Sri Chinmoy, Part 2

In Part 1, Sri Chinmoy (whose full name was Chinmoy Kumar Ghose, and who will herein be referred to by his initials: CKG) left his job at the consulate to seize an opportunity that awaited him amidst the growing appetite in America for eastern religions. He opened his first meditation centre in Puerto Rico, then one back at his home-base in Queens, New York.

In her memoir, Cartwheels in a Sari, Jayanti Tamm outlines the early years of the Sri Chinmoy Centre. What initially started as an informal meditation circle transformed into a restrictive lifestyle. While the foundation of CKG's belief was Hinduism, the main tenets of his practice were that all religions were the work of a singular god, one could achieve rapid spiritual progress through devotion and surrender, and one should always seek self-transcendence through the joy of breaking past one's limits.

To guide his members in their journey to self-transcendence, CKG prohibited alcohol, caffeine, smoking, drugs, dancing, pets, popular visual media and any print media that was not published by him. Vegetarian diets were adhered to, and followers were required to remain single unless CKG sanctioned their marriage. Even then, both single and married members were required to remain celibate. Near the end of his life, CKG also decreed that followers could not use computers or e-mail.

CKG was no different than many gurus when it came to his hypocrisy and capacity for mental gymnastics. Tamm's mother and father were one such sanctioned marriage, from which Jayanti was conceived soon after. While CKG never referred to himself as a god, he did enjoy claiming that he was in direct communication with the Supreme. As such, CKG took advantage of this situation and claimed that the Supreme was so moved by his prayers that the Tamms' baby would have a special soul, and would incarnate as his chosen disciple.

On a darker note, many ex-disciples have also shared their stories of sexual manipulation and coercion at the direct hands of CKG. Some testimonies are still available to read online, and can be found at the links below. CKG denied these allegations. Please be warned if these or related topics are triggering to you:

Chinmoy and the United Nations

In the beginning, CKG had a particular obsession with the United Nations, seeing it as a “symbol for man's inner cry” and that “The lofty vision of the United Nations is that we all belong to a peace-loving oneness-world-family”; if the UN failed as an institution, then CKG had little hope that any worldwide organisation could succeed.

A more cynical person could link CKG's admiration for the UN as just one facet of his hunger for publicity. The more he could keep his name in the papers and in the ears of the public, the easier it would be to keep his centres full of devotees. In particular, there was a team of core disciples called the ‘Manifestation' team that would try to arrange meetings between CKG and anyone of some level of renown and churn out endless press-releases afterwards.

As for CKG's success at making in-roads to the UN, there are two versions. On one hand, the Sri Chinmoy Centre claims that CKG was invited by then Secretary-General U Thant to offer non-denominational meditations to UN-associated staff in 1970.

On the other hand, Jayanti Tamm counterclaimed that the introduction was courtesy of an Argentinian UN employee who had just become a devotee. The UN had a multitude of recreational clubs, and all that was needed to start a club was two signatures from full-time employees and Ta-Dah! CKG had twice-weekly access to the UN through a “Peace Meditation at the United Nations”. From there, he encouraged many of his followers to get jobs at the UN if they wanted to be seen as good disciples. Several were successful in this task, often working as low-level secretaries, while some achieved greater success - like Natabara Rollosson, who had a managerial role with Unicef in 2002. It was estimated that over 40 followers worked in the UN at one point, allowing for ample recruitment of members and promotion of the guru to high-level politicians.

If the UN archives are to be believed, once CKG was in, it was difficult to get him out. There was ongoing controversy about the use of the UN name and logo in CKG's promotion of the club and his claim of being the spiritual advisor to the United Nations. In what is possibly the most embarrassing set of correspondence ever archived, Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim was pulled into the debacle:

It appears that much of the correspondence between followers and the Secretary-General consisted of sending invites for awards, honours, and concerts, and then the office of the Secretary-General mostly ignoring said invitations unless a gift was sent. Tamm attributed this to the aftermath of CKG audience with U Thant, where pictures of the event were heavily utilised in promotional materials for decades afterwards. Consequently, senior officials at the UN were more reticent about involving subsequent Secretary-Generals in such activities.

Self-transcendence through the Guinness Book of World Records

Another way in which Chinmoy and his followers would land headlines was through breaking records. In a New York Times article from 2004, it was estimated that CKG had completed more than 14 million Peace Bird drawings, 1,400 books, 80,000 poems, 200,000 paintings, and had given more than 700 concerts. His best “party trick” was to often play more than 100 instruments. Have a listen:

Here he plays 170 instruments

https://youtu.be/NlnYuSKX540

How about a 74 piano marathon?

https://youtu.be/BwD5z_zpw8A

Would you like to see him paint?

https://youtu.be/QBTx2jrT2I4

However, while the quantity was prodigious, the quality is decidedly less so. His connections to the UN did provide a prestigious venue to exhibit but the general public was less enamoured. When John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana became disciples in the 70s, they obliged their guru by serving as the opening act for some of his concerts. When they finished and exited stage-left, so did most of the audience.

Compare the above videos to those below:

Santana and McLaughlin play in a Sri Chinmoy Parade in the 70s

https://youtu.be/LsfmpXnaUEM&t=305s

Santana and McLaughlin's album “Love Devotion Surrender”

https://youtu.be/mmIaubt4NWY

His followers have also set their sights on breaking world records and achieving superhuman feats, such as constructing the largest pencil for his 76th birthday.

The leader of that particular project is Ashrita Furman, who participates in Guinness sport as part of his spiritual practice. He has set more than 600 records, and still holds 531 of them as per his Wikipedia page.

While Ashrita appears to have a passion for his craft, it could be that the absence of the same level of passion transcends CKGs creative output. While his style is ubiquitous, it persists because there is so much of it and, sometimes, institutions forget who or what donated the strange painting that's been in the lobby for a decade or two. Mind you, CKG would claim not to be into art or music for the appreciation of others. Instead,it was a means to an end in his pursuit of self-transcendence

What CKG did have passion for was the same sport that brought him the most infamy and attention: Lifting.

Lifting the famous and infamous

CKG was, by all accounts, an athletic youth, and enjoyed running. Worsening knee problems forced him to switch to weightlifting at the age of 54 in the mid-1980s. An apocryphal story tells that he initially struggled with 20 pound dumbbells, but quickly progressed to lifting 240 pounds within a single year.

By 2004, CKG claimed to be able to shoulder press two 500-pound dumbbells and seated calf extensions with 1,600 points and standing with 2,300 pounds. However, these lifts are not achieved in a traditional manner but with custom-made machines.

CKG's most infamous and controversial lift was the Miracle Lift of 7063.75 pounds in 1987, using only one arm. Prior to CKG's death, and the publication of Tamm's memoir, it was claimed that Ernie Franzt of the American Powerlifting Federation had issued a certificate claiming the authenticity of the lift - with counterclaims on message boards and Wikipedia edit logs that Frantz has reneged on those claims. There is no evidence of any certificate online, either from the Sri Chinmoy Centre or in the Wayback Machine.

Jayanti Tamm wrote that her father was one of the few in attendance that night of the miracle lift. Mr. Tamm, she recalled, said that all in attendance were instructed to meditate with their backs turned and their eyes closed; he disobeyed this and claimed that CKG did not complete the lift.

Alex Zwarenstein, an official photographer for CKG until 1989, threw further doubt on any photographic evidence with his admission of doctoring photos on CKGs behalf.

In 1988, CKG started his ''Lifting Up The World With a One-Ness Heart'' campaign, in which he would lift public figures, machines, and animals by shoulder-pressing them with a custom-made lifting stand. The science behind the platform lifts is no mystery; CKG uses a modified lever which lifts the lightest portion of the platform rather than the entire platform. The machine used for arm lifts had already done much of the work by having the weights already in the air. CKG's use of momentum to slide the dumbbell bar up the u-shaped hold recalls Uri Gellar and his spoon-bending. A documentary, directed by Narabata Rollosson, called Challenging Impossibility is interesting to watch, in part due to some creative edits which obscure the full operation of the machine.

By some accounts, the lifts presented through the “One-Ness Heart” campaign did happen, although most would agree that the achievement only occurred with much assistance and would not qualify as a legitimate lift. However, CKG and his supporters claim that arguing about technique and the legitimacy of the lifts misses the point of what the guru was trying to achieve. Instead, it was actually about always pushing one's boundaries in the quest for self-transcendence.

So what now?

Chinmoy died in 2007 but even without their guru to do the (“literal”) heavy-lifting, the group has found other ways to keep the publicity train going, albeit at a more sedate pace.

One of the more enduring legacies of CKG has been the various races and runs the group organises around the world. The most famous of these is The Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race. If you subscribe to TVNZ OnDemand, the documentary 3100: Run and Become is available as of February 2022. It is light on the spiritual aspect of Sri Chinmoy, but has some interesting insights around this very niche race at the height of summer in New York City. The magazine/website Outside have published an article and a podcast about Chinmoy-run races

Followers also stick to their (pun-intended) lane through The Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run. These runs are a global torch relay which has been ongoing since 1987. While they do not raise money or highlight political causes, they do accept donations. Here are some photos from their last visit to Wellington in 2019.

The organisation continues to dedicate cities, landmarks, and university programmes as Peace-Blossoms. This is awarded to sites that are deemed to be of significant inspiration to humanity by raising the consciousness of world peace, often with a plaque dedication ceremony and the press at hand. Wellington and Auckland have been recognised by this programme, but awards seem to have slowed down considerably since the 1990s. In a similar vein have been attempts to install life-size statues of Chinmoy worldwide. Sanjay Rawal, co-director of Challenging Impossibility, had his application to erect a 35-foot statue of his late-teacher on his property declined. While Rawal claimed that only three people would have access to the statue, locals argued against the application, citing the unsightliness of the statue in the proposed setting, the unsettling allegations against the guru, and the likelihood that the surrounding community would be overwhelmed by devotees. In 2017, Ottawa-based follower Pratyaya Hamilton took matters into her own hands. After six years of housing her New Zealand-made statue in her home, she installed her statue in a parking space that she pays $300 a month to rent. There are currently no updates available as to whether the statue has been relocated, or is enjoying yet another freezing winter, this time in the company of the Canadian trucker convoy. New Zealand proved to be more receptive, with the installation of a sculpture in Taupo in 2018.

The Christchurch branch looks to be doing well on the recruitment front, as singer Yulia Townsend was profiled in a May 2021 issue of Women's Day and spoke positively about her involvement with the Sri Chinmoy community. However, the ongoing anti-mandate stance of the Lotus-Heart Restaurant has caused a schism amongst local members; some of whom have opted to stay away until things return to normal.

This is a risky proposition for both the Lotus-Heart and the wider NZ Chinmoy organisation. CKG-affiliated restaurants catered to the vegan and vegetarian communities for decades before it became trendy and, like the Lotus-Heart, provided a space for devotees to meet and also served as an introduction to the works of the guru through free yoga and meditation classes. But as long-standing members grow older, and more secular options become available, restaurants that fly the Chinmoy banner no longer dominate their respective market. Pradhan Balter closed his popular Chicago restaurant in 2016, with Ottawa's Perfection-Satisfaction-Promise following in 2018. The global pandemic has also been unkind, with long-established restaurants like Seattle's Silent Heart Nest closing, while New York restaurant Panorama Cafe remains open but requires proof of vaccination.

Lacking the pop culture cache of contemporaries such as the Hari Krishnas or the Rajneeshees, the Sri Chinmoy Centres may fade into obscurity within the next few decades without a concerted recruitment effort. While the stunts and spectacles of the late twentieth-century Chinmoy are barely worth slowing down one's doom scrolling for, with the depletion of visible storefronts provided by restaurants, the Chinmoy group is, again, literally losing valuable real estate in the hearts and minds of potential recruits. As for the Lotus-Heart, once the stoush with WorkSafe is resolved and the mandates are lifted, however, will that so-called “normal” be enough to regain some goodwill in the community and the larger Chinmoy community?

And so ends our look into Sri Chinmoy for now. However, I may write a part three in the future, so keep following our newsletter and podcast.