I have been counting at the Sri Chinmoy 24 hour race since 1999. Usually, I just come for the first 10 or 11 hours, then drive home and do a cycle race on Sunday. It’s a good shift, but I always feel a little bit like a part-timer compared to those who stay from start to finish.

This year, an injury meant I had no cycle race and was free to attend the whole 24 hours.

The first 11 hours went quite quickly and I enjoyed the experience. The main job of a counter is to concentrate on being ready to mark down the times of the runners – as they come around the 400m circuit, every 2-4 minutes.  It might sound easy, but as the hours go by, it becomes a challenge to keep focused and always on the look out for the next time the runner comes round the track.

Often, you need to keep eyes open, whilst at the same time writing down the numbers and working out the splits. Amongst the counters, there is a bit of chat and good humour, which is helpful to keep spirits up. But it is a constant challenge to keep the balance and remain always on the look out for your runners.

By acknowledging the runners every time they come past, you become part of their race. A good counter can hopefully encourage the runner. It also works the other way – as a counter, you can pick up on the energy and determination of the runners. I often have difficult sleeping after a days counting shift – which is strange as you would expect to be tired after 12 hours of sitting down counting runners, but the race creates a lot of energy.

The hardest part was coming back, after a fitful sleep, at 6am the next morning, but it was good to be able to see the finish of the race. I was lucky to have the lead runner James Stewart from Scotland, who kept up an excellent tempo for the whole race to set a new course record of over 160 miles. Counting him in the last hour, I could feel his joy as he achieved real self-transcendence; he had that aura of an athlete who was on a good day.

It was interesting to be on the other side of the counting shed so to speak. Usually, I am the one being timed racing up hills. Today I was the one counting. I enjoyed the experience and look forward to next year and trying to do a good job for the runners.

Amateur video of race

This is a video of the race made up of a few short videos and photos whilst counting. It is the first video I’ve made, so I’m just using it to learn about the art of making videos.  But, you can get a small idea about the race from the counters perspective.

Watch out for 1.58 where I point down the camera and a large slab of chocolate momentarily pops into the viewfinder. You might think that was just more amateur videography, but actually it was very carefully planned and expertly executed. Just after the chocolate appearance is the best bit with James Stewart’s finish.

Mahasatya ran 103 miles this year.

During the race, Ann Bath also set a new women’s world record in her age group (0/65) for 24 hours. (115.9 miles)

Related

• London 24 hour race at Sri Chinmoy Races
• Photos by Surabhamat
• View from the counting shed – article by Sumangali from 2004.

For disciples of Sri Chinmoy, August 27th is a special day, which we mark with a race, meditation and musical performances. This year, there were perhaps 1,000 people from all over the world who came to meet in Jamaica, Queens, New York.

August 27th is one of the few days a year where I feel I have no outer obligations or responsibilities. The phone and computer is switched off; it is simply a day for meditation and being at peace with the world.

I start off by meditating at 5am. Usually, getting up at 5am to meditate would be a difficult task, but the energy of a spiritual celebration seems to help reduce the need for sleep. (Plus jet lag from UK works in favour of getting up early.)
After that I have a leisurely breakfast in an American diner – fried potatoes and fried omelette. It’s not the raw carrots and kale of a strict spiritual discipline, but outer joy is good too. Breakfast is also a good time to speak to old friends and share stories and anecdotes from the spiritual life – some are inspiring, some amusing.

After breakfast I help to take down the 47 mile race. The 47 mile race is run from midnight of the 27th until 10am. Sri Chinmoy himself ran this race two times and encourages his disciples to also take part. It is an opportunity for self-transcendence – both physically and spiritually. The race does not have a competitive vibration, but is an opportunity for entrants to try and transcend their outer and inner capacities. I arrived at 9.30am and saw many of the slower runners finish. It is quite revealing to see the faces of those who finish – so much joy and sense of satisfaction; it is the kind of joy that cannot be bought with any money. Sri Chinmoy once said that if anybody wanted to give him a birthday present, the best gift would be to enter the race. In 1979, after seeing many disciples finish, Sri Chinmoy declared:

“This is my best birthday gift. Watching each of you transcend your own outer limitations has given me tremendous joy. When you transcend any aspect of yourself, your spiritual qualities grow and expand. Now you see what is true for all human beings. We are all truly unlimited if we only dare to try and have faith.” (Article on 47 mile race)

Comparatively, I had an easy job which doesn’t require forsaking sleep, but it is still nice to take part. As the last person to leave, I found an old friend had left a bag. This friend from Scandinavia is the kind of friend I might only speak to once or twice a year, but when we meet, there is always a sense of affinity, suggesting outer contact is only a part of real friendship.

By the time the race was packed up, it was getting quite hot, so I went to shower and get ready for meditation. The formal meditation and function had already started at 10am. As a young disciple, I may have regretted missing part of the function, but now I feel it doesn’t matter. Real meditation is not just about sitting still and trying to quieten the mind, but also a sense of service. Taking part in the race helps give the day a complementary approach of both service and silent meditation.

***

Once at Aspiration Ground (the place where we meet together), I found a place and began to meditate. The secret of all day meditation is to have no expectation and not to think about time. When I feel like a break, I go outside and have some refreshments and chat to friends. On this occasion, I sat and listened as three people talked about their experiences with Sri Chinmoy and their visits to India and Asia. I was happy to be a listener because they told with great sincerity some of the ways Sri Chinmoy had encouraged their spiritual search or took an interest in their progress.

***

One brother who had travelled to India told this interesting experience. Whilst travelling in India, a sadhak (spiritual seeker) invited him to come and meet his Indian Guru. The brother took up the invitation and went to an underground cave, where a yogi was meditating. The yogi came out of his trance and placed his hands on his head in blessing. It was a nice experience, but something he forgot all about. Six months later, Sri Chinmoy was walking down a corridor and spoke to this brother.

“So you have another Guru? do you?”

“I’m sorry Guru (Sri Chinmoy), I’m not sure what you mean.”

The brother couldn’t understand at all why Sri Chinmoy was asking this question. But, catching Sri Chinmoy’s eyes, the memory of meeting this yogi and the sensation of having his hands placed on his head came straight into his mind.

Half apologetically, he replied.

“No, I only have one Guru!”

Sri Chinmoy smiled and walked off. The point was that the brother felt Sri Chinmoy always knew what was happening in his spiritual life. Usually, Sri Chinmoy would not say anything outwardly, but on this occasion, he did.

***

After I had a fill of Indian stories I went back inside to listen to some excellent musical performances – arrangements of Sri Chinmoy’s music by some very talented performers from the Sri Chinmoy Centre. Some of the music was very soulful, it really helped me to go deep within. More than anything, it brought forward the spiritual heart.

Time passed very easily, and before I knew – it had gone from 12am to 6pm and I hadn’t done anything or gone further than getting lunch in a park. I can’t remember having any particular great meditation, but it seemed effortless to sit there. One thing I remember strongly about the day was walking to dinner and feeling such an overwhelming sense of goodwill to everyone in the world. It felt spontaneously like I wanted to inwardly offer good will, even to random people I passed in the street. The good experience built up over the day, helped by the focus and spiritual energy which seemed to permeate this special celebration.

***

After finding the bag of my Scandinavian friend earlier in the day, I  now wished to return the bag. I happened to spot him by a big picture of Sri Chinmoy over a birthday cake. He seemed to be meditating on the photo and his face looked remarkably similar to the smiling picture of Sri Chinmoy. If anyone else had been standing in a driveway meditating it might have been a little strange, but this chap is a special soul; the devotion was real, not at all forced – he often seems to be inhabiting his own loka, beyond the usual snares of the world. I wanted to give back the bag, but felt unable to disturb his meditation. So I just stood there too, and bided my time. After a short time, he turned round and with a smiling countenance looked at his missing bag. I handed the bag and spoke:

“From one space cadet to another, here is your missing bag!”

“Wow, thank you! I was just about to start asking people for that bag!”

That was it. Not the most deep conversation, but there was a rare sense of a soul’s connection, the mysterious hand of fate bringing two friends together through a missing bag. It shows that if someone really meditates, even the most mundane thing like recovering a bag can give great joy. It wasn’t the recovery of a material object, it was something deeper than that. I can’t explain the great joy this experience gave. Like an infectious wave, I caught the smiling bug. Disease and cynicism maybe infectious, but so too are smiling and laughter.

(BTW: I too am a space cadet and am always leaving bags lying around; in fact I was glad to be on the side of recovering someone else’s stuff for a change.)

***

After dinner there were more musical performances. There was also a world record attempt by Ashrita and a team of 80 helpers. The aim was to set the world record for the most number of candles on a cake. It was a big operation to set alight and then blow out all the candles. A delay before the start, highlighting the tension of the occasion.

After the excitement of 72,000 candles and a world record, I went back inside for a final meditation and prasad. I felt a little sad the day was nearing to an end. I knew tomorrow that responsibilities and duties would again come to the fore, but, for at least two to three times a year, it is important to be able to switch off and devote to a remembrance of the spiritual life.

Related

• 47 mile race in 2015 – blog at Perfection Journey

In New York, it can be harder to appreciate nature – eye level is dominated by high rise buildings and a mass of electrical and telephonic wires. However, we were driving up through Queens after a hard days work selling books, when the sky suddenly caught the eye. We had to strain the neck to glimpse beyond the concrete blocks, but it rewarded with a beautiful patchwork of clouds – nature’s spontaneity created by the Supreme Artist.

It was an instant feeling of joy to see this free artwork high in the sky – the only thought that came to mind is how it intuitively reminded me of Sri Chinmoy’s Jharna Kala “Fountain Art” – an art which springs from a deep sense of creativity and inner depth.

I didn’t have my camera whilst driving, but on returning to the UK the sky kindly repeated the feat – if not quite as spectacular, it still it reminded me of the effortless, free-flowing patterns of spontaneity.

Sri Chinmoy said “Art is not something to be understood; it is something to be felt.” [1] In the case of mystic art, we need to enter the painting with the heart and soul, and not from the mind. With this spirit, we can start to feel the interconnectedness of the underlying, hidden realities that create the outer world from the inner spirit.

Jharna Kala by Sri Chinmoy

Jharna Kala by Sri Chinmoy

Related

• Sri Chinmoy’s art
• Daily posting of Sri Chinmoy’s art

I learned about Camp Grounded from a link from an article about the addictiveness of mobile phones by a former Google design ethicist.

Joy weekends

With the exception of some details (perhaps more meditation, less home-brewed beer), the spirit of the camp very much reminded me of the joy weekends we have within the Sri Chinmoy Centre. They are weekends to forget work and the world of commerce, and regain the connection with the spirit and joy of life. Sri Chinmoy loved joy weekends and encouraged his disciples to have meditation, music and games – games which help encourage a child-like spirit and spontaneous joy.

Increasingly I’ve noticed that joy-weekends are a good excuse for my own mini digital detox. A weekend without checking email and computer is always a real boon and feels like I should do it more often. I’m not a fan of mobile phones and assiduously try to avoid unwanted notifications, the social media world and interruptions e.t.c. But, with a computer I use for work, it’s often hard to escape the pull of that easy than the easiest access to check news, latest sports and the labyrinth of human opinion which is on the internet.

I’m lucky to I have a meditation shed in the garden, when I leave the house and computer behind, a look at the moon or the nature of the garden is a reminder there is a world much more real and meaningful than the electronic world with all its pulls and pushes. But, sometimes I think a few visits to something like Camp Grounded would be very good.

Related

• How to live without the internet
• The problem with 24 hour news

Some poems are very striking, and contain a whole world of ideas. I wrote a short piece on a particular poem – Children of the Himalayan Caves | (DL 14). It was writing an essay which helped give a deeper appreciation for the poem. There is also wonderful language which can make you both smile and cry whilst reading the same individual poem.

Sri Chinmoy was a poet par excellence. Poetry was part of his life-breath and in these poems, he really put his life breath into them. After being his disciple for 15 years, they develop greater resonance because I see how the poems relate to his life, and also the life of a disciple.

I think the first time I listened to classical music, aged 10, I had no appreciation for it. But, when I tried 10 years later, I found it touched a part of my self, previously asleep or not receptive. That is what it can feel like with Sri Chinmoy’s writings – to really appreciate, you have to go through the spiritual experiences of a seeker – experiencing the highs and lows of any spiritual path, and then you can claim the poems as your own because they relate to incidents in your own spiritual search.

Another poem from the Dance of Life.

22. Visions of the emerald Beyond

Related

• Children of the Himalayan Caves article at Write Spirit

I received this through the post today from a friend. A nice surprise.

“If you have inner peace, nobody can force you to be a slave to the outer reality.”

Sri Chinmoy [1]

Last week, I helped organise the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run on the day it was in Oxford. In the morning we visited the Oxford Mindfulness centre at the Warneford hospital in Headington, within the Oxford University Department of Psychiatry.

The Mindfulness centre have been offering courses in meditation and mindfulness to help people deal with stress, depression and other life issues. Four years ago, we met with the founder of the Centre – Mark Williams when the Peace Run last went through Oxford.

The staff were very friendly and cheerful – a great advert for the benefits of meditation and mindfulness.

They welcomed the international team of Peace Runners for an hour, and we had a short meditation together.

After this morning meeting, the Peace Run visited Meadows School in Blackbird Leys and then began the long run to Bristol.

To keep up with the long schedule of 80 miles, we split the run into three parts. I took a couple of runners from Oxford to the village of Fernham. It was over quiet country roads, I often use for cycle training. The run was at a more sedate affair than my cycle training, but it was relaxing to go through the Oxfordshire countryside at a steady rate.

One of the great things about the Peace Run is the chance encounters with strangers on route. At our final village in Fernham, this gentleman took the torch and seemed moved to be able to take part in this Peace Run. He invited us in for a drink, but we still had a lot of miles to make by evening. We drove to Avebury to catch up with the other Peace Run team.

That was my contribution to the Peace Run for a day. I rejoined the Peace Run at the weekend at the Wales Botanic Gardens.

Holding torch in Wales Botanic Gardens. Photo Surabhamat

Related

• More photos at Peace Run site
• Oxford Mindfulness Centre

Q. What do we call people who don’t eat meat?

A. Poor people!

Related

• Joining Sri Chinmoy’s path

The entrance to the concert was through a modest wooden door. In a street filled with the brilliance of commerce, it would have been quite easy to walk straight past. But this reserved entrance, hid an unexpected sanctuary of peace – within the chapel a generosity of light and calm.

A small crowd gathers, patiently in the ancient wooden pews; a few intrepid souls, perhaps wondering what is to come.

The musicians take to their seats, dressed in white. Just a brief introduction to the music of Sri Chinmoy – listen with your heart, the only guide.

An hour passes with ease; heavenly voices, dynamism and poise. The heart tingles with recognition of the music of the soul. It reaches the core.

No grand finale, but an invitation to sing with the group:

“O make my mind tranquil and calm / Charidike neharite prashanti dham” – an invocation to the peace already present.

The music ends – happy faces mingle with no rush to leave. A short concert, but a highlight to a week. Unknown strangers spontaneously speak with deepest sincerity:

“Such a joy to hear young men sing with devotion to God”

“Thank you for such wonderful music, I now feel completely calm.”

“Magical and soulful. Thank you.”

But, the greatest praise is writ in the faces of those transformed. With this unexpected joy, we joke at the reluctance to return to the  world outside. People linger to buy books and CDs. Ah, but if only we could buy the atmosphere!

The only cloud beginning to trouble the mind – will we remember, in the future, this hour when the soul felt at peace?

The small crowd trickle away, only a few to witness this abundance of peace. And no recording, so this music is lost to the world – evaporating as quickly as it came.

But to see one face transformed is enough.

Related

• Ananda at Radio Sri Chinmoy
• A visit to a local church

How long could he continue his abuse? After a while he stopped and was about to leave the place. But the Buddha said, “Just wait, please. I have something to ask you. Tell me, when you offer gifts to a person, if he does not accept your gifts, what do you do?

“I just take them back.”

The Buddha said, “Well, you have been trying to offer me the gifts that you brought with you. Since I have not accepted your gifts, you are taking them back with you.”

The man felt sad and ashamed of his conduct. He begged forgiveness of the Buddha. The Buddha forgave him and eventually he became a close disciple of the Buddha.

– Story from AUM Magazine, January 1974. Originally written by Mano Ranjan Ghose. Translated from the original Bengali by his younger brother, Sri Chinmoy.

Comment

There is a saying kindness is its own reward. Hatred is its own punishment. Also, whatever you give out, comes back to you like a boomerang. In this story, the Buddha’s silence illumines the person filled with anger.