My prayerful salutations to the United Nations
Editor's introduction
To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations, which he reverently calls the Heart-Home of the World-Body, Sri Chinmoy offered fifty free concerts of music for peace throughout the world in 1995. During these concerts he performed his meditative compositions on a variety of instruments from many countries, and offered a brief statement dedicating the concert to the United Nations.The first concert was held in Myanmar, birthplace of the third Secretary-General of the United Nations, U Thant. With U Thant’s blessingful encouragement, Sri Chinmoy began his devoted service to the United Nations in 1970, in the form of twice-weekly peace meditations. Thus, coinciding with the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations is the twenty-fifth anniversary of Sri Chinmoy: The Peace Meditation at the United Nations.
Following is a list of the fifty concert venues, along with selected dedications by Sri Chinmoy and tributes kindly offered by distinguished guests and friends.
List of the fifty Peace Concert venues in 1995
January5 Mya Yeik Nyo Deluxe Hotel, Yangon, Myanmar 22 Maui Lu Hotel Kihei, Maui, Hawaii
April
8 Julia Richman High School, New York, New York
May
12 Cirque d’Hiver Paris, France 13 Wembley Conference Centre, London, England 23 General Assembly Hall Lobby, United Nations, New York, New York
June
23 First Unitarian Church, San Francisco, California 26 The Great Hall, Parliament House, Canberra, Australia 28 (8 pm) Melbourne Concert Hall, Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne, Australia 28 (10pm) Melbourne Concert Hall, Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne, Australia 30 Aotea Centre Auckland, New Zealand
July
5 Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York 21 Madison Building, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 21 Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C.
August
7 Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York 8 Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York 9 Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York 10 Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York 11 Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York 12 Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York 13 Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York 14 Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York 15 Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York 16 Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York 17 Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York 19 Julia Richman High School, New York, New York
October
5 Centre Sportif du Bout du Monde, Geneva, Switzerland 6 Palais Ferstel, Vienna, Austria 8 Sportoyni Hala Sparta, Prague, Czech Republic 14 Palais des Congres, Montreal, Quebec, Canada 20 Public School 86, Jamaica, New York 28 Marina Hotel, Los Angeles, California
November
l Public School 86 Jamaica, New York 3 Public School 86 Jamaica, New York 4 University Temple, United Methodist Church, Seattle, Washington 7 Pilgrim-Dream-Blossoms, Jamaica, New York 8 Public School 86, Jamaica, New York 9 Pilgrim-Dream-Blossoms, Jamaica, New York 15 Public School 117, Jamaica, New York 17 D.C. Armory, Washington, D.C. 20 Labouisse Hall, UNICEF House, New York, New York 25 Public School 117, Jamaica, New York 27 Zimmer Auditorium, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 29 Public School 86, Jamaica, New York
December
l Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Institute of Indian Culture, New York, New York 3 Perfection-Surprise, Jamaica, New York 6 Public School 86, Jamaica, New York 7 (11 am) Pilgrim-Dream-Blossoms, Jamaica, New York 7 (8 pm) Saint Paul the Apostle Church, New York, New York 8 Kaplan Penthouse, Lincoln Center, New York, New York
Selected dedications and tributes
5 January 1995, Mya Yeik Nyo, Deluxe Hotel, Yangon, Myanmar
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5 January 1995, Mya Yeik Nyo, Deluxe Hotel, Yangon, Myanmar
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:
Today’s Peace Concert I am most devotedly and most gratefully dedicating to the soul of the United Nations. This year the United Nations marks its fiftieth anniversary. My students who are working at the United Nations and I have been offering our prayers and meditations at the United Nations twice a week for the last twenty-five years. Our Peace Meditation Group at the United Nations will forever and forever remain grateful to the all-illumining soul and the all-embracing heart of the world-family, the United Nations, for blessing us with the golden opportunity to serve the peace-dream-embodiment of the world-family.
22 January 1995, Maui Lu Hotel, Kihei, Maui, Hawaii
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:Today’s Peace Concert I am most prayerfully and most soulfully dedicating to the world-oneness-peace-dreamer-soul of the United Nations, which is marking its fiftieth fruitful year.
8 April 1995, Julia Richman High School, New York, New York
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations. I am offering this prayerful concert to the most illumining soul of the United Nations.
Message from His Excellency Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the Soviet Union, and 1990 Nobel Peace Laureate:
Sri Chinmoy: I am extremely happy and deeply honoured to have with us Mrs. Irina Malikova, who is a very close associate of President Gorbachev. According to the vision of my aspiration-heart and dedication-life, President Gorbachev is the greatest and highest peace-dreamer and peace-lover in the world. Quite recently my beloved President Gorbachev wrote me a most compassionate and blessingful letter. I would like Mrs. Malikova to kindly share his blessingful message with us.
Mrs. Malikova read the following excerpt from the letter, dated 27 March 1995:
Dear friend Sri Chinmoy,
It is with a feeling of deep respect for your life of selfless devotion, and with appreciation of your good deeds, that I want to extend my felicitations to you on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of your peace mission in the United Nations.
There are not many people in the world who are so sincerely dedicated to the ideals of love of fellow human beings, peace and understanding, and who are so self-giving in their actions. You combine remarkably well the intellectual powers of a thinker, the multiformity of talent and a sincere and kind heart open to people.
Your deeds are invaluable, for they cannot be measured by any economic or political parameters; they are noble and they cure the human soul.
I thank you for your help and support, and most importantly — for your friendship, and wish you good health and success in your truly humanitarian activities for years to come.
12 May 1995, Cirque d'Hiver, Paris, France
Excerpt from introductory remarks given at the Peace Concert at Cirque d’Hiver by His Excellency Mr, Keshav Raj Jha, the Ambassador of Nepal to France:
Sri Chinmoy is a personality well known all over the world for his consistent struggle to spread the message of peace in the hearts of men and women from all parts of the world and all paths of life. During past decades, he has made immense contributions to promote peace.
Excerpt from a letter received from Ms, Francine Fournier, Deputy Director General for Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO, dated 5 January 1996:
I would like to congratulate Sri Chinmoy for his activities for peace and oneness, which relate to the work that we have been pursuing for half a century “to build in the minds of men the defenses of peace.”
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:
This year the United Nations is completing its fiftieth year of serving the world-community with its soul, heart, mind and body. I am extremely happy and fortunate that my students and I have been offering our prayers and meditations to the United Nations for the past twenty-five years. Today’s Peace Concert I am most prayerfully offering to the loving heart and illumining soul of the United Nations.
13 May 1995 Wembley Conference Centre London, England
His Excellency Dr. L.M. Singhvi, High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom, introduced Sri Chinmoy at the Peace Concert and also hosted a reception afterwards for distinguished guests, including twenty-five ambassadors from different nations. Following are excerpts from Dr. Singhvi’s introductory remarks:
Sri Chinmoy’s contribution to world peace is at the level of the fundamental awareness of the human spirit…Sri Chinmoy is a spiritual master who brings the music of the soul to all of us this evening, particularly in celebration of the United Nations: the concept of the United Nations as a community, the concept of the United Nations as a cultural ethos, the concept of the United Nations as a vehicle of peace. And this he has done for the last twenty-five years. Even recently, the torches of peace ignited by Queen Elizabeth at the VE Day Anniversary Celebrations were lit by Sri Chinmoy’s annual Peace Run torch. He offers, therefore, a beacon-light for the world…
The time for the idea of the togetherness of humankind has now come. It is at this time that the voice of Sri Chinmoy and the sound of his music become the soul-stir-ring call to our spirit. We are indebted to him; the whole of humanity is in his debt for consistently striving for peace and for giving voice to the cause of peace through music throughout the world…
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy
This year the United Nations is observing its fiftieth anniversary. Today’s Peace Concert I am prayerfully offering to the all-illumining soul of the United Nations.
23 May 1995, General Assembly Hall Lobby, United Nations, New York, New York
(Performance by Sri Chinmoy on fifty instruments from various nations around the world)
Excerpt from a special message on the occasion of the Peace Concert at the United Nations sent on 23 May 1995 by His Excellency Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the Soviet Union and 1990 Nobel Peace Laureate:
It is not by chance that the United Nations has been giving increasing attention in its activities to the spiritual improvement of the human being, and Sri Chinmoy plays an enormous role in that noble work.
I wish to express the hope that the music you are going to hear today will strengthen your confidence that life and the world in which we are living are still beautiful, and that we are duty-bound to do all we can to make them even better.
Excerpt from welcoming remarks given at the Peace Concert by His Excellency Mr. Karel Kovanda, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the United Nations:
In this hectic life that we are all living here, and for some of us even more hectic than for others — those of us who have little babies and those of us who serve on the Security Council — Sri Chinmoy manages to bring a little slowness into life, manages to help us appreciate the minutes rather than just the days, and for this we are very grateful.
Excerpt from a statement on the occasion of the Peace Concert at the United Nations by His Excellency Dr. Jorge E. Illueca, Permanent Representative of Panama to the United Nations:
Sri Chinmoy has been a cherished friend for almost twenty years. During this time I have been privileged to participate in a number of activities of the Peace Meditation at the United Nations, and I have observed with growing satisfaction the growing impact of his message of universal harmony and understanding…. Sri Chinmoy has a pure vision of what the United Nations means inwardly and what it can become outwardly. The efforts of the United Nations for peace, justice and development need a solid spiritual foundation, and Sri Chinmoy has been working tirelessly for twenty-five years to strengthen that foundation.
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:
Prayerfully and soulfully I am offering today’s Peace Concert to the world-illumining soul of the United Nations.
23 June 1995, First Unitarian Church, San Francisco, California
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:
Today’s Peace Concert I am prayerfully dedicating to the all-illumining soul and all-serving heart of the United Nations.
26 June 1995, The Great Hall, Parliament House Canberra, Australia
26 June 1995, The Great Hall, Parliament House Canberra, Australia.
Excerpts from a letter dated 24 April 1995 from His Excellency Mr. Paul J. Keating, Prime Minister of Australia, regarding the Peace Concert in Australia:
Your activities in inspiring a vision of peace are recognised around the world, as is your special contribution to the United Nations. It would be a privilege to have one of your Peace Concerts performed in Australia.
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:
Today’s Peace Concert I am soulfully offering to the all-illumining soul of the United Nations. Precisely fifty years ago the United Nations saw the light of day in San Francisco, California. The Charter of the United Nations was signed there. Many visionaries were present, but a beloved son of Australia, Dr. Evatt, was endowed with the vision supreme. His vision was clear; his vision was perfect. He wanted the young and the old alike to express their illumining values, to share the truth with the rest of the world. Many were not certain of the destination of the United Nations, but Dr. Evatt’s vision was absolutely clear. He was certain that the boat of the United Nations would arrive at the destined goal at God’s choice Hour. This world of ours would one day be flooded with peace. A oneness-world would definitely be established.
O Australia, O ancient land, you take a drop from the rest of the world, and in return you offer an ocean. You take a streak of light from the world, and you offer the sun. Your heart’s magnanimity forever and forever remains unparalleled in the inner world of aspiration and in the outer world of dedication.
To you, to your heart, to your life and to your soul I bow and bow and bow.
28 June 1995 (8 pm) Melbourne Concert Hall
Excerpts from remarks made during a presentation at the Melbourne Peace Concert by Ms. Sue Nattrass, General Manager of the Victorian Arts Centre:
The Victorian Arts Centre stands as a symbol of the creativity of the human spirit. This creativity has its source in the peace found deep within our hearts in moments of quiet reflection. When we discover our own inner peace, we have the power to create peace in the world-community. Sri Chinmoy is an international ambassador of peace who uses his creative ability to convey feelings of universal harmony and peace. His Peace Concerts have delighted audiences around the world.
28 June 1995 (8 pm) Melbourne Concert Hall Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne, Australia
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:
Today’s Peace Concert I am prayerfully and soulfully dedicating to the oneness-heart of the United Nations.
28 June 1995 (10 p.m.), Melbourne Concert Hall Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne, Australia
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:
Today’s Peace Concert I am dedicating to the all-illumining soul, to the all-embracing heart and to the all-serving life of the United Nations.
30 June 1995, Aotea Centre, Auckland, New Zealand
30 June 1995, Aotea Centre, Auckland, New Zealand
Excerpt from remarks by His Excellency Mr. Jim Bolger, Prime Minister of New Zealand, during a meeting with Sri Chinmoy on 29 June 1995:
Your work for peace is well-known to New Zealanders….Your achievements are remarkable! Your words are very, very interesting and very true.
Excerpt from welcoming remarks at the Peace Concert by Mr. Les Mills, Mayor of Auckland:
Sri Chinmoy is a man who, for the past thirty years, has dedicated his life to world peace and, most importantly, to the development of the human spirit, to moving people of the world from darkness into light.
Sri Chinmoy, as you all know, is…a fabulous man, an inspiring man who has worked as a universal ambassador of peace.
Sri Chinmoy is here to help us understand our unique worth and to inspire us to respect that worth in others, to understand that worth in others, and to treat others with tolerance and love. To change the world, we must first live in peace and harmony with our families and neighbours.
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy
Today’s Peace Concert I am prayerfully dedicating to the all-illumining soul, all-loving heart and all-serving life of the United Nations. I wish to offer my heart’s soulful gratitude to the esteemed Mayor of Auckland for offering his tribute to the audience so kindly and compassionately. My heart’s prayerful love, joy and gratitude I am offering to his heart’s kindness and magnanimity.
5 July 1995, Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York
Special prayer offered by Sri Chinmoy during the Peace Concert:O Supreme Pilot of the United Nations, do awaken the life, illumine the mind and bless the heart of the United Nations.
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:
Today’s Peace Concert I am offering to the light-thirsty mind and peace-hungry heart of the United Nations.
21 July 1995, Madison Building Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
21 July 1995, Madison Building Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
21 July 1995, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C.
Message from Mother Teresa, Founder, Missionaries of Charity, and 1979 Nobel Peace Laureate, sent on 24 July 1995, soon after the Peace Concerts at the Library of Congress and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.:
One day we will be able to use Sri Chinmoy’s beautiful songs in all of our houses….I am offering my blessings to Sri Chinmoy and to each one of his beautiful songs with my whole heart….
7 August 1995, Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:O United Nations, I need your soul’s blessings, I need your heart’s love and I need your life’s concern to spread your nectar-light and delight here, there and all-where throughout the length and breadth of the world.
May your inner divinity and your outer reality become one, inseparably one, like the beauty and fragrance of the self-same flower.
Today I am offering my Peace Concert to your life, to your heart and to your soul with the gratitude that my outer life has and the gratitude that my inner life is.
8 August 1995, Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:O United Nations, humanity’s oneness-peace entirely depends upon your mind’s enlightenment-thirst; humanity’s fulness-bliss absolutely depends upon your heart’s fulfilment-hunger.
9 August 1995, Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:As the human in us wants greatness-heights and the Divine in us wants goodness-depths, even so, the earthly mind of the United Nations wants world-acceptance and world-acclaim, and the Heavenly heart of the United Nations wants self-sacrifice and world peace.
10 August 1995, Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:The United Nations is both God the Creator’s world-harmony-home and His world-transformation-promise inside the Heart of God the creation.
11 August 1995, Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:O United Nations, the most auspicious day will dawn, either in the near future or in the distant future, when the entire world will readily, eagerly and utterly depend upon you for the full manifestation of world peace here on earth. This is indeed your soul’s dream and your soul’s promise to the Lord Absolute Supreme.
May your dream be crowned with success.
12 August 1995, Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:O United Nations, they are telling me that you have failed, utterly failed. I am telling them that you have not failed and you will not fail. Why? Why? Because in you is God’s Compassion-Eye for the establishment of world peace; because inside your heart is God’s Satisfaction-Heart; because inside your soul is God’s Vision-Promise for the manifestation of His Self-Transcendence on earth. His Self-Transcendence in you and through you will bring about a new world-harmony, a new world-peace, a new world-bliss and a new world-perfection.
13 August 1995, Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:May the world-oneness-peace-dream of the United Nations every day bloom and blossom in the heart of aspiring humanity.
14 August 1995, Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:O United Nations, in today’s newspaper report your leader is telling the whole world that you are “completely bankrupt and you cannot meet either current needs or current obligations.”
O United Nations, financially you may be bankrupt, but I pray to my Lord Supreme most soulfully that you never become bankrupt philosophically, ethically, morally and spiritually. You are indeed chosen by the Absolute Supreme to lead and guide the entire world to its destination: a oneness-world-home flooded with the peace of the ever-transcending Beyond.
15 August 1995, Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:O my United Nations, a good many world figures and also the common man are of the opinion that you have now become a useless nothingness. But my aspiration-heart and dedication-life shall never and never subscribe to their view. To me, you are and you will forever remain a fruitful fulness awakening the sleeping humanity to create a oneness-flooded peace-world.
16 August 1995, Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:O United Nations, your soul is luminous; therefore, I bow to your soul. Your heart is precious; therefore, I bow to your heart. Your life is gracious; therefore, I bow to your life.
Quite recently Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali made a great announcement: “We are fixing the U.N.” May God grant him success.
17 August 1995, Aspiration-Ground, Jamaica, New York
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:O United Nations, the Absolute Supreme blessed you with His most precious Dream: a world-oneness-hunger. Can you not offer your highest reality to the Absolute Supreme: a fulness-world-peace? Try! You can, you certainly can succeed.
19 August 1995, Julia Richman High School, New York, New York
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:The United Nations has completed fifty years. Our Peace Meditation at the United Nations has completed twenty-five years. I wish to offer twenty-five million gratitude-flowers from the very depth of my heart to the soul of the United Nations.
O soul of the United Nations, do bring to the fore your indomitable will-power to transform the earth-bound consciousness of humanity into a Heaven-free consciousness. Alas, there are many, many human beings on earth who are not taking you seriously anymore. O United Nations, do prove to these unaspiring human beings that they are utterly mistaken. The Absolute Lord Supreme has entrusted you with His Vision Supreme to change the face and fate of mankind. His own Promise in and through you He will without fail fulfil at His own choice Hour.
5 October 1995, Centre Sportif du Bout du Monde, Geneva, Switzerland
Excerpt from remarks by Mr. Vladimir F. Petrovsky, Director General of the United Nations Office in Geneva, at his private residence during a meeting with Sri Chinmoy before the Peace Concert:I admire you very much, Sri Chinmoy. What I admire very much in your case are your relentless efforts to achieve the goal of peace. For me, you and your Group are like the United Nations, a miniature United Nations. You now have Centres in most countries all over the world. You have long been a dear and close friend. My friendship with you and with all your students is a most pleasant experience in my life.
Introductory remarks given at the Peace Concert by Mr. Aleksandr Gavroushkin, Political Affairs Officer and Special Assistant to Mr. Vladimir Petrovsky:
On behalf of the Director General of the United Nations Office in Geneva, I would like to welcome Sri Chinmoy and, indeed, all the participants in this concert, to the city.
This event is dedicated to peace, and the purpose and aim of the United Nations is also peace. Thus, it is not an accident that Sri Chinmoy, his ideas and his activities are deeply respected at the United Nations. He is among those few who are able to share their spiritual strengths with others to provide us with guidance, hope and encouragement. And this is why I am sure that this concert will be among the most remarkable events in our lives.
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:
Today’s Peace Concert I am prayerfully, soulfully and self-givingly offering to the most illumining soul of the United Nations. True, according to many, if not all, the United Nations has made deplorable mistakes. In spite of that, the United Nations has served the world-community in hundreds of ways most beautifully, most powerfully and most convincingly. The role that the United Nations has been playing for the last fifty years in the world-arena will forever and forever be remembered throughout the length and breadth of the world with love, infinite love, and gratitude, infinite gratitude. I personally am most grateful to the Lord Supreme for having given me the golden opportunity to be of service to the United Nations through my prayers and meditations for the last twenty-five years.
6 October 1995, Palais Ferstel Vienna, Austria
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:Today’s Peace Concert I am most prayerfully and most soulfully dedicating to the soul, heart and life of the United Nations. The United Nations has completed fifty years of its existence. In millions of ways the United Nations has been serving the four corners of the globe. With a heart of ever-increasing love and gratitude, my students and I have been serving the United Nations with our prayers and meditations for the last twenty-five years.
Today is a most significant day, for the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, has just blessed the United Nations with his most illumining message. May his choicest blessings open the hearts of all human beings to see the new light that is growing and glowing in the heart of the United Nations to serve and illumine the entire world.
(Attended by an audience of 15,000 people)
8 October 1995, Sportoyni Hala Sparta Prague, Czech Republic
Excerpts from a letter sent on behalf of His Excellency Mr. Václav Havel, President of the Czech Republic, by Mr. Pavel Seifert, Director, Foreign Policy Department, on 25 April 1995:
The President is very sensitive to the importance of this year for world peace, marking as it does the fiftieth anniversary of both the United Nations and the end of the Second World War.
President Havel is pleased that one of Sri Chinmoy’s Peace Concerts is to be celebrated in Prague on October 8th this year. He considers it a great honour for the city…
President Havel sends his best wishes for a peaceful future and hopes that the Concerts for Peace will have a maximum impact in spreading goodwill and understanding throughout the world.
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:
O United Nations, I bow to you, I bow to you, I bow to you.
Today’s Peace Concert I am prayerfully offering to the all-illumining soul of the United Nations, to the all-aspiring heart of the United Nations and to the all-serving life of the United Nations.
Sri Chinmoy’s remarks following the concert:
I wish to offer my life’s prayerful love and my heart’s soulful gratitude to the soul, heart and life of the Czech Republic. I also wish to offer gratitude from the inmost recesses of my heart to each and every individual present here who has so kindly and compassionately listened to my music. With my prayerful music I try to offer my love and peace to all those here and elsewhere who are hungry for peace, genuine peace.
Mankind has everything else save and except peace. Let us dive deep within to discover the most precious divine reality within, and then let us bring to the fore this divine reality, which is peace. Let us pray and pray, and meditate and meditate, so that we can bring about world peace. And let us pray and meditate to inundate this world with peace: shanti, shanti, shanti.
Once more, to each peace-seeker, peace-dreamer and peace-lover present here I am offering my gratitude-heart. In this connection I wish to offer my heart’s deepest gratitude to two Olympic champions, two Czech immortals, Emil Zátopek and Robert Změlík, whose kind and compassionate presence I deeply appreciate and value.
My seeker-friends, my peace-loving brothers and sisters, to you I offer my prayerful, soulful and self-giving heart.
14 October 1995, Palais des Congres, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
(Attended by an audience of 13,000 people)
Excerpt from a letter dated 14 October 1995 from His Excellency Mr. Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada, on the occasion of the Peace Concert in Quebec:
On behalf of the people of Canada, I am pleased to send greetings to you and to the thousands of peace-lovers who join you tonight in Montreal.
You could not have chosen a more fitting setting for your Canadian celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. With its distinctive multicultural flavour, Montreal is a vibrant example of what can be accomplished when people from diverse backgrounds come together in a spirit of tolerance and understanding. These values are at the heart of the international search for peace and harmony, a cause for which you have worked tirelessly at the United Nations over the past twenty-five years.
This special occasion also offers the Canadian peace-lovers who have come to join you a wonderful opportunity to reflect with pride upon the creative role which our country played in the creation of the United Nations, and the immensely positive contribution we have made in a variety of ways to the attainment of its worthy objectives….
Please accept my best wishes for a memorable peace concert and continued success in your inspirational quest for peace on earth.
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:
Today’s Peace Concert I am most prayerfully offering to the all-serving life, all-aspiring heart and all-illumining soul of the United Nations.
20 October 1995, Public School 86, Jamaica, New York
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:To the oneness-world-dream of the United Nations, I am offering today’s Peace Concert.
28 October 1995, Marina Hotel, Los Angeles, California
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:
Today’s Peace Concert I am prayerfully offering to the all-illumining soul and all-serving heart of the United Nations.
The United Nations has completed its fiftieth year, and our Peace Meditation Group is extremely grateful to the soul of the United Nations for the blessingful opportunity to serve the United Nations for the past twenty-five years.
The members of Sri Chinmoy: The Peace Meditation at the United Nations and I are all gratitude to the soul of the United Nations.
1 November 1995, Public School 86, Jamaica, New York
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:With my heart’s daily blossoming gratitude I am offering today’s Peace Concert to the soul of the United Nations.
Excerpt from a letter from Dr. Richard L. McCormick, President, University of Washington, Seattle:
You have won great praise for your ceaseless efforts for the cause of peace, and I want to offer my personal thanks for your inspirational message of hope and goodness. I join you in seeking a world of courage and love.
Thank you for coming to Seattle and for serving the cause of world peace in the University of Washington community.
4 November 1995 University Temple United Methodist Church Seattle, Washington
Excerpt from welcoming remarks at the Peace Concert by Professor Charles Johnson of the University of Washington, winner of the National Book Award:All of Sri Chinmoy’s works are a form of worship, whether they are in the fields of music or writing or literally uplifting others in the world…. I believe that the great creative productivity of this man illustrates for us all that any man or woman devoted to the life of the spirit will bring forth gifts of beauty and redemption in numerous genres and fields of artistic endeavour. Like Gandhi, like Mother Teresa, like Martin Luther King, Jr., Sri Chinmoy’s presence and work among us have enriched all of our lives.
Excerpt from a letter from Mr. Norman B. Rice, Mayor of Seattle:
I am honoured to acknowledge you, Sri Chinmoy, as a renowned ‘Ambassador of Peace’ and as one of the Premier First Citizens of the World.
You have lived an exemplary life devoted to fostering the oneness of people throughout the world. By offering countless individuals of many nations the opportunity to discover the wellspring of peace that lies within themselves, you are creating the foundation for a lasting world peace. Your example is an inspiration to us all.
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:
Today’s Peace Concert I am prayerfully, soulfully and self-givingly offering to the all-illumining soul, all-aspiring heart and all-serving life of the United Nations.
17 November 1995 D.C. Armory, Washington, D.C.
(Attended by an audience of 10,000 people)
His Excellency Mr. Siddhartha. Shankar Ray, Ambassador of India to the United States, introduced Sri Chinmoy at the Washington, D.C. Peace Concert and also hosted a reception afterwards for ambassadors and other distinguished guests.
Following is an excerpt from Ambassador Ray’s introduction:
Sri Chinmoy is an embodiment of Rabindranath Tagore’s immortal concept of ‘the universal man’. For over thirty years Sri Chinmoy has tirelessly dedicated his life to the pursuit of world peace and to the fulfilment of the unlimited potential of the human spirit…
Let us now join Sri Chinmoy and become privy to a cosmic concert which will raise us from the individual state to the universal, and bring us all to the level of a common humanity, so that the world indeed becomes one family — Vasudhaiva kutum-bakam.
25 November 1995
Excerpt from a message conveyed by Ambassador Ray on 25 November 1995:
Sri Chinmoy’s name has become synonymous with universal harmony, global understanding and world peace. This concert celebrates oneness in diversity as exemplified by the high ideals of the United Nations. Mother India applauds Sri Chinmoy’s efforts to raise us from the individual state to the universal and bring us all to the level of a common humanity, so that the world becomes one family.
I join with Sri Chinmoy in his noble prayers for global peace, and deeply appreciate his unprecedented offering to the United Nations in its fiftieth year.
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:
Today’s Peace Concert I am prayerfully dedicating to the world-illumining soul, world-inspiring heart and world-serving life of the United Nations.
20 November 1995, Labouisse Hall, UNICEF House New York, New York
20 November 1995, Labouisse Hall, UNICEF House New York, New York
27 November 1995, Zimmer Auditorium, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
27 November 1995, Zimmer Auditorium, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
25 November 1995 Public School 117 Jamaica, New York
(During this Peace Concert Sri Chinmoy performed on 150 instruments from many nations around the world. The Concert lasted for 14 hours, from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.)
Excerpt from a message sent for the occasion by His Excellency Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the Soviet Union and 1990 Nobel Peace Laureate:
I cannot fail to express once more my admiration for your creative energy and versatile talents, the main purpose of which is to serve people.
I sincerely wish you success, and I am sure that the Concert will become yet another significant contribution to peace and understanding among peoples, for culture and spirituality are the everlasting values which sustain the universe.
Excerpt from a message sent for the occasion by Mother Teresa, Founder, Missionaries of Charity, and 1979 Nobel Peace Laureate:
What a wonderful work Sri Chinmoy is doing for world peace! Thank God for this great gift from Sri Chinmoy. He is giving us such a wonderful opportunity in this way to serve God and all the people of the world. It is all for the Glory of God and for the good of people….
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:
One hundred fifty instruments I shall play today. I shall offer my gratitude in one hundred and fifty ways to the Supreme for creating the United Nations, which is the main instrument to bring about world peace. I am trying to be of service to His main instrument, and I have been doing this for the last twenty-five years. These musical instruments I am using to inspire my life so that I can offer my gratitude to the Supreme and to the soul, heart and life of the United Nations.
We all have imperfections; the United Nations also has imperfections. These imperfections must not ruin our determination, eagerness and enthusiasm. Let us try to take these imperfections as extra opportunities to make ourselves absolutely perfect by transforming them into divine realities.
Let us remain in our highest and deepest consciousness and offer our gratitude to the Supreme Pilot within us for granting us the opportunity to be of service to Him. We are offering our prayerful and soulful gratitude to Him not only in one way but in one hundred and fifty ways.
1 December 1995, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Institute of Indian Culture, New York, New York
Dr. P. Jayaraman, Executive Director of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, USA, offered the welcoming remarks at the Peace Concert. Following is an excerpt from a letter dated 27 November 1995 from Dr. Jayaraman regarding the concert series:
Sri Chinmoy embodies the spiritual, intellectual, philosophic and cultural glory of India. Vasudhaiva kutumbakam — the whole world is a family. Sri Chinmoy’s life is dedicated to the cause of creating this world-family with love, harmony and peace.
Sri Chinmoy’s music has meditative and spiritual power, and his meditation has musical and soul-touching melody…. He makes everyone realise that the soul-power is supreme and can raise the individual to any height.
Excerpt from a letter dated 5 December 1995 from Mr. C. Subrainaniam, President, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan:
Today we need the blessings of holy men to preserve peace in the world. Sri Chinmoy is contributing a great deal to establish peace on earth and to promote harmony in human society.
… I hope that the United Nations fiftieth anniversary concert in New York will prove a great success, as it brings about the harmony of music injected into the society.
Excerpt from a letter dated 7 December 1995 from Mr. S. Ramakrishnan, Executive Secretary and Director General, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan:
For over three decades now, revered Sri Chinmoy has been spreading peace, shanti, through divine music, the language that knows no barriers. Through the unifying force and rhythm of music, Sri Chinmoy has transcended all man-made barriers of race, religion, nation, caste or creed. Verily, Sri Chinmoy is an Adarsha Visliva Manava: ideal citizen of the world.
7 December 1995 Saint Paul the Apostle Church New York, New York
7 December 1995 Saint Paul the Apostle Church New York, New York
8 December 1995, Kaplan Penthouse, Lincoln Center, New York, New York
This was the fiftieth and final Peace Concert in Sri Chinmoy’s 1995 series dedicated to the United Nations.
Excerpt from welcoming remarks given at the Peace Concert by Ms. Alina Bloomgarden, Director of Visitor Services at Lincoln Center:
This evening’s Peace Concert is a very special one for Lincoln Center and will be remembered as a most precious occasion. Tonight the innermost wish for peace that we all share is certain to be united by the music and the heart of this man. So it is with pleasure and gratitude that I welcome all of you this evening as Sri Chinmoy graces Lincoln Center and all of us with his spiritual music and meditation.
Excerpts from introductory remarks given at the Peace Concert by Mr. James Irsay, Announcer, WQXR classical radio station of The New York Times:
We have come tonight to see a very special person, a man who has more than a glimmer of hope, for he feels the inevitability of peace amid all the horrible wars and hatreds that concern us all. His hope and his vision are what he so eloquently expresses in his music, which comes from a deep spiritual source. Let us all discover in his music the lover of peace, and then let us all be lovers of peace and share his heart’s aspiration for a better world.
Peace Concert dedication by Sri Chinmoy:
Today we are completing our fifty Peace Concerts which we have dedicated to the all-illumining soul, all-aspiring heart and all-serving life of the United Nations.
O soul of the United Nations, to you I bow. O heart of the United Nations, to you I bow. O life of the United Nations, to you I bow. O Lord Beloved Supreme, to You I bow and bow and bow for giving me and my students who are working at the United Nations the golden opportunity to serve the United Nations for the last twenty-five years. At the end of our journey’s close, today, O Lord Supreme, we are offering You gratitude and gratitude and gratitude from the inmost recesses of our heart.
Following are excerpts from some of the letters and messages sent on the occasion of Sri Chinmoy's fiftieth Peace Concert.
Excerpt from a letter dated 11 December 1995 from His Excellency Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1982 to 1991:On the momentous occasion of your final Peace Concert celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations, I would like to hail once again your invaluable contributions to world peace and human togetherness, which are a source of pride and inspiration for political action worldwide. Please accept my sincere thanks for what you are doing for the betterment of mankind.
Excerpt from a letter dated 4 December 1995 from His Excellency Mr. Kurt Waldheim, Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981 and former President of Austria:
I have heard about your concerts celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations in St. Paul the Apostle Church and Lincoln Center on December 7 and 8, 1995. I extend to you my warmest good wishes for your activities in this regard….
What we need…is a retreat from purely materialistic thinking, and more commitment to the fate of the international community as a whole.
Excerpt from a letter dated 5 December 1995 from Mr. Robert Muller, Chancellor of the University for Peace and former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General:
I know Sri Chinmoy is a great prophet of the United Nations. The entire world should he extremely grateful to Sri Chinmoy, head of the Meditation Group at the United Nations, for his untiring efforts to bring the United Nations closer to the heart of the people. This he has done most devotedly and extensively this year in honour of the United Nations fiftieth anniversary.
Excerpt from a letter dated 7 December 1995 from His Excellency Mr. Sergey Lavrov, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations:
I would like to use this opportunity…to congratulate you on your philosophic and artistic achievements. It has been since 1970 that you, an internationally respected philosopher, lecturer, author and spiritual leader with an interdenominational approach, have been associated with the United Nations, serving as a leader of a meditation group at the UN Headquarters. Your group has dedicated itself to the ideals of universal harmony and world peace. You have authored a number of other initiatives aimed at contributing to international peace.
But above all, it is your music and your poetry that attract people most. To paraphrase your own poetic lines, you are helping the UN ‘world-justice-peace-dream-tree’ to ‘blossom into world-reality-flowers and fruits’…
Excerpt from a letter dated 5 December 1995 from renowned violinist Maestro Yehudi Menuhin:
All my best wishes for December 8, marking your fiftieth concert this year and the founding of the United Nations.
May you long continue to be one always ready to inspire his fellow men.
Excerpt from a letter dated 5 December 1995 from Mr. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, United States Senator from New York and former US Ambassador to the United Nations:
I would like to extend my congratulations to you as you prepare to give your final concert honouring the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations. By celebrating this milestone in your concerts, you have helped to spread the ideal of peace for which the United Nations stands.
Please keep up your fine work.
