On October 11, 2006, exactly one year before Peace Run founder Sri Chinmoy's passing, there was a dedication to establish a Sri Chinmoy Street and a Sri Chinmoy Heart-Garden in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
20 years after that dedication and 19 years after Sri Chinmoy's passing we gathered once again to celebrate Sri Chinmoy's life and to recognize and honour those in our community who are dedicating their lives through service and self-giving.
Present for the wonderful ceremony on Oct 11 in 2006 with Sri Chinmoy were (l - r) New York City Councilman Jimmy Gennaro, Assistant Commissioner of Queens Parks Estelle Cooper and Administrator of Flushing Meadows Corona Park and Commissioner of Queens Parks Dorothy Lewandowski.
On that day Sri Chinmoy commented, "You have blessingfully honoured me today by giving the name of the street in my honour. For that I am extremely, extremely grateful to you. But I am having a new experience here. I feel in all sincerity that you have given me the supreme task of lovingly and prayerfully welcoming people who pass every day here. You have given me the opportunity to be a guard on your behalf to welcome them and offer them my and your—our—loving gratitude."
"Every day during my prayers I shall inwardly see and feel that a most beautiful flower is being offered at the feet of this Flushing Meadows Corona Park. This place, this beautiful place, has also a most beautiful and powerful, powerful soul. During my prayers, my morning prayers, I shall offer a beautiful flower at the feet of the soul that here presides over the park."
As is traditional we had a children's race.
Then we started the adults 2 mile race.
Flushing Meadows Park was looking very beautiful.
Heading out to the Unisphere.
The lead runner Vajin appears.
A delighted finisher, Hitomi, from Japan.
Rupantar, Global Race Director, Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team was on hand to present the finisher medals. Vajin Armstrong of New Zealand was first.
The top three men.
Harita Davies, Co-Director of the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run presented the finisher medals to the top three women. Agnikana from Czech Republic was first.
As part of the program, we presented the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run Torch-Bearer Award to nine eminent New York City region luminaries from many walks of life who are helping foster the ideals of peace and oneness to which Sri Chinmoy devoted his life.
Peace Run Executive Director Salil Wilson served as MC for the event.
Ranjana Ghose, President of the Sri Chinmoy Centre, spoke of Sri Chinmoy's dedication to the ideal of a world family for humanity.
Our international choir performed an arrangement of Sri Chinmoy's Peace Run and World Harmony Run songs.
We even had the audience join in with actions.
Agraha Levine who convened today's program introduced Coach Jim Hurt, longtime Head Track & Field Coach, St. John’s University remembered fondly how Sri Chinmoy used to train on the St. Johns University track. “I still remember the very first time he came over to train at St. John’s. He was so disciplined in training every day. He was a great representative of what we all should strive for. One of his greatest impacts was to empower each of us to reach our full potential.”
Harita introduced the Torch-Bearer awared, mentioning, "As we journey across the country and around the world, we come into contact with remarkable people who have inspired their communities, their cities and nations. Our founder, Sri Chinmoy, loved to appreciate and honour people from all walks of life for their tireless efforts for a better world. The Peace Run seeks to continue this tradition, by recognising these remarkable people through our Torch-Bearer Award."
This year we decided to especially honor and recognize individuals in the field of Education. Wherever we go when we run around the world with the Peace Run, we are greatly moved by the dedication and goodness of teachers. We like to take any opportunity to recognize and honor the significant role teachers play in our journey towards World Peace.
Our first recipient of the Torch Bearer Award today was Jerrica Nicolaou, a Biology and Chemistry teacher at Newtown High School in Elmhurst, Queens. She is pictured here with her husband, Costas, and their daughter, Anna. Jerrica has lived in our local community in Jamaica, Queens for many years. Her whole family frequent the Panorama of my Silence-Heart Cafe, one of several restaurants and stores dedicated to sharing the philosophy of Peace Run Founder, Sri Chinmoy. Jerrica and her children are like family to us, so over the years she has repeatedly inspired us when she shares stories of how she consistently gives her whole heart of love and concern to the children she teaches. She makes herself available far beyond the classroom hours, constantly finding new ways to pinpoint the challenges students face and find innovative solutions to help them succeed. She has extra tutoring sessions on Saturdays and stays in touch with many students long after they leave her school. Jerrica is the perfect example of a Torch-Bearer. If we all embodied the dedication she has to teaching and serving the needs of the children she teaches, the world would be a perfect place! Thank you, Jerrica for your many years of loving service to humanity in and through each student! Anna gave a beautiful heart-felt introduction to her mother that had us all in tears! Here is an excerpt: "...We all want to feel seen, understood, and believed in. My mother gave that feeling to her students. She saw their potential when they couldn’t see it themselves and reminded them that they were capable, important, and worthy of success. To her, they were never just students. They were her kids. I know I am who I am today because I had a mother who believed in me. She taught me not just through her words, but through the way she lived. She taught me that the greatest teachers don’t just teach us what to know. They teach us what is possible. My mother did that for me, and she did it for thousands of students who were lucky enough to call her their teacher."
Here's an interview Harita did with Jerrica when she was remote teaching due to COVID restrictions.
Jerrica’s former student, Dilan, shared what a loving and positive influence Jerrica has had on his life. A good teacher is someone we may remember for the rest of our lives, not because of their expertise, but most often because of their exceptional kindness and concern which touched our hearts and helped us along our life journey. One can only imagine how many former students there are who fondly remember Jerrica and the impact she had on their lives.
The next recipient was Dr. James John is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Queens College. He conducts the Queens College Choir and the Vocal Ensemble and Choral Society, plus runs the masters program in choral conducting. He also serves as Artistic Director of the Manhattan-based vocal ensemble, Cerddorion, an acclaimed chamber choir dedicated to adventurous programmes from many genres. Music lives in his very essence—something he conveys most successfully to all his students and audiences.
Bhitihara Fulton, who serves on the Queens Community Board 8, introduced Imam Muhammad Shahidullah who is a prominent New York-based Imam, interfaith scholar, first responder, chaplain, author, and community organizer.
Muhammad is always looking for ways to bring the community together and we look forward to working together with him in the future.
The Yenko Foundation was the brainchild of Maxwell O (center), who, during his many visits to his family home in Ghana, noticed that some children were not enrolled in school and lacked access to quality education. When he and his friends. Alexander and Myles, came to visit Ghana, they saw that many children did not even have access to school. So they created the Yenko Foundation to help these children get access to education and stay in school, thus gaining countless advantages in their lives.
Our Sri Chinmoy Choir performed two songs that Sri Chinmoy composed for the dedication which took place on October 11, 2006.
"Sri Chinmoy Heart-Garden sings oneness-joy-songs, hearken!"
"Sri Chinmoy Street, Sri Chinmoy Street! Loves world-pilgrims’ hearts and admires their feet."
We were delighted to meet and honor Matt Green, who has not only walked across America, but also spent 6 years walking every street and park in the whole of New York City, a total of 10,000 miles! Matt is someone who lives life to the fullest by listening to his inner self and making a concerted effort to seeing beauty and poignancy in all kinds of situations. We first connected with Matt when he came to visit our 3100 Mile Race some years back, and he said this race was one of the experiences that inspired him to do the walk- he has come to visit many times since. A charming and inspiring documentary of his journey, The World Before Your Feet, is well worth watching and includes fascinating history of this incredible city.
We were honored to be able to recognize and honor a dear friend Vivian Rodgers-Hill who has been frequenting Annam Brahma Restaurant since she was a teenager! Vivian served in many different and innovate roles as an educator with New York City Schools for a number of decades and changed the lives of thousands of students through her devoted and heart-felt teaching. She has partnered with the Peace Run several times over the years which we have fond memories of!
Gail Bettis,(left), introduced our next recipient, her good friend Donna Brailsford. They first met back in 1997 when they worked together at Martin Van Buren High School. Donna has had a lifetime of service through education and is presently the Citywide Director for Child Abuse Prevention in New York City Public Schools. She has dedicated her live to serving youth and ensuring they have access to a nurturing and inspiring environment in which to grow up. Citywide Director, Child Abuse Prevention, New York City Public Schools. Also pictured is a former student, Ajani Benjamin, who spoke about how much he was inspired by Donna as a child. He is now a Professor at CUNY.
We were honored to have James “Jim” F. Gennaro, a Democratic member of the New York City Council representing the 24th District in Queens. Jim was also on hand with Sri Chinmoy when the Heart-Garden was dedicated 20 years ago, and has been greatly supportive of the Peace Run since its inception.
A big group photo.
A short peace walk along Sri Chinmoy Street.
We offer all our congratulations and gratitude to the former and present Torch-Bearer recipients, runners, walkers and many helpers and supporters who came together to celebrate and honor this special day.
