Sri Chinmoy's Music

This photo shows Sri Chinmoy playing his blue violin at the 2005 3100-Mile Race.

Undoubtedly, music plays a major part in Sri Chinmoy's path. Specifically, singing songs from the repertoire of more than 17,000 which he has composed. All of Sri Chinmoy's students are singers- of varying standards!

In this modern world, we are almost constantly surrounded by some kind of music. It emanates from radios, stereos, TVs, video games, shopping mall sound systems- everywhere. But very little of the music that you hear speaks of (or to) the individual's yearning to discover a higher reality, to break through all falsehood and illusion, to reach the true core of one's being. This is exactly the side of one's nature that Sri Chinmoy's music addresses. In his songs, he sometimes takes the role of the aspirant, crying to escape the sufferings imposed by one's own ignorance of true self. Sometimes, he takes the role of one who has reached the goal, and is immersed in the bliss of self-knowledge.

A little over two-thirds of Sri Chinmoy's songs (12,000) are composed in his native tongue, Bengali; the remainder, mostly in English. The Bengali language, it has been said, is more innately musical than English, and is certainly the medium through which Sri Chinmoy can more truly express his inmost feelings. As a student of Sri Chinmoy, one cannot help but glean the meanings of at least a few Bengali words, solely through singing these songs. But even if one has no knowledge of the language, one can still appreciate the rich and vibrant melodies which carry the words. To Western ears, the melodies can certainly go to some surprising and unexpected places! Indian music, which is the music Sri Chinmoy grew up with, traditionally does not employ harmony, relying almost solely on melody. To an Indian singer, a note is not just a note; it is always going somewhere, sliding up or down the scale, or quavering, using the note as an anchor point to return to (at least, this is my opinion).

The Sri Chinmoy Songs website currently features lyrics to some 10,000 songs. Quite a few are accompanied by musical scores. This is a phenomenal resource for someone who wants to learn any of Sri Chinmoy's songs.