Sri Chinmoy wrote several full-length plays, as well as books of smaller one-act plays.
Plays about spiritual Masters
Most of Sri Chinmoy's full-length plays depict illumining stories from the life of one of the great spiritual Masters. These plays reveal Sri Chinmoy's love and admiration for these great spiritual figures, and also capture the essence of their lives and spiritual message in direct and simple language.
- Siddhartha becomes the Buddha - The life-story of the Buddha, from prince to enlightened being.
- The Son - Key scenes from the life of Jesus Christ.
- My Rama is My All - About the life of Sri Ramachandra and episodes from the Ramayana.
- The Singer of the eternal Beyond - Based on the different episodes in the life of Sri Krishna.
- Lord Gauranga: Love incarnate - The life and spiritual mission of Sri Chaitanya.
- Drink, Drink, My Mother's Nectar - Sri Chinmoy's play about the great master Sri Ramakrishna and his foremost disciple Swami Vivekananda.
- The Descent of the Blue - Scenes from the life of Sri Aurobindo: his early life in England, his role in the struggle for Indian independence, and his full immersion into the spiritual life in Pondicherry.
- Matsyendranath and Gorakshanath: two spiritual lions - Two great spiritual Masters from India.
Sri Chinmoy's plays have been performed by his students around the world. In 1973, the then UN Secretary-General U Thant, a devoted Buddhist, offered the following kind words upon viewing a stage production of Siddhartha becomes the Buddha in New York.
"It is extremely difficult to depict the important episodes of the life of the Buddha in the course of a few minutes or an hour or so, but I find that Sri Chinmoy has done a most remarkable job in presenting the play in simple, understandable language for the uninitiated."
U Thant 1
25 May 1973, Harrison, New York.
In 1974, Sri Chinmoy gave a one-person performance of the first scene of The Son, performing both roles in a conversation between Jesus Christ and his Father.
The Sacred Fire
This play was written by Sri Chinmoy in 1976 as a devoted offering to the soul of America on the bicentennial of its founding. The play establishes the founding of America as a divine occurrence, and follows its development over 200 years through the lives of great figures in American history, from Thomas Jefferson to John F. Kennedy.
Read the full play: Sri Chinmoy Library
Deshabandhu: Bengal’s beloved friend
At the age of 16, Sri Chinmoy wrote this imaginative play about India’s revolutionary heroes in 1948 - a year after India gained independence. The play celebrates the contributions of three immortal freedom-fighters from Bengal: Deshabandhu (Chitta Ranjan Das), Netaji (Subhas Chandra Bose) and Deshapriya (Jatin Rammohun Sen). The play was originally written in Bengali, Sri Chinmoy's mother tongue. In 1996, Sri Chinmoy translated this play into English in honour of the forthcoming 50th anniversary of India’s Independence and the birth centenary of Netaji.
Read the full play: Sri Chinmoy Library
Books of one-act plays
- The disciple illumines the Master \\ Plays based on spiritual stories set in the India of the historical Upanishads and Mahabharata.
- The heart of a holy man \\ Twelve plays - both original stories or based on classic Indian spiritual stories.
- Mother, give me the Light of Knowledge \\ Illumining stories from India's rich spiritual tradition, including figures such as Dhruva, Vishwamitra and Akbar.
- Supreme sacrifice \\ More illumining stories put into dramatic form, such as Harish Chandra and Surya and Sanja.
- Chanda and Tandra \\ An early play written by Sri Chinmoy.
View all Sri Chinmoy's Plays at Sri Chinmoy Library.