June 20
At the Father’s Day celebration, Sri Chinmoy signs Jharna-Kala prints for his disciples at Aspiration-Ground in New York.
June 20
Sri Chinmoy lifts 160 lbs. with each arm — a total of 320 lbs. — from a standing position.
June 20
Sri Chinmoy lifts Reverend Jesse Jackson, National Rainbow Coalition President; Democratic Presidential Candidate in 1984, 1988; and civil rights leader, at Annam Brahma restaurant in Jamaica, New York. Also pictured is singer Addwitiya Roberta Flack.
June 20
The Outer Power, the Inner Power
A talk by Sri Chinmoy
at the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium, United Nations, New York
Each human being on earth embodies the outer power and the inner power. He is aware of his outer power when he looks without, around himself. He is conscious of his inner power when he dives deep within.
Each human being is the outer power and the inner power. When he calls himself the head and the body-consciousness, nothing more and nothing else, then he is the outer power. When he calls himself the soul, the soul-light, then he is the inner power.
The body-consciousness has light of its own. The soul-consciousness has light of its own. The body-consciousness, because of its limitations, does not see far. For the body-consciousness the future always remains a far cry. The soul-consciousness, because of its unlimited capacity, at one and the same time sees, grows into and becomes the achievements of the past, the realisations of the present and the vision-dreams of the future.
The outer power blinds the human in us. The outer power is devoured by the animal in us. The inner power clears and expands our vision; it shows our vision the way to reach the highest transcendental Goal.
The outer power is competition: conscious and constant competition. The inner power is conscious conception: conception of its own worth, its own reality and divinity. Divinity proceeds and succeeds, succeeds and proceeds. Reality eternally is. Again, in its silence-life, reality is at once the transcendental Height and the immanence-Light.
The outer power is supremacy. The inner power is accuracy: accuracy stating the fact of what it has and what it is. What it has is the source and what it is, is the manifestation of the source.
The outer power sings with imagination, dances with temptation, dies in frustration. The inner power is concentration, meditation and contemplation. Concentration accepts the challenges of life. Meditation purifies and illumines the challenges of life. Contemplation transforms the challenges of life into golden opportunities in life for the inner being, the Inner Pilot in us. The outer power wants to strike and then immediately wants to escape. The inner power wants not only to embrace the world but also to convince the world that the world's existence and its own existence are eternally inseparable.
The outer power says to the inner power, "Look what I have. I have the capacity to destroy God's entire creation." The inner power says to the outer power, "Look what I have. I have the power to illumine God's entire creation."
The outer power is at times afraid of its own creation: the atom bomb and the hydrogen bomb. The inner power is constantly feeding its creation with love-light, concern-light and perfection-light.
The outer power feels that there is a height which has to be transcended and that if this goal is achieved, then satisfaction will dawn. The inner power feels that height and depth, the foot of the mountain and the top of the mountain, are all at one place. It sees that they are singing the song of one reality, that they are all inside the cosmic Heart in perfect union, enjoying inseparable oneness.
The outer power wants only to ascend. It is afraid of descending. The inner power wants to ascend and descend. It knows perfectly well that when it is descending, it is carrying down to earth the descending God; and when it is ascending, it is carrying up to Heaven the ascending God.
The outer power is the dance of sound. The inner power is the song of silence. The life of sound is the creation of the human in us. The life of silence is the creation of the divine in us. The human in us wants to prove its existence. It feels that unless and until it can prove its existence, the world will have no respect for us, the world will not care for us. The divine in us does not want to prove its existence for world-acceptance, world-appreciation and world-admiration. The divine in us feels that its existence is God's universal existence. God is experiencing His own ascending, descending and transcending Light in the divine in us.
The outer power is the human power. The inner power is the divine power. The outer power says, "I can do. I need no help, no assistance." The inner power says, "I can do nothing and I am nothing. At the same time, I can do everything because there is someone in me, the Inner Pilot, who will do everything for me." Furthermore, it says that the Inner Pilot has already done everything for us and that we only have to be aware of this.
When we live in the desire-world, the outer power lords it over us. The desire-world is the world of possession and frustration. When we live in the aspiration-world, the inner power illumines us and fulfils us. The desire-world is the world without. The aspiration-world is the world within. Realisation has a free access to the inner world. And what is realisation? Realisation is the acceptance of reality as it is, reality at its present stage of evolution and reality at its ultimate height. Realisation tells us that the animal in us is for transformation, the human in us is for perfection, the divine in us is for manifestation.
Published in Union-Vision
To Have a Sweet Family
A talk by Sri Chinmoy
the night before Father’s Day,
at P.S. 117 in Jamaica, New York.
Once you make unconditional surrender to God’s Will, if you want to enter into God’s Manifestation-Game, or Lila, then you cannot come out of it. I am swimming in the sea of sorrows and tears. Each spiritual Master sings in the same vein. There is no spiritual Master who does not suffer ruthlessly at the hands of humanity. There is not a single spiritual Master who has not suffered from humanity, so I cannot be an exception. Again, you suffer, I suffer; we all suffer. There is not a single person, either realised or unrealised, who does not suffer.
Many, many, many times I said to the Supreme, “To realise You is a Herculean task.” It takes countless incarnations to realise God. It is not that God-realisation is like drinking water. We cannot get it for the asking. No, we do not get it for an easy price. It demands many, many incarnations, inner preparations, outer preparations and the mounting flame of aspiration. But always there is hope. God’s own Hope is keeping His Universe alive. If He loses Hope, then the Game is over.
Here I am with you. Ours is a very small world. But again, I have the whole world. When a spiritual Master comes into this world, he gets a few hundred or a few thousand disciples. But in the inner world, he has to work for the entire humanity. Outwardly, he has to take care of a few hundred or a few thousand; but his inner commitment to God is such that he has to work for the whole world.
When you pray most sincerely and meditate very well, you must realise that your prayers and meditations are entering into the soul and heart of the universe. There you are helping, helping, helping those who are crying for light, love and bliss from God.
On our path, the outer manifestation is very beautiful and powerful. We are manifesting here, there and everywhere. But the inner manifestation is oneness, oneness, oneness with God’s Will. At every moment we have to offer God our love, devotion and surrender. At every moment we have to offer Him our loving, cheerful and self-giving obedience. If we neglect to offer these things to God, what can poor God do? He needs us for His Manifestation; we need Him for our realisation. If I am not a good instrument, then He chooses you. And if you are not a good instrument, He chooses somebody else. In exactly the same way, if I am a good instrument of His, then as many years as He wants me to continue His Mission, I must.
A spiritual Master comes into the world to expedite the evolution of mankind. In order to do this, he needs constant, constant, constant co-operation from humanity. Spiritual life is a one-way street, but we have forgotten, or we deliberately forget, and we make it into a two-way street. And what happens if it is really one-way? Then if we try to make it two-way and turn around, there is only collision, collision and nothing else.
Many disciples started very well, with utmost sincerity. There is not a single disciple who joined the path out of curiosity. Each and every one joined with utmost sincerity, according to his capacity, according to her capacity. Then over the years, in some cases, sincerity disappeared, eagerness disappeared, willingness disappeared. In this way some have become indulgent to their own unaspiring life.
I came of a very insignificant village, smaller than the smallest. Shakpura is even smaller than Briarwood. Look at God’s miracle-power! From there I came into existence. Then I lost my dearest ones, my father and mother. But everything happened in accordance with God’s Plan, and I entered into a spiritual community. You people are lucky. Some of you have brought your children to the path. Again, some of you saw something in me, and you felt that I would be able to play the role of your parents. I have tried my best, and you have also tried your best.
In my case, my eldest brother brought me and our whole family to the path. Our mother’s heart and soul were all for the spiritual life, but she was concerned about her children’s higher education. After God took my parents away, the whole family entered into the spiritual life with a spiritual Master.
Again, speed, speed, speed is always a factor. I was the youngest in the family, but I ran very fast. When I think of my eldest brother, in terms of praying and meditating for hours and spending time in the spiritual life, he far, far surpassed me. Long before I came to the Ashram, he spent many, many hours in prayer and meditation. Again, all my brothers were under the guidance of spiritual Masters of the highest order in their previous incarnations. Some were Jesus Christ’s disciples, some were Sri Ramakrishna’s, one was Sri Chaitanya’s and some were Sri Ramachandra’s direct, direct disciples.
One day, when you realise God — which you should, you must and you will — you will be able to tell the whole world that you were once also my direct disciples. You will also be able to claim that you were with me; you were then my contemporaries; you were then my disciples.
I have had millions of sufferings and millions of failures, inner failures, with regard to the disciples. But He who has created me, He who has created you, will not suffer failures eternally. If that were the case, then God would not have created this world — never. Either in the near future or in the distant future or in one of your future incarnations, you will realise God. I will be at that time in Heaven. God is very, very kind to me. Definitely this is my last incarnation. From Heaven I will be able to see you, help you and fulfil my vision in and through you.
My last and only request to you is this: always think that spirituality is a one-way street, not a two-way street. You may go slowly at times if you are tired, but do not turn around, do not turn back. Please remember it is a one-way street.
I do hope that one day you will be the ones who will transform my sorrows into an ocean of delight. You have come into the world to manifest me, but this manifestation can take place only on the strength of your oneness, oneness, oneness with my will. You have to go beyond and beyond and beyond all the barriers, physical, vital, mental, psychic, spiritual — all, all, all. You have to go beyond all earthly bondage. You have to conquer all the forces that are standing in your way. All our enemies are inside us, not outside us. They come in the form of doubt, suspicion, disobedience, fear, jealousy and insecurity. These inner enemies are obstructions on our way.
I have not given up, and I beg of you all not to give up. Let us continue. Let me continue having faith in you all, and I expect the same from you. Let us have mutual faith. I shall give you what the Supreme in me wants me to give you. You will also give me what the Supreme in you wants you to give me. He wants me to give you my compassion, my love, my affection, my divine sweetness, fondness and constant concern to make you happy. At the same time, He expects you to give me your constant readiness, willingness and eagerness in the form of love, devotion, surrender and cheerful obedience at every moment.
What I am supposed to give, I shall definitely, definitely, definitely give, as I am giving. What you are supposed to give, some of you give and then withdraw. For one day you give and then, for months and months, you take rest, you take vacation. But I do hope we can have a good family. To have a sweet family, the father has to give what he is supposed to give and the children have to give what they are supposed to give. Let us turn this family into a very sweet, very illumining, very fulfilling and very satisfying family.
Excruciating pangs let us forget, completely forget. Let us only grow into sweetness, peace, light and bliss.
Published in Live in the Eternal Now
June 20
‘Reflections’: A Radio Broadcast
with Sri Chinmoy
on Medway Radio, Chatham, Kent, England
Listen to the interview with Sri Chinmoy
Published in My Rose Petals, part 7
LIFE IN THE LENS
Twice 68
Peacemaker and fitness enthusiast, 69-year-old Indian Sri Chinmoy, who has repeatedly stunned the world with his power, set a new world record for his age and weight a few days ago in New York. When pushing off the bench, he lifted two 68-pound dumbbells at the same time. Sri Chinmoy thus raised his own body weight and added an additional 59 kilograms to a total weight of 136 kilograms to “inspire people, especially those over the age of 50 years, that age is not a barrier.”
The spiritual leader, who is also a writer, musician, painter, a worker for world peace and the initiator of sporting events in many countries, persevered to lift the weights 20 centimetres high in seven seconds.
Pushing from the bench with two dumbbells is considered much harder than pushing a single heavier weight, because lifting with two arms separately requires much more power, control and balance. Before the successful achievement, Sri Chinmoy said, “My physical strength comes from the unconditional blessing of God.”
Then he explained, “I am a man of prayer and a disciple of peace. I feel that physical and spiritual strength need to go together. I am 69 years old. I try to inspire people who have given up their hopes. My colleagues, over the age of 60, may not have new inspiration, new aspiration, new hope. They have a feeling that their lives are coming to an end. My prayer to God is to give every human being new inspiration to become a world-elevating citizen.”
Caption:
The older he is, the stronger he is.
Published in Slovenske Novice (Slovenian News), page 8, Tuesday, 20 June 2000
June 19
Sri Chinmoy plays tennis at Jamaica High School track in Queens, New York.
Sri Chinmoy and Robert Zmelick
A meeting at Annam Brahma Restaurant in Jamaica, New York
The following excerpts are from a conversation between Sri Chinmoy and Robert Zmelick, Czech Olympic gold medallist in the decathlon (1992):
Sri Chinmoy: If you practise your 100 metres more, it will definitely, definitely help you in your long jump and in other items as well. But if you give more importance than is due to 1500 metres, then it will ruin your long jump and high jump. You are an excellent sprinter. One hundred metres, shot-put, long jump and high jump go together because of the speed and the spring that are needed. The first thing that 1500 metres does is take away the spring. No matter how slowly you run, 1500 metres is so bad for sprinters. Up to 400 metres you can practise, but 800 or 1500 metres is bad for sprinters. You can get stamina, but stamina is not speed. If you practise 800 metres, it may help you get stamina for 400 metres, but if you practise 800 metres more, definitely you will lose some spring for your 100 metres.
You will not get endurance for the decathlon from running long-distance. You have to get endurance by practising the individual events. Suppose you are doing shot-put or discus. You do not have to do your best performance; you do not have to use your maximum capacity. You can increase your endurance not by running 1500 metres, but by practising the events that you are already very good in. For example, you can do two or three hurdles instead of ten hurdles to get stamina. Then in pole vault, you can jump, but not at your maximum height. For stamina, you can do the pole vault at a very low height. If you want to get endurance and stamina, you can practise the items that will not take away your spring. If you run 1500 metres, it will ruin your spring, and then it will affect your high jump and your long jump.
The 1500 is nothing, less than four rounds on the track, but if you practise it many times, then your spring disappears. So kindly be very careful with your 100 metres, long jump, shot-put and high jump. Definitely I want you to do well in 1500 metres, but not by running it more times. You can increase your stamina in some other way. If you want to, you can even try sprinting 30 or 40 metres many times. You know your speed for 100 metres, so you can do it a few times more to get stamina.
So many items in the decathlon depend on speed. The shot-put definitely requires speed. It comes from the elbow or from the shoulder or somewhere else, but speed is absolutely necessary. Even very strong people cannot throw the shot well if they have no speed, and that speed you have.
How much time do you spend in taking exercises, such as weightlifting? How many days per week do you lift weights?
Robert Zmelick: I was lifting four times weekly, but now I do it two times a week. Now I am in a special programme using a medicine ball, with exercises for the abdominals and the torso. These are very important for turning and for force. Your record of 7,000 crunch sit-ups is unbelievable! I do 500, and then my abdomen hurts!
Sri Chinmoy: In your case, you have to compete in ten events. You do not need to do something like 7,000 sit-ups.
My only request to you is that this coming month, before the Olympics, you should not adopt anything new that you have not done before. If you want to increase, increase; if you want to decrease, decrease. But do not be greedy to try something new. Whatever you are doing, you can do the same thing a few times more or a few times less. But you are taking a great risk if you try to practise anything new. Many athletes make that mistake. It is our eagerness or greed: “If I do this, perhaps I will do better.” At that time problems arise because you have a very, very high standard. At this standard when you want to adopt something new, you take a risk. But the things that you have been doing are safe. If you want to do more repetitions or fewer repetitions, you can. Only do the things that you have been familiar with for at least six months. Anything new at this point, when it is only a matter of a month, may create problems because you are not accustomed to it.
You may feel, “Oh, this may help me.” It may help you, but again it may create some problem for you. The last month before the competition, everything you must do with utmost confidence. You will throw, run and jump with utmost confidence. If you adopt something new, at that time you may not have confidence. When you do not have confidence, that is the time when you may get injuries. Confidence removes all fear and doubt. If we do something new, we may get freshness in our mind, but again the same mind can give us doubt. If we do something for the first time, we can have tremendous happiness because it is a new adventure. Again, when we want to enjoy a new adventure, we may be attacked by self-doubt. This is not the time for you to have any kind of self-doubt in anything you do. Everything you have to do with utmost confidence — you have done it, you have done it, you have done it. But if it is something new, you may not be able to say that because you do not have the preparation from before.
So everything that you practise — shot-put, discus, javelin, jumping or running — do with utmost confidence because you have been doing it for so many years. But if you feel that by taking a particular exercise or by doing something else, you will increase your capacity, you will be entering into new territory, an unknown field. That unknown field can give you beautiful flowers or it can give you something else.
Will your coach be with you?
Robert Zmelick: No, I am training alone because I know my body. I have a special training programme.
Sri Chinmoy: Your body does not sometimes tell you that you are doing more than you need to do or that you are not doing as much as you are supposed to do? What kind of message do you get from your body?
Robert Zmelick: I feel that all year I worked very hard in San Diego with no rest, just working and working. Now I feel my body is telling me, “Robert, you must now be smart because it is getting very close to the Olympics and you need a special programme.”
Sri Chinmoy: But does that special programme include a little more rest?
Robert Zmelick: I have a special tape of Carl Lewis on training, and I like his programme — one day hard training, the next medium, the third easy and the fourth rest. For me, it is very hard because I feel that a rest day is much harder than a hard workout.
Sri Chinmoy: Do not allow your mind to be your boss. You be the boss of your mind. Suppose one day you have taken rest. Then the mind will tell you that you have not practised for many days. All kinds of worries and anxieties will come to you and make you feel that you have taken many days’ rest. The mind may tell you that you have lost a little capacity or that you are not eager any more, you are not sincere any more, you are not serious any more. This roguish mind can tell you the following day that had you been very sincere, had you been very serious, then you would have practised yesterday as well. By saying that you are not serious and you are insincere, the mind is weakening you.
At that time you have to become the boss of your mind. You have to tell the mind, “My body is like a machine. In a factory, after a few hours, a big machine needs refueling. Everything needs rest, and rest brings energy. Yesterday I took rest; I needed it desperately. I cannot do anything for twenty-four hours a day. Even though I like to eat, can I eat for twenty-four hours? Impossible. When we eat, we are satisfied. Similarly, after taking exercise for a few days, if the muscles get rest, they get nourishment. So when the mind is telling you that you are no longer serious, no longer sincere, no longer disciplined, challenge your mind by saying, “O mind, I am wiser than you are. Why should I have to be in the battlefield every day, every hour? I have to come back home to rest.”
The day you did not practise, you did not go to the battlefield. Why? Not because you are a coward, not because you are weak, but because you wanted to regain more strength. Then the following day you will go to the battlefield and defeat everybody. You were wise to take rest so that you could get more strength and defeat your rivals. But your mind can play a trick on you by convincing you that because for one day you took rest, your whole world has collapsed — you are no longer disciplined, you are no longer serious in your sports. This is what happens with some athletes. Always the mind is playing tricks. Again, if you have practised hard one day, and the following day you are quite satisfied, the mind can tell you, “This is not enough. You should have done more.” You have done more than enough; you are satisfied. But the clever mind is taking your joy away from you by telling you that you have not practised enough.
Perhaps you will go home and lie down, saying, “Oh, I have done so well in javelin.” Then your mind takes away all your joy by saying, “It was not enough. If I had thrown once more, I would have thrown two metres more.” The mind all the time makes a fool out of us, always takes our joy away. At that time your heart has to be the judge. Your heart will say, “No, I did as much as I wanted to do. I wanted to do fifteen throws, and I did fifteen throws. It is enough for me.”
The final judge has to be the heart. Whatever you do, the heart will say you did the right thing. If you stop after fifteen throws, the heart will say you did absolutely the right thing. The mind will say, “No, I should have done two or three more. Then I would have done better.” But if you had done more, perhaps you would have injured yourself instead of doing better. So do not listen to the mind at all. Whatever you do, do happily and cheerfully. The day you are taking rest, feel that that is absolutely the right thing for you. The day you practise, feel that you are doing absolutely the right thing. Whatever you do, feel that you are doing absolutely the right thing. While you are doing something, if you think that you are not doing the right thing, the mind will take away all your joy, enthusiasm, eagerness and readiness.
When you are throwing the shot, please feel that you are doing the right thing. Do not say, “I should be doing something else. Yesterday my 400 metres was so bad! I should practise it a little more.” When you are doing shot-put, your heart is telling you, “This is the time for me to do the shot-put.” At that time, do not think that yesterday you did not do well in the 400 metres. Your heart has to be the judge, from the very beginning.
You said that you are your own coach. That is excellent. But the real coach has to be your heart. This means that you have to do everything cheerfully. Each time you do something happily — whether you are throwing, jumping, doing hurdles or anything else — you have to feel that you are doing the right thing. When you are not happy in what you are doing, it is the mind that is making you miserable.
How many hours rest do you get at night?
Robert Zmelick: Now I am sleeping nine hours a night. It is very good for me, and after lunch I sleep one and a half or two hours.
Sri Chinmoy: That is very good. One week before the Olympics start, please do one thing for each event. Suppose the first event is 100 metres. Imagine that you are running the fastest in 100 metres. The first time you will imagine you have gone at a particular speed. The next time when you imagine you are running 100 metres again, imagine that you are going still faster. Imagination has its own speed. Outwardly I may run 100 metres in 17 seconds. But imagination has a much faster speed. Again, new imagination can have still faster speed. With today’s imagination, you are imagining that you are running very fast. Tomorrow when you are imagining, try to feel that you are going still faster, and the day after tomorrow feel you are going faster than the fastest. While throwing also, imagine that you are doing more. This imagination is not hallucination.
Robert Zmelick: I use imagination every day.
Sri Chinmoy: Every time, imagine that you are doing better. In the high jump, when you have reached a particular height, the mind will say, “Oh, this is the maximum height.” Forget about the mind. Imagine that you have jumped two inches higher. Keep the height there, not lower. While imagining, be very, very happy. Feel that you have done it.
Always make yourself happy by imagining something higher, something longer, something faster. When it is running, just imagine that you are going faster. When it is high jump or pole vault, imagine jumping higher. Each time you imagine, feel that you are very happy, very happy that you have done it. Your imagination has absolutely no barriers. When you are imagining something, do not think that there are hurdles that you have to jump over. No, feel that the road is absolutely clear; there is only you and nobody else on the road.
I am very, very happy to speak to you on the eve of your Olympic championship. Your happiness is your strength. Happiness will give you confidence; confidence will give you happiness. If you are doing the high jump or anything else, feel that you are doing it to make yourself happy. If today you are not doing your best, only tell yourself: “It is not necessary. When the time comes, I can easily do it.” Do not say, “Today if I am not doing it, how will I do it in the Olympics?” No. You have to say, “It is not necessary. I will be able to do it easily.”
At every moment challenge your mind. You be the boss of your mind. The mind will always try to create self-doubt. The mind never gives us joy. Even if it gives us a certain amount of joy for five seconds, after five minutes it takes away even more joy. We may get limited joy from the mind. Then the mind takes away this limited joy plus it brings unlimited unhappiness. One dollar it gives. Then afterwards it takes away that one dollar and tries to steal ten dollars more from the heart. The heart has joy, so secretly the mind enters into the heart-room and takes away the heart’s joy.
Whatever you do, do it happily. Do not have any regrets: “Oh, I should have done this; I should have done that.” No, whatever you have done, feel that that is absolutely the right thing. That will give you joy. Once you do it, feel that you have done your best. If you say, “I should have done something else,” it will weaken you. Then you will not be able to do your other events well. Always do everything well and say, “I have done the right thing. If I have taken rest, it was absolutely necessary. If I have not taken rest, it is because it was not necessary.” Always convince your mind with happiness, happiness.
I wish you good, better, best of luck in every event!
Published in Sri Chinmoy Answers, part 24
June 19
Sri Chinmoy performs on the esraj during the exhibition opening of his Jharna-Kala artworks, at the prestigious Museum Alexander König in Bonn, Germany. The reception is sponsored by the director of the museum Dr. Günter Nobis, and the cultural attache from the Indian Embassy in Bonn serves as master of ceremonies for the programme, which is recorded for future broadcast in India.
Peace Concert
by Sri Chinmoy
held at James J. Reynolds Jr. High School Brooklyn, New York.
in honour of Swami Vivekananda
Dedication:
Today’s Peace Concert I am dedicating to Swami Vivekananda, who commanded India’s silence-flooded heart to speak and who begged America’s sound-oriented mind to listen.
Published in Vivekananda: Divinity’s Soul-Rainbow and Humanity’s Heart-Blossom
June 19
Sri Chinmoy lifts Helen Hunt, Academy Award-winning actress, at Aspiration-Ground in Jamaica, NY, USA. On February 15, 2013, Helen Hunt is interviewed on the Late Show with David Letterman and speaks about her meeting with Sri Chinmoy.
June 19
World Mirror
Advanced in years, but still not old and weak: High-Performance Athletes and Beauty Kings
Youth has passed for these gentlemen, but they are still not ready for the scrap-heap for a long time. Sri Chinmoy (pictured on the left), an Indian living in the U.S., set a new dumbbell record for his age category. On the weekend in New York, the 69-year-old lifted two dumbbells with a total weight of 300 pounds simultaneously. Also on the weekend the 92-year-old Simon Kokoraschwili, Georgi Teimurazow (94) and ShalaTsarvadse (87) (pictured on the right, from left) could not be enthused by this kind of top performance. These gentlemen were 3 of a total of 14 seniors, who took up a beauty competition in the youth centre of the Georgian capital Tbilisi.
Published on page 8 of the daily Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung (New Osnabrück Newspaper), Monday, 19th June 2000, circulation: 334,000