Connecticut Joy Day

22 May, 2010, Cove Island Park, Connecticut. On Saturday, a glorious Joy Day was held at Cove Island Park and Nidrahara and Nripal’s home, in Connecticut. Sri Chinmoy's spirit and joy was, indeed, the feeling of the day as students of Sri Chinmoy from the Connecticut and New York areas were joined by students from as far away as Chicago and Russia, and by new students who joined the path via the Oneness-Heart Centre in Queens, and the Meditation Workshops in Greenwich Village in Manhattan. At least 200 people participated in the events of the day; but because the house and grounds are so spacious, there was ample space to roam.

The first stop was at Cove Island Park, where we planted three trees in the Sri Chinmoy Peace Grove, right near the water, and had a snack. For the first six months, Connecticut students will water the trees, to make sure that they have long and healthy lives. There is ample nearby space for the planting of more trees, and we expect to do that in the future..

The group then repaired to the house, where there was a soulful meditation in the newly constructed Meditation Room, followed by the first screening of the film, Run and Become, produced by Utpal and edited by Tadyatra, of Lotus Films.

The film depicts Sri Chinmoy’s running career in America, and combines still shots of early running events, video footage from later years, cartoon-like illustrations of one of Sri Chinmoy’s stories about his running experiences, and reminiscences of an illustrious Centre runner.

Nripal and Nidrahara then shared stories of Sri Chinmoy’s two visits to their house, followed by an elegant Prasad of a cheese dish, chocolate truffles and plums, followed by more food in the form of an outdoor vegetarian feast for lunch.

In the early afternoon, some members of the group walked ½ mile to the grounds of a nearby school for organized games, while others wandered in the forest behind the house, chatted in small groups, or lazed in the sun on the lawn. Many new friends were made and old friendships cemented. Nidrahara, who is a professional Yoga teacher, offered a Yoga class for women. It was so well-attended that late-comers had to squeeze into unlikely corners of the very large room.

Features of the latter part of the day, and the evening, included audience-singing of some of Sri Chinmoy’s English songs along with Parvati’s group, a pizza and salad meal, a video of Sri Chinmoy talking about meditation, another prasad and, finally, a very funny collection of Jon Stewart and Honeymooners videos.
submitted by Bhadra Kleinman