I’ve just found these notes, (2026) as I go through papers, knowing now that they will go with me, and wanting to leave a tidy plate for whoever takes over my space. As i typed them up – torn from a note book, i piece a few jigsaw pieces together. Perhaps Christopher had asked me to help ghost write his life story at the time, and so I interviewed Kevin. Kevin gives good copy. Here it is
Kevin on Christopher
He came wandering into Auroville in around 1975. I first saw him walking into my vegetable garden.
I’d got trapped there again in Auroville. I’d been there from the beginning whenever that was, around May 1968. I got there in June. I was a driver, driving between 3 semi permanent communities that were establishing.
My first memory of him is wandering around my vegetable garden
‘I am Luang’, (chotta Bhikkhu) he introduced himself – meaning ‘little monk’ . I’d heard of him while travelling with my mother and I’d met some people waiting for Christopher in Kovalam. Yogi may have been his manager.
My remit in Auroville was to keep the community alive so I asked him if he’d like to do a retreat here. I’d done a few Goenka retreats so I knew roughly the form.
Christopher’s retreat was revolutionary. He introduced Kundalini, along with walking, sand standing meditation. This was all so different from what we’d known, and definitely not sitting all day. About 35 people came, 12 from the community and the rest we gathered along the way.
It was a good time of year for sleeping outside and we found a place where a house had been.
I met him again in England. Gillets, Ashford, Kent. Murray, Shanti and Mike Dukkha. He was teaching, and married to Gwyneth at the time and living on some lords estate near Bath.
Andrew Cohen
Enlightenment blues
https://www.christophertitmussblog.org/andrew-cohen-an-obituary-a-spiritual-teacher-born-23-october-1955-in-new-york-died-25-march-2025-in-tiruvannamalai-india
Some people were terrified of him. I surrendered my discretion to Andrew. Never again. It was a good teaching. Andrew came to Totness in 86/87. It was shortly after this waking up and he was vibrant and charismatic (I would not say attractive). All the Gaia house community, one after the other, abandoned Christopher for Andrew. His effect was extraordinary. Christopher wondered if Andrew was hypnotising people. Christopher never liked the Guru thing. There is a famous talk between Christopher and Andrew about this very subject. I was in the Andrew camp but unlike the orthodox Cohanites, I could not turn by back on the impure.
There was a feeling that Christopher hogged the scene in Budhgaya. In an hour session after lunch Sharada took over, but Christopher dominated and controlled. However Shardha was in it as a professional.
Yvonne was one of the first to leave for Guruji (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirmal_Singh_Maharaj) . She led the movement from Christopher to Guruji. Guruji got all the front row people from Christopher in Budhgaya and Papaji in Lucknow
There is an openness in Christopher to acknowledge his mistakes. He had the discipline of a monks training. While Goenka is the director of the Goenka play with 9 perfect talks, Christopher exposes himself.
Sticky ego. Teaching is an ego trip. There is a tendency to fetch people before they are ready. Christina was the first, Shadha came then, followed by Murray Feldman https://matthewgindin.substack.com/p/enlightenment-is-real-with-murray
Bryan was a lap dog. Martin rose through the ranks.
Kevin
Half Jewish, complicated genes, Irish and Jewish. No god to blame. “I’m a bloody minded Englishman”. I . For me I am comfortable in my situation. Not a flash but years of compost. I was an undisciplined seeker.
How can I say: everything is transient only. What good is it for you your white light? It helps me to write letters to people whose friends have died, to reassure them that they will go into the white light.
………
I realise the date, as the next page contains the rough notes on Judith, who I’d met in Sarnath, 2006, and wrote this poem, that I am still proud of 20 years ago this month. Gosh. Here I am in the Delhi Metro, the photograph taken by Charlotte du Cann, who with Mark, came visiting India.
It was also the same time as I was buying Metfield Stores.
Kalikellett 