_Question:_ Does an athlete who has spiritual purity have greater capacity than an athlete who does not care for the spiritual life?

Sri Chinmoy: Suppose there are two athletes who, on the physical plane, have the same standard. Now, if one of them is impure, what will happen? If you really have the same standard, definitely you will be able to defeat him. As soon as you touch the shot, you will be able to control your vital thoughts, mental thoughts and physical thoughts. But when he holds it, he will look around to see if others are looking at him. It need not be girls, just any audience. When he is thinking of the audience, some of his strength goes away. As soon as he identifies himself with the audience, what he gets is their worries, anxieties and tension. But when you are throwing, as soon as you hold the shot, there are only you and the Supreme. You are not allowing your vital to come forward. You don’t open the physical door. You don’t open the mind door. Purity is your bodyguard. It does not allow any wrong force to come. You have no idea who is good, who is bad, who is your enemy. But your purity-guard is very strict. It will not allow anything wrong to enter into your mind. So if you have the same capacity as someone else, the one who is the purer of the two is bound to win, because he will not allow himself to be attacked by outside forces at the time of competition.

From:Sri Chinmoy,AUM — Vol.II-4, No.10, 27 October 1977, Vishma Press, 1977
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