_Student:_ Which is harder to lift — a 300-pound weight or a person who weighs 300 pounds?

Sri Chinmoy: The weight is more difficult because the person has human qualities. Most of them will be kind to me and consciously co-operate with the hope that I will be able to lift them. Out of amusement, some will say, “Poor fellow, he is trying so hard. He is killing himself. I will not stand against him.”

But the iron plates are not like that. There I am not getting any conscious help. Unconsciously they resist. I have to pour light into the plates when I lift them.

Most people are very sympathetic when I try to lift them. They offer me their goodwill. When I lifted President Mandela, for example, he was only helping me. He did not have any other feeling. The elder brother was seeing that his little brother wanted to show off, so he encouraged me to show off.

From:Sri Chinmoy,A mystic journey in the weightlifting world, part 1, Agni Press, 2000
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/mjw_1