Part X — Informal conversation on weightlifting

MJW 15-29. The following are excerpts from an informal conversation between Sri Chinmoy and his students on 27 February 2000.

_Student:_ It seems that you are able to manifest spirituality much more on the outer plane through weightlifting than through other activities such as running.

Sri Chinmoy: That is true. Millions of people can defeat me in running, but I wonder if millions of people will defeat me in weightlifting, specially among those of my age. If I invite Americans over 60 who live in this vicinity, even from Briarwood, to lift 100 pounds with each arm, I do not think there will be anybody to come forward and do it. Nobody will lift 100 pounds with each arm, and for me 100 pounds is easy. Here I am doing something which is quite extraordinary for my age. Again, there are some things I have done that are considered extraordinary irrespective of age. Last year at my weightlifting anniversary and also the year before, Mahasamrat Bill Pearl was saying to forget about my age. He was asking people of any age to come up and try to do it. He and a few others, like Jim Smith, Mike Katz and so on, have done weightlifting and bodybuilding all their lives. They know how difficult it is. In this weightlifting field I have done something unique, not only in terms of age, but also by showing my capacity in various types of lifts — the double-arm lift, the standing calf raise, the elephant lift and so on.

From:Sri Chinmoy,A mystic journey in the weightlifting world, part 1, Agni Press, 2000
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