The Golden Bird Winged Butterfly
by Utpal Marshall

I am not sure why Ashrita was suddenly so interested in the butterfly. His interests are eclectic to say the least, especially when it comes to tackling unusual physical challenges. Maybe under ordinary circumstances he would have taken little notice of the butterfly as it erratically fluttered across the courtyard. Yet he had been staring intently straight ahead for more than 3hours out the 3rd floor window of the Sheraton's spa and it was the first new thing to come into his field of vision.

Ashrita is always into new things. What he was actually doing in the spa that day was balancing himself standing on top of a large yellow 75cm Swiss ball. Originally the inflatable balls were designed for use as a stretching aid. Fitness buffs use them as tools to increase their flexibility and also a number of fitness routines have been designed around it. One thing is fairly certain and that is that the creators of the Swiss ball never dreamt that it would ever be used in breaking a Guinness record. Only Ashrita would have concocted such a hare brained scheme.

It may also be true that the Guinness record book editors never dreamt that an Ashrita Furhman would come along and smash apart the notion that a single person would specialise in only one event. He having broken more than 80 of their records and is currently the record holder for holding the most records. Something like 19 different feats at last count. Long bored of the challenges listed in the stuffy original book he has originated numerous new events. These new disciplines are in turn taken up by other like-minded Guinness athletes around the world.

This in turn inspires Ashrita, to not only keep creating new challenges, but also motivates him to keep going back and bettering the new records set by others who have surpassed his own previous best. Which leads us to an understanding of why he was precariously balancing himself on the yellow Swiss ball early in the morning on the 29th of December. His previous best of 2:06, set in July at Stonehenge, had been recently broken by a Canadian challenger. The fellow had balanced on his own Swiss Ball for 3:16 bettering Ashrita's record by more than an hour.

This is just the kind of significant challenge that he thrives upon. Records are meant to be broken, if not by oneself than by others. No goal should be considered unreachable. Life is about transcending oneself after all. He had established the balancing record originally by standing on the ball for 69 minutes. Now in less than a year the record had increased almost 3 fold.

Not one who is ever much interested in just taking it easy, he often takes advantage of time spent on his yearly Christmas trip to seriously take up his Guinness challenges. On his trip to New Zealand and Australia last year he had broken 3 different records over 2 months. They included under water juggling, racing a mile with a milk bottle balanced on his head, and running a mile while hula hooping. This last one he accomplished at Ayers Rock.

One only has to look to his spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy to understand where he receives his inspiration. Sri Chinmoy's life's work has always been about self-transcendence. At 72 years of age his record-breaking achievements have not slowed up whatsoever. Most recently on this trip the rate in which he is writing poems and composing songs has accelerated markedly from past years. As well his program, called "lifting up the world with a oneness heart," is going strong.

The lifting up of the world is not just a figurative metaphor. It involves Sri Chinmoy actually lifting 2 individuals simultaneously overhead while seated beneath them. While visiting Indonesia he had lifted everyone from a local King to, over the course of about an hour, all the members of a University marching band. He also honoured the oldest women in Indonesia who at 125 years of age had never seen anyone quite like Sri Chinmoy.

On the morning of his Swiss ball balancing record attempt Ashrita had enlisted the aid of just a handful of his friends. He never draws undo attention to himself during any of his records. The less fuss the better most times. Yet should there be a crowd or the media present his concentration is exemplary. He also never fails to acknowledge the significant inspiration he receives from his spiritual teacher. In fact, as in most record-breaking attempts, he wears a shirt with one of Sri Chinmoy's aphorisms printed on the back. It says, " There is only one perfect road. It is ahead of you always ahead of you."

Because his previous record attempt had been hampered by the windy conditions around Stonehenge he had decided that in the air-conditioned stillness of the hotel spa he would not be distracted by any of nature's unpredictable whims. The view from the window, which he stood in front of, was overlooking the central courtyard of the hotel. Lotus flowers bloomed in a lush pond into which a small cascading waterfall tumbled. There were many ornamental plants and the pool held a swirling collection of gold fish. A peaceful and as unobtrusive scene as anyone could possibly ask for.

It did not take long before he had clambered barefoot onto the large yellow ball. Once he was standing upright another helper and myself started our stopwatches. He made it look easy, it was not. It takes tremendous concentration and balance to remain on top. Sometimes the ball is almost still under his feet but only just. You could see the many minute adjustments his entire body had to make in order to keep his precarious balance.

Sometimes he kept his hands behind his head and at other times they were stuffed into the loose pockets of his shorts. He never remained completely still. It was just not possible. He has also asked that his team not be completely silent either. He felt that an occasional question or comment would help him mentally. Every 20 minutes I gave him his time and every once in awhile someone would say, "How's it going Ashrita?"

As the minutes pass and then the hours people come and go from the room, it is a spa after all. Only a few customers come during this time and they don't seem to take much notice. Some of his friends show up to sign a witness book and offer encouragement. The staff working there is very excited. It must be one of the most really exciting things to have ever happened there. People usually go to a spa to relax. There is nothing relaxing about standing atop a 75 cm Swiss ball.

Something, very unique, happens with time, whenever Ashrita attempts one of his records. As I am sitting comfortably in a soft chair cradling a stopwatch in my lap it seems as though for me time is spinning forward at a dizzy rate. Of course for the man balancing on the ball, after several hours, he is seeing time in quite the opposite way. It appears to be progressing tediously slow. Still he never really complains.

I am not bored performing my mundane task as timekeeper at all. Now this is odd, for on the surface of things, nothing much seems to be happening at all. Just a very fit and determined guy is balancing himself on top of a ball. Yet it is not hard for me to picture that in this rather ordinary room with hotel music lilting softly in the background that something very deep and significant is happening. But it is not on easily perceived. It is occurring inside Ashrita's own mind and heart.

Now I am not a mind reader, and certainly no expert on hearts. Maybe it is just a devious part of my imagination that I am listening to. Yet over the hours as I watch, talk, and listen to Ashrita I envision that a titanic battle is taking place inside him. It is a struggle that is simultaneously taking place both outwardly and inwardly. Ashrita is calling upon his body, mind, and heart to push boldly further into a world into which he has only briefly previously explored. On this day he needs to better his personal best by more than an hour to beat the new record.

Still at the heart of the matter, it is clearly evident, that at every minute while he is attempting a record he will always bring forward nothing but his very best. He is a rare individual who is capable of giving 100 percent at these times. He seems immune to doubt and fatigue. On this day he does not blister or bleed, which has been known to happen for many of his past records. He will however experience pain. Try standing in one spot on flat ground for any length of time. He has mentioned prior to this record that the real pain starts after 2 hours. As he wobbles into his third hour a crew from the local newspaper shows up.

Pictures are taken from every possible angle. One of his handlers quietly answers questions in the background. There are some difficulties with translation. A very simple information sheet has been printed up in Indonesian for the media. It however doesn't take much explaining. A 50 year old health food store manager with dark hair and glasses is standing on top of a ball. They are enthralled by the inactive action taking place in front of them. While they are present he surpasses the old record. Ashrita is treated to a hearty round of cheering and applause. On the front page of the paper the next day will be a picture of my watch showing 3:25 and Ashrita standing on the ball. That was not the whole story.

To be able to understand what Ashrita was really doing that day, one has to come to some understanding of why he attempts any of his records in the first place. It is simple. He does these strange and wonderful things because Sri Chinmoy inspires him. In doing these Guinness challenges he can tangibly emulate to the world that his teacher's message of self-transcendence is real and attainable. And like his unflinching determination he never ceases to credit all his success to his spiritual teacher.

Once the record had safely been broken it became a question, in everyone's mind, not least Ashrita as to how much longer he could stay up there. Before starting that morning, no specific goal had been stated other than beating 3:16. So as each new additional minute slipped past the transcendence factor was increasing and increasing. Morning had now given way to afternoon.

The ending to such a record is always a blur. Its like the final grains of sand spilling out of an hourglass, things happen quickly at the end. I had to recheck my observations with Ashrita and the other official observers to come up with the precise order of events. It will come to no ones surprise that at last the promised butterfly finally shows up.

Keep in mind that Ashrita's view of the courtyard below had been unchanged for hours. It was almost as soothing and steady as a painted canvas. For hours there had only been the steady rhythm of the lotus flowers with large pink blossoms gently swaying in the breeze. At one point there was some minor excitement when staff from the hotel went out to feed the gold fish. There was also a few unobtrusive flight manoeuvres put on by some very forgettable butterflies.

Then the big guy showed up. It was of undeniable bird like proportions and its wing coloration was dramatic, thus the gold name. Its flight path took its trajectory right to left across Ashrita's field of view. There was one loud, "wow look at that," followed immediately by Ashrita's feet catapulting into takeoff mode. At that instant, with his tired toes readying themselves to plunge back to earth, my finger snapped close the stem of the stopwatch. To that point, which was exactly 3:38, no one had seen such a great butterfly in Indonesia. It was something new and exciting. In other words the perfect thing to complete an Ashrita Guinness record. The Golden Bird wing disappeared soon after. The 21 additional minutes added to the record may stick around a whole lot longer.

This page was last updated:  January 11, 2004 12:59