“How can I or anyone give you that which you already have?” - UG.

Who is a sage?

~ Sages are first-hand, authentic, genuine articles.

A sage is referred to as a Real Man or Woman by the ancient Taoists or Total Man or Woman by the Africans.  

UG explained, “Sages are very few, you can count them on your fingers ….  Ramana or Ramakrishna can never be produced on a production line….”

UG went on further, “There are many saints in the world but very few sages”, and explained the subtle difference, “A sage lives his own life, sings his own song and goes about his own way. He couldn’t care whether you listened to him or not! He does not give sermons, much less write books.

Actually we must thank the saints! But for the saints, who could record the words and works of a sage? They would be lost forever….it is the saints who spread the words of the sage….”

I probed him, "Sir, you mean to say the saints do the classroom job?" UG said, "Yes, they try to interpret and write commentaries…!"

*******

Ramana Maharshi, used a famous metaphor ‘the pail in the well’ to explain the difference between the sage 'rooted' in the primal or Natural State and the saint who may have ‘experienced’ the Natural State.

Let us say a pail is immersed in a well. Now there is water inside and outside the pail. It is the pail or 'container' that divides the well water as inside and outside.

Ramana Maharshi explained that a sage is grounded or rooted in his primal or Natural State or Sahaja Samadhi at all times.

Those with spiritual experience, regardless of whether it is the highest experience, remain like 'the pail in the well'. The ‘container’ or the ‘pail’ or ‘ego’ or ‘self’ maintains the division of consciousness as inside and outside.

Ramana Maharshi pointed out that the 'ego' or 'self' remains in its subtlest form even in the 'thoughtless state' and keeps the consciousness divided thus bringing about the 'experiencer' and the 'experienced'. This thoughtless state with subtle ego is the Nirvikalpa Samadhi!

The pail or container is akin to UG's description of the ‘experiencing structure.’ Water is the metaphor used by Ramana here for describing consciousness. Water within the pail is ‘self-consciousness’ as opposed to water without which is the ‘pure undivided consciousness.’

When there is no ‘container’ or ‘ego’ or ‘self’ or ‘experiencer’, what remains is 'the well water' of pure consciousness. Ramana described such a state as the Sahaja Samadhi or Natural State!

UG in a vision, after his Calamity, had witnessed many a sagely figure including the likes of Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, Akka Mahadevi, Lalleswari, many strange beings and animal forms, all those who had come into the Natural State or Sahaja Samadhi.

In this context, one is reminded of UG's pointed question to JK, "Have you seen the 'sugar cube' or have you tasted the 'sugar cube?"

*******

 ~ A Sage Will Pass The Gold Test For Simplicity.

The gold standard for simplicity would be a Ramakrishna Paramahamsa or a Ramana Maharshi or Nisargadutta or Swami Nityananda who led such extraordinarily simple, common lives. Their material needs were minimal. They were beyond psychological or societal needs.

"The man who is ‘practicing’ humility is not a humble man", observed UG.

There are many con artists out there who 'practice' simplicity and humility. Living under the same roof for a while is all that it takes to reveal the malice in the hearts of con men! Healthy skepticism will always help us in calling the bluff!

*******

~ There is no private side to a sage's life! It is an open book!

UG explained, "There is nothing private in my life! You can see me in my bedroom anytime. My doors are always open. I am available to anyone who wants to see me or speak to me anytime, twenty four hours of the day!"

Chandrasekhar Babu, a very close associate of UG confirms that, for years, the doors of the place where UG stayed were kept open even during nights. The parallels are to be found in Ramana or Ramakrishna and others.

*******

~ In the company of a true sage, you are unburdened and relieved, you are at peace with yourself.

Great people make you feel great and the small (minded) ones make you feel small and uncomfortable. Of course, only an open mind, a receptive mind can chance upon a genuine article.

Once you meet a real sage, he lets you drop your guard at the very first instance! You breathe instant freedom!

*******

~ A sage encourages you to stand firm on your two ‘shaky’ legs and unflinchingly face the ‘ugly’ truth about yourself.

UG lambasted the tendency to escape or avoid facing our inadequacies, "Anything you want to be free from, for whatever reason, is the very thing that can free you!"  This puts an end to all forms of escape!

Lao Tzu says: " It is easy to vanquish others but difficult to conquer oneself."

It is easier to face a belligerent crowd than our own ugliness.

The most debilitating influence in one's life is the feeling of guilt, shame and the psychological burden of the past. These are akin to an open, festering wound in our system.

The sage lets you see the falsity of the ‘self’ and its myriad sicknesses letting you overcome all ‘sins’! He indeed is a true redeemer!

*******

 ~ A genuine teacher has no agenda, no axe to grind and no investment to make.

A genuine teacher is not into any holy business. He or she has nothing to sell whether moksha, liberation, salvation or enlightenment!

UG thundered, "Why are you here? What do you want? Look! Whatever (motive) brought you here will take you somewhere else (to another guru)!"  

UG made it abundantly clear that there is nothing to look for or nothing to seek or search thus killing all motives!

He would ask, “How can I or anyone give you that which you already have?”

And then, “If you realize this, you will never come back to me or go to someone else! All search will be finished for you! That is the acid test!" 

Ramana clarified that all of us are in the natural state but when we want to find out how to attain that state, it becomes a terrible problem. He explained that it is like being in Thiruvannamalai but asking people how to reach there!

*******

~ Sages are not sentimental!

When you took leave of UG, he would say, "Bye, bye! See you sometime, somewhere! "And simply turn and look away from you, cutting you off completely! The parting was so sudden and total. It jolted and unnerved you!

UG made it clear to everybody, “I don’t need you or anyone else!”  

If someone had any misgiving that he or she had some exclusive right to UG, UG would slap back hard, "Look here! You can't buy me with your money or favours. I don’t need you here. Get lost and stay lost!"

By virtue of his primal state, his clarity, his utter lack of fear, UG posed a serious threat to our mask or façade!

When the sagely Nisargadutta Maharaja’s wife died, the sage remained as tranquil as ever, he was totally unaffected!

Seems as he came out from his apartment to arrange for the funeral, someone on the street, waiting for him, accosted Nisargadutta and there ensued a serious discussion on spiritual matters. The visitor clarified his many doubts and after a while thanked the master for his instructions and requested his permission to leave.

At this point, Nisargadutta casually informed the seeker about his wife’s passing away and said that if he could spare some time, he was welcome to attend the funeral, leaving the visitor in shock and awe!

*******

~ A sage suffers with you in your pain and rejoices with you in your happiness.

UG used to say, "I am affected by everyone and everything around me. I am vulnerable.” When I asked him to elaborate, UG explained, “I am affected by everyone but I am not involved."

UG was like a transparent glass taking on the colours of the surroundings. People and the crowds affected him. It was not unusual to find UG looking dull, pensive and listless at times. It took a little probing to discover that someone in the crowd had passed on the blues causing UG’s hangover!

Equally, UG would light up and come into his elements with energetic, entertaining and no-holds-barred friends a la Mahesh Bhatt, Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat or Louis Brawley. They enacted a dual role, playing UG's sounding board and providing fun element in his portals, giving him the much needed breather from his relentless talks. They were a great company and unleashed tons of mirth and laughter, lighting up his portals.

*******

~ A sage lives like an ordinary soul sticking to the rules of social conduct.

For some time, I was part of VIP protocol for a certain religious head. This saffron clad Swamiji was obsessive about special treatment at airport security, customs and immigration check-points.

UG was quite the opposite! He simply abhorred any kind of special treatment! He entered and exited the airports like an ordinary passenger. There was absolutely no fanfare during his arrivals or departures! Having agonized over VIP handling for the holy man for years, I was completely floored by UG’s simplicity and unassuming ways!

*******

~ The sagely lessons are informal, direct and personal.

UG loathed speeches and remained informal till the end. Even during TV shows, UG could be seen constantly checking himself, "What are we doing here, is this an interview or am I giving a speech!?"

UG, the master sculptor chiseled away at all that was false!

His guidance was mainly personal and came in umpteen forms. It could be a stinging slap or a public bashing. Or a gentle reminder or a friendly suggestion. And at times complete silence that spoke louder than his words.

~ They (sages) have no power, yet they rule the world. They have no wealth but they possess everything. They have no purpose, yet they attain perfect virtue. They know nothing, but they are supremely wise. -Chuang Tzu

UG described, "The knowledgeable man is an arrogant man!"

In his relentless exhortations, UG highlighted the many limitations and dangers of knowledge!

UG would go 'that extra mile' to exorcise the ghost of knowledge in puffed up individuals. Intellectually-intoxicated men and women who walked in to 'grind' UG found themselves ground to dust. Chastised, they would hastily retreat from his presence never to return again!

In UG, there was no trace of fear or expectation. He rubbished any talk of gratitude by his thankful friends. There was no ceremony, no speech or mass frenzy. A get-together was an informal cafe-meet with like-minded souls, never a grand gala dinner with noise and din!

*******

~ A sage is not interested in the past nor in the future but lives in the moment.

A sage lets you see the 'trap' of psychological dependence in every relationship and sets you free from all ‘sticky’ relationships including his own!

UG explained that all relationships are based on a common goal - mutual exploitation.

Every relationship is an on-going battle, a struggle between people saddled with a life time of opinions and views. It is all about 'maintaining, sustaining and holding to each other, somehow! Such human relationships could only be debasing and demeaning!

~ A sage burns bright every moment of life, through joy and sorrow, without a purpose!

If you were truly open minded, prepared to drop your baggage, UG would turn into an extraordinary phenomenon where Life gushed forth in full flow, unfettered and blazing! 

A moment in the company of a sage is refreshing, healing, liberating and energising. What is in operation is - the pure energy, intensity and wholeness of the moment, to use UG’s words, 'the throb, the pulse and beat of life!!'

This innocent, child-like living is a joy to behold!

*************************************************************************

An aside:

Can you tell a sage from a con man?

“Once Sri Chandrasekhar Saraswati, Shankaracharya of Kanchi had camped in North India. The then Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, came to meet him.

The Prime Minister of India placed a similar question (referring to con men) in front of Sri Swamiji, “If you would pinpoint the persons who, in the name of spirituality, lead the people in a wrong way, I will take action against them.”

Swamiji laughed and said, “No! It should not be handled in this manner. Those who approach such fake gurus will themselves, after a time, understand their standard of maturity.”

He understood that this reply did not satisfy Mrs. Gandhi.

Someone had offered a basket full of mangoes to the sage. It contained many unripe and a few ripe fruits. Many devotees waited outside for a meeting with him. He instructed the attendants to bring a child from amongst these devotees. A child of about 5 years was brought to Him.

Pointing to the basket the sage smilingly said to the child, “Take whatever you want.” After a search the child picked up a ripe fruit.

Swamiji pointed out to Mrs. Gandhi who was watching all this, “Just as the way a child knows what is ripe and what is unripe, so too would those who go out in search of Truth recognize a true Man at some point of their life.”

"I'd rather be known as a Conman than a God-man!” - UG

The exploitation of the gullible and the credulous by gurus and godmen anguished UG so much that he declared, "I'd rather be known as a Conman than a God-man!”

Where does that leave us? Are we stuck? Is there a way out? Is getting 'bitten' or 'conned' the only way to tell the fraudulent from the real? 

UG was categorical about our gullibility and credulity. He insisted that the onus is on us, "You are the ones who put the power in the hands of these gurus! They are just like you and me, no different! It is you who put them on a pedestal and then complain that you are helpless!"

UG, time and again said that the intelligent and educated are the most gullible! Unlike most others, they are intellectually aware of the limitations of reason and logic. Perhaps this makes them throw caution to the winds and discard reason and discrimination to surrender to the market gurus selling spiritual kingdom, the Promised Land beyond reason and logic.

Whether we like it or not, collectively and individually, directly and indirectly, every one of us is responsible for this sorry state of affairs.

UG’s recommendation to rid the problem of conmen was ‘uncompromising and uncomplaining self-reliance’ and a dose of ‘healthy skepticism’. UG would often say, "I was a heretic to the tips of my toes!”

UG would often recount an anecdote from his childhood where he was asked to kowtow to a visiting Swami who materialised gold coins out of thin air. When he was pushed really hard to touch the feet of the holy man, UG insisted that he would do so if the latter could materialise a gold coin with the current year stamped on it. This brought down the curtain on the 'miracle' show! 

Not everyone is as clearheaded! Many are willing victims among the prey.

What makes us vulnerable?

Desire and fear are the key ingredients of our psychological DNA.

Every one of us without exception desires name, fame, money, position, possession, self-fulfillment and 'happiness without a moment of unhappiness'!

Everyone is equally afraid. There is fear of failure, fear of loss, fear of death and everyone is running after security, certainty, permanence and freedom!

Alongside we carry the psychological burden of guilt and shame.

Behind the façade of our degrees, wealth, fame there lies fear and desire. Any attempt to change this state of affairs is just another desire and any such attempt at change creates fear. So in reality there is no escape from desire and fear. It is a vicious circle!

The hope of getting something, getting somewhere, becoming someone is the cause of our exploitation. Market gurus are psychologically savvy. They are cool operators, ready to exploit the insatiable human desire and insurmountable human fear!

Here is a story from China that paints our dilemma.

A thief was caught while trying to run away after stealing a gold chain from a jewelry shop. This happened in broad day light with many people in the shop! He was immediately nabbed and produced in front of the district magistrate. The judge asked, “What made you do such a thing? There were so many people, didn’t you see them?” The thief responded, “No sir, I didn’t see anyone! I only saw the gold chain!”

Our story is not very different. Our insatiable desire to possess the ‘gold chain’ of happiness blinds us to the traps, threats and the hidden motives of conmen. Happiness, our ‘gold chain’ appears to us as the end goal of all desire and the ending of all our fears. We wish to be happy at all costs.

Were there any pointers from UG to deal with the nuisance of con artists?

Firstly UG highlighted ordinariness! He said, "It is extraordinarily difficult to be ordinary!"  

Being ordinary is unburdening. Being ordinary is getting liberated from a thousand needless complexes, pretensions and trappings. Being ordinary is putting an end to all kinds of self-inflicted troubles.

Ordinariness is a stress-buster and relieves one from the tremendous burden of being important and respectable!

Those who bounced into UG, at some point or the other, got ‘pushed against the wall’ and had no choice but to stare at their own ordinariness. UG was a past master in exposing the hidden selfish motives, masquerading as spiritual virtues and values!  The ‘self-encounter’ that he orchestrated so well, without giving us a hint, was a cleansing and healing process!

Secondly UG took away all hope, "There is no oasis situated yonder, you are stuck with the mirage!"

This summarily discounts the possibility of striving for some spiritual state or attaining immortality or enlightenment. This debunks the sales pitch of gurus, godmen and conmen of each and every kind. This puts an end to all peddlers of hope trying to lure the hopeful!

Does it mean UG is taking away all hope and choking us?

Importantly UG is jettisoning all false hope, pushing us into a ‘hope-free’ state, rather than a hopeless state. The ‘hopeless’ state would make one helpless, despondent and miserable! On the contrary, with UG one felt liberated and unburdened!

Hope-free state is much closer to the ‘uncomplaining, uncompromising self-sufficiency’ that UG emphasised often! It is about the mind that has completely ‘stopped in its tracks’!

When we are truly hope-free, we are no longer searching or seeking. Tons of psychic energy that is lying trapped underneath the burden of false hope is suddenly released!

“With so much energy at your disposal,” UG asked, “Tell me, what is it that you cannot do?”

The realisation that there is nothing to achieve, nothing to attain, nothing to hope for, is indeed a blessing and would free us of many psychological burdens, making us invulnerable to the lure of conmen!

" Joining Politics is Suicide " - UG

Mahesh Bhatt with UG

There is no friendship or kinship in politics - only a mad rush for POWER.               

Several years ago, UG was on his annual visit to Bombay and was put up at Parekhji's place in Santacruz.

UG's 'shop' opened early morning that day and sometime later Mahesh Bhatt walked in. Soon after, he received a call from a famous politician, a national political leader.

A conversation ensued between Mahesh and the honcho in a loud voice. It was difficult not to overhear what was going on between the two. 

Mahesh then shouted across the hall to UG! "Sir! L. is making me an offer to join Rajya Sabha from his party! "

UG simply returned a blank stare.

I was seated at UG's feet, directly in front, with my back to Mahesh. I blurted out, "Sir! Joining politics is like committing suicide".                   

UG leaned forward, put his hand on my shoulder and quipped, "What did you say?"  I repeated that joining politics is like committing suicide." No", shouted back UG, "Joining politics is SUICIDE"

(Suicide used here in the connotation of killing one's conscience).

****************************************************************************

An aside:

Sri Nityananda of Ganeshpuri

A sagely perspective on India's Freedom and Indian Politics by Swami Nityananda

( The following excerpt is from the Archives of Sri Nityananda of Ganeshpuri  by Captain M.U. Hatengdi . Source ::http://www.nonduality.com/m3a.htm )

One Saturday night, with India's independence only four weeks away, Nityananda made some weighty pronouncements about the future. First he asked, "What does swaraj mean?" Defining it as ''freedom'' or ''self-rule,'' he said that India needed additional time to complete its training, hinting that considerable begging and suffering remained for our country. He seemed to say that India's continued dependence on outside assistance would limit our freedom. 

He added that greedy parties were forcing the situation in the same way that people try to force fruit to ripen before its time. He even predicted our country's division into several states because of petty rivalries and jealousies. And everything he said has come to pass........


Months later, in September 1947, I again heard the Master speak about a great national leader. 

He said that little time remained for this individual and he wondered whether he was satisfied yet with his fame and accomplishments.

Why, Nityananda asked, did he not simply retire from politics, close his eyes, and think of God--for God would come to him, implying that he was a spiritually advanced soul.

He added that a person alone, regardless of greatness, cannot do everything.


Instead we should each treat life as a relay race, covering the bit of track meant for us as fast as possible before passing on the baton. 

Four months later, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated.



" Rabindra ( Nath Tagore) was born great; Mahatma Gandhi achieved greatness ; Jiddu ( Krishnamurti ) had greatness thrust upon him. " - UG

"UG was a big-time robber !" - Hegde, the palmist.

UG the Prince of Robbers

         UG's portals attracted scores of individuals from all walks of life. He kept everyone engaged with his amazing repertoire of subjects, spanning ‘disease to divinity’.

He was current on a wide range of topics. He dismissed this fantastic ability saying, "All kinds of experts walk into my portals. I get to know so much from these experts. In fact, these chaps tell me all about the latest happenings, I don't do a thing!"              

The portals had a fair share of unusual, eccentric people - palmists, astrologers, 'nadi' readers, face readers, the list is long! The sheer entertainment value and the fun element of such a gathering really lightened one's mood. It helped downplay some of the most intense, fiery discussions and debates on philosophy, religion and spirituality where UG fiercely lambasted iconic figures of yore, tearing them down with vehemence.

This particular incident took place in Bangalore on a weekend in Hridaya Vihar, the home of Chandrasekhar Babu and Suguna.

Over the course of the morning, many friends had gathered to see and hear him. The numbers swelled and spilled into the street.

Everyone was eagerly trying to hang on to his every word that reverberated with such clarity and intensity. UG was seated on his sofa in the living room. Aware that many people were hanging outside, eager to listen, he obliged by raising his voice a few notches! His words now came out ringing loud and clear into the street where we all stood!

              

                           ***********************"**"***************'**

There was a sudden lull in the intense discussions that went on inside since morning. UG came out into the portico where many had gathered. His attention caught an elderly gentleman, 'dhoti-clad' with a simple demeanour. UG recognized him instantly. Seeing an opportunity for fun, he quietly led him into the house, "Banni Swami! ( ಬನ್ನಿ ಸ್ವಾಮಿ,'Come in sir’ in Kannada), please read my palm and tell me how much money I will make   ..." 

I learnt from Major standing next to me that the man Hegde sometimes played the role of a palmist in UG theatre. He was from a village in South Canara, the northern district of Karnataka. His son worked as a software engineer in Bangalore. The old man came to visit his son and stayed on for some time. 

The palm-reading sessions were more like UG 'constitutionals' (car rides) that served as a respite from his non-stop talks and discussions. They acted as necessary interludes in an otherwise busy 'UG day'!

Our palmist Hegde couldn’t utter a word in English. He spoke in vernacular Kannada. As I stood watching the drama unfold, UG suddenly came out once again, this time pulling me inside declaring that I would act as the official translator for this session of palm reading.

Hegde sat close to UG and the palm reading began!

Hegde explained that some lines on his right palm suggested that UG had been born in the distant past, he had already completed two lives and the current one was actually his third. And that in one of his past lives, UG was a great Yogi and had attained a very high spiritual state.

UG's second sojourn on the planet, it turned out was more interesting and entertaining!

"Ivaru bahala dodda kallaragiddaru! (ಇವರು ಬಹಳ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಕಳ್ಳರಾಗಿದ್ದರು)” Hegde narrated, which translates to “UG was a big-time robber!” 

There were peals of laughter all around. UG too joined the fun! It was hilarious!

But somewhere inside of me, something exploded! The Vedic chants of Sri Rudram from Yajurveda came flooding back to me! As well as the famous narrative of Robber Kih from Chuang Tzu's classic!

I was suddenly transported to the distant world of Vedas and Taoism! What I heard resonated distinctly with the uncanny wisdom of sages from ancient lands of both India and China.

I resolutely fought back my urge to intervene and narrate my own commentary on the Vedic and Taoist revelations about 'bandits and the kings of bandits'!  But then I decided it would be presumptuous on my part to don the role of a commentator with so many worthies around!

Thinking thus, I suppressed my overwhelming desire to recount ‘the greatness of the chieftain’, as portrayed in the Sri Rudram and the matchless narrative of Robber Kih by the great Chuang Tzu.

I meekly proceeded with the translation.

The exploding fun and laughter evoked by his description of UG as a robber chief did not seem to bother Hegde! He went on with the many capers and exploits of UG as a don!   

This blow by blow account of UG was funny and colourful. And it also raised many eyebrows that day! The palmist said that despite his bizarre calling, UG had shone as a benefactor to many people a la Robin Hood!

In conclusion, Hegde described that UG's current birth was an outstanding one and that multitudes would benefit from his great wisdom and reassured UG that he would continue to sit on oodles of money!

The palm reading ended.

UG thrust a 500 rupee note into Hegde’s hand! The palmist waited for more!  Once again UG reached out to Chandrasekhar Babu, grabbed another 500 note and shoved it into his palm. Mighty pleased, the man bade goodbye and left the scene!

    *********************************************

Just an aside!

 There is a great revelatory verse in Yajurveda from the most ancient literature known to mankind. This is the third Anuvaka (stanza) of Sri Rudram of Yajurveda Samhita:

  

नमः॒ सह॑मानाय निव्या॒धिन॑ आव्या॒धिनी॑नां॒ पत॑ये नमो॒ नमः॑ ककु॒भाय॑ निष॒ङ्गिणे॓ स्ते॒नानां॒ पत॑ये॒ नमो॒ नमो॑ निष॒ङ्गिण॑ इषुधि॒मते॑ तस्क॑राणां॒ पत॑ये॒ नमो॒ नमो॒ वञ्च॑ते परि॒वञ्च॑ते स्तायू॒नां पत॑ये॒ नमो॒ नमो॑ निचे॒रवे॑ परिच॒रायार॑ण्यानां॒ पत॑ये॒ नमो॒ नमः॑ सृका॒विभ्यो॒ जिघाग्ं॑सद्भ्यो मुष्ण॒तां पत॑ये॒ नमो॒ नमो॑‌உसि॒मद्भ्यो॒ नक्त॒ञ्चर॑द्भ्यः प्रकृ॒न्तानां॒ पत॑ये॒ नमो॒ नम॑ उष्णी॒षिने॑ गिरिच॒राय॑ कुलु॒ञ्चानां॒ पत॑ये॒ नमो॒ नम॒ इषु॑मद्भ्यो धन्वा॒विभ्य॑श्च वो॒ नमो॒ नम॑ आतन्-वा॒नेभ्यः॑ प्रति॒दधा॑नेभ्यश्च वो॒ नमो॒ नम॑ आ॒यच्छ॒॑द्भ्यो विसृ॒जद्-भ्य॑श्च वो॒ नमो॒ नमो‌உस्स॑द्भ्यो॒ विद्य॑द्-भ्यश्च वो॒ नमो॒ नम॒ आसी॑नेभ्यः॒ शया॑नेभ्यश्च वो॒ नमो॒ नमः॑ स्व॒पद्भ्यो॒ जाग्र॑द्-भ्यश्च वो॒ नमो॒ नम॒स्तिष्ठ॑द्भ्यो॒ धाव॑द्-भ्यश्च वो॒ नमो॒ नमः॑ स॒भाभ्यः॑ स॒भाप॑तिभ्यश्च वो॒ नमो॒ नमो॒ अश्वे॒भ्यो‌உश्व॑पतिभ्यश्च वो॒ नमः॑ ॥ 3 ॥

            In this rare Sanskrit verse, Shiva, the Godhead is described as the Leader of Leaders of every hue and colour! He is seen in the brilliant spark evident in the skill and finesse of even among robbers, gangsters, scamsters, cheaters, tricksters, land grabbers, murderers, highway robbers, looters, brigands, fly-by-night operators, sadists, plunderers of forests and mountains, glib-tongued men, smooth operators etc.

            The Vedic hymn, in a bold voice proclaims that it is the same Consciousness or Energy or Intelligence that lights up and animates every kind of intellect, upright or pervert! The many shades of intellect being the result of one's own background.

Regardless , it is the same life spark that is behind the duke or the crook!

Behind all outward attributes and manifestations of human perfection or perversion, there lies pure Consciousness – the Eternal , Untouched, Uncontaminated, the pure Essence of Life!

                 *********************************************

Come to think of it, the gang leader or the chieftain is renowned for his strategic skills, he is brilliant in planning and startegising. He has a meticulous eye for detail, an uncanny ability to choose the right person for the right job, call it the Human Resource management at its very best!

He exhibits tremendous ability to motivate his men by leading them by his own example! He instills courage in men by leading from the front! He is the first one to break in during a robbery and the last one to leave the premises thus lionising his men.He shows utter fearlessness but whips up fear in the hearts of opponents.

His matchless leadership qualities are evident in his uncommon understanding and awareness of threats, opportunities. He is completely aware of own flaws and follies as well as those of followers and opponents.

He is endowed with great vision in sustaining and growing his illegitimate empire. There is an utter lack of hypocrisy. There is no mincing of words - he means what he says and says what he means! His empathy is total and complete, he could sacrifice his life to protect that of his followers.

            His statesmanship and financial wisdom is evident in the distribution of plundered wealth or loot. He shares and cares for fellowmen.

                      

                  Rare indeed is a human being where thought, speech and act flow together in unison. A robber-chief or leader is supposed to possess this rarest of rare quality in great measure. Only that he is given to perversion and espouses wrongful ideology! This is imperative in order to run his illegitimate empire or government.

                **********************************************

Assuming that the palmist was right in his palm-reading, it comes as no great surprise to those who associated with UG that this brilliant, magnetic personality could very well have sparkled as the prince of thieves!

It takes rich imagination to picture UG as Robin Hood!  He rather comes through as the prince among men, given his qualities of utter fearlessness and immeasurable strength. His exceptional courage or rather utter lack of fear to expose the fraud and falsehood and call the 'spiritual bluff' finds resonance among the daredevilry exhibited by robber chieftains and plunderers of yore!  

    

"You will never know what a Euro is ! " - UG

Mahesh & UG

Mahesh Bhatt narrated this incident with UG from Switzerland.

Once UG thrust a Euro in his face and queried, "Mahesh, what does this mean to you?"

There was an interlude while Mahesh was caught up trying to figure out the equivalent of Euro in terms of Indian Rupee.

Shortly UG intervened, "Mahesh, you will never know what a Euro is! You only know the Rupee, so you will try to understand Euro in terms of what you know!

This is true of whatever I am saying ! You will only translate what I am saying into what you already know, which is nothing but your background. There is no such thing as understanding, there is only translation going on there!"

UG’s oft repeated words were: “There is no such thing as understanding, there is no understanding possible, no understanding is necessary!”

This rhymes with his quote on communication!

Elsewhere UG clarified, “Understanding is nothing but clarification of thought.”

UG, after the Calamity (the death process in 1967), freed from the burden of knowledge, brought in a rare clarity to bear upon words like 'understanding' in light of his uncluttered perception.

Understanding, UG said is nothing but ‘ hashing & rehashing of thought’, basically ordering or reordering of thought, a clarification process that finally throws up a recognizable pattern connected to the past.  

Understanding or clarification is essential, even necessary in the domain of technical knowledge. This will help us in learning a new technique or appreciate the working of a computer but it becomes utterly futile when employed for grasping life or its problems like love, hatred, jealousy.

“I have come for your sake” - UG

UG and family

Countless were the times when UG stood by my side and steadied my life boat rocked by life’s swirling waters.

Anyone who dares to follow the dictates of one’s heart and refuses to toe the line and trod the narrow, beaten pathways of society or culture, would inevitably end up like the boat at the mercy of 'high winds on high seas'.

As I plunged headlong into my relentless spiritual pursuits and other social misadventures, it was UG, who played the key role of an anchor! His sagely and timely advice in moments of crisis greatly replenished my inner strength and courage. He made sure that one would never get sucked into the whirlpool of self-doubt and despair.

I had lived out such a checkered life! I was naïve and credulous, vulnerable and sentimental. Idealistic and dreamy to a fault, I would surrender my time, energies and finances to anything that appealed to me as noble and honourable. Perhaps these personal traits or infirmities were the ‘warty outgrowth’ of my value system!

My list of misadventures included unconditional, dedicated services to gurus or spiritual guides, who I naively believed, selflessly worked for the good of the world. At some point, I had also slogged as a freelance activist crusading against the ‘white collar crimes’ perpetrated by wily bankers, hell-bent on exploiting financially illiterate masses through dubious finance schemes and options.

I was blissfully unaware of the traps of social life and largely remained ignorant about the dangers involved while essaying the role of the good Samaritan!

Once on seeing me carry an old, invalid lady into an ambulance (Major’s mother-in-law in the Bangalore farmhouse), UG had gently chided me placing his palm on my chest, mockingly reading my heart, “Sir! I can feel the beats of your heart – you have a do-gooder’s high” but quickly added, “No sir! Am just joking! Thank you so much for helping her!”

That was me, impulsive, overly-sensitive, not really given to much thinking, planning or premeditation.

During the heady days of my active social life, salary was my only source of income. It was decent by any standard but fell woefully short of the demands placed on me by my own relentless social engagement. To support my beliefs and social commitments, I needed tons and tons of cash. Money had to be raised somehow. From where the finance was sourced hardly mattered , as long as it was legitimate! It could be a high-interest personal loan from a predatory bank or a high-risk credit card from a blood-thirsty multi-national bank. As long as they met my huge demand for ready cash to support an egalitarian mission, I thought all risks were worth taking!

My naiveté and foolhardiness knew no bounds.

Slowly but surely my finances were spinning out of control and I was getting hurled towards the brink of financial disaster. The writing was on the wall but I was a blind man, blinded by the glare of my ideals and values!

My fragile finances started to bleed. My monthly outgo toward loans was so huge that it siphoned off my entire salary on day one! Really speaking, I was no more than a well clothed beggar with a concrete roof over my head! To make matters worse, I was in charge of three hungry mouths. My wife and two little children had to be taken care of too!

To sustain myself, I started borrowing heavily and began to shop around for high-risk, high-liquidity credit cards. Many of my 'do-gooder' activities required instant cash! I somehow managed to get hold of not just one but three credit cards! I was plain broke and so would draw cash from one credit card to pay off the monthly outgo of another card and also continue to finance my social projects at the same time. This indeed is the most expensive form of credit. At one point, I had maxed the credit limit on all of my three cards! That essentially meant that my repayments primarily went towards servicing of the huge interest component rather than repayment of the principal amount!

The compounded interest on the ‘roll-over’ credit of a typical credit card could be anywhere up to a whopping 58% p.a., based on a beguiling 3% monthly interest that sounds harmless!

This is a gut-wrenching piece of math and truth!

The financial wisdom, “Credit card is for convenience and not for credit” eluded me at the time! Though an engineer by profession, I was ‘financially-illiterate’ a bloke unaware of the traps of high-finance and the fraud-ridden ‘fine print’!

It was Terman who nailed it, when he said, “Reading the fine print is education; not reading the fine print is experience!”

My car, purchased on credit, gathered dust and rust in my parking lot with a dry fuel tank. I was not able to afford gasoline! I began to walk the streets of Bombay while on daily errands unable to afford the auto rickshaw and resorted to public transport while commuting to office!

Unsuspectingly, I had walked into a ‘Debt Trap’ - the most feared form of financial illness of modern times - the bane of salaried middle classes across the globe who endlessly borrow to satisfy their ever growing greed for comfort and style !

Deep down, I had at least the satisfaction that all my borrowed money had gone primarily towards sponsoring social causes, serving many an egalitarian purpose. I was financially down but not out! Somewhere deep inside of me, I heard a sanely voice that egged me on, ‘Keep on going! This Too Would Pass’!

I had borrowed money from every available source with interest rates ranging from single to double digits! In spite of the crisis, I had never defaulted on a single loan!  I continued to remain 'respectable'!

I told myself 'enough is enough' and decided to take charge of my tottering finances. All through the crisis, I stubbornly refused to seek help from my dad or brother, who I knew, would not hesitate to stretch their fragile finances in order to dole me out of my dire straits. I didn't want to bother or burden anyone!

I took the responsibility for my mess and earnestly and sincerely started working towards a solution. It kept eluding me for quite a while!

Finally I did what anyone would do under such gruelling circumstances. I decided to consolidate all my loans into a single fat loan financed from a public sector bank with a simple and transparent interest rate. Thus I would end up paying a single monthly installment and would not be saddled anymore with multiple, needless and burdensome transactions. If I were lucky, I might even end up with some extra money that I could use for my purposes after settling all the existing loans! I would certainly gain some traction!

Why choose a public sector bank? Because these banks in India still have a face! If you discover a scam, you could slap a manager! Yes, he or she is still human and hence answerable and accountable for your hard earned money. But you can never nail a private or an MNC bank! Private bank is just a piece of faceless electronics –it is essentially the answering machine! You can hardly penetrate the thick-layer of pseudo customer-care ('customer-scare', really!) when you are faced with a real problem. You will get bounced around with various push button options or worse will be subjected to the never-ending recorded voice messages or boring tunes. 

Many scams get perpetrated on the guileless public, thanks to the façade of the phone banking system and its ubiquitous answering machine!

Finally, I zeroed down on a bank for seeking the 'mother of all loans'! I promptly submitted my documents and complied with all their instructions. I was pinning my big hope on this big loan that would end my big trouble. As the bank pursued its due-diligence, I crossed my fingers and waited with bated breath!

As days passed, my anxiety grew and finally my sanction letter arrived through the courier. I was in for a rude shock! My loan eligibility was Rs. 40, 000 said the letter, less than half of my take-home salary!  

Gosh! My salary income from my airline job combined with my mortgaged home together with my hypothecated car, all of these added to my net worth of Rs. 40, 000! The harsh reality was that my credit worthiness was not very different from the net-worth of a stone cutter or a plumber who slogged hard for his daily bread!

I was brutally hurt! I stayed back home that evening contemplating of my next course of action. Sleep deserted me as I mulled over my worth in the eyes of the financial world and recounted my looming liabilities and commitments. As my wife and children slept in the next room, unable to sleep , I began pacing up and down in the main hall, through the night, unable to digest the piece of truth. 

Yes, it was a shocking proof that I was indeed a financial wreck and could no longer survive under the circumstances without some angelic intervention.

It was nearly 3 0' clock in the wee hours of the morning when my physical and mental exhaustion finally took hold of me and I dropped down on my sofa and fell fast asleep.

I suddenly woke up to a call from Kamal, my friend! The time was 4:30 a.m. Kamal gleefully announced, "UG has just arrived in Bombay. Am calling from airport. He is on a short visit! He wants to see you. Start immediately. (UG was shouting 'Pronto!' in the background). See you soon at Parekhji's place, am about to drive him there!"

By the time I made my way to Santacruz, many UG friends had already arrived at Parekhji's place. As I settled down on the floor in front of UG, he turned to me, looked me in the eye with great intensity and poignantly remarked, "Sir, I have come for your sake!"

It was instant relief!

Coming straight from UG, given my plight, his words meant a world to me! It was the most reassuring statement I had heard in years! Only the one who is connected to you at such a deep level could offer such assurance and confidence.

Only UG, it appeared in the entire world knew what I was going through!

Needless to say, my difficulties soon came to an end! Shortly after UG's trip, I found a friendly bank manager who forwarded my loan application with high recommendation citing my 'impeccable' record of previous loan repayments and got me a sizable loan to help me knock off all my existing liabilities.

I was given a lease of life! First time in years I started breathing easy!

My deadly encounter with the debt-trap had left me with invaluable lessons on personal finance. Through this nerve-wracking experience, I garnered tremendous insights about housing and personal finance - the bedrock of social finance!

I began to share my learning with all and counselled many of my colleagues and friends on personal finance. I played the role of a lead negotiator for my airline and crusaded against unethical and unfair trade practices of financial institutions in the ill-regulated Indian banking sector. This effort earned me the much coveted invitation from the Indian Express group to do columns for their Sunday Express supplement.

UG in a strange way had come to my rescue and had averted a paralysing disaster! When he learnt of the invitation from the media group, he openly and unequivocally supported my role as a columnist on financial literacy.