This interview with Vajin Armstrong, a student of Sri Chinmoy's from New Zealand, was conducted shortly after he won the Swiss Alpine Marathon in Davos, Switzerland in July 2016. Vajin has competed at elite level for many years, and he talks about many topics including the link between running and meditation, his relationship with Sri Chinmoy, and advice for new runners.

This interview is part of the LIFE Voices series, shot and edited by Kedar Misani

Garga works as a supervisor in a call centre, a job where he frequently has to interact with callers who are angry and upset. He explains how his meditation helps him understand and communicate with upset callers, and gives him a sense of inner peace and detachment that helps him remain unaffected.

All spiritual seekers go through high and low points in their journey of self-discovery. When going through a 'dry' period, Banshidhar recommends to always have a 'never give up' attitude, and to have an awareness of how fleeting time is.

Multiday races are one of the ways in which Sri Chinmoy's students challenge themselves. Ratuja describes how her experiences during the race changed, and she reached a point where "there comes a time when there is only the road, you, and your soul".

Kailash, a long-time student of Sri Chinmoy, explains how constant self-transcendence is essential in the spiritual life - "if you want to have a deeper meditation, you need to grow into a deeper kind of personality, and in order to do that we have to transcend ourselves."

Daulot Fountain from Seattle talks about his early years on Sri Chinmoy’s path and how he began to live a spiritual life.