Anyway, let me set the stage. The day before that phone call came, March 16, 1988; I had appeared, at a huge publicity event to celebrate the official re-opening of the Guinness World Records museum that at that time was housed in the Empire State Building. There was press everywhere and record holders from all over the world to entertain them. Some of the record holders on hand were; Diane Witt with her 10 feet long straight hair; Marilyn Vos Savant whose IQ of 228 made her the world's smartest person, accompanied by her husband, Dr. Robert Jarvik (inventor of the artificial heart); Bruce Block who held the record for balancing 135 cigar boxes on his chin and in the corner bouncing on a pogo stick was Ashrita Furman who held all kinds of physical endurance records from pogo sticking up Mt. Fuji, to somersaulting non- stop along Paul Revere's ride to underwater juggling in the Amazon River. Yes it was quite an amusing sight. On hand was also Norris McWhirter, one of the founding brothers of the Guinness Book.

That afternoon, reporters had our undivided attention, so none of us really got a chance to talk and know our "peers."

The next day I get the phone call from Ashrita asking if I would perform my stand up comedy and fast talking for his Guru in a tennis court in Queens. After I figured out that he was the guy pogo sticking in the back of the press conference for several hours, I then tried to figure out what kind of Guru he was talking about.

"Okay so is this a Tennis Guru?"
Ashrita laughed, "No, he is a spiritual teacher from India who came to the United States in 1964. He's known for promoting interfaith harmony and opening spiritual centers around the world. He's written hundreds of poems and books. He used to fast talk in India and was fascinated with your record and wanted to meet you. Eddie Murphy has performed for him; Carl Lewis is a disciple of his..."
"Wow, how much does it pay?"
"Oh... in the past people did it to pay their respects."
"Really? Look, I'm not used to handling this meeting of spiritual teachers. I mean is this like being requested to talk at the White House? Quite honestly, I'm still trying to figure out who you guys are. Do you live near me? WAIT! Are you the guys that run around Jamaica High School in those long white outfits for weeks at a time?"

"Well... something like that. Sri Chinmoy believes in transcending one's physical limitations. He's known for his feats of strength and last year he founded the World Harmony Run, which was the world's largest relay for peace, involving tens of thousands of participants in over 70 nations. So those disciples in this area do a 3,100 mile race over a period of 60 days, where we challenge ourselves to push beyond our limits."

"Wow, that‘s a lot of transcending. I can't believe how long you guys do that for. Quite honestly I thought you were some kind of vigilante patrol group."
Ashrita laughed. He explained to me further that the "long white outfits" I referred to were called Sari's and only the girls wore those- and the boys wore white as well to represent purity... he said that Sri Chinmoy gets joy out of celebrating human achievements, such as my fast talking."

With that I agreed to do it. Hey if I can bring joy to a spiritual leader... then I must be doing something right! And besides, I always like different and challenging things... and I figured comedy for a Guru in a Tennis court surrounded by hundreds of people wearing white would fit the bill.

The day of the performance I went with my mom and my friend, Maria. Ashrita greeted me at the tennis court. A game was in progress. Ashrita escorted me to a tented section with a huge chair. In it was Sri Chinmoy, a very peaceful, pleasant looking man. He smiled when Ashrita introduced me. I went to shake his hand and Ashrita stopped me. ‘Sorry, you can't touch Guru. People's energies can hurt his."

"Wow, Okay... sorry about that. Last thing I want to do is zap his energy." I smiled at Sri Chinmoy.

"Sorry Mr. Chinmoy... didn't mean any disrespect."
He smiled almost playfully. I knew I had said something wrong but wasn't quite sure what it was. At that moment I wished I had a copy of the "What to do when you met a Guru for dummies guide?'

Later I found out his first name wasn't Sri. I had called him MR. Chinmoy thinking that his first name was Sri. I found out... Sri was a title given to holy people... it would be as if I called the Dali Lama... Mr. Lama. I was batting a thousand here.

Luckily, I didn't have time to make any more etiquette mistakes. Sri Chinmoy clapped his hands and the tennis game ended. The net was taken down, and his disciples then divided into two groups on both sides of the court.

Ashrita escorted me to the far end of the tennis court, directly facing his chair. So now there was me with a long corridor of space between Sri Chinmoy and me. We were flanked on each side by hundreds of people. It was almost as if I was just performing to him, and the walls, were the people.

My mom and Maria stayed on the right "wall" side. I started to perform my comedy; I wasn't sure if I should just concentrate on performing to him, or if I should play to the whole audience. I decided not to think about it so much and just look at everyone.

That's when it hit me. I looked at the right side of the crowd, then the left. I noticed all the boys were standing on the right side, and all the girls were standing on the left. The only problem was, Maria and mom were standing on the wrong side. I tried to signal them discretely with a quick head nod, to move to the other side. The only problem is it's kind of hard to be discrete when you are the object of attention. My mom and Maria just kept smiling at me.

I didn't want the Guru to think I had some kind of nervous tick... so I decided to stop. For some reason as soon as I did. I saw Maria nudge my mom then whisper. My mom casually looked around. I could see them thinking they should move... but other than walk right in front of Sri Chinmoy... there was no where to go.

In a bizarre way I found the whole thing amusing. It was almost as if I was in a foreign country and didn't know the laws of the land... but just decided to be myself and open up and hope they knew I was doing everything from my heart... and that no offense would be taken.
With worries abandoned, I did my act and at the conclusion I demonstrated my fast-talking. I saw Sri Chinmoy's eyes light up.

The group asked me a bunch of questions. The thing was I was just as amazed at their ability to run 3,100 miles as they were at my tongue going a mile a minute.

After 15 minutes the whole thing was done. For a moment there was this silence. Sri Chinmoy smiled and then instead of applause the group began to sing..."Thank you, thank you, thank you... thank you thank you thank you."

I didn't know what to do. I stood there looking at mom and Maria. Maria just shrugged, as if to say, "Don't ask me, I'm standing on the wrong side." I just smiled. This was sure different than any performance I've every done. Then I started to worry... "Oh man, what do I do when they stop singing? Do I clap? Do I have to sing back? You're welcome, welcome, welcome?"

I remember the scene in that Indiana Jones movie where they were on the top of a mountain in Africa and the villagers were waving to them... Indie was about to wave back, and was told, "Don't... if you do they will consider it an insult." So there I stood, just smiling like a fool.

At the end, I nodded my head... they waited... I said,
"Wow, I honestly don't know what to say."
The great thing was, as a spiritual leader, Sri Chinmoy knew my heart. He knew my intentions were good and my thoughts sincere. So I was off the hook.

After the crowd disbanded. I went over to Sri Chinmoy. Again he was just smiling. In an effort to say something... I said, "I hope you enjoyed it... you have a beautiful tennis court here, and I like you're outfit." Again he smiled.

As I was leaving, Ashrita told me that Guru invited me and my guests to dine at their vegetarian restaurant, Anna Brahma, which was located across the street from the tennis court. I was then asked if their paper could interview me. Of course I agreed.

The food was wonderful and healthy, the atmosphere peaceful and the disciples very friendly and happy looking. The bizarre thing was this whole "world" existed right in my own neighborhood and I never realized it. It was like I wasn't in Jamaica, Queens anymore but was instead transformed into another place just by these people's attitudes.

For years afterwards, Ashrita and I remained friends. Guinness sent us to different museum openings around the world.

Ashrita went on to break 144 world records under his guru's guidance. People would always question me..."Why does your friend, Ashrita, follow a cult?" I would answer," It's no more a cult than, Christianity, Judaism or Buddhism. It's a spiritual way of life. And besides, he is literally one of the happiest people I know! So if it works for him and thousands of the disciples... what's the problem?"

For the life of me, I never can understand, why people insist on forcing their religion, or their way of being on other people. Why can't people live and follow who they want, as they want, as long as the message is peace happiness and the general well being of the world? I really don't' think God is up there saying, "Hey folks, do it this way or you're out!" If you are a good person, are thankful everyday for what God has graced you with, and are happy... what's the problem?

I never really got to know Sri Chinmoy personally, but over the years I watched how happy these people were and what a simple life they led, not all caught up on keeping with the Jones', or the latest gadgets. I listened to his meditation music, read some of his inspirational words, went to a few of their meditations and heard how he got invited by world leaders to build a peace bridge in their nations and how celebrities would become followers of his.

Just recently in honor of his 76th birthday, on August 27th, 2007 Ashrita Furman and fellow disciples built him the world's largest pencil as a gift. The pencil weighed in at 18,000 pounds, took two weeks to build, was 76 feet 2 ¾ inches long, and was given as a gift to him to represent his "unprecedented creativity with an unprecedented writing instrument." It said on the side, ‘Happy Birthday, Sri Chinmoy... 76 years young!"

Shortly after, on October 11th, 2007 he was found dead of a heart attack. It was a shock to all that he would die so young.

My friend, Laz and I attended the funeral. She and I had become friends with many of the disciples and frequently ate at their restaurant.

The funeral was open to the public for only a short time. Many from the neighborhood came to pay their respects. Newspapers from all over the world covered his passing. Disciples flew in from corners of the earth to say their farewell.

The ceremony was held at the same tennis court that I had performed at 19 years earlier. He was not embalmed, yet days later he still looked at peace, a sign they say of a true spiritual leader. The inside of the court was transformed into a spiritual garden with thousands of flowers everywhere, sent from people all over the world who loved and respected him. Yet there were few tears... the disciples said they feel him strong in their hearts, and that gives them peace.

A think his funeral prayer card says it all... it was from one of his teachings... it read, "My physical death is not the end of my life-I am an eternal journey."

They will continue to follow his teachings. He was buried at the tennis court a week later, and I gather is watching over his disciples from a big chair in the sky.