A chance encounter

Some time ago, a middle-aged lady walked into Concern Cottage when it was a health food store/juice bar enterprise. She saw a picture of Sri Chinmoy on the wall, and asked his name. When her question was answered, she was so struck, because she said that many years ago, when she was a teenager, she had found a photograph of Sri Chinmoy in a magazine, cut it out, and stuck it on her wall.

She has often been drawn to looking at books by Sri Chinmoy, but has never found out anything more about him. She said she suffers from bouts of depression, and was interested in meditation. I hope she comes to some classes!

Hearing about this makes me extremely grateful for the opportunities I have had to spend so much time with Sri Chinmoy, and how enriched and full of hope my life is as a result. I cannot imagine where I would otherwise be right now, (it does not bear thinking about!).

Below is a nice excerpt by Sri Chinmoy about hope:

“The hope of a human child is to get the highest degree or diploma. The hope or climbing aspiration of a divine child is to receive and achieve Peace, Light and Bliss in infinite measure. A seeker's hope is his aspiration light and the Inner Pilot's hope is Perfection Delight. Each individual seeker represents a conscious and constant promise to his Inner Pilot. Similarly, the Inner Pilot represents a conscious and constant promise to the individual seeker. In his aspiration light, the seeker enters into the Supreme's Cosmic Dream to play his unique role in God's Drama and manifest God in God's own way. Through His Perfection Delight, God enters into the seeker's aspiration light to give him what He eternally has and what He eternally is. What He has is the Golden Boat that carries humanity's excruciating pangs; what He is is the Golden Shore of Infinity, Eternity and Immortality. Again, He Himself is the Pilot and He Himself is the Boat that carries humanity's excruciating pangs and teeming ignorance, imperfections, limitations, bondage and death to the Golden Shore of His ever transcending Beyond.”