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Sri Chinmoy

Sri Chinmoy is a noted Spiritual Teacher who amongst other activities composed almost 21,000 songs during his lifetime.

Sri Chinmoy was born in Shakpura, a small village in the region of Chittagong, East CKG-KBengal in what is now Bangladesh. Chinmoy Kumar Ghose was born in 1931, and was the youngest of 7 brothers and sisters. As a youngster Sri Chinmoy was given the nickname of “Madal”. This means “Kettledrum” His name was given to him because as a child he had boundless energy. At the age of 12 after both of Sri Chinmoy’s parents had passed away the young Chinmoy travelled with the rest of his brothers and sisters to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, South India.

At the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Sri Chinmoy spent many hours in meditation and practising spiritual disciplines. As well as meditation, Sri Chinmoy also excelled at sports and for many years was the decathalon champion at the Ashram. It was also at the ashram that Sri Chinmoy took singing lessons, which enabled him to develop his singing. Throughout his life, Sri Chinmoy sung with an exquisite voice that expressed both power and soulfulness. (To hear Sri Chinmoy sing, there are many recordings available at Radio Sri Chinmoy).

Whilst a teenager Sri Chinmoy composed his first poem in English entitled “The Golden Flute”. Over 20 years later Sri Chinmoy composed melodies for these early poems turning them into songs. Many of these songs can be viewed at Song Books such as “One Thousand Lotus Petals”. There is a strong connection between Sri Chinmoy’s poems and his songs. Many of his song translations are very poetic in nature. (On music by Sri Chinmoy)


In 1964 Sri Chinmoy was inspired to travel to America to share the great Indian CKG-pav teachings of spirituality and meditation to aspiring seekers in the West. Based in New York, Sri Chinmoy travelled extensively giving many University lectures and meditation classes. In 1966 Sri Chinmoy established his first meditation Centre in Puerto Rico and then later in New York. From these early beginnings almost 400 Sri Chinmoy Centres for meditation and spiritual activities have been established in many different countries around the world. He is a spiritual guide to many spiritual seekers, teaching that meditation and spirituality help our inner and outer capacities to come to the fore. As Sri Chinmoy states:

“We are all seekers, and our goal is the same: to achieve inner peace, light, and joy, to become inseparably one with our Source, and to lead lives full of true satisfaction.”
- from Wings of Joy by Sri Chinmoy

Over the 43 years he spent in the West Sri Chinmoy became one of the world’s most prolific composers of music. By the time of his passing in October 2007, Sri Chinmoy had composed over 13,500 Bengali songs and around 7,000 English songs. These songs have been published in over 300 songbooks. When asked, Sri Chinmoy always explained that the inspiration to write so many songs came from his 'Inner Pilot', his inner source of inspiration:

"If we know how to pray and meditate to gain a free access to the world of inspiration, if we have an inner communication with our Pilot Supreme, then quality and quantity can go together. I have composed thousands of songs and poems and painted thousands of paintings. For all my achievements I entirely depend on the Grace of the Supreme. His Grace gives me inspiration and guides me in everything I do—whether I am writing a poem, composing a song, painting a painting, running a marathon or giving a lecture. Everything I do depends on the inner guidance, and this inner guidance is nothing other than Compassion and Grace from Above." - Sri Chinmoy, from "Sri Chinmoy Answers, pt 29"

He explained that when composing music that he did not use his intellectual mind, but instead used the capacities of the heart:

"The outer music
Comes from an outer instrument.
The inner music
Comes from the heart.
The name of this inner music
Is oneness."

- Sri Chinmoy

Most of Sri Chinmoy’s songs are written in his native Bengali, his parent tongue. Bengali is spoken in Eastern India and Bangladesh and is the world's sixth most spoken language, numbering almost 250 million speakers. It is also a language of tremendous spiritual inflection; itis a descendent of the great Sanskrit language in which many of Indias great spiritual texts were written, as well as Pali, the language the Buddha gave his discourses. In the last 150 years Bengali was the medium of instruction of great spiritual teachers like Sri Ramakrishna and Anandamayi Ma, as well as mystical poets such as Ramprasad and the Nobel-prize winning Rabindranath Tagore. It is a language of the heart, and as such Sri Chinmoy always found it easier to express the spiritual sentiments of his music in Bengali. (On Bengali and English Songs by Sri Chinmoy) However his English songs have a very charming and childlike quality about them; many of them reveal a very intimate relationship between man and God, and singing them draws the singer into the intimacy and sweetness of that diving embrace. Sri Chinmoy also wrote thirty songs in French, and set many ancient Sanskrit mantras to music.

The songs of Sri Chinmoy are mostly devotional in nature, and he felt that music can be a sacred bridge between the seeker and God:

“When we listen to soulful music, or when we ourselves play soulful music, immediately our inner existence climbs up high, higher, highest. It climbs up and enters into something beyond. This Beyond is constantly trying to help us, guide us, mould us and shape us into our true transcendental image, our true divinity.”

From:Sri Chinmoy.org

Like the poetry of Sri Chinmoy, his songs embody a wide range of experiences spiritual aspirants face. A song such as Sundara Hate expresses the beauty of the Supreme. Namiche Aje Ananda is an expression of the joy that comes from entering into a spiritual consciousness. And on the other hand a song such as Dekha Tomar embodies the helplessness a seeker may feel at certain stages in his spiritual journey.Yet even in this seeming helplessness , there is a feeling of great sweetness which enables the seeker to invoke the blessings of the Supreme.

As a composer Sri Chinmoy was also unique for writing many songs about individuals. During his lifetime, Sri Chinmoy met with many people from all walks of life and honoured many of these inspiring individuals by composing a song about the great inner and outer qualities they posessed.

As well as being a composer, Sri Chinmoy was also a prolific performer. He played on a variety of different instruments and was always keen to try new instruments; for example, he took up the Chinese erhu in 2005 and was trying out the handsonic drum shortly before his passing in 2007. His favourite instrument was the Indian Esraj, which he felt encapsulates the essence of Indian Music. In the last 23 years of his life, Sri Chinmoy performed 777 concerts of meditative music around the world, dedicating his concerts to the promotion of greater harmony throughout the world.

Sri Chinmoy was active in many other fields such as art, literature, sports and holding meditations at the United Nations. Sri Chinmoy also wrote over 1,500 books and painted many unique pieces of art which he terms Jharna Kala. In the field of athletics he completed several marathons and ultra marathons. In the latter part of his life, Sri Chinmoy was forced to retire from running but was a very accomplished weightlifter, and lifted very heavy weitghts right up until shortly before his passing. Sri Chinmoy is also the founder of the global World Harmony Run. This is a relay run throughout different parts of the world spreading the message of greater understanding and friendship between different people.

by: Tejvan Pettinger 1/01/06

Related Pages

External Resources about the Music of Sri Chinmoy

Photos by Kedar Masani and Pavitrata Taylor

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