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.
Anon makes a point at the end of his post that I’ve thought about also. RSSB does seem to be a declining religion, because young people aren’t attracted to it.
Kind of a tough sell when the “marketing” is no sex outside of marriage, strict vegetarian diet, no alcohol, no recreational drugs, 2.5 hours of meditation a day, need to go to church/satsang every week, regular volunteer work for RSSB strongly encouraged. Other than that, have fun, kids!
RSSB AND CHILDREN
RSSB frequently says that it does not force people to raise their children RSSB. You may often have heard the guru benevolently saying something like
“Do not force children brother/sister”
“Forcefully bringing people is not the way”
“They will resent it and go against it later”
“We must just be a good example to them”
“When they see we are a good RSSB example, they will follow naturally” etc
The reality is, RSSB does not really encourage this “natural following”.
RSSB has dedicated children’s creches, areas and tents specifically for children. They have a happy atmosphere with toys and other kids. However it is not a child-free environment. There is a space for children at RSSB. In the children’s area there is satsang being played.
There are also children specific RSSB books. These are clearly designed for children to read. From a young age RSSB has dedicated literature for parents to give to their kids. The indoctrination does begin young. These are not aimed at teenagers or young adults but at primary school children and younger. It’s really unlikely a child is going to say “mom, dad, I want to know more about radha soami satsang beas spiritual teachings”. This is clearly for parents to share with their child, or impose/indoctrinate.
RSSB also says while they encourage someone to follow their lifestyle rules, these do not have to be imposed on children. In reality, RSSB teaching emphasises strongly that this is the true path and these requirements are needed in order to achieve salvation and guru’s grace – who is framed as God In Human Form. In practical reality, most households do have these lifestyle laws built in and children of RSSB followers are often raised with the lifestyle requirements.
I saw many children often being brought along to satsangs when they were “old enough” – namely crossing over the age limits after the children’s areas and graduating to the main halls. You do see young people e.g. teenagers there. They have clearly been brought there by parents and do not have the independence to make their own decisions.
By the time the child is a young adult – they have had a lifestyle of RSSB rules and satsangs and junior literature – they are almost primed for it.
This does mean that by the time the child is no longer a child – you’ve got a ready made RSSB follower. Right?
At Dera there’s schools and education and kids are raised IN the environment. This doesn’t really sound like “don’t force your kids”.
REALITY CHECK
The reality is in 2026 onwards – the next level of disciples are Milennials, Gen Z, Gen A and onwards. The current old gen followers are the last of their generation and cannot frame a failure to adopt the teachings as “failure to comply”.
In my time there, I saw a handful of young adults as regulars but mainly only those who were the kids of key sevadars and were indoctrinated young – but not all. Many had children (teenager or young adult or grown adult) who simply didn’t engage. I saw very few. (I cannot speak for India – being the RSSB region of origin, the birthplace of the ‘guru’ concept and the ethnic homeland of all the past and present gurus).
WHY?
Who knows. You’ll have to ask them.
But the reality is: what I’ve always said – while the guruship is inherited, discipleship isn’t. The reality is the next generations of followers don’t really want to be doing this.
I asked quite a few and honestly?
They never said why. They just dipped.
While some ex initiates like myself, Brian and others may speak about their experiences. Younger generations aren’t even doing that. They’re just gone.
Criticise all you like – at least RSSB is getting feedback from us. The next gen are just a wall of silence if they’re out. This is the generation that watches a 5 second clip and scrolls. I don’t think they’ll do 2.5 hours of meditation daily for years to “see what happens”. RSSB is delusion if it thinks it’ll work for them. Demonising the internet isn’t going to work on them either.
Good luck out there.
Anon.
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I think in this particular instance, it is the responsibility of the parent to not even suggest that their kids become initiates. The creches erc. have been there for decades as a place to leave their kids safely when they attend satsang, do seva or whatever. If a child is inclined to seeking out spiritual matters, they will do their own investigations irrespective and importantly, should be allowed to do so. Personally, spirituality fascinated me from very, very young. My folks were not initiated then, but they’d sit and discuss spirituality across a variety of traditions. I arrived at my own conclusions. By the age of 16 (parents were still not initiates yet) I’d delved into many Eastern spiritual perspectives which felt right for me personally – or they resonated for me. When RSSB came along, the teachings of Great Master in particular felt entirely familiar. I eventually sought initiation at 27 and back then, the approach of the sangat was to never encourage initiation – you had to be sure. When I visited Dera for the first time, it felt like somewhere I knew very well. The old Satsangar in particular. I had odd flashbacks that to me, idicated I had indeed been there before. Great Master has always resonated with me strongly, not Charan Singh, and I still believe that those more original teachings are not of the mark. My beef is with the current dispensation. I feel a profound inner sadness about what RSSB is today, combined with a level of disgust that this pathnhas been so horribly skewed and screwed by the so called guru/s now. My intuition tells me that RSSB is no longer focused on true spirituality. It has become a religion. One can comfortably leave a specific path or never go with it in the first place – thats an individual decision. One thing GSD did say many years ago, is that RSSB is not the only path – there are numerous true Masters on the planet at any given time, and to think that RSSB is the only true path, is entirely arrogant. I have ditched my association with RSSB because it has become a religion and lacks the substance it once had. I am also diabolocally opposed to the actions of the current dispensation. Personally, I sought initiation for purely spiritual reasons and I have come across a path that is devoid entirely of the religious aspect that I am not comfortable with. That said, mentally, I am still on a spiritual sabbatical in a sense, after devoting an enormous amount of time to RSSB in both meditation and seva. There came a point where what I intuitively felt was right, I began to question. My warning siren started to blare internally which I only later discovered to have aligned almost exactly with when GSD veered off the path himself, evidenced by his actions and dealings. But that is my story and experience. Each has their own. That kids today are not all enthralled by this path in particular is hardly surprising. There are others out there, and of your motivation is towards spirituality and maturing in it at a soul level, RSSB is highly unlikely to be attractive. Its sad, but it is what it is. A good parent will never indoctrinate their kids. A good truly spiritually inclined parent with truly spiritual inentions, will allow their kids to make their own decisions. I’ve read those books. They don’t indoctrinate kids. They simply explain spiritual matters in simplistic terms. Thats fine. A kid who already has an understanding carried over from previous births will know whether those stories are accurate enough or not anyway. Pushing a kid into something will eventually have them rebel, or they will see that RSSB now is a load of crap and seek elsewhere. That all boils down to the individual and that individuals intentions.
I think in this particular instance, it is the responsibility of the parent to not even suggest that their kids become initiates. The creches erc. have been there for decades as a place to leave their kids safely when they attend satsang, do seva or whatever. If a child is inclined to seeking out spiritual matters, they will do their own investigations irrespective and importantly, should be allowed to do so. Personally, spirituality fascinated me from very, very young. My folks were not initiated then, but they’d sit and discuss spirituality across a variety of traditions. I arrived at my own conclusions. By the age of 16 (parents were still not initiates yet) I’d delved into many Eastern spiritual perspectives which felt right for me personally – or they resonated for me. When RSSB came along, the teachings of Great Master in particular felt entirely familiar. I eventually sought initiation at 27 and back then, the approach of the sangat was to never encourage initiation – you had to be sure. When I visited Dera for the first time, it felt like somewhere I knew very well. The old Satsangar in particular. I had odd flashbacks that to me, indicated I had indeed been there before. Great Master has always resonated with me strongly, not Charan Singh, and I still believe that those more original teachings are not of the mark. My beef is with the current dispensation. I feel a profound inner sadness about what RSSB is today, combined with a level of disgust that this pathnhas been so horribly skewed and screwed by the so called guru/s now. My intuition tells me that RSSB is no longer focused on true spirituality. It has become a religion. One can comfortably leave a specific path or never go with it in the first place – thats an individual decision. One thing GSD did say many years ago, is that RSSB is not the only path – there are numerous true Masters on the planet at any given time, and to think that RSSB is the only true path, is entirely arrogant. I have ditched my association with RSSB because it has become a religion and lacks the substance it once had. I am also diabolocally opposed to the actions of the current dispensation. Personally, I sought initiation for purely spiritual reasons and I have come across a path that is devoid entirely of the religious aspect that I am not comfortable with. That said, mentally, I am still on a spiritual sabbatical in a sense, after devoting an enormous amount of time to RSSB in both meditation and seva. There came a point where what I intuitively felt was right, I began to question. My warning siren started to blare internally which I only later discovered to have aligned almost exactly with when GSD veered off the path himself, evidenced by his actions and dealings. But that is my story and experience. Each has their own. That kids today are not all enthralled by this path in particular is hardly surprising. There are others out there, and of your motivation is towards spirituality and maturing in it at a soul level, RSSB is highly unlikely to be attractive. Its sad, but it is what it is. A good parent will never indoctrinate their kids. A good truly spiritually inclined parent with truly spiritual inentions, will allow their kids to make their own decisions. I’ve read those books. They don’t indoctrinate kids. They simply explain spiritual matters in simplistic terms. Thats fine. A kid who already has an understanding carried over from previous births will know whether those stories are accurate enough or not anyway. Pushing a kid into something will eventually have them rebel, or they will see that RSSB now is a load of crap and seek elsewhere. That all boils down to the individual and that individuals intentions.
Interventions before the age of 15 for boys and 13 for girls is red flag
This is the age curiosity fully blooms
and they want to explore the world on their own
RSSB kills that passion
The world is changing.
What has served humanity for ages and decades, for better or worse, has lost its meaning and value, on all fields of human endeavors.
Does anybody think rssb, religion, spirituality could escape?!
In my book we are in the autumn of culture and the trees of society and culture are losing their leaves and winter is at hand.
we see the raise of movements to preserve what …WAS….and … the raise of crime for that reason and the unability of the government to stop it.
Parents have lost their power to raise their children to participate in the walk of humanity.
Do not focus on rssb, that is old style globalized your view, wake up in the world and observe.
See how a growing number of nations is ruled…if you think it only happens in Jamaica, or in South America were organized gangs rule by fear …cooking their victims …then you are blind
To show my good-natured ness and willingness to share I’m going to comment instead of meditating this morning. Um is correct. The blue meanies are winning the world to their side and the sway is so much that they’re just meanies now, no color. GSD chose his successor(s) and now Gill is finally recognized as having as much sway as GSD at the Dera. Maybe not so much other places but Gurinder earned the moniker ” the no caring guru” and the same might be said of his nephew ( by marriage). What he said to me might be more like blasphemy or heresy . So if it is blasphemy that I’m to be a recognized master of santmat then it’s Gurinder’s blasphemy that I believe and repeat. I was writing letters and received letters to the USA from Charan Singh when I was too young according to the rules to officially be initiated but just by communicating with him I had unofficially become initiated. Plus how odd would it be for God to allow initiation from someone who I myself initiated in my previous life. My own grandson in my previous life was the best choice for the job. My questioning GSD about his choices for successor began with me so I have no problem questioning Gil either. I don’t know why he would single me out for this particular pain and not tell the rest of the world unless he was some type of weirdo like people say. I’m going to wait till his dying day to disbelieve him completely, or to dive in head first and spread the good news and joy upon his death . It’s just like changing cars going from one body to the next during the afterlife transition. Yeah these kids I’ve always been told should live life first before they seek a solitary journey. I knew this all was going to happen because Gurinder does not have very much insight on human nature and now they’re choosing one guru over the other there at Dera. And that’s just human nature. I don’t know what the hell he expected else except maybe him going to jail for his crimes. It’s because of all my experiences of inner and outer that I do believe that I’m America’s first and finest.
I do believe the people who claim that people’s perspectives and comments are formed by their uniquely individual experiences and so I forgive them in advance for what they’re about to say. That seems to be what they want. Forgiveness. It should go without saying that I forgave Babaji in advance way way long time ago
The first and the finest ever recognized American Sant Mat guru. That’s a good story to stick to Ron !
When an Indian gentle man stood up during an q&a session in the room in the old guesthouse in dera and asked the late mcs for advise as to whether or not raise the children as satsangis he answered ( what follows is my recollection of the event !!!)
NO …DEFEFINATLY NOT!!!
Give them a good example and LET them grow
Silence….
But it is the duty of the parents, to inculcate the spiritual values of life ….and … you can do so in any capacity that suits you ….you can speak about nature, Sunday school etc
In older days parents would, depending on their social class, level of education an personal preferences, prepare their children for participation in society.
That participation was within the context of an shared concept of what that society and culture was.
Parents would share their economic, political and religious values of their family, neighborhood, village and country with their children .. all class oriented
These communities are all gone and with it are lost the concepts of who you are, what you are supposed to do etc.
People have become nobodies, uprooted from their traditions and live like ants frantically seeking for answers because their nest was disturbed by somebody with a stick.
Where and how to find purpose, direction for kids if their parents have nothing to say nothing to offer …?????….. well…they have tiktok,….
J
In order to digest knowledge one has to be trained properly. Knowledge was and is dangerous …like a knife.
Delf into the content of the media and you will soon understand what is going on in the world and what is going to come.
The ant analogy very aprapo! I thought that very same thing but when I was a kid looking at an ant bed. How they somehow reminded me of people even way back when. That’s the gods eye nature view of actual people in the world is why. And then while playing marbles one time I had the same deja vu about the planets revolving like marbles. So yeah I was kind of a cosmic kid even growing up. A barn saint . Actually on a farm.
I wonder how many people are going to be running around like chickens with their heads cut off when GSD actually passes or will they sit and meditation and wait for the comforter. ( The all pervading everlasting Shabd that runs through every soul and is the very definition of soul. )
I don’t understand why Gurinder doesn’t comment under his own name on this blog that he reads religiously if nothing else just to see what I have to say because I’m no different around him than I am around anybody else. I have communicated with Mr Gill before the great announcement of his newfound Glory. And he told me that he thinks having an American master would be great. He might be commenting here under an alias. I’m just afraid that after too much influence from his uncle he might become unwilling to share . With all the nefarious activities at Dera I just hope they have the will in a safe place
I never pushed my one biological son or my step kids into anything at all. We were served vegetarian food by my wife and I but he certainly got meat from my mother and other McDonald’s customers. So he’s not initiated and he’s not a vegetarian but he’s a good man. When I told him about Babaji telling me to grow my beard, and why , his response was something like , Well dad you’ve always been into that Path. So despite everything else children of the more solemn religious satsangis never fared much better. Gurinder told me during our hours of conversation that he loves everybody he said, not just satsangies. So whether someone is a satsangi or not is completely irrelevant. I was raised in a meat-eating Catholic environment and I became vegetarian quite young on my own and that’s the way it should be. I related to a path and a teacher halfway around the world in India because that’s where my sanskaras came from.