As a professor of philosophy, he traveled throughout India in the 1960s as a public speaker. He was a critic of socialism, Mahatma Gandhi, and other stalwarts of Indian politics, including institutionalised religions. He advocated a more open attitude towards sexuality: so the press called him a "sex guru". In 1970, he settled for a time in Bombay initiating disciples, known as neo-sannyasins, and expanded his spiritual teaching and work. In his discourses, he reinterpreted writings of religious traditions, mystics, and philosophers from around the world. Moving to Poona in 1974, he established an ashram that attracted increasing numbers of Westerners.