I’ve written before about the Peace Concert that Sri Chinmoy gave at the Riverside Church on 23 August 2000. It was special because I felt the presence of Jesus Christ at the end, as Sri Chinmoy was playing the organ. Hundreds of other disciples had the same experience, and it is the only time in my entire discipleship that I had that kind of collective interaction. We all felt it. I just remember there was a second source of divine Consciousness that opened up in the room, in the back right corner of the cathedral. It was so palpable, so moving, and yes, more than a little frightening. Such pure energy, pure power. Interestingly enough, it began with a voice inside of me saying, “It’s an Avatar!”
I told that to my friend from California, that my first reaction to Christ’s presence was this inner certainty that I was dealing with another Avatar. I said to him that there must be some faculty in human beings that enables them to recognize an Avatar. And he looked at me and said, “Yes. That is called your soul!”
I had to laugh, because my friend is right. What is this mysterious apparatus within us that can recognize divine beings and inner Light? It’s the soul!
I told another disciple about this experience with Christ at Riverside, and he said he believes me when I say that Christ did come that day. But he told me that another way I could look at it is that my past life came forward, and I was perceiving and receiving from Christ as a Christian devotee from several centuries ago. Something descended from above, but also something from within me came forward.
Interestingly enough, I felt that same way when I got my spiritual name from Sri Chinmoy in 2006. He was looking at me in silence and I felt other people were looking through my eyes at Guru, and I think those other people were some of my past incarnations.
As soon as Guru began playing the organ, I felt a cold wind in the cathedral, and tears came to my eyes, and I began thinking of Mother Mary, the Mother of God. I told this to another friend of mine, who used to make furniture but now cuts vegetables. I asked him why I felt cold when Mary came as a harbinger to her Son. It was not an unpleasant coldness. It was like the wind off the ocean. And he said, “Well, her colors are blue and white.”
And I realised these are cool colors! White and Blue. Purity and Infinity.
Finally, Sri Chinmoy was infinitely more aware of Christ and Mary’s arrival than we were. But he did not stop playing the organ, or make any announcement. God within him told him to play the organ, and he played completely beautifully. In the inner world, I am sure Guru saluted Christ and his Mother most soulfully. But his outer performance was unaffected. To do our duty perfectly in both the inner and outer world, we need infinite poise.
I wonder at the experiences I have had with my Master, Sri Chinmoy. I just have to shake my head in wonder. How else can I respond to something like this?
