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6 AN T I OC H CO L L E G E C L A S S O F 19 6 5 5 0 t h A N N I V E R S A R Y B O O K A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z B A C H E R was there, I suddenly knew I would go to India to meet his guru, and in January 1988 I did just that. I expected that upon meeting this guru, a realized being, I would be electrified in some way. Instead, I felt total peace and that wonder- ful sense of being at home I had ex- perienced with the mantra. In my two months there, I became aware of many things, but in particular I clearly saw the difference between being and mind. And, to my amaze- ment, I now had a guru. For the next eight years I made almost annual visits to sit with him and hear him speak. In 1994 my husband and I separated (amicably) and in 1996 I moved to the little village in the foot- hills of the Himalayas, where I have been ever since, returning to the States periodically to see my family and friends and renew my visa. I can attempt to describe what I do here: I live in an apartment over- looking a river.With about 130 other people, I daily listen to my guru speak. I interact with him and ask questions, meditate, walk or hike in the mountains, cook, discuss philos- ophy and experience with friends; study Patanjali, the Bhagavad Gita, and the writings of my guru; ex- amine the mechanism of the mind (where does it come from?). But the essence of it is indescribable. What I have come to know through study and meditation is Me, pure being.Through the practice of meditation, knowing and identify- ing as pure being, one becomes less and less affected by personal experi- ence—though one still experiences everything and acts in the world. This is not an escape of any kind, quite the opposite, since it requires constant awareness of one’s own actions, thoughts and identification. And this entire process ultimately leads to freedom from the fear of death, which is freedom indeed. All the events of my life have led me to the most interesting, ab- sorbing experience, study, work, endeavor—whatever you call it, I could ever imagine. It is challeng- ing and not easy; it involves a com- plete transformation of thinking, of seeing, just what I had been seek- ing! And I’m still working on it. But all my questions about the meaning of life have been answered, that is to say, dissolved. I no longer think about life’s purpose, I just live it.