Sri Chinmoy:
The Peace Meditation at the United Nations

 

 

Celebrating 50 Years with 50 Questions

During his nearly four decades of service at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, Sri Chinmoy was asked hundreds of questions on meditation, spirituality and the inner and outer role of the United Nations. Just a few excerpts from his illumining answers are presented, which continue to offer great insight, wisdom and hope for a peaceful oneness-world.

The selection of 50 questions and answers is presented in honour of the 50th anniversary of Sri Chinmoy:The Peace Meditation at the United Nations on 14 April 2020, and the 75th anniversary of the United nations on 24 October 2020. The questions originally appeared in My Meditation-Service at the United Nations for 25 Years, published in 1995 and reprinted in 2018. Question numbers from the 2018 printed editions and online version of My Meditation Service at the United Nations are listed in the contents for ease of reference to the original unabridged text.

See page 1

The Part 1:Answers…  publication is a companion volume to Part 2, which contains excerpts from 50 talks offered by Sri Chinmoy at the United Nations also printed in honour of the 50th anniversary of the Peace Meditation Group.

Publications for the Fiftieth Anniversary of
Sri Chinmoy: The Peace Meditation at the United Nations

The Vision of the United Nations: A Oneness-World-Family*

PART 1 – 50 Questions Answered by Sri Chinmoy

Celebrating 50 Years with 50 Questions

Author’s Preface 

To work at the United Nations, to serve the United Nations in any capacity, is a supreme honour.

The United Nations is not just a building; the United Nations is humanity’s home. The lofty vision of the United Nations is that we all belong to a peace-loving oneness-world-family. This vision will eventually transform the face and fate of the world.

– Sri Chinmoy

[My Meditation-Service at the United Nations, from the Author’s Preface]

See questions 5 and 6

 

Sample Questions

Questions and answers are summarized below by subject matter. Many of the questions and answers appearing in this booklet have been condensed from the original. For ease of reference to the original unabridged text, question numbers from the 2018 printed edition and the online version of My Meditation-Service at the United Nations (MUN) are listed after each entry below.*

1. Most important thing to remember while working at the UN (MU N–93 ) page 1
2. UN’s influence in the world and its principal contribution (MU N-2 ) p. 1
3. Synthesis between East and West (MUN-4) p. 2
   
4. East-West political and North-South economic relations (MUN-20) p.4
5. Ancient dream of cooperation among all nations (MUN-45) 4
6. When a Member State assumes an “anti-UN attitude” (MUN-41) 6
7. Best way to deal with people actively opposed to the UN ( MU N-15 ) 7
8. Gap between UN ideals and routine daily life in Secretariat (MUN-138) 8
9. Need for guidance in meditation (MUN-259) 9
10. Difference between concentration and meditation (M U N-219 ) 11
11. Impor tan ce of meditating on the heart (MUN-265) 13
12. Inner knowledge achieved through meditation (MUN-222) 13
13. Meditation to benefit a loved one in their world service (MU N-262 ) 14
14. What diplomats can gain from meditation (MUN-83) 15
15. Sharing spiritual wealth with others (MUN –123 ) 15
16. How  we  can best serve the Secretaries-General of the UN (MUN-88)   16
17. Meditating for ourselves or for the UN (MU N–119) 17
18. Meditating on themes related to the UN (MUN-120) 17
19. Offering the fruits of meditation to the suffering world (MUN-206) 18
20. Meditation for a new flow of life energy (MUN-135) 19
21. Music during meditations (MUN-137) 19
22. Maintaining tranquillity at work (MUN-87) 20
23. Avoiding tension while under pressure (MUN-325) 21
24. Detaching oneself from irritating people and situations (MUN-307) 22
25. Best attitude for those who work at the UN (MUN-102) 22
26. Working with dynamism and confidence at the UN (MUN-106) 23
27. How those with seemingly insignificant jobs can contribute (MUN-148) 23
28. How those not at the UN can best serve its ideals (MUN-118) 24
29. Serving the UN through meditation and action (MU N- 107) 24
30. Progressive acts towards world-oneness help the UN (MUN-29) 24
31. What the UN needs most today (MUN-31) 25
32. Member States and the organization within the UN (MUN-54) 25
33. System of “one country- onevote” (MUN-57) 26
34. Making decisions on controversial issues (MUN-58) 26
35. Why progress at the UN seems so slow (MUN-69) 27
36. Comments on the UNESCO constitution (MUN-70) 27
37. Conveying the UN ideal to one’s home country (MUN-13) 28
38. Supreme role of each nation vis-a-vis the UN (MUN-25) 28
39. What the UN needs most from Member States (MUN-47) 28
40. Being patriotic and still loving all countries (MUN-90) 28
41. What qualities to offer the UN to best fulfil it (MUN-95) 30
42. How the UN can offer greater inspiration to humanity (MUN -28 ) 30
43. Order of urgency or priority of today’s problems (MUN-19) 31
44. Religion’s role in achieving a world of oneness (MUN-414) 31
45. Mutual understanding and respect between religions (M U N-423 ) 32
46. Spirituality can help those serving humanity (MUN-86) 32
47. UN as a spiritual or secular reality (MU N–63 ) 34
48. UN’s role in the spiritual transformation of humanity (MUN-74) 34
49. UN as both political and spiritual (MUN-77) 36
50. UN as a nucleus of worldwide spirituality (MUN-78) 37

*The full text can be accessed on SriChinmoyLibrary.com/MUN. Specific questions can be called up by entering a dash and the question number (i.e., SriChinmoyLibrary.com/MUN-93 for the first question listed above and SriChinmoyLibrary.com/MUN-45 for the fifth question listed above).

 

The outer message of the United Nations is peace.
The inner message of the United Nations is love.
The inmost message of the United Nations is oneness.
– Sri Chinmoy

 

 

 

For PDF format of the 50th anniversary publication with Selected Answers to 50 Questions, open or download:

Sri Chinmoy UN Q&A PART 1-2021-03-05mar

For JPG images of individual pages. click on Image page below

Cover and introduction pages

 

Page 01 to 10

Page 11 to 22

 

Page 23 to 30

Page 31 to 38 and back Cover

 

Copyright © 2019, 2020 and 2021 Sri Chinmoy Centre
All material in this book is available under a
Creative Commons Works 3.0 License (non-commercial,
with attribution, non-derivative). We appreciate your
quoting Sri Chinmoy’s words. Please do remember
to acknowledge the author.

Front cover: Sri Chinmoy in front of
United Nations Headquarters in New York,
October 1974. Photo by Sarama Minoli.
Back cover photo by Ranjana K. Ghose.
Inside photos by Sri Chinmoy Centre photographers,
unless otherwise indicated.
Bird drawing on page x by Sri Chinmoy.

Printed at The Manifestation-Glow
84-71 Parsons Blvd.
Jamaica Hills, New York 11432

For the unabridged version of My Meditation-Service at the
United Nations please visit SriChinmoyLibrary.com/MUN.
For more information please visit SriChinmoy.org.

For more information on the
weekly meditations and other activities please contact
Sri Chinmoy: The Peace Meditation at the United Nations
P.O. Box #4225 (Grand Central)
New York, NY 10163, USA
or
+ 1 347-558-6300 (for voice or text)
This information is presented as a service
and does not necessarily represent
the official views of the United Nations or its Agencies.
March 2021 Reprint

About Sri Chinmoy: The Peace Meditation at the United Nations

Sri Chinmoy: The Peace Meditation at the United Nations is an association of UN delegates, staff, accredited press correspondents and NGO representatives that holds ongoing meditations and special programmes for peace at UN Headquarters in New York. The regular weekly meditation sessions on UN premises have a profound and significant history. Many participants continue to find in the meetings a silent respite, in a demanding work environment. Those holding valid UN grounds passes are welcome to join in these sessions, as well as our meditation classes and other programmes in support of the highest goals of the United Nations.

About Sri Chinmoy

Born in Bengal, India (now Bangladesh) in 1931, Sri Chinmoy came to New York in 1964 to dedicate himself to the cause of world peace. In 1970, at the invitation of UN Secretary-General U Thant, he began leading twice-weekly peace meditations for delegates and staff, much in the spirit of the minute of silence observed by the UN General Assembly at the opening and closing of each session. Until his passing in 2007, Sri Chinmoy offered his multifaceted inspiration to the UN Community through meditations, concerts, lectures, art exhibits and other programmes for peace. Members of the meditation group, known as Sri Chinmoy: The Peace Meditation at the United Nations, endeavour to continue these activities to this day. (They periodically also participate in activities held in cooperation with UN Member States, UN offices and community organizations that promote similar ideals.)