Sri Chinmoy had a deep appreciation for Pope John Paul II and met him on several occasions.

The following clip shows the Pope blessing the opening ceremony of the World Harmony Run, a sports and peace event founded by Sri Chinmoy which includes hundreds of thousands of children worldwide.

“The Pope also has two aspects: that of a father and that of a grandfather,” said Sri Chinmoy. “According to me, he is not only the Holy Father, but also the Holy Grandfather. A father believes in justice. If his children do something wrong, the father will be upset, and he may take action. But the grandfather is all forgiveness for his grandchildren. In his eye, the grandchildren cannot do anything wrong. In this respect, the Pope is like a grandfather.”