Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race

Author: Utpal “I had a really good experience of flowing.” It has been pretty obvious for the past few days that Sarvagata is having an extraordinarily good start to his 3100 mile adventure. Yesterday he ran 130 laps which was the most of any of the other runners. But it is not just the numbers that tell the story, it is also his very presence. He seems to exude a deep sense of calmness and tranquility. It is not without effort of course but it is almost as though the big numbers are not accumulating with struggle but with surrender. That something else is pushing him along and he is just a passenger. It was on Wednesday that his running, he says, became almost effortless. For a time all parts of his being seemed to exist in complete harmony. He felt quite clearly that this experience had come directly from Sri Chinmoy. “You could call it cosmic consciousness, or whatever. I had that experience and nearly burst into tears. It was hard to breathe because it was so delightful.” Read more

Author: Utpal 23 June. I think I know what draws me out of bed before dawn each day and come to the race.  Over the years it has become ever more clearer to me that I can receive and experience something here that is available for just 52 days, and only right here.  As the race enters its 12th day it is also becoming obvious that gradually more and more people are slowly being drawn here.  Not just in the early morning but also through out the day as well.  People who may not know exactly what it is that happening here but still feel an irresistible tug from within to show up on the course.  To walk the route, to bring gifts, to even feel that they are in some way a small part of this unique journey.  Read more

Author: Utpal 24 June.  There are for me many times when I wonder what it would be like to actually do the Self Transcendence 3100 mile race myself.  It is an absurd if not even crazy question but still it is one that forces me to examine more seriously just what I am doing with my own life.  Read more

22 June Author Utpal “It is very nice, I am already there, I am beyond.” For Sarvagata a new milestone will tumble by the wayside with each new step he takes as he continues to circle the course. He, like the other 2 new runners, up until today had never run in a race longer than 10 days. For each of them, going by the numbers at least, self transcendence will be an undeniable verifiable reality. Read more

Author: Utpal Everything always moves along so incredibly swiftly here at the Self Transcendence race. There rarely seems to be much time or opportunity to look back over your shoulder. If one did it too often you could easily trip over the present. It is challenging at the best of times to even just attempt to keep up with the relentless pace and rhythm of all the events taking place here, on this little half mile island of concrete. Read more

Author: Utpal All the runners had gone home last night, except for one.  There were just a few minutes left before the curtain of midnight would descend over the course and even if you ran an extra lap it wouldn’t count.  I know he has done something like this before. but suddenly, much to the astonishment of the handful of helpers who were still there, Pranjal decided to get one more lap in before the cut off came. Read more

Author: Utpal It was a dream of our family to be here helping him.”  Sarvagata’s sister is beaming with enthusiasm as she runs beside her brother on this the 9th day of the race.  The sun is low and golden in the sky and the air is still and clear.   It just may be as beautiful a morning as the race will see all summer.  The irony of all this is that in fact Sarvadhara (Sarvagata’s sister) is currently committed to leave later in the day for Chicago.  She flew in from the Ukraine just last night and came immediately here, only to arrive by fate, just as her brother was going home for the night.  Read more