Body, Mind and Spirit Magazine Interview
Sri Chinmoy is interviewed in Washington, D.C. by Body, Mind and Spirit magazine during the ‘Heart-to-Heart’ Festival.
Question: In your own words, who are you?
Sri Chinmoy: If anybody asks me who I am, immediately I say I am a Truth-seeker and a God-lover.
Question: Tell me about your weightlifting.
Sri Chinmoy: I believe that we have to be integral. The spirit and the body must go together. If I have peace of mind in my inner life, then I shall not quarrel with you and fight with you. Nations, like individuals, are insecure. If one nation has peace within, then that particular nation is not going to challenge other nations. It is because we do not have an iota of peace that we quarrel with others, we speak ill of others, we find fault with others. Peace of mind gives us joy in boundless measure.
When I lift up these weights, I try to unite both the inner world and the outer world with my inner peace. I am a student of peace. Every day, since my childhood, I have been praying and meditating. From the life of prayer, I get peace and this peace gives me strength. My weightlifting is the manifestation of my inner strength. This is my soulful service that I have been offering to humanity.
Question: You are saying that weightlifting is the manifestation of an inner strength?
Sri Chinmoy: Yes. Because of my prayer-life and meditation-life, God, out of His infinite Bounty, has given me inner strength. So this inner strength I am trying to manifest through matter.
Question: How do you lift people?
Sri Chinmoy: With a oneness-heart. I have lifted people from all walks of life to offer my oneness to them. We all belong to one family. In a family, somebody is a doctor, somebody is an engineer, somebody is a football player. But they are all brothers and sisters of the same family. So here also, on the strength of my oneness with people from various fields, I am lifting them up. My sole objective is to be of service to mankind.
Question: How do you feel about the attention that you get? Is that sometimes a hindrance for you?
Sri Chinmoy: No, because I know that I am not the one who is getting the attention. I know that I am not the doer. If somebody offers me love or admiration, I know that it is my Inner Pilot who is receiving it. I am only an instrument.
Question: So it is not Sri Chinmoy?
Sri Chinmoy: It is not Sri Chinmoy. It is the One who, according to my receptivity, according to my capacity, is manifesting Himself in and through me. So if you speak highly of me, I know I am not the one who deserves it, I am not the right person. But there is Someone who has given me the capacity to draw your appreciation and that Person deserves the credit, not me. I am not the doer; I am only an instrument, a channel. So if you appreciate me, this appreciation is going directly to the Source and not to me.
Question: So it is a measure of how successful the Source has been?
Sri Chinmoy: Yes, according to my capacity and receptivity. The One who is inspiring me and trying to manifest in and through me I call my Inner Pilot. Your appreciation directly goes to Him.
Question: You have had this special relationship with God since you were a child?
Sri Chinmoy: I have been praying and meditating since the age of four. Now I am 57.
Question: So you have always known?
Sri Chinmoy: I came from a religious family and I was fortunate enough to follow in the footsteps of my brothers and sisters.
Interviewer: Well, you have been very gracious to meet with me and I want to thank you very much for taking the time. I wish you well.
Published in The Upanishads: the Crown of India’s Soul