On the video when he saw me lift 1,500 pounds in the calf raise, he couldn’t believe it. He was screaming, “He is lifting, he is lifting!” When I was lifting the boat, he was so moved. Then he asked Nirvik if Nirvik would lift 500 pounds, but Nirvik said no.
— 2 October 1986Before the lift, Cahit, our champion-runner-friend, was worrying about whether I had a weightlifting belt. So I showed him that I was wearing it. Then I showed off for him. I did 1,000 pounds on my calf raise machine ten times easily. Then I did 1,200 pounds 12 times. He was so amazed; he didn’t dare to try.
— 19 October 1986I said, “I need a large. Extra large will be too big for me.”
She said, “No, no, you take the extra large. You are on your way.”
Another store had only small and medium T-shirts. When I asked for a large, the lady said, “We only have small and medium, but a medium will fit you.”
So each store had its own story to tell. One said I am on my way to extra large, and the other said I am definitely a medium.
— 19 October 1986The owner was a young man and the manager was an old man. The owner has been doing weightlifting for 10 years and the manager for 20 years, and they could not believe what I had done in such a short time. Both of them looked at me with such love and respect. They were so excited when I told them I could lift 600 pounds with one arm. They said that they had read the Iron Man article twice and also they had read about me in Flex and other magazines.
Then they wanted to give me a T-shirt and hat free. They asked me what colour I wanted and I told them blue. So the T-shirt they gave me was my favourite colour.
Then they asked me for an autographed poster or a picture of me that they could put up in the store. When I went back another time to show them some pictures, they chose my 503-pound lift. They were most impressed with how high I had lifted it off the bar. They immediately framed the picture and put it up with the posters of Lee Haney and Tom Platz. They were also impressed with the picture of me lifting the elephant, but they said that the picture of me lifting the weight was better for them since they are a weightlifting store.
— 19 October 1986I showed him the article about me in Iron Man magazine. When he read about my calf raise lifts, he felt my quadriceps and asked me, “What are they made of?”
He xeroxed the article in Iron Man and read every line very carefully. He didn’t just glance over it. He was so happy to meet me, and we talked for a long time. He told me that two days ago he had tried to lift 250 pounds. He weighs 251 pounds. When I said, “I am 160 pounds,” he just looked at me. He was such a nice boy.
Finally he said, “Now, whatever you want, you can have. You don’t have to buy dumbbells by pairs.” So I got three individual dumbbells: 35, 50 and 60 pounds.
He also wanted a picture of me, and when I went back, he chose the 503-pound lift and immediately put it up on the wall. So both stores have that picture. When I went to the Hawaiian Sports Shoppe, I was trying to buy a 75-pound dumbbell and also a 15-pound dumbbell. The man said, “We always sell by the pair, but I will have to sell you a single one. How can I sell you this if you don’t want two?”
I said, “I don’t need two. I am here only for one week.”
The previous time I was in Hawaii, everything was sold in pairs also.
— 19 October 1986I asked, “When?”
He said, “The day before yesterday, on the 13th of October. It was in Columbus, Ohio. I watched it on television. You didn’t see it?”
I said, “He is my friend. He encourages me like anything.”
He said, “But you didn’t know about it? You don’t read the magazines?”
I said, “I read them and my students read them, but I didn’t know.”
Then he went to his room and brought me the previous issue of one of the magazines, which announced the contest. He was 100 per cent right.
Afterwards, I sent Lee Haney a telegram congratulating him. Mandabhi spoke to him after he received it and said he was very, very moved.
Only the previous day, they had put my picture up in a store next to Lee Haney’s picture. He will be in Hawaii on the 25th of October to give away prizes at a weightlifting contest.
— 19 October 1986He explained about a contest he was holding. He said it started a few months ago when he declared that whoever could lift up a 300-pound dumbbell would get it free. About three months ago somebody accepted the challenge and lifted it a little with two hands.
Then he put a 400-pound dumbbell on display. He thought the same fellow would come back, but somebody else came. The man struggled and finally lifted it up.
After that he put out a 500-pound dumbbell. Just yesterday somebody from California who had come to enter the weightlifting competition lifted up the 500-pound dumbbell, so now he had put out a 600-pound one.
The people in the store begged me to try to lift the 600-pound dumbbell. “You try,” the owner said.
I said, “I am trying 600 over my head, but I do not want to try lifting this from the ground with two hands.” I didn’t want to be embarrassed.
So Savyasachi tried. When Savyasachi tried it, it didn’t move to this side or that side. The man said, “No way for him!”
— 19 October 1986That weight was only 110 pounds. But in Hawaii, the previous day, somebody came and took away 500 pounds, and now they had 600 pounds out. You go to the weightlifting stores and have such fun!
— 19 October 1986The pumpkins that I lifted today were very heavy, plus I didn’t have any warm-up. It really killed me! Normally, first I warm up at home, and then I take warm-up exercises for at least half an hour at the tennis court as well. But today, because of the rain, I could not warm up.
The first time I tried lifting the pumpkins, I could not do it. I said, “Today will be my Waterloo experience!”
But then on my second try I lifted them up. The third time, I lifted the boys also. Then the newspaper photographer begged me to do it a fourth time. While he was taking pictures the previous time, our boys had asked him to move. So I did it again for the reporter, and I held it up for a longer time than before so the photographer could take pictures. He took three or four. In one I was smiling even. I had turned to the people who were watching and was smiling.
— 26 October 1986```
My Lord Supreme,My Beloved Supreme,
Your infinite Compassion decidesThe choice hour for me.
Your infinite Compassion also transformsMy human greed
Into Your divine Need.```
When human greed becomes His divine Need, then one can be of real inspiration and true service to mankind. So this was my prayer, and a few minutes after it was offered, I was able to lift 705 pounds.When I lift, there is always some divine Grace in the form of gods, goddesses or relatives and friends who come to inspire me. They are of real help. Today it was my dearer-than-the-dearest Mother Kali who came. Inside me she is always visible, but today I saw her very vividly on the wall, where the window is. She had a larger-than-the-largest garland around her neck. I saw it when I was lifting. On my third attempt she was looking at me so powerfully and compassionately. On my fourth attempt I clearly saw her placing her feet on the metal plates and the bar. Then I saw in my intuitive world that I was going to lift it. On that attempt, I was looking only at her face. My concentration was so powerful at that time, I didn’t see the garland, and I was wondering where it went. Then, in my highest point of concentration, I saw that the garland was on my neck. Then I made the attempt and I was successful. She had garlanded me before I had actually made the lift. Then I lifted it again on my fifth attempt. After that she was playing with the garland she had placed on me.
Now I can cut jokes. About a month ago some of the disciples didn’t have faith that I would be able to lift 700 pounds. I said I would put them into garbage bags. So many disciples I put in garbage bags! Today I can open up the garbage bags and release them.
— 1 November 1986So for both 700 and 800 pounds, all credit goes to my dearest Mother Kali.
— 7 November 1986Nivedita’s soul is most beautiful, most beautiful. So lovingly she was watching me while I was taking various exercises. She was moving around and telling me, “My Lord, you can do it, you can do it, you can do it!” And she was absolutely right, absolutely right! This morning I lifted up 1,007¾ pounds. As soon as I completed the lift she offered me a most beautiful flower, and while offering the flower she said, “Congratulations, my Lord, and my eternal gratitude.”
These visions are more real to me than my own name, Chinmoy. Chinmoy is just a fleeting name, an earthly name. But my God-realisation-experiences, visions and illuminations, which come from my Beloved Supreme’s infinite Compassion, are infallible and immortal.
— 10 November 1986He also has six or seven ducks which he wanted to show me. I said, “Oh, this reminds me of my Chittagong days. Every week there I used to eat duck and duck eggs.”
He couldn’t believe it. He never eats duck, but he eats chicken and chicken eggs, which I never ate. He said he also eats fish. I said, “I used to eat fish every day. And until the age of 11 or 12, I used to eat turtle and duck.”
— 16 November 1986She is very simple, with a very good heart. She had all kinds of refreshments, plus four or five kinds of tea. Since I don’t drink tea, I asked for hot chocolate, and she was miserable that she didn’t have it. So I had orange juice. After I drank a second orange juice, I put the glass on the floor. Then, while I was talking I accidentally kicked the glass. I had forgotten that it was there, but fortunately I had already drunk the juice. I apologised like anything, but Brenda said, “Oh never mind, never mind. There is nothing inside.”
Before we left, Brenda gave gifts to everyone — a tie or a muffler made from their own sheep’s wool. She gave me a beautiful brown and white sheepskin, which she said I should stand on while I do my lifting.
— 16 November 1986He saw very clearly that I was lifting the weight off the power rack. Then he said, “I am sure you have done 1,000 pounds by now!”
We were still hiding the 1,000-pound picture, but then we showed it to him. When he saw it, he used the term “balmy.” He looked at it for a few seconds, then went running to the gym to show it to his students.
When he came back, he gave me a gold medal that he had had made when he heard I was definitely coming. He showed it to me and then put it around my neck. It says, “Sri Chinmoy — 5x bwt,” which means “five times body weight.” Then it says, “Right arm, November 1986.” Under that it says, “British Amateur Weight Lifters’ Association.” Then in Latin on a kind of crest or shield is written, “Faith moves mountains.” Jim apologised that the medal was already out of date, because he didn’t know before that I had already lifted more than six times my body weight. But he said he had definitely been expecting me to do it.
— 16 November 1986He was giving a demonstration with a 60 or 70-pound barbell. Then he wanted his best friend Agraha to come and join him. Agraha, poor fellow, was absolutely miserable. First Jim Smith requested him; then it became almost a command. So Agraha went to try.
First Jim Smith told him, “Now lift up the barbell to your knees.”
So Agraha lifted it up to his knees.
Then Jim Smith said, “Don’t look at me. Only look at my shoulders. Now you have to lift it to your shoulders!” The command was coming absolutely from the commander-in-chief. So Agraha lifted it up to his shoulders. Afterwards, his face was totally pale.
Then Jim Smith practically shouted at him, “Now you have to lift it over your head!” It was such a powerful command that Agraha did lift it over his head. They are such good friends!
— 16 November 1986Jim Smith’s concern for me and his constant encouragement are really something. Jim Smith and Bill Pearl — one from America and one from England — have offered me constant, constant encouragement and inspiration.
When I told Jim that I am now aiming at 1,300, he said, “No, no, not 1,300 — 1,500! 1,300 is not necessary. Now that you have gone beyond what the mind can comprehend in your weightlifting, you can do what the mind can’t even imagine!”
— 16 November 1986He says that by my weightlifting I am proving that spiritual power is still alive.
— 16 November 1986I did each exercise so many times! First I lifted 10 pounds 50 times, then I lifted 20, 30 and 40 pounds. From 40 pounds I jumped up to 2,000.
— 27 November 1986Some were saying that I would do it at 1:30 in the morning. I told them that I would not try before 4:30 because I was so tired and exhausted, but still they thought I would try right away.
Some predicted times that were only 10 minutes after Unmilan and others finished building the new power rack.
Sahishnu’s prediction was the closest. He said I would lift 2,000 pounds at 7:37 a.m.
This morning at 4:30, I started doing my usual endless weightlifting exercises. Then, at around a quarter to seven, I started attempting to lift 2,039. It was over 500 pounds heavier than my previous best lift, 3 days ago. My fifth attempt was my best performance. After my fifth attempt, I looked at the time and saw it was 7:40. So Sahishnu’s prediction was the best.
Ketan was the farthest away. He said I would do it at 9:00.
— 27 November 1986When she stands on the weight, which is so high, the ceiling disappears. At that time you don’t even see the ceiling. The inner plane where the gods and goddesses appear is far beyond the physical plane, so the physical surroundings don’t interfere at all.
If I see the video, I will be able to see Mother Kali. She has become part and parcel of the video because her consciousness in the room was so powerful. With the third eye one can see it. The original video has the fragrance of her consciousness. I do not know if she will appear on copies.
— 27 November 1986I concentrate on each weight before I lift it. At the same time, I don’t think of it. When I look at the weights, believe me, there is nobody more frightened than I am. I say, “This is the weight I am going to lift!” But then more inner strength comes.
— 27 November 1986On my fifth lift my tongue was out of my mouth! If Ranjana had taken pictures from the other side, then my tongue could have been seen. I became like Mother Kali. On the video you can hear what kind of scream I gave.
— 27 November 1986Bill Pearl says I am not threatening anybody in the weightlifting world now because I have passed that stage. He says I have come to the “unbelievable” stage.
— 27 November 1986I wanted to have Samarpana on the platform while I was lifting the cow, but the cow was so heavy that I changed my mind. I said, “Now if I take Samarpana also, it will be too much for me to lift.”
Already the platform that is on top of my shoulders weighs 460 pounds. It is much more difficult than the one which rests on the ground.
In Chittagong we had a cow named Nandini that was almost the same size as the one I lifted today. We had anothercow named Surabhi. Surabhi was quite thin and Nandini was quite heavy.
— 27 November 1986
198611127Both the elephants received so much. The big one, Jack, received a lot. Before the lift, I garlanded it and said, “You are my friend, my heart’s friend, my soul’s friend, my life’s friend.”
Karen, the little elephant, also received, but Jack’s soul is more mature, much more advanced. Jack will have a human incarnation, whereas Karen will take a few more animal incarnations.
— 27 November 1986Now the owner has become my greatest admirer. He has posted so many pictures of my weightlifting. Yesterday he predicted I will do 2,000 pounds. He has pictures of my 600 and 800-pound lifts. But when I went to his gym the first time, he would not talk to me.
— 27 November 1986He was comparing his experience to what happened when I led a meditation at the bodybuilding exhibition in Vancouver. Since it was a new world for me, he thought in front of 2,000 people I would also behave that way. But I didn’t get frightened. I only had to meditate; I didn’t have to say a word.
— 27 November 1986When Sophia told her family about my weightlifting, her brother got furious and said, “He is a spiritual man. What is he doing bodybuilding?”
The father took my side. He said, “What is wrong? If one has capacity in any field, one should show it to the world. If I had that kind of capacity, I would also show the world.”
— 28 November 1986First I did 400, 600, 800 and then 1,000 pounds, and all the time I was wearing her jacket. She will be so happy!
Then I went from 1,000 to 2,000. When I was lifting 2,000, I didn’t dare use the jacket because I knew I had to kill myself and the jacket might be slippery. I was afraid the weight might slip off my shoulders. So I took the jacket off and held it in front of the video camera.
— 30 November 1986I said, “I was saying ‘Ma’, invoking Mother Kali.”
— 30 November 1986I wanted to put oil on my calves to show off, but there was no oil downstairs. I was so lazy; I didn’t want to go upstairs to get the oil. I found some “body-bath” yellow lotion, but it seems it had no oil in it. As soon as I put it on, it disappeared. If it had had a little oil in it, it would have remained on the skin, but it did not last.
— 30 November 1986Dhanu has told me that it will photograph for not more than 12 to 14 seconds, and it takes 6 pictures per second. I said to myself, “Before I lift the weight, perhaps the camera will stop.”
Then I lifted the weight so quickly that the camera was still going after I finished. It sounds like a printing press — so much noise! It is like a hostile force. How can you concentrate when there is so much noise near you?
— 30 November 1986With 40 pounds I started and with 40 pounds I will end. I will do the military press 40 times.
— 30 November 1986After one mile I felt sincerely sad that I was not able to practice my one-arm lift. For three or four days I have not lifted because the weights are in Progress-Promise. My Mother Kali immediately appeared to console me.
Mother Kali said that if I want to do heavy weights, I should practise with 700 pounds. But she told me not to exceed 700. She said that if somebody else lifts as heavy a weight as I have, because of my universal oneness, it is actually I who will do it. That person will only have a different name. In this way she consoled me.
Now I am keeping the calf raise machine at my house. I will do those two exercises — the one-arm lift with 700 pounds and the calf raise — on alternate days.
— 30 November 1986Next year my Inner Pilot has to decide whether I will continue with heavy weights. Perhaps He will allow me to practise with light weights. I don’t know. But today my weightlifting officially closes for this year.
— 6 December 1986Hussain Muhammad Ershad
President of BangladeshYour accomplishments show us that the only limitations to the body and the spirit are the limitations which we place upon ourselves. May the love that you hold for mankind extend from the soul through the body into a real and lasting peace.
Brian Mulroney
Prime Minister of CanadaIn the past you have excelled in writing, painting and meditating. Now as you join the world of sports, you prove that determination and will power triumph in any field man sets himself to conquer.
Rafael Hernandez Colon
Governor of Puerto RicoMario Cuomo
Governor of New YorkThis man is of Godly strength. He is truly amazing. It is humanly impossible for the body’s joints to even budge this kind of weight. Just to support this kind of weight in any way is a miracle. He is not merely lifting a dumbbell. He is trying to lift the attitude of the world. He is showing us that mind can surpass matter, that when we reach for the highestthrough meditation we can succeed in anything.
Bill Pearl
Mr. America, 1953
Mr. USA, 1956
Mr. Universe, 1953, 1956, 1961, 1967 and 1971
WBBG World’s Best Built Man of the Century, 1974
Entered into the WBBG Hall of Fame, 1978
Elected IFBB National Chairman of the Professional
Physique Judges Committee, 1978Jim Smith
Registrar of Records
British Amateur Weight Lifters’ AssociationSri Chinmoy shows that with God there is nothing that is impossible! We can do anything. Sri Chinmoy has proven this in the physical. To stay locked in the spiritual while performing in the body is so hard but so important. That spiritual bond, that link that Sri Chinmoy has, makes all things possible.
Sri Chinmoy is not the normal athlete; he is a special athlete; he is a super superathlete. It is spirituality that separates superathletes from super superathletes. Sri Chinmoy is a super superathlete.
Lee Haney
Mr. Olympia, 1984-1986It’s not what Sri Chinmoy says that makes him so powerful; it’s his example. His example is one of tremendous discipline. He is the only real spiritual leader doing bodybuilding, and he is setting an excellent example for athletes.
Frank Zane
Three-time Mr. OlympiaDr. Franco Columbu
Mr. Universe, Mr. World, two-time Mr. OlympiaArnold Schwarzenegger
Mr. Universe, Mr. International
and seven-time Mr. OlympiaDan Lurie
Founder of Dan Lurie Barbells
Editor of Muscle Training Illustratedand former AAU record-holder in the one-arm bent press, parallel dips and push-upsSudhahota Carl Lewis
Winner of four gold medals in track and fieldin the 1984 OlympicsGive Sri Chinmoy my love. May God continue to shower him with wisdom and faith. I feel God has given Sri Chinmoy strength so many people can realise that God is working through him. God bless him!
Muhammad Ali
Three-time World Heavyweight Boxing ChampionJoe Frazier
World Heavyweight Boxing ChampionSri Chinmoy has controlled his mind completely. He has conquered his mind totally. It’s like what I would try to do when I would face a wrestling opponent. Sri Chinmoy is using his will to surpass his mind, and he is using his mind to conquer his body. He is putting his thoughts into a higher state to allow him to have a superior capacity.
I tell you, it’s a lot of weight for a little guy, and he’s made a lot of progress. I find it very impressive.
Dan Gable
National Collegiate
Wrestling Champion, 1968
World Champion in Wrestling, 1971
Pan American Games Lightweight Wrestling Champion, 1971
Olympic Gold Medallistin Wrestling, 1972
Head Coach of U.S. OlympicWrestling Team, 1980-1984
Head Coach of University of Iowa Wrestling Team, 1986Bob Mathias
Two-time Olympic gold medallist in the decathlonMokshagun Clarence Clemons
Numero uno saxophonist and hit record artistFrom:Sri Chinmoy,My weightlifting tears and smiles, part 2, Agni Press, 1986
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/wts_2