Sri Chinmoy:
The Peace Meditation at the United Nations

Remarks by Dr. Jorge Illueca [1]                 26 Oct 2007

Dr. Illueca. the former President of Panama and President of the 38th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, visited Aspiration Ground to pay his respects after the passing of his close friend Sri Chinmoy.

He remembers the first meetings he had with Sri Chinmoy and the Meditation Group at the United Nations and their continual closeness for 30 years.

 We were all greatly touched that Dr. Illueca came personally one morning before leaving NY in 2007,with his grandson Diago to visit Sri Chinmoy’s  resting place. He shared with many of us most sensitively and compassionately his words of encouragement and consolation during that first difficult month.

“It is very sad for me to come to this place that I consider is a sacred place.

I have been here other times, but I never thought that I would come here to pay respects to the memory of Sri Chinmoy, because I thought that he was eternal; he would never depart from us, from our love, our respect, our reverence.

I have something that all of us have: a living life, but particularly a spiritual life. And I believe that one of the most important parts of my spiritual life was to meet Sri Chinmoy and to meet all of the members, all our friends, male and female, of the Meditation Group. And this was when I started my service as Permanent Representative of Panama to the United Nations. Since then, we were so close; we were together.

When I learned of the decease of Sri Chinmoy, it was really something that we call in Spanish a conmoción [shock]. I believe that there is a word in English that means more or less the same: commotion, commotion.

And, well, we have now to live with the teachings, the sayings, the way that Sri Chinmoy was able to guide all of us for meditation, for harmony, for understanding, for this feeling of being generous, and to feel the happiness that we may give—not only receive, but also give. We may give material things, but something more important: that is love, that is understanding, that is the sense of unity, of a word that he used: “oneness.”

So, I sent a message, and the only thing that I could say in my poor words is that I feel some consolation in uniting, in joining my sorrow to the sorrow of the Meditation Group, and to know that we will always remember Sri Chinmoy—not with pain, not with sadness, but with a sense of happiness, to see his face that was like a blessing to all of us.

I could not bring all the Panamanian flowers, the roses and orchids, to this place, but I brought some flowers, some roses, and I leave this. This is the rose of my heart to the memory of Sri Chinmoy. My heart, with love to all of you, but above all, our love to the teachings and to the examples and to the guidance of Sri Chinmoy.

I love you. Thank you. I leave this rose for Sri Chinmoy. Thank you.”