Part XV

CSC 107-113. On 12 March 1988, Sri Chinmoy was interviewed by Bob de Jong of Veronica TV, Holland.

Question: Sri Chinmoy, why are you doing this weightlifting?

Sri Chinmoy: I am doing it to inspire my brothers and sisters. This world belongs to one Person, God the Creator, and we are His children, God the creation. Now I am in Holland. I have come to see my brothers and sisters here in Holland. I feel that if I can be of inspiration to them, I will be very, very happy. From weightlifting, I get inner joy, inner strength and inner peace, peace of mind. If you have peace of mind, then you do not quarrel with others, you do not fight with others, you do not declare wars. So that is why I do weightlifting.

Question: Have you done any sports before in your life?

Sri Chinmoy: Yes. I have been a sportsman all my life. When I was young, I was an athlete. According to Indian standards, I was a very good athlete. I was also a decathlon champion. I was good in sprinting, jumping, throwing and so forth. But that is all past history.

Question: There are a lot of traditional weightlifting techniques, but now you are using none of these techniques. So how can you do it?

Sri Chinmoy: In my case, it is a matter of inner inspiration. You will be surprised to learn that there was a time when I disliked weightlifting immensely. In India, I was a sprinter and I thought weightlifting would be detrimental to my running career. Here, in America, I ran for quite a few years and I inspired my students all over the world to run. My right knee became badly injured, perhaps from running, so I gave up running and then I got the inspiration from within to lift weights so that I can keep physically fit. That is how I started.

As you can see, I do not know any weightlifting techniques. I do not have the physique of a bodybuilder or weightlifter. I entirely depend on God's Grace. God's Grace acts in and through me in all that I do. Not only in my sports life, but in my literary career, in my art and in all my activities, I entirely depend on God's Grace, God's Compassion. He is the One who helps me, guides me and protects me. He does it through me and I just try to become a good recipient. I try to offer Him my own receptivity, and He performs everything in and through me according to my receptivity.