Тишината на медитацията 1: Какво е медитация?

Many people around the world are finding themselves in the unusual situation of having to stay indoors for prolonged periods. One effective approach to this challenging situation is taking the time to learn and practise meditation. Meditation is very effective for helping to cultivate inner peace and happiness - the most powerful antidote to dealing with the stress and anxiety of outer turmoil.

Students of Sri Chinmoy give free meditation classes all around the world, but at the moment most of these have temporarily been put on hold. Although it is best to learn meditation in person, we can always try to make the best of the situation we face. Hopefully, the pages on this site may offer a start to your meditation journey.

“When we meditate, we make our mind calm, quiet, vacant and tranquil, and we receive Light from above in infinite measure.”

Sri Chinmoy

How to get started

If you would like to get started with meditation, there is an introductory page on meditation here.

There is also a Meditation home study programme here.

The most important thing is to try and schedule a time for your meditation - either in the morning or evening. A good routine which might combine exercise, reading, meditation, leisure can be a good strategy for dealing with living from one place.

The great thing about meditation is that it is not complicated or need a lot of preparation. We can start right away - just find a comfortable place to sit still for 15 minutes and begin.

On this site, we have quite a few resources which will enable you to get started. These include

• What you need to get started with meditation
• Some simple but effective meditation exercises
• Music for meditation
• How to stay inspired and make meditation a regular part of your life
• Mantras and chants

Further reading

• Meditation home study programme
• Introductory page on meditation

These notes were written by Mare from the Sri Chinmoy Centre in Skopje, Macedonia, during a visit by the the Swiss music group Mountain Silence.

Wednesday, March 4th, 2020
Our meditation night
The last of the disciples are arriving at the centre.
While everyone carries different things with them such as enthusiasm, the aspiration for change and growth, the wish to be happy - tonight they have a thread that binds them all together, and that is gratitude. Everyone is grateful that Mountain Silence have arrived here in Skopje and brought with them the enchanting magical silence. It is this silence, with the scent of tranquility that casts off any doubts that there are shortcomings in the preparations for the concert announced for March 6th. This silence alone whispers to us that all will be well, that every disciple will offer their best in their own way.

Thursday, March 5th, 2020.
Rehearsal day before the concert, which is titled as “Children's Voices for Peace”. Mountain Silence will be joined by a choir of children.
A day filled with children, pure and spontaneous and being in peace, living in love - and the girls from the group; shining jewels in the inner and outer world! The two worlds met. One are already living and growing through our Guru's magical music, and the others that have recognised this magic with great ease.
Ones that are going through a conscious process of evolution, which teaches them humility, deep peace and acceptance, and others more or less aware, but which have joyfully turned prayerful music into pure childlike cry for peace.

Friday, March 6th, 2020 - 8pm.
The concert has begun. It is all silence. Extremely deep silence. This time, the silence speaks through music. It awakens the primordial in the souls, the urge to be closer to the Divine.

Guru's music gave the feeling of being in peace, strong and filled with love, but at the same time gentle and soothing.
The call was clear - Let us become humble students of peace, as was Sri Chinmoy so fond of being remembered.
Let us all pulse together tonight as one big and divine childlike heart, in the rhythm of peace and love that springs from our souls.
The expression on the faces of the audience, clearly stated that they had experienced peace in a new and a magical way, and that the same magic would consciously or unconsciously become an intimate but real ocean of peace in their everyday lives.

Skopje,
March 16th, 2020

Sri Chinmoy's original Jharna Kala artworks were displayed during January-February 2020 in two well-known exhibition halls in Kyiv, Ukraine, and attracted over 2,000 visitors.

Recently, the European Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run began in spectacular style in Lisbon, Portugal.  From the presidential palace, the team of international runners were warmly greeted by the President of Portugal (Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa) and were later joined by many school children, officials and ordinary people as it began its continental journey. The European Peace Run will spend the six months covering 16,000 kilometres as it takes a message of peace and harmony to 36 different European nations.

The Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run was founded by Sri Chinmoy in 1987 as a vehicle to combine physical dynamism with our inner aspiration to create a more peaceful world. Since its inception in 1987, the Peace Run has continued to grow and has touched the lives of countless people from all areas of the world. Its simple message "Peace begins with Me" is a unifying force which resonates with people from all cultures and background. Sri Chinmoy considered himself to be a 'student of peace' who strove tirelessly to offer a message of peace.

“Lasting peace must begin within the depths of the individual, and from there spread in ever-widening circles as a dynamic force for world change.”

– Sri Chinmoy

After the initial welcome, the Peace Run ran through the streets of Lisbon and went to the Restelo Stadium, giving the chance for many children to run with the torch and offer their goodwill to the spirit of the run.

Video of meeting with President

Related

• Beginning of the European Peace Run 2020 at Peacerun.org
• 2018 European Peace Run begins in Bulgaria at Peacerun.org

Many of our members are very active in organising (and running in) the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run, which is a torch relay that Sri Chinmoy founded in 1987 and has since visited over 160 countries. Millions of people have held our peace torch, and their shared wish for a better world connects us all.

Often singers and musicians from Sri Chinmoy Centres all over the world come together to perform Sri Chinmoy's music, going on tour as part of a large concert ensemble. One such ensemble is conducted by Sahadeva Torpy from London, and has come to be known as the 'Sahadeva Orchestra'.

Audio: Sahadeva Orchestra in concert

Their most recent tour in November - their second this year - took them to Serbia, Macedonia and Bulgaria. About 35 people joined the tour starting in Belgrade. The tour was widely covered on radio and TV.

As well as performing Sri Chinmoy’s music for so many people, the concert tour is a great experience for the singers and musicians. Most of us are non-professionals, and many of us grow and learn so many things in such an intense short time.

As the group conductor Sahadeva says: "Even though it’s exhausting and requires you to give everything, you have this magical feeling that the whole experience is a beautiful opportunity, and that your task is only to give your heart completely to the journey and be happy."

Recently, a week of peace activities, inspired by the life of Sri Chinmoy, was held in Palermo, Italy. The aim of the week was to involve a range of people in initiatives including art, sport, interfaith meeting and a Peace Parade through Palermo, Sicily. The events were well attended and the week of peace was embraced by the local communities.

Sri Chinmoy dedicated his life to offering a message of peace. He wished to be remembered as a 'student of peace' as he felt peace was a subject we should deeply value and try to embody in our lives.

“This world of ours has everything save and except one thing: peace. And this peace has to start from within. If I have peace of mind, then only can I be of help to you. If you have peace of mind, then only can you be of help to me.”

– Sri Chinmoy

A global team of runners from the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run were present at many of the activities - meeting local schools and communities to share the message of the run, which is "Peace Begins with Me." The Peace Run was founded by Sri Chinmoy in 1987 as a practical way to allow people from all walks of life and backgrounds to come together and share the common aspiration of humanity to work towards a more harmonious and peaceful world.

The Peace Run was warmly welcomed by local dignitaries, hospital staff, schools, interfaith leaders and were given a special welcome at the University Games.

President of the European Peace Run, Devashishu Torpy said: "It was a really good experience to meet so many welcoming people and feel their genuine wish to support the aims and aspirations of the Peace Run."

Paintings for World Peace and Harmony

During the week, the Jharna Kala paintings of Sri Chinmoy were displayed at 14 locations in the city, including Falcone Borsellino Airport, the Academy of Fine Arts, the Botanical Garden,  the Faculty of Law,  the Polididactic Hall of Viale delle Scienze, the Court of Palermo, and the Sant’Antonino University Library. Some of the art exhibitions were also the venue for short music concerts, by groups such as Mountain Silence.

Parade for Peace

A very significant event was a Parade for Peace, joined by many local people. It included a 100-meter long "Canvas for Peace" which was drawn by young school children, who all contributed their own artistic thoughts on themes of peace, harmony and brotherhood. The long Canvas for Peace was also joined by other groups to reach a total length of 150 metres.

Interfaith meeting

This is just a snapshot of the many varied activities, which took place. More events and photographs can be viewed at the Peace Run website.

• One week of Peace Begins - 8 November
• A Path of Peace through Palermo - 16 November

Peace quote by Sri Chinmoy from Sri Chinmoy, Run And Smile, Smile And Run, Agni Press, 2000.

Impossibility Challenger was an event founded in 1982 by Sri Chinmoy with the idea to give people the chance to transcend their limitations and make an effort to set a new world record or personal best. The event is organised by members of the Sri Chinmoy Centre and, in the past few decades, has been held in several cities around the world The unique event attracts a diverse range of participants who are keen to test themselves in the friendly and welcoming atmosphere of 'Impossibility Challenger'.

This years edition was held in Den Haag, Netherlands, and attracted a range of record breakers from quickest time to solve a Rubik's cube and tests of memory - to physical challenges such as the fastest running whilst skipping.

Sri Chinmoy encouraged this event because he felt that the personal effort and discipline of trying to better oneself could give a more meaningful understanding of our latent capacities and this effort to reach new achievements would give a genuine sense of happiness. Sri Chinmoy often described this effort of challenging ourself as a philosophy of 'self-transcendence'.

Either forget impossibility’s challenge
Or challenge impossibility’s pride
To become truly happy.

- Sri Chinmoy

At this year's event, one of the participants was Ashrita Furman, who holds the Guinness World Record for having the most world records. In a record-breaking career, since 1979, he has set over 700 Guinness Records and currently holds more than 200. At this event, he set a new record for cutting 59 kiwis in a minute and also - completing 66 rounds of juggling a burning torch, within one minute.

The event attracted a range of self-transcendence feats - including push-ups, paper folding, skipping, sack racing and fastest one-handed hand-clap. It also included an epic feat of poetry recital. American Mahiruha Klein recited, over a period of several hours, 1,000 poems of Sri Chinmoy from the poetry series "The Golden Boat"  He later commented that he recited from memory 965 absolutely correct, with just a few slips in the other 35 poems. For Mahiruha, the long period of recital was not about the outer display of memory, but a very rewarding inner experience to become immersed in a world of spiritual poetry.

The event attracted substantial media coverage from the local Dutch press who covered the unique challenges of the event.

Recently, at the world-renowned Kodaly Centre, in Hungary, over 800 school children performed a special concert for Peace. The concert to promote peace and harmony was held in honour of the UN International Day for Peace. The concert also featured 15 different songs by composer Sri Chinmoy. The songs were in English, Bengali and some translated into Hungarian.

The children came from 23 different schools across Hungary and were led by the music group Mountain Silence. Mountain-Silence have performed at venues across the world for the past 25 years, but this was a unique experience as they were joined by so many other singers, to create a wonderful harmony of voices.

Sri Chinmoy was a prolific composer who composed many songs on the theme of the heart's aspiration and inner peace. One of his songs on peace reads:

A new world of peace,
A new world of light,
A new world of height,
Can alone give me
Satisfaction-delight.

- Sri Chinmoy

The event created a positive and vibrant atmosphere in the famous concert hall, with the children enthusiastically entering the spirit of the music and creating a dynamic and uplifting sound. To further the aims of the Concert for Peace, members of the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run made a brief presentation on how they have been running for peace around Europe.

Song from Journey's Goal, part 1 at Sri Chinmoy Songs