Part 9
Sri Chinmoy now dreamt of completing one hundred unusual lifts before the close of the year. Even to conceive of so many different heavy weights was a thorough test of the imagination! Images and scenes from all walks of life were suggested and the fun was infectious as Sri Chinmoy's students began to animate them.
On the weekend of September 26th and 27th, Sri Chinmoy lifted this interesting assortment:
| a human pyramid consisting of 15 men | |
| eleven musicians and instruments | |
| a typical restaurant scene, complete with diners, | |
| waitresses, chairs and tables a barbershop scene that involved four chairs and four barbers attending to their clients | |
| Two pianists in formal attire playing Beethoven's
Fifth Symphony on two grand pianos. |
|
| a Chevrolet van and one passenger | |
| ten weightlifters pressing dumbbells | |
| 23 representatives from 23 different countries a country band of eleven musicians |
The masterstroke of the weekend, however, was Sri Chinmoy's final lift. Being hauled along the narrow driveway outside Sri Chinmoy's tennis court was a towering sailboat. The 27-foot Soling, with its 31-foot mast and billowing sails, claimed the distinction of having competed in the 1984 Olympic trials.
The trailer supporting the boat was carefully pushed back by hand onto the ramp of Sri Chinmoy's calf raise machine. The weight cracked some of the outer timber boards and there
were fears that they might give way completely. The weight of the keel, the mast and the two crew members aboard was concentrated directly over Sri Chinmoy. It totalled 4115 pounds.
Sri Chinmoy concentrated intensely for several moments and then crouched under the yoke of the calf raise machine. Suddenly he began to lift upwards. His legs shook visibly from the tremendous strain and, beneath the superficial layer of skin, each tendon seemed stretched to the breaking point. Yet, this pillar of muscle housed a power that far transcended its own confines. Sri Chinmoy dared to pit his own fragile human littleness against impossible tasks because of his free access to the universal force. He was conscious of the fount of power and could draw upon it at will through his prayer and meditation. The bounds of physical strength were burst: the sailboat rose several inches off the ground.
For Sri Chinmoy, this was his heaviest and hardest lift to
date. It was also his most significant, for he always considers
God as the Pilot Supreme, ferrying seekers across the ocean of
ignorance in His Golden Boat. In a poignant gesture, Sri
Chinmoy climbed aboard the boat and stood on the deck, his
right hand upraised in a traditional military salute —only this
time it was a salute to God. Then he humbly folded his hands
and meditated.
On October 1st, Sri Chinmoy's measurements were taken once more. The results were:
It was interesting to note that his right calf had increased by 3/8", while the left had only increased by 1/8". The huge dis- crepancy between them was gradually beginning to even itself out. Perhaps most surprising, however, was the fact that Sri Chinmoy's calves had not thickened substantially despite the 'enormous amount of specialised calf work that he was doing. Sri Chinmoy jokingly referred to them as his "skeleton calves" and "Mahatma Gandhi legs."
Yet Sri Chinmoy had consistently disproved the old, .accepted theory that strength is equated with size. "It is not the size but the strength that matters," he explained. "There are many excellent sprinters who do not have big calf muscles but still they have tremendous strength in their calves. Many runners and jumpers whose calf muscles are not so pronounced have enormous strength inside their calves."
Four clues to Sri Chinmoy's strength are to be found on the physical level. Although he maintains a strict vegetarian diet (lacto-ovo), his fondness for East Indian curries as-well as Italian, Mexican and Chinese specialities defeats any attempt to trace his strength to a dietary source. He consumes relatively large quantities of liquids each day, ranging from water through to fresh lemonade, soup and soy drinks. He drinks neither tea nor coffee and is emphatically opposed to the use of alcohol, tobacco or drugs.
To combat muscle fatigue, he invented an early morning “Potassium Plate," which he began to take daily. It consists of:
2 dried figs
4 pitted dales
I orange wedge
I grapefruit wedge
a tomato wedge
1 /8 cup - sprouted chick peas
1/8 cup - sprouted soybeans
1/8 cup - sprouted mung beans '
1/8 cup - sprouted urid dal (whole)
He also takes a daily vitamin and mineral supplement that includes 2-4 tablets Vitamin B-complex, 1000 mg Vitamin C, 200 IU Vitamin E, one potassium supplement and one amino acid complex consisting of arginine and ornithine.
The final mixture that he takes daily comprises 1 tsp crushed pecans, 1 tsp crushed almonds, 1 tsp wheat germ, 1 tsp bee pollen and 1 tsp honey or grade C maple syrup.
Sri Chinmoy's diet is wholesome and simple. Undoubtedly it has contributed to his health and well-being, as well as to an appearance that belies his years. But the arcane secrets of his power lie elsewhere, enfolded in the forgotten vastnesses of the soul. Sri Chinmoy assures us, "If we can dive deep within, then we will get the answers."
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