This particular mark stands out as a milestone in Sri Chinmoy's early weightlifting career in a different sense. In so many ways Sri Chinmoy's lifts were also powerful lessons about life to those who saw and heard about them, and in this case Sri Chinmoy showed that inner progress could indeed be made in the face of failure as well as success. Sri Chinmoy began his attempt on this weight on 8 May with this soulful prayer:

My Beloved Supreme,
You are my inspiration,
You are my aspiration,
You are my realisation.
If ever I can lift up 300 pounds,
It will be 100 per cent
Your unconditional Compassion,
Unconditional Blessings,
Unconditional Fulfilment.

However, on that day, the dumbbell did not move. And it was not to move for a further four months, and a colossal 212 attempts. And yet throughout these four months, Sri Chinmoy remained the epitome of determination and never-give-up-spirit. Here, for example is his prayer on July 14:

My sweet Lord Supreme,
I do know there is a life
That is known as the life of failure
But I also know, I also feel,
That by Your Grace infinite
Someday, somehow,
I shall overcome it.

Finally, on 11 August the bar gave way - a weight of 303 1/4 pounds. "Say I have set my goal at 300 pounds, and I cannot do it.", Sri Chinmoy would later remark. "The very fact that I have been devotedly practising and practising gives me joy, and the tenacity or perseverance that I am showing is itself progress. Anything that we do devotedly and soulfully helps us make progress."