I Didn't Fall For It

I didn't fall for it - all wide eyed. I was curious as to what he was going to say. What his angle was.

I was going to go to the swimming pool. Walking along the tie-dyed hippie wear shops and the snake charmer, a sikh in a pink turban and grey beard and orange chequered shirt stopped me. I thought he was going to sell me hash, so I gave a dismissive hand gesture. But he told me I should respect him, like he respects me. Ok what. He showed me a frazzled black&white picture - class-of-whatever - a guru surrounded by his bearded students. He was one of them - the out of focus barely visible guy in the top left.

You have a good heart, a beautiful aura, good vibrations. Thank you. He wrote something onto a piece of paper, scrunched it into a little ball and placed it into my hand. What is your favourite colour? I thought of yellow, 'cos I just bought a yellow Royal Enfield 500 Bullet. But green has been my colour historically, although, I do think it is time to revise it. What are you searching for? I didn't want to give anything away, so I said happiness.

I had to choose one of the students on the photo, and had one of the bearded ones in mind - the one that didn't look like a cannibal. But didn't decide in time (I wanted to get it right), so I had to drop the scrunched ball onto the photo and it landed on one of the other guys. He did a few calculations in his mind, and told me I wasn't looking for money or fame. I was looking for peace and a woman to love. He told me I was leaving Delhi soon to find quiet. I was told to open the paper. On it was written 'GREEN'.

He took out another paper, wrote someting on it, scrunched it, and placed it into my right hand and closed it.

Do you want to sit down for tea? Ok (mistrusting, but curious to see where this would lead - anyway, I needed more material for my emails). He asked me what God I believe in. None. What month I was born in. What day. You are a sincere man. A good heart. Life is precious. Life is so so short. He wrote four numbers onto a piece of paper: 27 28 29 30. Pick one. I picked 29. But regretted it, as I noticed that the 9 in 29 was marginally larger than all the other numerals (I have seen Derrin Brown's mindcontrol programs). But anyway - I went with it. He told me to put the scrunched up paper into my left hand. There was a mirror behind him, and I saw other travellers walking in and out of the tea shop, and I hoped they hadn't also gone through this thing with him, thinking I'm a naive fool.

I told me I think and control too much and that I am not focused. Not living in reality. My planets are low - and the last four years have been very unbalanced. I had to pick another face from the photo. He referred to my frown lines (pointing with his pencil) and saw the good vibrations again, and the lack of focus and the good heart. His eyelids slanted diagonally half way across his eyeball. I noticed his silver ring with a gemstone in it. The silver woven into his turban. He had a wise look about him. He repeated a lot of things, in well crafted sentences.

Open the paper. I picked it open, on it was written 29. I knew I should have changed my mind.

He read the palm of my hand. It was trembling a bit. He told me there are three things wrong with me. He opened his black book (it had an Om sticker on it, and was falling to pieces). He said to place money in it. I knew there was going to be money involved - that's ok. I tried to guess how much he was expecting - he had mentioned ten or twenty or fifty dollars at some other point already. I peeked into my pocket and fished out two dollars (in rupees). He looked at me hopelessly and in the direction of my pocket - like a curious dog. So I took out another two dollars.

We then debated for a long time why I wasn't going to give him more, and whether I don't want to know the three things that I need to learn. Life is precious. Life is short. You will never forget me. You must learn these things. Life is so precious. He wants to help me. He has helped many other people. Look, this is me on this photo. You are at this point (unfocused), and you need to get to this point where you will find fulfillment - he pointed to his little drawings on the paper.

I argued that everything he has told me so far is so generic, and that you can apply it to almost every foreigner in my age group. Especially India. I am sceptical, and mistrust people that stop me on the street. You know my starsign - you can glean many general things from that, I am not wearing a wedding ring, you saw me walking alone on the street. You have told me nothing specific - only good things, and compassionate things. When people hear those platitudes, they want to believe and identify in those qualities, so they believe that it applies to them specifically.

Life is precious. What colour is my aura? Pink. (I will cross reference with Sarita). Put more money into the book. I don't have any more money on me.

How many countries have you visited? I counted on my fingers, and it wa staking its time. He said approximately. I said twenty - and was surprised by the figure, and hoped he didn't assume I was a well-travelled man (becasue curiously I don't think I am). Ok - you are an honest man, I believe that you don't have any more money on you. But you have more in your hotel room. Yes I do. Bring it. No. I said - if you really want to help me, and if you believe so much in the universe, then why don't you take this encounter as chance, and it just so happened that I only had two dollars on me; isn't life beautiful? Sometimes you make more, sometimes you make less; why interfere?

And on and on it went, and there were these three important things I needed to know - this knowledge to be given and understood 'cos life was so precious etc. I thought - I had just bought a motorbike, maybe pretend the motorbike was eight dollars more expensive that it actually was. I saw more people in the mirror again and felt like a bit like an idiot, but I was curious to see what he was going to tell me, although I knew it was going to be generic, I still wanted to know how he was going to break life down. Plus I constantly lapsed into the possibility that he was a guru - I admit.

So he told me.

In essence, this is what he said (his language was far more floral, and it stepped into a well rehearsed rhythm, with open arm gestures, and looking up to the sky, and gentle smiles) :

I must believe in God. (I will interpret that as believing in myself, 'cos we are all God, and God is within. All life is within us.)

I must have more confidence inside me, which will keep me more focused. I have a good heart, but it is too open - I must be more careful else I get pulled in all directions.

I must have more courage. I have courage, but not enough.

And that is it. I was disappointed, because I knew all these things before. Not 'know' as in hearing the simplicty of Buddhism for example. But know, as in that I had worked out these exact three issues already - and that it is those things that I am already focusing on to develop, and that are becoming stronger the older I grow.

Anyway - I went up to my hotel room to give him the extra money. Ten dollars. It's ok. He was operating a smooth ship. And why not.

He did also give me some sound advice. Relax on this holiday - don't think about the future. Enjoy yourself and be open to life. When I return to South Africa, then I can make decisions. Most importantly, stop thinking, and experience life more actively (people keep on telling me this).