The Firmament of Immortals

This book contains some personal anecdotes and reflections by Sri Chinmoy that the author recorded at first hand during her many decades as his student. The stories encompass Sri Chinmoy’s earliest attempts to play the cello and piano, as well as his thoughts on the difference between the Indian and Western approaches to musical composition. He refers to the distinguished Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore, as well as to his own meetings with Western luminaries such as Pablo Casals, Leonard Bernstein and Yehudi Menuhin. The second part of the book contains Sri Chinmoy’s insights into the life of Swami Vivekananda, a fellow Bengali, who visited America in 1893 and participated in the world’s first Parliament of Religions.

About author

Dr. Vidagdha Bennett is an Australian writer. A student of Sri Chinmoy’s since 1975, she undertook the pioneer study of his contemporary spiritual poetry for her Ph.D. thesis at the University of Melbourne. She has since gone on to write about aspects of Sri Chinmoy’s art and music, as well as his childhood and youth in India. Vidagdha lives in Perth, Western Australia.