Excerpts from ‘The Jewels of Happiness’ Audiobook

Last modified May 5, 2013

The Jewels of Happiness features selected writings by Sri Chinmoy on the art of happiness.

In March 2013, an audiobook was released in which 17 luminaries from all walks of life – including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Grammy award winners Addwitiya Roberta Flack and Narada Michael Walden and 9 time Olympic gold medal winner Sudhahota Carl Lewis – each read out a chapter of the book. Here we present minute-long excerpts from some of the audiobook chapters – in a new edition with added meditative background music.

The audiobook was released to celebrate the inaugural International Day of Happiness, in a launch that took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Over 500 United Nations ambassadors, delegates, staff and members of NGOs were present at the launch.

“These sweet gems of wisdom by my dear friend Sri Chinmoy are timeless truths full of encouragement, love and goodness,” Nobel Peace Laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, said in a video message. Renowned composer Philip Glass performed on the piano while Cathy Oerter, co-founder of Art of the Olympians and wife of legendary Olympian Al Oerter, and Ashrita Furman, holder of the most Guinness World Records, read from the book live.

To find out more about the book and how to order: jewelsofhappiness.com

List of Readers

Introduction	Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations
1. Preface & first chapter (Peace)	Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Laureate 1984
2. Love	Addwitiya Roberta Flack, four-time Grammy award winning singer
3. Joy	Narada Michael Walden, three-time Grammy award winning producer
4. Hope	Ambassador Davidson Hepburn, President of UNESCO General Conference 2009-2011
5. Wisdom	Professor Charles Johnson, National Book Award winner
6. Patience	Cathy Oerter, U.S. international track athlete, co-founder of ‘Art of the Olympians’ with her husband, 4-time Olympic gold medallist Al Oerter
7. Enthusiasm	Ashrita Furman, holder of 156 Guinness world records, the most of any individual
8. Power	Mahasamrat Bill Pearl and Bhavatarini Judy Pearl: Bill is a 5-time Mr. Universe and was voted ‘The Best Built Man of the 20th century’
9. Simplicity	Purushottama Boris Grebenshikov – Legendary Russian singer-songwriter
10. Sincerity	Judith Light, Emmy and Tony-award winning actress
11. Humility	Professor Shawn Wong, award-winning author
12. Gratitude	Khaliah Ali, philanthropist, Emmy-award nominated talk show host and daughter of Muhammad Ali
13. Self-Transcendence	Sudhahota Carl Lewis, 9-time Olympic gold medallist in track and field, voted ‘Olympian of the Century’
Epilogue: Happiness	Eric and Kathryn Petersen: Eric is the editor of Light and Liberty, a bestselling collection of life-lessons drawn from the writings of Thomas Jefferson.