Bill Pearl is one of the most renowned bodybuilders of all time. Born in 1930, he began lifting weights in his teens. In 1953, at age 23, he won his first major victory by defeating Sean Connery (yes, that Sean Connery) for the Amateur Mr. Universe title. During his heyday in the 1950s, ‘60s and even ‘70s, he won the Mr. Universe contest an astonishing 5 times.
In the 1970s, Peal retired from professional bodybuilding competitions and devoted himself to mentoring and coaching others – not only fellow bodybuilders but also those people who sought him out because of his great knowledge and ability to teach and motivate his students.
Pearl became Sri Chinmoy’s mentor and coach in 1985, at a time when the then 54-year-old spiritual teacher was just beginning his weightlifting journey. He worked with Sri Chinmoy for over a decade, and the two men became fast friends.
Sri Chinmoy’s Remarkable Progress as a Weightlifter
In 1985, Sri Chinmoy felt a call to start lifting weights. “Last year, when I was praying and meditating, [the inner pilot] within me asked me to start weightlifting.”
As with all serious weightlifters, he kept track of his initial abilities and how he improved month after month.
And his progress was impressive.
On June 26, 1985, he was able to clean-and-press (from a standing position, bend down and lift a weight, pause, and then raise the weight over one’s head) a 40-pound dumbbell.
Within two months, he had doubled his capability to 80 pounds.
Once he was able to lift 106 pounds, however, he had to alter his weightlifting style because of a leg injury. One of his students devised a support rack that would enable him to lift the weights from a standing position without having to bend over.
After that, Sri Chinmoy was able to make rapid strides with the amount of weight he was able to lift.
But he did not confine his lifting weights to the gym. The whole purpose of his weightlifting was to inspire others. “I am trying to be of some inner service to people who want to go one step forward… In any field, they can get inspiration to do something better than what they have been doing.”
Bill Pearl, who had been mentoring Sri Chinmoy all along, was impressed and indeed inspired by his progress.
When Chinmoy decided to start staging demonstrations of his weightlifting ability in public, in order to inspire others, it was Pearl who suggested a novel idea:
“The average person who wasn’t a weightlifter couldn’t understand the difference between objects weighing 500 pounds and those weighing 2,000 pounds. To them, they were just numbers. But if he lifted objects the general population could better relate to, such as automobiles, large animals or platforms of people, then nobody would question how the lifts were done or how much the objects weighed.” [1]
Sri Chinmoy embraced Bill Pearl’s concept whole-heartedly because it “infused weightlifting with joy.”
For most of Sri Chinmoy’s weight-lifting demonstrations over the next few decades, Bill Pearl served as the compere or master of ceremonies.
Pearl was not shy to express his admiration for Chinmoy’s abilities: “I have learned from Sri Chinmoy that the size of the arm does not make the man; the size of the heart makes the man. Nobody on earth has done what Sri Chinmoy has done.”
[1] Beyond the Universe: The Bill Pearl Story, Bill Pearl with Kim Shott, 2003.
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