In Palm Springs with U.G. Krishnamurti

Each one of us is a unique creation of nature and an incomparable movement. A great intelligence is continuously working to maintain this living. Move ment and its equilibrium with the external world. If somehow a complete trust-in Bengali we call it 'paripurno astha'-develops in us, the naturally-induced order that is pre-programmed at birth, will begin to unfold. Life then begins to function in a very different way. The internal power that is associated with the pre-programmed order is so far beyond our imagination that its exhibition and extension are incomprehensible. Everything that you need to move in the field of living is very naturally supplied by that power, the power that comes out of that order.

was introduced to Sabyasachi Guha in 2002 on the same that I first met Krishna murti. Guha answered the hotel room phone that day when I called up to gain access to room 2107. I remember being taken aback by the question, "What do you want?", but I realized later that the question came from the man sitting next to him. Indeed, what I want ed at the time was to figure out how the hell this guy U.G. got out of the dilemma I seemed to face. I already sensed that this question would get me nowhere, so I said I just wanted to thank him for freeing me from my obsession with "the other Krishna murti". That day I was reduced to a state of profound confusion similar to but distinctly different from what happened when I was exposed to the teachings of the "other", older, Krishna murti named Jiddu. What I did not know at the time was that the JK obsession was one Guha and I both shared once and was probably a strong reason the two of us came to see U.G. This JK character had been the main focus of U.G.'s life too until the moment of his own "calamity". Guha's diary, In Palm Springs with U.G. Krishna murti a beautifully rendered document of a transformative encounter, has brought these events of my life into intense focus after what seems like a long time. U.G. always had a series of one-liners to sum up his friends' quirks. In the case of Guha, U.G. variously joked that the he was an example of what is known as "the glee of insanity" manifested in his frequent outbursts of laughter. Toward the end of his life, he was also fond of announcing to the room that Guha was "the man to solve your energy crisis in the west, sir!", a reference to the focus of his research in superconductivity at Rutgers University, New Jer sey. My understanding is that superconductivity refers to a material in a state wherein maximum energy passes through the said material with zero resistance. This may also be the perfect metaphor for Guha as he appears here in these pages, a person with zero resistance to U.G. who was himself an unleashed source of natural energy. Perhaps the scientist's discipline mixed with the seek er's singular focus of which he is capable of, explains why when they met, the physicality of U.G.'s influence was felt so immediately by Guha. Terrified at times by what was hap pening to him, he placed his trust in U.G., who in turn told him to trust no one. When he asked about these things, U.G. pointed out with typical self-effacing simplicity, "It is out of your hands. It is also out of my hands. You best leave it alone and see where it leads." The ultimate trust at work here is a trust in nature, in the energy of nature that stands outside of all measurable perimeters. As a scientist, upon meeting U.G. and experiencing his energy so forcefully, Guha attempted to measure these things but soon discovered the impossibility of doing so. The scientific method goes only so far, and in these matters, it goes not far at all. By the time I met Guha, the events described in Palm Springs with U.G. Krishna murti were ancient history to him. He'd been "hanging around" with U.G. for about seven years or so by then. In my recollection, he was either laugh ing or collapsed in that peculiar non-sleep state endemic to the tiny group gathered around U.G. I also recall Guha frequently hinting that he would happily leave his job and go back to India, presumably to lead a spiritual life. Conversely, U.G. harangued him about getting a US passport and taking care of his wife Lakshmi and their two daughters whom he encouraged to "squeeze your daddy dry!" Eventually, Guha conceded, took US citizenship and ultimately stayed on in the USA. After Guha quit his job in 2008, a year after U.G.'s death, he spends his time traveling and speaking to a growing and dedicated cluster of interested parties about what he experienced with U.G. and expounds at length the basic human problem we face as a species on the brink of total disaster. He speaks without any claims of authority. He speaks as someone whose encounters with U.G. triggered a rare harmony with his own physical existence. He speaks for himself and without apology or any interest in converting others to his point of view. For instance, "subject-specific functional reality" is one of Guha's core philosophical con cepts whereby he explains his understanding of how each individual approaches the problems of life. It is distinctly unique and typical of his use of scientific jargon to describe how one person's brain conjures up reality for himself which can never match another's. Over the years my friendship with Guha has evolved from a shared audience with U.G. to what it is today. I admire his fearlessness and insights spoken from experience. His laughter seems to spring from an understanding I lack. My own humor springs from a frustration with my inability to assimilate with such totality what Guha seems to have stum bled into as a result of simply being the kind of person he was at the time he met U.G. As has been said elsewhere, there is no such thing as free will. One is what one is. Watching Guha interact with people who come to see him in that state of vulnerability and the usual pains associated with seeking, my respect and admiration for him has only deepened. Not once have I seen him take advantage of these people with false pretense, nor compromise his position on these matters with gentle platitudes. There is no question of exploitation and as with U.G., there is little respite in the message he dispenses. Yet there is a sense of openness and lack of judge ment that creates an atmosphere of freedom around him and allows for a great friendship. Guha never aligned with U.G.'s approach, nor did he speak as a representative of U.G. and I have always felt fortunate to have him as a sounding board as I struggled to navigate my seemingly absurd existence after U.G. was gone. I was struck by the futility of my situation in a kind of limbo between the clarity I'd seen in U.G., and the mangled confusion of my life in between the art world, the spiritual world, and whatever else was left of my world view. Sometimes I grappled with an inner critique of Guha, the essence of which was "well, he's not U.G." but what is refreshing about Guha is the fact that this did not matter to him in the least. When we converse, it is always refreshingly clear and unfettered by false hopes.

The idea for Fourteen Days in Palm Springs with U.G. Trishnamurti (Bengali) took not when I started writing letters to my dear friend Ramakrishna Chatterjee in Kolkata to describe my experiences with U.G. Krishnamurti when I spent fourteen days with him in Palm Springs, California in 1996. Ramakrishna's deep interest and enthusiasm in spir itual matters helped me to complete this work. My friends Swapan, Dipankar, Shankar, Rajat, Kamal, Utpal, Subhasis, Tapas, Sangita, Partha and Sunanda have all helped me in various ways. The Bengali book would not have been pub lished but for Pinaki Chakraborty, who took full responsibil ity for getting it printed. U.G. Krishnamurti is the soul and the prime mover of this book. His memory is my fundamental inspiration.

**Contents and Sample Pages**