4. The Union of Mongolian Artists Honours Sri Chinmoy at The Opening Ceremony of the Jharna-Kala Art Exhibition -- Presentation by Mr. P. Tsegmid, 17 May 2007

[An exhibition of Sri Chinmoy's Jharna-Kala paintings was held at the prestigious Art Gallery of the Union of Mongolian Artists (UMA) from 17-23 May 2007. At the well-attended opening ceremony, Sri Chinmoy's students performed instrumental arrangements and also sang his song "Jharna-Kala," which means "Fountain-Art" in his native Bengali.]

[Before Sri Chinmoy's framed paintings, the Union of Mongolian Artists presented Sri Chinmoy with its highest award, with a medallion, a plaque and a glass sculpture offered by the Vice-Chairman, Mr. P. Tsegmid. This was the first time the award had been presented to a non-Mongolian artist.]

Mr P Tsegmid [as translated]: We are very glad that you came here to visit our gallery and to hold an exhibition of your artworks. Unfortunately, the Director of our Union could not be present, so I am acting on his behalf. On behalf of the Union of Mongolian Artists, I would like to present you with this collection of the works and catalogues of Mongolian artists.

Sri Chinmoy: I am very, very happy to receive this gift and I am very, very grateful to you. My dear, esteemed friend, Mr. Tsegmid, I am offering you my heart's deepest gratitude. I am very happy and very proud that you are allowing my artwork to be exhibited in your august art gallery.

Each and every human being is an artist. Whether or not he or she paints or draws, each human being is an artist because God has created each human being from His Dream. Each Dream of God is, indeed, a new form of art.

My life-tree has many branches. Right from my childhood, I started writing poems.

Then I entered into Indian philosophy and world philosophy. Finally I entered into spirituality and yoga. Everything is a branch of my life-tree, and each branch is also a work of art. Anything that God has created has in it beauty and fragrance, so art embodies both beauty and fragrance.

I never thought of becoming an artist. I wanted to become a poet, philosopher, thinker and so forth. But God, out of His infinite Bounty, has thrust upon me the art-world as well! According to many, I am an artist. As a real artist, perhaps I may not be successful; but as a seeker of God's Light, I am an artist. I pray to God, I meditate on God. My prayers and my meditations are all forms of my artwork.

Every human being is an expression of God's Art. Beauty is not only in nature; beauty is also in the heart and in the body of each and every human being. Beauty is in the morning, beauty is in the evening and again, there is beauty inside the dark night. Everywhere there is beauty, but an individual has to use his artistic eye to appreciate and admire the artwork that God is expressing in and through the artist.

I have over 200,000 paintings to my credit and also over 15 million bird drawings. Birds give us the joy of freedom. They fly in the blue sky. They invite us, they inspire us and they encourage us to follow them. Birds enjoy freedom in Infinity's sky, and I, too, want to enjoy freedom. This freedom is not the freedom of an ordinary human being, the freedom of supremacy. No! This freedom is the freedom of oneness, oneness, oneness. My artwork expresses oneness – the unique oneness of the individual with the universal life.

I have many, many things to say about my artwork and also about the works of others, but I wish to keep it for the day when I speak on art. It is a matter of a day or two. I invite all of you to come and listen to my talk about my artwork, which is founded upon my inspiration, aspiration and dedication.

I wish to express my gratitude to the organisers of this exhibit, who have helped me to offer my artwork to the world at large, and specially to the life of Mongolia.

Mr P Tsegmid (reading proclamation, as translated): The Union of Mongolian Artists would like to present its highest award to the artist, Sri Chinmoy, for his profound contribution to the development of art and in connection with his exhibition of Fountain-Art. This proclamation was issued on the 16th of May 2007.

Here is the medallion of the Union of Mongolian Artists. This is our highest award.

Mr. Tsegmid pinned a medallion to Sri Chinmoy's garment and offered him botha glass obelisk and a framed proclamation.

We would like to thank Sri Chinmoy again and again.

Sri Chinmoy: I wish to thank you from the very depths of my heart. It is you who deserve all my love and all my gratitude.

[As Sri Chinmoy was ushered through the crowd, with Mr. Tsegmid close behind him, a little girl dressed in flaming orange offered him flowers, which the artist held while contemplating the display of his paintings.]