“I don’t want to have a blister and this morning I felt something. So I wanted to prevent it, as much as possible.” Sometimes precious moments take place here at the race that continually prove again and again just how divine humanity can be. How much more can be achieved through oneness instead of competition.
Earlier Sarvagata had mentioned to Atmavir that he was concerned about his foot. None of the runners has much time to spare, particularly in those hectic minutes before the start. Yet just the same Atmavir came over and gave him a special jar of cream and showed him how to use it. Now as he applies it to his foot he tells me, that Atmavir was, “very kind and brought me the cream.”
“We do that here. If you have something more than you need, or if there is something that you need. Than it is no problem to share.” There may be athletic events in which great records are set and champions are celebrated for their exceptional victory. Here however, at the Self Transcendence race it is a much different world than any other sporting event.
For here the wondrous events that take place are quite often not even visible. They happen so spontaneously and are so heartfelt that unless you are right there you probably wouldn’t even notice. The runners themselves certainly don’t often talk about the little jewels of kindness. The gentle triumph of joy over suffering. How hearts united with sincere oneness can together create a collective strength that can accomplish what is unquestionably impossible.
Question: Is giving as important as achieving?
When we follow the spiritual life, we come to realise that we never give anything to a third party; the giver and the receiver are the same person. God is in everybody. This moment God is playing the role of the giver inside me, and the next moment He is playing the role of the receiver inside you. Then it is reversed. It is like taking from the left hand and giving to the right hand. Again, God the giver cannot be happy unless God the receiver takes what is offered. When the father gives something to the child, if the child does not take it, the father will feel sad. But when the child takes and is happy, the father is also happy. So it is reciprocal happiness, in which the giver and the taker are of equal importance.
If you are playing a masterpiece and the audience is not receptive, then you are very sad. Only if the audience is very, very attentive and receiving joy from your playing will you also get tremendous joy. So the joy has to be mutual. Everything in life we have to share. What you have, you have to share with me. What I have, I have to share with you. Otherwise, there is no happiness.
Sri Chinmoy, Sri Chinmoy Answers, Part 10, Agni Press, 1999
The counting tables are ready
Surasa gets her morning drinks ready.
Yuri arrives on his bike and judging by the board everyone has the magic number of 540 miles or more.
Sarah had a pretty incredible day yesterday. Despite arriving a little late in the morning she still managed to run 111 laps yesterday. Now if she could only find a pair of shoes.
Start
It is going to be a really hot humid day.
It just keeps getting hotter and hotter
Sharing a joke
“I felt really really good.” Yesterday which was pretty warm so Ashprihanal run more miles than he had run on any day except his first day. A very exceptional 74 miles. “It was nothing really special.” There is a pause and then he adds, “I am still feeling good.” As he says this he is lightly almost running in a skipping like movement.
He says he used to have daily mileage goals but this race he hasn’t had any so far. “I have just been waiting for my body to get stronger and making sure I don’t get any problems. It is a long race.”
“I wasn’t in good shape when I came into the race. I wasn’t bad either, any way now every thing is good.”
He says that the toughest time of the day is between 12 and 5 pm. “That is because of the sun. Sometimes the morning can be good and sometimes the morning can be bad. It changes from day to day. But in general the daytime is toughest because it is hottest.”
We are now just about to enter the camp and I ask what drink or snack he will grab when he gets there. “I don’t know. We will have to wait and see. I never have a plan, unless it is sunblock or a hat.”
He picks up a piece of banana and a cup of water and then simply continues. The counter calls out 14 laps before he disappears.
Ananda Lahari will soon be wearing this hat.
Atmavir is still the race leader and had a very good day yesterday despite the heat. He ran 126 laps, 69 miles.
Vasu ran 112 laps
Yet he still looks strong
Nidhruvi ran 110 laps yesterday.
Surasa also ran 110 laps yesterday and has lots to smile about.
These two can often be found together
It was Sarah who ran the most miles of the girls yesterday.
Who stops briefly to refuel before blasting off for the day.
Taking the turn
Some corners just look a little bigger.
Adhiratha tries and comes and run on the course most days, “for the inspiration,” he says. “It is amazing to see what they do, with the heat yesterday and they still put on the miles.” I ask him how this is possible. “That is the question. You see the ones who have been here the longest sometimes smiling the most.”
Sarvagata goes by his and Adhiratha notices how much he is really smiling. “That is the amazing thing is that they keep smiling and doing it. When they have a tough day they don’t talk about it too much. They just keep going.”
Adhiratha has over the past year gone through a very real health concern. Afterwards he seemed to be out exercising almost from the moment he could stand on his feet. “There doesn’t seem to be an alternative. If you don’t the mind takes over. Even when I was really sick and had some real problems. If I could work on my upper body in bed, I would.”
He adds, “the right thing seems to come along at the right time.” He describes that in severe conditions perhaps nothing can be done to heal yourself other than rest. But quite often, “there is something you can do to make it better. It increases circulation and inspiration wise, you feel like you are doing something, and that makes your inner spirit feel.”
“And to see other people doing it. So much more than you could do or could have done or whatever. Is something that is just incalculable. It just happens that it works. You come out and see the runners. You feel that you are giving something to them and they are giving something to you and it works. The proof is in the pudding.”
“If you do a couple of days of not doing anything and then you do a couple of days of just doing a little bit, and you see the difference. Then you start doing more.”
Baladev having some problems but staying cheerful.
Niriha counting
Another special visitor
More feet
Sopan got back his 113 lap days yesterday.
People passing through the special world.
Yuri very much a part of this world.
A poem of Sri Chinmoy’s translated into Russian.
Singing and counting
Sarvagata describes his day yesterday as hot and hard. He jokes as he describes how the injury he had last year has yet to be fully resolved. All the while though he is being cheerful. “The heat affects the feet, and some of my muscles are over working. So they protest and I have to stop and deal with that.”
He has just read the daily prayer and he is deeply touched by it. “It is all affection.”
He describes that yesterday how he really learned something for the first time. “I realized yesterday that I now believe that by smiling that you can get rid of the hard consequences of an injury. Yesterday I tried to stay happy and it helped a lot. I ended up my day happy and without shin splints. Which is very nice.”
Enthusiasm Awakeners
Even before we think
Of begging goodness
To share anything,
Goodness comes to share its breath
With us.
Sri Chinmoy, Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees, Part 4, Agni Press, 1998
Good job Utpal!
Thank you for share inspiration!
Thank you, thank you Utpal. Every day is such an inspiration. One thing that I appreciate is the courage of each runner. Not simply endurance or suffering, but 12 brave hearts to face each new day. The other thing that amazes me is the consistency of all 12. When a “bad” day is 55 miles, this is quite different than 6/10 days, isn’t it? What a group of 12… courage and consistency!