ew gum.

"This evening I'd like for you all to hold hands and be like reeeally
mellowwww," said Atmananda, mimicking the way some people spoke in San
Diego's flourishing holistic community.

There was tense laughter. A few people left.

"Those who take themselves too seriously on the path to enlightenment,"
Atmananda said in a more dignified tone, "tend not to get very far."

I felt good knowing that I did not take myself too seriously.

"From the spiritual point of view," he said later on, "eating junk food
is fine--as long as you do so in moderation and as long as you exercise
regularly."

Jaws dropped. I figured that many of them ate unprocessed rice and
seaweed.

When the meditation began, Atmananda played fast-paced electronic music
by Tangerine Dream.

More jaws dropped. I surmised that many of them meditated to flute and
chime melodies.

During the meditation, Atmananda briefly gazed at each person in the
audience, as if he were sending them Spiritual Light.

I closed my eyes... tried to slow my thoughts... opened my eyes... gazed
intensely at Atmananda... perceived light emanating from his
eyes!... kept gazing without blinking... perceived the entire room go
white!... .

"How many of you saw Light in the room?" he asked several minutes later.

No response.

"Be honest now."

I raised my hand.

"Why don't you describe what you saw, Mark?"

I did.

"Mark has been studying advanced meditation techniques with us for over
a year. But you don't have to be advanced to have mystical
experiences. Who--besides Mark--got zapped?"

A few raised their hands.

"I think you all got so blasted," Atmananda said, "that you don't know
what hit you."

After the talk, many of the people came forward with questions. I
wanted to watch Atmananda work his charm, but I knew that I had a task
to perform. Weeks earlier he had instructed me, "If you see a guy at a
workshop trying to pick up a lady, move right in and engage him in
conversation. This will give her the opportunity to walk away and
maintain a high level of consciousness.

"Do you know what women at the lectures really want? They want to get
closer to God. They may think that they want relationships with men.
But if they choose that world, believe me, their inner beings will be
miserable."

I did not ask how he proposed to relate to them.

"The tricky part," he added, "is to do this without letting either one
know what is going on." He