Posted inPersonal/Stories Radha Soami Satsang Beas

How I deprogrammed fundamentalism out of my brain

I got some great questions in an email today, boldfaced below. Brian, out of curiosity.... I was wondering after you left RS [Radha Soami Satsang Beas]... How did you deprogram all the fundamentalism out of your brain? The whole "The world is a bad place, don't get "involved" in worldly things....  and pursuing things in the world to find happiness is bad... How did you start to finally pursue your own happiness, without the fundamental programming snake coming in and poisoning your progress? I told the person who wrote me I'd reply via a blog post tonight, adding that I'd been planning to write…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

A fresh look at Seth Shiv Dayal Singh (Soami Ji)

Those who are interested in the history of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB), a contemporary Sant Mat movement headquartered in India, will want to read the following message I received from "SM Dass" (a pseudonym). Others won't understand much about what is being talked about, yet will be able to follow the gist of the arguments. Since I was a member of RSSB for over thirty years, I told SM Dass that his analysis was intriguing and I'd like to share it on my blog. I've added a few explanatory terms in [brackets], and some links. By "intriguing" I don't mean that…
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Posted inMorality Radha Soami Satsang Beas Religions

Religion is wrong, but it feels right to believers

So how is it that religious beliefs are almost certainly wrong, yet the vast majority of people in the world accept them? What makes religiosity so attractive?  A central theme of my previous post, New Scientist looks at the science of religion, is that belief in the supernatural comes naturally to humans. Early on in childhood development we understand that "agents" with desires, intentions, and a consciousness like our own exist even though we can't perceive these beings. It isn't much of a jump to divine unseen agents, gods and other entities. But after listening to a Point of Inquiry…
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Posted inBuddhism Mystics Radha Soami Satsang Beas

Mystical experiences. What’s the big deal with them?

Mystical experiences were on my mind today, after someone left a comment on a blog post inquiring about whether I'd gone inside while meditating or heard sacred sounds.   I replied. But then I thought, "What's the big deal with supposed mystical experiences?" Most religions, forms of spirituality, and philosophical systems don't pay much attention to them. Most Christians or Buddhists aren't out to see fantastical scenes of the astral plane, or bliss out on a supernatural light and sound show. Their goals are to become better people; to learn what reality is all about; to be of service to humanity;…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Unauthorized photo of Gurinder Singh Dhillon

Ah, this feels so deliciously tabloid'ish. I received a photo of Gurinder Singh Dhillon, guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas, from an utterly anonymous source. This wouldn't be newsworthy if the guru wasn't so camera-shy. To my knowledge there are only a few authorized photos of Gurinder Singh Dhillon (he's at the top left in the Google Images search). When I did security volunteering for RSSB in the 1990's, I was more than a little astonished to observe the guru waving "no, no!" at someone who was taking a photo of him in a public place from quite a ways…
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Posted inPlotinus Radha Soami Satsang Beas

My letter to a supposed Godly guru

As noted in my previous post, devotees of various Indian "Sant Mat" movements believe that the gurus who head up these groups are GIHF -- God in human form. If such were true, Jesus is alive and well in various bearded, turbaned male bodies. Including that of Gurinder Singh, guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB). I was an active member of RSSB for over thirty years. Near the end of my involvement with the organization I had quite a bit of personal contact with Gurinder Singh.  I had several private interviews with the guru, and met with him in…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Sant Rajinder Singh: “godman” revealed as ordinary guy

Christians might be surprised to know that Jesus is alive and well, right here on Earth. Not the historical Jesus who died on the cross several thousand years ago, but other humans who share Jesus' divinity, his "son of God" status. Such is the teaching of Sant Mat movements. They're based in India and have an affinity with Hinduism and Sikhism. A central Sant Mat tenet is that God-realization requires initiation ("baptism") by a perfect living guru who is considered to be God in human form. Just like Jesus! Which makes these Sant Mat movements appealing to people who want…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Ah, the wrath that awaits us at death–Satsangi Revenge 101!

Here's David Lane's great response to some highly judgmental (and theologically questionable) rants by a Sant Mat follower on a recent blog post. I say "theologically questionable" because Sant Mat teachings, Radha Soami Satsang Beas variety, at least, say that every disciple/initiate, wayward or not, will return to God within four lifetimes under the guidance of the perfect living guru, a.k.a. "God in human form." So I'm saved! Doubly saved, since I was baptized Catholic. Doesn't that get me entry to purgatory, at minimum? (I'm vague about the details of Catholic dogma; never got confirmed, thank God.) David writes on the Yahoo…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Does religious familiarity breed contempt?

I'm amused when other people try to understand why I did something -- like diassociate myself from the religious organization, Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB), that I was an active member of for over thirty years. Heck, I don't even know why I do stuff much of the time. None of us does. Neuroscience tells us that most of the brain/mind's activity occurs outside of conscious awareness. A desire, thought, inclination, motivation, or whatever pops up and we act on it. But where it came from or what made it rise into awareness is a mystery. To ourselves. To other…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Is Radha Soami Satsang Beas racist?

With permission, I'm sharing an email that I got from an American of Indian heritage who is outraged at how "brown" people are treated when they go to the headquarters of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) in Beas, India. I've been to Beas twice, also called the Dera. RSSB is a spiritual organization which talks a lot about oneness, humility, love, and such, but I have to agree with this person: there's a lot of hierarchical inequality in RSSB which can look like racism (and maybe it is). Westerners are treated much differently from Indians, getting special treatment and access…
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Posted inMorality Radha Soami Satsang Beas

Kierkegaard and crazy leaps of faith

Recently I listened to a Philosophy Talk podcast about Soren Kierkegaard, a dour 19th century Danish philosopher. I read some Kierkegaard back in college, many years ago. At that time I was into crazy existentialists, loving how they embraced the meaninglessness of life. Now, I see Kierkegaard as simply crazy -- without many, if any, redeeming philosophical qualities that balance his insane defense of religious leaps of faith. The podcast focused on Kierkegaard's take on the Old Testament tale of Abraham and Isaac, as discussed in his book "Fear and Trembling." According to Wikipedia: Kierkegaard wanted to understand the anxiety that…
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Posted inBooks Buddhism Radha Soami Satsang Beas

No need for a creating God in Buddhism

In my previous post I talked about how a book called Buddhism published by a Sikh'ish, Hindu'ish Indian organization, Radha Soami Satsang Beas, distorts Buddhist reality.  So far I've only read one chapter in the book, "A Perspective on Buddhist Views on Soul and God." Here's a PDF file of the scanned chapter pages, complete with my often skeptical highlighting (yellow question marks in the margins). Download Buddhist Views on Soul and God chapter  I hope other people more knowledgeable about Buddhism than I will read the chapter and leave comments about this question: Does the author, K.N. Upadhyaya, correctly describe mainstream Buddhist teachings…
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Posted inBuddhism Radha Soami Satsang Beas

RSSB “Buddhism” book distorts Buddhist reality

This morning I got angry while reading a chapter in "Buddhism," a book published by Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) which purports to show "the essential unity of the teachings of the Buddha and other spiritual teachings of the time." Anger isn't very Buddhist, I suppose. But it felt justified.  I'm a big fan of Buddhism, the non-religious variety, at least. Ever since my college days I've devoured writings about Buddhism, particularly Zen. So since I was an active member of RSSB for about thirty-five years prior to my churchless un-conversion, I was curious to learn how an author (K.N.…
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Posted inBuddhism Radha Soami Satsang Beas Religions

Are all religions essentially the same?

I used to believe that underneath all the obvious differences between religions, there was a difficult-to-discern common core. Mysticism was what united Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Sikhism, and other faiths. God is One. Humans have, or rather are, a soul. It is possible for this soul-drop to merge into the One god-ocean. There. Three simple sentences. Forget all the complex divisive theologies. That's the oft-forgotten genuine essence of every religion: realizing that our true Self is, basically, the same as God.  It was a nice belief. Warm and fuzzy. The Indian spiritual organization, Radha Soami Satsang Beas, that…
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Posted inBooks Radha Soami Satsang Beas

Is my “Life is Fair” book really crap?

A few days ago I got an email from someone who pointed out that, in a recent blog post comment, I'd said: "Karma, reincarnation, rebirth -- no, not solid at all, as evidence is lacking for these ideas." My correspondent thought that a retraction of sorts was in order, given that in 1998 I'd written a book for an Indian spiritual organization, Radha Soami Satsang Beas, called Life is Fair. The book is a karmic justification for vegetarianism (complete with cartoons!). I replied to the emailer by saying that, hey, minds change. Today, I don't look upon karma and reincarnation as…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Sant Mat and Sikhism basically are the same

I used to think that the Sant Mat spirituality I followed for many years (in the guise of Radha Soami Satsang Beas) was truly a "science of the soul." Sure, I knew that Sant Mat and Sikhism were similar, but I attributed that more to culture than to religion. For example, the Sant Mat gurus let their hair grow and wear turbans, just as Sikhs do. However, the party line of Sant Mat was that it's a universal spiritual practice, a way back to God which transcends geography, nationality, historical religiosity, and such. Not really. In fact, not at all. As this…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas Religions

I’m scolded for changing religions. But change happens.

Why is it that religious true believers are so upset when someone leaves their chosen faith? This confuses me, because many, if not most, members of a religion are converted -- either from a different religion or from unbelief. So it isn't surprising that the process of conversion often keeps on going. People can convert to another religion. Or deconvert from religious belief entirely. (See my "Deconversion is as natural as conversion.") Yesterday I got an email from someone who scolded me for -- shock! -- changing. Below I've shared what he said (minus his name), along with my reply…
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Posted inBooks Radha Soami Satsang Beas

“The Joy of Secularism” tells it truly

Every book I got for Christmas this year was just what I wanted, including The Joy of Secularism: 11 Essays for How We Live Now. That didn't surprise me. I'd ordered each myself, then gave them to my wife to wrap up. Such is akin to one of the book's central themes. We can either view meaning as coming from the outside, God being a commonly-perceived source, or from inside our own selves. These aren't hard and fast dichotomies, of course, just as my book selecting wasn't entirely of my own doing. I think a "Best Books of 2011" list…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas Religions

Religious stories are too wonderful to be true

One of the things scientists have learned about humans is how much we love stories. People are bothered by uncertainty, doubt, not-knowing. Our brains are hardwired by evolution to jump to intuitive conclusions that seem oh-so-right, even when the evidence supporting those conclusions is oh-so-limited. Stories fill in the gaps in our ignorance, producing a pleasing thematic arc: introductory first act, dramatic second act, tying it all together third act. For example, Christianity tells us a story of how God created a perfect world, humans screwed things up by sinning, and Jesus was sent to save us. Of course, there…
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