Author Sri Chinmoy / Photograph by Prashphutita

We are all seekers. We are sailing in the same boat, the boat that is carrying us to the Golden Shore of the Beyond. Nothing gives me a greater sense of satisfaction than to be of dedicated service to seekers, for I am also a seeker, an eternal seeker, a seeker of the infinite Truth and Light. As you know, I was asked by my esteemed friend, Dean Foster, to speak on the meaning of discipleship today. This is a most significant subject, and therefore I offer him my gratitude-heart.

What is a disciple? A disciple is a seeker; he is a truth-seeker. What is a disciple? A disciple is a lover; he is a Heaven-lover. What is a disciple? A disciple is a server; he is an earth-server. What is a disciple? A disciple is a fulfiller; he is a God-fulfiller.

If we want to know the meaning of discipleship today, we have to focus our concentrated attention on the role of the disciple. The role of the disciple is quite simple, of course, if he follows the path of the heart and not the path of the mind. The role of the disciple is to give what he has and what he is. What he has is an inner cry, which is birthless and deathless. The disciple offers this birthless and deathless inner cry to his Pilot Supreme and receives His infinite Light, eternal Peace, and immortal Bliss. What he is, is a devoted and soulful instrument. He wants to help mankind see the beauty of the Infinite in the very heart of the finite. He wants to unite earth’s helpless cry and Heaven’s endless Smile. He takes it as his bounden duty to serve both Mother Earth and Father Heaven. To manifest the eternal Truth is his constant cry and constant hunger. Undoubtedly, he is a chosen instrument of the Absolute Pilot Supreme.

Yesterday’s disciple, today’s disciple, and tomorrow’s disciple. Yesterday’s disciple was simple and humble. Simplicity was his outer life, humility was his inner life. Simplicity and humility inundated his entire being. Today’s disciple is complicated and argumentative. Complication and argumentation reign supreme in his life, day in and day out. Tomorrow’s disciple will be the fastest spiritual runner. His code of life will be to run and become, to become and run. He will run in order to succeed; he will become in order to proceed. At times he will run to reach the Goal; at times the Goal will come to him. When he reaches the Goal, he will be blessed with the transcendental Pride of the Absolute Supreme. When the Goal reaches him, he will immediately sit at the Feet of the Absolute Supreme with his heart’s soulful gratitude-sea.

In the days of yore, the disciple was advised and encouraged by the Master to renounce the world. Renunciation was taught right from the beginning when the disciple came to the Master. The Vedic seers of the hoary past, and also the Upanishadic seers, offered a supreme message to the world at large: “Enjoy through renunciation.” Everybody wants to enjoy, for satisfaction is of paramount importance. But the ancient seers came to realise that satisfaction can be achieved only through renunciation; there is no other way. This world of ours gives us things that do not last; their life-breath is very short. Everything here is an illusion—nothing can last and nothing will last permanently. Sooner than the soonest, everything dies. What is the use of running after things that will not last for good? So they taught their disciples not to run after material objects, and their students learned the message of renunciation.

Then there came a time when the message needed transformation. The sages, the seers, the spiritual Masters came to realise that acceptance of life is of paramount importance. If we renounce the world, if we renounce the body, vital, mind and heart, then what are we going to do for our Beloved Supreme? We say we love God and want to please Him. If we want to please Him, if we want to fulfil Him, then how can we reject or renounce the world? This world of ours, as it is, must be accepted. First we must accept it; then we have to transform it. Needless to say, this world is far, far from perfect. But unless and until we accept the world, unless we touch the earth-arena—the sufferings, the pains, the imperfections of the world at large—how are we going to change the face and fate of the world? Therefore, we must needs accept the world.

Our mind is full of doubts, worries and anxieties; our mind has to be transformed. Our vital quite often is destructive; we have to transform our destructive vital into a new vital which is dynamic. With a dynamic vital we will be able to run the fastest, dive the deepest and fly the highest. Our body is lethargic; our body enjoys ignorance-sleep. It has been sleeping for millions of years; yet it still wants to enjoy this ignorance-sleep. The seeker in us must tell our body to wake up. The Upanishadic seers have taught us how to inspire the body with inner dynamism just by repeating these soulful and powerful words of incantation.

Uttisthata jagrata prapya varan nibodhata;
Ksurasya dhara nisita duratyaya;
Durgam pathas tat kavayo vadanti.

Arise, awake! Realise and achieve the Highest with the help of the illumining, guiding and fulfilling Masters. The path is as sharp as the edge of a razor, difficult to cross, hard to tread—so declare the wise sages.

Until the Goal is reached, do not stop! And this Goal is for whom? Not for the weakling! “The soul cannot be won by the weakling,” Nayam atma bala-hinena labhyo . The inner Goal can be achieved only by powerful souls, not by weak ones. The Goal that satisfies our inner world and our outer world, the Goal that quenches our Eternity’s thirst, will not be achieved by weaklings.

Unfortunately, the present-day world is scared to death when it hears the word “surrender.” But the surrender that we speak of in the spiritual life is not the surrender of the slave to the master. It is the recognition of the Infinite by the finite. A tiny drop recognises its inner identity with the vast ocean. It then enters into the ocean and becomes the vast ocean itself.

In the spiritual life, nobody is compelled to surrender. But everybody has an inner urge to grow into the Infinite. As the tiny drop grows into the Infinite, even so, our finite consciousness can eventually grow into Infinity. Surrender and freedom are always at daggers drawn, but if we dive deep within we see that there is no difference between these two so-called realities. They are just the obverse and the reverse of the same coin. Before we accepted the spiritual life, we enjoyed freedom in one way. We fulfilled, or wanted to fulfil, our earth-bound desires. We felt, perhaps, that we had the capacity and potentiality to be another Napoleon or Alexander the Great. Like Julius Caesar, we wanted to voice forth: “I came, I saw, I conquered.” This is the positive way that we could have embraced: this reality. Otherwise, if we embraced it in the negative way, then we would have cherished and admired deep in the inmost recesses of our heart the destructive message of Hitler and Stalin. In any event, before we entered into the spiritual life we did enjoy freedom; whether it was real freedom or not is another matter. But we can say that we enjoyed something in a limited way, and the after-effect was total frustration. Therefore, we needed a kind of escape. Or we can say that illumination dawned on us. So we gave up the desire-bound life and entered into the spiritual life.

Previously we wanted to please and fulfil ourselves by fulfilling our desire-life, but now we want to please and fulfil ourselves by fulfilling our aspiration-life. It is not that we have given up our freedom. No! Freedom is always there. Only we have changed the course of the game, and now we are enjoying a different kind of freedom.

Unfortunately, when we enter into the spiritual life and follow a Master, we feel that we are surrendering to somebody else and giving up our freedom. But this is not at all true. Nobody is compelling us to follow a spiritual path; nobody is compelling us to listen to the Master. The seeker has come to the Master on the strength of his own inner urge. The seeker is staying with the Master in order to fulfil a divine longing that he feels. He feels that the Master knows a little more than he does, so he himself has decided to follow the Master. It is his own freedom that he is exercising. So the question of surrender does not arise at all. When we lead, we enjoy freedom. Again, when we consciously, deliberately, soulfully and unconditionally follow, at that time we enjoy another kind of freedom. In the case of the seeker, his inner awareness, inner development and inner sense of truth are compelling him to follow a higher life, a more illumining life, a more fulfilling life. It is his own free choice.

In the spiritual life, it is always God for God’s sake right from the beginning. If this message the seeker can embody, reveal and manifest in his life at every moment, then he will be a supreme and perfect instrument of his Beloved Supreme. There shall come a time when Mother Earth will be inundated with seeker-disciples who will be carrying the banner of unconditional surrender to God which is nothing other than conscious, constant, inseparable and unconditional divine oneness with their own higher reality and their Master who represents this higher reality.

At the same time, the act of pilgrimage is one of the 13 Dhutanga practices of the Taravatta Buddhist monks. In the Buddhist society, after the Rains Retreat, monks are offered the Kathina Robe before they are preparing for Dhautanga. In the old days, this austere practice was emphasizing on the journey within the secluded forests. In modern days, the practice has been adjusted. The 1,127 monks will walk pass through 6 recently inundated provinces around the central part of Thailand. Their performance intends to nurture the wrecked mind of the flood disaster with the power of their loving kindness. The purity power of their cultivated mind serves as a big spiritual cleaning to all. The pilgrim route covers the provinces of Ayuthaya, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Nakornpathom, Supanburi and Bangkok. Yet, it contains another essence related to the Great Meditation Teacher of Vijja Dhammakaya named Phra Mongkolthepmuni. The designed route tracks back his life history. This noble journey commenced on 2nd of January and will last till 25th of the month – a total of 24 consecutive days. The starting point is Dhammakaya Temple in Pathum Thani Province.

Everyone is invited to participate and witness this spectacular scene and to give the chance to be blessed. This ‘Rose Way’ exhibits a great lesson that hope still exists as long as we still can breathe. After the event we may be more aware of the benefit of keeping ourselves expose as many as possible to wholesome environment amid life’s adversity. We will be able to find happiness in any situation and transform miseries into bliss. Our mind will regain its equilibrium, vigilance and the ability to handle things with fright-free manner. Then the ‘Rose Way’ will truly pave the ‘Rose Year’ ahead for us. - Elsbeth Maurer, Zurich/Bangkok

This is Episode 25 of the series “Meditation-Silence”, a guide to meditation and conscious living with short quotes by spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy (1931-2007) and a video clip showing him in a close-up meditation – this time recorded during a concert in Panajachel at Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.

An event aimed at promoting world peace was recognized today by Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle. Organizers of the World Harmony Run held a torch lighting ceremony near the Honolulu Skygate. The Harmony Run in Honolulu takes place January 2nd at Kapiolani Park.In 2012, the run will cover more than 100 nations as runners visit schools, community groups, running clubs and local and national government organizations,” said Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle. “Participants will celebrate the goal of world harmony and people who work towards achieving it.” Earlier in the day, Mayor Peter Carlisle received the Torch-Bearer Award, which recognizes individuals committed to public service. 2012 marks the run’s 25-year anniversary. Watch the video of the event on TV Channel Khon2.

Spring water at the source with a low TDS (total dissolved solids) count is the best water ever. Watch this video by nutrition expert David Avocado Wolfe.

So many truly remarkable things are happening in our world today across the entire spectrum of human endeavour. But it is easy to lose sight of this fact when we wake each day to news of more outbreaks of war, civil unrest, economic challenges, natural disasters and loss of life counted in many hundreds and thousands. We seem to be living in times of great change and uncertainty, marked by substantial issues at both local and global levels and yet at the same time by amazing advances in science, technology, humanity and the arts.

The vision for the World Festival of the Heart is to explore some of these developments in three program-packed days in Melbourne, Australia, on 9, 10 and 11 November 2012. The Festival will bring together some of the foremost world figures in spirituality, the sciences and the arts, to celebrate their work and achievements in a spirit of oneness, openness and enquiry and to participate in their remarkable creativity. Many forums have highlighted these current developments but the organizers wanted to do something a little bit different . . . they don’t just want to talk about them, they want to experience them in as many ways as possible with the power of the heart. Their aim is to create a program full of activities: workshops, music, dialogue, devotions, performance, concerts, an expo and a grand forum. Their hope is to transcend our everyday concerns for three days and explore new dimensions of living and wellbeing. The program is designed for anyone who has a passion for life, the world and our future. These are the three major themes for the Festival to explore the interplay and convergence of these disciplines:

The Great Mystery: life, consciousness and the universe
The Universal Heart: recognising the oneness in diversity of all life
Creative Living: making right choices for a healthy, happy and harmonious life

Some of the program activities and topics will include:

• “Whole-of-festival” sessions where everyone gets to enjoy the morning in the Plenary Auditorium
• Facilitated discussions where participants and presenters can share their experiences in smaller groups
• Workshops to get more “hands-on” with ideas, issues and materials
• Themes based around “living in the heart”:
  • The Great Mystery: life, consciousness and the universe
  • The Universal Heart: recognising the oneness in diversity of all life
  • Creative Living: making right choices for a healthy, happy and harmonious life
• “Art from the Heart” exhibition of local and international artists
• Music-making, performances and concerts throughout the Festival program — stay tuned for announcements
• Forum for the Future feature event with leading figures sharing their vision for the world and bringing together ideas and inspirations for daily living
• Special childrens’ and youth program
• HeartMart Expo featuring ideas, products and services for better living
• State-of-the-art venue at Melbourne Convention Centre

The full program and schedule will be announced later in 2012. Check out the website: www.festivaloftheheart.org and subscribe to the Newsletter to be up-dated and informed. The organizers of the “World Festival of the Heart” extend an invitation to everyone with an interest in improving happiness, health and wellbeing to attend the Festival. The program will develop exciting ways for people of all ages and interests to participate and interact with our presenters, exhibitors and performers. Invited will be exciting presenters, artists, musicians and elders from around the world to participate in a program that will highlight exciting developments in:

•   Spirituality — heart-based living
• The Sciences — cosmology, wholistic health, ethology, environment, nature, quantum physics, technology
• The Arts — music, literature, visual arts, performance

Today I got these little remarks about Christmas in Queens, New York, written by a good friend of mine, originally from Canada, but now a local in New York for many years.

My Greek neighbors live in a sturdy red house directly across the street from me. The neighborhood has no doubt changed a whole lot since they first moved here. At one time the street probably had lots of other Greek families, but now no more. The street is a spicy blend of  humanity. Next door to them now is a family from Bangladesh, across a family from Guyana, and it just goes on and on. The little world that is 160 Street in Queens, NY,  has changed a lot even in the time that I have been there. Because they are such rock solid people I really no longer take much notice of them. In the winter they scoot inside quickly like everybody else on chilly days. Today I stopped to take note and a picture of their Christmas display. For all I know they have plugged in the same decorations since 1973, or maybe they put them up for the first time this year.  Under oath I couldn’t really say. I never really noticed what they did over there to tell the truth. I kind of like its simplicity actually.  It is just a small pool of sparkle on this the longest darkest night of the year.  Gratefully it is really mild and so the misery of darkness doesn’t seem so bad.

Because it was so mild I thought I would go out and explore other displays of Christmas lights. I meandered over intoJamaica Estates where I heard about thisplace that was by rumored to be off the charts. I really wasn’t quite sure where it was so I did some twisting and turning down other wise dark streets and then I caught a glimpse of the tree, saturated with brilliant lights from afar.  Blazing against a pitch black moonless sky and just seeming to be endlessly pouring unearthly brightness into the void.  It was late afternoon and yet night was fully upon us.  It was shocking just how much stuff, lights, Santas, and every conceivable holiday image was on display around this gigantic corner house.  Some stationary colorful object, but lots dancing and moving displays, like some transplanted Disney theme park, with just the right complimentary music and ho ho hos emanating from carefully planted speakers.  Cars were pushing onto the street already and kids, old ladies, and folks of every description were spilling out onto the narrow street with cameras already fired up and slack jawed wonder plastered across their faces. They couldn’t believe it and neither could I. For a few minutes I took some pictures and just stared like everyone else.  I assume that in a few hours more the street would be plugged solid with others also wanting to get their Christmas spirit charged up, or perhaps get ideas of how they could improve their own displays.  It is hard to imagine anybody topping this one for pure extravagance and yet it somehow all worked together.  The one touch that inspired me most was the simplest part of the display.  A sign high above the house that said, “Peace on Earth,” can’t argue with that.  It was all clearly put together by someone who had an ample imagination, budget, and tremendous storage space. 

It is a couple of miles away and as I ran back I thought about the lights and the solstice.  I am pretty sure that early pagan people probably figured out pretty early on that when the long dark winter set in they really wanted to encourage the sun to come back and warm the place back up again.  Maybe if you tried to throw light into the darkness you could invite the sun to return, like priming a reluctant pump.  No matter what we do however nature and the calender cycle is simply going to do its own thing and come around in its own good time.  When I got home I took another look at the Greek house and stopped to enjoy the lights again. Just a minute, that was enough. I was glad that the Greeks were my neighbors and not the folks with the xmas extravaganza for a house.  If you lived even a block from that place life must be a nightmare until they turn the whole thing off in January.  There can’t be any peace for the rest of the neighbors for endless traffic jammed weeks.  If you lived across the street the light is so bright it could almost beam laser like through the walls or curtains.

I might go by again some time but I don’t think so.  The pictures are more than enough.  If I am short of any Christmas cheer I will step out of my very dark house and gaze across the street, into the little pool of brightness, that the Greeks are offering.

- Utpal Marshall

Former Czech President Vaclav Havel, whose political and literary genius is universally admired, was lauded as a saint by Sri Chinmoy, leader of the Peace Meditation at the United Nations, during their meeting on November 25^th, 1993 at Prague Castle. The two men held the peace torch from global Peace Run which Sri Chinmoy founded and the President thanked Sri Chinmoy for his “initiative to give a symbolic expression to our common efforts for a world in which nations will live in peace and harmony.”

Why did we choose Kenya for our World Harmony Run trip to Africa? After our successful trip in 2006 Tegla Loroupe invited us back to Kenya. Tegla is a world-famous former Marathon-record holder, UNICEF and UN Sport ambassador for Peace and Development, who has worked together with UN secretary general Kofi Annan, Barack Obama and George Clooney. As the first African woman to win a major marathon – NYC Marathon 1994 – Tegla has become a role model for all the women. And she supported the WHR in Europe by coming to many opening ceremonies. She visited Portugal in 2005 and 2006, Rome in 2008, 2009 and 2010 she came to Switzerland and 2011 to Iceland. Also refer to the  interview on Youtube.

Zurich, 9th November: I was sitting next to my brother on the KLM connecting flight to Amsterdam, when a nice voice from the loudspeaker: “We have a flat tire.” Hutashan’s face turned pale. For weeks he had worked out a schedule of how people from eight different nations would arrive in Nairobi more or less at the same time, so that we all could get on the same rented bus through Eldoret to Kapenguria where Tegla’s Peace Race is organized for the 10th time.

Nairobi, 10th November: With the help of his friend Vallabha, Hutashan organized a late night flight to Nairobi so we could join our team. One week before we didn’t know who would be able to make it to Kenya. Our team consisted of Vajra, who came all the way from USA; Johannes from Ethiopia, organizer of our car with driver for a good deal; Vishvesha from Croatia, who became our technical director; Shatadhala from Austria, our filmer; Roos from Holland, our daily World Harmony Run reporter; Punita from Germany, an experienced WHR runner and Carole, Red Cross volunteer from France. In total we had 16 suitcases with medical supplies, notebooks, pencils, WHR T-shirts, running shoes, musical instruments, Jharna Kala paintings and poem cards of Sri Chinmoy about peace.

From Nairobi to Kapenguria, after three hours we had our first stop to meet Jimmy Sherlock, an American business men. He looked like coming directly from Hollywood: pink tie, business suit and a big smile. Jimmy received the WHR torchbearer award in 2010. He happily changed his flight back home to the States so that he could participate in the run in Nakuru. And how he was participating! He organized a press conference for the World Harmony Run and more. After that we continued on the bumpy road through the Rift Valley. During the day, we needed about 10 hours for 400 km; in 2006 it took us about 16 hours as there were just dirt roads. In Kapenguria, we were welcomed with a cup of Indian Chai by Tegla Leroupe and Eunice Hasango, the CEO of the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation. Kenya was colonized by the British and therefore also Indians came to Kenya. Our whole team could stay in a 7 room Villa with our own cook, Rebecca. The food was simple but very tasty and nutritious. The bread was Indian style.

11th November – At the Nasokol School: 850 girls and 50 teachers participated in the “Nasokol All Girls School” where we were welcomed by the Principal Mrs. Tomeyan Rosalyne, Head of Education and Games Teacher. This was the school Tegla had attended in the 80ies. The teacher told us: “We were praying to God that the World Harmony Run would come to visit our school.” Therefore all the 850 girls were waiting with expectation for our arrival. We were absolutely stunned by the amazing 2-hour program of all singing the World Harmony Run song with such pure and clear voices. There were dances and more singing dedicated to peace. One girl had tears, after she had recited a text with a message of UNESCO President Davidson Hepburn to the World Harmony Run and Sri Chinmoy, the founder of the run. On the schools sports ground all 850 girls formed a huge circle and while coordinator Hutashan and the teachers gave TV interviews we passed all around the World Harmony torch, followed by giving out notebooks and pencils as gifts. Finally 50 girls accompanied us to the Tegla Loroupe Peace Meeting in Kapenguria.

12th November: Tegla Loroupe Peace Race in Kapenguria: This year it was the 10th edition of the Peace Race that started in 2003 by Tegla to bring together warriors of the rival tribes Pokot, Turkana, Samburu, Markwet and Karamajong to reduce conflict in the region. Kapenguria is the place where Tegla was born. As a girl she had to fight very hard to make it to school and also to become an international runner. She belonged to the wrong tribe, so for a long time she wasn’t allowed to participate internationally. It was until NYC Marathon founder Fred Lebow invited her to the 1994 edition of the World’s most famous Marathon when the star Tegla Loroupe started shining. She had won her 1st Marathon ever in 1994 and then again in 1995. She won in London and set World records in Rotterdam and in Berlin. Even with all this success she didn’t forgot where she came from and she always wanted to give something back to her community. There were 10 km races for elite runners and local warriors, ands also a race for children as well as a VIP race for politicians and dignitaries. The annual Peace Race in Kapenguria has now a ten years old tradition of bringing together all the different tribes for discussions on how to find peaceful solutions instead of fighting. 20 warriors that put down their weapons between ages 16 and 20 are now living and doing their training together. Besides the World Harmony Run, other people and organizations were visiting the race: Peace and Sports from Monaco, the former Swedish Ambassador Bo Goranson, Ugandas Resident District Commissioner Moroto Nahaman Ojwe and a delegation from Germany. After the start of the cultural event, a girl’s school class was performing a poem about Tegla, a boy was singing a Tegla rap and the named five different tribes were performing their traditional singing and dancing. This went on until the next morning… and later we were invited to Tegla’s house for lunch. Together with the other VIP guests we appreciated the good food as well as the many trophies Tegla had won all over the world. At her altar there were pictures showing Tegla with President Barack Obama, Georg Clooney and Kenyan President Kibaki.

14th November: Third stop was Nakuru: With about 300.000 inhabitants, Nakuru is the 4th biggest city in Kenya and has a very important train station that connects the capital Nairobi with Eldoret – the Mekka of running – and goes on to Uganda. So it was an honor that this city invited 1000 students of the Nakuru University to run the last leg of the Kenyan World Harmony Run from there. The three kilometers route took us over Kenyatta Avenue, the very busy main road to the Afraha High School. As in the Nasokol School and at Tegla’s Peace Race again the national TV was present. And also like on November 11th, the “Standard News” announced our coming to Nakuru, thanks to Jimmy Sherlock, President of Reborn International Ministries. He said that he and his friend George, CEO of Reborn Kenya, wanted to unite the people of Nakuru through the World Harmony Run. The two million people of the Nakuru region have a society with much diversity in social and cultural structures. At the University we were finally welcomed by Amos N. Gathecha, M.B.S, Regional Commissioner of the Central Rift Valley. On behalf of the World Harmony Run and in presence of 1000 students, Hutashan gave out 3 Torch-Bearer-Awards to Boniface Muhia, Chairman of the Nakuru Business Association; Prof. J. K. Tuitoek, Vice Chancellor of Egerton University and Prof A.K. Kahi and Dean of Egerton University School of Agriculture for consistently demonstrating character traits of friendship, teamwork, respect and honesty.

PROFILE of world-record breaker Ashrita Furman. Ashrita Furman went to Peru to climb the mountain above Machu Picchu, which is called Cerro Machu Picchu, and is ten thousand feet above sea level. This was late last July. Furman, who lives in Queens, where the highest point is two hundred and fifty-eight feet, allowed himself a day to become adjusted to the altitude. Furman hoped to climb higher than anyone ever had on stilts. The record, according to Guinness World Records, was 7,242 feet, set in South Dakota, in 2002. No one had stopped Furman at the Great Wall of China in 2005, when he completed the fastest mile on a hop ball, fifteen minutes and three seconds—a record that he broke in 2010, doing thirteen minutes in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Nor had anyone interfered when, in 1993, he climbed to the snowline of Mt. Fuji on a pogo stick, sixteen miles up and back, which was the greatest distance ever travelled on a pogo stick, or when, in 1987, he jumped underwater on a pogo stick in the Amazon River for three hours and forty minutes, longer than anyone ever had. Yet he was turned away at Cerro Machu Picchu by security. Furman, who is fifty-seven and the part owner of a health-food store in Queens, is the world’s leading practitioner of a pursuit that is known as Guinnessport—the undertaking of challenges designed to get a person into an edition of Guinness World Records. He has set more world records than anyone ever has: three hundred and sixty-seven. Currently, he holds a hundred and thirty-one records, one of which is the record for holding the most records. Twenty-seven thousand jumping jacks, done in six hours and forty-five minutes, was Furman’s first record, in 1979. Furman’s records involve at least seventy discrete skills, the bulk of which he learns for the attempt. Slicing apples in the air with a samurai sword took a year.

A few years ago, in order to hold a hundred records simultaneously, Furman took up pure Guinnessport. Furman has lived a little like a monk, in the same house, in Queens, for thirty-eight years. He has never driven a car, and he is celibate. When he was sixteen, he became a follower of the pacifist wise man Sri Chinmoy. Chinmoy, who had been a decathlete, believed that extreme physical pursuits offered a means of transcending the self, and, in May of 1978, he encouraged his followers to take part in a twenty-four-hour bicycle race in Central Park. The race started at noon. By midnight, Furman was among the lead riders, and twelve hours later, he finished tied for third. “I had barely trained, so there was no doubt in my mind that it was all the meditation.” Mentions Furman’s father, Bernard. Sooner or later, nearly all professional athletes play despite being in pain. “I always notice you get to a point where you say, ‘I can’t do this,’ then you go past it,” Furman says. Describes Furman climbing Mt. Baden-Powell, which is about nine thousand four hundred feet high, outside of Los Angeles, on stilts.