Absolute, the, 1, 9–10, 148

         as brahman, 57

         colored by our understanding, 148

         inherent in everyone, 6, 62, 148

         futility of paths to, 165–66

         personification of, 74

         and realization, 7

         revealed by yoga, 22, 125

         role of, 7

         as time, 76

         union with, 10

         is unpredicable, 135–36

         worshipful attitude toward, 141

Adityas (white light), 36

animism, 122–23

anthropomorphism, 74

anxiety, 39, 59

Arjuna

         begs for a familiar god, 144

         bowing, 140

         in childlike state, 87

         in distress, 80

         embarrassed over his ignorance, 130, 132, 134

         historical 59

         horripilation, 61

         as philosopher, 115, 120

         as warrior, 112

arms, 76

arrogance, 130–31

Asvins (insight), 36, 39–40

Aurobindo, Sri, 42, 109

author’s LSD trip, 81–82

bad trip, 91

Bateson, Gregory, 58

beliefs, 27, 86

         binding effects of, 145–46

         divert us from facts, 85–86

         flexibility needed, 86

         as impediments, 85

         irrelevance of, 138

Bergson, Henri, 72

         true mystic quote, 151

bipolarity

         between guru and disciple, 22–23, 66, 115

         between seeker and sought, 148

         role of trust in, 31

         three types of, 141–42

         in yoga, 150, 168

bliss

         delusions from, 43

         ever new, 40

         undermines critical thinking, 154

         from union, 42

bowing down, 60, 105–6, 129

         Arjuna insists on, 140

brain

         drug effects on, 79

         fMRI, 78

         inner guidance, 33, 79

         as reducing valve, 119

         right and left, 33, 65–66, 79, 93

certitude, 39, 72

         about Absolute, 136

chakras, 63, 127–28

childhood

         direct experience in, 24

         learning during, 86–87

         obedience training, 27

conditioning, 48

         extreme attitude toward, 166

         bypassed by psychedelics, 93

         shedding, 60

Creation of Adam, The, 10

curiosity, 110

Daumal, Rene, 53

death

         of ego, 88

         fear of, 97

         as guru, 97, 100

         illusion of, 72

         sense of, 60

devotion

         inferior, 168

         one–pointed, 60, 167

         spelled out, 170–71

         twin aspects of, 168

dharma

         defined, viii

         restoration of, 60

dialectics

         abnegation vs. assertion, 161–62

         between guru and disciple, 44–45, 141–42

         Turn on, Tune in and Drop out, 7

         to reveal the Absolute, 33

         as a way of life, 150

direct experience

         of the Absolute, 115

         Arjuna’s request for, 22

         brings certitude, 73

         moon trip analogy, 24

divine intervention not needed, 6

divine weapons, 50–51, 68–69, 112

Dnyeshwar Maharaj, 134–35

Doblin, Rick, (MAPS)

         on ecology, 37–38

         Good Friday Exp., 73–74

duality, 54

         good guys vs. bad guys, 120

         subtle form of, 170

ecological awareness, 37–38

         Dnyeshwar Maharaj on, 134–35

         interdependence, 52–53

ecstasy, central to yoga, 3

ecstatic meter, 61

ego

         aligned with Absolute, 137

         like a closed fist, 85

         humbled, 133

         proper role of, 79

         restraint of, 121

         spiritual, 90–91, 92, 141

         transformation of, 140–41

Einstein, Albert, 133, 149

enlightenment, (see also realization), 41

evolution, 72

         accelerated, 78–79

         may slow with age, 154

         universe seeing itself, 89

fear

         of change, 91

         loss of control, 93

         as diversionary tactic, 163

         of dying, 94

         inoculation against, 72

         unconscious, 91, 92

         of the void, 142–44

fire, sacrificial, 77

form vs. formlessness, 49

Freud, Sigmund, dental analogy, 158

Gandharvas, 84

Gandhi, Mahatma, 69

gift, revelation as, 32

Good Friday Experiment, 73–74

Gopnik, Alison, (Scientific American article), 86–87

gratitude

         for life, 172

         to the light, 55, 71

         sole legitimate response, 82

         for unconditioned rebirth, 60

Guarneri, Mimi, on heart, 123

guide

         encourages completion, 59

         role of, 23, 29–30, 155

guru, 1, 10, 91

         counterbalances disciple, 115, 148

         death as, 97, 100

         importance of, 30, 162

         as a principle, 150

         therapeutic technique, 158–59

         three relationships with, 141–42

         mind reading by, 45

         wisdom of, 23

hallucinations, 35

here and now transcended, 115, 129

hippies, 155, 166

Hoffman, Albert, 37–38

horizontal plane, 11

         as space, 129

hubris, 58, 121

         mitigated, 76

         about “ordinary” reality, 132–33

         species–wide, 121–23

humility, 43, 58, 123, 134–35

Huxley, Aldous, 119

ignorance, 110, 112

infinity, 151

insanity, 119

Jesus, 54, 86

Joan of Arc, 69

Jung, Carl, 90, 144–45

Keohane, Joe (Boston Globe reporter), 85

Kingsolver, Barbara, quote 6

Krishna

         as Absolute, 11, 49, 128

         final advice, 28, 105

         as god, 6

         as guru, 100–111

         mouth images, 96–97

         in popular imagination, 10

         a regular fellow, 157–58

         as time, 111

         as Vishnu, 48, 68

         refusal to appear as Vishnu, 49, 68, 144, 155

         not to be worshipped, 128

kundalini, 63–64

Lao Tzu, 151–52

Leary, Timothy, 7

light

         as consciousness, 148

         mixed with darkness, 56

         travel as, 149

         uplifting effect of, 71

         white, 36–37, 55–56

Lord, limitations of term, 9, 10

lotus, 63

mandalas, 35

mantras, 168

Maruts (universalism), 36

meditation

         on chakras, 127–28

         on the text, 9

megalomania, 79, 141, 161–62

memories

         importance of, 125

         substitute for experience, 24

Merton, Thomas

         on agony, 95

         on revelation as a gift, 32

military/industrial complex, 101–2

Miller, Alice, 27

mind

         epiphenomenon of matter, 132–33

         provides illusion of stability, 80

monotheism, 3, 57

         science and, 57–58

         spurious, 57

moon

         as barrel of soma, 164

         one way ticket to, 26

         symbolism of, 77

         trip to, 24

moth analogy, 101–2

mouths, 96

mushrooms

         as soma ingredient, 3

         Good Friday Experiment, 73–74

         toxic alkaloids in, 91

         Wasson’s account, 67

Narayana Guru

         contemplative under tree analogy, 169

         on predication, 135

         on religion, 166

         Svanubhavagiti, 138

Nataraja Guru, 9

         on devotion, 168

         excellence of his translation, 74–75, 130, 169

         limit of the vision, 106

         Lord–Lordism, 9

         predication, 135

         structural image for Gita, 10–11

Nazism, 27, 83

neutrality, 34–35

         between good and bad, 93

Nitya Chaitanya Yati, Guru, 9, 82

         mind reading, 45

         on arrogance, 130–31

         with Ramana Maharshi, 153–54

nonviolence

         fostered by soma, 6

         wins impossible victories, 69

         founded on wisdom, 7

nothingness, 38

         joke of, 80

obedience, 27

obstacles, 69, 114

oneness

         liberating value of, 6, 42

         revealed by soma, 37

         viewed structurally, 142

openness

         to new possibilities, 85

         in recovery period, 8

         to wisdom, 142

Oppenheimer, Robert, 109

orthodoxy

         binding forces of, 24

         in devotion, 168

         in wisdom transmission, 3, 47

paradox

         most essential, 85

         philosophical, 125

         rebirth from facing death, 97, 104

         of self–criticism, 139

         of unity, 120–21

         of universality, 49, 147

         words, 25

philosophy, 33–34

predication, 135–36

preparation, importance of, 3

projections, 50, 138

psychedelics (see also soma)

         as gateway drugs, 11

         teach humility, 134

         overuse of, 161

         revolutionary nature of, 6

         as rite of passage, 126

         visions, 35

psychosis, 59, 119

quantum leaps, 73

questioning, 58, 95

Ramana Maharshi, 153–54

realization

         converting knowledge to action, 4–5

         as cure, 110

         of finiteness, 141

         gradual vs. sudden, 41

         of laws as gods, 72

         limitations of, 7–8

         of oneness, 6, 72

         from soma, 3

         impossible, 167

         total, 33–34

rebirth, 60, 88

         from expanded consciousness, 133, 153

         by facing death, 97, 104

         lip service to, 154

relative vs. absolute freedom, 146, 151

religion

         blocks religious experience, 165

         conflict reduction in, 63

         different types united, 125

         falls short, 150

         historical course of, 10

         sabotages itself, 157

         vs. science, 57–59

         sure road, the, 145–46

reverence, 137

rituals,

         binding effects of, 145–46

         not necessary, 5, 150

         soma, 44

river analogy, 99

Rudras (mental distress), 36, 38–39

sacrilege, not possible, 6

samadhi, (see also realization), 61, 93

samskaras, 118

Satan, 57

scales of justice, 34–35

schizophrenia and creativity, 119

science vs. religion, 57–58

scientific method, constraints of, 7

self–abnegation, 161–62

set and setting, 8, 31, 88–90,

         Arjuna’s, 43, 89–90

         partial nature of, 98

society

         offers distractions, 158

         pressure from, 5, 6, 155

soma, (see also psychedelics), 2–3

         less hazardous than other paths, 4

         moon as barrel of, 164

         resistance to, 5–6

         ritual imagined, 44

space, 79–80

 “Stand up,” meaning of, 111–15, 116, 131

suffering, 110

sun, 77

         hidden, 163

suns, thousand, 55–56, 71

sure road, the, 145–46

svasti, 83

svastika, 83

Tao Te Ching, 151–52

Taylor, Jill Bolte, 65–66, 93, 118–19

therapy, talk, 23

         for trauma, 59

time, 65–66

         as death, 97

         pure duration, 65

         overcomes obstacles, 114–15

         variability of, 77

tolerance, 148

transference, 107

trauma, psychological, 158

trust, mutual, 30–31

truth, 43

         hidden, 163

         inclusiveness of, 63

Twain, Mark, 123

union, (see yoga)

unitive vision

         eradicates religious schisms, 63

         transcends right vs. wrong, 120–21

unity

         at core of life, 3

         behind duality, 42, 126

         as a goal, 58–59

         realization of, 62

         mitigates separateness, 110, 124–25

Upanishads, 1, 57

         Chandogya, 157

         Isha, 163

         Mundaka, 76–77

values, 43, 105, 162

Vasus (elements), 36, 37–38

Vedanta, 1

         central claim, 6, 157

         view of consciousness, 109–10

         individual empowerment, 157–58

         paradoxes united by, 125

         paths in, 165

Vedas, soma in, 2–3

vertical plane, 11

         as time, 129

Vishnu, 48, 68

         Arjuna begs for, 144

         as avatar, 56

         depictions in art, 64

         as Sustainer, 69

vision, spiritual

         being good does not cause it, 165

         never ultimate, 150

         uniqueness of, 148

voice of God, 116–17

vulnerability in recovery period, 8, 106, 153, 154

Vyasa (author), 1, 61

war

         legitimate, 112–13

         meaning of the image, 111

         modern, 113

         predisposition to, 113–14

         value of setting in, 1–2

warriors, 113

Wasson, Gordon, 66–67

weapons, divine, 50–51, 68–69, 112

wisdom

         absence of, 83

         resolves conflicts, 7

         openness to, 142

         transcends formulas, 150

         transference of, 44–45

words

         to describe the Absolute, 63

         in therapy, 22–24

         paired compound, 42

yoga, 7

         reveals the Absolute, 148

         as dialectical process, 33, 150, 160–61, 169

         easiness of, 34

         is non–combative, 113

         uniting cosmos and chaos, 30

         viewed structurally, 141–42