On the evening of 10 September 2001, I spoke at the Riverside Church, which is just a stone’s throw from the World Trade Center -- today’s Ground Zero. That night, I left New York City to go to Nicosia where I was to speak at the US Embassy. Landed early morning Cyprus-time, and when I came to the baggage claim at the airport, a bunch of our volunteers were waiting. Some received me very joyfully, some were very somber, and a few of them were crying. When I looked at them and asked, “What’s the matter?” They said, “Sadhguru, don’t you know?” That’s how I first came to know of the tragic event of the World Trade Center’s collapse, the loss of life. And since then, life has never been the same, especially for those who travel.

That event in turn led to 2 wars and some say up to half a million deaths and all the cumulative pain caused to all parties involved and to humanity as a whole. That one man who is supposed to have inspired and caused this, very much an avoidable disaster, which has altered the very way we live in many ways, found his nemesis this week not very far away from India, in our own neighborhood. Generally, the world has known him as the “most wanted man”. But he has quite a following that claim he is saintly. Those who stand away from these two stances debate endlessly whether this man was good or bad. But one thing is for sure - his deeds are ugly. But he believed that he was doing God’s work. Ultimately, all the fight in the world is between one man’s belief versus the other. Once people take to some form of belief, whatever kind, unknowingly they divide the world. This division leads to conflict and makes wonderful human beings do absolutely ugly and dastardly acts.

On my way to Dartmouth, where I was required to speak at the Tuck School of Business. I took some time off in New York City and indulged in theatre on Broadway, which I cannot afford to do anymore in India. My interest and involvement in theatre was kind of robbed from me almost 30 years ago.

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London and New York are the only 2 cities which once in a way whet my appetite for some classic stage action - of course these days our children at the Home School are doing pretty good too. Because of a generous friend, I got to see one of the latest productions called “Book of Mormon.” In his own garden, in upstate New York, Mr. Joseph Smith Jr. found things written on a book of gold plates, everything probably that he himself wanted to say. He never ever showed this book to anyone else, as that was also an instruction from the book. And whenever what was said in the book was found lacking, angels and God’s own progeny appeared and told him about whatever he wanted to know. And the play was about that book.

Unfortunately, human history is replete with incidents where human beings who lacked necessary intelligence and competence to make a mark in the world had fertile enough imagination to invent other-worldly connections, managing to gather the gullible flock and above all, cause immense damage by bringing mystical dimensions of life to utter ridicule - to a point where anybody with a working intelligence can have nothing to do with the deepest dimension of life. Where anything that can be termed as spiritual or mystical has been made out to be pathetic buffoonery.

Here I am in Northern California, a bright gorgeous day, the whole day we have had Linga Bhairavi installations in 6 different homes. Can’t be in a better ambience than this, to be wrapped in the power and Grace of the Devi.

Barack Obama to Bin Laden to Bhairavi, life in its many forms…

Love & Grace