Interviewer: Are you sure that it is a million birds? How did you keep track?

Sri Chinmoy: Seven or eight students of mine have faithfully and devotedly counted them all, twice. It came to 1,001,919.

Interviewer: I imagine they were all doves. Is that correct?

Sri Chinmoy: No, they are birds of my imagination — in all different shapes and sizes. I have drawn them with ballpoint pens, felt tip markers, crayons, paint brushes and many other things.