“I try to enjoy each moment. I really try to appreciate where I am, what I am doing. I’m not in a hurry because I cannot land early. So, time is not so much an issue, so important — it’s more the way to get to the destination, which is very interesting.”  In the very early hours of Sunday morning here in New York a solar powered plane landed at JFK airport. It had left Washington a little over 18 hours earlier.

The Solar Impulse had first begun its historic flight across continental America back on May 3.  It’s 2 Swiss pilots took turns commanding the aircraft on its multiple hops across the country.  The total distance was 5649 km (3,510 miles)  and took 105 hours of flying time to accomplish the new record.

“There are no limits. The only limit is the pilot.” Solar Impulse pilot André Borschberg

It was a stunning technological breakthrough and one that slipped a little bit under the American news radar, probably due to other apparently more pressing news items.  One other story that almost went unnoticed was Nidhruvi as she passed the 1300 mile mark this morning at the race.  When I catch up with her and ask her what it means, she says, “It means I am going to a new territory.”

The last time she had completed 1300 miles took place at her last big race 11 years ago.  She laughs as I suggest that event in 2002 at Flushing Meadow almost  seems like several lifetimes ago.  “Since then I haven’t done so many miles.”  The race here has also opened up for her a new best for this 47 year old Austrian phenom, in that she had never run longer than 19 days.  Today is her 23rd straight day of running.

“This is a different race.  Actually you cannot compare it.  This is a totally different race.”

As we run along there is a cool breeze brushing lightly up and over us as we head down the service road.  It is a small thing but very important to these 12 runners who spent the past few days being cooked here from morning to night.  “God, thanks so much. I am so grateful for this wind and a little coolness.”

“Almost all of us have this skin rash and it is really very unpleasant. So this helps a lot the wind blow through our clothes and help keep them dry. So it feels really good.”

nidhruvi

Sri Chinmoy, Twenty-Seven Thousand Aspiration-Plants, Part 72, Agni Press, 1984

Continue reading “July 8: Patience is Running”

“It is one of my favorite places to run.” As Suprabha says this, the dawn is greeting us with an incredible gentle glow.  The 12 runners have already just set off and she has obliged me this morning to do a lap of the course with me.  Of course she doesn’t get to New York that often as she lives in the DC area.  So one can naturally assume that she doesn’t get to run here that often.  At least not now.

But it wasn’t that many years ago in which this was not just her favorite place to run but in many ways the very epicenter of her life’s journey.  13 summers she spent circling this block and when I dare to even comprehend just how many laps and miles she ran here my mind shuts down.  Latter using a small calculator, it spat out a gigantic trail of numbers.  As I look at her lightly jogging along now, it all just seemed so unbelievable.  How was it possible that this petite little woman could have run so many miles here. (40,300)

“Well mostly I just feel something here.  Of course if I zoom in I can pick out special moments, but it is just really nice to be here.  It is nice to spend a little time with the runners.  It just brings it all back.  Mainly I just feel grateful to be part of the race.  Not just all those times but that I can still come back and feel part of it.”

She feels the presence of Sri Chinmoy she says just as much now as before.  “Doing the same miracles.  That is one of the most beautiful things about the race is that you can always feel that Sri Chinmoy is here.”

“I don’t think anyone will ever fully understand the 3100 mile race.  Everybody I think feels something, and feels how vast and beautiful it is.  Because it really offers something to everybody.  So many people can be part of it, and be touched by it.

She then relates a story about the great Ted Corbitt when one summer he visited the race while Suprabha was running it.  She said that when Sri Chinmoy learned that Ted was visiting with the runners he immediately came over to meet with him.

According to Suprabha he apparently asked Ted, who was by now quite elderly, why he hadn’t participated in the 6 and 10 day race that had taken place earlier in the Spring. Ted told Sri Chinmoy that at this point in his life he was having difficulty even walking little alone entering multi day races.

Sri Chinmoy told him.  This is not something you are doing for yourself.  This is something you are doing for the world.

“I think it is really true.  Maybe we don’t even know what the race is doing.  That is what I feel, but it has to be reaching very far.  It is very expansive.  I think we are really lucky to have the race.”

suprabha

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?

Sri Chinmoy, Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, Part 36, Agni Press, 1982

Continue reading “July 6: Saints Of The Road”

“We have to come out of our comfort zone.  When we do that we call it austerity.  What it does is moves us closer to God.  The goal of life is God realization and we have to constantly think like that.  We have to have God realization in this lifetime.”  Swami Paramesha Ananda used to be a familiar site in the early morning hours here on the course.

He once lived just a few blocks away.  Most mornings, for much of the summer,  he would have already started making his speedy circuits of the course before the runners even arrived.  Now he lives in Long Island, and it is no small thing for him to come here and be able to do his laps here as he so often used to do.

“I got up around 3 and then I do my meditation.”  Sometime after that in the predawn hours he then had to find his way to the Long Island railroad.  Travel from the distant suburbs of NY, and then once he arrived in Queens he had to make his way from the station at Sutphin blvd., some 10 to 15 blocks away.

The sum total of his significant effort to just make his way here today was for most of us an undertaking way beyond most of our ideas of what we safely consider our “Comfort Zone.” He will ultimately run about 10 laps here.  Once finished he will collect his orange robes and glasses and go on with the rest of his day.

“I want to be on this course.  I want to be with the runners, because we are like minded people.  High thinking, simple living, and contentment.”

His presence here on the course in his luminous orange apparel is a striking reminder of just how similar the 12 runners and he are.  Like him they too are devoted and dedicated to a path that is leading them to a divine goal.  One that is way beyond the measurable distance of 1300 miles.  A goal instead not so easily described and yet one we all feel compelled to strive and reach for within ourselves.

Sri Chinmoy, Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, Part 11, Agni Press, 1981

Continue reading “July 5: Closer To God”

It is probably one of life’s most fundamental questions, but most certainly it is not one that I would dare ask of this very tired group of runners.  Yet Baladev got inspired to ask each one running here, ‘Who are you?”

His little survey was a difficult one from the start.  Because to get an answer from each and every runner here meant that they had to be literally right beside them.  Not easy when everyone most of the time is traveling at such different speeds.  Also they had to be in the mood to speak about such a serious subject.  Nonetheless he persevered at this task for several days and carried around a little notebook waiting for just the right opportunity to ask his question.

In almost any other setting this kind of inquiry would lead to some simple response.  Most people when asked would probably answer with  something easy and professional, like what they do for a living.  Others might respond with their family status, or even mention some sport or hobby to which they have seriously dedicated themselves.

Yet in our most sacred and serious reflective moments we all probably pose this question to ourselves, particularly at moments of change and transition.  It helps us make decisions about what is important in our lives and helps us decide more clearly where we want to go.  On any given day our answer may change, but most likely deep within us the answer is always crystal clear.  Unfortunately there just may not be a lot of times when we can connect with this illumining truth about ourselves, and yet we bravely and diligently keep marching forward.   Much like these 12 brave souls do here each and every day.

Baladev slowly goes through his list of answers.  All done simply in the order in which he was able to ask them.  I ask him why he did it.  “I don’t know.  This question just came to me.  Sometimes things just come to your here. It was a very nice moment when the inspiration came.  I was feeling very good.”

Intrigued by all this I ask him what his answer is.  “When this question came to me may answer at that moment was, ‘I am  God.’

Sri Chinmoy, Twenty-Seven Thousand Aspiration-Plants, Part 210, Agni Press, 1994

Continue reading “July 4: Who Are You”

“It was the toughest day of the race for me.”  Not just for Sopan but for quite a few other runners Tuesday’s humidity, created a challenge for them that some simply could not adapt or adjust to easily.  In our minds we can easily make the assumption that it has to be hard to go so far with so little sleep.  But until you have been absorbed in the steamy embrace of a New York summer’s day, you simply do not know how daunting the weather can be as well to your performance.  How this additional burden can adversely affect not just muscles but also how it can strain minds.

Yet despite being bullied by the humidity all day Sopan somehow found his way back up to a good lap count of 111, and was able to cross the 1000 mile barrier. “Feels like a good sign. I only have to get more organized in the evenings at home and go quicker to bed and get the extra sleep I so much need.”

Last year both he and Ashprihanal went to an amusement park called Six Flags.  “I think they have the world’s fastest and highest roller coasters.  The roller coasters other places do not compare.  Americans really know how to make roller coasters.  I don’t know how high and how fast you go.  It only takes a few seconds but those seconds are really a lot of fun.”

Quite often we try and use the metaphor of the roller coaster to describe our lives.  Personally when I looked at this picture Sopan took of the roller coaster he rode last year I simply could not even imagine getting on one.  Or more importantly, how doing so would be in the complete opposite direction of my own idea of a fun time.  Yet for Sopan and Ashprihanal a ride like this is all excitement, and an adrenalin rush.  “So much joy.  We really had a lot of fun.”

Going to an Amusement Park offers harmless enjoyment to millions of people around the world.  Most people when offered the opportunity, to either go have a day of relaxing fun, or instead, spend the next two months struggling and suffering while running on an unforgiving sidewalk in New York, would not hesitate for a second making up their minds which they would choose.

Sopan and Ashprihanal and the other 10 runners here of course made a very significant and life transforming decision to run this race.  Each day, no matter how it outwardly appears, still sees them inexorably climbing slowly and steadily  upward.

There will be stumbles and tumbles both physically, mentally and spiritually as each day passes.  How they will eventually feel when this extraordinary ride of life completes its circuit here is still a long way off.  No matter what outwardly happens, their inner experiences here will all represent real inner progress.  The heat, humidity, and suffering will come and go but not the transcendence.

Ashprihanal says, “When you finish this race you feel so good.  You feel that you really deserve to sit down.  That is the reward of this race.”

ashprihanal 2

Sri Chinmoy, Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, Part 30, Agni Press, 1982

Continue reading “July 3: I Can Never Stop”

“I was not a runner.” This morning a local Slovak girl named Kanala was running with Ananda Lahari.  She was very animated and was sharing with him some experiences from her recent visit to their country Slovakia.  She and another girl, Kaneenika (the great 10 day runner) had just given a public talk and Kaneenika had made this remark at the beginning of her lecture.

Before Kaneenika became a student of Sri Chinmoy she had not been an athlete at all.  But like many young people who join the group she quickly got inspired to take up the sport of distance running. Her mother as well, had always told her that, “no matter what you do, you will be good at something. Just follow what inspires you.”

Kaneenika has now been competing in multi days for 18 years.  In last years 10 day race(2012) she had numerous difficulties in the weeks leading up to the event.  Many things went wrong for her including a broken finger.   Yet throughout the difficulties she realized, that somebody else was ultimately in charge of the experiences and her life.  She also had a profound realization, that there was no need to worry, “it is taken care of.”

With all this happening to her she realized that all she needed do was surrender inwardly.  “During the race, whenever the mind problems or the body problems came up she remembered.  It is not me who is influencing the result.  Just surrender and do your best.” During that race she not only set a personal best of 724 miles but she was also the overall winner and now has set 3 Slovakian distance records.

Kanala’s part of the talk was to remind people, “that we are all unique.  We have to find what is special for us.  Which is our own inner self.  We can find this by meditating.”

Ananda Lahari all this time is running quietly beside us.  I ask him if he thinks that any of this also applies to him and the other 3100 mile runners.  “Yes definitely,” he says.

kanala

Sri Chinmoy, Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, Part 68, Agni Press, 1983

Continue reading “July 2: Follow The Eternal Runner”

“This is my 10th year and I love it.  This is for me the best time of the year.  It is a very sacred event for me and I just love everything about the race.” Nirjharini is at the helm of one of the most exclusive food establishments in New York.  It is a job that involves incredibly long hours, relentless preparation of countless meals and snacks, and a exotic clientele whose very specific needs are not like those of any other diner on the planet.

The 12 Self Transcendence 3100 mile runners very lives and well being depend upon what Nirjharini and her equally dedicated crew do in a tiny kitchen in Queens.  It is a hive of activity for much of a very long day that creeps well into the depths of night.  Delightful ever changing aromas continually waft out into the nearby flower garden. Smells that only begin to hint at the flavor and energy that seems to imbue every morsel, that is regularly packed up and shipped over to the race, 5 blocks away.  Always arriving piping hot or soothingly cool to the runners as their needs, wishes, and wants evolve throughout the day .  These remarkable athletes who always seem to be nibbling, and sipping, and chewing on something tasty that came from this very special temple of food.

It is perhaps the most superbly catered take out establishment that you just might find anywhere.  Yet all the effort, and all the care, and all the love going into the food preparation is wholly devoted to only 12 almost always continually hungry individuals.  For the food that is prepared here is the very fuel that keeps them going, both day and night for an average of 60 miles a day.

When their body feels as though it is dying from fatigue, or a pain or blister is screaming out in a foot or muscle, some tasty tidbit, some warm bowl of something, can be the comfort, the remedy, the very strength that makes their difficult journeys just a little easier.  That all this food be fresh and tasty is crucial for each of the runners long hard efforts to make their daily laps.  That it is prepared with such dedication and love may just be why they reach their self transcendence goals.

Sri Chinmoy, Twenty-Seven Thousand Aspiration-Plants, Part 113, Agni Press, 1987

Continue reading “July 1: Fulfilling Food Of Oneness”

“This race is always about finding the balance between the inner and outer world.   The outer world here is always very very hard.  The running is hard.  Inside you have to find the energy that will get you to continue.  When you start to touch the limits of your physical body, your mind starts to slow down, and it is like entering into meditation.  It is like entering into another world.  It is then that you start to realize many things about yourself.  You find many things inside you which are otherwise much harder to find.”

40 year old Pranjal Milovnik has completed the 3100 mile race now 8 times and seems comfortably on his way to doing so an 9th time.  When he describes the grueling experience he had in his first race here it is actually hard to imagine just why he bothered to come back.  Yet in nearly every year since then he has continued to improve.  He now runs this race 12 days faster than when he first completed it and yet when you ask if it is important to continue to improve his results, he inevitably responds that he doesn’t care.

It is far from indifference, this dispassionate approach that he has to his outer achievement.  He, like really all the others definitely want to complete the journey here as swiftly as possible.  The more important thing always however for Pranjal, is simply to always do his best.  To leave nothing behind at the end of each day, and commit all that he has and is into this extraordinary adventure.

For Pranjal, who comes first every day and is usually the last to leave each night, there appears to be no fragment or molecule of life force that he doesn’t offer up here each day.  We can easily measure his progress each day as the numbers continuously expand beside his name.  Today the score board says he has completed 898 miles after 14 days.

But all the inner victories that he has fought and won, and all the precious jewels of discovery that he has uncovered within the secret chambers of his being are always for him alone to enjoy.

Question: What is the spiritual significance of balance?

Sri Chinmoy, Flame Waves, Part 12, Agni Press, 1978

Continue reading “June 30: The Inner and The Outer”

ananda lahari“Sometimes I do pay attention if it is on my way.  But I am just trying to concentrate on my running and not to look on the sides so much.  I really don’t know what is happening around me.”

This morning Ananda Lahari is walking.  But he is not moving in the frenzied or agitated manner of power walkers, or restless pedestrians in a frantic Manhattan rush to catch a train.  It is almost as though he is gliding.  His foot steps are absolutely silent.  At the same time he exudes such an aura of calm and tranquility that there seems almost a complete disconnect between who and what he is and the incredibly difficult thing that he is doing here.

Just walking beside him I cannot not but be aware of how light and ethereal his physical presence actually is.   I imagine sometimes that he is so otherworldly, and blends so seamlessly into this world that if I did not know better I could easily imagine him disappearing before my eyes.  Become simply instead a glowing presence endlessly orbiting the course on some inner pathway that yet can still be connected to the hard physical reality of the race.

Together we do a graceful yet consistent walk of the loop, not fast, not slow, but unerringly on track.  I point out all the little things that have quickly captured my attention.  The Asian man practicing Tai Chi in the infield, a lady across the street trying to manage a pack of 4 small white dogs, and the traffic at a peculiar standstill for a Saturday below us, on the Grand Central. None of which has any interest to him at all.

I have observed Ananda Lahari now for 8 straight years at this race.  His connection with it is a deep and strong and after so many years it is almost impossible to imagine him not being here.  Always moving with his unique combination of gentleness and yet real strength and courage as well.  Our lap together will take about 10 minutes to make the full hard rolling circuit of the course.   Something he has done now so many times and for so many years it is difficult just to come up with the number.

But numbers are not overly important to this sweet Slovak soul.  Nor does the weather, the scenery, or all the countless distractions of the physical world that dance, tumble, and otherwise demand the attention of most of us mortals.  His journey here is focused purely on an inner destination.

If there is anything that he resembles to me more than anything else and that is some contemplative monk endlessly traversing the countryside, searching for enlightenment.  He just happens to be wearing shorts and running shoes and his path is a unrelenting concrete block in suburban NY.

While my mind spins out one question after another, about the what’s whys and wherefores of his gentle presence here, he inevitably has the simple answer for it all.   “Every morning I sing and pray.”

Sri Chinmoy, Heaven’s Ecstasy-Flames, Agni Press, 1994

Continue reading “June 29: Every Morning I Sing And Pray”