by Sri Chinmoy

Welcome to the home of Aspiration-Body, Illumination-Soul Part 2 by Sri Chinmoy
First published by Agni Press in 1993.
Reprinted with the permission of Sri Chinmoy.

Table of Contents

• Part I
• Franco Columbu: How important are yoga stretching exercises to the mind?
• Franco Columbu: Are there yoga stretching exercises which benefit nerve conduction or nerve supply to the muscles?
• Franco Columbu: What will be the percentage of change or help to the mind when one does bodybuilding?
• Franco Columbu: What will be the change in the mind when someone is training professionally in comparison to someone who is not training
• Part II
• Mary Roberts: I have been bodybuilding for approximately seven years. I find that now I am very interested in helping other women learn to compete.
• Part III
• Question: Why do you do weightlifting?
• Question: This must be very difficult physically. Is it painful?
• Question: Do you work out every day?
• Question: Why did you choose this way to show people your philosophy? I mean, is it something people can understand better?
• Part IV
• Joel Martin: Let me introduce to you now a man whom I’ve grown extremely fond of over the years and whom I love a great deal. His achievements and
• Joel Martin: We have to expound. I have learned what the term ’Inner Pilot’ means. But for the people that don’t know, it’s so important.
• Joel Martin: So it’s that inner voice, inner sense, or inner guidance that we sometimes ignore, unfortunately. You are wearing, I think, the emblem
• Joel Martin: You do that regularly?
• Joel Martin: You wear the most beautiful robes. Different colours have different meanings, yes? The last time we were together here you were wearing
• Joel Martin: People who watch me know that I’ve done many programmes about the occult and about psychic phenomena over the years. You don’t have
• Joel Martin: Since you mentioned lifting, I understand you recently lifted an eight-year-old elephant. What we can do now is see the videotape of
• Joel Martin: But this weighed more than a ballpoint pen. I mean, this was heavy also. Wow! Did it hurt? I’ve got so many questions. What do you
• Joel Martin: You’re not pushing for people to all lift elephants, are you?
• Joel Martin: Guru, what if somebody were to say to you: “All right, it’s remarkable. You have lifted an elephant, you have lifted a seaplane, a
• Joel Martin: It’s not that long ago that you began weightlifting, and you are 55 now. Before that you had been running for a long time?
• Joel Martin: With one arm?
• Joel Martin: So that’s better than three times your body weight.
• Joel Martin: But somebody can also say that if I lift weights and get stronger physically, then why do I have to be concerned with peace? I can use
• Joel Martin: We have a short intermission here, and then we will have some photographs and visuals of what Sri Chinmoy has done in terms of
• Joel Martin: You’ve turned it into a gymnasium! How many hours a day do you spend on weightlifting?
• Joel Martin: Okay. I want you to see the next one. This is the calf-lift, is it? And you are lifting some of your students.
• Joel Martin: Those numbers - 1,384 pounds - represent a lot of weight. That doesn’t affect the old leg injury?
• Joel Martin: Fortunately is right. I think also we’re going to see the sailboat. This weighed how much?
• Joel Martin: Unbelievable! And when you document these lifts, obviously the reason is to show people that it really happened.
• Joel Martin: This was the seaplane that you lifted at East Moriches last Sunday. You see the numbers 3,632 there, folks? That’s the weight of the
• Joel Martin: I can’t even get myself out of bed in the morning. Are you saying that the average person - people like me and people who are
• Joel Martin: I pray and I meditate.
• Joel Martin: I had a back injury last time.
• Joel Martin: That’s true. I’m going to come back to that. I think we have one more visual. This is where you bettered the one-arm press of 450
• Joel Martin: You said something before about faith in our own prayers. Let’s come back to that point because it’s so important.
• Joel Martin: Guru, excuse me, but why <i>should</i> God listen to our prayers? Doesn’t He have better things to do than listen to me?
• Joel Martin: We are going through a terrible problem everywhere in this country, with young people using increasing amounts of drugs. What has gone
• Joel Martin: Well said. I’ve got to ask you, before we conclude, Guru, where does this go? Do you have an ultimate goal with all of this?
• Joel Martin: Most of us, I guess, at one time or another are so much more concerned with the things that are around us than with the things that are
• Joel Martin: You’ve done thousands of paintings, poems and musical compositions. Are you still doing these things?
• Joel Martin: And you’re not here to say you’re better, but to encourage us to do the best <i>we</i> can.
• Joel Martin: We’re out of time. Thank you so much. It’s been terrific to see you again. I didn’t even get to ask you what the white flower
• Part V
• Ken Hall: I’ve been bodybuilding for over 40 years now. I’ve watched many changes come to this sport. One of the most significant changes in
• Part VI
• Terri Locicero: When I’m competing on stage and it is not going well - for instance, if the audience is not applauding or there is a
• Terri Locicero: When I win a contest, I’m on top of the world; I’m so happy! When I lose, I worry too much about why that happened. How can I
• Part VII
• Nina Schoenbaum: They say in bodybuilding, “No pain, no gain.” To me, that sounds ridiculous. I’ve never been in pain. Bodybuilding is the
• Part VIII
• Jean Laguerre: When I feel that I’ve honestly done my best, how can I feel that the outcome of the competition has been fair and just, if I
• Part IX
• Russell Barber: Guru Sri Chinmoy is a Master of meditation. In his pursuit of God and Truth, he has used his meditation powers to accomplish amazing
• Russell Barber: Would there be one particular thought that one would hone in on?
• Russell Barber: Can anyone learn how to meditate?
• Russell Barber: How, then, does the peace that will come from our efforts at meditation translate into the kinds of things that you are now doing
• Russell Barber: It certainly has done that in your case. We have a photograph that you were kind enough to bring us today that shows you lifting
• Russell Barber: And even more astounding is the thing that you did this morning, which we have a videotape of - lifting a car that weighs 2,825
• Russell Barber: When you are exerting yourself in this very athletic way, are you praying at that moment? Are you thinking of God?
• Russell Barber: We have another videotape here that shows some of your other efforts at meditation, which we’ll look at now. It’s just amazing
• Russell Barber: I assume that one doesn’t have to engage in physical exercise to achieve a oneness spiritually with the world. I mean, a lazy
• Russell Barber: On a more practical level, with regard to athletics, how do you feel about the fact that politics have been somehow made a part of
• Russell Barber: You’ve been in the West some 22 years. You come from the Hindu tradition. You speak of peace, and whenever you come to “The First
• Part 10
• Question: Do you concentrate more than once on each metal plate before you lift?
• As the weight gets heavier, the bar tends to bend, so it seems to really take more effort to lift it.
• How is it possible for you to make the jump from 1,500 to 2,000 now, whereas before you could only go from 70 to 90 and then 100 pounds?
• Guru, while you are lifting a very heavy weight, do you feel that you become one with the weight, or is it like an opponent that you are challenging?
• When you keep making these enormous jumps in weight, what actually is progressing? Is it your receptivity to light, is it your human capacity, or is
• Guru, for you, using spiritual power is almost as easy as drinking water. But when you lift heavy weights it seems that you really have to struggle
• Why do you do your serious weightlifting in the early morning?

Part I ›