Kate Moore: Senior Portfolio: Monday a.m. Artist Post 11/09

Ashrita Furman, but born Keith Furman, is an interesting man that I found while watching an HBO special. He is known for his incredible enthusiasm and dedication to breaking world records while achieving inner peace and solitude. Furman was born in Brooklyn, New York and then moved and grew up in Queens, New York. He attended Jamaica High School and still finds himself practicing on the track and field of his old high school. As a teenager, Furman’s interest in Eastern spirituality heightened and in 1970 he became a follower of the Indian Sri Chinmoy. The Sri Chinmoy’s philosophy centers on self-transcendence. This philosophy has been at the root of all of Furman’s enthusiasm for record breaking. In 1978 he participated in a 24-hour bicycle race in New York City. “It was one of the most profound moments of my life. As I climbed off my bicycle, I realized that it wasn’t my body that had cycled for 24 hours, but my inner spirit. By using meditation I was able to connect with an inexhaustible energy, which we all have but rarely use. At that moment I decided to attempt breaking Guinness records to inspire others to connect with their own indomitable inner strength.”

When I first saw the special on Furman, I solely saw him as a performer. While he prepares, practices, and acts out these challenges he has an audience. There was a woman interviewed during the special on HBO who was one of his neighbors. She described having Furman as her neighbor as being entertaining and fun. She said throughout the weeks her and her kids will either watch Furman practice from the house or they will join him in his backyard in Queens and watch him work towards achieving another record. The idea of him working through all of these tasks as part of a meditation routine is simply fascinating to me. On his website it states, “he has been practicing meditation for more than 30 years and sees his records as a way to demonstrate the benefits of ancient Eastern Art. The name Ashrita is Sanskrit, meaning protected by God...” Furman later on makes a statement saying, “I am not a natural athlete, but my teacher has shown me that if one can be in touch with one’s inner spirit, anything is possible.”

Furman’s first record was set in 1979 and it was for doing 27,000 jumping jacks. Since then he has broken more than 225 records. Some of the records he has set include hula hoping the fasted mile at the Ayers Rock in the Australian bush, pushing a car 17 miles in 24 hours, walking 80 miles with a milk bottle balanced on his head, bouncing a basketball 339 times in a minute, standing on a Swiss Ball for the longest time at Stonehenge in England, balancing a pool cue while walking the longest distance at the Pyramids in Egypt, and bouncing the fastest mile on a kangaroo ball following right along the Great Wall of China. He has set records in more than 30 different countries on all seven continents.

The reason why I chose to research this man even though the kind of work that he does is not necessarily art, is because I found myself really interested in why he chose to spend each of his days pursuing something that was beneficial to himself and the public and not beneficial financially. Furman receives no financial reward for breaking any of the world records, however he is more driven to challenge himself in this area than ever. He runs a health food store on the side to maintain a living but keeps his head focused on meditating and bringing new challenges into his life on a daily basis. After he completes/sets a record, this sort of clarity overcomes Furman and he has moments of realization that have a lasting effect on him. I find myself able to relate to Furman because he performs these acts and challenges and is able to find clarity within himself after completing them. Like artists, he does these things for himself. It is a way of life and is his own piece of happiness.