Part I

The following questions were asked by Franco Columbu, who has held the titles of Mr. World, Mr. Universe and two-time Mr. Olympia. Sri Chinmoy is sincerely grateful to Mr. Columbu, who is himself a supreme authority on bodybuilding and weightlifting, and from whose illumining books Sri Chinmoy has derived tremendous inspiration.

Franco Columbu: How important are yoga stretching exercises to the mind?

Sri Chinmoy: If one is practising stretching exercises thinking that he will be able to achieve peace of mind, then he is totally mistaken. No matter how many stretching exercises one takes, no matter how many hours one spends stretching, one cannot get peace of mind. Peace of mind comes only from one’s prayer-life and meditation-life. I have a few students who are extremely good at stretching exercises. But unfortunately, their minds can easily defeat a monkey in restlessness. So if a bodybuilder or weightlifter wants to have peace of mind, then he has to be a God-lover consciously and devotedly.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Aspiration-body, illumination-soul, part 2, Agni Press, 1993
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