Posted inFundamentalism Religions

Religious fantasies are different from ordinary ones

Fantasies are fun. They're a big part of being human. Fictional books, movies, dreams, music, paintings -- all these and so much more is founded on imagining an alternative reality to that which surrounds us now.  Other animals may also fantasize (our dog seems to have "cat/squirrel chase dreams" where she makes excited noises and moves her paws), but we humans are the top fantasizers on our planet. Problems arise, though, when fantasies are mistaken for reality. Or, taken too seriously. Recently my wife and I were transfixed by the Netflix film, "Homecoming," which shows Beyonce's astounding performances at Coachella…
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Posted inOpen Threads

Open Thread 21 (free speech for comments)

Leave a comment on this post about anything you want to talk about. Remember that I'm moderating comments, so it could take a while for your comment to be published. Almost every comment submitted to an Open Thread will be approved. Personal attacks devoid of substantive content are an exception. Though I haven't been doing too well on this, I'll try to remember to always have an Open Thread showing in the Recent Posts section in the right sidebar. If one isn't showing, I've added an Open Threads category in, naturally, the Categories section. You can always find an Open…
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Posted inBuddhism Spiritual practice/meditation

Reading this blog post, know that you are reading this blog post

If you're not into mindfulness meditation, the title of this blog post may seem like nonsense to you. But like I wrote last year, "Mindfulness has become my meditation." A frequently-heard saying in the guided meditations I listen to via iPhone apps is Breathing in, know that you are breathing in. In other words, bring mind and body into a state of harmonious relatedness. Of course, you don't have to always be aware of your breathing. But if your goal in a particular meditation session is to be aware of your breathing, then obviously you need to know that you are…
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Posted inBooks Personal/Stories

Praise Me! I’m writing a Church of the Churchless book

Well, the title of this post is accurate, but it needs some explaining. Actually, I've already written almost all of the Church of the Churchless book, since after I started this blog in November 2004 I've written 2,601 posts. Assuming each has around 500 words (likely more, so this is a conservative estimate), that's 1,300,500 words. Wow.  For quite a while I've been thinking I should fashion those posts into a book. Recently that thought became action. I've already gotten 58,000 words worth of blog posts selected and mildly edited. Mostly I've just been removing links and a bit of…
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Posted inChristianity/Jesus

An ex-Christian talks about the uselessness of prayer

Here's another churchless guest "sermon" from someone who regularly emails me descriptions of his now religious-less life, after belonging to a fairly fundamentalist Christian denomination. Enjoy. He's a good writer with an appealingly honest style. Hey Brian, how are you?  I’m ok.  I’m just getting over a short bout of the flu.  I almost said, thank God it was a short bout. I am thankful for that fact, but it’s funny how the God stuff still hangs around.  We’ve talked about this before, but it’s interesting to me what still slips into my mind from my religious past.  Sometimes it’s…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

More details surface about financial fraud involving RSSB guru

I readily admit that it's difficult to keep track of the complex web of  financial wrongdoing that ended up with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of rupees being funneled into the pockets of Gurinder Singh Dhillon (guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas), his family, and close associates. But those interested in this Bollywood'ish saga  -- filled with tales of greed, a gurudom up for sale, death threats, family bickering, and much more besides -- will want to read a Bloomberg Quint story someone emailed me today.Download Bloomberg Quint Story The story provides more details  about the complaint filed by…
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Posted inMorality

Golden Rule is a poor guide to morality

Here at the Church of the Churchless we aren't big on rules -- especially the religious variety. Morality is an individual decision. If doing something works for you, and it doesn't harm other people, go for it.  Oh, but what about the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Or words to that effect. Isn't this a non-religious rule that makes sense?  Sometimes. But not always. Maybe not even usually.  Frans de Waal explains why in his fascinating book, "The Bonobo and the Atheist," which I wrote about recently in A bonobo talks to…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Devotion to RSSB guru is less important than seeking truth of his wrongdoing

So if a religious leader you're devoted to is acting illegally, or at least unethically, should you pretend that behavior doesn't exist?  No, of course not.  Seeking truth is much more important than religious loyalty. Bad things happen when True Believers turn a blind eye to wrongdoing by supposedly "spiritual" leaders.  Child abuse by Catholic priests is a notable example. So is Jonestown, where devotees died by drinking poisoned kool-aid, their devotion to a crazed leader was so extreme. And there's plenty of examples of gurus acting badly in India, yet sometimes their followers riot after they've been convicted of…
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Posted inBooks Morality

A bonobo talks to an atheist about morality and religion

OK, the title of this post isn't literally correct. Bonobos can't talk, at least not in a human language. But Frans de Waal is an expert on bonobos and other primates, who are our closest evolutionary relatives. At the end of his book, "The Bonobo and the Atheist: In Search of Humanism among the Primates, " de Waal imagines what a bonobo would tell an atheist.  This amounts to a good summary of the entire book, which I finished reading recently. Frans de Waal doesn't believe in God. He does, however, recognize that while religions are a human invention, they…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Fortis seeking money that ended up with the Dhillon family

It's been a while since the Indian financial press has reported on the financial fraud saga involving the Singh brothers, Malvinder and Shivinder, along with their cousin, Gurinder Singh Dhillon -- the guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas, whose family reportedly ended up with  close to a billion dollars worth of ill-gotten rupees. But recently someone emailed me a link to a LiveMint story,  "Fortis plans moving court to recover ₹403 cr from Singh brothers and promoters."Download Fortis plans moving court to recover ₹403 cr from Singh brothers and promoters Here's how the story starts out: Fortis healthcare Ltd is likely…
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Posted inConsciousness Reality Science

Science is our best guide to a possible supernatural reality

Here's another comment from David C. Lane on a recent post of mine that makes so much sense, I'm sharing it even before I've even lunch. Sometimes my hunger for transmitting truth is greater than my stomach's yearning for food.  Didn't someone  once say, man does not live by bread alone? (or Trader Joe's meatless chick'n tenders). Lane talks about his Remainder Conjecture in which supernatural claims should only be accepted after a rigorous examination of them through the lens of science. This fits with David Hume's observation, which I wrote about yesterday, that we have a tremendous amount of…
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Posted inMiracles Mystics

Placebo effect seems to explain most “miracles”

We humans love to believe in strange stuff. We're the only animal, most likely, with the ability to conjure up stories about what doesn't physically exist.  Sure, my dog does seem to dream, moving her paws and making noises while asleep, but I strongly suspect her mind is fantasizing about chasing a squirrel or cat, not about God, heaven, angels, or some other supernatural entity. Because religious stories are so deeply embedded in human culture, it's difficult for believers to find a detached vantage point to assess claims of miracles, extrasensory perception, mystical visions, and such in an objective manner.…
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Posted inMystics Radha Soami Satsang Beas

Faqir Chand believed in removing people from church

Faqir Chand is my kind of guru. Though he started off with traditional ideas of what being a guru was all about, Chand came to realize that the mystical powers devotees attribute to gurus are merely manifestations of their own mind. And as you can read below, Faqir Chand favored removing people from church, rather than bringing people into a church. Exactly how I feel! Churchlessness is the way to go. This is my third post about Chand's philosophy, the previous posts being here and here.  I've been focusing on Faqir Chand recently because I know that quite a few…
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Posted inMystics Radha Soami Satsang Beas

More straight talk from Faqir Chand about inner visions

Here's a follow-up to yesterday's post, "Faqir Chand was a guru who exposed how gurus deceive devotees." That post stimulated some comments in which questions about Chand were raised. Pleasingly, David Lane responded with some highly informative comments. Lane is responsible for a book about Chand's life and philosophy, after asking the guru if he would write his story before he left this world.  So Lane is deeply knowledgeable about all things Chand'ian. Lane's comments are shared below. Naturally they will be of most interest to those interested in the Indian spiritual paths of Sant Mat and surat shabd yoga.…
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Posted inMystics Radha Soami Satsang Beas

Faqir Chand was a guru who exposed how gurus deceive devotees

I used to follow a guru. Now I don't. So I don't need any persuading that gurus are completely unnecessary to live a spiritual life or to meditate in a satisfying fashion. But if you're someone who still clings to the idea that gurus possess special wisdom or powers, the message of Faqir Chand could help you wean yourself from those erroneous assumptions. Until I ordered a book about Chand from Amazon about a week ago, what I knew about him came from a few essays and videos by David Christopher Lane, who brought this book into being: "The Unknowing…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Gurinder Singh Dhillon should respond to allegations of his criminality

In a recent post, "RSSB guru responds to allegations of criminality (weirdly)," I shared a report of what Gurinder Singh Dhillon said to a questioner who asked the guru what to say to someone who has questions about allegations of Dhillon's financial fraud. Tell him my baba was getting bored he needed some excitement and he came with a bang.  OK, that's a response. But not a very good one. About eight months ago Dhillon said he would respond to allegations "at an opportune time." A  time, obviously, that hasn't arrived yet. Here's two comments on this subject that were…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

RSSB guru responds to allegations of criminality (weirdly)

Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas, has been decidedly silent about allegations of criminality (financial fraud, death threats) made against him by his cousin, Malvinder Mohan Singh. But someone emailed me this exchange that reportedly occurred on April 10, 2019 during a surprise visit by the guru to a meeting of the Singapore RSSB group. I won't even attempt to comment on it, since the guru's responses are so weird. Q: Babaji:  what do you have to say about the financial scandal? A: RSSB has nothing to do with it. In case you want to read we…
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Posted inAtheism Reality Religions

Changing your mind is a superpower. Use it.

I have a superpower. But unlike those with superpowers who inhabit the pages of comic books and the screens of movie theaters, my astounding ability is available to everyone. It's called changing your mind.  I'm sure you've used it  -- many times. After all, we change our minds about countless things during the course of our lives. For example, I've changed my mind about my... Politics (Used to be conservative, now I'm a liberal). Cars (I've gone from a 57' VW bug to a 2017 VW GTI, with many other makes in between). Marriage (Got divorced, then remarried).Profession (Earned a master's…
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Posted inOpen Threads

Open Thread 20 (free speech for comments)

Leave a comment on this post about anything you want to talk about. Remember that I'm moderating comments, so it could take a while for your comment to be published. Almost every comment submitted to an Open Thread will be approved. Personal attacks devoid of substantive content are an exception. Though I haven't been doing too well on this, I'll try to remember to always have an Open Thread showing in the Recent Posts section in the right sidebar. If one isn't showing, I've added an Open Threads category in, naturally, the Categories section. You can always find an Open…
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Posted inMiscellaneous

Mumbai dance team, The Kings, rocked it on World of Dance

OK, got to update my previous post about other-worldly dance performances.  My wife and I just finished watching the second hour of Sunday's World of Dance show that we'd recorded. Wow! The Kings, a group from India (Mumbai), won the senior team division and made it into the World of Dance finals next week with an amazingly powerful performance. It was inspiring that one member of The Kings was injured in practice, yet resolved to compete in the performance. I believe he was the one who ended up in a wheelchair after the Kings performed. They said the theme was…
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