Three times during his Punjab tour, Maharaj became unable to speak publicly. With a microphone in front of him, something seemed to block his throat and he could hardly make a sound. Each time, he asked for water and asked for the microphones to be removed, and only then was he able to continue, as if he were starting over again.

Everyone thought it was because the microphones created a static electrical field that he could not tolerate. Surely Indian microphones are terrible at this time. But Kissi and I noticed that this blockage always happened at the same place in Maharaj’s speech. If he said at the beginning, “I am not a lecturer,” then he could not go on. Usually he says that at the end, and there is no problem. But on those three occasions, firstly at Muktsar, he began by saying, “I am not a lecturer,” and his word carries so much power that indeed he could not speak.