About this person
Sri Chinmoy, born Chinmoy Kumar Ghose, was an Indian spiritual teacher, poet, painter and musician. After moving to New York in 1964, he taught meditation and created a network of centres operating in numerous countries.
His spiritual work emphasised prayer, meditation and the search for inner peace. He organised public meditations and concerts, wrote poetry, created visual art and composed music. His activities also included marathons and other sporting events.
He founded his first meditation centre in Queens in 1975, and his students later worked in dozens of countries. He promoted running, swimming and weightlifting; he himself practised running and took up weightlifting after a knee injury. He encouraged his students to follow a vegetarian diet and abstain from alcohol and recreational drugs.