Shamita's Run across Austria

During the depths of winter, Shamita Achenbach-Konig undertook a challenging seven day run across the length of Austria. She ran 640km over a total of seven days to take her from her birthplace of Bregenz, in the very west of Austria, to her home in Vienna.

Shamita, a member of the Sri Chinmoy Centre, undertook this feat of endurance to put into practise Sri Chinmoy's philosophy of self-transcendence.

“I do not have any set goal; my goal is self-transcendence. I always try to transcend myself. I do not compete with the rest of the world. I compete only with myself, and I try to become a better human being. This is my ultimate goal.”

– Sri Chinmoy 1

Sri Chinmoy teaches that physical self-transcendence can also enable us to bring to the fore our inner capacities such as endurance, patience and faith. As Shamita says:

"When we run, we connect with a higher world, with a divine consciousness that is the same as meditation. For me, running is meditation or a long prayer in which thoughts become still…one gains access to levels of consciousness that bring light, joy, peace, and happiness."

During her run, Shamita had to contend with 4,000m of ascent and descent, plus the harsh weather of an Austrian winter. Shamita is a professional cellist by profession but has been running ultra-distance races with the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team for over 25 years.

Related

• Shamita's Run at Sri Chinmoy Races

• 1. Sri Chinmoy, Aspiration-Body, Illumination-Soul part 2, Agni Press, 1993