“Personally, I think it’s a shame that so many years ago you decided to withdraw from public life (I believe since 2010 or 2011, right?). Don’t you think the world needs enlightened beings like you? Don’t you feel any guilt for having abandoned human society without lending it a hand?” Question from Nancy Carrera Prabhuji’s response: I understand and appreciate your very human sense of longing. After having served for more than thirty years—speaking, accompanying, pointing out, teaching, provoking, and holding—and precisely because I came to know human dynamics up close, I reached a practical conclusion: from 2011 onward, for many people, my public presence is not what’s most useful. Freud described a structural discontent in civilization, and that discontent is not resolved by attaching oneself to providential figures. Modern human beings do not need gurus or enlightened Masters as sacred crutches. Winnicott argued that maturity involves being able to be alone without collapsing, and that capacity is not built through dependence. I often see that many people arrive without prioritizing awareness or truth; they arrive seeking a sedative, relief, a way to stop suffering. And that is not adequately addressed only through retreats, courses, lectures, or classes: it often requires broad professional help. I try to be clear and direct: contemporary human beings carry wounds, trauma, anxiety, addictions, depression, and overwhelm. And many of those wounds come as a legacy from previous generations—people who raised others without the necessary tools. When someone is drowning, they don’t need a lecture about water; what they truly need is a life preserver. At this moment in history, for many, that life preserver is called psychology, psychiatry, therapy, clinical support, serious treatment. Sometimes the life preserver may be called medication—not to drug people into sleep, but to offer them a minimum ground from which they can walk. When I say I am not necessary, I am not speaking out of false modesty: I am speaking from experience. I have seen the law of the pendulum: when a Master appears, the public may idealize him and, upon feeling disappointed, demonize him. Then, even what is well-intentioned ends up feeding dynamics it was trying not to reinforce. I do not feel guilt, because guilt often functions as a way of pushing someone to occupy the role of savior. My retreat was not out of indifference. Sometimes withdrawing can be an act of care: it avoids reinforcing dependencies and helps each person look at their own life more honestly. If my presence is turned into an excuse for others not to look at themselves, then my supposed “help” stops being real help. When I speak about the need for psychologists and psychiatrists, I am not denying meditation; I am only placing it in its proper place. It seems to me that it is better to first heal wounds and bring order to the chaos, and then, if that time comes, meditation can bloom like a carnival and not like a desperate patch. Spirituality should not be used as an ambulance for psychological first aid. Spiritual seeking is the perfume that emanates from a more balanced and grounded mind. I have not “abandoned” humanity; I have stopped feeding the illusion that someone from the outside is going to save you. Lacan formulated that there is no Other of the Other, and that formula cuts through the fantasy of absolute guarantee. Understand that the true hand being extended is not that of the enlightened guru or the awakened Master; the authentic outstretched hand is the one that returns you to your own responsibility. If the world truly wants transformation, let it invest less in temples of spiritual spectacle and more in mental health, emotional education, accessible therapy, and healthier human communities. And if, in future generations, human beings mature, only then will meditation be a genuine carnival… Nevertheless, right now, for many, before any carnival one must learn what is basic, what is elementary: to breathe without panic… to feel the body as home… to look at another without trembling… to look at oneself without running away.