Author: Nirbhasa Magee

3100 Mile Self Transcendence Race Begins today

Today is the opening day of the Self Transcendence 3100 Mile Race, the longest certified road race in the world. For the best part of the next two months, 13 runners will be pacing around a half mile loop in Jamaica, New York for eighteen hours a day, aiming to push their capacities to the very limit in one of the toughest endurance tests imaginable. This is the eleventh holding of this epic race. Last year, Madhupran Schwerk from Germany shattered the race record, completing the distance in the astonishing time of 41 days and 8 hours. Madhupran is not competing this year, but three-time winner Ashprihanal Aalto from Finland will be looking to transcend last-year’s time of 43 days and 15 hours.

The race features three new competitors this year looking to try their hand at this most challenging of distances; Vlastimil Dvoracek and Petr Spacil (fresh – if that word can be applied – from his victory in the Self-Transcendence Ten-Day Race in April) from the Czech Republic, and Grahak Cunningham from Perth in Australia. Suprabha Beckjord, the sole female entrant in the race, is also the only person to complete all ten previous editions.

This race is organised by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team, who have been putting on events for the sporting community around the world for the past 30 years. Many of their events, such as the 3100 Mile and Six and Ten Day Races in New York, the Triple-Triathlon in Australia or the 24 hour lake swim in Zurich, really offer a challenge to those who participate and an oportunity to extend their true potential.

You can watch a video of the 2007 race start on Sri Chinmoy TV…

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The Blue Bird

Sometimes Sri Chinmoy’s students will come together to open up an enterprise or business such as a shop or cafe – this means they can create a tranquil meditative atmosphere in which to work, and also for the public it means a peaceful oasis where they can come and unwind.

In an article just published on the Sri Chinmoy Centre site, cafe owner Toshala Elliot describes one such enterprise – the Blue Bird cafe in Auckland, New Zealand, which has now been running for over 13 years. ‘The Blue Bird’ is actually a name that Sri Chinmoy suggested for the cafe. Sri Chinmoy, in his artwork, has frequently used the bird as a metaphor for the unhorizoned flight of the soul; similarly blue, the colour of the sea and the sky also evokes that feeling of meditative vastness.

View:

  • The beautiful new (and blue) website of the Blue Bird cafe

Staying productive right into old age.

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

– Dylan Thomas

As you get older, it can be very easy to fall into the trap of feeling you have to take it easy and wind down the activities you were once doing. However, there are many people who feel they have to squeeze every drop out of life right till the end – for example Ed Whitlock, the Canadian who ran a sub-3 hour marathon at the age of 73. Another example is Sri Chinmoy, who at the age of 75, is still making eye-opening contributions in the field of poetry, art and strength fitness to show the world that, regardless of age, each one of us can still pursue our dreams to be a better person and work for a better world. He feels that old age only becomes a problem when one lives in the hesitating mind rather the ever-new heart: “The heart is always carrying newness, whereas the mind is carrying oldness.“, he says. “For the mind, there is no newness. By the second day, the mind loses all its enthusiasm because it feels that everything is too old, too old, too old. But for the heart, every day is new, like the sun.” [1]

He cites the example of the great cellist Pablo Casals, who still practised every day at 95 years old. Once someone asked him, “Why do you practise at your age? You have become the greatest cellist. Now you can rest!” Casals replied: “You want me to rest? You do not want me to make any progress? Every day I am playing the cello and I have been playing for years and years, ever since my childhood. Every day I feel I have made some progress.”

This statement is very insightful, as it reveals some very important requirements to keeping (and even increasing) your productivity as you stay into old age:

  • Be a child at heart. “If you can feel that you are not thirty or forty or fifty years old, but only seven years old, you will be able to discard so many of your bad qualities in the twinkling of an eye…every day you will see your life in a new way and your sweet, sweeter, sweetest qualities you will be able to bring forward once again.” [2] Children have that wonderful quality of not nursing grudges or disappointments and seeing newness in everything. Think about it; how many times as a child you played with your favourite toy or watch your favourite videos; whereas as an adult we get bored of everything after one or two uses. Regaining these childlike qualities will help us have new and beautiful experiences no matter what age we are.
  • Keep up a sense of discipline. No matter what age we are, we still have to practise daily to reach our goals. With a doable learning curve and a well-thought out schedule, anything is possible. Again the difference in the mind’s and heart’s perspectives comes into play here: With the mind’s jaded viewpoint, it can be very easy to regard discipline as something painful and monotonous, but like Pablo Casals you can instead view it as a chance for progress.
  • Aim for progress rather than for success. Focusing on an external result (which might be beyond your control) can be frustrating if things don’t happen according to plan, whereas it is much easier to get joy from progress on a day-to-day basis. Success is often taken to mean a big result, whereas progress can lie in simple things like even persisting despite the odds.

References:

[1] New Adventures in Old Age, a talk published in The Mind-Jungles and the Heart-Gardens of Life
[2] From Sri Chinmoy Answers, part 6

Photograph by Pavitrata Taylor

Airplanes, Cars, Motorcycles and 40-ft. high Catamaran: all lifted by 75-year old Sri Chinmoy

This weekend, fitness pioneer Sri Chinmoy was continuing his remarkable inspirational weightlifting program at the Naval Aviation Museum in New Jersey. During a non-stop lifting marathon, Sri Chinmoy lifted airplanes, cars, motorcycles and boats, battling age (he is now 75 years old) and injuries to his knee and shoulder. He used three kinds of lifts in the course of the afternoon: a one-arm overhead lift from a seated position, a seated calf raise and a standing calf raise (as shown in photo).

This extraordinary test of strength underscores Sri Chinmoy’s avid belief in the joy of self-transcendence and the unlimited potential of the human spirit. With his weightlifting he hopes to be an example to inspire others to fulfil all their hopes and dreams in their own field of endeavour, regardless of age. With these superhuman heavy lifts he tries to challenge himself, not others.

Some of the remarkable lifts included:

  • Airplanes: An ‘Ultralight’ weighing 424 lbs, lifted with only one arm from a seated position and a Stearman Bi-plane and pilot weighing an enormous 2,952 lbs, lifted with a standing calf raise (see photo).
  • Micro Cars: a BMW ISETTA Microcar weighing 1,011 lbs, lifted in an overhead two leg calf raise and also a 1,290 lb FIAT 500.
  • Boats: a Hobi 16 Catamaran weighing 424 lbs lifted overhead with one arm only from a seated position and a Day Sailor Sailboat with sailor weighing 660 lbs lifted overhead with a one leg sanding calf raise. Carl Behrens, who was in his sailboat when Chimoy lifted it, said: “Well you know, I don’t know so much about the message, but it’s pretty impressive that a guy that age could perform such a feat.”

  • Motorcycles: A 384 pound Suzuki 400 lifted in a right arm overhead lift. Then using a seated calf raise with platform, Sri Chinmoy lifted a 583 lb Triumph Bonneville 27 times and one additional lift with the rider totalling 731 lbs.

Overall, Sri Chinmoy lifted a total weight of 32,453 lbs, over 16 tons in one day.

Sri Chinmoy is the founder of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team, an international marathon team that organizes 500 athletic events each year and the inspiring force behind the World Harmony Run, a global friendship relay covering 80 nations.

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Sri Chinmoy lifts the world’s smallest horse

The world’s smallest horse – named Thumbelina, weighing 57 pounds, and standing just 17 inches tall – her owner Michael Goessling and handler Tago DePietro were honored for their work to benefit children in need. In an award program entitled Lifting Up the World With a Oneness-Heart, 75-year-old fitness champion and world harmony leader Sri Chinmoy honored Thumbelina with three different lifts:

  • Thumbelina in the arms of owner Mike Goessling were lifted overhead as Sri Chinmoy used only his right arm to lift a total of 301 pounds
  • Thumbelina stood on a platform and was lifted by a special machine that was propelled upward as Sri Chinmoy used a hand gripper (see photo)
  • Using a modified seated calf-raise machine, Sri Chinmoy lifted a total weight of 567 pounds as Thumbelina stood between her owner and handler – and he lifted them 33 times!

Thumbelina is the first horse to receive the Lifting Up the World award. She is devoted to raising money and awareness for children in need around the world. “If anyone is right for the job, it is Thumbelina,” say her owners. “Every day, thousands of people fall in love with Thumbelina and every day, she gets one step closer to fulfilling her mission (of raising $1 million for children). It is amazing to witness such a tiny, loving creature accomplish such great works. She is a blessing that we are thrilled to share with the world.”

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Joy Days

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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Sri Chinmoy receives Mongolian National Award – and Performs Lifting Feats!

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.

Related links:

View more about Sri Chinmoy’s award on the Mongolian Presidential website…

Sri Chinmoy Races UK

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


Related Pages

New Guinness record by Ashrita Furman

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.

Related links:

An inspiring interview – Ashrita talks with ‘What is Enlightenment’ magazine about Sri Chinmoy, his meditation experiences and how he came to start breaking records.

Two remarkable weightlifting feats by Sri Chinmoy

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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Six- and Ten Day Self-Transcendence Races have finished

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.