INSPIRING NEWS AND VIDEOS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
To commemorate the 44th anniversary of Sri Chinmoy’s first rose drawing that he made in Canada on November 19, 1974, I am presenting a new journey through 81 paintings of the artist from the 1970s. He called his artwork “Jharna-Kala” which is the Bengali word for “Fountain-Art” – art that is created from within.
As more and more early reproduction slides of Sri Chinmoy’s artwork are being scanned and refreshed, it is your golden opportunity to view them in large format on the blog Sri Chinmoy Artwork HD. In the near future there will be one new picture every day. Enjoy!
“Running” underscores the indomitable spirit of Flack, who is the distinctive voice behind the Grammy Award-winning classics “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and ″Killing Me Softly with His Song,” among other hits. Although the 81-year-old suffered a stroke in early 2016, the singer/songwriter/musician tells Billboard via email, “The music remains my lifeline. And the lyrics for ‘Running’ speak to where I am now, working to keep going through music.”
The lyrics comprising the song’s chorus succinctly relay that feeling: “And I’ll just keep running/Until my race is done/‘Cause if I just keep running/Then I’ve already won.” The moving song, written by Levine, is the closing credits song for the documentary 3100: Run and Become. The film, directed by Sanjay Rawal and scored by composer/songwriter Michael A. Levine, focuses on aspirants participating in the annual Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race, the longest footrace in the world. Launching a weeklong stand in New York City today at the Village East Cinema, the film will then open in Los Angeles (Nov. 9) at the Laemmle Santa Monica theater before going wide and digital.
It was a string of coincidences that inspired Flack — recently honored by the Jazz Foundation of America for her career achievements — to record “Running.” She was a longtime devotee of the late Guru Sri Chinmoy, an Indian spiritual leader whose followers included Carlos Santana, Clarence Clemons, Narada Michael Walden and Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis. A proponent of meditation and physical exercise, the New York City-based Chinmoy was an avid runner and sponsor of the 3100 Mile Race in addition to being an author, poet and musician.
“I used to meditate with Guru Chinmoy in the late ‘80s and ‘90s, read his writings and run with him,” Flack recalls. During this period, Flack met director Rawal, with whom she later worked on various charity projects over the years. It was Rawal who suggested Flack to Levine when the latter said he was looking for a “well-known but older singer” to perform “Running” on the soundtrack. The song is based on the theme music of the film. “I thought it would be great,” says Levine, whose prior scoring credits include the Jerry Bruckheimer/CBS dramas Cold Case and Close to Home as well as the award-winning documentary Landfill Harmonic. “But I thought how could we possibly? I didn’t know that Sanjay and Roberta were still in touch via her manager Suzanne Koga. Astonishingly, Roberta agreed to do it.”
At the end of the two-day session, Flack left Levine with a special memory he will never forget. “Roberta turned to me,” he explains, “and said, ‘If you need anything else, honey, you call me and I’ll come right back.’ I’ll admit it brought tears to my eyes.”
Listen to “Running” above.
SOURCE: https://www.billboard.com
Sanjay Rawal is human rights activist & award-winning documentary filmmaker – and disciple of Sri Chinmoy. His newest film – “3100: Run and Become” – captures the esoteric, spiritual side of running with the Marathon Monks of Mt. Hiei in Japan, the Kalahari bushmen in Africa, the Navajo Nation in Arizona, the forests of Finland and the streets of NYC, tracking the famed Sri Chinmoy Self -Transcendence 3100 Mile Run. This is a conversation about running as a path for enlightenment. Enjoy!
Concert video of Sri Chinmoy’s Hannover performance as part of a European tour in 2005. Filmed by kedarvideo.
Highlights of the Berlin performance of Sri Chinmoy in 2005 as part of a European concert tour. Filmed in HD by kedarvideo.
Highlights of the Peace Concert by Sri Chinmoy (1931-2007) in Dresden, Germany, in 2005 as part of a European Concert Tour. Filmed by kedarvideo.
Highlights of a Peace Concert by Sri Chinmoy (1931-2007) in Munich in 2005 as part of a European Concert Tour with final synthesizer performance and meditation. Filmed by kedarvideo.
85-year-old Geoff Oliver set not one, but three new age-group records in the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 24-hour race (popularly known as the Tooting 24) in London, U.K. over the weekend, as buckets of rain poured down on the proceedings. Oliver appeared to be carrying an umbrella as he walked the track. Then he showed up for the the medal ceremony in a suit and tie. In fact, there were no previous records for 85+, so he knew that whatever he managed to do, he would set a record. Oliver covered more than 77 miles on foot in a 24-hour period at the Tooting Bec track in south London.
Oliver is a former ultrarunner from Hinkley, Leicestershire, who has taken part in numerous Sri Chinmoy 24-hour races over the years. Back in 2013 he set seven similar records for speed and distance in the over-80 category when he covered 152.3K. (However, his 100K split of 13:55:09 was a British, rather than a world, record.) He also set records at the same race when he was 75.
SOURCE: https://runningmagazine.ca/
In March 1988 Sri Chinmoy (1931-2007) played on the famous pipe organ in the The St. Bravo Church (Grote Kerk) in Haarlem, Holland. This is Sri Chinmoy’s 32nd organ performance.
The St. Bravo Church has one of then world’s most historically important pipe organs. Construction of the church was begun in 1307, and its first pipe organ was installed in 1630 by Galtus and Germer van Hagerbeer. The present instrument was the world’s largest when Christian Muller of Amsterdam built it in 1738. This organ was considered the most complex man-made device known, and was already a tourist attraction when it was new. George Frederic Handel was charmed by its vox humana setting that imitated the human voice; Felix Mendelssohn played on it, and in 1766 the 10-year old Mozart created a stir when he performed on it. A local story tells that the organ’s thunderous sounds have loosened the church’s foundation stones. The organ was modified numerous times, most notably by Marcussen & Son in 1961, and despite its 275-year history, ninety percent of its 5,000 original pieces are still in use.
Video complied by kedarvideo, Switzerland.
