Author: utpal

“If the 3100 mile race is at one end of the race spectrum the 2 mile race is at the other end.  At the beginning.”

I spoke with Nirbhasa just after he finished running in the Self Transcendence 2 mile race on Saturday.  He was in the top 3 and so for his achievement he was presented a banana.  And as he said, the 2 mile race, which may take up to 18 minutes, can in any way compare to the 3100.

A race that as of today has just completed 28 days.  The total distance covered by all the runners in that time is 19,427 miles.

At this same point last year Nirbhasa had completed 1667 miles.  He has had first hand experience in every way with the 3100 and now that a few runners are struggling I ask him if he ever felt overwhelmed by it all.

“You definitely don’t do a race like this without really going up against it.  In terms of tiredness, in terms of injuries that fall across your way.”

“It is kind of interesting now because a lot of runners in this race have got different injuries and different conditions.  Fortunately for most of them they have done the race many times before.  You can see that they really understand that most important thing in minimizing their injury, and also trying to keep up as many miles as possible is to stay happy.”

“To stay in a good consciousness and to be cheerful.”

“Somehow when you are happy you just carry less weight around the course.  You are lighter and you are somehow able to move more easily.”

Nirbhasa then tells a story about 2 disciples of  the great Indian Spiritual Master Rama Krishna, who were able to not be trapped by ignorance by using 2 quite different methods.  One, Vivekananda could expand his consciousness and break the bonds constricting him.  The other Nag Mahasaya was so humble that he, “would get smaller and smaller and then simply slipped through the net.”

“For the 3100 mile runners that is what we kind of have to do.  When we are confronted with all of these problems.  You really  have to become very cheerful and light of mind.  Slip through the problems that way.”

“It is amazing when you see some of the runners experiencing problems at the moment.  How they are able to still keep up a reasonable level of mileage.   It certainly slows them down it certainly means lost miles.  But if they weren’t happy it would be infinitely infinitely worse.”

Continue reading “July 17… Stay in a Good Consciousness”

“Inwardly it is definitely a good morning.”

I am moving along with Stutisheel this morning at a pace that even by my standards is leisurely.   For the great champion Stutisheel who is here for the 12th time it cannot help but feel that it is agonizingly slow.

Yet this is all he has right now as he starts day 28.  Now with 1561 very hard miles yet to go and a rapidly diminishing window of time in which to do it.

“I am feeling the effects of a few very hot and humid days.  So I am undergoing some kind of crisis.  But life is life.”

As someone who has observed the race for a long time I cannot help but feeling awkward at asking these kind of questions of a man who is bravely facing one of perhaps his greatest ordeals.  Yet he says this experience is not new, it has happened many times.

“For 3 days we had high humidity right from the beginning of the day.  90% at 6 a.m. and the temperature was rising.  “So the conditions were not easy.”

“I am very eager to run and when I am not able to run it creates a pressure that you can say is a kind of discouragement.  But inwardly I feel very solid and positive.  Everything is okay.”

“I believe that this is my source.  When you are well balanced inside then the miles will come.  But it doesn’t work the other way around.”

Stutisheel had recently been asked by someone what he had learned over his many years running the race. “It is not about understanding.  It is not about describing particular qualities.”

“The vision of the race is way beyond our comprehension.  What Guru put into this race is beyond description it is beyond words.”

“So what I am learning here is, to feel more, to become more, and to give more.”

There are so many
ways to please God.
The easiest way
is to SMILE at
God.

Sri Chinmoy, My blessingful and pride-flooded dedication to the indomitable runners of the 3100-mile Self-Transcendence Race, 2007, Agni Press, 2007

Continue reading “July 16… The Vision Of The Race”

Today presented an unmistakable reckoning with just how hot and humid it can get during the 3100 mile race.  Not a record setting one to be sure but still the kind of day when doing anything outdoors is hard little alone trying to run 60 miles.

When I catch up with Baladev he is mixing his own concoction of salt water.  Playing with the fluid as he poured it back and forth between 2 cups.  “The salt keeps the body hydrated.”

“The hottest was 30C and today it is going to be 34C.  A little bit more and it is humid.  The humidity makes it more fun.” (smiles)

Since today officially marks the start of the 2nd half of the race I ask him about that.  “I am not thinking about how many days.  Or how many days I will be here.  I don’t think about tomorrow I only think about today.”

“This lap.  You never know what will happen at the next corner.”

“This is a simple life.  We all need a simple life to be perfect.”

“When you study something at school you then use that knowledge in the rest of your life.  Here when we run we study during the whole race.   Naturally we use what we learn here during the rest of the year.”

“We learn many good things like simplicity, patience, courage, and gratitude.”

Baladev says the meditation he experiences here while running is quite different that what he practices at home.

“This is a moving meditation.  When you are sitting at home you don’t move.  Totally different.  I like this one more, because you never fall asleep when you run.  When you meditate sitting at home you can go to sleep very easily.  When you meditate and run sleeping does not come.”

“Usually the evenings here are very  nice, and the early morning.” As Baladev runs away from me I cannot help but notice the message printed in big letters on the back of his shirt, Peace, Love, Joy.

Continue reading “July 15… A Simple Life To Be Perfect”

When compared to all of the great and all of the terrible events happening in the world right now clamoring for our attention.  One man in New York having a problem with a blister would not seem to worthy of any notice what so ever.

But to all those who follow and identify with this little community perched temporarily on a little rectangle in Queens, Vasu’s problem is a big deal.  You may have never met him in person, or even listened to the sound of his voice.

But if you have been following the race over the past few years you have seen in his face and in his eyes all the sincerity and devotion to conquering the impossible that you may ever need to see expressed in a lifetime.

For the better part of week he has been trying to get a large blister on the bottom of his foot healed just enough so that he can run again.  For 2 days straight he managed to walk only 37 miles.

When you consider as of this morning he has completed 1676 miles, a blister and a bad one at that is not surprising.  But then again this is the 5th time that he has run the race, so you might ask how could it happen like this.

Life can suddenly get a little complicated when you are running the equivalent of nearly 3 marathons a day.

There are no easy answers either to the why or, how to fix it quickly.  You just might be surprised though at just how calmly he is taking this predicament when you consider there are still 1424 miles yet to go (see map).

When asked the obvious question if he is discouraged. “No.  It will get better with the grace of Guru.”

“This is just an experience.”

When asked if it makes him stronger? “I hope.”

“Early in the morning I could hardly move.  Now it is much much better.”

“The first lap took me a half hour or more.  When I walked by the Enthusiasm Awakeners singers.  Something inspired me.  I felt as though I now had the power to run.  The next lap was better.  Then I could run again.”

“I don’t know how long it will last but I will just keep going.”  Vasu also humbly wanted to thank everyone.  “Everybody inspires me.  Guru is working through his children to help me finish this race.”

3 hours later I run with Vasu again who has not stopped since early this morning.

“I think this is a miracle that Guru did for me.  I don’t know for how long but now it works.”

My Supreme, my Supreme, my Supreme!
May my soul, my heart, my mind,
My vital and my body
Always remain
In Your Protection-Cradle.
My Supreme, my Supreme, my Supreme!

Continue reading “July 14… Everybody Inspires Me”

Atmavir is running the 3100 mile race for the 9th time.  At the start of day 25 he has now completed 1659 miles and is now officially the race leader.  Which is not something he is all that much interested in.

What we observers should appreciate however is that the circumference of the earth is 24,900 miles.  A distance that Atmavir passed many days and miles ago.  He continues to move forward with a kind of grace, determination, and poise that is exceptional.  Particularly when you factor in that his reward for completing the race, if not in fact winning this year, will be something as intangible and yet still personally all consuming as inner satisfaction.

When asked how he feels today he smiles and says the same as every day.  Which of course is crucially important for those who are commanding as much stress and rigor as he and all the other runners are feeling as they try and take the race home to that impossibly distant finish line.

There was a telling moment this morning as he was running freely along and came up behind the previous race leader Vasu.

Who now, because of bad blisters, is moving with the awkward gate of a man trying to drive at top speed when he unfortunately knows he has a flat tire.  As Atmavir came up behind Vasu, he ever so gently shifted into a lower gear.  A quick look of respect passed between them and then ever so kindly he shifted back into his normal speed and moved on.

“Each single year that I am here I feel that I am moving forwards.  I am more comfortable and relaxed.”

“It is my secret.  I don’t want to push.  If I am forcing myself, or trying to compete with someone, then I don’t feel comfortable.  I want to stay happy.”

“Yesterday I saw one of the kids from the school he was wearing a bright colored t shirt and it said, Do Your Own Thing.”

Atmavir was inspired by this and feels it was a reminder of just how he should focus on his own running here.  “If you are open and receptive, you will pick these things up.”

The first year he ran it was a much different story.  Then he was able to finish a few hours after the official cut off.  “I didn’t make the official limit and I also had a lot of injuries.  I got shinsplints in the first week.”

“I have set a goal but I am not attached to it.  I would like to beat my personal best which I set in 2009 (45 days, 3 hours).  I couldn’t succeed in doing this in all the years since.  But I think the problem may have been that in the past I started too fast.”

Atmavir says that the world record pace set by Ashprihanal last year moved everyone very quickly along with him.  This year he says that he has been given some really good advice.  “Don’t push too hard.  Take it easy the first part of the race.  I feel comfortable even though I have hard times sometimes during the day.  Of course the heat can still be a problem.”

“I am not going over my capacity right now.  It is a miracle that I am so consistent.  If I don’t fall under 60 miles on any day that is success for me.  That is real progress for me.”

Continue reading “July 13… My Capacity”

“Amazing.  It is a happy day.  There is happiness everywhere.”

“Sometimes there is more happiness and sometimes there is less.  But now there is happiness practically every day with me.”

Yuri has a unique way of being able to describe something that is really hard as being beautiful.  At the same time he made the psychological turn for home last night when he finished the day with 1551 miles.

“The second half is easier.”

“When you are running in the first half it is like running in a forest.  Everything is unclear.  There is rain.  There are obstacles.  The branches from the trees are in your face and are scratching you.  You fall down and then you are rising up again.”

“Half way through it feels as though you have come out of the forest unto a sunlit path.”

“In the far distance you can see that there is a castle.  You know that this is the castle of God.  This is the goal to which we are all aiming to reach.”

“From that castle comes a very special light, and it penetrates into your heart.  Even if I closed my eyes I can still feel that light and it will always show me the right direction.”

“There will still be some turns and falls but the light continually guides me in the right direction.  It is always there.”

“Right now is an amazing time for all the runners.  For our inner progress and our inner oneness with the Supreme.  That is why I am happy.”

I ask Yuri if he will be even happier when he reaches 3100 miles?

“When I approach the house and knock on the door.  God will tell me, come on in my child.  It will be amazing happiness.  It is the meeting of oneness.  It is light that cannot be put into words.”

“It is because of this that we are here, and overcoming these obstacles.  But that which is waiting for us just up ahead justifies everything that we are doing here in order to reach that goal.”

Continue reading “July 12… Right Direction”

“It is perfect weather.  Perfect temperature but there could be a few more clouds.”

Yesterday Ashprihanal finished up his 22nd day of running on the course.  Most will know of course that he has been here many times before.  That in fact this is the 14th time he has spent his summer running around Thomas Edison High school.

Though you can add up all the numbers and attempt to try and make sense of it all.  To be honest even though my math is pretty good I have to confess that I can’t understand it at all.  How does a 45 year old man from Finland do this?

The why part is something that I do however find is a lot more easily get some feeling for.  That is if you can grasp the concept, that though it looks like a foot race it really isn’t.

It is a pilgrimage in which the participants gradually and inexorably draw closer to something that on the surface looks impossibly far but ultimately lies right there inside each of those who run.  The good news as well, it is inside you and I as well.

This morning he completed his 41,756 mile on this course.  Which according to the best number crunchers probably means he has run more competitive miles in races than anyone in history.  This may mean something to Ashprihanal, but he doesn’t really show it.

As he gets towards the half way point he says, “it is nice for your mind.  To know that you have done more than you have yet to go. You begin to feel that it will probably end at some point.”

Ironically he says that around 10 days into the race it feels, “like it just goes on and on.”

“There are always nice times.  To balance the tough times.  It has been okay.  It has been pretty good.  So I am happy.”

If you want to see the inspiration at the heart of all this it best may become clear when you look at a video shot when Ashprihanal finished the race in 2007.  He won that year and  Sri Chinmoy said of him,

“My dear Ashprihanal.  I am offering you my heart’s infinite, infinite, infinite, love, and infinite, infinite, infinite, gratitude.  And my life’s boundless pride, boundless pride, boundless pride.”

“You have done extremely, extremely well in this 3100 miles.  Your aspiration flames and your aspiration fire are brightening, brightening, and brightening your life’s destination.  The Golden shore.  My heart is all gratitude to you, and my love is all pride in you.”

Continue reading “July 11… Go On and On”

“Sometimes it seems to go slow and sometimes time seems to go fast.”

For all of us unhurried observers of the race, the passing of 3 full weeks seems like a significant milestone.  It is also a convenient handle in order to somehow grasp the unwielding dimensions of the race.

On the other hand, for the runners there is precious little to hold onto as they push relentlessly and as hard as they possibly can every single day.

Kaneenika says though, “I was surprised we had started week 4.”

Over the past 21 days she has run 1337 miles and she is averaging a really good 63 miles a day.  In a little less than 4 days she will be at the half way point.  “I think it feels that you are going down the hill once you reach half way.”

This year she says the race is different for her, “I have more experience.  I am trying to take things differently.”

“At the beginning of the race I said to myself, I want to stay happy.  I am trying to work on that and I think it really helps.”

“I don’t think we are here to enjoy ourselves.  What I learned after the last race is that we are not here to do the race for ourselves.”

Kaneenika said that she came to that understanding after she finished last year and people came up to her and told her how much she had inspired them.  “Thank you for the inspiration.”

“It is definitely not just about our own progress.  This is why Sri Chinmoy created this race, to help humanity inspire each other.”

Continue reading “July 10… To Inspire Each Other”

“It is wonderful.  It is so great.  It is such a difference.  It could not be better.”  (Surasa)

For all the runners of the 3100 mile race the weather on this quiet Saturday morning is extraordinarily perfect.  Grey skies, a light breeze, and the temperature will not rise above the mid 70’s (23 C). This of course when compared to the sauna like conditions of the past few days.

It is just possible that today may be the best day to run here all summer.  At the same time when you have to stretch back your perception of what Surasa and all the runners have accomplished and still have yet to do this moment is less than a blink of your eye.

When it was hot Surasa says, “I was slower, especially in the afternoon.  You don’t have so much energy.  It is more difficult.  On the other hand, I could handle the heat quite well.”

“I am happy and I am fine, but I have such respect for this race.  That everything can change so fast.  At the same time it is such a long time to run, until the end.”

When we ran for the first time this morning Surasa later reflected upon what she had said and asked me to come with her once again.

“I don’t want to give the impression that this race is easy.  When I am saying I am happy, when your running is good and you feel well, then everybody feels happy.”

“But if you are having problems then it is such a different story.   This race can be so hard.  Nobody can imagine just how hard it really is to run here, particularly with an injury.”

“I don’t want to give the impression that it is easy.  That it is like drinking water.  That it is nothing.  It is not true.  Running the race is not nothing.”

Surasa says that when she also has a problem then her mind comes forward.  “It can be very strong and strange.”  She feels that when she is happy and content that then her running simply goes well.  From her personal experience she is grateful for it but at the same time feels that she is not doing anything special or out of the ordinary.

“When you are fine then everybody is fine.  Everybody is smiling.”

We come into the camp and Surasa looks up to see Vasuprada waiting for her with a glass of water.  Surasa is touched by this.  It is something that all Surasa’s helpers appreciate.  Her kindness and concern.

Vasuprada describes later just how sweet Surasa is.  She finishes her nights most often around 11:30.  All day she has not paid attention to her mileage.  All she hopes for at the end of the day is at least 109 laps.  Vasuprada says when she gets even one lap more than that then she is delighted.  Last night she got 115.

The three of us now are moving down the sidewalk at a brisk walk.  I ask Vasuprada if Surasa is a tough boss.  “Absolutely no,” she says with a large smile.

When I ask why, she says, “because she has no mind.”  With this we all laugh.  Then Surasa recites:

Continue reading “July 9… No Mind No Form”

You may not see them physically at the race all that much, their creations however are always present.  From the moment Nirjharini and her fellow cooks food appears at the race it vanishes quickly but not mysteriously.

It is tasty, it is wholesome, and it is the nutritional foundation for every step the runners take over many long hard, and now hot miles, that they do each day.

*Emily, Udbhasita, Nirjharini, Koojena……….Missing are Mandra, Hastakamala, and katya*

When I arrive at the kitchen this morning I am immediately offered a Japanese treat (Name eludes me) and it is of course great.  Nirjharini says, “it is yummy.”

She along with Koojena, Udbhasita, and Emily are putting the finishing touches on the snacks that will soon be going over at 10.  Previously breakfast and hot drinks were sent and throughout the course of the day the flow of food will almost be like an endless conveyor belt.  Returning will be empty trays and the compliments of just how much their service has been appreciated.

Koojena has only joined the crew a few days ago.  She says that being here has been very inspiring.

Nirjharini has been the head chef since 2004. “Since then I have done it every summer.  I could not imagine not coming, it is part of my life.  I am looking forward to it all year.”

“I like to be part of the race. I feel that it is a very special project and I love cooking, so it is a very good combination.”  More importantly though she says that Sri Chinmoy personally gave her this job to do.

“So I feel it is a very important part of my spiritual life and of my spiritual progress.”

Udbhasita says she just loves being here.  “I really feel that we have a dream team here.  Everybody is so nice, and they are such good cooks.  There is a very nice feeling all of us working together.  This is my first year to help in the kitchen.  It is a very good experience.”

Emily says she really likes thinking what the runners might like.  “Things that will be healthy and also things that will give them joy.”

Koojena say she has been dreaming for a long time to be part of the race.  “I am just happy being here and part of the team.  It is really amazing.  Not only for the runners but also for all the servers and helpers.  They are transcending themselves in every way.  So I am happy being here.”

Continue reading “July 8… Part Of My Life”