Weightlifting Stories
by Sri Chinmoy
Tom’s transformation
If Tom’s transformation can take place, which it has, you people also can be transformed. The very first time I went to Tom’s gym, I said hello to him but he would not look at me. I was there for twenty minutes or half an hour. His assistant, Dan, liked me. Dan was showing me so many pieces of equipment. But Tom did not come near me and I did not have the heart to go near him.
Since then, how he has changed! He has become our best admirer. A few months ago, his team was in the national championships. A few days ago I told you the story how one girl was unable to lift a particular weight. So Tom told her to meditate on my picture for ten minutes. That was her ‘punishment’! So she meditated and then she came back and lifted the weight. For the last few years, the girls from his gym have won the world championships.
You say that my lifts are unbelievable, but I wish to say that Tom’s comments are more unbelievable than my performances. There is such a difference between my first experience with Tom and how nice he is now. Something clicked inside his heart, something touched his heart. When that special moment arrives, it is God’s Hour. Our famous song is “Dak eseche—Call has come.” When the Call comes, you will be able to run so fast. Tom’s life is the radiant example.
Jim Smith’s faith in me
Jim Smith’s oldest son is studying to be an engineer. When he saw the picture of my 7,000-pound lift, he said to his father, “You want me to be an engineer and I am going to be a good engineer. Because of what I have studied, I find it difficult to believe this kind of thing. But since you are my father and you believe, definitely I am going to believe.” He is believing through the eyes of his father!
We have sent Jim Smith three copies of the picture of me lifting 7,000 pounds. One he has kept in his gym, one in his office and one at home. The funny thing is, people who do not believe it come back again and again to look at the picture. For those who believe it, seeing it once is enough.
When I lifted 2,000 pounds, Jim Smith had to fight with his colleagues to give me the certificate. Normally three persons are required to watch the lift. But he said that by seeing the picture, he knew that it was true. So he challenged his colleagues. Good people are on earth. That is why we can remain alive.
Published in My Weightlifting Tears and Smiles, part 3
Sri Chinmoy shoots baskets in New York.