Entries from May 2007 ↓
May 28th, 2007 — Sri Chinmoy's students
Sri Chinmoy once told a student of his “All I want from you is to be happy and to realise God”. Perhaps many of his students are a good distance away from the second goal, but they can certainly try to achieve the first! In Sri Chinmoy’s philosophy, staying cheerful and happy of paramount importance; when we are depressed or frustrated, it is very hard to make spiritual progress. That is why over the years Sri Chinmoy has come up with one imaginative idea after another to keep his students happy and in the heart.
One thing Sri Chinmoy encourages in this regard is for his students from different meditation centres in different countries to meet up together to meditate, but also to have fun and be happy. These so-called ‘Joy Days’ offer a chance for his students to escape the pressures and responsibilities of the heart and partake of the kind of innocent joy we used to have as children. As well as meditation there could be team games, plays, novelty competitions, treasure hunts, singing and a whole lot besides. Often Sri Chinmoy’s students have to travel great distances to be a part of these Joy Days, but the whole experience serves to burn away the heaviness of the mind’s broodings and leave one refreshed and reenergised.
Over the past weekend there were two such Joy Days: students from Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria and other countries - over 700 students in total - met up for two days in Heidelberg, Germany, whilst a smaller Joy Day involving almost 70 students from England, France, Scotland, Wales and Ireland took place over two days in the Burren region of the West of Ireland. Joy Days in the former Soviet Union countries, where over one-third of Sri Chinmoy’s students come from, can involve over 1,000 students.
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May 19th, 2007 — Sri Chinmoy, Sri Chinmoy lifting, weightlifting
Earlier this week, Sri Chinmoy was in Ulan Bataar, Mongolia, to receive an award from the country’s president, Nambaryn Enkhbayar. The award cited ‘his contributions to world peace’ and his ‘contributions to the people of Mongolia’. Sri Chinmoy also attended an exhibition of his paintings and drawings at the State Academic Theatre of Drama, where he received an award from the Mongolian Union of Artists.
A couple of days later, Sri Chinmoy travelled to the windblown steppes outside Ulan Bataar to fulfil a long-cherished dream of his - to lift some of the famous himor, or wind horses, of Mongolia as part of his inspirational weightlifting programme. On a special calf-raise machine, Sri Chinmoy lifted 17 of these beautiful animals, sometimes two or three at a time, in a series of six lifts. The photo below shows Sri Chinmoy lifting one horse plus its young rider; the height off the ground is indicated by the dial to the left of the apparatus.
Sri Chinmoy was also inspired to compose a song to mark the occasion:
“Mongolian white horse, Mongolian white horse, Mongolian, You give me the joy and pride of a real Olympian.”
Mr. Hamid Sardar, tour guide and animal lover who searched the Mongolian steppes to find the white horses for Sri Chinmoy to lift, saw tremendous symbolic significance in this lift. “For Mongolians, the horse is the symbol of humanity’s inner strength and spirit; by lifting these horses, Sri Chinmoy is lifting the ‘windhorse’ or the inner Spirit of all Mongolia.“, he stated.
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View more about Sri Chinmoy’s award on the Mongolian Presidential website…
May 15th, 2007 — sri chinmoy races
Sri Chinmoy A.C. has been promoting running races in the UK for the past 20 years. In 2007 there is a varied programme of races from short 2 mile “Self Transcendence Races” to the 24 hour Track Race in Tooting Bec, London.
London Races
Edinburgh Races
Cardiff Races
Oxford Races
Bristol Races
Cambridge Races
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May 11th, 2007 — Ashrita Furman - Guinness world record breaker, Sri Chinmoy's students
Ashrita Furman, a long-time student of Sri Chinmoy and the holder of more Guinness world records than any other human being on earth, added another one to his tally yesterday. In an underwater pool in Key West. Florida he set the record for the longest time spent underwater, twirling the hula around his hips for 2 minutes and 20 seconds.
Ashrita credits Sri Chinmoy’s philosophy of self-transcendence with inspiring him to break records. His records vary from the most cigar boxes balanced on one chin to the fastest mile balancing a milk bottle on his head. He is currently 52 years old, but if anything, he is increasing the rate at which he breaks records, breaking over forty in the past two years.
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An inspiring interview - Ashrita talks with ‘What is Enlightenment’ magazine about Sri Chinmoy, his meditation experiences and how he came to start breaking records.
May 10th, 2007 — weightlifting
In the space of two days, Sri Chinmoy has performed two remarkable displays of weightlifting transcendence. First, Sri Chinmoy achieved a weightlifting goal he set for himself two months ago, when he lifted a stack of plates weighing a massive 700lb - four times his own bodyweight - using just his right arm. In front of fifty observers at a private outdoor garden in New York, Sri Chinmoy meditated for a few moments before beginning a series of lifts which progressed in 50-lb increments to his ultimate goal of 700lbs. These lifts are even more remarkable from their being made from a seated position, which is considerably more difficult than standing.
Two days later he lifted two of his students, both tall strong men weighing a combined total of 528lbs, again with his right arm from a seated position - the heaviest lifting of people with one arm he has achieved.
Through his weightlifting, Sri Chinmoy hopes to inspire all of us to put aside our perceived limitations and see what we ourselves are truly capable of. Now aged 75, Sri Chinmoy explains: “I am trying to inspire all human beings, irrespective of age, to fulfil their dreams..The mind makes us feel that we are very old, but the moment I use my heart, I am 20 years old. When I use my heart, I feel oneness. Everything helps me and everybody helps me when I feel my oneness.”
Sri Chinmoy began weightlifting almost a quarter of a century ago, beginning with a mere 40-pound dumbbell. Since then he has performed some astounding feats of weightlifting, lifting not only static weights but also objects which capture the imagination - elephants, cars, airplanes, yachts, trees and countless other objects. In addition, Sri Chinmoy has presented the ‘Lifting up the World with a Oneness-Heart’ award to over 8,200 people who have worked to inspire humanity in their own fields. In this award, Sri Chinmoy honours the individuals by lifting them overhead using a specially- created apparatus, lifting them up in both body and spirit.
How does Sri Chinmoy get this capacity such heavy weights? According to Sri Chinmoy, the answer is simple: prayer and meditation. “I pray to God” said Sri Chinmoy, “not to lift heavy objects. I pray to God to please Him in His own way. This capacity He has given me, to inspire humanity to succeed in their own walks of life.”
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May 8th, 2007 — Sri Chinmoy's students, sri chinmoy races, ultrarunning
The Six- and Ten Day Self-Transcendence Races have just finished in New York. These races are organised by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team, which was founded by Sri Chinmoy in 1977 as a service to the running community and has now become the largest organiser of long-distance running events in the world. During these multiday races the runners have to battle against the stresses and strains of the body and reduced sleep as they make their way around a one-mile loop over and over again. The amount of volunteers and support tents around the course create a real village atmosphere for both runners and helpers alike. Many people who do these races say the experience is a life-changing one, in that they have to go deep within themselves to find the inner strength to transcend their limitations and keep going.
The Ten-Day Race began on 25 April, and the Six-Day on 1 May so both could finish at the same time. Both races combined attracted a record field of 80 runners from all around the world. The men’s Ten Day race was won by Petr Spacil from the Czech Republic with a total of 670 miles, only 14 miles ahead of his nearest challenger and long-time leader Glen Turner. Surasa Maier from Austria dominated the ladies’ field with 595 miles, setting the best time of the day 9 out of the 10 days. Her fellow Austrian Tatyana Jauk came in second, and Pratishruti Kisamoutdinova from Russia - who is 63 years young - came in third with 507 miles.
The Six-Day Race men’s honours went to Asprihanal Aalto from Finland with 505 miles. Asprihanal is a three-time winner of the 3100 Mile Self-Transcendence Race, which is the longest foot race in the world and is also held in New York in June. Dipali Cunningham from Australia won the women’s race with 443 miles, taking best day honours in each of the six days. Dipali has won every edition of the Six-Day Race since it started, and broke the world Six-Day record in this race in 2001 with 510 miles, a mark which still stands.
May 3rd, 2007 — art
In 1974, Sri Chinmoy took up painting as yet another field through which he could inspire his fellow man. He called his painting ‘Jharna-Kala’ meaning fountain-art’ in his native Bengali, or art flowing from the inner source. Sri Chinmoy says of his painting:
“The whole picture does not come to me at once. As I start painting, I see a streak of light right ahead of me and devotedly I try to follow that streak of light. But on some rare occasions the light is so powerful that I envision the painting long before I have actually touched the paper, I don’t bring it forth; it comes to the fore from within. In the light the colour is there. Each time I see the streak of light, I see the colour.”
In the years following his entry into the art world, Sri Chinmoy produced an enormous number of paintings - almost 200,000 in the year 1975 alone. In 1991 he began a new series of drawings titles ‘Soul-Birds’ - drawings of birds that capture aspects of the human soul. To date he has drawn over 15 million of these birds.
Sri Chinmoy’s paintings have been displayed in such notable galleries as the Louvre; in addition, exhibitions have been held in national houses of parliament and UN-affiliated organisations across the world. At the time of writing, there are travelling exhibitions of Sri Chinmoy’s artwork in quite a few countries all across the world: last year saw exhibitions in London and Paris, and a recent exhibition was held in the Ukraine early this year.
Read more about Sri Chinmoy’s art on this site…
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