Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Singh brothers turn on each other. RSSB guru in middle of the mess.

Today someone emailed me a link to a MSN story about the Singh brothers, Malvinder and Shivinder, and their tangled relationship with their relative, Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas in India.Download Shivinder Singh likens Malvinder Singh to 'Bhasmasur' Read on for the latest developments in this fascinating drama. It'll be interesting to see what conclusions Indian authorities draw after investigating the complex web of fraudulent financial transactions involving a bunch of individuals, public companies, and shell companies. I've boldfaced the mentions of Dhillon and RSSB. Shivinder Singh likens Malvinder Singh to 'Bhasmasur'; Malvinder says his…
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Posted inBuddhism

I disagree with Stephen Batchelor about Buddhist truth claims

A couple of days ago I wrote, "I like Stephen Batchelor's take on Buddhism." In that blog post I said that after I listened to the end of Batchelor's lengthy discussion with Sam Harris that Harris shared on his Waking Up iPhone app, I'd share anything interesting that I heard. Well, what I heard Batchelor say in the last five minutes does strike me as both interesting and highly debatable. Harris asked a good question of Batchelor: currently, what are your most important disagreements with Buddhist doctrine? To his credit, Batchelor started off by saying that he can't stand dogmatic…
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Posted inBuddhism

I like Stephen Batchelor’s take on Buddhism

Over the years I believe I've read all of Stephen Batchelor's books about his somewhat heretical attitude toward Buddhism. Some blog posts about his books can be perused here, here, here, and here.  Batchelor correctly argues that for Buddhism to make sense and be useful, its religious/supernatural aspects need to be set aside.  Stephen Batchelor So no karma extending over multiple lives, no reincarnation, no mythical entities inhabiting non-material realms of existence. In this regard Batchelor agrees with Sam Harris. Both Batchelor and Harris have many years of experience with Buddhist meditation and teachings. So I've been enjoying listening to…
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Posted inConsciousness Science

How the brain fools us into believing consciousness is immaterial

I love it! Because I loved The Matrix movie. There's something wildly appealing about our consciousness being deceived about the nature of reality in such a fashion that it is very difficult to escape the bounds of that deception. The "it" that I'm loving is a book by Michael Graziano, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Princeton University. Rethinking Consciousness: A Scientific Theory of Subjective Experience is one of the best books I've read about the nature of consciousness, and I've read a lot of them. Here's a 13-minute video where Graziano describes the key aspects of his Attention Schema…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

A blog post from the past: Sant Mat cartoons

In the course of browsing through some old blog posts (I'm gathering material for another book based on my Church of the Churchless posts), I came across a fond memory: "RSSB cartoons show lighter side of Sant Mat." Which started out this way. While perusing a Christian web site that pokes fun at evangelical fundamentalism, today I suddenly thought Cartoons! Back in 1999 I'd worked with a talented artist, Bart Goldman, on cartoons aimed at deflating the balloon of Radha Soami Satsang Beas seriousness (RSSB is a branch of Sant Mat). Bart and I both were RSSB initiates. We met…
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Posted inDeath/Rebirth Personal/Stories

Love hurts. But the pain of love also is pleasure.

Last Tuesday our older dog, ZuZu, had to be put to sleep. Which is another way of saying, euthanized. Tearfully, I was able to write about her last days on my HinesSight blog in It was a good day for our dog to die. Of course, it wasn't a good day. Not really. I wanted ZuZu to live much longer. What I meant was explained in the first part of the blog post. Don't get me wrong. I didn't want our beloved older dog, ZuZu, to die. But she did last night, put out of her misery by a dose…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

RSSB guru and his family played large role in Singh brothers’ downfall

Indian journalists continue to do an excellent job of reporting on the complex, Bollywood'ish drama of how Malvinder and Shivinder Singh's business empire disintegrated, in part because of their ties to a guru relative, Gurinder Singh Dhillon, who heads up the Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) spiritual organization. Here's some excerpts from a well-researched Outlook story. I've focused on the passages that mention Dhillon and his family, which are boldfaced. Keep in mind that Sunil Godhwani was the guru's right hand man, personal treasurer, and reportedly once managed the finances of RSSB.Download Riches To Rags: How Billionaire Ranbaxy Brothers Malvinder…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Read Malvinder’s messages to the RSSB guru about repaying money

Given recent developments in the financial fraud scandal involving the Singh brothers (Malvinder and Shivinder), Gurinder Singh Dhillon, their relative, who is the guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas, and some other people, I thought it'd be good to point out my June 2019 post, "Malvinder Singh's message to the RSSB guru is moving." (See here, here, here, and here for those developments. Malvinder, Shivinder, and the guru's right hand man, Sunil Godhwani, have been arrested. Dhillon, his family, the Singh brothers, Godhwani, and others have been ordered to appear before the High Court of Delhi on November 14.) Actually…
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Posted inOpen Threads

Open Thread 25 (free speech for comments)

Here's a new Open Thread. I appreciate that off-topic comments have been going in a previous Open Thread. As noted before, it's good to have comments in a regular blog post related to its subject, and it's also good to have a place where almost anything goes in regard to sharing ideas, feelings, experiences, and such. That place is an Open Thread. Leave a comment on this post about anything you want to talk about. Remember that I'm moderating comments, so it could take a while for your comment to be published. Almost every comment submitted to an Open Thread…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

RSSB guru ordered to appear before Delhi High Court on Nov. 14

UPDATE: A commenter shared a link to another story by Business Today on this subject that contains more information. There's a Delhi High Court order for all those involved in the financial fraud investigation to appear on November 14. Daiichi case: Delhi HC orders RSSB chief Dhillon & family, Singh brothers, Ghodhwanis to be present in court on November 14 BusinessToday.In on March 12 reported Singh brothers could only pay the $500 million order against them to compensate Daiichi, provided the money owed to them by RSSB chief Gurinder Singh Dhillon and his family is recovered BusinessToday.In Delhi High Court…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Delhi police following money trail that could lead to RSSB guru and his family

Here's some fresh news on the Singh brothrers/RSSB guru (Gurinder Singh Dhillon) financial scandal saga. A commenter on this blog just left a link to an Economic Times story that shows authorities are having success in tracing where the money ultimately went that was siphoned out of companies once controlled by the Singh brothers, and into companies that were partly or mostly controlled by the Dhillon family and their close associates. Here's what the story says. I've boldfaced the mention of the RSSB guru. A district court in Delhi extended the police custody of businessmen Malvinder and Shivinder Singh by…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Malvinder’s criminal complaint casts light on RSSB guru’s alleged role in financial fraud

Given that the High Court of Delhi has ordered Gurinder Singh Dhillon and his family to pay back money they owe to Religare, a company once controlled by the Singh brothers and Sunil Godhwani, I thought it would be interesting to go back and look at Malvinder Singh's criminal complaint against the Dhillon family, Godhwani, and others. That complaint was filed in February of this year, I believe. I wrote about it in a February 20, 2019 blog post, "Legal filing against Gurinder Singh Dhillon is fascinating reading."  UPDATE: I forgot to mention that anyone who doubts that Dhillon and…
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Posted inComments

Commenting is good. Insulting is not.

I've added a "Commenting" link in the navigation bar at the top of this blog to remind people of my comment policies. They're pretty loose, but if you're wondering why a comment of yours wasn't approved, do some introspecting after you read the comment policy.  Each guideline is important, but failure to follow the one about insults probably irritates me the most, because there is nothing more boring than simple-minded personal insults. They belong in middle school, maybe, but not elsewhere. Like I say... It's boring to insult people in a comment. Don't do it. Stand up for issues, ideas,…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Malvinder’s lawyer calls for arrest of RSSB guru

Following the arrest of Malvinder and Shivinder Singh by Delhi police for questioning about the diversion of funds from companies they once controlled,(see here and here), and the High Court of Delhi giving the guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas, along with others, 30 days to pay back $842 million to the Religare corporation, there's more fascinating news. Likely reflecting what his client is telling authorities, Malvinder Singh's attorney had some harsh words for Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the RSSB guru. At one time the Singh brothers treated Dhillon, their relative, as both a father figure and trusted spiritual adviser on…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Malvinder Singh arrested by Delhi police. RSSB guru appeals High Court order.

The drama surrounding the financial fraud saga involving the Singh brothers, Sunil Godhwani, and a guru, Gurinder Singh Dhillon, has taken another turn with the arrest of Malvinder Singh (his brother, Shivinder, and Godhwani were arrested previously). A LiveMint story describes the arrest. New Delhi: In late night drama on Thursday, the economic offences wing (EOW) of the Delhi police arrested former co-promoter of Religare Enterprises, Malvinder Mohan Singh, in Ludhiana (Punjab) for allegedly causing wrongful loss worth ₹2,397 crore to Religare Finvest Ltd, a senior Delhi police official said. “He was nabbed in Punjab, and we are getting him…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Singh Brothers and RSSB insider arrested. Bad news for RSSB guru.

Indian authorities are starting to arrest people involved with the financial scandal that has embroiled Malvinder and Shivinder Singh, Sunil Godhwani, and Gurinder Singh Dhillon, plus the Dhillon family, in a tangled web of fraud. Here's how the Economic Times story starts out.Download Shivinder Mohan Singh | Ranbaxy ex-promoter Shivinder Singh Sunil Godhwani arrested in fraud case Shivinder Mohan Singh, the erstwhile promoter of Religare Enterprises Limited (REL) was on Thursday arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EoW) of the Delhi police, along with Sunil Godhwani, former chief of REL, among others following a complaint of misappropriation of funds of…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

RSSB guru and his family ordered to repay up to $842 million

Thanks to a comment left on a post today by a blog visitor, I learned that a financial noose is tightening around the necks of Gurinder Singh Dhillon and his family, who, along with others, have been ordered to pay 6,000 crore rupees to RHC Holding -- which equals $842 million. UPDATE: Someone just sent me a photo of the print version of the story.  Here's how an Economic Times story, "Daiichi Sankyo-Ranbaxy case: HC asks Radha Soami head, 54 others to deposit Rs 6,000 crore," starts out (HC refers to the High Court of Delhi in India). Download Daiichi…
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Posted inDeath/Rebirth

For my birthday, I’ve giving myself death

OK, readers of this blog post title should refrain from contacting a suicide prevention hotline. The form of death I've decided to give myself for my 71st birthday is writing another book comprised mostly of what I've already composed for my Church of the Churchless blog on the subject of death. After publishing a book, "Break Free of Dogma," that consists of 93 early churchless blog posts (2004-06) on various subjects, I decided to give a theme-based book a try. Death seemed like a great subject. Not cheery, but inevitable.  I have no problem admitting to a fear of death.…
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Posted inBooks Consciousness

Our essence is more iike a spider web than a diamond

Take a look at these images. Which do you feel best describes your essence? Is the real you more like a complex spider web with lots of gossamer interconnections, or a simple unitary, unchanging diamond? Most people have the feeling that they possess, or are, a core consciousness that often is termed the Self or Soul. This is the dominant religious philosophy, whether Western or Eastern (Buddhism and Taoism excepted). So the goal of a "diamond" perspective is to get in touch with an unchanging essence that remains the same in the midst of an ever-changing world. That perspective almost…
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Posted inConsciousness Science

Quantum theory isn’t needed to explain consciousness

If I wasn't an atheist I would have called out Thank God! when i read the following passages in Christof Koch's book, "The Feeling of Life Itself: Why Consciousness Is Widespread but Can't Be Computed." Koch, who is President and Chief Scientist of the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle, doesn't see any need to invoke mysterious quantum phenomena when attempts to understand consciousness are being undertaken. As I noted recently, it irritates me when someone -- who almost always isn't a scientist -- tries to inject quantum theory into a discussion of meditation, consciousness, or such. As Koch…
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