Part VIII
CSC 49-60. On 14 January 2005, Sri Chinmoy responded to questions asked by Gaia, a reporter for the //Beijing Science and Technology Report//. Her interview was conducted over the telephone. Gaia was in Beijing and Sri Chinmoy was at the Shangri-La Golden Flower Hotel in Xi'an.Sri Chinmoy: Good morning! Good morning! Your name is Gaia? Did you know that Gaia is also an Indian name? In India there is a very sacred city named Gaya. Bodh Gaya is a place of pilgrimage. Near that place, under the bodhi tree, the Buddha reached Nirvana. There he attained his full illumination so it is a very sacred place for us, a most sacred place.
I understand you have several questions. May I start answering them?Question: Of all the many instruments that you play, which instrument do you like the most?
Sri Chinmoy: I play quite a few musical instruments. My most favourite instrument is the esraj. It is an Indian instrument and it originated over five hundred years ago during the time of the Moghul emperors. The greatest of all the emperors was Akbar. It was at his court that the musicians used to play this particular instrument, the esraj.
Sri Chinmoy, Conversations with Sri Chinmoy, Agni Press, 2007
