One of the most dominant views of man is the material view. The motto of this concept is ‘Eat, drink and be merry.’ The problem was that I had eaten, I had drunk – but still wasn’t merry.

Living a fairly recluse existence; after playing to 40,000 fans in massive sports stadiums, I would return to a hotel room or fly back to my bare, unfurnished flat in Rio. The more success I achieved, the more I tried to hide myself away, frightened of losing that most precious gift, that mysterious lamp that was guiding me along the unseen path.

In Rio I lived alone, unable to even converse with the lady who cooked and kept the place clean; she only spoke Portuguese. I really felt isolated and it hurt for a long time, recalling the loneliness back in the beginning when I was trying to be Cat Stevens – the Star! The guy that was incredibly famous, lucky and wrote smart things. But basically, I still hadn’t discovered who I was and my earth-time was running out.

One of the incidents which happened to me turned out to be a major turning point, although I didn't realise it at the time. I was somewhere in Malibu, which is in the Los Angeles area, the famous strip of beach where millionaires live. I was at the house of my record chief, Jerry Moss, and decided to take a dip in the ocean that particular day. Unknown to me, of course, this was a very dangerous time to go for a swim. I didn't realise when I looked out that there was nobody else around in the sea that day. Nevertheless, I went in. After swimming for a while, I’d had enough and tried to return back to the beach. That was when I realised this was the wrong time to go swimming. I felt the current moving me out and away from the shore. My body was absolutely powerless. I saw my manager standing there thinking everything was all right, but I couldn’t communicate to him. Finally, in a split second, I realised this may be the end; with no help in sight I shouted out, "O God, if you save me, I'll work for you!" and at that moment, a wave came from behind me and pushed me forward. Suddenly, with all the energy that I needed, I was swimming back to land and within a few minutes, I was there: safe and alive. That was a moment of truth.

Each day mankind nervously discovers a new secret in the structure of material universe: another clue to the ever-enlarging picture of life; yet another confirmation indicating the existence of Unseen Intelligence behind the intricately mysterious worlds and galaxies he observes. Nevertheless, each day man is easily upset by little incidents beyond his control, he still feels hurt if someone pushes him; human weaknesses have not changed in the slightest. The ultimate mystery remains; the question of death evades man’s logic and he is left waiting at the station without so much as a timetable.