Question: Does the concentration that the athletes use help them in any way spiritually?

Sri Chinmoy: Although their concentration is in the physical plane and the vital plane and not in the psychic plane, still it does help. But you have to know that there is a great difference between psychic concentration and our physical or vital concentration. Just because an athlete has learned concentration, it does help him if he wants to enter into the spiritual life. It is a power, like money-power, which can be applied to any purpose he wants.

But if you want to buy something subtle, with money-power you cannot do it. Similarly, for subtle things you need a different type of concentration. But the concentration-power that you learn from athletics will definitely add to your psychic concentration. Psychic concentration is really difficult — much more difficult than physical or vital concentration. It is like the elder brother. But the younger brother can definitely help the elder brother. And if someone knows psychic concentration as well as physical concentration, vital concentration and mental concentration, then that person can easily be a great champion in the athletic world as well as in the spiritual world.