Posted inChristianity/Jesus Religions Spiritual practice/meditation

Wise observations about spiritual experiences and religious craziness

One of the pleasures of having this blog is being able to read comments from blog visitors that make me think, "Wow! That was beautifully and wisely said." Sometimes when this happens I share a comment in a blog post so it will be more visible. Such is the case with two comments from "JB" that you can read below. Each was left on a recent post, "Meaning comes from us, not God." This comment by JB relates to the supposed truthfulness of spiritual/mystical experiences. I agree with what JB says, though these experiences often have more to them than…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Forbes story about Singh brothers and RSSB guru shows danger of “honor cultures”

Someone sent me another story about the long-running Indian financial drama involving the Singh brothers and the Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB)  guru -- Gurinder Singh Dhillon, a relative of Shivinder and Malvinder Singh. Malvinder and Shivinder Singh What's interesting about this Forbes story, "How To Lose a $2 Billion Family Inheritance: The Tale of the Singh Brothers of India," is that it is written by an American, Dennis Jaffe. Download How To Lose A $2 Billion Family Inheritance: The Tale Of The Singh Brothers Of India So Jaffe looks upon the tangled web of the Singh brothers' business dealings…
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Posted inGod Morality

Meaning comes from us, not God

Many religious people wrongly believe that atheists, secular humanists, and others who don't believe in a personal God (most Buddhists and Taoists fit this category) lack meaning in their lives. Actually, we do. Most of my friends and relatives are atheists. They live deeply meaningful lives.  In his book, "Finding Purpose in a Godless World," psychiatrist Ralph Lewis explains how an unguided universe contains people who lives caring, loving, purpose-driven lives. Below is a summary of key themes in his book from the final chapter. I've written a couple of other blog posts about Lewis' book:"Why God is an illusion,…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Here’s a message from Sheena for RSSB devotees

Sheena (a pen name) wrote a compelling book, "Memoirs of a Seeker." Though Sheena describes the guru to whom she was once devoted only as "Guruji," and doesn't name the center headed up by Guruji, it is clear that the guru is Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the leader of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB), a spiritual organization headquartered in India at a place commonly known as the Dera. I've written several blog posts about Sheena's book. I liked how she wrote so honestly about losing faith in Gurinder Singh after coming to the Dera and doing volunteer work that brought her…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Update on reported September 17 meeting of Indian RSSB secretaries

UPDATE: Well, now I've heard from somebody in India that the meeting did happen on September 17, and that it happens every year around this time. It's strange that, if I recall correctly, only one commenter on this blog said it was an annual meeting. Just goes to show that when it comes to RSSB, it's difficult to get straight answers about what is happening with this rather secretive spiritual organization. Anyway, it's good to have a confirmation that my original blog post on this subject wasn't "fake news." ----------------------- Juan just left the comment below, indicating that the September 17…
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Posted inPersonal/Stories Radha Soami Satsang Beas Spiritual practice/meditation

A pleasing message about me, and honesty about RSSB

Some people like this blog. Some people don't like it. After 14 years of regularly writing here on the Church of the Churchless, I've come to expect both praise and criticism.  Not surprisingly, I prefer hearing good things about me and this blog. So when I got the following email message today from someone in India I've been corresponding with, it made me feel good.  I'll explain why after the message. I've corrected some typos and made the formatting easier to read. Otherwise the message is as written. "Sewa" means service, or volunteer work. The Dera is the Indian headquarters…
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Posted inPersonal/Stories

My death is prematurely celebrated

This is one of the pleasures of blogging -- being celebrated. Since I'm writing a blog post about this comment, obviously the commenter was celebrating prematurely. Naturally I was curious about where my fan lives, so I looked up the IP address of the commenter. It came from the Punjab, in India.  Nice! I'm being celebrated from halfway around the world! The meaning of this pithy comment is open to discussion, of course. Another commenter was a bit generous in this regard, given the historical comparisons, but I did agree with the remark about the need for us to connect…
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Posted inBooks Radha Soami Satsang Beas

My response to someone who doubts “Sheena’s” stories about Gurinder Singh Dhillon

It's fitting that yesterday I heard from someone who had skeptical questions about a book I wrote about last month, "Memoirs of a Seeker," by Sheena (a pen name, not her real name). Fitting, because the United States, where I live, currently is embroiled in a fierce debate about a reported sexual assault by a Supreme Court nominee, whose female victim has said she is willing to testify at an open hearing next week.  Christine Blasey Ford kept silent about the attack for many years. Now she's being criticized for waiting so long to speak out. But it is widely…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Believable “gossip” about RSSB, Singh brothers, and Gurinder Singh Dhillon

Gossip can be interesting. Also, it can be true. Here's a comment that was left today on a Church of the Churchless post. GSD stands for Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB). I have a bit of “gossip” – I was talking to a relative, in India, earlier today, regarding RSSB/Singh Brother controversy. His boss is the ex-Director of the Board of Directors for Fortis hospitals. Here is what he had to share – 1) There is truth about the deal between GSD and Singh Brothers. GSD’s son gets the money and RSSB guruship goes to…
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Posted inMystics Reality

Reality requires a broad scientific look, not narrow mystic visions

Put on your philosophical wading boots. I'm about to jump into the deep end of some interesting, but sort of complex, questions about the nature of reality as seen through the eyes of quantum physics. But rest assured that, in accord with the focus of this Church of the Churchless blog, I'll be drawing some inferences about what makes sense, and what doesn't, when it comes to religious, mystical, and spiritual claims about reality. This might take a few blog posts, so I'll do my best to keep this initial post as short and simple as possible. (Which means, it…
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Posted inIndia

Roles of Indian women reflected in Singh brothers saga

I readily admit that, not suprisingly, I'm much more familiar with the roles of women here in the United States than in India, a country I've only visited twice for brief periods.  My impression (and please correct me if I'm wrong, something many commenters on my posts love to do) is that just as India is transitioning to a modern advanced economy, Indian women are likewise moving from traditional roles to more empowered and co-equal roles in relation to men. A couple of stories in the Indian business press caught my eye in this regard. Here's excerpts from a September…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas Religions Spiritual practice/meditation

Advice for RSSB believers about how to deal with news about their guru

Yesterday this comment was left on a Church of the Churchless post, "Great BusinessToday video about RSSB guru and Singh brothers." The commenter wondered how to break the news about Gurinder Singh Dhillon's financial misdeeds to Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) devotees who had put a lot of faith in their guru. Dear Brian Thanks for your blog and exposing the truths!! It is really sad to learn all the truths of recent events. I had a feeling somethiing is corrupt but it still came as a shock when my intuition was confirmed with facts. I am not part of…
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Posted inReality

It hurts to argue with reality

This is a great simple explanation of why it makes sense to love science, to love truth, to love reasoned fact-based discussions of what is happening in the world. Fantasies can be fun, but reality has a way of biting us in the butt when we ignore what is.
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Posted inGod Reality

“Atheist Experience” guys demolish arguments of a supernatural believer

I've come to the conclusion that a big part of being a spiritual person is thinking clearly. (When I say "spiritual," I don't mean religious or supernatural; I mean finding meaning in life, the underlying spirit of one's life, so to speak.) If we don't think clearly, there's a danger that our emotions, feelings, desires, intuitions, and such will lead us astray. I'm certainly not saying that thoughts are more important than other aspects of our psyche -- just that we need to find a balance between the rational and non-rational parts of ourselves. Case in point: this You Tube…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Great BusinessToday video about RSSB guru and Singh brothers

Here's a clear and compelling video that's based on a Business Today (India) story, "The Baba, Singh Brothers, and the Squandered Rs 225,00,00,00,000," which is $3.2 billion in U.S. dollars. I've read numerous complicated stories about the problematic financial dealings of the RSSB guru, Baba Gurinder Singh Dhillon, his family, and the Singh brothers. But this video keeps things clear and simple in just a bit over 6 minutes. This is the You Tube description: "An influential 'Baba' and his family with a weakness for materialism; two young businessmen loaded with nearly Rs 10,000 crore from an asset sale; and…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Another story about the Singh brothers, RSSB, and the Dhillon family

Going through some fairly old email messages, I came across an July 23, 2018 ET Prime story that someone sent to me, "How the Singh brothers became victims of a realty play." It takes a subscription to read the full story, so my correspondent sent a file that I converted to PDF. Here it is:Download Singh brothers story Like other stories about the Singh brothers and their relationship with the guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas, Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the details are astoundingly complex.  Here's some easy to understand excerpts from the beginning of the story. ET Prime pieced together…
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Posted inPersonal/Stories Radha Soami Satsang Beas

Here’s the truth about when I started criticizing RSSB

Falsehoods bother me. Including falsehoods about me. Like the completely unfounded rumor that I started criticizing Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB), the Indian spiritual group I belonged to for 35 years, after I was fired as a speaker at meetings of the group. I've noticed this falsehood popping up in recent comments on this blog, most recently from "manjit." Like so many religious believers, "manjit" is repeating a conjecture that isn't correct, but since it feels good to spout it, it gets spouted. Well, here's some truth-telling. I've shared it before in comments, but I wanted to write a blog…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Demolition of illegal construction by Radha Soami Satsang Beas

Someone sent me this video, along with a description: "An illegal encroachment by Radha Soami Satsang Beas in Fatehpur Beri in Delhi that is being demolished by the Forest Department today. News reporting is by Punjab Kesari. They are breaking the shed, the building and the road. RSSB had been given several notices to vacate. Several acres of the forest land had been illegally purchased and the reporter is saying that it would be interesting to see how the government justifies this." Some commenters on this blog like to claim that Radha Soami Satsang Beas never does anything wrong, since…
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Posted inMorality Religions

Everything can be reduced to the survival instinct

One of the benefits of having this blog is getting intelligent, provocative, thoughtful emails about some churchless topic. Often I'll enjoy the message so much, I'll ask if I can share it in a blog post. Such is the case with what you'll read below. The premise of this mini-essay is that survival is the central concern of us human beings.  I think the author gets this pretty much right. For sure, almost all religious belief includes a focus on survival after death. Having and raising children provides some immortality of sorts. Altruism, as noted in the essay, contributes to…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Good summary of Gurinder Singh Dhillon financial issues

Here's a good overview of why it makes sense to raise questions about the financial affairs involving the guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas, Gurinder Singh Dhillon.  It was written by Spence Tepper, who left the following comment on a recent blog post. I like the logical, reasonable way Tepper laid out the reasons concerns have been raised about those financial affairs in the Indian business press.  As he says, other people might draw different conclusions from the facts known to date. That's fine. And as more facts come out, other conclusions can be reached.  Here's links to some of…
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