Spiritual elevation
DATUK S. Sarny Vellu is, without doubt, a heavyweight in local politics, being president of the MIC.
But spiritual strongman Sri Chinmoy lifted all 87kg of the Works Minister in a feat which had onlookers gasping.
Performing a feat which others at his age would think twice about, Sri Chinmoy also lifted muscleman Malek Noor and 10 others in a demonstration in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday night.
Sri Chinmoy is a renowned Indian spiritualist and a man of peace.
Sri Chinmoy, aged 57 and weighing 70.9kg, has lifted 1,000 people overhead with one arm in the past six months using a specially built platform.
The occasion, called Lifting up the World with a Oneness-Heart, honours individuals for their dedication and inspiration or recognises specific cultural or national groups.
Among those already honoured are sprinter Carl Lewis, singer Roberta Flack and director of the United Nations Children’s Fund James Grant.
Published in the Straits Times, Saturday, January 7, 1989, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia