Six Herculean tasks

Sri Chinmoy started his lifting programme at 2:30 p.m. with a series of spectacular and imaginative outdoor lifts. The lifts all utilised a standing calf raise machine which has been modified by attaching a ground platform instead of the conventional weight stack. This platform is reinforced with steel rods so that it may support extremely heavy objects.

The lifting action — which is actually a combination calf raise and squat — involves elevating the heels and bringing the torso into an upright position. A lift meter indicates the height of each lift.

The lifts all took place at Aspiration-Ground, a meditation park in New York, in the presence of many distinguished guests and several hundred of Sri Chinmoy’s students.