Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Legal filing against Gurinder Singh Dhillon is fascinating reading

Someone sent me a copy of the legal brief filed by Malvinder Singh against his cousin, Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas; the guru's wife and children; Malvinder's brother, Shivinder; and several cronies of the guru. It's fascinating reading that casts a dark light on the guru. Here's a 16 mb PDF file:Download Malav EOW Criminal Complaint This complaint has formed the basis for a number of stories in the Indian financial press (see here, here, and here). Now, obviously Gurinder Singh and the other people named in the complaint will have an opportunity to respond to…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Another story about Gurinder Singh Dhillon’s financial wrongdoing

It's another day, with another story in the Indian financial press about the Dhillon family's involvement in financial deals that are almost certainly illegal, and absolutely certainly unethical.  Read the Live Mint story, "Fortis fraud may exceed ₹2,000 crore, says SFIO." Excerpts below:Download Fortis fraud may exceed ₹2 000 crore says SFIO New Delhi/Mumbai: The alleged funds diversion at Fortis Healthcare Ltd could add up to more than ₹2,000 crore, according to the trail of funds uncovered by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), a government official said. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), too, suspects that the…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Fake news about Sheena; real news about Gurinder Singh’s unpaid debts

I've got some fake news about Sheena to correct, and some real news about Gurinder Singh Dhillon's unpaid debts to share. First, yesterday a commenter on one of my posts, Neha, said that Sheena is back at the Dera -- which is the Indian headquarters of Radha Soami Satsang Beas, a spiritual organization headed up by Gurinder Singh Dhillon, who faces increasing legal troubles about death threats he's reportedly made and massive unpaid debts (described below).  Someone who knows Sheena emailed me today, saying: "Have been asked to tell you that Sheena is not back at Dera nor has she…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the RSSB guru, accused of making death threats

Well, that didn't take long. A mere day after I wrote a blog post ("Gurinder Singh Dhillon back in financial scandal spotlight") where I wondered how long it would take for the Radha Soami Satsang Beas guru to be directly implicated in wrongdoing, the Indian press is reporting that Gurinder Singh has been accused of making death threats against his cousin, Malvinder Singh. And as if that wasn't enough to trash the guru's spiritual reputation, Gurinder Singh also is accused of accepting a huge amount of money in exchange for guaranteeing that another cousin, Shivinder Singh, would succeed him as…
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Posted inRadha Soami Satsang Beas

Gurinder Singh Dhillon back in financial scandal spotlight

It's been a while since the financial misdeeds swirling around Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas, have appeared in the news.  Now, though, The Hindu has a story, "Whistle-blower makes fresh charges in Fortis matter." It opens up new avenues for investigations into how Dhillon, his sons, and one of his closest aides may have benefitted from some loans that previously were thought to have been directed elsewhere.Download Whistle-blower makes fresh charges in Fortis matter - The Hindu Here's the story. I've boldfaced parts for emphasis.  The Fortis Hospitals matter, in which the Securities and Exchange…
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Posted inAtheism

On living an atheist life: nothing special, not feeling alone

As I've done in previous posts, here's an email interchange I had recently with someone who visits this blog regularly and likes to share ideas with me.  I WROTE: Yes, giving up the feeling of being special is indeed a relief. As you’re probably aware, I’ve written about this from the perspective of index investing. Trying to beat the markets both takes a lot of work and has been proven to usually be a waste of time, since investors typically buy high and sell low, rather than the reverse. Likewise, so is believing that you can beat the God market.…
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Posted inHumor Religions

George Carlin jokes about absurdity of religion

In an email message, a regular Church of the  Churchless visitor recommended that I check out a George Carlin video about Christianity.  When I searched You Tube, a pleasing variety of videos popped up where Carlin bashes religion. So I picked the one that's gotten the most views, 11 million.  Enjoy. Carlin hits on a lot of great points, including the crappy job that God is doing with the world, the ridiculousness of combining the threat of hellfire with God's love for us, why praying makes no sense, and the insatiable demand of religions for money, money, money.
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Posted inBooks Buddhism Spiritual practice/meditation

Here’s a positive sign of my (mini) enlightenment

I was really proud of myself tonight. So proud, I'm thinking that what I did could be a tangible sign of my enlightenment, mini, or even micro, variety. After finding a parking spot a couple of blocks from my 6 pm Tai Chi class in downtown Salem, I walked away from my VW GTI without going back and checking if I'd locked the car via a button on the door handle. Now, this may not seem like something that distinguishes an enlightened being. It pales in comparison to what supposedly happened with the Buddha under the Bodhi Tree.  But given…
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Posted inReligions Science

Science is never certain. Religion should do the same.

For a little light reading today (I'm being ironic) I picked up my copy of physicist David Deutsch's "The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes -- and Its Implications." Thumbing though a chapter I'd already read, The Nature of Mathematics, I came to this passage. It made me wish that religions, mystical paths, and other varieties of supernaturalism were as wise as science. Mathematicians are rather proud of this absolute certainty [that mathematical proofs are true], and scientists tend to be a little envious of it.  For in science there is no way of being certain of any…
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Posted inAtheism

Atheists like me are by far the most disliked religious minority

Minorities tend to be misunderstood by majorities. Whites don't really know what it is like to be African American. Heterosexuals don't really know what it is like to be homosexual, or more broadly, LGBTQ. And religious believers don't know what it is like to be atheist. (Note: I was a religious believer for 35 years, Eastern mysticism variety, so I'm very familiar with both religious belief and atheism -- having deconverted from my previous belief about 14 years ago.) So as an atheist, I haven't been surprised by the response of many to my also-atheist wife, Laurel, using the public…
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Posted inBuddhism Spiritual practice/meditation

Meditation isn’t mystical. It’s about awareness of actual reality.

For about 35 years I had some deluded notions about meditation. Back then I embraced a teaching that said meditation was about concentrating at the eye center (third eye, basically) so one's mind/soul could enter higher realms of mystical consciousness. Now I realize that this wasn't what genuine meditation really is all about. A book that I've gotten back to reading, "Altered Traits:  Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body" has helped me understand this.  I bought this book in September 2017, wrote a rather critical blog post about it in April 2018 ("Awareness is a process,…
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Posted inChristianity/Jesus Politics

Praying shouldn’t be part of government meetings

My wife, Laurel, is an avid atheist -- even more so in some respects than I am. She started a MeetUp group here in Salem, Oregon: Freethinking Atheists of Salem. Here's the description of the group. Are you too logical/rational to believe in religions, conspiracy theories, and beliefs not supported by modern science, yet miss the fellowship church-goers enjoy? Let's meet up monthly for coffee to converse with like-minded people who also share minority status as "nonbelievers" in a predominantly religious believing world. Let's share what we learn about science, the challenges of being atheists, and support each other in…
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Posted inReligions

Give up feeling special. You’re not. Religions are lying.

People feel special for all sorts of reasons. For example... Ego. "I'm especially good-looking/intelligent/talented/etc. etc."Love of country. "I'm a citizen of the greatest nation in the world."Luck. "I won the lottery and now I'm set for life."Upbringing. "My parents always told me I was special." But religions are one of the biggest purveyors of specialness. Which makes them especially dangerous. Why? Because feeling special sets us apart from all of those other non-special people who are so obviously inferior. Of course, the weird thing is that most religions teach that their devotees have a special relationship with God or a…
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Posted inGod

Breaking news about God! (don’t get excited, there isn’t any)

If you listen to CNN for more than a few minutes, especially if Wolf Blitzer is the anchor, you're guaranteed to hear "Breaking news!"  Of course, usually it isn't genuine breaking news that hasn't been reported before, but rather fairly fresh news that I'd heard before, though not a whole lot. When was the last time, though, that you recall hearing breaking news about God?  I'll provide the answer: never. Not once in my lifetime, all 70 years of it, has there been a credible story about some new divine revelation from the Big Guy/Gal upstairs in heaven.  For some…
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Posted inBooks

Wabi Sabi shows us how to live a perfectly imperfect life

Chasing after perfection is a perfect way to drive yourself crazy. Or at least, to become deeply disappointed -- since perfection doesnt exist. Not in people, for sure. And likely nowhere else, either.  Yet religions hold up perfection as an attainable ideal. For example, they speak of having perfect faith, as if this was possible. And I'm well aware of Eastern religions that consider a perfect living guru is the next best thing to a perfect god. So when I heard about a book that describes the wisdom of embracing imperfection, I immediately ordered it. I'm just a short ways…
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Posted inFundamentalism Politics

Salem Women’s March 2019 had some crazy religious counter-protestors

Last Saturday there was another Women's March here in Salem, Oregon. As I did with the 2017 and 2018 marches, I took a bunch of photos, then shared them in an Adobe Spark web page that you can peruse by clicking on the image below.  There were some Christian fundamentalist counter-protestors at the event on the Capitol Mall. I'll share a photo of their signs, along with my commentary on one of the signs below the Adobe Spark link. Or you can view the photo and my comment on it by clicking on the Women's March Salem 2019 link. Caution:…
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Posted inFundamentalism India

More religious craziness, Hindu temple variety

Every religion has its own brand of craziness. None is exempt. Why? Because the very notion of supernaturalism is crazy, since there is zero, repeat zero, demonstrable evidence that gods, angels, souls, heaven, hell, or any other supernatural entity exists. When I was younger I used to believe that Hinduism was a bit more appealing than, say, Christianity, because it wasn't as dogmatic a religion. However, as I began reading about Hindu nationalism in India, I came to realize that many fundamentalist Hindus are just as crazy as their counterparts in other religions. Case in point: a New York Times…
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Posted inBooks Mystics

Mystical experiences aren’t objective reality. They’re experiences.

Following up on my previous post about John Dewey's marvelous little book, "A Common Faith," here's some of what Dewey has to say about mystical experiences. I've boldfaced some passages that particularly appeal to me. Dewey's main point, which I totally agree with, is that by themselves, mystical experiences prove nothing about God or the supernatural. The possible causes of those experiences must be carefully studied before any conclusions can be drawn about them, especially given the wide variety of mystical experiences, many or most of which have no commonality. Dewey writes: It is more to the point, however, to…
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Posted inReality Spiritual practice/meditation

Religions forget that we humans are animals

Calling someone animalistic isn't an insult. It is a fact. We humans are animals. Just unusual ones, since members of no other animal species can write articles (or blog posts) about the fact that they're animals. Thus our bodies do what other animal bodies do.  Pee. Poop. Breathe. Have sex. Play. Feel. Sleep. Eat. Drink. And so on.  Sure, we also think about all kinds of stuff. The structures we build are more impressive than a termite hill. Our social relationships are more complex than a wolf pack.  Yet the fact remains, we are animals. One reason I've come to…
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Posted inUncategorized

Psilocybin points to the “snow globe” theory of shaken-up consciousness

When is it good to be shaken up? Not physically. Psychologically.  It seems that being all shook up typically is viewed as something to be avoided, since it means "greatly disturbed or upset." As in, watching that scary movie left me all shook up (shaken is the proper word, with shook being slang). But I've been reading Michael Pollan's new book about psychedelics, "How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Dying, Consciousness, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence." In it he speaks of how sometimes our overly rigid psyche needs to be shaken up like…
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