Question: Tell me about your weightlifting.

Sri Chinmoy: I believe that we have to be integral. The spirit and the body must go together. If I have peace of mind in my inner life, then I shall not quarrel with you and fight with you. Nations, like individuals, are insecure. If one nation has peace within, then that particular nation is not going to challenge other nations. It is because we do not have an iota of peace that we quarrel with others, we speak ill of others, we find fault with others. Peace of mind gives us joy in boundless measure.

When I lift up these weights, I try to unite both the inner world and the outer world with my inner peace. I am a student of peace. Every day, since my childhood, I have been praying and meditating. From the life of prayer, I get peace and this peace gives me strength. My weightlifting is the manifestation of my inner strength. This is my soulful service that I have been offering to humanity.

Question: You are saying that weightlifting is the manifestation of an inner strength?

Sri Chinmoy: Yes. Because of my prayer-life and meditation-life, God, out of His infinite Bounty, has given me inner strength. So this inner strength I am trying to manifest through matter.