A Lie and a Truth: Encounters with a Spiritual Master

I first met Bharat Thakur in the summer of 1999.  he introduced himself as a spiritual master, but he hardly behaved like one.  I was never sure that he was enlightened.  And there was no certain way to find out either.  Sometimes he claimed to be.  And sometimes he claimed nothing.  Most of the time, he spoke and behaved in a way that clearly showed he was not.  I knew right then that I could trust neither his behaviour, nor what he said about himself.  I am not a writer.  I never intended to write this book.  One day, when I sat in front of the computer, I simply began to write down the questions that were coming up in my mind.  As I finished each question, the answer naturally emerged.  Another question would follow.  And to it, another answer.  This is how each chapter got written.  As I completed the chapters, I could see that the answers were clearly based on conversations and experiences I had had with Bharat.  They were not literal transcriptions of taped conversations.  But they were a direct result of the ideas Bharat had communicated directly to me, or implied in some way.  Bharat is no teacher.  He rarely explains – himself or anything else.  Whatever is to be found is to be found by you.  No one else.  The answers in this book are not answers.  They are devices.  Enjoy them.  Let them in.  And then throw them away.  Words are for fools.  Life proceeds in silence.