For many years, Guru did of a lot of weightlifting, attempting heavier weights, different kinds of weights. It was a big part of our life as guards to help Guru with the weightlifting, to help with the machines, to help transport things and to help with the Lifting Up the World With a Oneness-Heart lifting ceremonies.

I think every now and then Guru realised that some of us could not relate to the amount of weight that Guru was lifting. We had no way of understanding it. So Guru sometimes would get the guards to lift heavy weights.

One time on Aspiration-Ground in front of everybody, in front of everyone at Celebrations, I was trying to lift a weight, but I was having some serious problems.

Guru gave us two weights. We were trying to lift two weights that were both very heavy, and it was impossible for me. I did my best. It was so much fun to do it, to start to identify with what Guru was doing.

There's a great story. When I was on one Christmas trip, Guru said 'All of the guards, every single guard, has to make a weightlifting machine for me'. The thing is, at that time, it was 1992, I didn't know how to make a weightlifting machine. I'm not good with mechanical things or engineering or construction. I had no idea how to make a machine. I had no money, zero money. We were on this island, Tenerife, which is off the coast of Africa. It was a Christmas trip. I was wondering, “What am I going to do?” I was really getting worried. How am I going to make a machine? I have nothing.

One day I was walking by the beach in a bay with boats and things. There was this piece of wood that came in from the water, from the ocean onto the beach. It was a really horrible piece of wood, about one metre by two metres. It was broken. It was a piece of a boat or something. It smelled of fish because it was in the water. I dragged this piece of wood back to the hotel where we were staying.

When I got back to the hotel, I found a small piece of what we call a two-by-one piece of wood. I nailed it to the big piece of wood and I put some elastic band around the wood. This was my machine. It was a ridiculous machine. It was hopeless. I was hoping that Guru would not ask to see the machines because it was the most useless and ridiculous weightlifting machine. But it was the best I could do.

The other boys were making things out of metal with special welded parts and a really good machine for Guru to use. I had this ridiculous piece of wood, so I hid it away. I hoped Guru would not ask for it. But of course, on the last day, Guru said, "Oh Devashishu, where is your machine?"

I brought this machine, this piece of wood with another piece of wood and a piece of elastic. Guru was in the function room on the Christmas trip in a special area with a curtain around it. It was just me and Guru. I brought it in and I thought Guru would just laugh and tell me to take it away. But Guru said, "How does it work?" Then I said, "Guru you put your foot through the elastic and then you just pull." Guru said, "Let me try, let me try."

So Guru sat on a chair. He put his foot through this piece of elastic. I had to hold the piece of wood, the upright piece of wood as Guru pulled with his leg, because otherwise it would fall to pieces. I kept waiting for Guru to just laugh and say it was ridiculous. But Guru tried it. He tried it with both legs.

What I learnt from this experience was what Guru wants us to do. He doesn't want us to be brilliant and amazing and to be the best at everything. But he wants us to identify, to feel oneness, to follow Guru, to follow what he's doing, to identify with his weightlifting through his exercising. And through that we can have real joy. We can actually get tremendous joy, tremendous inspiration.

But if we just look at Guru's weightlifting and say, “Oh, I don't understand weightlifting. I don't understand any of that,” we sort of leave a distance between us and the weightlifting. Then we're never quite getting the inspiration, we're never really fully part of what Guru is doing.

Guru just taught us over and over again to have oneness, to have identification, to completely surrender and feel oneness with what he was doing. It was a really big lesson for me.

That machine, by the way, never went to New York. It disappeared.

The aspiring heart believes in
Only one road,
And that road is
Oneness-happiness-road.

Sri Chinmoy 1

• 1. Twenty-Seven Thousand Aspiration-Plants, part 195,  Agni Press, 1993

I was what you call a classic unconscious seeker. I was an ordinary person in high school. I was an athlete, but I never heard of spirituality, meditation, yoga or anything like that. I went to university and I was a good student. I didn't do anything crazy, never tried any weird stuff, and was just an ordinary person.
    
I love to read though. I always enjoyed reading. I was an English literature major, and in my last semester I had to choose my courses. I chose a course which I knew nothing about, on Eastern religions.

So in my last semester of college, I'm taking a course on Eastern religions. The books were by Suzuki and Alan Watts. Those were the main proponents in the West on Eastern philosophy. Early in the course, the teacher mentioned meditation, just mentioned it. I was curious and wanted more information on it. After class, I went up to the teacher to ask him about what he could suggest, books to read on meditation.

I was waiting in line and as it turned out, there was a disciple of Guru's in the class. He told me afterwards that he never, ever did this before: he just walked up to me and interrupted me on the line and started talking to me. As soon as he started speaking to me, I think I became a disciple. He didn't have to do anything.

I met with him every day. Because I went to a Catholic school, we met in the church. He would meditate and we would meditate together. I would ask him millions of questions. But everything he said, I accepted. There was no hesitation. I actually think I became a disciple immediately, even though I wasn't conscious of what a disciple meant.

At this time, Guru had a Centre in Wilton, Connecticut. It was a small house in suburban Connecticut. It was a two-story house. On the second floor Guru held the meditation.

You couldn't see Guru if you weren't a disciple because all the disciples were up front and Guru was off to the side. So I stood in the back with my friend, who was a disciple, and just tried to absorb everything.

This was in 1971, May of '71, and at that time Guru was very approachable. After the meeting was over, Guru went down to the ground floor and sat in a chair amidst everybody. The disciple brought me up to Guru and introduced me to Guru. I still can see the whole picture. I can see Guru with his beautiful smile, sitting in the chair.

Then Guru said, "You have a very beautiful soul."
But I think everybody has a beautiful soul.

What you need
You can get only From your heart-book,
And that heart-book Is God’s Compassion-Eye.

Sri Chinmoy 1

• 1. Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees, part 38, Agni Press, 2004

During the tenure of the first Victory’s Banner Restaurant, 1981-86, I would attend all the Christmas trips, which lasted two to three weeks back then. Sukantika, my spiritual sister who served as manager of the restaurant, would work overtime to cover my absence, so whenever Guru took his smaller European trips during the year, I would make an effort to send Sukantika.

Although the restaurant was always financially strapped, one year we were really hurting and didn’t have enough funds to send Sukantika on the mid-year European journey. I felt badly about this, and one day approached Guru on his porch, explaining that we didn’t have enough money and asking if it was absolutely necessary to send Sukantika. He said, “It is all a matter of consciousness. If her consciousness is going to fall, then she should definitely go. Consciousness comes before money.”

“Okay,” I replied, “I’ll tell her that.”

“Oh no, don’t tell her that!” Guru clarified. “Tell her that if she can keep her same good consciousness as it is and not go, then she doesn’t have to go.” Then he clarified, “The very suggestion that her consciousness may go down will serve as a seed to cause it to go down. Always say things in such a way as to inspire people, not discourage them.” It struck me how careful Guru is, down to the last word.

There is not a single seeker
Who cannot inspire others.
There is not a single seeker
Who cannot be inspired by others.

Sri Chinmoy 1

• 1. Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, part 93, Agni Press, 1983