxford, United KingdomProgress-Pilgrimage: A 1200km run from Vienna to Paris
Shamita Achenbach-König Vienna, AustriaMuhammad Ali: I was expecting a monster, but I found a lamb
Sevananda Padilla San Juan, Puerto RicoHow sports and fitness became part of our spiritual life
Banshidhar Medeiros San Juan, Puerto RicoRunning and Me
Garga Chamberlain Bristol, United KingdomA few of our athletic members
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
Ashrita Furman
Ashrita became a student of Sri Chinmoy in 1970. Using the practise of meditation, he embarked on a 40-year journey of setting Guinness world records, and now holds more world records than any other person.
- Stories »
- Video »
Boijayanti Gomez-Badillo
Boijayanti is a joint race director of a number of races organised by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team in the New York area, including the Self-Transcendece Swim-Run and the Flushing Meadows 5k race.
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
Shankara Smith
Shankara, along with her sister Dipika, manages the Run and Become athletic stores in the UK, which were founded by her father Ongkar with Sri Chinmoy's inspiration. She also leads the international women's music group Temple-Song-Hearts, which performs concerts of Sri Chinmoy's music all over the world.
- Stories »
- Audio »
- Gallery »
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 »
Peace-runners
Nikolaus Drekonja
Nikolaus spends his time between the United States and Austria, where he has family in both countries. He loves to travel with our international Peace Run team as they visit schools and communities around the world.
Sarankhuu Jargal
As well as helping to organise the Mongolian Peace Run, Sarankhuu always brings joy and enthusiasm to our international Peace Run team, participating in runs in the USA and Australia.
- Gallery »
Laufey Haraldsdottir
A talented musician, Laufey has organised Peace Runs in Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
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...
Sri Chinmoy's biography, written by one of the most famous Bengali authors
Mahatapa Palit New York, United StatesThe Random Dog
Toshala Elliott Auckland, New ZealandThe Swimming Relay
Toshala Elliott Auckland, New ZealandMeditation: Touching The Infinite
Jogyata Dallas Auckland, New ZealandMy love of spiritual poetry
Manatita Hutchinson London, United KingdomA Mountain Meditation
Jogyata Dallas Auckland, New ZealandArt and Photography
Pranlobha Kalagian
Pranlobha is a very keen photographer, and has used that talent to great effect on her travels throughout the world with the Peace Run.
- Stories »
- Gallery »
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.
- Gallery »
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.
- Gallery »