During his lifetime (1931-2007), Sri Chinmoy traveled throughout the globe. Tireless in his activities — these are just a snippet of events he engaged in while visiting different states in America, gathered here specifically in commemoration for the 250th anniversary of America.
Some of the key America projects organized by Sri Chinmoy and his students were:
- Lecture Series at Universities
- over 270 talks were given by Sri Chinmoy at over 124 American universities from the years 1968-2000 (https://www.srichinmoylibrary.com/oeh-384e3 : note this link includes other countries, scroll down to United States of America)
- Music and Peace Concerts
- An avid musician and composer, Sri Chinmoy offered over 800 ‘Peace Concerts‘ thoughout the globe — which included over 400 in America. These Peace Concerts were not intended as ‘entertainment’ but as a conscious invocation of peace, and were always offered absolutely ‘free to the public’. They would typically generally include:
- leading the audience in a silent meditation to invoke peace;
- Sri Chinmoy singing his devotional compositions and meditatively performing on musical instruments ( the harmonium, flute, esraj — and often any other instrument he was inspired by at the time including cello, piano, and various stringed and wind instruments from around the world);
- a capella choir performances from his students;
- poetry he had written that day;
- and —in the earlier days— sometimes included a talk and even a Q&A session.
- An avid musician and composer, Sri Chinmoy offered over 800 ‘Peace Concerts‘ thoughout the globe — which included over 400 in America. These Peace Concerts were not intended as ‘entertainment’ but as a conscious invocation of peace, and were always offered absolutely ‘free to the public’. They would typically generally include:
- Writings
- Sri Chinmoy’s writings —both prose and poetry— is extensive. An online collection, the Sri Chinmoy Library is a good place to start exploring this huge body of work. On a different site, here is a small collection of excerpts from Sri Chinmoy’s writings on America.
- Artwork
- In his youth in India, Sri Chinmoy would often draw sketches and he continued to do so through his life. In 1974, when he was 43 years old and living in America, he took up painting and drawing with great enthusiasm and abundance. See here for more details about his artwork.
- Sports
- Sports always played an important part of Sri Chinmoy’s life and philosophy. He believed that through ‘self-transcendence’ athletic activities could empower one’s own life — and well as bring communities and people together. See here for more details about his athletic endeavors. Some of the more encompassing multi-state events are:
- Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run (aka Harmony Run), a nearly annual event since 1987
- Also, while not multi-state, these local running events organized by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team (USA chapter) which was established in 1976, are important features in many individual states
- Liberty Torch Relay, 1976. A non-stop, round-the-clock, relay run through all 50 states (8,800 miles). Taking the team of runners 46 days, summer of 1976.
- Salutations to America: A 13-State, 1,300 Mile Non-Stop Relay Run, 1980
- Empire State Bicycle Relay in 1979, covering a 1,500-mile route across New York State
- Sri Chinmoy USA Bicycle Relay transcontinental in 1980
- Sri Chinmoy Peace Ride in 2025 (Seattle to New York)
- Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run (aka Harmony Run), a nearly annual event since 1987
- Sports always played an important part of Sri Chinmoy’s life and philosophy. He believed that through ‘self-transcendence’ athletic activities could empower one’s own life — and well as bring communities and people together. See here for more details about his athletic endeavors. Some of the more encompassing multi-state events are:
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Specific events organized by the 50 States:
**Note: This section is current in DRAFT form and in the process of research. My aim is to have a page for each of the 50 states.**
AL / AK / AZ / AR / CA / CO / CT / DE / FL / GA / HI / ID / IL / IN / IA / KS / KY / LA / ME / MD / MA / MI / MN / MS / MO / MT / NE / NV / NH / NJ / NM / NY / NC / ND / OH / OK / OR / PA / RI / SC / SD / TN / TX / UT / VT / VA / WA / WV / WI / WY
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
