Radha Soami Satsang Beas

I thought I'd try to glean some broader meaning out of "My strange RSSB initiation story," since that tale I told a few days ago was so personal. Maybe that isn't possible. Perhaps my thirty-eight year journey from devout true believer to skeptical churchless agnostic is so idiosyncratic, it doesn't hold any lessons for someone else. Well, let's see. I'll take a stab at resurrecting a few reasons (so far as I'm aware of them) that led me to join a religious group. I'll also try to briefly share how those reasons morphed as my involvement with Radha Soami Satsang…

A few days ago I talked about how I came to have doubts about the guru-centered faith, Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB), that I followed diligently for over thirty years.

One of the commenters on that post asked a question about why I was so gullible in accepting teachings that, in retrospect, seemed so unlikely to be true.

I responded that all of us believe things which we’re mistaken about. Discarding worn-out beliefs and accepting new ones is part of life’s maturation process. I also said that to attempt to answer that question I’d need to tell the tale of how I came to be initiated into the RSSB fold.

This is a strange story. I don’t think I’ve ever shared it on the Internet, though I’ve told it verbally quite a few times.

Satsangis (which is how RSSB initiates describe themselves) like to talk about how they came on “the path.” You get bonus points for the unlikeliness of the events that led to applying and being accepted for initiation by the guru.

For example, moving in to an apartment that was completely vacated by the previous owner except for a single RSSB book, which, when opened, instantly speaks to the eventual initiate.

I’ve heard many stories along these lines, as have other satsangis. Yet often when I’ve finished telling my own, I hear: “Wow, that’s the strangest initiation story ever.”

Not having made much progress in losing my ego, that gives me a certain satisfaction. Guess I’d rather be strange than nondescript. So I’m pleased to retell my tale, attempting to be as brief as possible (always tough for me, given my writing style).

I can justify the likely rather considerable length of this post by the lesson that it may hold for others. However, I can’t say what that lesson is, since people will look upon this story in idiosyncratic ways.

A RSSB true believer, which I no longer am, will probably think, “Ah, the guru works in such marvelous ways.” A skeptic’s thoughts will run more along the lines of, “Fooled once, fooled twice.”

Whatever. I’ll just tell it like it was. You can decide what to make of the telling. Read on, if you like.

Fairly often I hear from people -- usually via email -- who want to know why I've "left the path." By which they mean, failed to keep on wholeheartedly believing in the Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) teachings, which are an offshoot of Sant Mat. I respond in various ways, but usually end up saying much the same thing. To save time in the future, I thought I'd take a stab at re-stating my stock response so I could simply point to this post when the question of my supposedly heretical change of direction comes up. First, and probably also…

I don’t know much about astrology. I know even less than that about Jyotish astrology, which is a Hindu/Vedic system.

So I was intrigued when I got an email from Catherine, a South African who is deeply into this stuff.

By "intrigued," I mean interested in an unfamiliar subject.

I’m highly skeptical of astrology. I’ve never heard a reasonable, or even semi-reasonable, theory about why it might work.

Still, I’m open to the notion that forces beyond our usual understanding could impact us. And I’ll admit to liking the one indepth chart that was done for me quite a few years ago (a friend recently did another, but I haven’t learned the details yet).

Catherine is an initiate of Radha Soami Satsang Beas, as I am. However, I’ve become a RSSB heretic as regards the dogmatic religious aspects of this India-based organization.

Catherine is considerably more positive about Radha Soami Satsang Beas, including the current guru of the group: Gurinder Singh Dhillon. As you can read below, she prepared a Jyotish analysis of Gurinder Singh and found that astrology confirms his guru status.

My reaction: interesting. And I’ll leave it at that.

I don’t see much of a downside to believing in astrology. The people I know who do believe in it clearly enjoy this art (I can’t call it a science) and consider that it enriches their understanding of life.

That’s great.

But as to whether what follows should be accepted as truth, that’s a whole other question. I simply am sharing (with Catherine’s permission); you decide. Read on…

Regular readers of this blog may have noticed that I don't write as much about my experience with Radha Soami Satsang Beas anymore. My  of posts includes just about everything I want to say about my churchy phase. Still, there's always a bit more to say. Today I answered an email from someone who wondered how to deal with unjust situations. I told him that keeping calm, cool, and collected is admirable, but there's a difference between not being unduly affected by an injustice and failing to deal with it. Action is called for when someone is trying to screw…

Today I got an email about the recent visit of an Indian guru, Gurinder Singh, to Petaluma, California. The guru's organization, Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB), has built a large center there. It's mainly used for gatherings of devotees during Gurinder Singh's periodic, and often unscheduled, visits. I found the following tale interesting, not least because I was an active member of RSSB for many years. Since most people who read this post won't be familiar with the group, or with a few Indian words, here's some background. "Seva" means service, volunteering. It takes on a special cast when done…

Yesterday Jay left a comment that contained a question deserving a response. Brian, I cannot believe that you have been a follower of RSSB and written a book called 'life is fair' for RS, yet you have gone anti-RS. Whats that all about. I have been initiated for just under s decade by Babaji and okay its hard but what is easy.You think that you are too clever. Don't forget, you are an embassador of babaji and you will come back one the path. Is just a matter of time. Jay Even with the typos, and the lack of a…

Doing some deck sweeping this afternoon at a cabin in central Oregon that we share with three other owners, I got to thinking about service. This used to be a big deal to me in my Eastern religion days. Seva is an Indian word for service. It really just means volunteering. But when seva is done for the guru, who devotees consider to be God in human form, the service takes on an aspect that's hard to describe if you haven't experienced it. I wrote about seva in my "When it isn't good to do good" post. One of my…

Usually I read trash-talking comments on my blogs and then put them out of my mind. I enjoy responding to thoughtful people who have a different point of view. But I don't see much point in answering gibberish. Today, though, I'll make an exception. I'm in the mood to reply in kind to a guy who strongly challenged my churchlessness. I assume you won't mind me being (almost) equally blunt, Richard. You said it like you see it. Here's my own outlook on Radha Soami Satsang Beas, based on my thirty-eight years of experience with the organization. The content of…

I don't go to the Radha Soami Satsang Beas version of church (satsang) anymore. But in a way, I still attend a service. And it's a lot more real and satisfying than the one way "sermons" I used to listen to, and give, back in my true believing days. Yesterday I got together, as usual, with my Sunday coffeehouse conversing bunch. Most have had, or still have, a connection with RSSB. We're not dogmatic, though, and that makes all the difference. Most of the time it was just me, Lynette, and Hans huddled at a table, sipping expresso and munching…

My wife found some note cards when she was cleaning out a drawer. "Here," she said, handing them to me. "They're yours." No doubt. My handwriting is distinctive, in the sense of unreadable. But I can decipher my own scribblings. Most of the time, at least. (I've been known to hand a store clerk my grocery list and ask, "Can you tell me what I wrote down here?") I thumbed through the cards and realized what they were: an initial attempt to organize themes for the talks that I used to give regularly at meetings of Radha Soami Satsang Beas…

Sometimes silence says more than words. Recently an old friend asked me, "Do you still consider yourself to be a satsangi?" I stared into the depths of my Starbucks latte. I started to speak, then closed my lips. The question spiraled deeper into my psyche. I waited to see if it'd hit bottom. Satsangi – I knew what my friend meant by the word. An initiated member of Radha Soami Satsang Beas, a mystic-religious group with headquarters in India and branches around the world. But the term is used much more broadly. Wikipedia associates it with another belief system. And…

I like it when a religious organization shows some flexibility. So kudos to the group that I belonged to for some thirty-five years, Radha Soami Satsang Beas, for significantly expanding its embrace of the World Wide Web. Today I learned that the RSSB web site has a new look. Previously there was basically just a home page and a catalog of RSSB publications. Now there's much more, including essays on the Sant Mat philosophy that forms the core of the group's teachings. For a long time the current RSSB guru, Gurinder Singh, asked that disciples refrain from discussing Sant Mat…

I've had an interesting email exchange with someone who noted my statement in a previous post: "Often I hear believers say, on this blog or elsewhere, that sharing their personal experience runs the risk of enlarging their ego. In my opinion, the risk lies in the other direction." She disagreed, saying that for her (a Sant Mat initiate), love is the whole of spirituality. And love should be private. The inner personal experience of meditation is regarded by many satsangis as a very personal, private, and precious gift which has relevance only to oneself. The experience is a special gift…

I love it when a Church of the Churchless post comes back to life. Resurrection! Praise Blog! The past week there's been an intense high-quality discussion on last November's "Another RSSB initiate bites the dust" – a 75 comment interchange since February 12. I've followed the conversation mostly from afar, though I've thrown in a comment or two of my own. As frequently happens on this blog, the specifics often have to do with Radha Soami Satsang Beas, the mystic-religious organization I was involved with for thirty-five years. But the general themes are universal. One of which, to my mind…

Most Christians would be surprised to learn that right now, in 2008, millions of people believe that a man in India not only teaches the same spirituality as Jesus, but is the same godly being. Yes, Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB), a branch of Sant Mat, holds that the path of the saints (a translation of "Sant Mat") is identical with the teachings of Jesus. One of the RSSB books, "Light on Saint John," says: Since most of you have a Christian background, I shall try to explain the teachings of all the Saints in the light of the Bible,…

Yesterday I got some advice from a commenter on a post to "be silent." I responded right away, because this is one of my favorite subjects – playing fair with words. Zion, I always find it interesting when someone, like you, advises that silence is the best policy -- and posts a public comment using many words. If I should be silent, shouldn't you? Or do you know me better than I know myself? And does your advice only apply to me, or also to yourself? …I'm curious about this: how do you know that "those who know always keep…

Yesterday Jay Lou left a comment on one of my posts that started off, "I don't want to be rude to you. But if you can't say anything good about something then don't say it at all." I was surprised by that sentiment. I seem to recall an elementary school teacher saying something similar back in first or second grade, but adults rarely, if ever, speak that way. It struck me as remarkably unscientific. Yet it was pretty obvious that the commenter was a devotee of Sant Mat (likely the Radha Soami Satsang Beas branch), a spiritual path that I…

Reminding me of myself when I was less than half of my current pushing 60, today disgustingly young Adam sent me an email about his take on Sant Mat. I replied, and got his permission to share his thoughts. Below is Adam's message, followed by my reply. I like how Adam differentiates between "liberalism" and "fundamentalism." The question in my mind (and Sam Harris') is how distinct these approaches to spirituality really are. Adam thinks that it's possible to separate out the crazily dogmatic aspects of an organized religion, while still remaining true to the group's core principles. In my…