Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
4
'Bhagavan Is Still with Us'
BANGALORE TO TIRUVANNAMALAI, 1975
So long as the mind remains away from the philosopher's stone, it remains
lost and absorbed in family and friends; it is continually tossed about by the
waves of lust and anger; remains engulfed in the lure of wealth and possessions,
and misses the golden opportunity of cleansing and transmuting itself. The
instinct of love which God granted us for devotion to Him, we dissipate in
sensuous pleasures. The mind keeps us away from the goal and never uncovers
the Reality which it keeps hidden. The mind is the great slayer of the Real,
and a true devotee must slay the slayer.
- Maharaj Gharan Singh, Spiritual Discourses
After over half a year in Puttaparthi, everything I did in Bangalore
on returning there made me feel I was wallowing in dissipated,
sensuous pleasures. I slayed no slayer. Indeed, I stayed at the West
End Hotel this time, a sprawling Raj-era establishment set in a
giant but unruly garden opposite the racetrack. It desperately needed
an overhaul. Everything from management and staff to rooms and
food was sadly decayed. Yet after Nagamma's concrete box it still
represented shameless luxury. Even reading a history of Tipu Sultan,
rather than my usual diet of spiritual tomes and esoterica, seemed
rakishly worldly. Having a drink felt virtually criminal; I was deeply
embarrassed once to be caught guzzling a beer by some Baba
devotees I knew. Even in my new surroundings, something still
made me restless, eager to resume my quest. I soon decided to head
off for another holy spot.
There always seem to be inexplicable problems with transport in
India. Planes were overbooked, sometimes by twice the number of
seats, or delayed for hours without explanation; trains halted in the
middle of nowhere for no apparent reason, sometimes stationary
for half a day; and buses had similar quirks, coupled with a
hierarchical system far more mysterious than the straightforward
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