Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race

Author: Utpal 19 July Most of us like to think of ourselves as being self sufficient. That no matter what the task in front of us might be, we will never feel any need to turn to others for support or help of any kind. It really depends of course upon, just how wide the independence streak is, painted up and down your backbone. By hook or by crook we try somehow on our own, to find a way to get the job done. In the 3100 mile race the demands are just so great it is also nearly impossible to find someone who is willing and able to help for all the hours of running that exist over the course of a long hot summer. Add to that, finding both the elusive chemistry of compatibility, an ever attentive disposition, and more importantly a sense of selflessness that allows you to slip invisibly into the life and needs of the runner. Read more

This race is full of surprises and unordinary events. After an atrociously hot day when all the runners were really cooked (Atmavir had a heat stroke), Rupantar took a decision to stop a race for one day. Nothing is going on on the course today except for heat and humidity, as it was yesterday. Everybody is enjoying a day-off before the final straight. Theoretically the race hasn’t stopped and today is day 42. Rupantar said that it would be prolonged by 2 days. It means that everybody will have to stop on day 54.

Day 41, 4.30pm It’s been a unique day. An hour ago, when the temperature was the highest, it was + 41C and 95% humidity. We’ve died and resurrected more than once today. The ones who are eager to get a new incarnation are very welcome to the 3,1000 mile race. I had run just 10 laps, when my legs got wobbly and refused to continue. At 5.40 am it was already +30C and hard to breathe because of humidity. So we knew that the day was going to be tough. Practically everybody is running slowly. Ananda-Lahari, Pradeep, Ashprihanal and myself are walking and only Surasa seem to be unaffected by weather. She has done more laps than Igor. She’s been running at her regular pace. A true iron maiden! Ashprihanal hasn’t recovered yet. He was sick at night. In the morning he didn’t run even a lap and was just walking. Ananda-Lahari and Pradeep just caught up with me and we sang a song about 3,100 mile runners by Sri Chinmoy. After singing I felt an inner smile and it felt much better. The heat also started to subside. Hopefully the evening will be more bearable. Tomorrow will be another day.

Author: Utpal 20 July The main quality I felt this morning was gratitude.” Just before dawn, and with just a few precious minutes to spare, Atmavir slipped alone into the quiet hallowed garden which is the Aspiration Ground. It is the local place close by that was once the main gathering place, in which the students of Sri Chinmoy used to meet on a regular basis with their late spiritual teacher. It is a sacred place still, in which his presence continues to be intimately felt and experienced by all those who continue to value his teachings.

Author Utpal 18 July It is only in a photograph that you can really stop and adequately capture the speeding world around us. Time never stops, nor life, nor the race nor really anything that is part and parcel of creation. Just as one footstep continually follows another, thoughts tumble one past another. All experiences, so powerful and real for an instant are then continually being replaced by hopefully higher ones. But int that instant the photo was taken you can at least attempt to reveal and comprehend a precious moment of a life in constant movement. Read more