Chapter 5 Summary and Analysis

Before meeting his guru, Yuketeswar, Mukunda meets a wandering sadhu (sage) who teaches him that God is simple; everything else is complex, and not to seek absolute values in the relative world of nature. We can only pluck the truth from the confusing "maya," or cosmic illusion. Therefore, we can only experience divinity when we are freed from pretensions and delusions. The sage further explains the personal confrontation with truth in ourselves is a more horrific battlefield than any we create in life.

Mukunda visits with the saint at the ornate Calcutta Kalighat Temple and, as they part, the saint tells Mukunda he would have an unusual experience. An old friend stops him in the street and he, also, tells Mukunda he will have an unusual experience. Arriving where the Perfume Saint is performing his aromatic miracles, Mukunda questions why he...