Sri Chinmoy meets with his lifelong athletic idol Jesse Owens – the hero of the 1936 Berlin Olympics and winner of four track-and-field gold medals – at the Park Lane Hotel in New York. Read the article...
Following is an excerpt from their conversation, which lasted for two hours:
Sri Chinmoy: Once upon a time, I happened to be an insignificant athlete. But you are the world-renowned, immortal Jesse Owens, and my admiration for you, right from my adolescent years, has remained pure and unalloyed.
Jesse Owens: … I think that if one has love and feeling, then everything can come about. It takes a lot of dedication to be able to live it… What I want to do, first of all, is please my God. Then I want to please the people who helped me… Everybody is struggling to get on top of the mountain. But you have got to remember one thing when you reach the top: you have got to come back to the valley to keep in contact with what’s going on down in the valley.
Jesse Owens: I believe very much in what you do. I am an admirer of yours. I love what you are doing.
Published in Kofi Annan: Cynosure-Eyes
