Sudhahota's conversation with Sri Chinmoy1

SRI CHINMOY: Dearest Sudhahota, please tell us something about yourself. How do you feel after this great, greater, greatest Olympic experience? You have maintained your same heart of gold, your diamond-heart. Now what about your mind? The world is torturing your mind with a volley of questions. Sometimes the questions seem to be utterly meaningless and useless. I am sure you have transcended these silly questions.

SUDHAHOTA: Carol and I have really enjoyed travelling and meeting new people — doing many different things and having new experiences. I guess the spirit of the Olympics still moves in us so we have the aspiration to keep going. We’re happy right now. This year was the biggest year for me, and I got the most joy this year from travelling. I competed better than I ever have before. I was unaffected by whatever was said about me. I just competed and had a good time. I want to keep competing a few more years, possibly even through the 1988 Olympics.

SRI CHINMOY: Why possibly? Why not one more Olympic career? Now you are absolutely unparalleled. What is wrong with being absolutely unparalleled twice?

SUDHAHOTA: First I thought I was tired.

SRI CHINMOY: You are tired of name and fame or you are tired of running? If you are tired of name and fame, you can share our philosophy. But if your muscles are tired, you can easily be cured. Now the Russian sports coaches have something that is supposed to energise the muscles. I am using it every day. It has to be massaged into your muscles. I tell my students about receptivity, but I am the most unreceptive person on earth. I put it on for half an hour, but my muscles don’t get energised. They remain the same! But maybe it will help you.

SUDHAHOTA: I’ll probably compete another two years, take off a year and then come back in 1988 — or maybe I’ll compete right through. But I plan on staying around until 1988. My coach says this is the first year he can really relax, because the Olympics are over. But he’s drilling me to get ready for a new season. He still thinks I can improve. We’re looking forward to getting better and better. Last year in the long jump, in a few meets I got too anxious. So if I can settle down and listen to my coach at track meets, and get a bit stronger, I think I can get the record.

SRI CHINMOY: We are eagerly waiting for that red-letter day when you set a new record. How long is Bob Beamon’s record going to last? Why are you not breaking his record?

We enjoyed your three songs immensely. They were so soulful, so beautiful and powerful. All the things that are needed to make a song perfect you had in those three songs.

NARADA: Guru, you asked us to sing “Going for the Gold” last night, but it didn’t work out for us to do it.

SRI CHINMOY: I heard in the morning that you were going to sing that song, so I said, “Let me write a song in response to it. You will sing ‘Going for the Gold’ and we will sing my song, ‘I Have Won Four Gold Medals’, in honour of your Olympic victories.


CL 75. Sudhahota had the following conversation with Sri Chinmoy and his students on the morning of 10 December 1984 at Progress-Promise.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Carl Lewis: the champion inner runner, part 2, Agni Press, 1991
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/cl_2