11 September
From around the world:
Free meditation classes in New York City
....and other spiritual activities organised by the New York Sri Chinmoy Centre.
For 50 years, the Sri Chinmoy Centre has been offering free meditation classes to the general public in New York, benefiting tens of thousands of people. We offer 2-day meditation workshops in Manhattan 4 times a year, as well as week long meditation festivals throughout the year. We also offer classes in Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn.
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Find out more about our classes:
Classes in Manhattan • Classes in Queens • Frequently asked questions » -
Interested in obtaining details about the next class?
Call (917) 770-8584 or use our contact form »
Other events we organise:
We also endeavour to serve the community through our concerts of meditative music, our running races, and by creating a peaceful environment in our enterprises:
• Cafes and restaurants managed by Sri Chinmoy's students »
• Meditative concerts » • Running races »
About the New York Tri-State Area Sri Chinmoy Centre
Sri Chinmoy was born in India in 1931, in Shakpura near Chittagong. After studying in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram for over twenty years, he came to New York City in 1964 where the first Sri Chinmoy Centre in the US was established.
In 1968 he moved to Queens where he lived until he passed in October 2007. Over the course of a 43-year period, the Centre has gradually expanded into what it is today. Several hundred students live in the Queens, New York, Connecticut and New Jersey tri-state area and regularly meditate together in Queens in an all season inspiring garden setting.
In addition, hundreds of Sri Chinmoy's students visit from Canada, Central and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa every April, August and October for week-long meditations or longer spiritual retreats.
More: Our Manhattan centre • Our Queens centre
Local Enterprises
One way to get a flavour of what the Sri Chinmoy Centre community is like is to stop by one of our local restaurants and cafes in Jamaica, Queens. As well as delicious food, we try to offer our visitors a moments peace in the midst of the bustle of New York city.
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Vegetarian Café |
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We also have a health food store, barber shop, flower shop, gift and stationery store, clothing boutique, printing press, plus the local laundromat - many of which have been serving the Jamaica community for nearly forty years.
Meditative and Spiritual Concerts
Sri Chinmoy fostered our musical talents, and encouraged us to put on concerts for the public. Our concert series in New York includes:
- Songs of the Soul: An ensemble of Sri Chinmoy's students from all over the world play his meditative music in ways that are both soulful and dynamic. Started in 2008, this concert series has taken place in 30 countries worldwide, and every year there are two concert performances in New York, in mid-April and late August. Details of next concert on songsofthesoul.com »
- Concert of Inner Peace: An audiovisual experience that seeks to capture the powerful meditative atmospehere of Sri Chinmoy's concerts. Combines large-screen footage of the Sri Chinmoy on a variety of instruments, interspersed with live music performances from his students, just as they would have happened during Sri Chinoy's own concerts. These have generally taken place in October, close to the date of Sri Chinmoy's passing on October 11. For more details, get in touch using the phone number above or contact form.
- Concerts and cultural evenings in Panorama: The Panorama of My Silence-Heart cafe plays host to many varied concerts, photo exhibits and talks throughout the year. Some of them are advertised on the cafe website »
Races
We organise a number of events in the New York area for the general public (and especially for beginners), created with enjoyment and friendliness in mind. The links below will take you to the relevant page on the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team website, with all the event details.
- Our two-mile Self-Transcendence race - every Saturday at 8.07pm in Jamaica, Queen (see video). Race website »
- Sri Chinmoy Sprint Series: 5 and 10km races in Flushing Meadows Park throughout the year. Race website »
- Sri Chinmoy Swim Run - a refreshing 10k swim/1k run in upstate NY. Race website »
- Sri Chinmoy Marathon - a beautiful lakeside course in Rockland State Park. Race website »
- Sri Chinmoy Heart Garden Celebration - a unique 2-mile race in Flushing Meadow Park in October. Race website »
In addition, the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team in New York has grown over past 35 plus years to become one of the world's foremost organisers of ultra distance races. Sri Chinmoy proposed these events as a way for people to challenge their mental ideas of impossibility.
- The Sri Chinmoy 6 and 10 day Race: Over 80 athletes from all around the world converge on Flushing Meadows park in late April for this unique test of stamina. Race website »
- The Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3,100 mile race: the longest certified road race in the world that takes place every year over 52 days between June and August. Go to race website...
Sri Chinmoy on New York
Video
New York's 24/7/365 dynamism was particularly appealing and reflected his own firm belief in constant self-transcendence, reflected in this famous talk:
I admire New York. My eyes are enamoured of her soul's dynamic beauty. My New York is always astir and bustling. Also, she is marching in gigantic strides. Success emerges before her very eyes.
The dawn breaks each day feeling New York's heart consumed with new zeal. She hates to be absorbed in a fog of fruitless brooding and empty inactivity. Moreover, she wants to be free.
Never within her four corners will she tolerate the air of captivity. If it is part of her nature to express herself boldly, I cannot blame her. To me, first of all she deserves this acme of self-confidence. And secondly, God wants New York to be what she is.
My New York has courage. My New York has confidence. The problems of anxiety and uncertainty may cover the length and breadth of the world, but my New York is an exception. Her youthful certainty is my heart's delight.
When I think of my India, it seems that she has endless time. If she does not avail herself of an opportunity today, it will return to her tomorrow. But when I think of my New York, it seems that she is facing a unique opportunity at every moment. If she loses a golden opportunity today, it will never return. New York knows how to seize. She knows how to struggle. She knows how to push forward. She knows how to exert herself, consciously and dynamically. Old blunders fail to plague her. Empty of fear is her heart, which ever grows into the fulfilment of her promising future. Blessed is she.
My New York is not a challenge. She is not a competition. She is not a running race. She is not a victory. What then is she? She is a great Promise, wherein grows and flowers the Infinite Unknown.
taken from the book America in her depths by Sri Chinmoy.
Video: narrated and edited by Antara-Prabhat Kalajian,
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