Take Me For A Ride | Page 7

excited when he talked about Atmananda.
He told me that he too had experienced perceptual distortion during
Atmananda's talks. We returned to "Yoga Life Perfection."
About thirty minutes after the talk was scheduled to begin, Atmananda
strode through the door. He wore a light brown suit.
"Anne," he said, "did you bring the Transcendental?"
The sari-clad woman who had sold incense at the last lecture placed a
frame on the table beside Atmananda. The Transcendental was a
photograph of Atmananda's Indian guru, Chinmoy. But it was so
underexposed that it seemed not a picture of a guru, but rather a
mug-shot of a ghost with high cheekbones. It reminded me of one of
the experimental images which had emerged from my father's
darkroom.
"The Transcendental portrays Guru in his highest transcendental
consciousness," my brother told me.
Atmananda scanned the audience, mostly women in their sixties. Then
he began to lecture, not on meditation, but on reincarnation, which he
had done many times before.
"Maya, or illusion, eclipses the original perfection of the soul," he said.
"The soul reincarnates over thousands of lessons known as lifetimes."
I could not recall learning about reincarnation at Hebrew school.
"As the soul evolves, it transcends desire and attachment, which is the
root of all suffering. Finally, enlightenment occurs."
Unaware that he was borrowing Hindu and Buddhist doctrine, and
intrigued but not convinced that in a future life I would attain
enlightenment, I kept one eye on Atmananda and the other on Anne.
"Everything can be classified according to its level of spiritual
evolution. Rocks and minerals are very primitive, whereas plants have
more developed auras. After thousands of years, the soul seeks an
animal incarnation. Except in rare instances, enlightenment occurs

through the human form only."
I grinned and wiggled my thumbs, figuring I was already ahead of the
game.
"Humans in their early incarnations are responsible for many of the
world's problems. But evolved people are not better than others. Are
college students any better than third graders?"
This diffused my concern that Atmananda's line of reasoning justified
the formation of an evolved elite.
"Karma is a cosmic feedback mechanism triggered by past actions. In a
universe governed by karma, few experiences are coincidental."
I supposed a lottery winner could have been a generous philanthropist
in a past life. But remembering the various times I had been robbed
while growing up in New York, I doubted that I had spent incarnations
as a mugger. Still, I liked his contention that it was karma's role not to
punish, but to educate.
"After thousands of human incarnations, you become ready to study
with an enlightened teacher. You may suddenly notice a teacher's
poster. You may have seen the poster many times before--only this
time something *clicks*."
I looked at the Transcendental and wondered if the Guru, who looked
like he badly needed sleep, could make something in me *click*.
Atmananda turned toward me, as if in response to my newest doubt,
and said, "An enlightened teacher can take a person through thousands
of lives in just one lifetime."
"What's the rush?" I thought.
"The sooner you attain enlightenment, the sooner you can help others
transcend this world of pain and suffering."
"How did he do that?" I wondered, unsure if he were addressing typical
doubts, or if he were actually reading my mind.
Atmananda continued to look at me. I found myself gazing, without
blinking, into his eyes...I began to feel as if I were floating...
somewhere far away I sensed my body breathing...I heard "bzzzzzzzz"
droning on and on and on...
He turned away, and I returned to normal consciousness.
"Holy cow," I thought. "He did it again!" Suddenly, I imagined that he
was a sorcerer and I, his apprentice. I forgot about Anne and carefully
followed his words.

"Advanced seekers say that after they attain enlightenment they will
return to earth to help others. But most of them end up choosing eternal
ecstasy instead."
I vowed to come back and help the downtrodden.
"It is even rarer for fully enlightened souls to return," he said, pointing
out that his Guru was fully enlightened.
Fully enlightened souls, Atmananda explained, were aware of those
who meditated sincerely on their photograph. Atmananda then
instructed us to meditate on the Transcendental. After about ten
minutes of silence he asked, "Who saw the light around Guru?"
One woman shot up her hand. Then another. I admitted to myself that I
thought I saw the photo glow.
"Guru flooded you with light from another world," he explained. Then,
inviting the audience to experience the "advanced" side of
self-discovery, he told us about Chinmoy's free weekly meditations at
St. Paul's Chapel, Columbia University.
By this time, in keeping with Atmananda's suggestions, my brother had
applied to study with Chinmoy. He was accepted.