Sri Chinmoy is redefining our understanding of human potential

Lifting Up the World With a Oneness-Heart is a unique award program which recognizes individuals from all walks of life who, by excelling in their respective fields of endeavor, have inspired and uplifted humanity. Utilizing a specially constructed platform, Sri Chinmoy actually lifts the honorees overhead with one arm before presenting them with a special Lifting Up the World Medallion.

To date, over 2,000 individuals around the globe have been honored in a spirit of oneness and appreciation for their diverse achievements. Honorees include heads of state, diplomats, spiritual leaders of many faiths, Nobel Laureates, members of the academic community, performing artists and world class athletes.

Among those Sri Chinmoy has lifted are:

Political Leaders - President Ranasinghe Premadasa of Sri Lanka, President Luis Alberto Lacalle of Uruguay, Governor Rafael Hernendez Colon of Puerto Rico.

Nobel Laureates - Dame Dorothy C. Hodgkin (Chemistry), R. Bruce Merrifield (Chemistry), Brian David Josephson (Physics), Gerd Binnig (Physics)

Spiritual Leaders - Pir Vilayat Inayat-Khan, Cardinal Basil Hume, Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, Somdej Phra Sankharaj (Acting Supreme Patriarch of Thailand)

Athletes - Carl Lewis, “Sugar” Ray Leanord, Bill Pearl, Frank Zane, Butch Reynolds, Calvin Smith, Ronnie Lott, Ilie Nastase, Steffi Graf, Mats Wilander

“It is because of the strength of my prayer-life and meditation-life that I am able to accomplish these feats of strength. The inner strength that enables me to lift elephants and airplanes is not my sole monopoly. Everyone can get inner strength through prayer and meditation. I am not competing with anybody. I only compete with my own achievements.”

In Sri Chinmoy’s words:“I am a truth-seeker and a God-lover. I pray and meditate so that I can establish my oneness with each and every human being in the whole world. I am lifting up the individuals who have contributed much to the world at large. They have inspired countless people on earth, and I feel it is obligatory on my part to show them some appreciation from the depth of my heart.”

Recently, Sri Chinmoy broke his own record by lifting a 31,000 pound jet! At the age of 67 years, physical exercise for many may be a quiet walk, but for Sri Chinmoy, lifting a 31,000 pound airplane is a source of inspiration. On Thanksgiving Day, November 26, at MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkama, New York, Sri Chinmoy lifted the 15-ton aircraft “to inspire people. Inspiration is joy and in joy only abides peace.”

After a ten-year hiatus, Sri Chinmoy has returned to his weight lifting, proving that age does not have to be synonymous with decline. Says Sri Chinmoy, “I wanted to see if age has anything to do with physical fitness...I found that it is the mind that makes us feel that we are very old...the moment I use my heart, I am 20 years old. When I use my heart I feel oneness. Everything helps me, everybody helps me when I feel my oneness.”

Peace philosopher Sri Chinmoy explains that “It is because of the strength of my prayer-life and meditation-life that I am able to accomplish these feats of strength. The inner strength that enables me to lift elephants and airplanes is not my sole monopoly. Everyone can get inner strength through prayer and meditation. I am not competing with anybody. I only compete with my own achievements.”

Although this is his heaviest lift to date, Sri Chinmoy has also lifted a Lear Jet weighing 22,185 pounds, an Aero Commander plane with six passengers weighing 10,527 pounds and a 10-passenger Beach Super King aircraft weighing 13,040 pounds. He was also invited by the Ringmaster of the Big Apple Circus in Lincoln Center to lift three elephants ranging from 4940 to 8040 pounds each!

On the evening of November 27, at York College in Queens, New York, Sri Chinmoy sent the word “impossibility” into orbit during the grand finale of this weight lifting series during which he astonishingly lifted over a total of 92,000 pounds during a weight lifting demonstration that consisted of thirty-three different strength feats and special lifts. The evening’s event was specially hosted by the legendary body builder and five time “Mr. Universe” Bill Pearl who was quoted as saying, “It was an amazing show of strength for any man, at any age, of any body weight.”

In the tradition of Sri Chinmoy’s Lifting up the World with Oneness-Heart Program, the audience of over 1,000 people watched in awe as Sri Chinmoy, in a stunning display of power and strength, hoisted overhead with only one arm media personality Joe Franklin, ultra-running’s elder most veteran Ted Corbitt, Olympic Gold Medalist Joachim Cruz, Austrian Parliament President Alfred Gerstl, and interfaith leader Bawa Jain.

Better known worldwide for his peace activities and as a poet, author, artist, and musician, Sri Chinmoy was asked where his strength comes from, to which he replied, “The strength does not come from my mind, it does not come from my body -- it comes from my heart.” Sri Chinmoy’s weight lifting is dedicated to his belief in the unlimited potential of the human spirit and to demonstrate that age is not a barrier to self transcendence on any level.

One attendant of the evening’s activities commented, “Sri Chinmoy is redefining our understanding of human potential and setting new benchmarks that will endure and inspire for decades.”

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