The six-day race¹

At the six-day race, so many runners knew me. I smiled at them and they smiled at me. But my Cahit! He came off the track — he had to shake hands with me, talk to me and give me gifts. He couldn’t believe that I gave him such a big gift. All the runners smiled at me, but he came off the track to see me.

Fred Lebow was all appreciation for our Marathon Team workers. He spoke to me most gratefully about our contribution.

The leader, a Greek named Yiannis Kouros, is something! Once he ran 200 miles at a seven-minute pace.

Bringing sunshine²

Yesterday it was raining during the six-day race, so I left the track and went inside the car. Cahit came running to shake hands with me. He said that I bring sunshine to him. Then he said he was sorry he was unshaven. Where can I find another Cahit?

Sue Medaglia was so happy to see me at the race. She said, “Because of you, because of your group, I am alive, I am running.”

Today I saw divine Kim, with folded hands. She was smiling and smiling. Such a soulful consciousness she maintained throughout!

The best³

The other day I went to run a 3.1-mile race in Flushing Meadow Park. When I finished, a runner came up to me. He had finished long before me. He said that our races are by far the best. He has run in California and various places, and everywhere our races are the best.

The over-fifty champion⁴

The man who won the special prize in the over-fifty category in our Runners are Smilers race today is an excellent runner. He will always win, unless somebody else comes. He should bring all his friends by saying that he has got nice gifts. He should show them his trophy. Then his friends will come and challenge him. There is no other way.

Have a cup of coffee!⁵

The first day I was in Los Angeles for the Olympics, I went out running early in the morning. I asked a man where the stadium was. He said, “Forget the stadium. Go have a cup of coffee!”

On another day, I was walking on the sidewalk when I saw three men — simply undivine — coming towards me. I jumped into the street to avoid them. Very loudly one said, “Jesus!”

In silence I said to him, “Thank you for invoking a very good friend of mine!”

The mini-swim⁶

Today in the mini-triathlon only Databir, Pahar, Pulak and Dhanu couldn’t swim. In the big triathlon, they would be forbidden — we cannot afford to lose four or five lives.

On the boys’ side Kripan was the best! Luckily Kripan was not driving; he was swimming. First he would go to one side, towards Anugata. Then he would go to the other side. His wife was screaming. How much time he was wasting going to this side and that side! He totally forgot about geometry.

Giving out oranges⁷

When I was giving out oranges to the runners finishing our half-marathon in Flushing Meadow Park yesterday, some of them were mad. One fellow heard he was tenth or twelfth and his friend was eighth. I think his friend was also his rival. He was very disappointed and he said, “Damn it!”

Some runners didn’t take oranges. One or two perhaps didn’t like oranges, but others were mad at themselves. One or two, when they calmed down, came and took.

Blessings from the elderly⁸

During the race two or three runners were so nice to me. Some elderly runners were saying, “Guru, Guru!”

One of them was so happy. Another patted my shoulder with such affection. He was blessing me. He was running near me and then he went ahead.

Ali, Ali, Ali!⁹

Yesterday I was walking near the tennis courts behind P.S. 86 and Hillcrest High School. Six or seven young black boys saw me and started saying, “Ali, Ali, Ali! Champion 1999!” Then one of the boys told the others, “Shut up!” They were calling me Muhammad Ali!

Databir, Pulin and Bipin were following me in the car only 10 metres behind, but the boys didn’t notice them.

What speed I have!¹⁰

I was running at 6:30 in the morning on the Grand Central service road. When I stopped for a red light, I saw that Nemi was 50 metres behind me — at least. Then, in a minute she smiled and passed me very nicely. Then Sulochana came up and just went ahead of me. What wonderful speed I have!

My only rival¹¹

In today’s two-mile Runners are Smilers race, Saroja was my only rival. The first mile I was ahead of her, but the second mile I was 10 or 15 metres behind her.

Smiling like anything¹²

This morning I ran four miles. The first mile I ran in 12:13. I said, “Great! Very near 13, my lucky number.”

The second mile I ran in 10:21. I couldn’t believe it! Instead of descending, I went faster. This was all because I got inspiration from Chidananda. After the first mile I saw Chidananda drive by in his car, and he was smiling like anything.

I said to myself, “Definitely he didn’t meditate at six o’clock. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be out at this hour.” Sunirmalya was in the car with Chidananda. They were going to play tennis. Later Sunirmalya told me they had left the house at 6:16, right after meditation.

My third mile was 9:37. Then my fourth mile was 8:57.

The challenge¹³

In today’s two-mile race, I saw Kritagyata and Pratyaya so far ahead of me during the first mile.

Then I challenged Lucy and Nilima. I was a few metres behind them, but I felt that I would be able to catch them at the one-mile point. Then, after I passed them, I started walking.

You must run!¹⁴

The other day while I was walking, a gentleman with a cane grabbed my left arm and said, “You are not doing the right thing. You must run, always run!”

I said, “Do you run?”

He said, “I can barely drag my leg, so I cannot run.”

A nice gentleman! But he didn’t realise that I also have serious leg problems!

Cahit's race¹⁵

In the five-mile race that Cahit Yeter organised today in the Bronx, Carlos was encouraging me and I was begging him to go a little faster so he would get a prize. In the race, the disciples were encouraging me all the time, singing, O grant me the fastest speed. But the people watching the race were laughing at my speed.

After killing myself for some time, I saw no life inside my body. Then I saw Anne Alaimo 400 metres ahead of me. First I passed Chameli, then Anne, Godavari and Chandra. Then I passed Chetana long after them. But Sarama was beyond my reach.

During the race, at least fifteen people recognised me.

Patience replaces capacity¹⁶

When I see my disciples running now, many times they are 600 metres or one mile ahead of me. But I used to be right behind them or even ahead of them.

They have to admire how much patience I have. When you lose capacity, you have to give credit to your patience.

Maybe he doesn't understand English¹⁷

Yesterday I was running in Flushing Meadow Park near our 1,000-mile race. Two men were also running. One of them saw the poster about the race and said to me, “Why are you not also competing?”

I just smiled at him.

Then the other man said, “Maybe he doesn’t understand English.”

Coming from behind¹⁸

The day before yesterday I was running behind John in the 1,000-mile race. I said, “I will never be able to pass him.”

But then I went ahead of him. I also went ahead of Trishul two times. I said to myself, “Can you believe it? Never did I think I would be able to pass these two excellent runners! I will give both of them very nice gifts.”

Of course, Trishul had been running for four days. He is planning to complete the 1,000-mile race. And John had also run more than 200 miles by that time.

He walks faster than I run¹⁹

Still I have not been able to pass Kirit while running in the 1,000-mile race. Sometimes he walks, and then I say, “This is the time when I will pass him.” But he walks faster than I run.

A birthday run²⁰

The other day was Yury’s birthday. He had completed 23 years, so he walked and ran 23 miles at the 1,000-mile race. Now I think he has become an invalid.

His mother came yesterday to Annam Brahma. She got an orange as prasad and asked her son if she had to preserve the seeds because the orange was sacred.

A rare smile²¹

So many times I have seen Bob Wise walking in the 1,000-mile race. Previously he never smiled at me. But today, on the fifth day of the race, he smiled at me and started clapping.

Running and running²²

Today in the 1,000-mile race, so many times I got joy from passing Trishul. I was forgetting that he had already done 300 miles.

Good morning!²³

Today at five o’clock in the afternoon, Bob Wise, the walker in our 1,000-mile race, looked at me and said, “Good morning!”

I told him also, “Good morning.”

I am nearing 75²⁴

This morning at a quarter to seven, I was walking on 150th Street. I saw an elderly man get up on a bike with difficulty. As soon as he saw me, he got off the bike. He had only covered 20 metres.

He said to me, “You are running and I am cycling. I am 75. How old are you?”

I said, “I am nearing 75.”

He was so happy to hear that.

Walking ferociously²⁵

I had an experience near Queens Boulevard at four o’clock this morning. Just near the top of the hill a respectable-looking lady was waiting for the bus. She saw me coming towards her, from about 20 metres away. I was walking so ferociously that she got frightened and ran away. I felt sorry, so I called out to her, “Don’t be afraid of me!” Then she came back to the bus stop.

The Queens fitness Guru²⁶

The end of the 1,000-mile race was on the 6:30 news last night on television. When they mentioned my name they had trouble with “Sri”; they said, “Sir.” They called me “Sir Chinmoy, the Queens Fitness Guru.”

Struggling towards 1,000 miles²⁷

Originally I wanted to run seven miles every day during the 1,000-mile race. I felt that if I tried to do 13 miles, I would not be able to continue. But at the end of the race I had completed 208 miles — an average of 13 miles a day for the 16 days of the race.

Three people completed the full distance: 1,000 miles! Here is the proof that there are a few things the mind cannot understand — when the soul operates through the heart or through the vital. To run 1,000 miles is beyond the comprehension of the mind; the mind cannot imagine it!

Perhaps now people will be inspired to sponsor 1,000-mile races.

By the first week of August I do hope to complete my 1,000 miles. I am going on, going on. God knows if I can do it!

Nayak's soul preceded him²⁸

The day before yesterday I was at the 800 metre point on the 1,000-mile course, near the circle, walking. It was in the morning. All of a sudden Nayak’s soul appeared for blessings. I thought, “Nayak didn’t inform me he was coming to New York. Usually he informs me.” But it was not actually Nayak, but only his soul, which appeared so vividly.

Then a few hours later I saw Nayak himself standing at the same spot, near the circle. He had come to New York quite suddenly on business.

My imagination gets frightened²⁹

I have run a little over 200 miles during the 1,000-mile race, but already I am blessing my forefathers that I have promised to run 1,000 miles. Even my imagination gets frightened!

But I am sincerely proud of those who have completed the race. Look at Trishul! The race ended just yesterday, and already he is here at the meditation, enjoying his spiritual life.

A slow run³⁰

The other day Pulak and Saral ran with me. I asked them if they ever run as slowly as they were running with me. Both of them remained silent. That means they never run that slowly. One day they will run long distance — 70 miles — and I will see how slowly they run.

I am blind³¹

Yesterday morning at about 5:30 I was running on 150th Street near Sandhani and Snigdha’s house. Suddenly Navina’s soul came to me for blessings. I said, “Fine. Why did you not come to New York after the April celebrations?” I decided to ask Kailash why Navina had not come.

In the afternoon I was walking to circus practice. On Snigdha and Sandhani’s steps I saw three persons standing: Snigdha, Durga and a third person. So I smiled at them. Snigdha was pointing out the third girl to me, but I couldn’t recognise her. I am blind! Then I saw it was Navina. Navina was with them, but her hairstyle had transformed her face.

I surrendered³²

The other day during our two-mile race, Barada waved at Radha as she went ahead of her. I said to myself, “Yes, I am seeing you, Barada.”

Seven years ago during a 10-mile race, Barada and I had our first rivalry. Then I surrendered.

No competitiveness³³

Early in the morning I walk at a 20-minute pace — very solid. One morning, when I had covered a mile, all of a sudden I saw a lady pass by me. She had a bag on her shoulder. My ego came forward. How could she go faster than me, carrying a bag on her shoulder? O God, I tried to defeat her.

That was the morning I had taken an oath that I wouldn’t go very fast. After five minutes, I saw another lady. This one was running for the bus, and she also was passing me. I said, “This is too much!”

Then I walked very fast. I was on the street and she was on the sidewalk. I managed to pass her, but it made me very tired. Was it worth it? In three or four seconds, again she was going ahead of me. I asked myself, “Why did I compete with her?” Then I decided not to compete with her anymore.

Tricking the mind³⁴

When I run mile after mile, I meditate. When I don’t feel like meditating, I sing in silence. I have lists of songs that I play on the double bass, cello, violin, Moroccan instrument, Chinese instrument and harp. There are about 40 songs altogether. While running I sing each song inwardly, only once. In this way, when I go out of the house I kill three or four birds at once.

This morning at 7:00 I went four miles. I sang very soulfully, in a prayerful way.

When I walk, my mind says, “Once upon a time, you used to walk at an 11 or 13-minute pace. Now you are walking at a 17 or 18-minute pace.” So the mind brings discouragement. But then I play a trick on the mind. I say, “Yes, it is a 20-minute pace, but I am gaining in another way. I am meditating longer.”

At home I have millions of problems to deal with. In these 20 minutes when I am walking, I am all by myself; so I am very happy. If I take three minutes more, who cares? Nature is helping me. With nature’s beauty I am meditating. The mind brings discouragement, but then I tell my mind that for 20 minutes without interruption I am able to meditate. So the mind remains silent. We have to be super-smart when the mind wants to discourage us.

I want your outer blessings³⁵

The other day I was walking to the tennis court. On the way an elderly Indian man came out of his house and said, “May I speak to you?”

I said, “Why?”

He said, “You are a great man. My daughter is getting married this Friday. I wish to invite you and your disciples. I wish to honour you.”

I said, “Your daughter is getting married. This is her day. Why do you have to honour me?”

He said, “If you come to our house, you will bless our house and bless us.”

I said, “You have my inner blessings.”

He said, “I want your outer blessings.”

“Please forgive me,” I said, “I will not be able to come.”

Then we shook hands and I went on.

The hat³⁶

Today, first I walked two miles. Then I covered another eleven miles by running for 1400 metres and walking for the last 200 metres of each mile. I call this combination “running.” Then I walked another half mile — for a total of thirteen and a half miles.

After the 1100-metre mark, near my seven-mile point, my hat was bothering me, so I took it off. Then I saw a beautiful lawn with a fence. I put the hat on one of the bars of the fence very nicely and left it in charge of God. I said, “God will take care of it. If it is His Will, He will keep it here.”

Then I started jogging. After 40 metres I saw a gentleman smiling at me. God knows why he was smiling at me, but I also smiled at him. We were two gentlemen.

I went to the nine-mile mark and then started returning home. When I came to the seven-mile mark, I remembered that I had left my hat on the fence. I was about to look for it when I saw the same gentleman who had smiled at me holding the hat. He gave it to me and said, “I feel you are a nice man.”

I said, “I know you are an excellent man!” Then he started laughing, and we shook hands.

This all happened right in front of his house. When I had left the hat there, at that time he had been 40 metres away. But when I came back, he was standing right in front of his house holding the hat. Can you imagine!

The water pistol³⁷

After I ran about four miles today, two little boys on bicycles came up behind me. One of them said to me, “I can easily beat you.”

I said, “Fine!”

Then they passed me, and one of them turned around and shot me with a water pistol. Then they both rode away very fast. I thanked them.

Enjoying the argument³⁸

Last week two children came up to me while I was walking and wanted to walk with me. One asked why I was wearing the belt that I always use to support my back. I smiled at him.

The other one said, “Can’t you see that he is fat?” So they had an argument. They walked with me for about 400 metres arguing back and forth. I was enjoying the argument.

Driving backward³⁹

The other day a car was about to drive away from a gas station. It was waiting for the other cars to pass by so it could enter into the street. The driver was looking to this side and that side. I was running on the sidewalk.

The car was not disturbing anybody, and I ran behind it. But just when I was behind it, the driver suddenly got the inspiration to go backward instead of forward. I shouted very loudly, at the top of my voice. What can you do with people like that? Luckily I escaped.

Running in Quebec⁴⁰

When we were in Canada this weekend for the two seven-hour meditations, I went out running early in the morning in Quebec City. First I saw Pratyaya running. Then I saw Hashi right near me. The next moment, when I looked around, Hashi was already 100 metres ahead of me!

I know why you are strong⁴¹

One day I was walking in front of my house and also exercising at the same time. The old German lady who lives on our block — the one who has the dog — came up to me and said, “Now I know why you are very strong and why you are very skinny.”

Then she came near me and pushed my left shoulder. Whenever she sees me, she always pushes my shoulder in an affectionate way.

We love you!⁴²

While I was out walking, two people came up to me and said, “We love you!”

I gave them a smile.

Can you imagine people who are not my disciples saying that to me!

I am the wrong person!⁴³

While I was taking pictures at the L'eggs Mini-Marathon, a man came up to me and wanted me to help him put film in his camera. He was giving me his camera and the roll of film.

O God! I know next to nothing about cameras! Even my own camera, I ask one of my students to load for me. So I said to the man, “I am the wrong person!”

He said, “Thank you!”

Wearing the American flag⁴⁴

Whenever I see a T-shirt with something written on the back, I think it is a shirt from one of our races.

Last week while I was running, I saw a lady ahead of me with quite a few lines written on the back of her shirt. I thought it was Tanima. I ran so fast to catch up with her, but then I saw it was some other lady. And when I came close, I saw it was an American flag on the back of her shirt!

Not in the mood to talk⁴⁵

I was outside walking up and down my street. Radha, the little girl who lives two doors down from me, came up to me and said, “Guru, will you be walking for a long time?”

I said, “Yes.”

She said, “I will ride my bicycle with you.”

She rode alongside me for about a mile. She was talking and talking, and I was meditating. Finally she said, “Guru, you are not in the mood to talk!”

I smiled at her.

Then Radha’s sister introduced me to their father. We both smiled at each other. We didn’t know how to talk.

Mother Earth should bless me now!⁴⁶

When I used to practise running in the ashram when I was young, I used to feel sorry for Mother Earth because my legs were so strong and powerful. I felt I was hurting the ground when I ran. When I did the hop, skip and jump, my hop was so powerful that again I felt I was hurting Mother Earth. But now when I run, I find the ground so hard that it hurts me. Mother Earth should bless me now!

I even feel the difference between the sidewalk and the street. The sidewalk is so much harder than the street. Even when I run on the track at St. John’s University, the track hurts my legs.

In the ashram I used to go out running barefoot at four o’clock in the morning, and I wouldn’t even notice that the ground was hard. Then when I went out at six o’clock, after it had become light, I would see pieces of glass in the places where I had been running. So the Supreme had saved me!

The candy store⁴⁷

I walked many miles today. At one point, after covering about 11 miles in my slowest possible walk, I entered a candy store. I bought all kinds of things, including candy that looked like little baseballs.

I spent lots of money — about $15. Then, after I had paid for everything, I wanted to buy four more of the little baseballs. The lady said, “They are 25 cents each.”

I gave her a dollar. She took the dollar and then said, “But there is tax.” Can you imagine? After I spent so much money, she had to ask me for tax on one dollar!

I never keep any change in my pocket, but I reached into my pocket and found a five-dollar bill. In the meantime, the lady put the first dollar I had given her into the register. When she gave me change for the five dollars, she gave me three dollars and some coins.

I said, “I gave you a dollar before.”

She said, “Oh no, you didn’t give it to me.”

She had been holding it while I was getting out my five-dollar bill. In this world there are good people and bad people. She was very, very bad!

Perhaps she thought I was tired⁴⁸

After buying the candy I started walking again. Near my four-mile mark I saw Atala the great in her car. She was smiling and smiling and inviting me to enter into her car.

I said, “No, no!”

Perhaps she thought I was tired.

Prasad⁴⁹

After I saw Atala, I kept on walking. At my mile-and-a-half mark I saw Ranjana, Amita and Savita at the St. John’s University track. I still had some candies with me, so I gave them the candies. Unfortunately, I had eaten a lot of the candies while I was walking.

The nice man⁵⁰

When I came to Parsons Boulevard, at my 1,000-metre mark, I was really tired! All of a sudden I heard a very frightening noise in the street. I was on the sidewalk, so I didn’t have to worry, but I looked back.

There I saw that a red car had stopped very abruptly. A middle-aged man opened the door and started calling to me, “Sri Chinmoy, you are so tired! Please come into my car. I will give you a lift. I will be so honoured.”

How abruptly he stopped the car! He was ready to have an accident just so he could offer me a ride. I don’t think I have ever seen him anywhere before.

So God wanted me to have this experience. After seeing that bad lady in the candy store, I met this nice man.