How Far

A few days before Sri Chinmoy’s 59th birthday, I was doing some easy running so that I would be fresh for the 47-mile race held annually on his birthday, August 27th. Suddenly I felt acute pain in my lower spine, and I could not lift my left leg or bend my back. I walked slowly home. On the eve of Guru’s birthday, Guru was giving prasad in a park. I was sitting quite close to him. My back was very stiff and painful whenever I bent over or tried to run. But I really wanted to run the 47-mile race because I knew Guru gets tremendous joy from watching us make spiritual progress through running. I looked into Guru’s eyes and all I could see was compassion. Inwardly I said, “Guru, I want to run 47 miles tonight, but my back pain is killing me. I will line up at the start and how far I run will depend on how far you want to carry me.” After prasad, on the way home I felt inspired to run down a hill. Three hours earlier, this would have been out of the question. But I found myself running very fast down the hill, full of joy and gratitude. That night I completed the 47-mile race and felt no trace of the back pain.

Simahin (Auckland)