When consciousness appears it is better to snuff it out as the Buddha sought to do in the state of Nirvana. “Think back to what it was like before you were born” Nisargatta Maharaj would say on the mezzanine of his house on Ketwahdi street in Bombay in the afternoon sessions I attended—gesturing, toothless mouth open, laughing—but all the time keeping an eye on things. I was lucky that my life turned out to include a couple of weeks with him.