Articles about Sri Chinmoy by Dr Vidaghda Bennett
Sri Chinmoy and the Language of Prayer
"Perhaps the greatest impulse to pray comes from our perception of the degree of separation between our human heart and God. When God is far from us, we yearn for His Presence. When we are one with Him, we praise Him. We pray to God in the belief that our prayers will be heard, that they will bridge the chasm between the finite and the Infinite and link us to that immense Other. And, in rare moments of mystic oneness, we feel that prayer can embody something of the radiance and beauty of the Divine itself."
Thesis on Ten Thousand Flower Flames at Short Poems.org
"...I hold the emergence of Ten Thousand Flower-Flames to be without parallel in this century. No other work of such scope has dared to posit the soul's journey as its theme and to suggest that it comprises the true modern epic. Nor, in this age of highly personalised utterance and opinion, is it fashionable to write public poetry of the kind that any man may read and comprehend with facility. Ten Thousand Flower-Flames represents the advent of a new and direct form of poetic address. It enkindles our souls and infuses us with longings for a higher perfection. At a time when poetic response has considerably atrophied, Ten Thousand Flower-Flames moves people. No other testimony could be as indicative of its worth..."
The Resonance of Word Music in Sri Chinmoy's Recent Poetry
"...I believe that this new series reveals a master poet at work, transforming formal versification into a natural and contemporary framework for timeless, universal utterances. Within the bounds of a single rhymed couplet or quatrain, made fluid with metrical grace, Sri Chinmoy uniquely fulfils our longings for completion, both literary and spiritual..."
Simplicity and Power - The Poetry of Sri Chinmoy 1971-1981
"..Every age calls forth its poet, someone who is able to express its deepest ideals and aspirations. The critic who first engages in the appraisal of this newly emergent poet is faced with vastly different responsibilities from the critic who deals with writers of an established excellence. Beyond his direct response to this promising new body of literature lies the task of creating a climate of empathy in which the poems may be received by future readers and commentators. The critic cannot fall prey to hesitation at this early stage. He must make a bold case for his choice, one that may move others to turn to the poetry and which may also serve as a point of departure for further critical studies. And, gradually, with the passage of time and the accumulation of diverse viewpoints, a perception of the intrinsic worth of the poet may begin to mature in the public consciousness..."
" Every once in a while, there comes a writer who makes a staggering contribution in a hitherto little-known genre and places his stamp upon it to such a degree that his works become a major point of reference for all others. The very parameters by which we define that mode of writing are enlarged and the genre itself is imbued with new weight and significance."
Articles at Sri Chinmoy Centre by Vidagdha Bennett