Sri Chinmoy:
The Peace Meditation at the United Nations

From Oct 15 – 25 there was an exhibit in the UN General Assembly Delegates Entrance. It featured Peace and Word Harmony Art.

• Archbishop Desmund Tutu (made a preview visit to the exhibit on 14 October 2012 ( see report and photos here))

•  Opening of Exhibit was marked by a special programme attended by many Delegates, Staff and their guests including from local galleries and Museums. Full eport and photos is here:  The speakers in the evening  included:
  • H.E. Ambassador Abulkalam Abdul Momen, Permanent Representative of the Mission of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to the United Nations
  • H.E. Ambassador Davidson Hepburn, President (2009 – 2011) of the General Conference of Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
  • Ms. Ranjana Ghose, Director of the Jharna Kala Art foundation
  • Jacqueline Terrassa, who is the Managing Museum  Educator, for Gallery and Studio Programs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  • Mr. Kurt A. Behrendt, Assistant Curator at Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • Ms. Nilima Silver, General Secretary, Sri Chinmoy: the Peace Meditation at the United Nations

 

On the final day of the exhibit, Ambassador Chowdhury paid a visit to the Gallery to the delight of all the organizers.  Ambassador had  been a supporter of the Peace Meditation at the United Nations for decades. A close friend of the artist Sri Chinmoy and champion of a Culture of Peace, as mentioned Ambassador Chowdhury has been instrumental in many important resolutions of the General Assembly and with Security Council deliberations.

“As a true Global Ambassador of Peace, Sri Chinmoy’s vision of a oneness- world of peace and harmony, within each individual and for humanity at large, continues to be most enriching and empowering for all.” – H. E. Mr. Anwarul K. Chowdhury Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations (2002-2007) Ambassador of Bangladesh (ret.) (- from Programme Notes)

 

(Ambassador Chowdhury looking at the ‘Peace is Precious’ painting that was published on

 

the back of the brochure for the “High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace”, 14 Sept. 2012.)

 

 

An animated Ambassador Chowdhury with his great enthusiasm for expressions of Peace and Harmony.

 

Ambassador Chowdhury has been active in the 3 main parts that effectively make up the UN Community:

• Secretariat of the UN, as Under-Secretary-General and High Representative etc.,
• in country Delegations, as Permanent Representative of his country and
• with Civil Society in promoting a Culture of Peace and World Harmony in many Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)..

When a question was asked on the different values of the General Assembly and the Security Council he extemporaneously gave an inspiring reply.

• First, he appreciated both the General Assembly for its wide coverage of issues and the fact that each country can give its voice to concerns that may not at first be readily apparent to the major nations. i.e. culture of peace or global warming. However a resolution passed by the GA is not binding on nations.
• The Security Council because it has the ability to make policy on certain issues, even simple recommedations can have great impact.. Therefore, change can come quicker. For example, the landmark resolution on Women, Peace and Security resolution (S/RES/1325) passed by the Security council (31 Oct 2000) is resulting in concrete plans of actions  being supported by many countries.

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Biographical note of the Artist:

Sri Chinmoy was born in Bengal, India in 1931. Upon coming to the West in 1964, he made his home in New York City. Having travelled the world extensively, he lectured at hundreds of universities, including Harvard, Cambridge, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Columbia, Oxford, Tokyo, Brown among others.

Interwoven throughout the tapestry of his creative life has always been a profound appreciation and reverence for world-unity, be it expressed through his millions of soul-bird drawings or his analogies to the inspiration-bird throughout his poetry, prose and music.

During the course of his travels, Sri Chinmoy frequently offered free music concerts, himself performing on a number of musical instruments including esraj, flute, piano, harmonium and cello.

These performances were almost exclusively utilizing his own musical compositions, he being a prolific composer. Sri Chinmoy’s intention seems clear, it being none other than the hope of inspiring oneness and harmony in the world, believing that music can move people towards harmony, harmony with the self, harmony with others.

This theme is recurrent throughout all of his creative endeavours, be it through art, poetry, music, lecture, cultural performance, teaching meditation, sponsoring sporting events, or his many decades of dedication to the United Nations as a vehicle for harmony in the world. That theme is harmony, harmony within and harmony without. Harmony throughout a Oneness-World.

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