1) Being Around UG: To be around UG can be quite a challenge. UG always maintained that wanting permanent happiness without a moment of unhappiness is the source of our misery. In his own life, things constantly changed. If you spend a whole day around UG and go along with all the changes he goes through or puts you through, you will leave totally exhausted and wiped out. You wonder how anyone could live through so much change in a day without ever looking back. I have not seen another person like UG who could do that! Being around UG and moving with him were in themselves a great learning experience.
2) Power: Few knew the role of power in human relationships as well as UG. He pointed out how relationships are mostly based on each person getting his or her way. Many times he himself was an absolute monarch, but only when he had a say or choice in the matter. (He had that manner of a prince dealing with his subjects. That was so evident when he gave gifts to people -- children or adults.) Even then, he would sometimes yield to people's desires and pressures and some other times would be as friendly as anyone could possibly be. It all depended. Often he pointed out how if you don't care about what the other person (or authority) could give you or do to you, you could not only be fearless, but free to do precisely whatever you wanted to do. He always dictated his terms and encouraged friends to do the same, of course, depending on what they wanted.
One good reason why he stayed away from institutions, governments and people who held high offices was that he kept his freedom and didn't have to compromise with their rules and regulations. But there was another: institutions bred power and power-mongering. He did not let any institutions to be built around him just for that reason. (No one then could claim exclusive rights over his teachings!) He did not subject himself to any scientific research done on him because he bemoaned the fact that the results of that research would only be exploited by businesses and governments for money and power purposes. The Internet served as a suitable medium for publishing books on him or reports of his dialogs, because they were released free of copyright and other commercial strings. He never voted. His argument , if I remember right, was, "I don't have to choose between two evils." In fact, he never paid taxes, as he didn't stay in any country long enough to establish residency. His passport was Indian, and of course, he had to have to it to be able to travel.
UG's own 'energy' was such that you could never take him or your relationship with him for granted. When he (or IT) was dealing with you, he (IT) knew nothing personal. (And as I said, there is no 'person' there in UG.) He could attack you wildly or even throw you out!
3) It must be mentioned here that UG had a way of making everyone around him feel special. That's a unique experience people had when they tried to relate to UG.
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