Tejvan Pettinger

I was brought up in Yorkshire and moved down to Oxford when I came to study PPE at Lady Margaret Hall. I had a good time at University and got involved in many different activities but didn’t pursue anything particularly seriously. However in my final year I became a bit bored with my usual activities but became very interested in spirituality and meditation.

I read many books by great spiritual seekers such as Paramhansa Yogananda and this inspired me to try and meditate. I found it quite difficult on my own, so was glad to come across a meditation course offered by the Sri Chinmoy centre. I had some good experiences from my meditations and also was very impressed by the many writings of Sri Chinmoy. I felt that Sri Chinmoy was a real spiritual Master and so I decided to become his student.

I joined the centre a few months before my final University exams, meditation seemed to help, as I did quite well without too much stress. I was a little concerned what my parents would think of my decision. As to them the idea of spiritual teacher seemed a little unusual, also they knew very little about meditation. But my parents could see I was genuinely happy and so have always been very supportive. Recently my mother came with me to see a concert by Sri Chinmoy at the Royal Albert Hall.

The path wasn’t quite what I expected. My image of spirituality was one of meditating in a Himalayan cave and very much withdrawing from the world. However Sri Chinmoy’s path is more modern and more appropriate for the 21st Century. It is an integral path encompassing many both meditation and different aspects such as sport, spiritual music and selfless service. Spiritual music is a prominent feature of the Sri Chinmoy centre and this has been a great boon in my life. Many of my best meditations have involved listening to music or singing myself. I am not particularly musical (despite my mother being a piano teacher) but this seems no barrier to appreciating the simple but elevating music of Sri Chinmoy.

On leaving University I wasn’t sure what job to do. There was a lot of jobs I didn’t want to do, but that wasn’t much help! Therefore I ended up working as a gardener at my own college. I love gardening and growing plants but in the winter it got quite cold working outside so I decided to get a teaching job as well. I have now been teaching Economics, at an Oxford tutorial college for 6 years and generally I find it a very enjoyable and satisfying job.

Within the Oxford Sri Chinmoy Centre I help to organise and give meditation classes 3 times a year. Teaching meditation is a lot more difficult than teaching Economics, but I feel meditation is much more worthwhile! The classes are a good opportunity to meet many other people interested in meditation. Although most seekers do not decide to join the Sri Chinmoy centre they are usually grateful for the opportunity to learn more about meditation and this makes it very worthwhile to do.

Another interest I have is spiritual poetry. I help edit a website called PoetSeers. Poetseers is a comprehensive collection of spiritual and illumining poetry by poets from the East and the West, including; Tagore, Sri Chinmoy, Blake, Sri Aurobindo, and Hafiz. I also have been working on a site called WriteSpirit.net

In Oxford, I organise running races in Cutteslowe park - for more details of our races see www.srichinmoyraces.org. I have got to know quite a few of the regular runners who come and race.

Although I organise running races my great passion at the moment is cycle racing. This year with the encouragement of Sri Chinmoy we have set up the Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team. I won my first race for the club in February. It was a hilly 10 mile TT organised by Andover Wheelers. In 2005 I have won 18 races so far.

I sometimes contribute articles to the Sri Chinmoy Inspiration Group. It is sometimes difficult to write about spiritual experiences so I tend to write on a variety of other ideas as well.

I have always had a diverse range of interests, but becoming a student of Sri Chinmoy has become the most important and fulfilling aspect of my life. The spiritual life is not always straightforward but it has given my life a deeper purpose and many uplifting experiences. I feel grateful for the opportunity to be a student of Sri Chinmoy and sincerely hope other people will become aware of his genuine spirituality and devoted service to humanity.

Tejvan Pettinger

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