Sri Chinmoy often finds dramatic and imaginative ways of expressing his love for Mother Earth and his support for environmental projects. Here in Thailand, he has taken to lifting baby elephants! On February 18th, 2007, he and a small team of assistants drove south of Chiang Mai into the heart of the jungle. At the Mae Wong National Park, a herd of elephants under the supervision of German trainer Bodo Forster were reported to have a clutch of nursing calves. Sri Chinmoy was particularly interested in lifting a seven month-old male calf weighing 701 pounds. He even wrote a song celebrating the occasion:
"Baby elephant, baby elephant, I love you!
You are Mother Earth's achievement new.
Your father, your mother - strong, stronger, strongest;
You are, indeed, cute, cuter, cutest!
I love, I love, your sweet family;
You give my eyes and my heart purest glee."
After arriving at the elephant camp, Sri Chinmoy's assistants erected the wood and steel apparatus with its unique overhead lifting platform on a level area of ground and then waited for the right moment. But, alas, elephants are not as passive as metal weights! Came midday, the infant decided to follow his mother down to the pond for a muddy splash. Refreshed by this exercise, he then emerged from the water and lay down on the bank for a one hour siesta. Still Sri Chinmoy waited patiently, in a meditative mood, not wanting to compel the little pachyderm to do anything that might alarm him.
Finally, the calf awoke and, lured by some sugar cane, stepped onto the lifting platform. The total weight of the calf and the moveable platform came to 785 pounds. Sri Chinmoy quickly moved into position underneath the apparatus. Even though this lift is technically a standing calf raise, his shoulders would be taking the brunt of the weight. Another important factor in this lift would be Sri Chinmoy's age. Despite 22 years of lifting heavy weights, it cannot be gainsayed that he is now 75 years old and such a crushing load would surely take its toll.
Sri Chinmoy placed the balls of his feet on the narrow calf raise ledge and bent forwards so that the shoulder pads were resting firmly on his shoulders. He then inhaled deeply and straightened his spine. As he did so, the platform bearing the baby elephant rose several inches. Sri Chinmoy held the lift for a few seconds and then allowed the platform to drop down into its original position. The baby elephant trundled off and rejoined its mother. In video records of the lift, her trunk can be seen throughout the lift waving protectively around the rotund form of her little son.
Mr. Forster was thrilled that Sri Chinmoy had been able to accomplish his dream. "This has been a great experience for both the elephant and for me! I am astonished at what Sri Chinmoy has done with the power of his mind and I am grateful for his encouragement," Mr. Forster said.
Some years ago, when Sri Chinmoy lifted a fully grown elephant weighing 3,600 pounds (using a ground platform attached to the same standing calf raise machine), he was asked how it is possible for remarkable feats such as this to further the cause of world peace, which is so elusive. Sri Chinmoy responded,
"In terms of strength, a human being is no match for an elephant. Just because the elephant knew we could do nothing to it, it behaved well. So he who is really strong will not fight. For a human being, the only way to become really strong is to pray and meditate. When we pray and meditate, we develop inner strength, and this inner strength is nothing other than peace. The reason I have entered into bodybuilding and weightlifting is to inspire everybody to pray and meditate so they can bring to the fore their own inner strength. If everybody brings to the fore his own inner strength, the world will eventually be inundated with peace."
And, in the meantime, Sri Chinmoy plans to go on lifting the baby elephants of Thailand and to express his tangible support for the elephants' continued survival.
More on Sri Chinmoy Lifting
Related