Video #335: An Attitude of Gratitude  | Ancient Wisdom Thoughts Podcast, Episode 29

The Attitude of Gratitude Podcast Episode 29 has just been released, offering listeners a profound yet practical exploration of one of the most powerful spiritual qualities. Hosts Vajin and Abhinabha dive deep into how gratitude reshapes our entire experience of life – turning ordinary moments into golden ones and challenges into opportunities for growth.

Attitude of Gratitude Podcast – A Transformative Force

Vajin and Abhinabha explain gratitude as more than polite thanks. It is a dynamic spiritual practice that expands the heart, creates resilience, and attracts positivity. They share how gratitude shifts perception – even negative experiences can become blessings when seen through its lens.

Practical Ways to Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude

The hosts offer simple, effective tools anyone can use:

  • Gratitude journaling to start and end the day
  • Conscious appreciation of small things
  • Seeing work as a structure that heightens joy in free time
  • Accepting both positive and negative as gifts

Personal Stories and Insights

Vajin and Abhinabha recount real-life examples. They show how gratitude creates a positive feedback loop and fosters deeper connections. One story highlights how recognizing others’ contributions transformed workplace satisfaction.

Gratitude as a High Spiritual Quality

Drawing from Sri Chinmoy’s teachings, the hosts describe gratitude as a supreme virtue that synthesizes humility, joy, and oneness. It is the fastest way to experience life’s “golden days” in the present moment.

Physiological and Spiritual Benefits

Moreover, gratitude has measurable effects. It enhances well-being, builds resilience, and opens the door to spiritual enlightenment. The episode explores how true gratitude embraces life’s full spectrum.

More Episodes You May Love

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For more information about events, visit the official website: www.srichinmoycentre.org.
To learn more about Sri Chinmoy, please visit: www.srichinmoy.org.

Week 234: I Love Singing

This week features four uplifting Sri Chinmoy Bengali songs from the Alpha and Omega songbook. Over the years, Sri Chinmoy composed music filled with aspiration and gratitude, creating heartfelt melodies that gently illuminate his spiritual path. Because of their simplicity and warmth, the songs continue to speak directly to the inner heart. Additionally, they offer listeners a peaceful doorway into his meditative world.

The performances this week come from his disciple Purnakama, whose sincere and gentle voice brings out the devotional sweetness in every line. Through her recordings, it becomes easy to settle into a calm, meditative mood and appreciate the purity of the music. As a result, whether you choose to sing along or simply listen quietly, these Sri Chinmoy Bengali songs can add a soft, elevating joy to your week.

Below are the four songs featured in this week’s selection:

Songs

  • Chor Hate Chahi Bishwa Matar Karuna
  • Bhikhari Haite Nahi Chahi
  • Jibane Marane Ghume Jagarane Tushite
  • Chahi Ami Chahi Sada

Listen & Learn

You can learn by watching the notation while listening, follow along with the melody, or download both the audio and the PDF scores for your personal practice. Everything is available for free, so you can learn at your own pace and enjoy the music more deeply. Use the links below to easily listen to the audio, download the recordings, and view or download the PDF sheet music for your convenience:

 

Lyrics:

1. Chor Hate Chahi Bishwa Matar Karuna

Chor hate chahi bishwa matar
Karuna bhikhari.
– Sri Chinmoy, ‘Alpha and Omega’ songbook

2. Bhikhari Haite Nahi Chahi

Bhikhari haite nahi
Chahi ami bhitar jibane.
– Sri Chinmoy, ‘Alpha and Omega’ songbook

3. Jibane Marane Ghume Jagarane Tushite

Jibane marane ghume jagarane
Tushite tomare chahi.
– Sri Chinmoy, ‘Alpha and Omega’ songbook

4. Chahi Ami Chahi Sada

Chahi ami chahi sada pracharite nam gobinder
Tahar majhare dhangsha haibe kalima maner

Translation:

I want to announce and manifest
My Lord Govinda’s Name all the time.
– Sri Chinmoy, ‘Alpha and Omega’ songbook

 

For more of Sri Chinmoy’s published songs, visit the official website: www.srichinmoysongs.com.
To learn more about Sri Chinmoy, please visit: www.srichinmoy.org.

© 2025 Sri Chinmoy Centre

News #101: Jharna-Kala Art Exhibition at Kiskunfélegyháza Elementary School

Jharna-Kala Art Exhibition Kiskunfélegyháza – children celebrate Sri Chinmoy paintings

On 28 November 2025, an elementary school in Kiskunfélegyháza, Hungary, welcomed seven original Jharna-Kala paintings by Sri Chinmoy. The children had personally chosen these works from an earlier exhibition. Around 200 pupils participated in the welcoming programme and greeted the visiting disciples with beautiful performances. The atmosphere was warm, joyful and deeply heartfelt.

The paintings are now permanently displayed in the school corridors and classrooms, offering daily inspiration to students and teachers alike.

Who Was Sri Chinmoy?

Sri Chinmoy (1931–2007) was known as a spiritual teacher, poet, musician and artist. He lectured at universities such as Harvard, Yale, Oxford and Cambridge, and served the United Nations for nearly forty years through meditation programmes and cultural events. He founded the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run (1987), now the world’s longest peace-torch relay, covering more than 150 countries.

The Birth of Jharna-Kala – Fountain-Art

Sri Chinmoy began painting on 19 November 1974 in Ottawa, Canada. He named his spontaneous style “Jharna-Kala” – Bengali for “fountain-art”. Without any formal training, he created over 140,000 acrylic paintings and nearly 16 million bird drawings, often at incredible speed (up to 1,000 drawings in a single sitting). He described the process as meditation in motion: the brush simply flowed from inner silence.

Global Reach of Jharna-Kala Art Exhibition

His works have been exhibited in major venues worldwide:

  • Carrousel du Louvre, Paris
  • United Nations Headquarters, New York and Geneva
  • Parliament buildings in Australia, Canada, Ukraine and many other countries
  • UNESCO headquarters, Paris

Permanent collections exist in museums and schools across continents.

Why Children Love Jharna-Kala Paintings

Sri Chinmoy believed that children naturally feel the soul’s joy in art. The bright colours, flowing lines and peaceful energy of Jharna-Kala speak directly to young hearts. In Kiskunfélegyháza, the students themselves selected the seven paintings that now adorn their school – a beautiful example of how Sri Chinmoy’s art continues to inspire the next generation.

A Permanent Gift to the School

The seven paintings will remain at the school indefinitely. They serve as daily reminders of beauty, peace and inner possibility for hundreds of children and their teachers.

A quiet, heartfelt event – seven paintings now light up a Hungarian school every day. Thank you, Kiskunfélegyháza!

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For more information about Sri Chinmoy Art, visit the official website: www.srichinmoyart.org.
To learn more about Sri Chinmoy, please visit: www.srichinmoy.org.

News #100: Agnikana’s Group Concert in Subotica – Angelic Voices of Peace

Agnikana’s Group Concert in Subotica 2025 – angelic voices on stage

On 21 November 2025, a local Subotica newspaper published a stunning two-page article about the recent Agnikana’s Group concert. Journalist D. Cupac – who has never attended a meditation class – wrote with astonishing depth and poetry. Below is the complete English translation of her article.

The Original Article – “Angelic Voices Captivated Subotica”

Subotica Newspapers – 21 November 2025 Author: D. Cupac

Agnikana’s Group Performed in Our City
Angelic Voices Captivated Subotica

At a time when footsteps often run ahead of thoughts, and the hectic rhythm of life drowns out the subtle music of the soul, there exists a musical ensemble whose sound resists modern norms. Agnikana’s group opens a doorway into a different, magical world—far from the gloom of everyday life, mystical and enchanting. In that world, the moment pauses like the flame of a candle flickering in silence, carrying a unique message from the heart.

The sounds created by these exceptional women resonate with sincere dedication, woven through with profound spiritual warmth.

With confident performances, Agnikana’s group guides listeners inward to a landscape where each note becomes a bridge to hidden depths. Their melodies—soft as a whisper yet powerful as a shared breath—invite the audience to stop for a moment and truly listen within. They do not win over listeners with stage spectacle, but with sincerity, and therein lies their greatest strength. The people of Subotica experienced this at the beginning of the month, when they were delighted by the inspired concert given by this all-female musical ensemble in the Great Hall of Subotica City Hall.

Admirers from Canada, the United States, the Netherlands, Poland, Republika Srpska, Hungary, and Macedonia joined local guests to enjoy this unique musical event. Seven women—excellent musicians from Slovakia and the Czech Republic, led by Agnikana Senkyrova from Zlín in the Czech Republic—brought to our city a special magic that will long be remembered.

Agnikana’s group, a female vocal-instrumental ensemble founded in 1997, is fully devoted to performing the music of Sri Chinmoy. They held their first concert the same year and have since performed more than 200 times across Europe, Asia, and North America.

They have released four CDs so far: Bhagaban, In My Heart-Sky, Dream Always Dream, and Premalocker. Their goal while singing is to create and maintain an atmosphere of harmony, peace, purity, and spirituality. They hope that each listener will receive as many meditative qualities from the songs as possible, while also appreciating their melodies.

All the songs they perform were composed by their meditation teacher, Sri Chinmoy, and are sung in the original Bengali or English. They believe that music is a great enchanter, capable of opening every heart regardless of language. True understanding comes when listeners feel the music with their hearts—when they discover within it a sea of peace and an all-embracing silence.

The members often emphasize that—except Bhoiravi from Vienna—they are not professional musicians or singers. Yet their music reaches the deepest corners of the soul, sometimes bringing listeners to tears or to insights about themselves. What unites them and gives them strength, inspiration, and a unique, unquenchable spark is not music alone but their shared search for truth through meditation—an inseparable part of their lives.

Another philosophy they share is the pursuit of constant progress and self-transcendence. Each day can be the beginning of something new, more fulfilling, and truer. There is no reason for a person to remain at yesterday’s point; the goal for tomorrow is always to move forward, even with a small step.

An interesting fact about this group is that all the members have completed at least one marathon (42.6 km). Not because they are professional athletes, but because of their aspiration and desire to achieve what once seemed impossible. Their success reflects a basic human truth: if you truly want something, there is no reason you cannot achieve it.

The musicians said that our fairy-tale-like, multicultural city completely took their breath away. Subotica impressed them with its beauty and its unique Art Nouveau architecture. They expressed a strong wish to return soon to this peaceful, charming city that preserves the spirit and warmth of Balkan hospitality.

Who Was Sri Chinmoy?

Sri Chinmoy was a spiritual teacher, philosopher, author, artist, and athlete who lived in New York from 1964 until his passing in 2007. He was born in 1931 in Bangladesh.

He devoted his life tirelessly to promoting peace, harmony, and oneness among people. He travelled widely, delivering lectures at major universities such as Harvard, Cambridge, Princeton, Yale, Oxford, and Tokyo.

In his creative work, he expressed deep appreciation for the unity of the world. This theme permeated his millions of bird drawings—symbols of inspiration—and appeared equally in his poetry, prose, music, and art.

The idea of oneness was the unmistakable foundation of all his activities, whether in painting, music, lectures, cultural events, or sponsoring sports programs. For decades, he dedicatedly served the United Nations, considering himself an instrument of global harmony.

Oneness in everything, oneness for everyone.

Today, several thousand of Sri Chinmoy’s disciples around the world work together to improve their lives through meditation, sports, music, literature, and self-development. He also founded one of the largest global sporting events—the Peace Run. Every two years, the relay travels across continents, carrying a message of peace, harmony, and friendship.

Sri Chinmoy lit the first peace torch on April 27, 1987, in New York, launching what is now known as the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run, which circles the globe. It offered humanity a new way to express its timeless yearning for peace.

Since its beginning, the Peace Run has travelled through 150 countries, touching the lives of millions. People from all walks of life have taken the torch into their hands, offering their wishes for a better and brighter future.

Learn More & Listen

News #98: Auckland Half-Marathon Series Race 8 – Pure Joy!

Auckland Half-Marathon Series

Another beautiful chapter of the Auckland Half-Marathon Series unfolded on Sunday, 23 November 2025. Runners gathered at the peaceful War Memorial Park in Mt Roskill under a soft, cloudy sky. A warm late-spring breeze greeted everyone. Even with a 10-minute late start, smiles never faded. The beloved trio of half-marathon, 12 km and 6 km distances welcomed every kind of participant – from speedy racers chasing personal bests to happy families and giggling children enjoying their first event.

Why the Auckland Half-Marathon Series Feels So Special

First, the park offers flat, shaded loops on the famous Lovelock Track – perfect for relaxed running or fast racing. Second, volunteers cheer with genuine warmth and quiet encouragement. Finally, the atmosphere stays calm and meditative from start to finish. All of this blends into the perfect recipe for joyful running. Many regulars smile and say they come not just for the run, but for the quiet peace they always carry home.

Half-Marathon – Strong Performances

Mark Andrew powered to a clear victory in 1:32:54, followed by Vince Sesto (1:36:45) and Thomas Milliken (1:40:21). In the women’s race, ultra-legend Susan Marshall – who once finished the incredible 3,100-mile Self-Transcendence Race – showed her timeless strength with a winning 1:53:02. Melissa Kjestrup (1:58:24) and Kirsty Sesto (2:00:15) completed a happy podium. Runners spoke afterwards about how the peaceful park setting helped them find a smooth, flowing rhythm.

12 km & 6 km – Speed, Smiles and Family Moments

Melanie James flew to an impressive outright victory in the 12 km with 59:42, while TK Higuchi led the men in 1:03:06. The 6 km brought pure delight: Christopher Rawles sprinted to first place in 29:06, proudly followed by his dad Stephen (36:21). Larissa Wildsmith topped the women in 31:36, with Liz Hardley (36:15) and Melissa Stewart (42:11) enjoying every step. The shorter distances are always full of children, grandparents and first-timers discovering the simple happiness of moving together outdoors.

A Global Family of Peaceful Races

Since Sri Chinmoy founded the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team in 1977, members of the SCMT have lovingly organised more than 500 events worldwide every year. The Auckland monthly series, now in its 22nd season (since 2004), is one of the longest-running regular community race series in New Zealand and among the most enduring monthly programmes in the entire global SCMT family.  Whether you race the half-marathon or take the 6 km at your own pace, the same warm, open-hearted feeling is there for everyone. Race 8 at War Memorial Park reminded everyone why they keep coming back: beautiful places, kind people and the gentle feeling that, for a couple of hours, the world is exactly as it should be.

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For more information about sports events, visit the official website: www.srichinmoyraces.org.
To learn more about Sri Chinmoy, please visit: www.srichinmoy.org.