Exhibition of Sri Chinmoy's Jharna-Kala art

A week-long exhibition of artwork by spiritual Master Sri Chinmoy took place in Sofia, Bulgaria in November. Sri Chinmoy began painting mystical artworks in November 1974; he called them Jharna-Kala, which means fountain-art in his mother-language, Bengali. In 1991 he expanded his artwork to include bird drawings representing the freedom of the human soul. Many of the 102 artworks on display in Sofia displayed these bird drawings.

For me, birds have a very special significance. They embody freedom. We see a bird flying in the sky and it reminds us of our own inner freedom. As I said before, I am a Truth-seeker and a God-lover. So I feel that inside each of us there is an inner existence which we call the soul. The soul, like a bird, flies in the sky of God’s Infinity. So the birds we see flying in the sky remind us of our own soul-bird flying in the sky of Infinity.

Sri Chinmoy 1

The opening night featured a concert of Sri Chinmoy's music performed in Indian classical style by Kanala Auer (Austria, sitar), Sadanand Magee (Ireland, tabla) and Ushika Muckenhummer (Austria, tanpura).  Ambassador of India, Mr. Sanjay Rana and his wife attended the concert as special guests. After the concert, Ambassador Rana said: "We really moved to a different world. Thank you for bringing Indian music to our hearts here in Bulgaria.”

• 1. Sri Chinmoy answers, part 36, Agni Press, 2004