Question: Do you feel that your weightlifting will be an inspiration for others?
Sri Chinmoy: I do feel there are countless people on earth who do not believe in the inner power, the inner life. They feel that the outer strength and the outer life are everything. I do not agree with them. There is an inner life; there is spirit, and my ability to lift these heavy weights proves that it can work in matter as well.We have to bring to the fore our inner capacities and inner power with our prayer and meditation. Standing against us is ignorance. But if our outer determination and our inner aspiration can go together, that means that two friends of ours are fighting against one enemy in our life’s tug-of-war, so we are bound to win. There are professional bodybuilders and weightlifters who have also come to the conclusion that there is something called the spirit, inner power, and it helps them considerably in their bodybuilding and weightlifting. These things are like friends. If I have an extra friend, I will take help from that friend.
Sri Chinmoy, Aspiration-body, illumination-soul, part 1, Agni Press, 1993