It's mid-day in Auckland on a summer Thursday. The Domain grandstand, a popular landmark for local runners, has been transformed by a bright array of helium balloons. The Auckland Girls Grammar School band are belting out a succession of festive songs and a large body of lunchtime runners are warming up, out to do justice to a new mile circuit of the park.

The occasion is the inauguration of New Zealand's first Peace Mile, an accurately measured one mile loop of the Domain which links Auckland with a network of over fifty Peace Mile cities worldwide, and focuses on the Olympic theme of athletics and world harmony.

The person after whom the Peace Mile is named has also arrived.

Smiling and composed despite an exhausting flight from New York, Sri Chinmoy mixes unobtrusively with local runners. He is the inspiration behind history’s longest running event, the recent 43,000k Peace Run, a relay spanning six continents and involving hundreds of thousands of athletes in eighty countries.

The director of the Peace Meditations at the United Nations in New York, Sri Chinmoy is also an internationally respected spiritual leader who has dedicated his life to world harmony. His international marathon team organises over 500 races each year worldwide and provides essential support to several major outside events.

Today Sri Chinmoy does not speak but rather, standing in a semi-circle of attentive runners, offers several minutes of silent meditation for the Peace Mile inauguration. It's an unusual moment and the silence is unexpectedly powerful.

Some well-known faces are present. Auckland's mayor, in high heels, confesses she has left her running shoes behind to avoid having to run! However Parks and Recreation director Barry Bonner, an enthusiastic supporter and architect of the Peace Mile concept, has left his suit at the office and is lining up for the inaugural one mile race. Richard Tout, NZ's record holder of 24 hours, 100 miles and 100k, is also there along with ultrarunner Sandy Barwick.

The Park Director now offers some reflections on the need to find inner peace, acknowledges Sri Chinmoy's unique contribution to athletics and world peace, and unveils the sign. There is generous applause and then silence as everyone reads the gold and green placard. Try to be a runner reads the quotation at the bottom, and try all the time to surpass and go beyond all that is bothering you and standing in your way. Be a real runner so that ignorance, limitations and imperfections will all drop far behind you in the race.

Olympic canoeist Ian Ferguson starts the one and three mile races around the newly established loop, amid cheers from a large contingent of schoolchildren. New Zealand's first Sri Chinmoy Peace Mile is now fact.

Sri Chinmoy is unique among spiritual leaders in his belief that sport, particularly running, is an important 'personal growth' discipline, cultivating qualities which are important to the spiritual life he advocates.

Running form two important disciplines practiced by his students – on the one hand developing physical wellbeing, strength and dynamism; and on the other, inner peace and poise, mental strength and inner capacities. A decathlon and sprint champion in his own youth, Sri Chinmoy then turned to weightlifting to help him overcome a chronic knee injury.

Inspired by their teacher's personal example, many of Sri Chinmoy's students have applied his philosophy of self-transcendence to their own field of endeavour – many have swum the English Channel, some hold national and international running records; one, Ashrita Furman, holds over 100 current Guinness world records, itself a record for the most held by any person!

Sri Chinmoy offered the following comments on competitive sport:

"Our aim is not to become the world's best athlete. Our aim is to keep the body fit, to develop dynamism and to give the vital innocent joy. Our aim should not be to surpass others but to constantly surpass our own previous achievements. We cannot properly evaluate our own capacity unless we have some standard of comparison. Therefore, we compete not for the sake of defeating others but in order to bring forward our own capacity. Our best capacity comes forward only when there are other people around us. They inspire us to bring forward our utmost capacity, and we inspire them to bring forward theirs. This is why we have competitive sports. Our goal should be our own progress, and progress itself is the most illuminating experience."

On the benefits of meditation for runners:

"Through meditation we can develop intense will power, and this will power can help us do extremely well in our outer running. Meditation is stillness, calmness, quietness, while the running consciousness is all dynamism. The outer life, the outer movement, can be successful only when it comes from the inner poise. If there is no poise, then there can be no successful outer movement. Poise is an unseen power, and this unseen power is always ready to come to the aid of the outer runner."

Sri Chinmoy's own running serves as a reminder that he is not just another armchair philosopher. A veteran of 21 marathons and also some ultra-marathons, Sri Chinmoy still participated in his students' races and followed an astonishing daily schedule of weight-training and workouts that leaves little time for rest, right up until his passing in 2007. At the Domain Sri Chinmoy jogs slowly around the new Peace Mile on his injured knee, a humble figure in a green tracksuit whose inspiration and talents have touched so many lives. One is reminded of his words to the first of his students to complete a marathon: "Now you see what is true for all human beings – we are all truly unlimited if only we dare to try and have faith . . . our goal is always to go beyond, beyond, beyond. There are no limits to our capacity because we each have the infinite Divine within us."

This article was originally written for a New Zealand running magazine following Sri Chinmoy's second visit to New Zealand in 1989.

3100 miles (or nearly 5000km) sounds like an eternity and believe me, it also feels like an eternity. Very often, I have been asked why am I doing such a long race?

This is not a question that you can answer in a few words; it needs a lot of background description. First of all I love any kinds of sports and I started running when I was six years old. Running is so simple, you just need your running shoes, a running shorts and a shirt. When I was 10 years old, I did my first half marathon, just for myself. I was never really a very fast runner, but I liked the movement, the challenge and the feeling of satisfaction, after the training. So I was running with no real goal, but for the satisfaction of running and feeling fit itself.

Things changed rapidly, when I got in touch with Sri Chinmoy, who became my spiritual mentor. A major part of Sri Chinmoy's philosophy is "Self-Transcendence" in every walk of life - that is to say, whatever you do, you can improve and you can go one step further, transcending your previous achievement. That was and still is something for me, that strikes me and inspires me in everything; to go beyond yesterdays achievement. Many restrictions are creations of the limited mind and we think that this and that is not possible, but once we try it, we find that it is not only possible but also attainable - if we believe in it and cultivate patience. One of Sri Chinmoy's students, Ashrita Furman is a shining example of self-transcendence in action. Ashrita has set more than 200 Guinness records and he is still going on.

I think every runner has at one point the dream to finish a marathon. In the beginning it is a far fetched dream, but as you start training, it becomes more and more a reality. Then the big day is coming, you are standing at the starting line and …
Hours later you cross the finish line and you are in ecstasy, you did it; a mental barrier has been lifted. Years back, many people thought the marathon runners to be crazy folk, and now you see 30,000 participants in the New York Marathon; marathon running has become something honorable.

After I did my first marathon, I heard about a 700 mile race in New York and I was thrilled about the idea. The problem was, that I thought that I did not have the capacity to do it. But there was a voice inside me that inspired me to try it and I finished it. Gradually I improved my stamina and my mental capacity to run the 3100 mile race. Who would have thought that one day I would run such a distance? With patience and determination and grace, is there anything that is impossible?

The Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race, as it is called, is a very special race in many ways and on different levels.
It comprehends:

• the eternity of our progress in life
• the challenge of life
• the endurance we need for our life
• the patience for achieving  something
• the mental poise we need in every situation of our life
• the helpfulness of a positive mind…

What makes this race so special for me is that you can learn so much about yourself in a relatively short time. The distance of 3100 miles has to be done in 52 days, that makes 59.6 miles per day. Everything gets very intense in this race. For 52 days you have to be very focused and endure rain, heat, humidity, injuries and lack of sleep. You are really pushing the limits and you can learn day by day, how to tackle problems in a better way.

Here at this point I have to say that the longer the race is, the fitter your mind has to be. You can create so much energy when your mind is cheerful and poised. When your thoughts are running amok and are becoming negative, you are loosing your energy and you are just seeing negative reasons to continue. At this point meditation is very  helpful, it helps you to control your mind and gives it a positive momentum.

I want to tell an incident from a runner. At a 100km race in Vienna a friend of mine was running and he had done already 70km and he felt quite fresh, when his wife came and told him, “You look tired, you will not be able to finish the race.”
Sure enough five kilometers later he had to quit; the power of the mind.

During the race it is like a roller coaster, you have your ups and downs. Is it not the same as in day to day life? There are days we do not want to go out of the house, and life seems like a barren field. But if you continue you see that even after a very long tunnel you are going to see the light again. You just have to hang in, look for the positive and you will be rewarded. Here in the race you get plenty of opportunity to practice this experience and overcome it again and again. After such a race so many problems seem to be negligible, non-existing.

I simply love the opportunity to get this intense training of problem-solving drills. At the race you can not back off; you are confronted with the problems and you have to find a solution, or it will haunt you the next day and the following day.
In normal life you go and watch a movie or do something else to escape of the problem. Not at the race - "Face the problems and solve them!" is the motto.

You have to start the 3100 miles with your first step and many are to be followed. If you always think of the whole race, your mind can not take it, so you have to break it into smaller portions, laps, hours, days… so it becomes digestable. Similarly, in our life if we think of everything that we have to do, then it looks like an impossible task, so we also have to start with the first task, the second…until everything is done. Is this race not a great teacher for our life?

Sri Chinmoy took a very personal interest in this race and came nearly every day to encourage the runners. Everytime he came to the race I feel my spirit lifted and it gave me additional physical power. 

Al Howie, an ultra-running legend in the 80's who became the first person to finish the 1300 mile race organised by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team. He said, "Every time I am coming here and I am running a race, I am leaving as a better person." Yes, that is why I am also running this race - to become a better person.

"Why do I run? I run to get inspiration. I run to increase my dynamism. I run to enjoy the beauty of nature and feel my connection with that beauty, which to me is something very sacred. Most of all, I run because running has changed me as a person and is changing me still. Through running, I'm becoming.

Is running a form of meditation? Well, sometimes yes. I have certainly had meditative experiences while running, especially during races where the intensity of the event triggers in turn an intense concentration - which is of course one of the gateways into the experience of meditation.

As with meditation, I feel the proof of the spiritual value of running is not necessarily in how you feel at the time. While running I may feel tired, drained, generally having a tough time (though thankfully these occasions are the exception rather than the rule!) but running has definitely taught me valuable spiritual lessons, and helped me to bring my good qualities more to the fore. After a run or a race, even if the experience was challenging or difficult, I invariably have a lighter mood, a happier demeanour, a feeling that life is simpler than we think and full of positive opportunities.

When I trained for my first marathon, it seemed like an impossible task. When I completed that first marathon, it brought home to me how anything is possible - how tough challenges will surrender in the face of determination and perseverance. Running has given me that confidence and optimism, and also more belief in myself and in the divine grace that is there to help all of us when we attempt the improbable (I should give up using that word "impossible"). When I ran my first ultramarathon, I realised that there is no limit to our achievements - we can keep going one step further.

Running has its pitfalls, most notably the injuries that one can sustain (though with hindsight all mine were avoidable, had I known then what I know now!). Coming to terms with being unable to run, and the process by which the injuries were surmounted so I could run again, was in itself an inspirational journey. In those times when I could not run, I was aware of how my consciousness suffered - something was most certainly missing. Thats not to say that one cannot follow the spiritual life without running, but for me it has become an essential ingredient, and were I ever deprived of it for good I would need to find another source of purity, simplicity and dynamism to complement my practise of meditation.

I worked for many years in a running shop, meeting hundreds of runners every month. Not all are conscious that running has a spiritual side, and some would dismiss such a notion as fanciful. Most runners, though, do find the activity inspiring and a source of immense satisfaction. I'm convinced many or even most runners are growing spiritually through their running, developing self discipline, determination, perseverance, detachment and numerous other spiritual qualities; not to mention the most significant spiritual quality: happiness, pure and simple. Anyone who takes on the marathon, for example, must learn how to contact their inner reserves - not just their physical reserves of energy but also their will power and the strength and inspiration that abide in one's heart and soul. If you doubt this, go to your nearest marathon and look at the faces of the finishers. You may be surprised at what you see; in their eyes, in their smiles, in the way they are finding fulfilment through as simple an activity as running.

In the spiritual life, one's spiritual practise must take first priority in one's life. Each morning when the day begins, I rise early to meditate. After meditation I sing spiritual songs, and give myself time to assimilate my meditation. Then, I get on my running shoes and head out to greet the day. Whatever the weather, its invariably a beautiful morning."

Garga Chamberlain
Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team Race Director, Bristol

Next

The inspiration for my poetry began as a young child growing up in the Caribbean. On cool dark, wintry nights, in the village of Hermitage, St Patrick's on the island of Grenada, the boys and I would sit on the side of the road telling Annancy [traditional folklore] stories until the early hours of the morning. Our only, yet precious comfort, was the taste of piped water coming directly from the 'boiling' springs. Of course, the stories themselves gave tremendous joy and inspiration, together with a deep sense of love and brotherly comradeship. I have not heard stories such as ours since, neither have I encountered the purity and self-giving nature of this life-energising water on those cool dark nights.

It was not until the early 70s that I continued my work. The divine poet, to me, is inspired unconsciously, as well as consciously. As to whether the inner accolade that comes from poetry is greater when the poet is conscious of the higher force or not conscious, I leave for others to decide. What is do know is that some of my earlier works, while written for the mundane, contained many lofty and sublime pieces. This I was only able to recognise with my spiritual awakening and the depth of inner awareness given to me on Sri Chinmoy's path. So even prior to my conscious awakening, I was unconsciously reaching for higher ideals.

My first poems that I wrote on Sri Chinmoy's path were 'prayers' written in the 80s, composed to assist me in my life of spiritual pursuit. Sri Chinmoy's style of devotion, yearning and aspiration for the Supreme had influenced me deeply, giving me the strength and necessary tools to re-commence my work.

What is a poet? I was once sitting at home when I received a letter, which had a most profound effect upon me. there and then I started composing a poem:

"Thank you"
Said the devotee to his gurubhai.
The words echoing from his inner core,
While joyful secretions trickled down his cheeks.
Happy was he in the waves of gratitude
Suddenly taking hold of his heart.
O lord, immeasurable is Your beauty,
How diverse Thy ways of expressing it!
This moment: stillness, repose, and the next...
Flowing gladness, wondrous delight,
An awakening of psychic tears and thankfulness.
Brother gurubhai, appreciation for thy faith in Man.
Long lives thy soulful inspiration.

Again at a gathering in Shepherds' Bush [in London], I experienced a 'flashing' of the wholeness of life and its interconnectedness, which prompted me to write the following poem:

Interconnectedness
I smiled at the server,
Who lovingly handed me the drink.
The swami had just finished
A most stirring speech.
Musicians played hauntingly,
While the vocalist sang melodiously
To rapturous applause,
And the drumming of the tabla mesmerised the crowds.
Upstairs, where I now sit,
The aroma of palatable food and cheerful noises,
Permeate the soulful atmosphere.
Servers diligently seek to see
That all is fed and trays are taken away.
Tables are wiped clean,
While floors are swept.
All is buzzing with life.
Downstairs, the pungent smell
Of incense, still lingers on,
And the deities stand majestically
At their respective places.
The shoes racks swell with pride,
And the book tables quietly wait their turn
In this game of life.
Silently I sit, not moving, but
Marvelling at the intricate web and
Beauty of Truth's Creation.
Each part of the whole,
Playing his or her tune, and dancing with God.

Some of my most inspired works came as a direct result of experience in mediation. I have enclosed one below:

In the Presence of Thy Sanctity

As I sit down before Thy sacred shrine,
Your stillness-peace within I feel.
Grace points me to an inner thrill,
I know the effort is not mine.
Around me all is calm, serene,
Your spirit percolates my being.
Before I even think of Thee,
Thy bliss is flowing ever free.
Your love is sanctimonious, keen,
So selfless for a wretch like me,
When all I have done is enter in,
The presence of Thy sanctuary.

The point here is to show that the divine poet, whether he is conscious or not conscious of the Supreme, writes primarily from a Higher inspiration flowing through his soul, heart, mind, vital and finally fingers and pen in order to be dynamically used to an esoteric or psychic flow. Thus Sri Chinmoy, with his direct inner vision, does infinitely better than I can, and so I would finish this writing with a poem of his which illustrates fully - in my view - the soul of the inspired poet as well as the poet with direct perception of life's inner transcendental beauty.

O Light of the Supreme
by Sri Chinmoy

O Beauty non-pareil, O Beloved,
Do burn the fire of beauty and splendour
   Within my heart.
By loving You, eternally beautiful I shall be.
May Lord Shiva's destruction-dance
Destroy all shackles of the finite.
May the light of the Supreme inundate me,
My heart, my heart, my all.
Having loved the Infinite,
The heart of gloom is crying
   For the bloom of Light
O life infinite, give me the eternal hunger
   Aspiration-cry.
The tiniest drop will lose it's raison d'etre
In the heart of the boundless ocean.
In fire and air Your life of the Spirit I behold.

Mit meinen Eltern und meinen zwei Brüdern wuchs ich in einer Kleinstadt bei München auf. Ich hatte eine glückliche Kindheit verbracht. Meine Eltern, die beide leidenschaftliche Bergsteiger sind, haben sehr früh meine Begeisterung für die Berge geweckt. Dadurch war ich oft in der Natur und habe dort auch viele Erfahrungen mit mir selbst gemacht. So hatte ich mit siebzehn Jahren schon so einiges erlebt: extreme Klettertouren im senkrechten Fels, Eistouren im Hochgebirge und auch ein mehrtägiges Fasten allein in einer Berghöhle. Ich war auf der Suche nach etwas. Ich hatte immer das Gefühl, daß es noch etwas ganz besonderes geben muß. Etwas, das meinem Leben einen tiefen, wirklichen Sinn gibt.

Eines Tages hatte ich dann ein sonderbares Erlebnis: Bei einer Kletterfahrt sah ich einen meiner Freunde wie er ohne Seil in den Abgrund stürzte. Die Zeit schien plötzlich wie stehenzubleiben, und es war ein mir bis dahin völlig unbekannter tiefer Frieden in der Luft. Das Vogelgezwitscher verstummte. Nichts regte sich. Alles war still - bis ich den Aufprall hörte. Schnell begab ich mich hinab zu meinem Freund aber alle Wiederbelebungsversuche blieben ohne Erfolg. Er war tot.

Die nächsten Tage verbrachte ich mit ständigen Gedanken über den Sinn des Lebens. Ich tat mir schwer einen zu finden. Ich war gerade in meiner Ausbildung zum Feinmechaniker und seit einer Woche dabei, einen Hammerkopf zu feilen. Er wird aus einem besonders harten Stahl hergestellt. Anstatt Späne, staubt es nur ein wenig beim Feilen und so dauert es tagelang, bis man auch nur ein paar Millimeter weggefeilt hat. Diese Tätigkeit schien mir aufeinmal völlig sinnlos zu sein. Mir wurde bewußt, wie schnell das Leben zu Ende gehen kann und wie wertvoll das Leben ist. Ich fragte mich selbst, ob ich wirklich mein Leben bewußt lebe.  Dinge, die mir gewöhnlich Freude bereitet haben hinterließen in mir plötzlich eine gähnende Leere. Gleichzeitig hatte ich jedoch immer öfter eine Erfahrung von tiefer, innerer Stille. Das hat schon am Unfallort begonnen. Nachdem mir klar wurde, daß ich nichts mehr für meinen Freund tun konnte. Als die Sanitäter den regungslosen Körper auf einer Bahre davontrugen ging ich den Weg ein bißchen hinab um alleine zu sein. Auf einmal fühlte ich, daß es nichts mehr zu erreichen gab. Das ständige Hetzen und Treiben war vorbei. Es gab nichts mehr für mich zu tun. Ich schaute in die Natur, die Sonne dämmerte und in mir machte sich eine tiefe Ruhe breit. In den Wochen darauf beschäftigte ich mich immer mehr mit geistigen Dingen. Eines Tages ging ich an einem Plakat vorbei. Gerade noch aus meinem Blickwinkel konnte ich das Wort ZEN lesen. Ich war schon einige Schritte weitergegangen, als mich das Plakat wie magnetisch zurückzog. Eigentlich habe ich auf Plakate nie besonders geachtet. Dieses aber, mußte ich mir einfach aus der Nähe anschauen. Es wurde ein Vortrag über ZEN-Buddhismus angekündigt und ich wußte sofort: Da muß ich hin!

Eine Woche später war es so weit. Ich besuchte den Vortrag und war vollauf begeistert. Der Referent war unglaublich sympatisch. Mithilfe vieler humorvoller Geschichten erzählte er, wie sich der ZEN-Buddhismus ausbreitete. Heute fällt mir keine einzige dieser Geschichten mehr ein aber dennoch haben die Worte bei mir einen tiefen Eindruck hinterlassen. Ich wußte, daß der Vortragende seit vielen Jahren meditiert und er schien genau das zu haben, was ich suchte: Er war locker, spontan und witzig, hatte eine freudige Ausstrahlung und es war ihm anzusehen, das er mit seinem Leben glücklich war. Mein Interesse an Meditation wuchs schlagartig. Nach dem Vortrag erhielt ich eine Einladung zu einem wöchentlich stattfindenden Meditationskurs. Der Kurs war genauso wie der Vortrag kostenlos, was mir als Lehrling sehr entgegen kam. Ich konnte es gar nicht abwarten bis endlich der erste Kursabend heranrückte. Nach langem Suchen fand ich endlich den Ort, wo der Kurs stattfinden sollte. Dem Kursraum entströmte eine unglaublich angenehme Ruhe und ich fühlte mich unglaublich wohl. Wie nach einer langandauernden Reise, schien ich auf einmal am Ziel angekommen zu sein. Ohne auch nur ein Wort zu sagen, fühlte ich mich völlig verstanden.

Der Kursleiter war kurzfristig verhindert und so kamen seine Frau und seine Tochter. Statt aber wie geplant den Meditationskurs abzuhalten, erzählten sie aus ihrem Leben mit Meister Sri Chinmoy. Für mich wurde es richtig spannend. Hatte doch auch der Referent schon so einige interessante Geschichten von Meistern berichtet. Als der Abend vorbei war und ich mich auf den Nachhauseweg machte, war mir klar, daß ich hier etwas unglaublich wertvolles gefunden hatte. Eine fast ekstatische Freude überkam mich und ich verspürte eine tiefe Dankbarkeit.

In der nächsten Woche kam der Kursleiter und führte uns in die faszinierende Welt der Meditation ein. Der Kern des Kurses bestand aus einigen wirkungsvollen Übungen, die wir auch jeden Tag zuhause ausführen sollten. Zudem erhielten wir an jedem Abend eine ganze Reihe von Lebensweisheiten. Sie waren direkt aus dem praktischen Leben und für mich sofort nachvollziehbar. Der Kurs war immer montags und so wurde der Montag mein „Feiertag“. Nicht daß ich an diesen Tag nicht in die Arbeit ging - nein, jeden Montag versuchte ich alles bewußter zu machen wie sonst. Im Kurs lernte ich verschiedene Konzentrations- und Meditationsübungen, die ich dann regelmäßig auch zuhause ausübte. Schon nach ein paar Wochen spürte ich wie die Meditation mein Leben veränderte. Ich sah auf einmal alles aus einer anderen Perspektive, alles viel positiver. Auch spürte ich, wie sich nach und nach eine tiefe innere Freude in mir ausbreitete. Dazu muß ich sagen, daß ich von Natur aus ein eher zwiederer Zeitgenosse war. Freude also nicht gerade zu meinen herausragendsten Eigenschaften zählte. Umso schöner war für mich diese Erfahrung von Freude. Ganz alleine begann sie aus dem Inneren zu strömmen, wenn ich es nur schaffte meinen Verstand für eine Zeit lang ruhig zu halten.

Zuerst übte ich einmal am Tag etwa fünfzehn Minuten, später dann zweimal am frühen Morgen und am Abend. Nach ein paar Wochen bemerkte ich, wie mir diese Art von geistiger Nahrung zum Bedürfnis wurde. Die Ausgeglichenheit und Freude fehlte mir, wenn ich mal wieder verschlafen hatte und ohne Meditation zur Arbeit eilte. Andersherum konnte mein Tag gar nicht mehr schief laufen wenn ich meine Morgenmeditation „erhalten“ hatte. Mit einem zufriedenen Lächeln fuhr ich dann jedesmal mit der U-Bahn zur Arbeitsstelle. Dankbar, schon den Morgen glücklich beginnen zu dürfen.

geboren im Flower-Power-Jahrzehnt

Ich habe mich von klein auf dem Sport verschrieben. Mit knapp zwei Jahren stand ich zum ersten Mal auf Schiern und laut Erzählungen wollte ich gleich gar nicht mehr runter. Jedenfalls machten mich Berge zum Snowboarden und Klettern oder auch Wind und Wellen zum Surfen extrem happy. Ich dachte immer, Sport in jeder Facette und noch etwas Musik dazu, das ist, was mich rundum glücklich macht. Das glaubte ich solange, bis ich etwas entdeckte, das unter Surfern sehr beliebt war: das Meditieren.

Einige Jahre später absolvierte ich in New York eine Tanzausbildung, als ich eines Tages entschied, den Meditationsweg zu finden, der zu mir passt.

Bei einem Vortrag über Meditation im Sri Chinmoy Centre ist eine Methode in meinem Kopf hängen geblieben, wie man seinen Meditationslehrer erkennen kann:
Man legt die Bilder von verschiedenen Lehrern vor sich auf, konzentriert sich der Reihe nach darauf und sollte dann ein wohlig-warmes Gefühl in der Herzgegend erhalten oder große Freude verspüren, wenn man auf das Bild desjenigen blickt, der für einen bestimmt ist! Also sammelte ich fleißig Bilder und kaufte Bücher von bekannten spirituellen Meistern und Meditationslehrern (und –Innen selbstverständlich!).
Um meinen 29. Geburtstag herum wurde ich zu einem Konzert von Sri Chinmoy eingeladen. “Da gehe ich hin“, war mein Gedanke. Gesagt, getan.
Zwei Tage nach dem Konzert hatte ich immer noch das Gefühl, auf einem süßen Wölkchen durchs Leben zu schweben. Für mich als bodenständige Alpenbewohnerin, ein völlig neues Lebensgefühl. Ich wusste natürlich überhaupt nicht, was los war, aber es gefiel mir sehr!

Mit meinem Studium war ich meist 8 Stunden täglich aktiv, nur das Tanzen bereitete mich plötzlich keine Freude mehr. So beschloss ich, meinen Studienplan zu ändern und nur noch Stunden in Hatha Yoga, Entspannungstechniken und Choreographie zu besuchen. Irgendwann kehrte ich leider wieder auf den Boden der Realität zurück oder besser ausgedrückt, das Schwebegefühl, das ich so cool fand, hatte sich verflüchtigt. Da erinnerte ich mich an das Ausleseverfahren zum Finden des geeigneten Meditationslehrers.
Ich hatte ja viele Bilder und hoffte, dass auch das Richtige darunter war. Andächtig legte ich alle auf. Bei einigen Bildern hatte ich ein echt gutes Gefühl! Aber das Bild, das ich bereits an der Wand hängen hatte und einen lächelnden Sri Chinmoy zeigte, machte mir die größte Freude.

Tja, so entschied ich mich für den Meditationsweg von Sri Chinmoy. Was für eine Lawine der Freude da bei mir ausgelöst wurde, das ist unbeschreiblich, sage ich euch!

In diesem Sinne wünsche ich allen viel Glück bei der Suche und unendliche Freude beim Finden des Weges!!