Sri Chinmoy’s Marathon Anniversary

Love of Running – A film by Utpal Marshall to celebrate Sri Chinmoy’s 30th anniversary of running a marathon. Originally posted at Sri Chinmoy TV

Members of the Sri Chinmoy Centre observed this marathon anniversary by organising marathons in different cities throughout the world.

“…Today is March 3 as I write this post, the 30th Anniversary of Sri Chinmoy running his first marathon in Chico, California. Little did we know at the time that he would run 21 more marathons in four years and two ultra-marathons as well….” post by Arpan at Sri Chinmoy Inspiration

  • Sri Chinmoy’s First Marathon – Chico: 4:31:34, – March 3rd  1979 – aged 47
  • Sri Chinmoy’s Fastest marathon – Toledo: 3:55:07,

Eternal Peace Flame

sri-chinmoy-plays-flute

Sri Chinmoy inaugurated the Eternal Peace Flame in 2001.

Quotes on Peace

I enjoy peace
Only when I am not afraid
Of changing my stubborn mind.

– Sri Chinmoy

Peace
Is in self-conquest.

– Sri Chinmoy

Possession-greed
Is peace-starvation.

– Sri Chinmoy

Mind-division-supremacy
Knows no peace.

– Sri Chinmoy

Recently, a statue of Sri Chinmoy was added to the site. The statue was sculpted by Kaivalya Topry.

sri-chinmoy-statue-1

Related Links

World Run II – North To South

sarah jesper
sarah jesper

In 2005, Jesper Olson successfully completed the world’s first documented run around the world. It involved 26,232km /1 lap (Earth): in 662days. (world record) – Running Around the World

Jesper is now taking part in an epic 40,000Km world run part II

The starting point is at Nordkapp, Norway, 1. July 2008.

The finish point is at St. Johns, New Foundland, Canada. Expected, end of 2010.

Jesper Olsen is being joined by Australian – Sarah Barnett. So far they have completed 1000Km

Jesper and Sarah are currently in Africa, you can follow latest update at home page of

Prayers and Pogo Sticks

Ashrita talks about his Guiness Record breaking journey and what helps him break over 221 records –

“….After breaking the ice by jumping on a pogo stick while jumping rope, Furman discussed how he transformed from the nerd to one of the most versatile athletes today.

The son of a successful attorney growing up in Kew Gardens Hills, Furman came to the realization that there was more to life than having a nice family and a big house. He started studying eastern philosophy and began meditating on his own, but shortly met up with Chinmoy. Their idea of meditating originally clashed. Furman wanted to go into a cave and drink strange teas, while Chinmoy was a strong advocate of physical activity….”

Prayers and Pogo Sticks at Queens Chronicle.

Also new design for Ashrita.com

Two New Records For Catching Grapes and Maltesers

Ashrita Furman set two new Guinness World Records in Edinburgh taking his number of current world records to 88.

The 54-year-old – managed to catch 51 malteasers in one minute – smashing the previous entry of 41 To make the record more fun, Ashrita decided to strap a Maltese dog to his back. The idea was to attempt the record by the statue of Bobby at Greyfriars. But, the lcey condition meant Ashrita’s helper was too cold throwing the maltesers, so the record was set inside a sports hall. Ashrita said, the key to breaking this record and the grape record was the power of concentration.

A couple of years ago, Ashrita set record for the most pogo stick jumps by Bobbys Greyfriar in Edinburgh. – Honouring Bobby Greyfriar at Ashrita.com

Learning to Meditate in New York

Throughout the year, the Sri Chinmoy Centre in New York offer free introductory meditation classes for people wishing to learn how to meditate. Recent classes have been well attended with over 400 people attending different sessions.

The meditation classes are based on the teachings of meditation teacher, Sri Chinmoy. Sri Chinmoy, born in India, lived in Queens, New York from April 1964 to his mahasamadhi in October 2007. As well as establishing a thriving meditation centre in New York, there are now Sri Chinmoy centres in over 60 different countries.

The essence of meditation is to experience the peace buried deep within. As Sri Chinmoy says:

” I meditate
So that I can inundate
My entire being
With the omnipotent
Power of peace.”

Sri Chinmoy

For more information about New York Meditation, kindly visit: NYC meditation.org

Also pages at Sri Chinmoy Centre – New York Meditation

Sri Chinmoy in New York Times

Photo by Jowan

Oslo Statue at Eternal Peace Flame

statue

Report by Manatita

It is undoubtedly true to say that Oslo city in the last couple of days was quite cold. Today, however, October 27th, 2008, at about 1230 hrs, the breeze was quite fresh and the sun was shining intermittently in and through the heavens. Here at Honnorbryggen, Aker Brygge Port, Oslo, Norway, a small but expectant group of about one hundred and fifty people, were gathered together, eagerly and enthusiastically awaiting a very special Ceremony. It was about 12.30 p.m; the second World Harmony Interfaith Walk, and the unveiling of the Sri Chinmoy Statue at the Eternal Peace Flame, was about to begin.

The Walk commenced about 12.45 p.m. Present were Interfaith guests, dignitaries, ambassadors, friends, well-wishers and spectators alike. Two Interfaith delegates carried the lighted World Harmony Run (WHR) Torch, which served as a symbol of friendship, harmony and mutual understanding of the need for universal peace.

The World Harmony Interfaith Walk arrived at the Eternal Peace Flame and the Statue at about 1300 hrs. There Husiar – one of the main organisers of the programme – acted as Master of Ceremonies and conducted the proceedings. To welcome the runners, a Norwegian Children’s Choir, known as Aspirant Kortet, and their lovely conductress, gave an enchanting performance of the World Harmony Run song, the Norwegian National Anthem and a sweet, childlike and traditional song called Fola, Fola, Blakken. As the WHR runners were introduced, they ran into the Ceremony, and were heartily received by all present. The Interfaith leaders were asked to lead the group in a minute of silence for peace. They all offered a prayer, and Husiar concluded with another minutes’ silence.

Present were the Deputy Bishop of Oslo, Olav Dag Haughe, Imam Hafiz Mehboob Ur-Rehman, Spiritual Leader of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Norway, Venerable Minh Tanh, Head of the Vietnamese Buddhist Society in Norway, Mr. Gopal Sharma, past President of the Sanatan Hindu Temple, Alia Kirsten Arnesan, Head of the Sufi group in Oslo and Rabbi….

The former Mayor of Oslo, Mr. Svenn Kristiansen’s speech preceded him, as it was uncertain as to whether he would arrive on time. However, he turned up immediately afterwards, and was honoured with the Torch Bearer Award of the World Harmony Run, for being an open-hearted champion of world peace. In his speech the former Mayor recognized the importance of the World Harmony Interfaith Walk, and expressed his pride in seeing people from so many countries working together to promote peace in their day to day lives and in their communities. Former Mayor Kristiansen also mentioned Sri Chinmoy and his gift of the Eternal Peace Flame, to the people of Oslo, his dedication to fostering religious harmony and oneness amongst peoples and nations. He also pledged his support for these noble ideals. He finally thanked the children and youth, recognizing them as the hope and promise of the world.

Continue reading “Oslo Statue at Eternal Peace Flame”

24 Hour Self-Transcendence Race: an eyewitness report

Sri Chinmoy always saw sports – and running in particular – as tremendously beneficial to the spiritual life, both in terms of keeping the body healthy and for the opportunities it afforded for people to reach their highest potential. In 1977, he founded the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team to serve the worldwide running community, and it has since grown to be the largest organiser of endurance sports events in the world. One very popular race it organises is the 24 Hour Self Transcendence Race in London every October. Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team member Matthias Eckerle went over to help, and he has kindly provided us with this eyewitness report:

The race started at 12pm Saturday, continuing around a 400m track right through the night till 12pm the next day. The field of runners came from many different countries. As well as organising the race, there were also two members of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team participating. One of the, Asprihanal Aalto from Finland, has the distinction of being a four-time winner of the world’s longest race, the 3100 Mile Self-Transcendence race. Alongside the faster runners, it was especially aspiring to see many older people also participating – the oldest was 77 years!

For me, it was a nice experience to take care of the runners and to meet their requests for coffee, tea and soup – even after hours of running most of them were still able to smile! With in a couple of hours, we knew the names of all the runners, and they really appreciated this personal treatment.

Some of them (including the winner) ran very fast in the beginning before slowing down towards the end of the race. Others were mre constant, including Asprihanal, who in the last hour put on a surprising burst of speed to run 7 kilometers in 40 minutes to end up in 7th place. One of our jobs as helpers is to run along with the runners forthe last 2 or 3 minutes to mark thir finishing spot – I was running with Asprihanal, and it was a very nice feeling – he really is a very humble guy who doesnt think of boasting about his considerable achievements.

The race was won by Chris Finhill covering a distance of 243km followed in 2nd place by Ireland’s Eoin Keith who ran 235km, breaking the Irish national record along the way. However, a race like this is really all about competing, and at the end everybody was honoured with a race medal and photo commemorating their achievement. It was very inspiring for me, and I think I will definitely work towards entering this race myself at some point in the future.

Race photos: Alan Young

October 2008 – latest news

Athletics inspiration…

Tatyana Lebedeva, winner of the triple jump in the Athens Olympics and two time silver medalist in Beijing, first met Sri Chinmoy in 2004. Recently, upon returning from the Beijing Olympics she gave a very nice interview with the International Athletics Federation where she talks about how Sri Chinmoy has encouraged her. “His philosophy of constant Self-Transcendence left a deep trace in my life, and I always try to improve myself, no matter how tired I may feel.” she reflected in the interview. “It is impossible to live only in sport. I need to learn a lot, so that when I finish my sports career, I would have a chance to bring real benefits to the sport of athletics. This is my internal task and I formulated it thanks to the philosophy of Sri Chinmoy.” Tatyana has no intention of ending her athletics career just yet, and already has her sights fixed on Olympic gold in London in 2012. Read interview here…

Karteek swims channel for 9th time
Karteek Clarke from the Sri Chinmoy Centre in Edinburgh cmpleted the gruelling swim from Dover to Calais, making it his 9th time! Quite a few of Sri Chinmoy’s students have swum the channel, and in fact the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team (the sporting organisation founded by Sri Chinmoy as a service to the sporting community) holds the record for the team with the most Channel crossings.

Gandharva Loka Orchestra
In April 2008 and again in August 2008, two beautiful concerts were performed in tribute to Sri Chinmoy and his music. These concerts, called ‘Songs of the Soul’ featured well known musicians such as Philip Glass, Roberta Flack, Boris Purushottama Grebenshikov and Kristin Hoffman. One highlight of both concerts was the Gandharva Loka Orchestra, a 75 member instrumental and choral ensemble of Sri Chinmoy’s students, performing dazzling orchestral arrangements of Sri Chinmoy’s songs which brought the audience to their feet. The orchestra are now scheduled for a European tour in November, taking in the cities of Berlin, Prague, Munich, Milan, Zurich and Heidelberg and a North American and Canadian tour next spring.

World Harmony Run Finale in Prague

praha

On October 6, 2008. The World Harmony Run, a rely run which seeks to cultivate harmony by passing a burning torch among people of different cultures, finished its European journey  in Prague.

9-time Olympic champion Carl Lewis and deputy Mayor of Prague Markéta Reedová ran together with the World Harmony Run team for the final kilometers. They carried the World Harmony torch over the Charles Bridge and to Old Town Square.

“The World Harmony Run, founded in 1987 by Sri Chinmoy, who was the most peaceful person I knew, has inspired millions in Europe and all over the planet to take a step for harmony and a better world,” Carl Lewis said at a reception of the team at the House of Parliament, Senate and Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.

The delegation of runners headed by Carl Lewis, the World Harmony Run spokesperson, started this morning from Prague Castle at 10 AM to run to the House of Parliament, where they were received by members of Parliament headed by Anna Čurdová. In the Senate, the torch was received by the deputy chairman Jiří Liška. He symbolically ran with Lewis and the team in the Valdstejnska Garden. After another reception, this time at the Ministry of Education, the torch was accepted by the deputy minister Jan Kocourek who then headed with the runners to Mostecka Tower. There he passed the torch to the Prague deputy Mayor Markéta Reedová.
Continue reading “World Harmony Run Finale in Prague”