THE FAT GURU

Many years ago, when I worked in Newport Beach, CA, which is a wealthy enclave by the sea, I knew a very handsome couple. He had silver white hair, and she was a striking blonde from Eastern Europe. He was an ad man, and when I first met them, I thought they were tres sophisticated and intelligent.

But one day a week, it might have been Sunday, they had a "guru" with an Indian name come over to their fancy condo with an ocean view and conduct sessions in meditation that involved travels in time and space.

She told me that they spent time on some planet in a galaxy far away. She named the planet, but I had never heard of it and assumed it was fictional. I never attended one of these sessions, so I don't know first-hand what they did there.

But I ran into their "guru" by accident one time in an Indian restaurant on Bristol Street in Costa Mesa. He was a fat middle-aged Jewish guy from NYC, wearing white clothing like an Indian guru. He had taken on some guru-like name that I can't recall, Yackywhackydoo or something. He seemed like the most hostile guy I had ever met, seething with anger underneath. Certainly not peaceful. A complete fake, I thought.

Now, my question is this: Why in the world would anybody spend their time like this?

Here is my answer, the Angle Theory of Bullshit: People love bullshit because it's simple and easy and it makes them feel good. They hate the truth because it's messy and complicated and makes them feel bad. Also, there is a question of control. You can't control the truth.

The fact is, in the universe we are surrounded by the Great Mystery. We don't know where we come from, where we are going, or why we are here. In my opinion, coping with that basic truth is a fundamental part of being human.

And in America, we are surrounded by bullshit, which comes in many forms: religious, spiritual, political, cultural, artistic, literary, philosophical, psychological.

My advice: Stay away from bullshit. It's a con and it keeps you from dealing with the truth. It keeps you from being human. It makes people ignorant and stupid.

Many people choose bullshit over the truth. But I think that's very sad.  
 

© Copyright 2011, Roger R. Angle