Sri Chinmoy pertains to a line of Indian spiritual masters including Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1883), Swami Vivekananda (1850-1902) and Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950) who, during the last 150 years, have established a renaissance of ancient Yogic and Vedic values and traditions transpolated to our modern times. In Sri Aurobindo and Sri Chinmoy this colossal spiritual awakening acknowledges the importance that physical fitness has for the realisation and manifestation of our divine nature on the material plane.
In his book Aspiration-Body Illumination-Soul, Sri Chinmoy expounds on how Indian spiritual masters of the hoary past had shunned the outer or physical existence as they considered spirit as being separated from matter and thought the outer life could not be transformed on spiritual precepts, much less perfected. Not subscribing to such believes, Sri Chinmoy, in his unique devotional and poetic prose, comments the following:
“My Beloved Supreme – who is my Lord, who is your Lord, who is everybody’s Lord – feels that if we neglect the body, the outer life, then how are we going to be perfect in every aspect of life and how are we going to manifest Him? The body is the temple and the soul is the shrine. If we neglect the temple and do not keep it in good condition, what will happen to the shrine? If we pay attention only to the shrine, then how can the temple do something for God?”
Thus Sri Chinmoy considers physical fitness and the practice of sports as a key factor in an integral physical and spiritual development. Being himself a remarkable sportsman, first as an athlete and lately as a weight lifter, Sri Chinmoy encourages all types of sports, giving particular importance to running. Sri Chinmoy explains in his own words:
“Physical fitness is of paramount importance in our case. When we practise sports, we are fighting against lethargy or, let us say, ignorance (...) Body, vital, mind, heart and soul all have a specific role, and we do not want to neglect any of them. Therefore, I advise my students to run in the outer life. The inner run and the outer run must go together. It is like two complementary souls.”
Regarding the very special role that running can have as part of a spiritual discipline and an integral progress, Sri Chinmoy says the following in his book The Inner Running and the Outer Running:
“I wish to say that running has its own inner value. While you run, each breath that you take is connected with a higher reality. While you are jogging, if you are in a good consciousness, your breath is being blessed by a higher inner breath (...) If you are in a good consciousness while you are running, each breath will connect you with a higher, deeper, inner reality.”
A parallel inner and outer expansion, transformation, perfection, divinisation of human nature, is the ultimate goal of Yoga. An integral approach such as Sri Chinmoy’s thus advocates for a spiritual discipline or sadhana that includes and is at the same time supported by a physical growth, acknowledging the presence of the Divine both in matter as in spirit.
“The seeker-runner’s glorification is a beautiful flower that charms and inspires his entire life. The seeker-runner’s illumination is a fruitful tree that shelters and nourishes his entire earthly existence. The outer runner runs through the golden gate and arrives at the sound-kingdom. The inner runner enters into the unique palace, runs up to its highest floor and places himself at the very Feet of the Silence-King.”