I did not pose the question to him or one of his disciples as to whether he had attained the breathless state. I did not need to. For the entire duration of my interview he was blinking up a storm. I, on the other hand, through the guidance of my Guru Paramahansa Yogananda, had attained the blinkless state five years earlier. So there I stared him in the eyes for over an hour while he talked and talked about all the phony gurus in the world.
Frauds there are, to be sure.
Even so, on taking my leave I bowed low several times and took the dust of his feet. I was embodying the spirit of respecting the unworthy for the sake of the worthy. Nevertheless, I would be very pleased if his students sought spiritual sustenance elsewhere. As you can see, being a guru these days is almost a political venture. Being appointed a guru, as in the above case, is often by vote or by birth.