Sri Chinmoy:
The Peace Meditation at the United Nations

The evening of 15 December 1978 the members of  Sri Chinmoy Meditation at the United Nations visited with Ambassador and Mrs. Zenon Rossides of Cyprus in their home in Manhattan.

The group sang two songs that Sri Chinmoy had composed to poems by the Ambassador, as well as a song of gratitude that Sri Chinmoy dedicated to him. As a tribute to Ambassador Rossides’ unique service to the United Nations and to his country) Sri Chinmoy presented him with a plaque) a banner with the group ‘s credo printed on it and a festive cake decorated with the Ambassador’s picture. Following are some excerpts from the evening’s conversation.

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Mrs. Rossides (chatting informally with Sri Chinmoy before Mr. Rossides arrived):

My husband admires you very much, what you are doing. He is a firm believer in the spirit. Whatever happens to the world for its progress will be through the spirit. All the other intellectual approaches don’t really help towards the betterment of the world.

He is really more of an artist and poet than a diplomat. He loves poetry. He sometimes thinks of publishing his poetry now in book form , but so far he hasn’t because it was in his youth that he wrote all those poems. Then his life started – law and politics – and he had no time for poetry. But now that he is going to have some rest, I think he will start writing again and he will see a

bout publishing his poems.

Sri Chinmoy: Will you be going back to Cyprus now?

Mrs. Rossides:

We shall stay here. We will go back and forth, but our headquarters will be here, because we’ve been here for such a long time, over twenty years now, and we have grown attached to our home. Not only that, we have so many more interests here than in Cyprus. My husband thinks globally and he finds more room for thought here. Also, we have been away from Cyprus for such a long time that our friends either have left or died, and we really have more friends here.

Comment by Mrs. Rossides about a picture of Archbishop Makarios, President Kennedy and Ambassador Rossides:

Archbishop Makarios was invited by President Kennedy to come to Washington. At the time, Zenon was the Cyprus Ambassador to both the U.S. and to the U.N. That’s why he is there, accompanying the Archbishop on his official visit.

Unfortunately we lost him. He was a great man for Cyprus; it was a great loss for our country. And he was so young; he was not old.

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Ambassador Rossides arrived and the meditation group choir sang “Ambassador Rossides.”

AMBASSADOR ROSSIDES

Ambassador Rossides,

O heart of sympathy-seas.

Your oneness-soul in closeness-role

Has freed our peace-cry from sleepless dole.

To you the U.N. Meditation Group

A soulful, tearful gratitude-troop

Mr. Rossides: Thank you very much. It was very beautiful. It was lovely because I think as we are listening to this song, we feel the importance, as we see you all here singing, of what you can do now, in the sense that you are in contact with the United 39 Nations. That is very important because In the United Nations the work is usually done on the level of the intellect of man.

Right now we are trying to get over the difficulties that a world full of power and war has brought into the present state of the United Nations. The United Nations was established to elevate humanity above t he level of the balances of power and the arms race, a ll of which tend toward the destruction of man. In the progress of science and technology man discovers better means of destruction, because most of the technological advances are devoted to the interests of war and very little to the progress of man otherwise than through war. The progress of science provides conveniences of life which are very useful in many ways, but they are also followed by the excess of technology, which brings other dangers to life. Therefore , man is found on a perilous path. So, scientific and technological achievements should be a great asset, but they are potentially a danger to the very survival of humanity and to the environmental conditions which make life possible.

That is the great difference between the present day and the past, because before we could not destroy the earth. No matter how many millions of men we destroyed, the environment remained untouched. But now, with nuclear power , the world is in danger because of people who have not changed their mental outlook. They are a generation from the past. Humanity is attempting through the United Nations to adjust itself to these new conditions of life . Although these conditions cannot always be expressed in words, they can be understood. But people have not become conscious of this. Although they know the effect of science and technology, they still belong to the world of before,  not being able to change the attitude of their minds. It is not easy to change the human mind and intellect, because the work of the intellect is the work of the human brain. This human b rain is part and parcel of the body, so use of the intellect is a bodily exercise. No matter what the mind has achieved in terms of science and technology and other things, it is still geared to what the body sees.

And thus the real difference can be seen when spirit comes into play, because it is not a bodily function. It is not a function of the brain which calculates: two and two make four. It is a completely different function in the same man. Man’s spirit is something that does not emanate from a working of his brain. This spirit may be completely ignored , but it is always there as potential power, because the spirit is the link of man with the Universe .

The Universe is where we come from. A direct link from the Universe comes into man, and this link cannot come in various types, such as a good or evil spirit. Spirit is the positive link of man with the Universe, as there is nothing evil in the essence of the Universe. The Universe is functioning on the basis of balance, harmony and what we call love. This is how the whole Universe functions. Thus the power of the Universe is tremendous, beyond any human power on this little globe, and that power is the positive power of balance – which means justice, which means harmony, which means love of all good things we know. All relations are geared to those terms, inspired from the universal flow. Therefore, in scientific terms, the universal flow embodies what we really believe is God. God and the universal flow are one and the same thing.

Therefore, men whose spirits are evoked cannot think differently from each other, and when the spirit is evoked in everyone in more or less the same way, that is the only way all humanity can be saved from its great predicament in the age of nuclear weapons . Only from the spirit of man can there be understanding and cooperation , for in essence, no man is really seeking anything different from any other man . So bringing forward the spirit is the way one can bring understanding into the United Nations, if there were ever a way. Now so deep is the intellectual influence that people try to cast aside spiritual influence, but through the spirit is the only way that man can harmonise the political. If we cannot stop the arms race because there is no political will to comply with the Charter for international security, escalation will lead to total destruction. We need to feel the necessity of bringing peace into the world. For that, one has to bring the spirit into play. Then man’s mind can become a depository of the spirit. Spirit is a link with nature, with the Universe, but the spiritual element may be so hidden that man may not know this and may never understand it.

Work for the spirit of man IS a great asset to humanity and I want to praise Sri Chinmoy for what he is doing. His work is far more important than all the conferences in the United Nations. It is far more important than all the declarations of the United Nations, to glorify man and the higher ideas, the larger ideals that are so necessary today. In man, who has progressed in science and technology, these ideas and ideals have become so necessary for peace.

Sri Chinmoy: You know. Ambassador. how much we love you and adore you. We are fully aware of your height. not only in the political world but also in the world of aspiration and dedication. We are all seekers. In you we truly have found a spiritual brother and also a lighthouse the lighthouse at the United Nations that beckons seekers and also shows them the way and guides them. We are all your younger brothers and sisters and we want always to bask in the sunshine of your spiritual glory.

A few minutes ago your wife told us that you would stay here and not go back to Cyprus. I was so happy to hear that. for we are always in need of your guidance. which you have always so graciously given us. We shall always seek your advice when we undertake anything good and great at the United Nations and we shall always be deeply grateful to you for your kind and good guidance. We feel that you always act like our true spiritual brother who, like a pole star, will guide this little meditation group, which is seeking to be of service to the United Nations.

Ambassador Rossides: Thank you . I am grateful for what you have said. Not only am I grateful. but all of your feelings are fully reciprocated with adoration and concern for your progress. for what you are doing seems progressive for all of mankind. The task is now difficult. for the more there is science and technology. the more there is materialism. although now we have reached a point where the highest scientists realise that there is something more than science. something beyond. And this is the flow of the Universe with which they h ave come in contact without realising it. They know how the 43 stars circulate and how the constellations go, but they haven’t found what the origin of life IS. But you realise it by your spiritual approach .

The meditation group choir sang ”Aspen Leaves” and “Cosmic Rhythm. “

Ambassador Rossides (about the poem “Cosmic Rhythm”): It was true. I was lying on the slope of a hill in the forest and it was dark. I was listening to the rhythm of the cricket, which is not the same as it is here. Here it repeats the sound in haste ; there it is in a rhythm. And it was like the beat of the Universe. Gradually, as I listened to it, I felt that I was getting away from this earth and going and mixing with the flow of the Universe, with the stars and their rotation as they go round. And the sound of the cricket was getting more distant as I felt myself leaving this earth and joining the constellations. I felt the eternal Universe, the love of the Universe, the harmony.

After I travelled there for how long I don’t know-it was not more than five minutes, but it felt as if it were Eternity – gradually I found myself back on this earth, lying there, in the embrace of Mother Earth – as part of it, and yet part of the Universe . That is the idea of the spiritual content of man – that he joins with the flow of the Universe while still being here bound to this earth . In this way he is liberated in spirit.

The choir sang several songs by Sri Chinmoy related to the marathon race, including one song composed to the words of Lord Byron.

Ambassador Rossides: Marathon is a kind of wild herb and Marathon was a great field where these herbs were found. The field was called Marathon because there were so many of these herbs. Now they forget the herbs and just remember the battle of Marathon. There is a sequel to this poem by Lord Byron. Greece was under the heavy rule of the Turks. Everything was in slumber.

Mr. Rossides read out several verses from the poetry of Lord Byron.

That brings us to the progress of technology, which has destroyed many, if not all, of the values of man.

Heroism and self-sacrifice for the common good, for example, can rarely exist, because there is no small field in which to fight for a cause.

Everything can be manipulated by a button and destruction can come to the other side of the earth because of a button, and there is nothing an individual human being can do to prevent it.

There can be no heroism that can stop this destruction

. So the moral values degenerate. The moral fiber of man is eroded by the progress of science and technology. Hence

I repeat that only by the heavenly force of the Spirit can we be saved from the evils of techno logy, from the evils of the progress that has been very beneficial to a certain extent, but by overreaching has also become most destructive.

We must evoke the Spirit. This is the way to save ourselves.

 

Sri Chinmoy (presenting Ambassador Rossides with a plaque and the Meditation Group banner) .’ You have saved us, so this I am giving to you with our deepest gratitude.

Ambassador Rossides: ‘

The plaque is beautiful. I will really treasure it. (After reading the banner)

What you say here is what I expressed about God Himself being the immortal flow of the Universe. It is God who creates the immortal flow of the Universe.

This is exactly the expression of this idea. When we say the immortal flow of the Universe, we mean God.

One thinks these words are part of the preamble to the United Nations Charter.

Excellent, wonderful.

 

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AMBASSADOR ROSSlDES

Ambassador Rossides,

o heart of sympathy-seas!

Your oneness-soul in closeness-role

Has freed our peace-cry from sleepless dole.

To you the U.N. Meditation Group A soulful.

tearful gratitude-troop.

– Words and music by Sri Chinmoy

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ASPEN LEAVES

Within thy shade, a cedar tree ,

O cypress ,have I rested,

But dreams olympian drew from thee ,

O aspen silver breasted.

In thy sibyllic murmurings

I hear an ancient sighing,

The voice of an immortal sings

Prophetic , deep , undying.

And a when moonshine touches thee

And silver fountains scatter,

Pale hands of Dryads beckon me

To haunts of fawn and satyr. Moderate

– Words by Zenon Rossides Music by Sri Chinmoy

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COSMIC RHYTHM

I love, I love even this body;

so many years, so many things, have we lived together, ,  .

And I find it lying along the slope of the forest,

bound to life immovable, in embrace of Mother-Earth,

hearkening to the unearthly breathing,

The mountain’s quiet breathing, to the rhythm of the cricket.

– Words by Zenon Rossides Music by.Sri Chinmoy

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A SOULFUL GIFT OF GRATITUDE TO AMBASSADOR ROSSIDES

FROM SRI CHINMOY MEDITATION AT THE UNITED NATIONS

December 1978

 

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• 1978-12-dec-15-visit-mr-mrs-rossides-amb-cyprus-ny-residence-scpmaun-1978-12-27-p40-52 (transcript of visit in ocr text format)
• 1978-12-dec-15-visit-mr-mrs-rossides-amb-cyprus-ny-residence-songs-brochure (4 page brochure songs score image format)
• 1978-12-dec-15-visit-mr-mrs-rossides-amb-cyprus-ny-residence-songs-brochure-ocr (4 page brochure songs score ocr text format format)

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