photo by Arpan
The goals reached in the 3100 Mile Self-Transcendence Race are not the achievements of just the individual runners. There are many hands, hearts, minds and legs that go into the organization and administration of such a monumental event. It all starts with the vision and blessings of the one who conceived of this grandiose event, Sri Chinmoy. He saw that with the establishment and manifestation of the highest spiritual concept called ‘Oneness’, amazing things can be accomplished. The 3100 mile race is just one of those infinite possibilities of human achievements manifested through aspiration and Oneness.
The individual runner may have the aspiration to achieve the goal of 3100 miles, but without the oneness manifested through the willing and enthusiastic helpers and administrators it would be next to impossible for this achievement to reach its full potential. Some of the runners have full-time helpers called ‘handlers’. Others utilize the help of the volunteers who try to keep them supplied with all the basic needs such as food, water and other drinks, medical supplies, etc.
Still there are others who take care of various other necessary tasks such as counting the runners, massage and other treatments, laundry washing, and even live music. Those who are not familiar with the race and who witness it for the first time may not at first realize that there is a race going on. It can take on the appearance of a festival or picnic as the sense of joy and oneness seem to pervade the whole area. Even visitors who may not run or relate to running get joy and inspiration from the camaraderie which they see taking place all day and evening, day after day, week after week.
When we see the amazing progress happening each day and we witness the goals that are finally reached by the runners, we should keep in mind that although the runners are the prime achievers here, the helpers could and should share in the feeling of achievement and progress. Self-Transcendence in this case incorporates a very large Self, the Self that transcends the individual, manifesting on a very convincing scale the magical quality of Oneness.