Below is another guest blog post from Anon, an ex-RSSB initiate. RSSB stands for Radha Soami Satsang Beas, an India-based religious organization headed up by a guru that I belonged to for 35 years, which explains my interest in sharing criticisms of the faith that I also found lacking. GSD stands for Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the current RSSB guru.
I like Anon’s “tell your boss” test.
Every religion is strange, because they almost always have a faith founded on the supernatural, for which there is no demonstrable evidence. So religions can make up all kinds of stuff up, claiming it to be true without any fear of being proven wrong — because religiosity doesn’t care about proof, just belief. But some religions are easy to describe to non-believers, while others, like RSSB, are difficult to describe, being really weird (to use a non-theological term).
I wrote a post about my strange RSSB initiation story that included a mention of how a crazed Greek yoga teacher I was involved with while in college claimed that he talked with Jesus in his basement. At the time I thought that was really weird. However, soon after I became a member of RSSB, which claims that the RSSB guru is best friends with God, and it is possible to communicate with the godly guru through the “radiant form” the guru inserts into the consciousness of disciples.
That’s even weirder than talking with Jesus. Which is why I didn’t speak with co-workers or my boss about RSSB. I’d just say things like, “I’m a vegetarian because I don’t believe in killing animals for food.”
Here’s what Anon has to say about the “tell your boss” test.
Imagine you’re in your end of year review. You’re sitting there in front of your boss. Your professional career is in his or her hands. They find out you’re RSSB and want to know more. What do you say?
One thing I noticed in my time at RSSB is that there was a huge sense of displaced values. I found it really alarming and it was almost as if people couldn’t hear themselves aloud.
Some of the spiritual belief was odd enough.
I believe GSD this specific man is God in human form walking on earth and I call him my Master – is hard to say aloud to your boss.
He’s been found guilty of multimillion dollar fraud by the Indian courts and his wife who owned the shell companies containing the funds died suddenly and he’s friends with imprisoned drug lords and proclaims them innocent – is hard to say aloud to your boss.
We transmigrate through human form for a maximum of four lives but we must repeat these five words and be vegetarian teetotal abstinent or we don’t escape and go to heaven – is hard to say to your boss.
We have to sit in a dark room for 2.5 hours daily and chant the five holy names or we don’t get saved – is hard to say to your boss.
There are five levels of heaven which correspond to the five holy names and three further heavens, we have to chant the five holy names so the rulers of those regions give us access, and our Guru Master will lead us there – is hard to say to your boss.
We have to listen to the Guru’s sermons and do unpaid volunteer work specifically for the Guru otherwise we aren’t eligible to get the names that we chant – is hard to say to your boss.
At RSSB – you’re told NOT to tell anyone what we believe and to keep it private and secret, and you are told NOT to share your experiences with anyone – especially your spiritual experiences in meditation.
You don’t have to. But I always found myself saying:
HOW do I explain this to my boss?
HOW do I explain this to my colleagues?
HOW do I explain this to my friends?
HOW do I explain this to nonRSSB family?
HOW do I explain this to a potential partner?
HOW would I explain this to my kids?
HOW would I explain this to the teachers when my kids go to school?
This may have been relatively easy a hundred years ago on the banks of the river beas in a rural north indian folk village where literacy was uncommon.In a global world economy where everyone has a basic standard of high education and access to technology which informs us all – it is HARD to avoid the glaring problems.
For some people – their entire life may be RSSB. Their boss, colleagues, friends, family, partner, kids – they may ALL be RSSB. That’s part of the pervasive issue. RSSB over time encourages you to spend all your time here and form your links here.
Friends, life partner, kids, family, maybe even work. Most people may build their entire personal life here but their professional life is outdoors. They keep it TOTALLY SECRET around their work, their college, their college friends, their kids say nothing at school. It’s like a secret circle.
They say “people won’t understand”. Yes because IT SOUNDS CRAZY AF.
They say “not all souls are marked” “not all are ready” “not all need to know”. Yeah, not everybody is Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Sikh – but we KNOW about it and can google what they believe. They are generally able to put their belief on a box on a form. Why don’t you declare it on yours?
The good litmus test is this: HOW DO I TELL MY BOSS?
If you find yourself with a circle where you can’t openly ‘CLAIM RSSB’ – ask yourself why. Is it genuine piety to keep it to yourself. Or are you afraid of the totally normal repercussions and consequences of stating RSSB out loud outside the gates?
Most faiths have something they wear. They have a symnbol. RSSB doesn’t have one because it isn’t a religion. But most spiritual faiths or religions or paths wear it on their body.
Ask yourself – if you had a necklace that said RSSB – would you wear it everywhere you went all the time on display for EVERYONE to see?
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With an attitude like that I’m surprised you have a job.