Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Chapter 2 of RSSB expose: business practices

Here's the next installment of the Radha Soami Satsang Beas-related material that I'm receiving from my email correspondent, Unknown.

(Previous posts on this topic are here and here.)

As noted previously, this material mostly consists of writings by Waking Now, a senior RSSB functionary who came to have doubts about this Indian guru-centered organization and left it in the early 1990s.

When I read this chapter of the Waking Now compilation being put together by Unknown, I thought of how the Dalai Lama wants the Tibetans in exile to be governed.

Democratically.

About 550 Tibetan political leaders and activists have come from as far
away as Canada, Australia and Brussels to discuss the future of the
Tibetan movement. Its spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has long
advocated a democratic decision-making process, but Tibetans' reverence
for him has inhibited many of them from speaking out in any way that
might challenge his authority. "This is the problem with having God as
your leader," says Tsering Shakya, a professor of modern Tibetan
history at the University of British Columbia.

Interesting, in light of what Waking Now has written, which can be downloaded as a PDF file or read by clicking on the following continuation to this post.
Download Chapter 2-Business Practices PDF

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Posted inSpiritual practice/meditation

Meaning of life is right now, or never

What's the meaning of life? For many people, me included, this is a vitally important question. Finding the answer to it is a big part of what gives life meaning.But wait...something is wrong here.If what gives life meaning for me is a search for the meaning of life, I've got a couple of problems.(1) If I ever find the answer, then life won't have meaning for me any longer, because the meaning was in my searching, not my finding. (2) Maybe I won't ever find the answer, in which case my life has been meaningless, though the time I spent…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Chapter 1 of RSSB expose: business dealings

My correspondent, "unknown," has followed up on his or her previously posted critique of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB).

Unknown's new material primarily concerns some RSSB business dealings, and how a few senior members of this India-based spiritual organization came to have doubts about it.

I've copied in the correspondence, which came to me by email, below. Here's a PDF version:
Download RSSB Business Practices-Chapter 1 pdf

I feel the need to explain why I think it's worthwhile to put this material up for public viewing.

Basically, I believe that it's desirable to freely share ideas and information so long as the privacy of individuals isn't infringed upon, and what's being shared isn't libelous.

Neither seems to be the case here.

This material apparently was on the Internet for a while, then removed. Once public, always public… that's the rule in this age of Google caches and file copying.

Naturally I can't vouch for the truthfulness of what "Waking Now" relates. However, it has enough of a ring of truth to be believable. If anyone wants to challenge the accuracy of Waking Now's allegations, they're free to comment away.

Lastly (before getting to Chapter 1), I feel that it's healthy to remind ourselves that perfection isn't a quality found in either organizations or individuals — assuming it's even possible to operationally define what this word means.

Some RSSB devotees are going to feel that it's wrong to post any sort of criticism of this group. They consider that because the organization is led by a "perfect guru," then everything RSSB does must be above reproach.

This is a fundamentalist religious attitude, no different from that of Muslims who say "no cartoons can be published of Prophet Muhammad!" or of the medieval Catholic church, which punished heretics who dared question the holy faith.

Radha Soami Satsang Beas claims to be a spiritual science. Science progresses by testing hypotheses, examining all of the data related to a problem, disseminating research results and discussing them openly.

So here's some information about RSSB. Consider it; ignore it. Your choice.

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Posted inVedanta/Advaita

Self, no-self…what’s the difference?

Maybe I have a "self." Maybe I don't. There doesn't seem to be any way to tell. Which makes me wonder, who the heck cares, if there's no evident difference between self and no-self?I've enjoyed the comment conversation between Manjit and me on this blog's "Losing your self is so egotistical" post. We've been going at it discussing whether there's a self to lose.Something related to my brain and laptop-typing fingers -- sure seems like a self -- keeps arguing that unless we're one with the cosmos, there's a separate sense of identity.Manjit prefers to see this as a non-issue.…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

A critique of Radha Soami Satsang Beas

Over on this post "unknown" has left several interesting comments about an Indian mystical-spiritual organization, Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) that I, and quite other Church of the Churchless regulars, have been associated with.Being thoughtful and well-written, I didn't want the comments to be submerged within a post on another subject. So I've copied them in below (with some mild editing to correct some typos and clarify formatting).I'm a believer in open discussion of any and all topics relating to religion, spirituality, mysticism, meditation, philosophy ... whatever.Some will disagree with these ideas. Some will say "right on." Others will have…
128
Posted inReality

Reality isn’t black and white

While it might look like Taoists are big on black and white, this yin-yang symbol actually speaks otherwise.  Yes, there are dualities in the universe. Lots of them: male/female, positive/negative, wave/particle, good/bad ... and on and on and on.But it's those little circles that tell the most meaningful part of the story -- how there's yin within yang, and yang within yin. The farthest reach of black blends with the beginning of white, and vice versa.If we think in terms of this or that, we're not seeing reality rightly. The world appears in shades of gray to eyes attuned to…
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Posted inSpiritual practice/meditation

Losing your self is so egotistical

"Losing your self." "Ego-loss." "Becoming one with the cosmos." These words sound good, but do they really mean anything? And even if they do, is that thing desirable?For a long time I was an active member of a religio-mystical organization (Radha Soami Satsang Beas) that put a lot of emphasis on soul drops merging into God's ocean. Again, a superficially pleasing image -- brings to mind a super orgasm of consciousness, a final busting loose of boundaries into a cosmic Ahhhhhhhh...But here's the thing: if nobody is around to merge, or bust loose, or have a soulful orgasm, what's the…
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Posted inBuddhism

Is karma a bunch of crap?

While there's much in the realms of religion, spirituality, mysticism, and metaphysics that is out-and-out ridiculous, I've considered the notion of "karma" to be pleasingly quasi-scientific.Heck, I even wrote a book about karma: Life is Fair.  This was back in my true believing days. Now I'm not nearly as confident that much of what I said in the book is true.However, when karma is viewed as synonymous with "cause and effect," it's reality is evident. This is how the world works: causes resulting in effects that produce causes resulting in effects ... and so on ... and so on ...…
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Posted inDeath/Rebirth

Julian Barnes deals with death…irreligiously

The prospect (what a comforting word, so much better than "certainty") of dying can scare me to death.So I just had to read Julian Barnes' book, "Nothing to Be Frightened Of." Because it's theme is death, and I want to believe that the title is true.Barnes is a terrific writer. I don't want to summarize some favorite quotations from his book. I want to share them as wonderfully written.So, here they are. Enjoy.-----------------------------------------Julian Barnes: I don't believe in God, but I miss Him."What's all this about death, by the way?" she continued. I explained that I didn't like the idea…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

RSSB guru does karaoke. He must be God.

In the Sant Mat faith, the guru is considered to be God in human form. Believing disciples, of whom I used to be one, are fond of looking for signs of his divinity.Since obvious miracles aren't evident, nor other overt indications of godliness, it's necessary to look upon the guru with devotional eyes to see his saintliness shining through.The current Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) guru is Gurinder Singh Dhillon. I've seen him quite a few times, including some personal interviews. He strikes me as a fine intelligent, well-spoken, personable guy. I liked him. But is Gurinder Singh God? My…
160
Posted inPersonal/Stories

Thanks for making the past year happy

Church of the Churchless visitors, in 2008 you made me happy. Well, let's make that happier. I would have had an enjoyable year without you guys and gals, but being in touch with you through your comments and emails added a lot to my life.My wife and I belong to a "Salon" discussion group here in Salem. Monthly a bunch of us get together in one of our homes and spend three hours or so conversing about all kinds of stuff.Politics. Current events. Books. What's going on in peoples' lives. And much more.At the last meeting, a couple of days…
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Posted inScience

Learn from science: expand your wavelength

"Into the Light" is the title of the introduction to Universe, which stimulated my "Greetings from the center of the galaxy" post.Reading about the electromagnetic spectrum, I don't see how anyone could doubt that science has a whole lot to teach us about opening ourselves to a broader understanding of reality.Despite being suffused with light, surprisingly little of the universe is visible to the naked eye. Unaided, we can detect only 6,000 of the universe's estimated 70 billion trillion stars from Earth -- and no more than a few thousand from any one location.Dust, distance, light pollution and a thick…
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Posted inReality

Tim Minchin’s poetic response to blind belief

Thanks to the always-interesting Pharyngula, this morning I spent an enjoyable ten minutes listening (and reading, because the poor audio requires a video'ized transcription) to Tim Minchin's marvelous "Storm."[Update: there's now a replacement "video" with clear audio and no transcription, which I've embedded below.]Here's the You Tube video description:Tim Minchin's stunning performance of his beat poem 'Storm' Eloquently and wittily honouring reason, science and life appreciation and debunking homeopathy, psychics, alternative medicine, religion etc. Live performance at the 9 carols for a Godless Christmas Show, 21st December 2008, Hammersmith Apollo. I related to Minchin's relating of his encounter with an…
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Posted inScience

Greetings from the center of the galaxy

I couldn't think of a better Christmas day greeting than this one -- a marvelous image of the Milky Way galactic center. (Click on "full size" for higher resolution image.)Yesterday I saw it as I was garnering churchless inspiration from an astronomical picture book, "Universe: Journey from Earth to the Edge of the Cosmos."Tears came to my eyes. Sitting on a cushion in my meditation area, I felt very, very small. Also, very, very fortunate to be living in a time when science could show us so vividly what lies beyond the confines of everyday experience.The caption in the book,…
4
Posted inBooks

“Pushing Ultimates” inspires, then disappoints

After I got an email pitch for a book that demolishes religion but promotes a free-ranging scientific and mystical inquiry into the "wild wonder of it all" I soon found myself handing over $13.47 for a copy of Lew Paz's "Pushing Ultimates: Fundamentals of Authentic Self-Knowledge."It's a self-published book, which I have absolutely no problem with -- having done the same with my own examination of ultimacy, "Return to the One." Paz is well-informed and positively disposed toward science. He's also well-read in an impressive number of other subjects: mysticism, philosophy, politics, psychology, history, anthropology, to name a few.You can…
5
Posted inPersonal/Stories

Clearing out some churchless scraps

I feel grateful (not to God, but to the vagaries of weather) that our power is still on, given what's been happening today in other parts of south Salem. We've been on the edge of a rain/freezing rain divide, created by the clash of cold air flowing down the Columbia Gorge and warmer air coming in from the Pacific. Nasty stuff, freezing rain. I'll take snow over it anytime.At any rate, being pretty much housebound I've had more time to stare at the non-Feng Shui piles of paper on my desk, which includes some scribbled ideas for Church of the…
4
Posted inBuddhism

Soul of the Samurai: so simple

For about fifteen years I've been practicing martial arts. "Practice" is the operative word. I've always felt like a beginner, because whenever I've learned something a fresh realization follows almost immediately: there's so much more to learn.What I enjoy the most about martial arts -- I started with traditional Shotokan karate, moved to a mixed style, and now am focused on Tai Chi -- is what they teach you about yourself.There's a deep connection between Zen/Taoism and Japanese/Chinese martial arts. I've understood this better after taking up Tai Chi, which basically is Taoism reflected in movement.This isn't rocket spiritual science,…
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Posted inReality

Primal mystery: the birth of consciousness

I ponder death a lot. The notion of me not existing any more isn't appealing, to say the least. It isn't my body that I'm afraid of losing. It's my awareness, or consciousness. I'd be cool with living on as a disembodied soul, so long as I was aware of it.But ...being extinguished completely ...forever ...not a trace of consciousness left. Yikes! Some say that it isn't possible for us to contemplate death, not in a realistic fashion. We know what life is like because it's being experienced as we envision death. Yet non-existence obviously can't be imagined, since imagining…
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Posted inBuddhism

Mind: a mirror or nothing?

I've been thinking about this awareness watching awareness thing, the subject of a previous post. Of course, I've been thinking with my mind. And mind is at the root of the whole thing.So I'm pondering what pondering is about, in much the same fashion as Michael Langford says that awareness needs to watch awareness in order to become aware of what awareness is.Pretty damn confusing. But seemingly important.Because the debate over whether consciousness (and hence reality, since a reality with no one aware of it is non-existent for us) is one'ish or two'ish is central to religion, spirituality, philosophy --…
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Posted inSpiritual practice/meditation

Is awareness watching awareness the highest truth?

I'm always looking for shortcuts to enlightenment, bliss, nirvana -- whatever you want to call it. For a long time I was on a spiritual path. Paths take time to travel. I'm too old for paths. I want to see the promised land right goddamn now! Not after death. Not after years of meditation practice. Now! So my attention perked up when I got an email today from an occasional Church of the Churchless visitor who said, in part:A guy by the name of Michael Langford, (who I recently ran across) says that he had followed Sri Ramana's 'self inquiry'…
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