At its core, the pursuit of personal perfection through athletics is a time-tested method of reaching our innermost divinity

BY KUSUMITA P. PEDERSEN, NEW YORK CITY

SRI CHINMOY SAYS, “OUR PHILOSOPHY is the acceptance of life for the transformation of life.” For him the word “life” refers to the whole of manifest existence, and the transformation he envisions is integral. It aims ultimately for “perfect perfection,” or the perfection of all aspects of the human person and of the world. Since what is not accepted cannot be transformed, this sea change calls for acceptance of physical existence in its totality: the material universe, all living beings, other people and our own selves. Acceptance must extend to all parts of our being: the body no less than the mind, the life-energy and the emotions.

With some exceptions, such as the martial arts of East Asia, we do not usually think of sports in connection with the spiritual life. Some spiritual figures of ancient India were warriors and heroes, but we often associate spiritual practice with monastic life, and the term ascetic with a world-renouncing monk or yogi who devotes most of his or her time to meditation and study in seclusion. Many monastics, however, past and present, have maintained fitness through manual labor and walking long distances. The “marathon monks” of Mount Hiei, Japan, run great distances as a spiritual discipline, but this is a rare case.