July 1: Love The Unknown

There are times in all our lives when we genuinely feel inspired to attempt something really difficult.  To courageously step out from our safe well padded fortress of comfort and stability and venture into the unknown.

Young people of course do this on an almost daily basis because the nature of youth is to explore all the dimensions of their world and expand upon what they see, what they know, and what they do within it.

As we age it quite often becomes the norm to loose courage and loose hope that there is anything more that we can still achieve. That just maybe the life and world as we know  is already good enough.

Sri Chinmoy constantly worked upon and expanded the dimensions of his many worlds of achievement.  It did not matter whether it was sport, art, literature, or any other field of endeavor that he cared to take up.

His tireless  efforts to transcend himself was a luminous beacon of hope and inspiration for all those who felt defeated or bound by the world of limitation.   For any whose perception of reality had become stuck fast in  a prison without light and without the beckoning dreams arising from our limitless inner wealth.

Not just by speech but by practical repeated example he proved that nothing was impossible, that we should never give up, and that self transcendence was not just a good philosophy but we should also live by it, and feel that it was part of our very existence just like he did.

For those curious about any aspect of this philosophy and what it really means than even a brief visit to the race and you will become aware of what it is in action.  There is an unrestricted open invitation for anyone anytime anywhere to become part of it.  If not in a physical way than even through your heart’s oneness.   You can offer good will or even just good intentions but more importantly you must not leave without taking from it as well.

Take from it as much inspiration and illumination as you can.   So that when the next time a heart dream beckons for you to come.  You do not hesitate even for a moment and allow it to disappear without even trying.

My Lord Supreme,
When I pray to You,
I see the sky lifting me up
High, higher, highest.

.
When I meditate on You,
I see the same sky descending
Slowly, steadily and unerringly
And touching my earth-existence
Most compassionately.

.
My Lord Supreme, You are telling me
Not to be afraid of the Unknown,
But to love the Unknown
And become one with the Unknown,
For this unknown Reality
Will not remain forever unknown,
And my life’s perfection
And my heart’s satisfaction
Will grow in it.

.
My Lord, make me ready
And make me worthy
Of Your blessingful Promise to me.

.

Sri Chinmoy, My Sweet Father-Lord, Where Are You?, Agni Press, 1999.

 

For most people it is just another Sunday morning but for 12 runners it is better known as day 15.

 

The start of the day is not always poetry and not always pretty depending on how and where you look.

Pranjal would like to make 1000 miles today just as Pushkar and Sarvagta might.

Baladev is enjoying the new poem project.

At the dawn of each day,let us make our hopes and promises as sincere and powerful as possible.

Start Day 15

“I am grateful if I can participate, and give a little bit back,  because I know they like it, and to give a little gratitude back.”  This morning Pushkar found himself briefly doing something that he may not be too comfortable with and yet when he and Grahak performed a very small joke in front of the Enthusiasm Awakeners it gave the girls a tremendous amount of joy.  He put a napkin over his head and had but one line to say but when you have been running for 2 weeks straight this small task is much harder than you might think.

He describes that there are many times when he simply feels blank.  I ask him if this is the best strategy overall in order to complete the race.”  He says no.  “I believe the key is to keep your concentration in your heart, and not in the blankness of the mind.  There is a difference.  You can be blank in the mind or wherever you are but for me I want to stay focused in the consciousness of the absolute Supreme and sit in my heart.”

“For that I need a certain amount of concentration in my mind.” He describes this as though the right kind of  concentration and focus can then be the key that opens up the heart.  “First there is concentration and then there is mediation.  I have to become pointed like a needle.  Than can happen whatever happens.”

I tell him that in many photographs I have taken of him he quite often looks serene and peaceful.  With all the miles he has run, and soon he will make 1000, and the conditions so harsh how could this even be possible?  “Of course for me it is not all the way easy.  It is simple but not easy.  I am also struggling.”  He describes yesterday having a hard time just dealing with restless thoughts.

He then remembers how often Sri Chinmoy used to stress the importance of simply smiling.  “If you cannot offer a sincere smile than at least offer a fake smile.  It doesn’t matter.  I have personally had the experience in my day to day life if I am in a bad mood and give myself a fake smile.  It will change my consciousness.”

“I realize, that not just a smile, but your whole posture.  How you stand and how you run is connected with your inner being.  So you can try and change your inner problems lets say when you change something on the outer level on the surface.  Because it is all connected.  If you want something your best comes forward.  You go higher and you feel great.  So if you don’t have this mood right now, than as a minimum you can try it in the other way around.”

So I try as often as possible to smile so that I stay more easily in a good mood, in a higher consciousness.  I also just keep my head up.  So that it also supports my whole body.”

click to play interview

pushkar

Very soon a quiet Sunday morning will become a hectic and busy day

He is King of the roads most days.  Vajra dedicates his summers every year to the race and serves it by doing anything and everything.

There are many smiles and many ways in which to smile

Grahak completed his first 1000 miles late last night and he was the first to do so.  Later toady and into tomorrow others will join him but for now he has a lot to be proud of.  This morning he is wearing an AURA shirt which represents the Australian Ultra Runners Association. “I really like the singlet.  I have been getting a lot of messages from them and they have been giving me a lot of support back home.  I made 1000 miles so I thought I would wear it this morning.”

He is quite humble about it all and with a certain amount of prying he adds, “I believe I set an age category record for 1000 miles.  I wasn’t aiming for it but I was certainly happy to get to a 1000 miles.  But I still have to think of the bigger picture.  I was really tired last night.”  He had a big photo when it happened around 10:45.  “I did a couple of more laps to get to 70 miles.”

He hadn’t put much emphasis on it all but someone in the morning happened to mention to him that he might make the record.  “I had to do 125 laps which is what I have been doing so I didn’t focus on it at all.”

“I was happy but I had a tough day yesterday and today as well trying to stay happy.  Hopefully I will come out of this. (laughs)

Many might think that a guy from Perth Australia might be used to the hot weather of a typical New York summer.  “It is really tough, it is super humid.  The wind feels like it is coming out of a convection oven.  So it is pretty different.  Hopefully some cooler days are ahead. ”

Click to play interview

Grahak

Visitors come with cameras and they come to just be cute, but they come

Nishta recites the poem of the day:poem
Enthusiasm AwakenersClick to playparvati

You are looking for the unknown.
Someday you are bound to meet with it.
Will you be happy then?
No, you will not!
You will be happy
Only when you meet with the Unknowable,
For that Unknowable Reality
Is your Beloved Supreme.

Sri Chinmoy, Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, Part 90, Agni Press, 1983.