“You are the stupidest smart person I know.” My Guru’s words cut straight through the spiritual intoxication I had been under. 20 years later I can still feel the sting of truth. With the shock of a band-aid being quickly ripped off, his words unveiled the truth: that the only way my inner wounds could heal would be to expose them to power of grace rather than keep them covered up with the ‘band-aid’ of bliss.

I had been living a life of spiritual ecstasy on the banks of the sacred Ganga River for several months at that point and undergoing indescribable experiences of divine Oneness. I had tears of bliss streaming down my face and felt touched by a power and presence I had never imagined possible. Despite it all, I had, just on that day in December 1996, reacted to a situation as an “unawake”, victimised, ego-centric child.