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telling them to be silent but they are asking me to fill their silence with something. They don't want to be silent. If nothing else, then omkar will do -- anything will do.
I was a teacher in the university. A professor of mathematics became interested, just seeing me day after day... I would pass just by the side of his office. We were not introduced -- still, I would put one of my fingers on my lips and look at him. He would just look here and there -- "Is anybody seeing or not? Otherwise they will think this is mad, I don't know this man."
In the beginning he used to look away, to the other side. I would have to clap. Then he thought it was better to stand at the window so I would not have to clap, because others would hear. And when I insisted on putting one finger on my lips... he thought, "It looks odd that I don't do anything," so he started putting one finger on his lips. This is how we became great friends.
One day he came to my house. He said, "This is too much. Are you mad or something? Why do you torture me? And every day! I am so afraid of you, that if you come and my class is there, and if they see all this, they will start doing the same thing. And in front of other people I cannot put my finger on my lips because they will ask, `What are you doing?'"
I said, "There was no other way." And he was an Englishman. I said, "Without an introduction it is very difficult to start talking with an Englishman, so I thought this would be perfectly right. I am not talking, I am not saying anything to you. I am just putting -- it is my finger, these are my lips. I have every authority to put them wherever I want."
He said, "That is right, but -- just in front of me, always in front of me!"
I said, "You have come. Now things can begin."
He said, "What do you mean?"
I said, "I mean, are you going to destroy your life in mathematics?" He was an old man, just ready to retire. And he was waiting to retire and go back to England and settle back in his own country.
He said, "This is an important question I have asked myself many times -- am I going to destroy my whole life in mathematics? What have I gained?
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