A Taste of Death - Thirty Days with UG

An interesting book by an iconoclast, nonconformist on another iconoclast and nonconformist, in A Taste of Death – Thirty Days with UG, Mahesh Bhat shares his experiences of 30 days he spent with UG in Gstaad. When I picked up this book, I knew what I was going get. Bashing up of institutions, assumptions, personalities and norms, some witty/acidic one liners and yes, some truth in-between.

UG and his protégé Mahesh, both have lived tumultuous life, and this clearly reflects in this book on many occasions. While Mahesh has been quite generous in using the word Rajneeshis ( for the followers of Osho),UG’s vituperative remarks about Jiddu Krishnamurthi force you to think. Sometime it made me think that they are still attached to them (Mahesh Bhat was an oshoite, who got disillusioned from his teachings and UG has been involved with Theosophical Society and J.Krishnamuthi).

Spending thirty days with a person like UG is sure to give you enough food for thought and if the person presenting is someone like Mahesh Bhat, so you are bound to get some interesting read. For example, everybody is going ga-ga over Yoga, but UG goes otherway as usual.

“Yoga and all the exercises that you guys do reverse the flow of energy. The only exercise that animals do is to run around for food, or run away from danger.” The anti-guru epithet given to UG gets pronounced when he discusses these gurus and religious man with Mahesh.“Human frailties and foibles are not accepted by me. They are okay for a religious man because they become a source of living for him. Don’t you see, these gurus, psychiatrists, and therapists live off your frailties and foibles,”

Reading people like UG, Osho and Krishnamurthi etc. gives you a feeling that the main teaching of these people is to go against, against everything. They attract people by being different, being opposite to what you believe. I don’t know whether this book will give you any insight on life, religion or spirituality, but certainly it will give you an insight into Mahesh Bhat and UG. Mahesh Bhat has been quite good putting forth his opinion along with that of his mentor.

It covers discussion on topics from higher planes to film making and UG giving some ideas to Mahesh Bhat for his new ventures. And in the process, you get some good ‘gyan’(Knowledge) from UG, have a look at some … … You say, “I love you, I miss you,” but you think twice before you make a long- distance call. That’s why, folks, I always talk about money. That’s the thing that reveals where you are really at. “Knowledge is power. There is nothing like knowledge for the sake of knowledge. The quest for knowledge is to dominate your neighbor. This organism doesn’t want to learn anything!”

“Money has nothing to do with happiness. But it is better to be miserable with money than to be miserable without it.”

“Attachment becomes a problem because of our wanting to be detached. What is wrong with attachment? Permanence: we cannot hold onto attachments forever.”