Jewel of the Nagas

was believed could take human form, and certain men and women could transform into Nagas.

Some years earlier, the Guru had unearthed a Nagamani from beneath the mud brick floor of a house belonging to his disciple Ram. Following the ancient custom, the Mani had been given to the Guru as a boon from a beneficent Naga, and with it he had healed Ram's wife of what appeared to be stomach cancer, an act which brought him much prestige in the local community. The disciples worshipped the luminescent gem securing it in a silver urn kept secretly in the Guru's shrine room. Revering him as an emanation of the serpent king Vasuki Nag, the disciples made generous offerings to the Guru, hoping in turn to recieve comparable blessings from the wealth bestowing Nagas. Overt time however the Guru's tastes became increasingly extravagant. As Bijaya, one of his chief disciples, confessed: "Our Guru eats as much as three men and he has become very sexy, sir. He has taken many wives!" Through the power of the Nagamani, Bijaya explained, the Guru could attract any woman he desired. His dedication to benefit all beings, I mused, had taken an unusual turn.

With the full conviction that the worship of the Nagamani would ultimately bring them all that they desired, many of the Guru's closest disciples gave up

their jobs. Ram relinquished his faltering carpet factory and Bijaya left the responsibilities of his auto repair shop to his younger brother. They took out bank loans to support the Guru and themselves, convinced that in the end they would be vastly prosperous. After several years, however, with nascent intimations of a less favorable outcome, the disciples - having heard of the incredible sums Nagamanis could fetch on the international market - began to pressure the Guru to sell his precious gem. After years of generous patronage and devotion, it was time to cash in. With part of the money, they told him, they would build him a lavish ashram.

It was at this time that Bijaya first approached me: "Sir, you have many contacts in the West. Do you know someone who will buy this item? This one is not so expensive; only fifty crore rupees,