Sri Chinmoy:
The Peace Meditation at the United Nations

On 11 March 1977, BBC’s United Nations correspondent Mr. Brian Saxton interviewed Sri Chinmoy about spirituality at the United Nations for a European radio broadcast. Mr. Saxton also requested a tape of songs Sri Chinmoy has composed for the United Nations and included “O United Nations” in the broadcast. The songs were sung by members of the Meditation Group Choir. An excerpt from the interview follows.

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Mr. Saxton: The United Nations is, of course, a very political place. Does politics ever enter into your work?

Sri Chinmoy: Politics, as such, does not enter into our work. But we feel that politics can be illumined and raised to a very, very high state of consciousness so that humanity can be transformed, illumined and fulfill ed. We pray and meditate to purify our mind. Once our mind is purified and illumined, then this mind of ours-which creates so many problems for us, which constantly creates confusion, doubt, worries and anxieties-will become a perfect instrument for us to use to have a better world, or, we can say, to bring to the fore a new face of the world. We do not use politics as such, but we try to bring into politics the light and the bliss that we get from our prayer and meditation.

Mr. Saxton: You mentioned a few moments ago that certain delegates attend your meetings. Do you think diplomas gain anything special that is particularly useful to their own work?

Sri Chinmoy : I do hope that they get peace of mind. It seems to me that all human beings have every thing save and except peace of mind . The delegates are dealing with the world problems, so what they need first and foremost. as far as I can see, is peace of  mind. Then they come and pray with us, and become one with us, they do feel peace of mind. And then, when they go back to their respective 0fices. they can solve the problems that they have been facing with new light, new inspiration,  new aspiration and new illumination.

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These questions and answers by Sri Chinmoy were also part of  a collection published  Flame Waves, Part 10, Agni Press, 1978. :

Additional questions from Mr Saxton that day also included:

• Mr. Saxton: Sri Chinmoy can you explain the technique used in your Meditation Group?

Sri Chinmoy: Certainly. Here we pray and meditate in silence. We feel that when we pray, we speak to God. And when we meditate, we feel that God speaks to us. So in silence we pray and in silence we meditate.

• Mr. Saxton: Is this related to any particular religion?

Sri Chinmoy: No, this is not related to any religion whatsoever. This is an approach to God, to the ultimate Reality. We have faith in all religions. We do not speak ill of any religion, for all religions are serving a special purpose to bring about peace, light and harmony. But ours is not a religion. Ours is just a path that leads to God-realisation, our ultimate Reality.

• Mr. Saxton: What kind of people attend your meetings here at the United Nations?

Sri Chinmoy: Here at the United Nations we have a few delegates and quite a few members of the staff.

• Mr. Saxton: The United Nations is, of course, a very political place… (see answer in main section above)
• Mr. Saxton: And this is what you hope people will gain from your work?

Sri Chinmoy: This is what we are trying to offer to the world at large.

• Mr. Saxton: You mentioned a few moments ago that certain delegates attend your meetings… (see Main questions answered  above as part of this conversation)

• Mr. Saxton: Do you sometimes feel that despite these very high aspirations and targets, that sometimes your work is often overshadowed by politics?

Sri Chinmoy: No, it is not overshadowed by politics, for we do not make any comparison between politics and spirituality as such. Here we pray and meditate in silence. We try to do everything in silence. Politics is in the outer world, whereas our prayer and meditation are in the inner world. On the strength of our sincere prayer and meditation, we try to bring to the fore the peace, light and bliss that we have. And then this peace, light and bliss we try to offer to the world, the political world, so that the political world can also be illumined, perfected and fulfilled.

• Mr. Saxton: What is your basic philosophy?

Sri Chinmoy:Our basic teaching is love, devotion and surrender. We love God, not in a human way but in a divine way. In human love there is constant demand-I give you something, you have to give me something. It is always mutual give and take. But in divine love we give unconditionally. Then it is up to God to give us what He wants to give us. We know that in reality God has already given us everything; only right now we are trying to feel that He has done this. This is our divine love. Right now I am one individual, but when I try to love the world in a divine way, at that time I grow into the universal heart. Human love ends in frustration and frustration ultimately is destruction; whereas divine love is constant illumination.Human devotion is attachment. I may be attached to you and you may be attached to me, but this does not serve any divine purpose. Divine devotion is dedication to a higher purpose, to a higher way of life, to an ideal or goal. It grows out of our promise to our inner being to manifest our inner divinity here on earth.Human surrender is the surrender of the slave to the master. If the slave does not please the master, the masters will dispense with his services. So the slave is all the time afraid of the master. But divine surrender is the surrender of our less illumined part to our higher part. Right now we are not fully aware of our highest height. But once we become aware of who we are, we try to surrender our lower self to our higher self. The tiny drop is not aware of the ocean, but when it merges into the ocean, it becomes the ocean itself. As long as it maintains its individuality and personality, the tiny drop is just a tiny drop. In divine surrender, the finite in us surrenders to the infinite in us and we become inseparable.

• Mr. Saxton: How would you characterise real peace of mind? How can someone really come to terms with themselves and be totally peaceful with themselves in their minds?

Sri Chinmoy: When we have peace of mind, when we have tranquillity, we feel that there is nothing that we have to achieve, nothing that we have to do for ourselves. Everything has been done by the Almighty, by our heavenly Father. Right now we are hankering after name, fame and many other things. But when we have peace of mind, we feel on the strength of our oneness with the rest of the world that everything the world has is ours.

• Mr. Saxton: But how do you reach that state?

Sri Chinmoy:Through prayer and meditation. When we pray and meditate every day, our necessities diminish. Right now we may have twenty desires. But if we pray and meditate, over a period of time our desires will decrease. From twenty it becomes ten; then gradually it becomes five or six. Then, when we do not have any desires, if we can live even for five minutes without any desires, then we are bound to get peace of mind. If we can surrender our individual will to God’s Will, then easily we can have peace of mind. Now we separate our will from God’s Will. We may want a particular thing, although we know perfectly well that God wants something else from us. He wants us to be freed, to be liberated from the meshes of ignorance, but we enjoy the worldly life, or pleasure-life. But eventually we will care only for the aspiration-life, Him to serve, Him to fulfil, here on earth and there in Heaven.

• Mr. Saxton: It has been very interesting talking to you.

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 Music Score for “O United Nations” in the broadcast.

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