Can
you imagine a Jewish estate planner who makes it big on Wall
Street, but gives it all up to sit in an ashram with the Orange
people? A man who finally finds the secret of life is simply
that to change the world you first have to change yourself? It
may sound a little far-fetched, but that is just a small part of
the life of local yoga exponent Robert Morgan.
Robert was born in New York City, the only
son of a Jewish insurance broker and his wife. The family were
well off and Robert was sent to private school where there were
5 Christians and the rest of the school was Jewish. “I thought
that everyone was Jewish!” said Robert, showing that he really
did have a sheltered upbringing.
He was a good student, “But I never lived
up to my IQ, except for certain fun areas like biology,” he
said, showing that he already had acquired an interest in how
living beings ‘tick’.
He naturally gravitated to university where
he did business (Jewish family, remember) and psychology - “I
wanted to better understand myself, and other people. The human
mind was always pretty interesting to me.”
After four years in the cloistered corridors
of learning he joined his father’s business, becoming the
youngest licensed insurance broker and stockbroker in NY City.
He spent two years under his father’s eye, but admitted that
karate training was more interesting! He then moved out on his
own, still dealing in insurance and estate planning.
Around this time he began to be more aware of
his environment and its effect on health. His offices got
filtered air and water and Robert became a vegetarian. “I
wanted to work and play harder - and still look good, despite
the 16-18 hour days.”
Health had become his hobby, and he indulged
himself by opening up a health food restaurant, combining
nouvelle cuisine and health. This was a success and his
clientele included Gloria Swanson and Yoko Ono. However, these
were small bikkies and there was money to be made in the bond
business. He made it too, along with his friends in NY, whom
Robert describes as “mega rich”.
He then moved to California and began the
next phase of his life, which is still unfolding today. He went
to a Whole Life Expo and met the guru’s of the reflexology
discipline. He was impressed and undertook study. As part of
that he had over 200 treatments himself. “A lot of bodyworkers
don’t have the experience of work done on themselves,” said
Robert as a way of explanation.
He then met an Ayuverdhic practitioner in Los
Angeles and studied under him for three months as well. It was
time for Robert to move into putting his knowledge into
practice, and so he opened up a reflexology practice in LA and
studied yoga, but then re-located to San Francisco. “It was
time to move. LA is make believe, while San Francisco is more
holistic and into natural therapies.”
By now he was an accepted part of the
“alternative” health scene. He continued his reading and
found he had an affinity with Tibetan Buddhism and culture and
adopted the Tibetan pants and black jackets as his everyday
garb.
But America was not where his heart was
taking him. It was to the mystic orient and he first went to
Bali where he furthered his “self-knowledge” but expanded
this by offering health advice to westerners, based upon his own
experiences.
His next trip on his voyage of self discovery
was to northern New South Wales in Australia, to a small spot
called Byron Bay which was initially inhabited by long haired
“surfies” but then became a mini-Mecca for the “healthy”
set. He bought into a healing centre and initially felt this was
where he wanted to be. “I loved waking up and seeing that red
ball of the sun - but then India began calling me.”
India was an ashram with the (in)famous
Bagwan and the Orange people. There you could meditate in the
smoking section, or in the bar, or while lounging around in the
swimming pool. Of course, while meditating you had to make sure
you didn’t get run over by one of the many Rolls Royces which
came to visit! Despite the obvious disparities, Robert did feel
that the experience did teach him to be non-judgemental as
otherwise this creates anger and fear.
However, after he found that the future
wasn’t bright and it wasn’t orange, Robert joined a
Kundalini expert to do intense studying of yoga. Unfortunately
he fell ill and ended up in a hospital in Goa in southern India.
Recovering, he began to do research into herbal remedies. While
there he opened up a Tibetan nouvelle cuisine vegetarian
restaurant and bookshop. He began to get requests from
westerners and Robert would combine western pathology testing,
to get the diagnosis, with eastern herbal remedies. “India has
all the right remedies - you just have to find them.”
Continuing his search for herbal remedies
took him to Kathmandu where he opened a First Aid Post for
travellers, advising on the appropriate herbal remedies. “If
you could last 12 months in Kathmandu without getting sick was a
miracle.” But Kathmandu was not where he felt he should be
either. Thailand called - “But Chiang Mai hit me!” Here he
found an environment that appealed, and a very skilled yoga
teacher he knew.
Yoga is still a very large part of Robert’s
lifestyle, and he spends 4-5 hours a day in yoga and meditation.
He is progressing in a quasi-Buddhist fashion towards his own
personal understanding. “By my own self experience I know
(now) that everything is created in the mind. This allows me to
understand, accept and move on to the next plane in my
existence.”
Robert Morgan - an interesting man who left me with, “A
touch of love is a touch of healing.” As a western trained
physician, even I would have to agree.
