Self-Realization and Other Awakenings

Yet, he was very open all the time, talking
publically about his failures as perceived by others,
and also by himself. He felt shame for drinking too
much, being caught too many times in sexual relations
with students, etc. But he was extremely open about
his problems, to everyone.
To me he once confided, even when I was a student
of his, “Why me? Why do I get all the criticism (about
his sexual affairs)? Look at Sasaki! He is ten times
worse than me, and no one criticizes him.” It is true,
everyone knew about Sasaki’s affairs, but his impish
personality allowed him to get away with it without
criticism.
As a little known footnote, Robert was frequently
asked about sex and vegetarianism. Robert was a
lifelong Vegan since the age of 11, and this is one of
the few rules of living Robert suggested we live by.
Yet when asked about sex, Robert said there was
absolutely nothing wrong with it. In fact, problems
often arose in our sangha about Robert’s relations with
some of his female students for one reason or another,
and we were often forced to change the venue of our
satsang meetings because someone or another got
upset about his actions. Robert did not care who came
and went to his satsangs; he was only interested in
who stayed with him no matter what he did.