"Mark has been studying advanced meditation techniques with us
for over a year. But you don't have to be advanced to have
mystical experiences. Who--besides Mark--got zapped?"
A few raised their hands.
"I think you all got so blasted," Atmananda said, "that you don't
know what hit you."
After the talk, many of the people came forward with questions.
I wanted to watch Atmananda work his charm, but I knew that I had a task
to perform. Weeks earlier he had instructed me, "If you see a guy
at a workshop trying to pick up a lady, move right in and engage him
in conversation. This will give her the opportunity to walk away
and maintain a high level of consciousness.
"Do you know what women at the lectures really want? They want to get
closer to God. They may think that they want relationships with men.
But if they choose that world, believe me, their inner beings will
be miserable."