Prakash quickly wipes his eyes and returns them to the bindu. After a while, the red spot appears to pulsate. Light waves begin to rise from it. Prakash grows light-headed. His eyes close automatically. The bindu is now behind his eyelids. He begins to feel its power seeping into him. He is filled with joy. The swami’s disciples begin to chant ‘aum’. Prakash joins the chanting in a sonorous voice. His head feels even lighter. He wants to tell the world of this experience. He will soon enter his inner world. He will paint everything that he sees there. His paintings will be unique, different from anything anybody else has ever done.

The swami’s voice now intrudes from what seems like a huge distance. He is saying, ‘Now, without stopping the chanting, try and pull “aum” gradually into yourselves so that it is no longer uttered but continues to resonate within you. That’s right. Now open your eyes slowly. Entering the outer world from the inner can sometimes cause shock. You might experience a visual explosion akin to the sonic boom of a supersonic aircraft. So be very careful to open your eyes gradually.’

Everybody’s eyes are soon open. A youth says to a girl in a loud whisper, ‘Did anything happen to you? I toh fell fast asleep, yaar.’

The girl says, ‘Shut up! It was a beautiful experience.’

The boy says, ‘Bullshit! I hope the food is good.’

The girl says, ‘It’s vegetarian.’

The boy says, ‘Shit, yaar! Why did you bring me here?’

The girl says indignantly, ‘I did? You wanted to see me. I told you I was coming here. You asked to come. And I agreed. So how did I bring you here?’

The boy says, ‘That’s right. You didn’t. But what about joy, and about all anxieties going away? After your beautiful inner experience, how come you argue with people from the outer world like me?’

The girl clamps her lips shut in disgust. The boy laughs out loud. That breaks the silence that the devotees, now lining up to touch the swami’s feet, have so far maintained. It releases everybody’s tongues and the room fills with a low buzz of chatter. Some people even laugh. Sounds of cutlery and crockery issue from a distant room.