NEW YORK (TIP): Late Indian spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy’s followers in USA set a Guinness Record by putting 72,585 candles on his 80-Feet-long birthday cake to mark his 85th birth anniversary. Taking place at the Sri Chinmoy Centre in New York, a team of 100 people worked together to make the cake, individually place each candle and then light them with 60 blowtorches. The candles remained burning for about 40 seconds, ensuring that the previous record went up in flames. The previous record was achieved in California in April, with a total of 50,151 candles.

Sri Chinmoy Kumar Ghose was born in the small village of Shakpura in East Bengal on August 27th, 1931. He entered the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Southern India as a youth and spent the next 20 years in spiritual practice. Sri Chinmoy serves as an inner spiritual guide to seekers and students in some 60 countries around the world. He encouraged a harmonious lifestyle that blends the inner discipline of prayer and meditation with the dynamism of modern life. Sri Chinmoy did not charge a fee for his spiritual guidance or concerts in the firm belief that meditation is everyone’s birthright.

In 1964, Sri Chinmoy moved to New York City to offer his dedicated service to the West through music, concerts, literary outpourings, athletics and art.