On 24 October 1975, Sri Chinmoy met Mother Teresa for the first time at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. It was the first international interfaith conference at the United Nations. Sri Chinmoy offered the opening silent prayer for world peace, and Mother Teresa spoke on God’s Love. She asked members of all faiths to serve the poor and suffering as members of one family under one loving God.
Mother Teresa received Sri Chinmoy at her Missionaries of Charity House, adjoining the Church of San Gregorio in Rome, Italy. Mother Teresa and Sri Chinmoy spoke privately inside first. Mother Teresa showered her infinite love and affection on Sri Chinmoy, and he offered her his boundless love, admiration and gratitude.
Then Sri Chinmoy presented Mother Teresa with the prestigious U Thant Peace Award on behalf of the Peace Meditation at the United Nations. Sri Chinmoy has led twice-weekly meditations at the UN in New York for diplomats and staff since 1970 at the invitation of Secretary-General U Thant.
Mother Teresa enthusiastically held the Peace Torch from the international Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run. She gave a most beautiful talk on serving God in the poor and offered her favourite prayer to Sri Chinmoy and each of the singers from the Sri Chinmoy Centres. Her prayer card she charmingly called her “business card.”“When she finished with my left hand, she took my right hand from my heart and did the same thing...
“One moment Mother was acting like a mother, the next moment like an elder sister and the third like a younger sister. It was like a brother and sister having a family gathering. No other world figure has shown me this kind of affection!”Mother Teresa: [receiving Sri Chinmoy with great affection]
I am so happy to see you, Sri Chinmoy, after such a long time!
Sri Chinmoy: Once more I have come to receive blessings from you, Mother.
Mother Teresa: God bless you! Thank you!
Sri Chinmoy: I shall always remember our first meeting in 1975.... You came, Mother, along with other religious leaders, and at that time you blessed me.
Mother Teresa: You do so much for us.
Mother Teresa: Please keep this photo of mine with you, so that you can pray for me.
Sri Chinmoy: I am praying, definitely I am praying for you.A further meeting was held on 3 June 1997 at Mother Teresa’s invitation, once again at her Missionaries of Charity House in the Bronx, New York. Mother blessed Sri Chinmoy and fervently requested him to pray for her and also to come with her one day to China to serve the poor and needy.
Sri Chinmoy presented Mother with a very special award created just for her and entitled, Mother Teresa: Humanity’s Flower-Heart; Divinity’s Fragrance-Soul.Sri Chinmoy: Mother, Mother, I have come for your blessings.
Mother Teresa: God bless you, God bless you. Please keep praying for us every day.
Sri Chinmoy: Every day I pray, Mother, for your health and for the success of your Mission.
Mother Teresa: I always have a gift to give you, which is my love.
Sri Chinmoy: You have so much to give to mankind, Mother.
Mother Teresa: One day you must come with me to China!
Mother Teresa: When are you coming to Calcutta? You must come and see me in Calcutta. And you pray for us also.
Sri Chinmoy: I am praying, praying.... You have to be with us to bless us, to take care of us.Mother Teresa and Sri Chinmoy met for the final time on 17 June 1997 at Mother’s Missionaries of Charity House in the Bronx, New York. About 40 of Sri Chinmoy’s students accompanied him. This was to be Mother’s last visit to America. In honour of her upcoming birthday on 27 August, which is also Sri Chinmoy’s birthday, Sri Chinmoy presented Mother with a special book of spiritual poems and songs he had written in her honour. The book is entitled Mother Teresa: Humanity’s Flower Heart; Divinity’s Fragrance-Soul. Mother was extremely happy and most lovingly signed a copy for Sri Chinmoy. Then Sri Chinmoy presented hundreds of boxes of medical supplies, which he and his students had collected for Mother. Following that, the Sri Chinmoy Bhajan Singers, an international devotional singing group, sang songs written by Sri Chinmoy to the sacred utterances of the Saviour Christ, and to the immortal utterances of Mother Teresa, as well as songs he had written on Mother Teresa.
[Sri Chinmoy looks on encouragingly as Mother Teresa offers blessings to Ranjana Ghose and the rest of the singers and several devotees.]On the morning of Mother’s departure from America, 27 June 1997, which was to be her last visit to the country, Mother called Sri Chinmoy and offered him her most loving and most affectionate blessings. She fervently requested him to pray for her and repeated her request that he must accompany her when she would open her Missionaries of Charity House in China. That afternoon, just prior to her departure, she wrote a deeply moving letter to Sri Chinmoy:
> “Thank you for all you are to God, for the beautiful work you have done for the glory of God and the good of souls. I keep you in my prayer and I count on your continual support through your prayers and sacrifices that we may do God’s work with great love for His greater glory.”
[From Mother Teresa’s final letter to Sri Chinmoy, New York, 27 June 1997]
Just a few days before Mother’s earthly departure, Sri Chinmoy called Mother Teresa for her birthday on 27 August 1997. In fact, they share the same birthday. This was her 87th birthday and Sri Chinmoy’s 66th birthday.
Brief selection from their final telephone conversation:
Sri Chinmoy: Happy, happier, happiest birthday, Mother!
Mother Teresa: Ah! You know it is my birthday!
Sri Chinmoy: Mother, who does not know that it is your birthday! When the sun shines, the whole world knows that the sun is shining! I am praying to the Saviour Christ to grant you His very, very special Blessings on your birthday. You came into the world to do something really great, and you have been doing that through your sleepless service to humanity.
Mother Teresa: All that you are doing is for the Glory of God and the good for people! Pray for me, as I pray for you for all of your many projects for world peace. Your works of love are works of prayer, and your works of prayer are works of God.On the evening of 5 September 1997, in Warsaw, Poland, Sri Chinmoy received the shattering news of Mother Teresa’s passing. Immediately he held a long period of silent meditation with nearly 2000 of his students.
In the following weeks, Sri Chinmoy offered his special prayers and held several memorial programmes for Mother Teresa. His students sang his loving tribute, My Morning-Evening-Prayer-Song, at churches all over the world.
MISSIONARIES OF CHARITY
MY DEAREST SISTER NIRMALA,
MY EYES, MY HEART AND MY LIFE ARE ALL SWIMMING IN THE SEA OF TEARS. THE MOTHER GAVE EACH AND EVERY BREATH OF HER LIFE TO THE POOR AND THE HELPLESS SUFFERERS. LET US ALL OFFER OUR EVER-BLOSSOMING GRATITUDE-HEARTS TO HER. SHE CLAIMED US AS HER OWN, VERY OWN. NOW IT IS FOR US TO CLAIM HER AS OUR OWN, VERY OWN, BY LIVING AND SERVING HUMANITY SLEEPLESSLY AND BREATHLESSLY...
YOURS IN THE MOTHER,
SRI CHINMOY
[Sri Chinmoy’s telegram of condolence sent on the night of Mother’s passing.]Mother,
A single whisper from youHas transformed
Thousands of non-believersAnd disbelievers.
``````
My sisters and brothers of the world,Are we so blind that we cannot see
God's own AutographOn Mother Teresa's foreheads?
``````
Mother Teresa does many, many thingsFor the betterment of the world,
But when she washes awayThe untold sufferings
Of the loved onesWith her heart's streaming tears —
That is by far the best. ```Sri Chinmoy was a Bengali-born musician, poet, artist and world lecturer. Based in New York, he used his music to promote World-Peace and to inspire World-Harmony. Sri Chinmoy had dedicated several of his meditative, music compositions to Mother Teresa on a number of occasions during their lifetimes in common.
Mother Teresa had passed behind the curtain of eternity on 5 September 1997. Sri Chinmoy passed 11 October 2007.
This limited edition is printed in honour of Mother Teresa’s birth centenary.From:Sri Chinmoy,Mother Teresa: Humanity’s Flower-Heart, Divinity’s Fragrance-Soul, part 2, Agni Press, 1997
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/mt_2
