The Way out is Up

and other stories from Equals One

Equals One, or “ = 1”, was the title of the journal edited by Medhananda, with the assistance of Yvonne Artaud and Maude Pickett Smith, from February 1965 onwards. This unusual publication became an organ for the expression of his creativity, founded on a widely-educated mind that was always curious and ready to learn, and on his extraordinarily rich inner life and knowledge. His many articles were often written under pen-names, each representing a different aspect of Medhananda, a mode of consciousness, one facet of his vast being. “Benedictus Montecrossa” for example, which means in Latin “The Blessed One who has crossed over the Mountain”, refers to the state of ananda arising from fullness, transcending the lower nature and crossing over into the higher being. Many of his contributions took the form of stories, full of illuminating humour, provocative new viewpoints and symbols that both veil and unveil deep spiritual realities. Two collections of these are presented in companion volumes. Guardians of Oneness and other tales from Equals One contains some of the longer pieces, while The Way out is Up and other stories from Equals One gathers some of the most striking shorter ones.