Photos by Bhashwar Hart
Sri Chinmoy receives the New York City Marathon Medal from Fred Lebow, President and Marathon Race Director of the New York Road Runners Club at the United Nations in New York. At the reception, Sri Chinmoy honours marathon runner Miki Gorman. The next day, she is the first-placed woman in the NYC Marathon for the second year in a row.
Lifting Up the World with a Oneness-Heart
Remarks by Sri Chinmoy
at Aspiration-Ground Jamaica, New York
My Tennis Coach, Ron Rebhuhn
I am doing something quite unusual. Usually my students introduce the persons they invite to be lifted by me. Today I have invited my dearest brother-friend Ron*, and I wish to introduce him. He was my tennis coach.
I am a man of prayers and meditations. In the spiritual life, we need compassion, concern and self-giving. These three divine qualities are of paramount importance, and Ron, my coach, blessingfully offered me all these three divine qualities. He inspired me immensely to play tennis well. I have tremendous love and admiration for him, and also I have tremendous, tremendous love for tennis.
I am very happy to share with you my experiences with some of the world-famous tennis stars. The very first one to visit us here was Ilie Nastase. I lifted him, and as usual, he was in his own way cutting jokes. He said that if I had lifted him a little higher, he would have touched the vault of the sky! All kinds of things he said. And he was very kind to play with me.
India’s then number-one player, Ramesh Krishnan, came here and played with me. Monica Seles also came, and she was kind to play with me here. Steffi Graf came. Owing to her ankle injury she could not play, but she was lifted by me. The Swedish champion Mats Wilander also came and played with me. After I was forced to give up tennis owing to my knee problems, I lifted Billie Jean King. She was very, very kind to me. India’s present number-one player, Leander Paes, has visited us a number of times. Quite recently Martina Navrátilová came, and I lifted her. I still have tremendous love and admiration for tennis!
To come back again to my dearest brother-friend Ronnie, he is a philosopher, a psychologist and the possessor of many, many divine qualities, and he is a host in himself in offering his good qualities to the world at large.
I am very happy, very delighted and very grateful to have you here, my dearest friend-coach Ronnie.
* Ron Rebhuhn, a long-time USTA Eastern tournament director, tennis coach, and USPTA Master Professional, left this world on 26 August 2012.
My Brother-Student Bholanath
Let me say just a few words about my dearest brother Bholanath. His other name is Clyde. When my life in New York was only two weeks old, he came to visit my sponsors, and there we met. He saw something in me — something good, I am sure. He became my dearest brother and friend. I depended on him for everything. He helped me far beyond my imagination. He served the Supreme, who is my God, in every possible way for years. My heart shall forever remain grateful to my brother-student Bholanath, Clyde.
His sweet children, Mark, David and Michael, are now grown up. I was fortunate enough in those days to lavish my affection and love on these three sons of his. Today I am very, very happy and delighted to have David here with his family.
Published in My Golden Children