Sri Chinmoy Centres - UK

There are currently nine Sri Chinmoy Centres in the UK. The first London center was established in 1971.

The Sri Chinmoy Centres provide an opportunity for spiritual seekers to follow a spiritual life in a welcoming and supportive community.

Members of the Sri Chinmoy Centre are drawn from a variety of backgrounds, but share a common interest in meditation and the spiritual life.

Aspects of life in the Sri Chinmoy Centre

Meditation

“We can easily know whether we are meditating well or not just by the way we feel and see and think. Right after our meditation, if we have a good feeling for the world, then we know our meditation was good. If we see the world in a loving way in spite of its imperfections, if we can love the world even while seeing its teeming imperfections, then we know that our meditation was good.”

Sri Chinmoy 1

Meditation is an important part of the Sri Chinmoy Centre. It is through meditation that we can become aware of a deeper reality and experience a sense of peace and joy. To complement our individual meditation practice, we also meditate in a centre twice a week.

More details on meditation.

Music

Music plays an integral part of the Sri Chinmoy Centre. Free concerts of Sri Chinmoy's music are offered throughout the year.

“Music helps the spiritual seeker to go deep within to get the utmost satisfaction from life, from truth, from reality. The spiritual life, in turn, helps music to offer its capacity and its strength, which is the soul’s light, to the world at large.”

– Sri Chinmoy

Ananda is a British based music group who have produced four albums

Temple-Song-Hearts is an all-female ensemble, based in the UK

Shindhu a British based music group who offer a soulful interpretation of Sri Chinmoy's music.

Peace Run

Video

Video: Footage of the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run.

Members of the Sri Chinmoy Centre help to organise and participate in the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run. The run was founded in 1987, and in the past 30 years, the Peace Run has touched the lives of many people in the UK.

The Peace Run is an example of how Sri Chinmoy's path embraces a dynamic vision for a better world. The motto of the Peace Run is 'Peace begins with Me." It is the recognition that we can all contribute to a better world be embodying peace within ourselves.

The Peace Run has visited many schools and has been embraced by local people, dignitaries and representatives from different faiths.

Enterprises

Sri Chinmoy encouraged some of his students to open up enterprises where they could serve the public, in different fields such as cafes, restaurants and running shops.

In the UK, Run and Become is a renowned within the running community for offering a unique and independent service to runners. Run and Become was established in 1982, and now has branches in the nation's capitals of London, Edinburgh and Cardiff.

Races and triathlons

Members of the Sri Chinmoy Centre participate in organising running races, triathlons and cycling events.

The Portishead Self-Transcendence Triathlon is a popular event in the South West of England, promoted by the UK Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team.

Video

The event is organised by Garga and Kokila Chamberlain

Frequently asked questions about the Sri Chinmoy Centre

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Sri Chinmoy talks about aspects of his path.

Where do you meet?

Usually centres hire a room/building to meet up for meditation - twice a week. In addition there are a variety of other activities, such as running races, music events, social activities, offering meditation classes to the general public and selfless service.

How do you join the Sri Chinmoy Centre?

The best thing is to meet local students of Sri Chinmoy and attend our free meditation classes. Then you can learn more about our path.

Is the Sri Chinmoy Centre a religion?

No. Sri Chinmoy did not want to establish a religion. He calls it a spiritual path. People may join from different religions or no particular religion.

What is the cost?

There is no cost for our introductory meditation classes. Local members contribute to the basic expenses, such as the cost of hiring rooms for meditation.