A great champion is he who participates in all the races.
A great champion is he who does not care for the results of the races — whether he is first or last or in between. He races just to get joy and give joy to the observers.
A great champion is he who transcends his own previous records.
A great champion is he who maintains his standard.
A great champion is he who remains happy even when he cannot maintain his standard.
A great champion is he who has established his inseparable oneness with the winner and the loser alike.
A great champion is he who, owing to the advancement of years, retires from racing or terminates his career happily and cheerfully.
A great champion is he who longs to see the fulfilment of his dreams — if not through himself, then in and through others.
A great champion is he who meditates on his Inner Pilot for the fulfilment of His Will before the race, during the race and after the race.
A great champion is he who sees and feels that he is a mere instrument of his Inner Pilot and that his Inner Pilot is racing in and through him, according to his own capacity of receptivity.
A champion of champions is he whose inner life has become the Vision of his Absolute Supreme and whose outer life has become the perfection-channel of his Beloved Supreme.From:Sri Chinmoy,Pioneer-runners of tomorrow’s world-peace-dawn: ultramarathon running and self-transcendence, Agni Press, 1998
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