Have you arrived at God’s castle?
“I am very close.”
*Translation by Lyalya*
Yuri has to be one of the most mystical and cheerful athletes I have ever met. The last time we talked he declared that his destination was not a physical one, but something inner instead. He called it God’s castle.
It was almost as though the race course and the mileage he accumulated each day was simply the avenue he was traveling upon in order to arrive there.
“It takes all of me. My soul is striding towards it. My heart is preparing its shrine for this meeting. My mind is silence itself. My vital is surrender itself. My body is just experiencing huge happiness in anticipation of reaching the finish line.”
“I am striving towards this meeting with all my strength. I am doing all that I can. Every minute and every second and it will happen.”
“It is like a current and you are caught in its flow and you feel as though you are being pulled along.”
I ask Yuri if this experience requires any of his own personal effort.
“It is both. God is calling me and stretching his arms out towards me. In turn I am stretching my hands out towards him and striving to reach him. So it is both ways.”
With just 370 more miles to go and if he continues to run 68 mile days Yuri can be finished the race in 5 and a half days. I am curious if he will be happy or sad when it is all over.
“The happiness just doesn’t vanish by itself. It always stays in your heart. It is like a bank in which you can invest. Make withdrawals when you most need to.”
Yuri says that when the daily prayers are translated into Russian for him every day they are like intimate and loving companions that he runs with for the rest of the entire day.
“These poems are like flowers in the garden. You plant a flower and the garden becomes more and more beautiful. There is one prayer that still comes to me most frequently.”
God loves
my streaming
tears.
I love
God’s beaming
Smiles.
Sri Chinmoy, My blessingful and pride-flooded dedication to the indomitable runners of the 3100-mile Self-Transcendence Race, 2007, Agni Press, 2007
*Click Below to read rest of Report*
The board
Vajra leaving
Not hot today but very humid, 73%. Showers will come late in the afternoon
The van arrives
Yuri chains his bike
Rupantar shoots his video
Ashprihanal stretches
The girls
Baladev comes
The boys
Start Day 42
The dawn sky
Yuri ran 68 miles yesterday. The most of any runner
He is averaging 66.59 miles per day. Yuri could finish by Thursday. Lyalya translating the daily poem
Coming into camp
Ashprihanal ran 65 miles
He now has 2707 miles. 23 miles behind Yuri
He is averaging 66.03 miles per day
He is here cheering on the runners of the 2 mile race across the street
Service road
Janos recovering from the 2 mile race
Abakash and Databir recovering
Far side
Atmavir ran 62 miles
He now has 2649 miles. 59 miles ahead of last year
On the fence
Vasu ran 66 miles
He now has 2612 miles. His average is 637 miles per day
In the clover
“We all have to stand on our own 2 feet. But we can also use 4 feet as well.”
Keeping sharp
Kaneenika ran 54 miles
She now has 2512 miles
Her daily average is 61.2 miles per day. She needs to average 53.45 a day for the rest of the race
Kodanda playing his flute
10 more mornings left
Surasa did 51 miles
She now has 2438 miles
She is doing her best and giving her all
Baladev did 52 miles. He now has 2276 miles
Almost missed
Sopan did 43 miles. He now has 2219 miles
A good dog
Stutisheel did 35 miles
He now has 2172 miles
“Please don’t let the race end.”
For no particular reason
Into camp
Ananda-Lahari ran 52 miles. His most in 19 days
Sri Chinmoy wrote a song for him on this same day in 2006 when he finished the race
The Enthusiasm Awakeners sing it for him this morning
I am so Fortunate
Uddipan updating the board
Showers late this afternoon
Yuri early this evening on the webcam
“I have been here many many times.” Manogati has been a very familiar face at the 3100 for quite a few years.
“In 2013 I thought, why don’t I come and help at the race every day. So I came that year to be part of the cooking crew.”
“I realized then that this race is very very important for the whole world. Here we see runners who are doing something important for each and every human being. It may seem as though they are only running.”
“But it is something more and more significant than that. They are doing something that takes place deep in the heart of our world. They do something in the world of prayer and in the world of aspiration and dedication, and the world of sacrifice.”
“I really feel that even if you are not physically present here that even if you are some place else you will feel the new inspiration that comes from here.”
“I feel that the runners are like some new kind of saints for this world.”
“I feel that everyone can get something from this race. Not only new inspiration but also confidence and determination to then go out and do their own good things for the rest of the world.”
Click to Play:
Manogati reads the Daily Poem
Click to Play:
Enthusiasm Awakeners
Click to Play:
The Goal can disappear
From the mind’s sight
But not
From the heart’s vision.
Sri Chinmoy, Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees, Part 27, Agni Press, 2002
Yuri’s interview was truly beautiful and inspiring. Also the photo of the runners lined up at the Start today made me feel they looked like 9 Divine Soldiers about to commence. Hard to believe only 10 days to go. But for them perhaps the journey of a lifetime that continues to bear fruit all year round. Thank you runners for doing this and in turn helping the whole world make progress. Truly the most significant inner and outer race. A Blessing to witness. Gratitude.
What a journey! even as the break until the 2017 edition approaches.
Thanks Utpal for sharing Yuri’s enlightening and inspiring account.
Ambarish
Yuri has found and become the flower that many of us are still searching for in our own spiritual playgrounds. If I remember correctly he moved to another place in Russia where he can have heat training. The result is remarkable. He surely embodies the beauty of simplicity. His smile reveals an inner assurance that reaches far beyond this so difficult race.
Manogati said it so well! The runners are spiritual trail-blazers in many ways that we can hardly fathom — the fruits of their dedication and surrender will unfold as time goes on. All gratitude to them for believing in Guru’s vision!