Volleyball & Tennis 1976

It is Games day 1976. Sri Chinmoy is playing volleyball with some of the boys. Some are wearing uniforms, from the bicentennial relay held that year, called Liberty Torch. There are also some red uniforms worn by those who participated in Canada's Oneness Heart.

You cannot help but notice Sri Chinmoy's mobility and enthusiasm in playing sports. Below is a sequence of still shots that shows what height he was able to reach and his awareness of the net behind him.





Spiritually, What Can We Get From Games?...

Spiritually, what can we get from games? Volleyball, for instance, is one of those sports that they will be doing in the Senior Olympics.

Very good. I happened to be a volleyball player in my teens. I was the captain, the main instructor, in the place where I was brought up in India for many, many years. I used to play volleyball quite well.

From the spiritual point of view, there are many things we can learn from games. One is fellow feeling. Then, in volleyball there is something called a serve. Let us take the term 'serve'. By playing, we are serving mankind. You will say, "How?" Let us say you are playing volleyball, and I am in the audience. You are giving me joy and inspiration. You are playing so well, you are smashing the ball and doing all kinds of things.

Why do we watch sports? The world needs inspiration and enthusiasm. You play volleyball extremely well, and I am inspired by it. Then I go and play tennis. You have given me the inspiration, and I go and play some other game. But you gave me the joy, you gave me the inspiration, you gave me the courage. Like that, each person can get inspiration from another person to do better in their own respective fields.

Excerpt from Run And Smile, Smile And Run by Sri Chinmoy.