5. President Nambaryn Enkhbayar visits the Jharna-Kala Art Exhibition and receives The U Thant Peace Award from Sri Chinmoy, 22 May 2007

[Striding powerfully by a bright blue banner proclaiming, "Welcome, Our Beloved President" in both Mongolian and English, President Nambaryn Enkhbayar was warmly welcomed to the Jharna-Kala Gallery by Sri Chinmoy and his students. In the manner of an honour· guard, a number of Sri Chinmoy's students, standing before another banner bearing the President's likeness, held aloft Sri Chinmoy's recent bird drawings for the President to enjoy. Sri Chinmoy encircled the President with a magnificent garland of red, coral, yellow and white roses. As though symbolising their oneness of spirit, the President's tie was of the same shade of light blue as Sri Chinmoy's garment.

After they smilingly greeted each other with folded hands, Sri Chinmoy drew the President's attention to a third blue banner displaying the Mongolian flag, Sri Chinmoy's birds and the words to his song for the country, in both English and Mongolian. As promised during their first meeting several days earlier, there followed a rendition by his students of Sri Chinmoy's song dedicated to the President, as well as a song composed to one of the President's momentous utterances.

During the singing, as he and Sri Chinmoy sat side by side in high-backed red chairs, the President followed the words to these songs on decorative presentations.

Sri Chinmoy escorted the President on a tour of the gallery, and together they looked at each painting, conversing as they walked. The President appeared to study intently some of the paintings and the aphorisms or qualities accompanying them.

After a screening of the Sri Chinmoy Centre film about former United Nations Secretary-General U Thant and his deeply spiritual approach to world service, the singers performed their teacher's song dedicated to U Thant. The film of U Thant presiding over the premiere of Sri Chinmoy's play Siddhartha Becomes the Buddha was shown, followed by highlights from the ceremonies for previous Award recipients Mother Teresa, President Nelson Mandela, President Mikhail Gorbachev, former UN Secretaries-General Kurt Waldheim and Javier Perez de Cuellar and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Sri Chinmoy devotedly and gratefully offered the President the U Thant Peace Award, in the form of a medallion which he placed around the President's neck, and a clear etched acrylic block. In so doing, he paid soulful tribute to President Enkhbayar's decades of dedicated service to his nation, and also to his most significant and enlightened service as the first International President of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation.]

President Enkhbayar: [speaking in English]: Thank you for this award. This is an honour for me. I receive this award humbly on behalf of the Mongolian people. I am a servant of the Mongolian people. I hope that with the assistance of good friends like you, Sri Chinmoy, and your followers, we will be able to build up a modern country, a country where everybody will be living with happiness and joy.

I have come across many teachers in my life. In 1982 I became a disciple of my lama teacher. It was still the old system, and it was not very easy to become a disciple of a lama. At that time, a lama was considered to be a person who did not have very much space in that old system. But in my endeavour to find out something about the identity of Mongolians and about our culture, I decided that I should become a disciple of a lama teacher.

I think the real teacher is a teacher who does not teach about how to conquer others. The real teacher is the teacher who teaches how to conquer yourself. I think Sri Chinmoy is that teacher who is really teaching us, you, everybody, how to conquer not others, but yourself – your heart, your passions, your mistakes – and to become a better person. That is the message I have learnt from the teachings of Sri Chinmoy and other great teachers.

I am glad to be here with all of you. I see your faces, very joyful faces, faces of those persons who have such a good teacher who teaches them, "Conquer yourself." So, thank you.

[The President received warm applause from the gathering.]

[Sri Chinmoy presented the President with a gift of one of his original paintings, a yellow and red bird, framed and inscribed in the President's honour – commenting that he had just created the painting that morning.]

Sri Chinmoy:_You are most gracious. I am so grateful to you for the most gracious words that you have bestowed upon us. [Sri Chinmoy invited his Mongolian students, each holding a rose, to come forward and sing his song dedicated to Mongolia for their President. Sri Chinmoy requested Niyojita to read aloud the Mongolian translation of the Bengali lyrics. The President listened and watched attentively throughout this presentation, and folded his hands at the conclusion. Then, all of the one hundred Mongolian students of Sri Chinmoy devotedly offered their roses to President Enkhbayar, who appeared happily overwhelmed. President Enkhbayar gently indicated that the Mongolians should give some of their flowers to Sri Chinmoy, but Sri Chinmoy protested, "No, they are for you!"] _Sri Chinmoy: [to President Enkhbayar, echoing the words of his song for the President] You are their father, you are their brother, you are their all!

[President Enkhbayar and Sri Chinmoy said farewell with folded hands, and the President, now garlanded with the blue of the U Thant Peace Award, extended his hands to grasp Sri Chinmoy's. As the President departed, folding his hands to all, the entire gathering once more offered a powerful and enthusiastic round of applause.]

[After the President left the exhibit, Sri Chinmoy had the following conversation with Mr. P. Tsegmid,Vice-Chairman of the Union of Mongolian Artists.]

Sri Chinmoy: I would like to thank you from the very depths of my heart. Your art gallery, and this exhibit, will remain in my gratitude-heart forever and forever. Here you have allowed my artwork to be of service to the heart and life of Mongolia. Today, because you have allowed my artwork to be exhibited, we were able to bring the President of Mongolia here. It is extremely, extremely kind of you, and for that I am all gratitude to you.

Would you kindly share with us a few things that you said to the President and the President told you while you were both watching the paintings? I would be very grateful.

Mr Tsegmid: The fact that the President came to the exhibition was his expression on behalf of the Mongolian people. He was expressing the will of the Mongolian people to appreciate your artwork. So we can say that on behalf of all the Mongolian people, the President paid his respectful visit to your artwork. It is not easy to meet the President of Mongolia. Not everybody has the chance. So everybody here in this hall had that golden opportunity. This is due to your work, your contribution, your efforts, Sri Chinmoy. It was very joyful for us that not only the Mongolian people, but the President himself came and personally gave high significance to your visit. The President himself is a man of poetry, a literary man. And he highly respects the Buddhism of Mongolia. I believe the President came here because of his inner connection with your teaching, with your philosophy.

Just when the President was exiting the hall, he told me, "This man is a world figure with so many disciples. He has many Mongolian disciples, followers and students. This brings me a lot of joy. I believe you have the same feeling in your heart."

I am very delighted with this event. I believe this is one of the few opportunities in my life to see you, to meet you. It is a very delightful occasion in my life, and also because you are a man of art. Your artistic works have unique features; they represent a unique world. Many Mongolian artists have come up to me to thank me for bringing all this – your new world – to Mongolia, and I personally feel very honoured and delighted.

From this day onward, I consider myself to be your follower, your student.

I was explaining to the President about your birds – and also the colour composition, your brave and free movements and strokes. You have very unique strokes. It is in the Picasso style. Picasso also drew birds, like you. Picasso may have drawn just a few birds, but you have done fifteen million! Also, I heard that you have already completed more than five hundred bird drawings while you have been in Ulaanbaatar.

Sri Chinmoy: It is one thousand!

Mr Tsegmid: You work very fast!

Sri Chinmoy: [to one of his students]: What is the exact figure?

Student: One thousand one hundred forty-six.

Sri Chinmoy: The last one I dedicated to the President, the very last one. I did it this morning.

Mr Tsegmid: The President himself is a collector of artwork, and I believe your work will be one of the top-level priority. He does not have Picasso works, but he has your work!

Sri Chinmoy: [requesting the singers to come forward]: I wish to thank you with a song in English. You have been so kind, so gracious. For that, with my heart's boundless love, joy and gratitude they will be offering this song to you.

[The singers sang Sri Chinmoy's Thank You song.]

Mr Tsegmid: I would like to thank all of you. And I would like to assure you that this gallery will always be open for you. Since I have become your disciple, Sri Chinmoy, this hall will be available for any of your exhibitions. We will always, always welcome you here and the doors of our gallery will always, always be open for you.

[As the audience applauded, Sri Chinmoy thanked Mr. Tsegmid and requested his students to pass by and announce their national origin. Some two dozen countries were represented.]

Mr Tsegmid: I believe that many more thousands of you will come in the future. May this hall be full of joy, bliss and light.

Sri Chinmoy: Thank you!