Part IV — Interview with CBS Radio

MJW 6. On 28 November 1998, Sri Chinmoy was interviewed by CBS Radio.

_Interviewer:_ A five-time Mr. Universe called it "an amazing show of strength for any man, at any age, at any body weight." Sri Chinmoy, why do you lift such huge objects?

Sri Chinmoy: I do not want to brag, but it is an act of my self-offering, which I call inspiration. I try to inspire others. If I can inspire others, and if they in turn inspire the rest of the world, then we can have a better world. It is by virtue of inspiration that we can do good things for mankind. We are all longing for peace, peace, peace. I feel it is our inner strength that will be able to give us peace, and inner strength is oneness, a universal oneness.

Interviewer: What kind of diet plan are you on in order to be able to lift all this weight?

Sri Chinmoy: My diet is absurd, to tell you the truth. I was 180 pounds, and I wanted to lose weight, so I started taking 200 calories per day, believe it or not. For two months I took 200 calories, sometimes 250 calories maximum per day. In that way I came down from 180 pounds to 144 pounds. Yesterday my body weight was 143 pounds, but I do not advise anybody to follow my diet. It applies to me, but I will never tell anybody to follow it because medical science will say it is absurd, ridiculous. I have about fifteen doctors who are my students. They are shocked that I could live on 200 or 300 calories. Even yesterday I took only 200 calories before I went out in the evening to lift up such heavy weights.

Interviewer: Are you a vegetarian?

Sri Chinmoy: I have been a strict vegetarian for over 50 years. Mother Earth is very kind and compassionate to us, and she has infinite strength. So we eat vegetables, fruit and so on. I feel that if we eat meat and fish, then an aggressive consciousness will enter into us. Animals are very, very restless. This restlessness can weaken us. My students all over the world do not eat meat and fish. We are trying to get rid of this restlessness which we find in the animal world.

Interviewer: It was a pleasure talking to you. Thank you very much for your time.

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