Question: You were an athlete in your youth. Could you explain the relationship between athletics and the spiritual life?

Sri Chinmoy: We want to be integral; we want to be perfect in our body, vital, mind, heart and soul. If only one part of our being is perfect and the rest remains imperfect, then we will not be able to fulfil the Supreme the way the Supreme wants to be fulfilled here on earth.

Suppose early in the morning I want to meditate. It is time for me to meditate and I want to get up, but my body is weak. I have a stomach upset, a headache, a backache or some other pain, so how will I meditate? The best thing is to meditate for half an hour and then practise sports. The body is quite important. We can’t deny it; we can’t discard it. It is like a house or a temple. Inside the temple is the shrine. If there is no temple, then the soul will have no place to live.

As the soul aspires, the heart, mind, vital and body can also aspire. When the body aspires and reaches a certain height, when it achieves peace and light from above, immediately Mother Earth grabs or captures that light on the physical plane. When we practise athletics or sports, immediately our achievement becomes the possession, the treasure of Mother Earth. Here in the material world we claim the success of our own children. We are so happy, so proud of their achievements. Similarly, when the physical in us does something good, divine, immediately Mother Earth gets tremendous joy and pleasure in her children’s achievement.