Author: utpal

Be good and remain
good; if you want
to be a supremely
chosen child of God.

When I go to meet Vasu out on the course he is reciting the daily prayer with Stutisheel.  Saying the daily prayer is something that he has done throughout this race, and as far as I know it is something so important to him that he has done this same thing every day in all the 5 years he has run here.

*Click Below to Hear Sound of Finish*

finish

Finish Songs:

finish songs

When he repeats the prayer it is not just done once, or twice.  He will say it many many times and for many of the prayers he has memorized them.  Letting the sacred words enter so deeply into his heart that they can never be extracted. Using them as guidance for not just each day but his entire life

It is day 49.  Yesterday Vasu ran 66 miles, this morning he has just 18 miles to go.  He will finish a little after 10 this morning.  I joke with Vasu.  Since you have the whole day in front of you.  Have you made any plans

“No.”

“I have no plan.  God has a plan.”

Vasu says he will be happy when he finishes.  “The race has been very very nice.  Many disciples have worked on this race.  I want to say that this is team work.”  He adds that he has been singing the song Sri Chinmoy once wrote about team work.

Continue reading “August 6… God Has A Plan”

“Three years ago I had a dream, and in that dream I saw that the distance for this race would be longer in the future.”

Click to Play Sound of Atmavir’s finish:

Atmavir finish

For Atmavir this morning the finish line is just 41 miles away.  When he crosses it for the 9th time late this afternoon it will be the 9th time that he has done so.  A distance, should you be so curious to know is 27,900 miles.

He talks about how fast the race went.  Which in turn spins the perspective back onto us.   A reminder of just how challenging, fulfilling, or frivolous we all spent our past 47 days.

What accomplishments and challenges did we so gracefully and powerfully succeed in like he and all the other members of the very small 3100 mile family.

“I am sure it was not just me that noticed this.  I am sure all the runners did and also people who are watching.”

“So I am praying for a new goal.  It is really giving me great joy.  I am a dreamer and dreamers are walking above the earth.”

“I have strong faith.  This year I felt during the race that the capacity is already there.  It is just a matter of time.  A few more years, and it will come.

“For me this race was the best so far.  I feel that they are going up every year.  Not just outwardly but inwardly.  They are getting richer every single year.”

47 Days: 11 Hours: 32 Minutes: 00 Seconds

Click to Play Sahishnu’s Speech:

Sahishnu speech

To-day’s Victory

We Celebrate

Only to invoke

A new Goal

Sri Chinmoy, My blessingful and pride-flooded dedication to the indomitable runners of the 3100-mile Self-Transcendence Race, 2006, Agni Press, 2006

*Click Below to Read Rest of Report*

Continue reading “August 5… A New Goal”

It was the closes finish ever at the 3100 mile  race.  Last night at midnight both Yuri and Ashprihanal had put in an astonishing day of running.  Demonstrating unquestionably what it really means to dig deep, try harder, and for all of us mortals on the sideline, what appeared to be transcending themselves in a way that has not been witnessed on this little block in Queens ever.

*cover photo Jowan……translation Lyalya….*

It can get confusing when you try and track down the whys and wherefores of this sprint to the finish.  Keep in mind the distance between the 2 had been less than a sliver for days.  But yesterday with nothing to loose each took their performances to a level that had to be their absolute ultimate.  Yuri ran 79 miles and Ashprihanal 86 miles.

They went home at midnight with just 8 miles separating them.  A gap, that with an extra day added would have been evaporated by Ashprihanal.  But no, the race was not to be won by its record holder from last year.  Yuri just had to run 5 more miles.  He was to be the champion this year.

“Do you think this is my victory? No this is the victory of the Supreme.”

“This is the victory of our teacher.  This is the victory of heaven.  This is the victory of earth.  The victory of humanity.  This is the victory of each and every one of you.”

“It wasn’t a simple race.  You can’t understand it with the mind.  You can only feel it with the heart.”

“With me my teacher was always present.  One that loves me, and one that I love so much.”

“A samurai warrior has come to me and shared with me his strength.  All of you here are my friends.  Without your support it would not have been possible.”

“We are not just running on a concrete sidewalk.  We are not on a path that leads to wealth and fame.  This path leads us to the depths of our hearts.  The place where God lives within us.  Where it is his home.  I was there.  There is everything there in order to be happy.”

“Happiness, joy, oneness.  All of this I want to share with you.”

“I am happy, so happy.  Guru is in my heart.  The whole world is in my heart.  You are all in my heart.  It will be like this always.”

Click to Play the sound of Yuri’s finish:…46 Days, 01 hour, 10 minutes, 25 seconds

yuri

Continue reading “August 4… The Whole World Is In My Heart”

I greet Yuri this morning with, “we won’t be doing this again.”

It is his last full day of running and by early tomorrow his 3100 mile race will be over for this year.  He starts the day with just 84 more miles left to run.

*Translation by Lyalya*

In each of our previous talks he has mentioned that he feels as though he is approaching God’s home.  I joke that with the tiny distance left remaining he must now be brushing his shoes off on the carpet in front of God’s door.

“That is correct but there are no shoes.  I just feel the happiness of God.  I just feel the presence of God.  I feel his embrace  He is stretching out his arms to me and I am stretching out my arms towards  him.”

“God’s embrace I will feel tomorrow.”

I then ask Yuri a practical question about why his speed over the past 4 days has increased so dramatically.  I am curious.  Is it because of the looming presence of Ashprihanal drawing closer or something else?

He says no.

“The world has let me go.  Everything that was binding me has left.  Right now I am just a soul bird.  For a bird there are no limitations, no boundaries.  But I have a body and I do all I can and this turns out to be 70 miles a day.”

“I am not doing this for the records.  I am doing this to bring happiness to my soul.  To bring happiness to God and to be able to approach him faster.  This is why my speed has increased.”

The body is the patient.

The heart is the sufferer.

The soul is the sympathizer.

God is the ultimate Curer.

Guru Sri Chinmoy

August 2, 2007

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*

Continue reading “August 3… God’s Embrace”

“I think I felt it last week.  There was a point when I was able to do 100 laps.”

That point of course was when at last Kaneenika was able to see that she would be able to complete all 3100 miles of the race.  She is rightfully cautious as she expresses this optimism.  There is still the very real job of taking on the last 421 miles over the course of the final 8 days.

But last night she did 55 miles when she only needed to do 52.  Many, many, of Kaneenika’s friends and supporters are taking deep calm breaths now, though likely their fingers are still crossed and held behind their backs.

“When I could do over 100 laps my confidence came back.  I feel better now.”

“It is still not over.  There are still a lot of prayers to say and miles to run.”

“The first part of the race seemed easy.  It was easy sailing.  So then after that it changed a lot.  I had to go more deep within.  I had to get more strength from inside.  It wasn’t as though I wasn’t getting it earlier.”

I then ask Kaneenika what it was like when she realized last year that she would not be able to complete the distance.

“It took me a while to accept it.”

She then relates a very powerful experience she had at that time last year when she saw right in front of her what looked like a movie of her life.  Scenes that all came, starting from the very moment she had become a student of Sri Chinmoy right up to that point in the race.

It was not in her imagination she says, but was projected right out in front of her.

She says that the experience reaffirmed her belief in what she was doing.  “The movie showed me the real meaning of this race.”

“I am trying to be more tolerant… more compassionate….. more humble.  How to have more gratitude and also how to have more peace in my life.  I can’t say that I know how to do all these things by now.  I feel as though I am making progress.”

I then ask for her thoughts on Surasa.  “I think that it is just the experience that we all are having.  I think this years race is harder for everybody, in some ways.   Surasa has always been an inspiration for me.”

“I used to watch her before I started doing these races.  I also did a few races with her and I experienced her doing her world record in the 1300 mile race.  I always admired her determination and her childlike consciousness and surrender.”

Then Kaneenika describes an experience she had before she got to the half way mark.  She was running along the course across from Jamaica High school.

“All of a sudden I felt this peace descending.  It was so strong for me.  I don’t think I have experienced anything like that before.”

“So this peace is descending on me and I then I felt so much peace inside but also at the same time so much power and confidence.  That was very striking for me.”

Continue reading “August 2… Lots of Prayers to Say and Miles to Run”

I don’t usually ask runners questions about their day to day life while they are running.  My logic, if there is any, is that if they talk about their other lives it will be a distraction from the very real pursuit which they have to face here every day for 52 days.

It is not as though their thoughts don’t drift back into the mundane world from which they exist from time to time. But for the most part they all are immersed in a very real and unrelenting battle.  One which causes them to draw upon all their strengths and resources.  Particularly their inner lives.

The other day though I asked Vasu about his job.  Just what did he do when he is not pounding along the holy trail that circles Thomas Edison High school.  Which for him and most of the others for that matter so often appears to be their real heart’s home.

Vasu told me that he works 12 hour shifts at a pulp mill 800km North of St Petersburg.  For 10 days he works the day shift and then for 10 days he works the night shift.  After that he has 10 days off and so goes back to his home.

So I asked him the obvious question,did he like his job.  He answered with the sweetest smile, “If I don’t like my job I lose my time.”

This means of course that I have never heard Vasu complain about anything.  Never grumble, never moan, never be upset.  If he ever does he must do it on the far side of the course when no one is looking.

This being his 5th time at the race he could easily find something to be bothered by.  Just a year ago he was poised to finish the race in 3rd place.  On this same day he had 3001 miles.  Proverbial inches from the finish line.

Now this year he has 2740 miles.  261 miles less and about 4 days behind.  But his blister has kept most of his mornings down to a slow aching walk.  But eventually it relents, or the blessings from above come, and he starts to run.  He did 64 miles yesterday.

I ask first today, do you see the finish line.  “I hope yes.”

“This year there were times when I did not see the finish line.  But now I hope I can reach it.”

Recently he has been receiving treatment from Kausal.  “He did very good and he has also helped many runners to run better.”  Vasu feels that Kausal is acting in a very real capacity to help the manifestation of the 3100 function.

“I don’t think anybody can do this race on their own.  This race needs team work.  Everybody is important who is part of it.  Someone runs, someone serves, somebody is a journalist and others come and see us and inspire us to run.  Everybody helps, this is team work.”

“Every year I try and do my best.  This year I also tried to do my best.  I think that the results of the race do not depend on us.  We can only try and do our best.”

I ask him about what is happening between Yuri and Ashprihanal.  “I think competitions is good if it can help them to increase their speed, and that they inspire one another.”

I ask Vasu then about any memorable moments from the past 43 days.  He turns to me and he says, “You inspired me when I asked you one day if you were going off to the beach to run.”

“You told me.  No, my job is here.  My beach is here.  My everything is here.  Because the consciousness of the Supreme is here.  It inspired me so, so, much.”

*editors note.  A few words of mine can in no way compare to the humble and ceaseless dedication that Vasu and all the runners put in every day. How much inspiration they offer to the world is immeasurable*

Little by little I must
change my life only
in God’s own Way.

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*

Continue reading “August 1… I Hope I Can Make It”

“Everybody says that each race is different.  This race is absolutely different for me.  What can I say.  I had a wonderful easy first half and then this came.”

.
“The thing is that I accepted it and it is like it is.”

We cannot know entirely the dimensions and depth of Surasa’s ordeal, which is now well into its interminable 17th day.  Up until that day, July 14th, when her body, or perhaps it is just her legs went into a tailspin.

She was speeding along at another world record pace.  Then her world suddenly shifted and the trail in front of her suddenly has grown steeper and steeper.

On this her 43rd day on the course there is not one caring person whose heart does not go out to her now as she struggles to make it to the finish line.  If you have been saying prayers for her recently I know you are not alone.  For I certainly have.

Yesterday was a pretty good day for her.  She did 53 miles and this morning she is optimistic that she is moving faster.  She needs however to move a lot faster and it has to happen now.

With 608 miles to go and 10 days in which to do it the calculation is clear now even for the most math challenged person.  It is 60 plus miles per day now or it will mean the finish line will be just precariously out of reach when midnight comes in 10 days time.

As we jog rhythmically along past the school, she questions if she could have not accomplished more in the last few weeks.  Answering her own question, she says, “I tried my best.”

Recently it was suggested that she stay longer and this she has now done.  “I have stayed until 12 o’clock for the past 3 days.”

“But I am very close to the finish line.  I have to do a little bit less than 61 miles.  Today at least I am running.”

“But I am getting tired quite fast.  The heat absolutely.  The heat is really difficult.  When the sun comes up my energy goes down.  But in the evening I can run.  But the sun stays up until half past 7 and then it is too short.”

“So it is like it is.  I am not sad………..Maybe I can do this?………….and maybe not.”

“I don’t think what happens is up to me.  I have tried my best.”

“If you can stay until the end of the race, no matter the result, it is still really something.  You have to be grateful about this.”

“I want to thank all the people for their support.  What they are giving to me helps me and inspires me.  It encourages me.  I think it is real progress that I can run today.”

Continue reading “July 31… I Am Very Close”

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*

Continue reading “July 30… It Takes All of Me”

“A very good morning,” Stutisheel says as he greets me.

The rain is falling heavy enough to bounce off his umbrella.  The streets throng with the noisy jostling of thick morning traffic.  Stutisheel is now a 1,000 miles away from the goal and he has only 12 days left in which to do it.

He is walking on a cool wet morning and yet he still smiles.

It is a smile born from a deep and personal understanding of what the 3100 has done to him over the years and also what he has learned an become because of it.  Something he has earned from enduring much and giving his all to this race now over 12 long summers.

“This is a break now in the weather, and the next 5 days will be easier for what we need to do.”

“The major thing is your energy.  If you have energy than you can easily cope with all kinds of weather conditions.  It seems I am totally okay.  I am still not able to run.  I am still recovering from a major break down a few days ago.”

“But somehow I feel pretty solid inside.  So I am happy.”

“I still tremendously love the race no matter what happens to me.”

“When you are able to run you have a very good flow of energy.  It is a different kind of experience.  But you need to stay solid and happy with whatever is happening.”

“A few days ago when I was really down.  I had my worst break down since I have been in the race.  I was sent a very cute joke, that supported me like anything.”

Joke: “Sometimes I feel really tired and I want to stop my life.  It is then, that my guardian Angel touches my shoulder and says, this is not your stop.  Just live on.”

I ask Stutisheel what he likes about the Enthusiasm Awkeners.  “They do what is written in their name.  They awaken enthusiasm and they have a good flow of energy.  They have a good attitude towards life.  It is raining and I am walking, but I can still say with all sincerity.  Life is beautiful.”

“My child, My child, do not plan; do not plan!

I have already planned everything for you.

Just play with me and play for Me. I shall not fail you.

I shall not only take you to your destined goal

but also give you

My Heart of infinite Love and My Eye of infinite Compassion.”

Sri Chinmoy, Fifty-four morning prayer-cries and morning meditation-smiles, Agni Press, 1988

*Click below to read rest of report*

Continue reading “July 29… I Love The Race”

Quite often I will do a lap in the morning with Ananda-Lahari for no other reason than he is just an incredibly pleasant person to be with.  His  effervescent sunny optimism and dedication to this mind boggling race are a constant reminder to me and probably you as well.

That we should not complain so often or be as critical of our own predicaments, no matter how bad they might appear to be.  Particularly when we compare our ordeals and burdens with that of the runners and what they each have to endure here every day.

Ananda-Lahari being the lowest person on the board, we as armchair observers can sometimes be tempted to fall absentmindedly into a dismissive habit of considering his presence in the race as unspectacular or not as important as that of the others .

That his 1995 miles, when compared to Yuri’s 2596, is a difference of more than 600 miles.  That this means somehow that he isn’t achieving as much.  But we sell him short when we do this.  When we use  some artificial and meaningless yardstick that we dare to hold up and measure him with.

This attitude on our parts is of course completely wrong.  And if you spend any time with him at all.  Do a lap or listen on the blog you will immediately see the depth and brightness of who he is and what he is really achieving each and every day.

Today is incredibly humid and when I ask if this affects him he says, “No, you are here and have to do your miles in any kind of weather.  You have to do your best.”

“It can influence you that you are slower or faster but it doesn’t really change anything.”

The last time we talked he had mentioned how he was trying to not be distracted by things going on around him.  I ask him a little more about this and he confesses that certain things do draw his attention.  He points at the little flower garden at the edge of the camp.  “I always look at them.  When they made the garden it changed something here.  It is really nice.”

“I also look at the places that I remember that Sri Chinmoy was here when he visited the course.  Giving his concerts or doing his exercise.”  Ananda-Lahari says that his encounters with his spiritual teacher over the many years of running here include practically ever spot on the course.  He sweeps his hand in front of him in a large circle.  He says either he was driving his own car or being driven.

By now we come up to the little brick alcove where the Enthusiasm Awakeners sing each morning.  “This is the spot where he used to give concerts.  It was amazing.”

“I visualize it and it gives me joy. It uplifts me.  Sri Chinmoy was a very very special person, and very very inspiring to me.”

When I ask him about the daily appearances of the Enthusiasm Awakeners.  “I love it.  For me it is very uplifting.  I like Sri Chinmoy’s music and they sing the songs of Sri Chinmoy.  They are the Enthusiasm Awakeners and they do it with real enthusiasm.”

“I believe it is mutual.  It uplifts the runners and I guess it uplifts them as well.  It adds to the race something special.”

Continue reading “July 28… You Do Your Best”