Editor's preface

During Sri Chinmoy’s Christmas/New Year trip to Malaysia from 23 November 2005 to 25 February 2006, he visited six locations. They were Kuala Lumpur, Pangkor Island, Kuantan, Kijal, Penang and Langkawi Island.

As in previous Christmas trips, Sri Chinmoy often practised his heavy weightlifting in his hotel room in the small hours of the morning. In addition to his regular exercises, he concentrated on the seated double-dumbbell lift, using varying weights ranging from 400 pounds to 1,004 pounds.

At these sessions, which were recorded on video, Sri Chinmoy continued his pattern established in previous years, offering an early morning prayer and performing one of his compositions on his blue violin — a segment which he calls “Sri Chinmoy the Eternal Beginner.” He would frequently sing these songs after playing them. Towards the end of the trip, Sri Chinmoy also played songs on the alto flute, viola, horn ocarina and unisphere.

Each day Sri Chinmoy showed the video of his early morning workouts to his students. On 6 December 2005, Sri Chinmoy formed a new group of girls under 25 years of age to recite his early morning prayers.

On 31 January 2006 — the day after lifting 270 pounds in the wrist curl — Sri Chinmoy introduced push-ups into his morning sessions. This was the first time he had done push-ups on a Christmas trip since 7 January 1986 in Kyoto, Japan, where he performed 2,230 push-ups continuously in 59 minutes and 50 seconds.

This year, Sri Chinmoy’s push-ups were mostly done in four sets, beginning with rapid, slight dips and progressing to full, deep dips.