Sri Chinmoy once told a student of his "All I want from you is to be happy and to realise God". Perhaps many of his students are a good distance away from the second goal, but they can certainly try to achieve the first! In Sri Chinmoy's philosophy, staying cheerful and happy of paramount importance; when we are depressed or frustrated, it is very hard to make spiritual progress. That is why over the years Sri Chinmoy has come up with one imaginative idea after another to keep his students happy and in the heart.

Earlier this week, Sri Chinmoy was in Ulan Bataar, Mongolia, to receive an award from the country's president, Nambaryn Enkhbayar. The award cited 'his contributions to world peace' and his 'contributions to the people of Mongolia'. Sri Chinmoy also attended an exhibition of his paintings and drawings at the State Academic Theatre of Drama, where he received an award from the Mongolian Union of Artists.

Sri Chinmoy A.C. has been promoting running races in the UK for the past 20 years. In 2007 there is a varied programme of races from short 2 mile "Self Transcendence Races" to the 24 hour Track Race in Tooting Bec, London.

London Races

• London Sri Chinmoy A.C. Home page
  
• London 2007 Fixtures

Ashrita Furman, a long-time student of Sri Chinmoy and the holder of more Guinness world records than any other human being on earth, added another one to his tally yesterday. In an underwater pool in Key West. Florida he set the record for the longest time spent underwater, twirling the hula around his hips for 2 minutes and 20 seconds.

In the space of two days, Sri Chinmoy has performed two remarkable displays of weightlifting transcendence. First, Sri Chinmoy achieved a weightlifting goal he set for himself two months ago, when he lifted a stack of plates weighing a massive 700lb - four times his own bodyweight - using just his right arm. In front of fifty observers at a private outdoor garden in New York, Sri Chinmoy meditated for a few moments before beginning a series of lifts which progressed in 50-lb increments to his ultimate goal of 700lbs.

The Six- and Ten Day Self-Transcendence Races have just finished in New York. These races are organised by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team, which was founded by Sri Chinmoy in 1977 as a service to the running community and has now become the largest organiser of long-distance running events in the world. During these multiday races the runners have to battle against the stresses and strains of the body and reduced sleep as they make their way around a one-mile loop over and over again.

In 1974, Sri Chinmoy took up painting as yet another field through which he could inspire his fellow man. He called his painting 'Jharna-Kala' meaning fountain-art' in his native Bengali, or art flowing from the inner source. Sri Chinmoy says of his painting:

"The whole picture does not come to me at once. As I start painting, I see a streak of light right ahead of me and devotedly I try to follow that streak of light. But on some rare occasions the light is so powerful that I envision the painting long before I have actually touched the paper, I don’t bring it forth; it comes to the fore from within. In the light the colour is there. Each time I see the streak of light, I see the colour.”

In the years following his entry into the art world, Sri Chinmoy produced an enormous number of paintings - over 140,000 paintings in a 33 year span. In 1991 he began a new series of drawings titles 'Soul-Birds' - drawings of birds that capture aspects of the human soul. To date he has drawn over 15 million of these birds.

Sri Chinmoy's paintings have been displayed in such notable galleries as the Louvre; in addition, exhibitions have been held in national houses of parliament and UN-affiliated organisations across the world. At the time of writing, there are travelling exhibitions of Sri Chinmoy's artwork in quite a few countries all across the world: last year saw exhibitions in London and Paris, and a recent exhibition was held in the Ukraine early this year.

Read more about Sri Chinmoy's art on this site...

Related links:

• Sri Chinmoy Art: painting gallery, plus Sri Chinmoy's writings on art.
• Gallery of Jharna Kala at Sri Chinmoy Centre
• Video footage of an exhibition in Ottawa, Canada displaying Sri Chinmoy's first one million bird drawings.

Quite a few students of Sri Chinmoy have set up their own spaces on the Internet where they can share inspiration, give an insight into the joys and challenges of the spiritual life, and share some of the experiences they have had with their teacher.

Every April and August, Sri Chinmoy invites his students from all over the world to visit him in New York. During that time he generally meets with his students twice a day. During these meditation functions Sri Chinmoy meditates with his students, but there are also singing and instrumental performances, soulful poetry and prayer recitals, inspiring stories, illumining theatre productions and more. Here are just a few of the things that happened this time around: