Not Far from `Huddled Masses' Verse, Guru's Poem at Liberty Statue
By BETH GARDINER

Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Followers of meditative guru Sri Chinmoy have claimed records
for such esoteric events as continuous hand-clapping and underwater pogo-stick
jumping in their quest for world peace and harmony. And now they've made their
mark on the Statue of Liberty.

With the blessing of the Park Service, the group has hung a brass plaque
engraved with a free-verse poem in an alcove of the statue's lobby.

Members of the untitled network of followers say the poem is one of 900
``peace-blossoms'' they've dedicated at landmarks such as Mount McKinley,
Zimbabwe's Victoria Falls and Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The project
is all
 part of an effort to promote peace, ``oneness'' and the group's belief that
physical fitness is the quickest route to international unity.

``It's a very deep, meaningful thing, something that I hope will be
inspiring to
 other people the way it is to us. We believe that world peace has to begin
with
 every individual,'' said Nishtha Baum, the Sri Chinmoy follower who secured
permission for the plaque.

The Statue of Liberty's best-known verse is Emma Lazarus' famous ``New
Colossus,'' which includes the lines: ``Give me your tired, your poor, Your
huddled masses yearning to breathe free ...''

The huddled masses may be puzzled by the Sri Chinmoy poem's references to
``Earth-heart's pinnacle-Divinity'' and ``Her Beauty's cosmos-fragrance-ride.''

The Park Service said the group's religious overtones and reputation for
oddball
 physical fitness stunts shouldn't preclude them from having a presence at
America's symbol of freedom.

Park Service spokesman Manny Strumpf said he thinks Sri Chinmoy's peace
blossoms
 fit perfectly with Lady Liberty's message.

``It's a sign of peace more than a matter of converting others to their
faith,''
 he said. ``What greater symbol is there for peace and freedom than the Statue
of Liberty? It's totally appropriate.''

Others questioned the Park Service's decision to sanction the Sri Chinmoy
plaque.

``I think it's wrong,'' said Cynthia Kisser, former executive director of the
Chicago-based Cult Awareness Network.

``There are too many groups ... using nebulous, positive-sounding phrases like
world peace and family values,'' Kisser said. ``The value of having your
name on
 the Statue of Liberty is an intangible.''

The group claims roughly 6,000 active members in 50 countries. Its headquarter
is a Sri Chinmoy Meditation Center in New York's borough of Queens. And
pogo-stick jumping, weight lifting and running are a big part of the message.

``If people from all nations can run in peace and harmony, then it is but a
small step for all nations to live in peace and harmony,'' explains a flier
for
the group's biennial ``Oneness-Home Peace Run.''

One follower pogo-jumped up and down Japan's Mount Fuji, and then broke his
own
distance record by bouncing 13 miles around New York City. He wore out two
heavy-duty pogo sticks and stopped only after being refused permission to
hop up
 the Empire State Building's steps.

This week, participants in a Sri Chinmoy-sponsored ultramarathon will begin a
1,000-lap run around a one-mile loop. They have two weeks to finish;
organizers
expect them to rest two to four hours out of every 24.

Followers claim their 65-year-old spiritual leader can lift 7,000 pounds with
just one arm, and has run 22 marathons and one ultramarathon.

Baum, the group's spokesman, said they wanted their leader's poem on the
Statue
of Liberty because it ``represented America's highest vision.''