They are all saints of the road. Can you not believe it? I will tell you a secret, even sometimes they do not believe it to be true.
How is it possible to have 12 saints in one place, doing this one same thing, when the rest of the world sometimes seems empty of saints?
I cannot prove it to be true. For how do you even begin to prove the existence of God little alone prove God is working powerfully through these 12 selfless souls. To prove that the divine is actually present here you have to look beyond what your physical eyes see. You have to touch the luminous truth that is within each of us to begin to see it and then to believe it.
Yes, God is everywhere and in everything, but from time to time he can be experienced in miraculous ways. Just to remind us that we too can find God, not on some distant shore, but even right now within our own hearts.
Some might say I know this runner very well, I have met that runner too. He or she is a rogue. This person is no saint. You are all imagination. You are telling us a tale that is not and cannot be true.
For those who personally know these runners I say, you were not wrong at that time you knew them. Their faults and problems were shockingly clear and obscured no doubt any hint of the God miracle deep inside them.
But see each of them now I ask. See what all these days and all these miles have done to them. Do not be distracted by the pain you see etched in hard lines across their faces. Do not judge them by bodies racked by fatigue, feet blistered with wear. They are constantly moving. There might be moments when their physical looks as though they are barely alive. No matter, the God within is being revealed just the same.
The divine in each one is now more powerful and more present than the human. For the body cannot do what they are doing. The runner cannot reach where they are going. Released from the chains of our world which says so strongly to us that we cannot do this and we cannot do that. They are proving now each day that they can conquer impossibility, and yes we can too. Should we be brave, and should we dare never ever to give up in seeking out our own goals.
Yes, but will they remain saints after all is said and done? Now that is a good question, and I do not know. But I will ask you this. Do you too want to be a Saint?
The last thing
A true saint wants to hear
Is that he is absolutely perfect.
Sri Chinmoy, Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, Part 36, Agni Press, 1982
In the precious early moments the little things have to be done. Pranjal cuts a pad for a blister
The girls get ready.
A bag of ice waits on Atmavir’s table
Pedro has some ideas about a big bag of ice.
Ashprihanal has a remedy for the heat.
Sarah sorts out her shoes.
The day will be brutally hot and so the water flow will simply rarely stop all day.
Start
“Yesterday was a very special day for me, because I felt so much joy and happiness. I saw the fireworks inside my soul just as everybody saw them up in the sky.” A couple of days earlier was the 4th of July. Always a big day in New York but also right across the length and breadth of the country. For much of the night fireworks were going off all across the city creating a light show almost no matter where you looked. For Yuri it was a new experience. One that fit into a long long day of running as well. He adds, “this was happening inside me not just in the evening but all day as well.”
“Yesterday was a very hard day because it was very hot. But when I concentrated on America’s soul, I felt a very big support.”
He admits that the weather back in his home as very different from what he is experiencing here. “Outwardly I need to do many things to balance my physical. More drinking and also to run more conservatively.”
Despite how difficult the conditions at the race are he still manages to accumulate good mileage results each day. I suggest that he sometimes moves so powerfully and steadily that he looks like a tank. “We have to look inside the heart, inside the soul. We have to look there for what we do here and how we do it.”
As we are running together Vera provides the translation. By coincidence both Vasu and Sarvagata are close by. “I feel support from all of Oneness Dream Boat Shore runners who are taking part in this race. I feel that all of them here at this race has their own unique office. You have only to knock at their heart door and you will immediately feel their love and support. One of my favorite prayers on this course is Oneness Dream Boat Shore.”
Vasu is something like 90 miles beyond his pace from last year. He continues to run steady big lap days.
Not just today but for many days to come the weather will be hot.
Surasa is also remarkably consistent no matter the weather
Surasa had her best day in the past 2 weeks. She ran 114 laps yesterday.
Nidhruvi also had her best day in the past 2 weeks.
She did 114 laps yesterday and describes it without too much celebration as, “pretty good.”
She had 3 very tough days which I suggest must have been a rough patch for her. She responds dryly, “Like everyone else.”
“I guess everybody has to go through these times to grow and become stronger, and more secure. No self doubt, never give up.”
Sarah had a better day yesterday and finished 93 laps
Sopan had a small problem this morning when the coffee did not arrive on schedule to help wake him up.
He still managed a very good 111 laps yesterday despite his blisters.
Ashprihanal still has the lead and ran a very good 131 laps yesterday. Also his best in 2 weeks.
Atmavir tries to run in the cooler parts of the day now. Early in the morning and then late into the evening.
Baladev did 97 laps.
The leaves used for the runners blisters.
Pranjal did 114 laps yesterday
Ananda-Lahari simply had his best day of the race yesterday. 118 laps
It is Saturday so lots of people show up today for the 2 mile race across the street.
Sarvagata also had his best day of the race. He ran 136 laps which is 74 miles. 5 more laps than Ashprihanal who is now 50 miles ahead of him.
Who knows what he will accomplish at this incredible pace.
Some reflections
Prayer of the day
Recited by Nidhruvi
Enthusiasm Awakeners Song of the Day
To be a saint
Is to raise the consciousness
Of the entire humanity.
Sri Chinmoy, Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees, Part 34, Agni Press, 2003
They are the saints:)
You have the words to say what many feel but can not express,
follow your blog is a great inspiration to my everyday life.
San Francesco
What a powerful message, Utpal! We humans tend to expect much from others, and consequently suffer from disappointment, only to discover that there are quite a few things inside ourselves that have to be fixed. I am definitely one of those mentioned, but I had a dream indeed, in which I was shown the future – a saint.