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Drawings of Love and Gratitude

Doctors and nurses who are working in challenging conditions often mention the need on their units for more hope, especially, but also for courage, strength, endurance and cheerfulness – for the medical staff as well as the patients.

In addition, children have also found dealing with the fear and isolation particularly challenging. One way to help them deal with these feelings is to show them a way in which they can help. In these challenging times, we decided to collect children’s drawings to support our doctors and medical staff. Doctors and nurses often cite the need for more hope, courage, strength, endurance and cheerfulness - both for themselves and their patients.

In cooperation with the city officials of Nur-Sultan (the capital city of Kazakhstan) over 40 posters were placed in bus stops around the city with these drawings and Sri Chinmoy’s inspiring and encouraging poems.

Another example of this kind of cooperation is the Russian city of Stavropol, where we placed similar posters in city parks.

This is a light-hearted interview with a local news station where you can see Ashrita attempt some records in his back garden....

Food delivery

When the pandemic was at its worst in New York, some of Sri Chinmoy's students donated money so that our local New York restaurants - Annam Brahma and Smile of the Beyond - could send 15-25 meals to Queens Hospital each day.

The nursing director and also the administrative the director of the emergency ward called every day, in spite of their intense schedule, to express their gratitude on behalf of the emergency room staff. Many did not have time to go to the cafeteria to get food. Often we would tape one of Sri Chinmoy's aphorisms taped onto the mealbox: they said the first time the staff received it and read the aphorism, it was the first time they had seen a smile on their faces.

The restaurant Pranaya in Zlín, Czech Republic also had a very nice experience for a few months sending food for local hospital workers.

Banners of hope

Through our Oneness-Heart-Tears and Smiles service, we are trying some simple humble ways to make a difference. For example, we have prepared banners and posters of different sizes with haiku-like positive affirmations on such topics as Hope, Endurance, Cheerfulness, Positive thoughts, Courage, Compassion, Kindness – all of a universal nature.

Hospitals in Italy

In March, at the height of the spread of Covid-19 in Italy, a message of hope spread throughout the country: “Andrà tutto bene”, meaning “Everything will be alright”. Laura Alongi, our co-ordinator, discovered a poem by Sri Chinmoy that included the English phrase, and created the banner shown here. Banners like these were placed in hospitals all over Italy.

Kind remarks

Some of the remarks we have heard from these posters....

    “Are these for us? Oh…then you love us.
    “It’s just the right message for me”
    “I’m waiting for this message”
    “They are so powerful, I will frame them”
    “It did me a lot of good, Doctor, you cannot understand what they meant to me”

One person applauded spontaneously after reading them. The poems appreciated most by customers were those about hope, smiling, and endurance.

Related pages

• Messages of hope from Portugal

In this spirit, the Peace Run has welcomed runners to commit to a daily mileage so that each week, the 'virtual' team can target a particular mileage of between 60-160km a day. The idea is that, although physically we may be separated, we can still seek to maintain an inner connection and keep alive the universal dream of bringing together humanity in a spirit of friendship and peace.

“Peace does not mean the absence of war, peace means the presence of harmony, love, satisfaction and oneness. Peace means a flood of love in the world family.”

– Sri Chinmoy

This 'virtual' Peace Run is open to anyone who would like to join in the simple aim of dedicating some of their weekly running to the spirit of peace. Before beginning their run, participants from the virtual peace run have briefly meditated on the concept and feeling of peace as a way to make their individual runs meaningful to this wider goal.

“Our soul lives in Peace and lives for Peace. If we live a life of peace, we are ever enriched and never impoverished. Unhorizoned is our inner peace; like the boundless sky, it encompasses all.”

- Sri Chinmoy

In the first week of the Peace Run, the team have completed a total of 511 km, which is equivalent of running from Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina - to Struga on the border of Albania and North Macedonia. The local organiser for Bosnia, Amur gave this enthusiastic report.

"It is like dream come true even if it is Virtual Peace Run. We had two groups of local runners in Sarajevo and Banjaluka united with the same idea to run for peace. Cities were closed during some periods of the day but we found the way by sharing the distance among us and running whenever possible. We could not run in groups because of social distancing regulations but it did not change our feeling that we did something together for the cause of Peace".

The Run team is usually a global, international team of runners, so for the 'virtual' Balkan leg, runners from afar afield as Australia, Britain and Germany have participated - offering their individual runs to the total km. Tirtha from Germany felt that dedicating the run to peace was a significant way to feel the inner presence of peace.

"As we don’t have a torch here, I took a tulip, symbolic of a torch, to meditate on Peace on the anniversary on April 27th. Especially on that first day, I really felt a little glowing light inside my heart while I ran. I even thought, that people, whom I met on the way, must have seen it, too. It gave me so much joy".

Stacey from New Zealand has been running through an early Australian winter, but despite the cold, she felt the powerful memories from her previous Peace Runs inspired her individual runs.

"The weather was all over the place this week, wet, windy, sunny and always cold! The sound of rain on the roof and heavy winds, or the feel of your cold nose and hands as you prepare to leave the house makes it not so enticing to step out the door. But it was the memories of all of the Peace Run's over the last few years, the warm hearted people we met, the hope and promise you feel for this world of ours as you carry the Peace Torch, that helped me to take the first step each and every day."

Although our current situation is very challenging, it also brings a renewed focus on what is important to value and cherish. The virtual Peace Run is a reminder that - wherever we are and in whatever situation we find ourself, we can still make a very meaningful contribution to creating a better world, where we value peace, friendship and offering goodwill to others.

Related

• Full report at Peace Run.org
• Latest news from Bulgaria

Heart-Garden

Amsterdam, Holland

The owner of Heart-Garden Abhinabha from Holland shared some of his experiences during this turbulent time:

I had just bought a restaurant in Amsterdam, a waffle house, which I called Heart-Garden as a dedication to Sri Chinmoy, who had coined the term and used it often in his writings.

Before signing the contract, I had spent hours poring over annual turnover figures, discussing the deal with friends who were experienced restaurant owners and hiring lawyers and real estate agents to help me negotiate the best possible terms for the contract.

Needless to say, none of them had foreseen the coronavirus....

You can read the story in its entirety on our new Story-Gems website

Joy Cafe

Skopje Macedonia

Joy Cafe is a new coffee house that serves only the best of everything. It is beautifully decorated with Sri Chinmoy's artwork.

Routine. If we are not used to being fixed in one place, it can be daunting to have 16 hours to fill. The best way around this is to create a routine, with hour slots for things like exercise, work, study, reading, entertainment, meals. Having a fixed routine helps to avoid falling into a trap of passively looking at screens to pass the time. It can also give a sense of accomplishment if we do our work for a few hours in the morning, we can feel like we deserve some relaxation. Another part of a good routine is to do something different at the weekend - have a day of doing something very different.

Exercise routine. An essential part of any daily routine is having exercise. This can be anything you are able to do. If you are allowed out for one piece of exercise, you will appreciate even more the opportunity to run. Sri Chinmoy encouraged running as an excellent complement to meditation and the inner life. Running helps to clear the mind and cultivate a sense of dynamism.

“In the morning if we can energise ourselves with physical activities, then we can accomplish so many things during the rest of the day. That is why I say sports and physical fitness are of supreme importance. If we neglect the physical and let the body become weak, then the mind also becomes weak.” – Sri Chinmoy

If we are regular, we will feel better for giving the body much-needed exercise. If running is not possible, we can definitely be inventive with home exercise routines, even in the smallest of spaces. There are 650 muscles in the body, try to give them all a workout!

Meditation. If you have never tried meditation before, now is a great opportunity, in that it will be much easier to find time. The best is to choose a fixed time - a time when it will be quieter in the house like early morning is excellent. Generally, it is best to learn to meditate from meeting like-minded people who can offer guidance and meditate in a group. But, since that is not possible at the moment, you can still do your best to learn on your own. Don't worry about how good you are at keeping the mind still. The most important thing is to cultivate the inner hunger and feel meditation can really change your life for the better. We have a home meditation course here.

Singing. It is always good to try something new. Singing can be an excellent way to lift our spirits. Here there are some simple meditation mantras. If you can get into the flow of the mantras you will find you can gain the benefits of meditation without having to worry about quietening the mind so much.

Dealing with stress. This can be a stressful time. We may worry about the health of our friends and relatives, and we may have worries about our own financial situation. For many of us, life has been turned upon its head. Rather than filling our minds with worry and concern, it is better to spend that time offering our goodwill and prayers to our friends and family. When we worry, we only offer a negative energy. Instead of worrying, we can use the same time and energy to offer our concern and best wishes to those around us. This will give a sense of doing something in a positive spirit.

Do you want to be always happy?
Then give up fighting
For negativity
And learn the beautiful art
Of self-encouragement.

Sri Chinmoy

Learn to switch off In these times, we do need to keep up with what is happening in our society, but we don't need to become news addicts, checking our phone several times through the day. Once or twice is best. Avoid scrolling through news feeds and social media - especially first thing in the morning and late at night. If we are filled with anxiety, watching the news or spending too much time reading things online can exacerbate these worries.

Read something new. Many of us are now working online. We work on a computer and we then relax by watching a screen. By the end of our day our eyes can get tired and our head a little fuzzy. Reading a good book is an excellent way to enter another world and escape the world of computers and phones.

Speak to friends. We are social beings, if we are isolated, it is even more important to keep in contact with friends. Sri Chinmoy was a great advocate of speaking on the phone and not relying on impersonal electronic communication. He observed that when we send texts and emails, it only touches the mind of the other person. But, if we speak to a person, we can bring our and their hearts to the fore. It is a good discipline to get in the habit of ringing one friend per day, and seeing how they are getting on. It will give more inspiration than just sending a text.

Related

• From the Front lines at Scottish Poetry Library - Janaka Alan Spence a member of the Edinburgh Sri Chinmoy Centre gives his thoughts on living in lockdown and how he makes use of more time for meditation and singing.
• Home meditation course at Sri Chinmoy Centre.org

Students of Sri Chinmoy give free meditation classes all around the world, but at the moment most of these have temporarily been put on hold. Although it is best to learn meditation in person, we can always try to make the best of the situation we face. Hopefully, the pages on this site may offer a start to your meditation journey.

“When we meditate, we make our mind calm, quiet, vacant and tranquil, and we receive Light from above in infinite measure.”

Sri Chinmoy

How to get started

If you would like to get started with meditation, there is an introductory page on meditation here.

There is also a Meditation home study programme here.

The most important thing is to try and schedule a time for your meditation - either in the morning or evening. A good routine which might combine exercise, reading, meditation, leisure can be a good strategy for dealing with living from one place.

The great thing about meditation is that it is not complicated or need a lot of preparation. We can start right away - just find a comfortable place to sit still for 15 minutes and begin.

On this site, we have quite a few resources which will enable you to get started. These include

• What you need to get started with meditation
• Some simple but effective meditation exercises
• Music for meditation
• How to stay inspired and make meditation a regular part of your life
• Mantras and chants

Further reading

• Meditation home study programme
• Introductory page on meditation

Wednesday, March 4th, 2020
Our meditation night
The last of the disciples are arriving at the centre.
While everyone carries different things with them such as enthusiasm, the aspiration for change and growth, the wish to be happy - tonight they have a thread that binds them all together, and that is gratitude. Everyone is grateful that Mountain Silence have arrived here in Skopje and brought with them the enchanting magical silence. It is this silence, with the scent of tranquility that casts off any doubts that there are shortcomings in the preparations for the concert announced for March 6th. This silence alone whispers to us that all will be well, that every disciple will offer their best in their own way.

Thursday, March 5th, 2020.
Rehearsal day before the concert, which is titled as “Children's Voices for Peace”. Mountain Silence will be joined by a choir of children.
A day filled with children, pure and spontaneous and being in peace, living in love - and the girls from the group; shining jewels in the inner and outer world! The two worlds met. One are already living and growing through our Guru's magical music, and the others that have recognised this magic with great ease.
Ones that are going through a conscious process of evolution, which teaches them humility, deep peace and acceptance, and others more or less aware, but which have joyfully turned prayerful music into pure childlike cry for peace.

Friday, March 6th, 2020 - 8pm.
The concert has begun. It is all silence. Extremely deep silence. This time, the silence speaks through music. It awakens the primordial in the souls, the urge to be closer to the Divine.

Guru's music gave the feeling of being in peace, strong and filled with love, but at the same time gentle and soothing.
The call was clear - Let us become humble students of peace, as was Sri Chinmoy so fond of being remembered.
Let us all pulse together tonight as one big and divine childlike heart, in the rhythm of peace and love that springs from our souls.
The expression on the faces of the audience, clearly stated that they had experienced peace in a new and a magical way, and that the same magic would consciously or unconsciously become an intimate but real ocean of peace in their everyday lives.

Skopje,
March 16th, 2020

Around this time was Sri Chinmoy was giving many lectures universities around the wold. After the lectures and at other occasions, he would often answer questions from sincere seekers of truth. So we are fortunate to have a very wide range of questions about meditation, including the meaning of different meditation experiences, how to make meditation practical and the intrinsic value of meditation. His answers have helped people from all backgrounds to learn how to meditate, to make a regular meditation practice a part of their lifestyle, and to constantly make progress in their meditation.

You can find out more at the Blue Beyond Books website

An extremely wonderful concert of the “Inner Journey” group was held in the House of Actors’ on Tuesday, February 28th. Sri Chinmoy said that when you give the world what you have the best, the best will come to you. This was strongly felt at the event. People, who entered the hall before the concert being tired and anxious, came out of the hall with shining eyes and happy smiles being very much inspired. We are very grateful!”

Evelina Beketova
Executive, Ukrainian House of Actors

Sri Chinmoy composed over 140,000 of these mystical artworks. He gave them the name Jharna-Kala, which means 'Fountain-art' in his native Bengali language - art which flows from the divine source inside each of us.

The Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run was founded by Sri Chinmoy in 1987 as a vehicle to combine physical dynamism with our inner aspiration to create a more peaceful world. Since its inception in 1987, the Peace Run has continued to grow and has touched the lives of countless people from all areas of the world. Its simple message "Peace begins with Me" is a unifying force which resonates with people from all cultures and background. Sri Chinmoy considered himself to be a 'student of peace' who strove tirelessly to offer a message of peace.

“Lasting peace must begin within the depths of the individual, and from there spread in ever-widening circles as a dynamic force for world change.”

– Sri Chinmoy

After the initial welcome, the Peace Run ran through the streets of Lisbon and went to the Restelo Stadium, giving the chance for many children to run with the torch and offer their goodwill to the spirit of the run.

Video of meeting with President

Related

• Beginning of the European Peace Run 2020 at Peacerun.org
• 2018 European Peace Run begins in Bulgaria at Peacerun.org

The Smile of the Beyond was established in Queens, NY, way back in 1972 - almost 50 years ago! - and combines the charms of an old-style diner with a sumptuous array of vegetarian breakfast options, sandwiches, wraps and soups, with new dishes being introduced all the time. The diner has undergone a little bit of a refurbishment in recent months, and the new-look Smile was recently featured in a very nice article in Edible Queens.

The Silence-Heart-Nest, a veritable institution in Seattle's Fremont area for many years, has also had quite a considerable redesign, and now has a beautiful pure white colour scheme.

In 2019, the Peace Run began a momentous journey across the Southern Hemisphere - visiting all 44 countries that have their capital city below the Equator. The run began and ended Bali, Indonesia. To conclude the run, November 11 to 17, 2019, a large team - 27 Peace Runners for 13 countriues -  visited different communities of Bali, as well as school visits and ceremonies to share the message of peace. Our members from Bali organised each day of the program, so that the international members were able to immerse ourselves deeply in the beauty and purity of Bali.

Mediators Beyond Borders Conference The week before the closing ceremony, the Peace Run was invited to be part of the special international conference called Mediators Beyond Borders, at the invitation of Rotary District Governor and Peace Run supporter Princess Febri Dipokusumo.

The Peace Run was also very fortunate to meet again Nobel Peace Laureate and one of Timor-Leste’s foremost leaders Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta, who was the keynote speaker.

Grand Finale A 6-hour ceremony featuring a parade made made up of numerous groups, from kindergarten to high school, playing traditional and Western instruments, clad in various types of Balinese costumes, along with the Peace Run team.

Once at the stage by the beach, the Runners were treated with several incredible musical and cultural performances by students of different age groups, and much more! A number of children’s peace drawings adorned the display boards set up on the sand for the occasion.

The final item in the programme was a sunset beach meditation for peace, with a little candle held by each of us around the Peace Torch in the middle—a truly memorable moment.

The following day the Peace Run met at the statue of Sri Chinmoy at the Agung Rai Museum of Art. The museum's founder Agung Rai joined us for the meditation and told us how this statue of Sri Chinmoy is raising the whole consciousness of the museum, and how grateful he is.

Malaysia February 2020 With the help of Princess Febri once again, over a hundred peace runners visited a school in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, visited an school run by the Indonesian Consulate for their immigrant families’ children in the region. This event was jointly organized by both Malaysian and Indonesian Rotary Clubs, as well as Consul General of Indonesia. The beautiful morning began by singing national anthems of both Malaysia and Indonesia, followed by the Peace Run theme song.

Surabaya and Madura Island in East Java, Indonesia. Surabaya Rotary Club, with the leadership of Princess Febri, organized Peace Runs from February 6 to 8, in two regions of Madura Island: Pamekasan and Bangkalan, as well as in Surabaya, the 2nd largest city of the country. Along with Princess was Prince Dipo, who was ever so faithfully supportive of the whole series of events. The team had 17 members from 11 countries.

Our special guest during these Peace Runs was Dr. Davidson Hepburn, Former Permanent Representative of the Bahamas to the UN, and President of the 35th General Conference of UNESCO.

It was our honour and complete pleasure to have this most accomplished leader-diplomat and dear brother-friend in the team. Not only was he a powerful speaker at important ceremonies, but was also an extremely friendly team member with superb sense of humour when doing school ceremonies.

Nepal February 2020 We had a big team: 27 members from 13 countries once again!

We are also extremely grateful to Tej Bahadur Gurung, whom we affectionately call Tej Sir, for taking us in so wholeheartedly to be part of all the activities in Pokhara. Being a former athlete himself, and now as Vice President of Nepal Olympic Committee, he truly cherishes the athletic aspect of Sri Chinmoys’s spiritual philosophy.

The Peace Run was featured prominently at the Pokhara Marathon, and the Marathon officials and participants were invited to the Nepali premiere of 3100: Run and Become, which turned out to be the perfect ending of the Nepal Peace Run.

Audio: Sahadeva Orchestra in concert

Their most recent tour in November - their second this year - took them to Serbia, Macedonia and Bulgaria. About 35 people joined the tour starting in Belgrade. The tour was widely covered on radio and TV.

As well as performing Sri Chinmoy’s music for so many people, the concert tour is a great experience for the singers and musicians. Most of us are non-professionals, and many of us grow and learn so many things in such an intense short time.

As the group conductor Sahadeva says: "Even though it’s exhausting and requires you to give everything, you have this magical feeling that the whole experience is a beautiful opportunity, and that your task is only to give your heart completely to the journey and be happy."

Sri Chinmoy dedicated his life to offering a message of peace. He wished to be remembered as a 'student of peace' as he felt peace was a subject we should deeply value and try to embody in our lives.

“This world of ours has everything save and except one thing: peace. And this peace has to start from within. If I have peace of mind, then only can I be of help to you. If you have peace of mind, then only can you be of help to me.”

– Sri Chinmoy

A global team of runners from the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run were present at many of the activities - meeting local schools and communities to share the message of the run, which is "Peace Begins with Me." The Peace Run was founded by Sri Chinmoy in 1987 as a practical way to allow people from all walks of life and backgrounds to come together and share the common aspiration of humanity to work towards a more harmonious and peaceful world.

The Peace Run was warmly welcomed by local dignitaries, hospital staff, schools, interfaith leaders and were given a special welcome at the University Games.

President of the European Peace Run, Devashishu Torpy said: "It was a really good experience to meet so many welcoming people and feel their genuine wish to support the aims and aspirations of the Peace Run."

Paintings for World Peace and Harmony

During the week, the Jharna Kala paintings of Sri Chinmoy were displayed at 14 locations in the city, including Falcone Borsellino Airport, the Academy of Fine Arts, the Botanical Garden,  the Faculty of Law,  the Polididactic Hall of Viale delle Scienze, the Court of Palermo, and the Sant’Antonino University Library. Some of the art exhibitions were also the venue for short music concerts, by groups such as Mountain Silence.

Parade for Peace

A very significant event was a Parade for Peace, joined by many local people. It included a 100-meter long "Canvas for Peace" which was drawn by young school children, who all contributed their own artistic thoughts on themes of peace, harmony and brotherhood. The long Canvas for Peace was also joined by other groups to reach a total length of 150 metres.

Interfaith meeting

This is just a snapshot of the many varied activities, which took place. More events and photographs can be viewed at the Peace Run website.

• One week of Peace Begins - 8 November
• A Path of Peace through Palermo - 16 November

Peace quote by Sri Chinmoy from Sri Chinmoy, Run And Smile, Smile And Run, Agni Press, 2000.

This years edition was held in Den Haag, Netherlands, and attracted a range of record breakers from quickest time to solve a Rubik's cube and tests of memory - to physical challenges such as the fastest running whilst skipping.

Sri Chinmoy encouraged this event because he felt that the personal effort and discipline of trying to better oneself could give a more meaningful understanding of our latent capacities and this effort to reach new achievements would give a genuine sense of happiness. Sri Chinmoy often described this effort of challenging ourself as a philosophy of 'self-transcendence'.

Either forget impossibility’s challenge
Or challenge impossibility’s pride
To become truly happy.

- Sri Chinmoy

At this year's event, one of the participants was Ashrita Furman, who holds the Guinness World Record for having the most world records. In a record-breaking career, since 1979, he has set over 700 Guinness Records and currently holds more than 200. At this event, he set a new record for cutting 59 kiwis in a minute and also - completing 66 rounds of juggling a burning torch, within one minute.

The event attracted a range of self-transcendence feats - including push-ups, paper folding, skipping, sack racing and fastest one-handed hand-clap. It also included an epic feat of poetry recital. American Mahiruha Klein recited, over a period of several hours, 1,000 poems of Sri Chinmoy from the poetry series "The Golden Boat"  He later commented that he recited from memory 965 absolutely correct, with just a few slips in the other 35 poems. For Mahiruha, the long period of recital was not about the outer display of memory, but a very rewarding inner experience to become immersed in a world of spiritual poetry.

The event attracted substantial media coverage from the local Dutch press who covered the unique challenges of the event.

The children came from 23 different schools across Hungary and were led by the music group Mountain Silence. Mountain-Silence have performed at venues across the world for the past 25 years, but this was a unique experience as they were joined by so many other singers, to create a wonderful harmony of voices.

Sri Chinmoy was a prolific composer who composed many songs on the theme of the heart's aspiration and inner peace. One of his songs on peace reads:

A new world of peace,
A new world of light,
A new world of height,
Can alone give me
Satisfaction-delight.

- Sri Chinmoy

The event created a positive and vibrant atmosphere in the famous concert hall, with the children enthusiastically entering the spirit of the music and creating a dynamic and uplifting sound. To further the aims of the Concert for Peace, members of the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run made a brief presentation on how they have been running for peace around Europe.

Song from Journey's Goal, part 1 at Sri Chinmoy Songs

The race is very much run in a spirit of appreciating the joy of running. After the two-mile race, there was a short peace walk with the Peace Torch - a torch carried by Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run to over 160 countries around the world. This short walk and ceremony gave everybody the opportunity to share in the Peace Run's message of oneness. 

During this year's event, participants from all other the world were joined by several special guests and friends who shared their thoughts and wishes for creating a better world. We were joined by Ida Keeling, a 104 year old sprinter and former Bronx Borough President. Ida recently broke the world record for women aged 100-104 for the 100m sprint, completing the distance in 1 minute and 17.33 seconds (WR link). Still vibrant with life-energy, Ida is an inspiring example of Sri Chinmoy's philosophy of self-transcendence and never quitting because of age. After the race, she shared her secrets of old age, which involve eating well, staying positive and doing daily exercise. Ida was accompanied by her daughter Shelley Keeling, who is an accomplished masters athlete and who is the one who introduced her mother to sprinting. Shelley recently 2 Gold medals and 1 Bronze at the recent European masters games at the age of 68.

Also speaking at the event were Nadirah and Askia Muhammad from the Jamaica area of Queens, New York.  Dr. Askia Muhammad is an imam who ministers to the Muslim community in Jamaica and is President of the Ummah Group, an organization dedicated to interfaith dialogue and spiritual development. He shared a very powerful opening prayer during the event. The Muhammads are parents of current 400m hurdles Olympic and world champion Dalilah Muhammad - asked about the success of his daughter, Dr. Askia modestly replied his greatest success was not to interfere with her God-given gifts - but only to gently encourage and support her daughter's decisions. Dalilah won the gold medal at the recent 2019 World Championships in Tokyo, setting the current world record with a time of 52.16 seconds.

We also were delighted to welcome our long-time friend Coach Jim Hurt, Head Track and Field Coach of nearby St. John’s University. Coach Hurt has spent 36 years with the St John's track and field and cross-country teams (the Red Storm); 29 of those years were as head coach, and he has had a tremendous amount of success in those years. Our final guest was Ms. Najibe Burger, who has served the Queens community in so many capacities - she is currently on the boards of the Queens Council of the Arts and the Queens Family Court, as well as being the President of Latin American Cultural Center of Queens.

Flushing Meadows Park has a very special connection with the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team, having played host to our running events since the late 1970s and our multi-day ultra races since the 1980s. On October 11, 2006, exactly one year before Sri Chinmoy's physical passing, this iconic section of Flushing Meadows Park was dedicated by the New York Parks department as the Sri Chinmoy Heart-Garden to celebrate the legacy and vision for world peace that Sri Chinmoy had encouraged.

Sri Chinmoy felt that sport and running gave us the outer dynamism and the inner aspiration to transcend our previous achievements. He also saw sport as an opportunity to promote happiness and goodwill amongst competitors.

"In competitive sports, our primary aim should be not to surpass others but constantly to surpass ourselves. In the outer life, when we run with our friends, we are seeing who is actually the best. And we cannot properly evaluate our own capacity unless we have some standard of comparison. But we compete not for the sake of defeating others, but in order to bring forward our own capacity."- Sri Chinmoy

Related

• Photos from the race
• Heart-Garden Race homepage
• Sri Chinmoy's quote is taken from his book The body, humanity’s fortress

The aim of the Peace Run is to bring people together in a spirit of peace, oneness and friendship. The run combines both the outer dynamism of running and the aspiration of cultivating inner peace and happiness amongst individuals.

“Lasting peace must begin within the depths of the individual, and from there spread in ever-widening circles as a dynamic force for world change.”

– Sri Chinmoy

Sri Chinmoy considered himself a student of peace, who sought to give people the opportunity to give voice to their own hopes and aspirations for creating a better world. During his lifetime, he visited the African continent several times to meet with political leaders and fellow peace-lovers.

Sri Chinmoy met with President Nelson Mandela on several occasions including On 9 March 1999, when he visited President Nelson Mandela in Pretoria at the President's Residence to honour the President with a "Lifting up the world with a Oneness-Heart" award for his magnanimous spirit in moving South Africa to a better future. On several occasions, President Mandela offered warm words of encouragement for the Peace Run, and the spirit of Sri Chinmoy's activities.

“I am happy this moment has come. Your powerful group carries an equally powerful message for the world.” - Nelson Mandela

As well as the Southern Hemisphere Peace Run. Other Peace Runs are simultaneously occurring in Europe and Russia.

• Peace Run.org

For the outsider looking in, these statistics only give a partial insight into this unique race, which is a test of physical, mental and spiritual fortitude. During this summer, the runners had to contend with two mini-heatwaves which sent temperatures soaring to almost 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius). Yet every morning at 6 am, the runners came to the start line to begin their inner and outer quest towards personal self-transcendence. The race has no sponsorship or financial rewards; each runner and helper must give up their own time to take on this unique challenge. Asked why they come to the race, the runners hint at an inner satisfaction which can be gained from pushing themselves to the limits of what they think is possible.

“I think so often in our lives, that we fashion ourselves to be well within our comfort zone.  It is only when you challenge those comfort zones that you find real fulfillment, but some times you can trick yourself into what a real challenge is.  This race is definitely a real challenge.  It brings out a lot of things in me that are challenging but also so extremely rewarding.”

Harita Davies

Inspiration

Each individual runner undertakes his/her personal journey, but the race has also inspired many people around the world, who are captivated by the simplicity yet dauntless nature of this challenge. The race has been featured on many international news outlets, such as the BBC, Wall Street Journal and NZ's News Now - and this media coverage and online coverage has inspired many to follow the race and pick up on the inspiration of those running in New York.

Race director Rupantar Larusso says that this year there have been innumerable visitors to the race who came for a short time to visit out of curiosity. He says that in many cases, the visitors from around the world ended up spending much longer than planned because they felt a very special atmosphere at the race.

Another reason for the heightened interest in this year's race is the recent release of a documentary film based on this race (and other ultra-distance events) called 3100: Run and Become. For example, after a screening in New York City, the film director Sanjay Rawal described how a few young athletes left immediately to go and see the race and runners in action.

Personal bests

During the race, many runners recorded some kind of personal best or new achievement. For the overall winner, Asprihanal Aalto, it was his 15th finish and eight-time overall winner. Although off his course record, he was happy to finish another race, despite arriving with little training. Despite suffering heatstroke mid-race, 2nd place Nirbhasa Magee set a new personal best of 48 days+09:04:57 and with it a new Irish record. Speaking about one of the motivations for running, he said of the race:

“You have to sense that the race is your job.  That while you are here, you are inspiring so many people.  That you are doing something beneficial.  You need a sense of dedication to that purpose.”

Nirbhasa Magee

Vasu Duzihy has won the past two races, and this year finished in 3rd place in a time of  49 days+06:13:17. One of this year's most remarkable stories was Ananda-Lahiri Zuscin, who has started the race 15 times, making him one of the most prolific entrants - and yet has not managed to complete the 3100-mile distance in over 10 years. This year he managed to finish the race with some exceptional days of 80+ miles (including one day of 89 miles!). In addition, Smarana Puntigam finished in 5th place, coming back to successfully complete the race after his last two attempts in 2017 and 2018 fell agonisingly short.

Harita Davies was the only woman in the race, and she managed to also set a new personal best and New Zealand record. She summed up the attitude needed to complete such a daunting challenge.

"A huge part of the experience of this race is to just keep going forward.  When challenges arise you face them and try to figure them out.  Do your best and have faith, that everything will work out.”

Harita Davies

First-time entrant Todor Dimitrov faced a real baptism of fire. With six days to go, injuries and sickness had left him 32 miles off the cut-off pace. Yet he kept going to the end and finished with just a couple of hours to spare. Speaking at the end, Todor said:

"The race was a great transformative experience. Thank you all here. It makes me to feel the world is going in a good direction. To proceed with that good direction. So happy to know the runners who helped me to finish. "

Todor Dimitrov

Ushika Muckenhumer faced innumerable challenges in the race with getting injured in the early part of the race. But, his battling spirit kept him going for all 52 days. He finished with 2,777 miles. Ushika illustrates the central concept of the race that it is about personal self-transcendence and doing what we can given the circumstances we are in. Towards the end of the gruelling race, he talked about the transformative potential of the race.

“At this stage of the race you go so far out of your mind, that it is difficult to think through answers.  Life becomes very simple, especially the mind.  It is not the usual way to function.  But instead in a very cheerful and simple frame of mind."

Ushika Muckenhummer

Making history

The 3100 Mile Race was founded by Sri Chinmoy who initiated the very first race in 1997. In the past 23 years, only 44 different people have completed the 3100 Mile race - which the NY Times once described as "The Everest of distance running."

Sri Chinmoy believed that through ultra-distance running, individuals could discover unknown inner and outer capacities and gain a real sense of satisfaction from challenging their own limits. Sri Chinmoy was also a visionary who saw how the race could inspire many people around the world. Speaking at the first awards ceremony on 2 August 1997, he said of the race:

"This 3,100 miles is an unprecedented journey in our world-peace-manifestation-dream. World-peace can come into existence only when we are inundated with patience and perseverance. Infinite patience we need in our inner life and perseverance we need in our outer life.

These 3,100 miles remind us of one divine and supreme reality: we can and we must do everything at our command to transform the world of lethargy and unwillingness to be dynamic. Unwillingness we do not leave behind us. Therefore happiness remains always a far cry. Willingness to give, willingness to achieve, willingness to grow and glow should be the message of our souls. With our souls' blessings we can and will fulfil our earthly life."

Sri Chinmoy (Source)

Further reading

• 3100 Mile Race Site
• Photos from: Sri Chinmoy Ultra Photos
• Blogs and videos at Perfection Journey. All runners' quotes are taken from Perfection Journey