Below is another in a series of guest blog posts 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.
I used to give frequent talks at RSSB meetings (satsangs). Having an iconoclastic slant even when I was an active member of RSSB, I’d do my best to keep people awake during my talk, even though sometimes this was a losing battle. Humor, quotes from non-RSSB sources, personal observations — that kept me interested in what I was saying, so I figured it would appeal to others also.
But most of my fellow satsang speakers were content to follow the RSSB rules. So I enjoyed Anon’s take on RSSB habitual sayings, communicated in the form of a satsang bingo game. Nicely done, Anon.
Hey Brian
Towards the end, I started playing bingo at satsangs/Q&As. I just found it was that same old RSSB word salad that made no sense. Here’s a bunch of unique RSSB Keywords you only ever hear there – I’ve never heard this anywhere else. It started with just one word and I’d count to see how many times it came up. I’m pretty sure if you type these words into an AI essay/script generator, you could generate your own satsangs indefinitely.
WHY? I was stuck and it wasn’t safe to exit, ever.
Plus, there’s not much you can do when during satsang/sermons go on forever, and there’s a tech ban, phone ban, headphones ban, devices ban, social media ban, internet ban, recording devices ban, notetaking ban, paper and pen ban, distraction/looking elsewhere ban (must sit in silence and gaze upon the master). There are few things you can do except endlessly wiggle your toes and I got creative.
I introduced this to a few other people at RSSB and they all ultimately quit too. I think to a certain extent it did the following. It made people realise how much of a joke it was. It made them realise they were laughing AT RSSB and were not laughing IN RSSB – it made them realise they weren’t happy there at satsang. It made them really want to sit with me at satsang too.
We spent more time talking about this silly game than the actual satsang/sermon being shout-preached in our faces. Ironically in a way it helped us pay more attention. It also made us realise we were bored as hell and unhappy there, because we were happier laughing about it than listening to it.
If there’s anyone else who is questioning, doubting, unsure, unhappy, not being heard, being shut down, not allowed to leave safely, not able to exit right now, planning to leave at some point (sooner or later) – this might help make this a little fun for now. If you’re there and you don’t want to be – this can make it slightly less unbearable. It worked for me.
If you genuinely start doing this game at satsang, it’s probably time to evaluate why you’re still there.
B I N G O “Listen to the Shabd” “Spiritual Path not a religion” “Vegetarianism” “Go within” *FOLD YOUR HANDS IN SILENCE “Raise Our Consciousness“ “This world is not our home” “Contemplation on his radiant form” “Focus at The Eye Center” (optional, DOT YOUR FOREHEAD) “Karmic debt” “2.5 hours daily” “Experience that inner bliss” RSSB TIME “Endless wheel of reincarnation/suffering /cycle of 84”
“If you can’t sit cross legged sit on a chair” *SHOUTING- PREACHING “Merge with the Lord” “Look brother/sister” “Huzur used to say…” “The Master tells us that…” “Do your Simran” “Do your Bhajan” “Do your Seva” “Go to Satsang” “Do your Meditation” — Anon
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I hope some of you Christian satsangies who think India is so great are reading this. The American and European and South Africans that want to believe that India is a better place and want to be near the Dera. Maybe in your next life and then you can be like this person stuck in church again.. While l I’ve even assumed the physical form of the master and I don’t have to go anywhere to be near. I am he as you are me and we are all together .And once you’ve seen the radiant form you want to be near the physical form even that much more. But I don’t have to make a single move for all of that to be. Or not to be. That is the question.
” I am he
As you are he
As you are me
And we are all together
See how they run like pigs from a gun
See how they fly
I’m crying…”
I Am the Walrus
The Beatles
I myself am sometimes referred to as ” the tenth fifth Beatle” . Do the math
RSSB has some things to admire. It’s extremely well organized, for one. Especially so when compared to its sister Sant Mat group, Science of Spirituality.
I’m not an RSSB member, but I’ve visited their satsangs over decades. I can’t think of even a small detail of RSSB being sloppy about anything. But Science of Spirituality is the polar opposite in terms of organization, on all levels of that organization. Everything about it tends to be a bit messed up.
But organization isn’t everything when judging a religious movement. I’m not the only one who’s noticed that RSSB has a dry and legalistic character. All the RSSB books read as if corporate lawyers wrote them. The RSSB satsangs also have a legalistic tinge. Almost every satsang leader I’ve heard recites RSSB boilerplate concepts like a corporate PR flack, seemingly to remind everyone (Party A) of the terms of the contract they entered into (initiation) and their responsibilities in the terms of that contract with Party B (the Guru), and to likewise remind them that Party B (the Guru) is not bound by the terms of the contract unless Party A (the initiate) lives a perfect satsangi life.
That’s how it strikes me anyway. But what do I know? Clearly, given their respective membership numbers, far more people find RSSB appealing than they do the Rajinder Singh group.
I’m just saying that if you find RSSB rather dry, you’re not at fault and you’re not alone.
“The sheer efficiency of a certain organization attracts millions who find comfort in order, authority, and massive infrastructure, that very same machine-like perfection strips away the intimate, humble “Life-Impulse” that characterized the early days under previous Masters.
High membership numbers and flawless logistics are metrics of corporate success, not spiritual depth”.