Fostering the culture of peace in the heart of humanity...

Peace begins in the heart of humanity. Over the past 43 years, Sri Chinmoy has been travelling throughout the length and breadth of the world to share this universal message of peace through encouragement of world leaders, cultural activities, humanitarian service, interfaith endeavours, sports and shared silence.

“We are all members of a oneness‐world‐family. When we feel that we are brothers and sisters with the same hopes and dreams, then we shall not quarrel and fight. We shall work together to create a peaceful happiness‐home.”
—Sri Chinmoy

The Oneness‐Heart‐Tears and Smiles World‐wide Humanitarian Service The Sri Chinmoy Centres International began collecting medical assistance for the starving people of Russia in 1990. The following year, at the request of President Mikhail Gorbachev, we began sending medicines and equipment to help treat Russian children with leukemia. Since that time, the Sri Chinmoy Centres worldwide have been collecting and sending large quantities of humanitarian assistance to extremely needy people in many countries on 6 continents. At the requests from United Nations Under‐Secretary‐Generals, our group has been a pioneer in sending humanitarian aid to critically needy people in many nations. In Angola, immediately after their 40‐year civil war ended, Sri Chinmoy arranged for the first life‐saving shipments to reach the people by getting a special decree from the Prime Minister.

Sri Chinmoy Oneness‐Home Peace Run In 1987, Sri Chinmoy founded an international relay for the cause of world friendship and peace, the Sri Chinmoy Oneness‐Home Peace Run. Over 3‐ 1/2 million people in more than 120 countries have taken a step for peace and passed a flaming Peace Torch from hand to hand. The global run and Peace Heroes curriculum are instilling the dream of world peace in the hearts of countless children worldwide. On every continent, the Peace Run has bridged barriers to foster oneness among people of all cultures and beliefs.

Sri Chinmoy Peace‐Blossoms Over 1100 landmarks around the globe have been dedicated to peace as part of the Sri Chinmoy Peace‐Blossoms. The Peace‐Blossoms family offers daily reminders to thousands of individuals of our common quest for personal and international harmony. This family encompasses 152 Sri Chinmoy Peace‐Blossoms‐Nations, several borders between countries, half of the states of the US, many provinces, more than 200 capitals, cities and towns; striking man‐made structures such as the Taj Mahal and Sydney Opera House, and magnificent natural wonders as Mt. Everest, Mt. Fuji, the Matterhorn, Niagara Falls, Victoria Falls, Iguaçu Falls, and Lake Baikal.

Interfaith Programmes: Peace Meditation at the United Nations Sri Chinmoy has led the twice‐weekly Peace Meditation at the United Nations since 1970, at the invitation of UN Secretary‐General U Thant for delegates, staff and national of all nationalities and faiths. They share precious moments of silence, plus dialogue and other peace programmes. In 1993 and 2004, Sri Chinmoy led the opening peace silence to unite all the delegates at the world’s largest gatherings of religious leaders, the Parliament of Religions. He has also led Peace Meditations at UNESCO, the U.S. Congress and the British, Norwegian and Australian Parliaments.

Sri Chinmoy Streets In the past year, more than 100 Sri Chinmoy Streets been dedicated in 25 countries worldwide by the authorities. Every day thousands of people from all and backgrounds pass by these streets, and they derive much inspiration and encouragement from Sri Chinmoy’s life and from his message of oneness. Sri Chinmoy is trying to inspire each and every citizen to make progress in their own chosen fields, and specially by expanding their hearts and lives to include all those around them.

Music for Peace and Peace Concerts Sri Chinmoy has composed over 20,000 songs in English and his native Bengali that explore the length and breadth of human experience. He has performed his meditative compositions for hundreds of thousands of people at over 800 Peace Concerts worldwide. During these concerts — which are always free of charge — Sri Chinmoy plays a dozen or more instruments from different cultures. His Peace Concerts have been offered at such halls as London’s Royal Albert Hall, New York’s Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, San Francisco’s Davies Hall, Moscow’s Russia Hall and Tokyo’s Budokan Hall.

Fountain‐Art and Peace‐Birds

Sri Chinmoy calls his artistic works Jharna‐Kala (Fountain‐Art in his native Bengali) to signify art flowing from a creative source. Selections from his over 200,000 paintings and fifteen million peace‐bird drawings have been displayed in galleries worldwide. He began drawing peace‐birds in December 1991, selecting the theme of the bird as a universal symbol of humanity’s peace and freedom.

Literature and Lectures for Inner Peace In nearly 1500 books of poetry, essays, plays and short stories, Sri Chinmoy’s words have conveyed the richness and diversity of the quest for peace and self‐understanding. His published poems number more than 100,000 total, and his publishers include Simon & Schuster, Harper & Row, Watkins, Hazelden, Health Communications and Herder & Herder. Sri Chinmoy has offered hundreds of lectures in every state of the United States and throughout the globe at such distinguished universities as Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge and Tokyo.

Lifting Up the World with a Oneness‐Heart This unique award is offered by Sri Chinmoy to recognise all groups of humanity worldwide, from extraordinary leaders in all walks of life to little children, who are the future leaders. In a spirit of appreciation for their diverse contributions, Sri Chinmoy has lifted each honoree overhead with one arm on a special honorary platform. Preeminent individuals from all over the world who have been so honoured include heads of state, such as President Nelson Mandela, spiritual figures from all faiths, university leaders, renowned musicians and actors, and athletes such as Muhammad Ali and Carl Lewis.

Athletics A 100‐metre sprint and decathlon champion in his youth, Sri Chinmoy believes in the necessity of a sound mind and body. In addition to being an avid tennis player and a world record‐setting weightlifter, he has completed 22 marathons and 5 ultramarathons. He is also the founder of the International Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team, an organisation which sponsors some 500 athletic events annually, from Masters track and field competi‐ tions to the world’s longest certified race of 3100 miles.

Dialogues with World Leaders For over forty‐three years, Sri Chinmoy has had dialogues on world peace and spiritual values with leaders and luminaries from diverse fields of endeavour, including heads of state and ambassadors from many countries, spiritual leaders from all faiths, university leaders, creative and performing artists and athletes.

Honours and Awards In recognition of his lifetime of service for world peace, many significant awards have been conferred on Sri Chinmoy. These include the highest national awards from many nations, such as the Order of Balboa of Panama, the Presidential Medallions of East Timor, Indonesia and Macedonia, the Order of Merit of Hungary, the Mother Teresa Award, the Gold Papal Seals, UNESCO’s Nehru Medallion, the Gandhi Peace Award, The Nehru Medallion. Jesse Owens Humanitarian Award, the heart of country awards from 70 countries, plus honorary degrees from many universities and special awards from such universities as Cambridge and Harvard.

“Through your prayers, meditations, concerts and global ‘Peace Run’, your work has linked peace‐lovers in more than 100 countries and complemented that of the world Organisation…” Secretary‐General Kofi A. Annan, Sep. 22nd, 2000