A Selection of Sri Chinmoy’s Books

Here is a small selection of books and music by Sri Chinmoy that are available for purchase at our classes and selected WA bookstores, health food stores and gift shops:

The Wings of Joy
Finding your path to inner peace. Sri Chinmoy combines ancient wisdom with modern insights to explore what it means to be a seeker in the New Millennium. Believing that we are all innately divine beings, he encourages us to find harmony and light deep within our hearts and to deal with life’s challenging experiences by transforming them. You will receive a free Flute Music for Meditation CD with your purchase of this book.

Meditation
This classic introduction to meditation remains an enduring favourite for many seekers. With the simplicity and clarity that is the hallmark of Sri Chinmoy’s writings, this comprehensive guide takes you from the first stages of concentration and meditation through to the advanced practice of contemplation.

The Jewels of Happiness
A compilation of succinct and insightful pieces of prose, practical exercises and uplifting aphorisms and verse. Sri Chinmoy’s easy-to-follow exercises are truly pertinent for the modern era and perfectly suited to our fast-paced lives.

The Summits of God-Life: Samadhi and Siddhi
One of the very few genuine accounts of the inner universe – the universe beyond space and time, beyond all mental formulation. This is not a philosophical or theoretical book, but a vivid description of the spiritual reality by a Yogi who makes his home there. Topics include: consciousness, infinity, God-realisation, samadhi, bliss, the inner universe and human transformation.

My Life’s Soul-Journey
For each day of the year, you can turn to a concise spiritual thought, an insightful explanatory passage, and a contemplative poem. Each day’s offering resonates in tune with the innate goodness of humanity and encourages the reader to bring this goodness to the fore. Topics include: adversity, ambition, beauty, confidence, discipline, ego, forgiveness, grace, healing, intuition, joy, pride, prosperity, and many more.

The Divine Hero
Winning in the battlefield of life. Would you like to overcome the negative forces that stand in your way and manifest your deepest inner values in your daily life? The Divine Hero contains sound advice, entertaining stories, lucid explanations and helpful techniques for deepening your inner life. Let this book guide you along your personal journey as you nurture and strengthen the divine within you, face each inner challenge, and emerge victorious in the battlefield of life.

A Child’s Heart and a Child’s Dreams
Growing up with spiritual wisdom: a guide for parents and children. Sri Chinmoy offers practical advice on a subject that is not just an idealist’s dream, but a concerned parent’s lifeline: fostering your child’s spiritual life. Includes a parent’s guide to meditation, stories for children that delight and inspire, and answers to children’s questions about God.

“Wisdom-Drops” Aphorism Cards
These beautifully presented boxes contain a collection of 55 inspirational cards with inspiring quotations by Sri Chinmoy. The cards are decorated with Sri Chinmoy’s original soul-bird drawings and colourful abstract paintings. These cards have proved hugely popular in many stores and yoga centres, and as gifts for colleagues and friends.

E-books
There are more than 70 books by Sri Chinmoy available on Amazon Kindle. These include lectures, poems and answers to wide-ranging questions about meditation.
View at amazon.com

A Selection of Sri Chinmoy’s Music

Flute music for meditation
Esraj music for meditation
Soft chanting with an ocean music background
World music

Books About Sri Chinmoy’s Early Life

By Vidagdha Bennett

While studying at the University of Western Australia, Vidagdha developed a deep interest in the spiritual literature of both East and West. She completed her Masters thesis on the poetry of the American Trappist monk Thomas Merton. She was then inspired to undertake her Ph.D. thesis on the mystical poetry of Sri Chinmoy, which she completed in 1981. This was the pioneer academic study of his writings. Over the years, Vidagdha continued to write about Sri Chinmoy’s fount of creativity expressed through poetry, music, art and even athletics.

Since Sri Chinmoy’s passing in 2007, she has written a number of books chronicling his early life in India. These are available through Kindle via Amazon:
www.amazon.com

Running Beyond the Marathon

By Grahak Cunningham

An excerpt from Grahak’s 3,100-mile race experiences:

The Self-Transcendence 3100-Mile Race is held every year on a concrete footpath around an 883-metre block in Queens, New York. It is the world’s longest and most gruelling foot race. Runners are given 18 hours a day, from 6:00 a.m. to midnight, for 52 days, to run a minimum of 50 miles a day in order to complete the distance. (Incidentally, this involves circumnavigating the block 5649 times). Over the duration of the race, runners can wear out fifteen pairs of shoes, and their feet swell, on average, an extra two sizes. During a typical New York summer, temperatures can reach 40 degrees centigrade with 85% humidity. Athletes must contend with boredom, fatigue, torrential deluges, extreme pain, injuries and sleep deprivation—but most of all, they have to deal with themselves. Outwardly for their efforts they will receive a plastic trophy and a t-shirt; inwardly, they will make a lifetime of progress.

In 2007 the race started on Father’s Day, Sunday June 17. I had retired early the night before, surprisingly getting a good, solid sleep. I did not know it then, but it was to be my last unbroken sleep for weeks. By 5:15 a.m. the next morning, I was on my bicycle fanging down the driveway from my temporary accommodation. It was reasonably cool; the extremes of summer were still a few days off and I wore a thin running jacket to keep warm. I made my way up a small hill, feeling the stored strength in my legs, crossed the usually busy Parsons Boulevard and turned onto Normal Road. Normal Road is a pleasant ride despite its slight uphill slope. Small gardens border the fronts of the grand old double-storey Queens houses. Daffodils and tulips colour pathways inviting pets, mailmen and residents to the splendid front doors, which proudly display their address. A few blocks further on, I darted across 164th Street. Now the racecourse came into view.

This was the block that I was to spend the next seven weeks circling. The start area was obvious: three large vans parked convoy-style. These vans were to become our home-away-from-home. Each van had three or four runners allocated to it. Mine was a large yellow former school bus that could comfortably fit the custom-made cupboards for our gear and the plywood table we would rest on during our breaks.

I unloaded a few pairs of shoes into a blue plastic bin beneath the trestle table outside my van. The Czech and Slovakian runners were already at their white van tending to their feet, legs and equipment. Three lap counters also arrived and, as a crowd of locals started to gather, so did my anticipation, nerves and feelings of trepidation. Other runners began to assemble. Not many. The field consisted of only twelve starters. We didn’t need to wish each other luck; we had spent the last few days together acclimatising and doing last minute shopping for gear and equipment. The atmosphere, the excitement, the crowd of onlookers and well-wishers were all building.

I glanced at the empty score board that was strung crudely to the tall wire fence. All the competitors’ names were listed in alphabetical order and of course we all had zero miles next to our names. I tried not to think about that. I was already starting to experience waves of doubts. “What on earth am I doing here?” crossed my mind more than a few times. I don’t know why the sudden attack of doubts. I had been preparing myself mentally and physically as best I could for months. “There is no going back now,” Smarana Puntigam, the Austrian competitor commented, wryly. He was right; we were lining up at the start and turning back wasn’t an option.

The founder of the race, Sri Chinmoy, arrived to officially start the event. The waiting throngs quietened down. We all offered a few minutes’ silence together for world peace and then came the command: “Go!” I jogged my first lap with the pack, deliberately reigning in my speed to match the far more seasoned ultra runners around me. Halfway round the course, I realised that all my doubts had disappeared. I had trained hard, I wasn’t going to give up and I was on my way. “That’s one lap, Grahak,” the counter acknowledged as I went past. Soon I had a bold number ‘1’ next to my name on the scoreboard indicating I had logged my first mile. My Self-Transcendence 3100-Mile Race had truly begun.

You can buy Grahak’s book Running Beyond the Marathon on Kindle from Amazon:
www.amazon.com