Pogo Gogo Disciple

File under: The Siddhi of PR

Meet Ashrita Furman. He holds the world record for holding the most world records:

In the last 30 years, Furman has climbed Mount Fuji on a pogo stick. He has somersaulted the entire length of Paul Revere's ride. In Cancun, Mexico, he played 434 games of hopscotch in 24 hours. He ran seven miles in Cairo while balancing a pool cue on his finger. And in 2002, the Guinness company invited him to London, to set his 100th record: spinning a 16-foot-diameter hula-hoop around his waist three times.

What got into him to do all that, you ask? A world record breaking guru, of course:

His talent and inspiration, he said, comes from a spiritual quest for joy that began under Indian guru Sri Chinmoy's tutelage in 1970. When Furman tells his story, his face takes on a childlike animation; his eyes sparkle as he remembers the day he realized his dream.

We guess that must have been to become an obsessive fitness freak, because no matter how many world records one may possess, it all has as much to do with the truth of the Self as our dog's ass.

Frankly, we're a bit shocked Chinmoy let his devotee blow him away in the spiritual he-man category. Perhaps Ashrita is being groomed for Chinmoy's sweat pants after the old man lifts that last barbell. We suggest Ashrita wash them before putting them on. Chinmoy's been known to have been dirty in them more than once.