Free meditation classes in Queens

...and other spiritual activities of the Queens Sri Chinmoy Centre.
Founded in 1968 the Queens Sri Chinmoy Centre is located in Jamaica; this is where Sri Chinmoy lived for almost 40 years.

Through meditation we are bound to get divine experience. Meditation is the means. If one meditates, certainly one will get divine experience. If one doesn't, then one will have only ordinary, human experiences.

Sri Chinmoy

 

Our classes

Personalized classes are offered in Jamaica, Queens in Bengali, English and Spanish by members of the Oneness-Heart Centre. Unlike our larger classes in Manhattan, these classes have a smaller, more personalised feeling, with the opportunity to experience a warm friendly atmosphere with meditators from all backgrounds.

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Mahatapa from the Oneness-Heart centre talks about the centre and the meditation classes we give

Several years ago the Oneness-Heart Centre was established in Jamaica, Queens to cater for the surrounding community. Introductory meditation classes are taught in Bengali, English and Spanish. Follow-up courses are also offered for those in search of deepening their meditation practice.

Members of the Oneness-Heart Centre meet weekly for group meditation, singing and just plain fun in our small centre in Jamaica.

To learn more about our Centre and our meditation classes, please call (718) 408-1442 or use our  contact form

 

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Class-givers:

Mahatapa Palit hails from Bengal and teaches business marketing at Queensborough Community College.

She works closely with the local community, and offers meditation classses specifically for them at the Oneness-Heart Centre.

About our Centre

Born in 1931, Sri Chinmoy spent twenty years meditating in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, southern India.

Following an inner command to share the spiritual wisdom of the East with aspiring seekers in the West, he left behind his simple ashram lifestyle behind in 1964.  On April 13th, Sri Chinmoy arrived in the metroplois of New York City.

In 1968 Sri Chinmoy moved to Jamaica, Queens where he lived until his Mahasamadhi in October 2007. Currently over 200 students of Sri Chinmoy live in the Jamaica area and surrounding environs. Others from the New York and Tri-state area gather for regular meditation sessions several times a week in Jamaica at Aspiration-Ground, the all-season meditation garden where Sri Chinmoy would meditate with his students.

During April and August the Queens Sri Chinmoy Centre is host to members from all over the world for two week-long meditation retreats, a tradition Sri Chinmoy started and which we continue after his passing. Members come from as far as Mongolia and South Africa to re-invigorate their meditation practice and rekindle friendships with kindred spirits.

 

Drop in to one of our cafes or restaurants!

Eating at one of the cafes and restaurants owned and staffed by Sri Chinmoy's students in the Jamaica area is a great way to get a flavour of our meditation community.
Annam Brahma
Indian and Vegetarian food - voted Queens's best Vegetarian restaurant!

 


Smile of the Beyond
New York's oldest vegetarian breakfast diner; opened in 1972

Sri Chinmoy's students also operate a number of small business enterprises in the Jamaica area including a health food store, flower shop, gift, clothing and stationery boutiques, printing press and laundromat; all established in service to the local community.

 

Meditation Concerts, poetry readings and talks

The Panorama of My Silence heart cafe hosts quite a few concerts, poetry evenings, photo exhibitions and evening talks during the year. Some of the evenings are advertised on their website, feel free in touch with them to see for a full schedule of what is happening in the coming weeks.

An outdoor concert in Flushing Meadows park

We also hold larger concerts in Manhattan, such as our Songs of the Soul concerts. These concerts feature meditative music composed by Sri Chinmoy, performed by different solo and group acts in styles from all over the world - acappella choirs, Chinese erhu, Indian sitar ragas, Western classical arrangements on cello and violin, instrumental groups and orchestral arragments with up to (and sometimes over) 70 musicians.


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Our races and fun run

Sri Chinmoy felt that sports was the perfect complement to meditation to lead a balanced life. Throughout his life, he was always involved in some kind of sporting activity - sprinting, long-distance running, tennis and weightlifting - and he encouraged his students to do the same.

In the late 70's, the Sri Chinmoy Marathon team began putting on sporting events for the local community. Our races have an emphasis on self-transcendence: being happy by competing with your own achievements. We currently organise 3 events in the Queens area:


 

The world's longest race!

We started out in the late 1970's organising 10-mile races, half-marathons, marathons, but over the years the distances became longer until eventually we started organising marathons and ultra-marathons.

Sri Chinmoy trains near his home in Jamaica, Queens

Sri Chinmoy encouraged us to organise and participate in these races, because in doing them you have to go beyond the mind's limits and see what you are truly capable of.

In 1997 the 3,100 mile race, the longest certified road race in the world, was inaugurated. It takes place from mid-June to early August every year, around Thomas Edison High School in Queens. The racecourse is open from 6AM to 12 PM every day; feel free to come along support the runners and get a first-hand experience of self-transcendence.

Video
3100:Run and Become is a documentary about the connection between running and spirituality in cultures around the world, featuring our own 3100 Mile Race. Find out more on https://www.3100film.com