This is a great post from Chidambar Stef on the facebook group Nonduality Salon:
New guru same old same old scandal.
I have known a certain now famous and wealthy guru for many years since he first started arriving in Tiruvannamalai with the Lucknow crowd after Papaji’s passing in the mid 90’s.
At first I liked him a lot as he was funny, warm and relational and was not so interested in manifesting the “great man at the centre of the circle ” role that he later perfected. I met him and chatted with him in some of the shanty cafés around Tiruvannamalai and later noticed that he was beginning to develop an aura of “one who knows” and was often surrounded and clearly enjoyed the (then) small group of mostly female seekers and few sensitive men that surrounded him.
While I had zero interest in hanging with gurus, having been in a highly guru-centric cult for several years, I went to a few Satsangs over the years. Whilst I enjoyed the group meditation and earnestness of the attendees, I noticed how he was developing his style and subtly shifting his presentation of “we are all here together in this” to “I am here enlightened and you are too but you don’t know it” to “Just hang with me and you’ll be fine”. It was a short hop to tears of devotees, foot-washing and the sale of the “sacred soil” He had walked on.
Many of these professional teacher/gurus operate in a similar style to the professional“psychic mediums” who perform in theatres. In front of a large crowds; these apparent psychics say, “I am getting a ‘J’ is there someone in the audience who had someone recently passing with a J? ” Of course, there is always someone in a large audience who had an uncle John or aunty Joan recently passed. From then on in the audiences content is reflected back to them.
This guru points to the present aliveness that is clearly here and now in everyone who is reading these symbols in this moment. Concerns of the audience are undermined in classic Advaita Vedanta style by pointing the questioner to their own awareness.
This type of Satsang depends on what the audience bring and of course they are mostly full of projection about what the “wise one” will say. What is clear to me is that this wise one was often winging it and while there clearly was some insight and understanding, one could find the same among many who had been engaged in spiritual practice for more than a few years.
The professional “guru” needs the disciple to give him the submissive attention to empower his role as “wisdom holder”.
There is self abasement and self disempowerment of and by the seeker, who is used to this submission via parental and societal programming. There is a group energetic field that arises when any group focus on one person or persons, be it at a football match, political rally, music concert or Scientology meeting. That buzz indeed may lead to a limited type of self-transcendence and one feels part of a greater whole.
Pop stars, sporting events, politicians, including National Socialism, the Nazis, and Trump appeal and work the same territory. “Forget your everyday and look at me!”
The understanding of group dynamics is essential for the modern professional guru. An inner core of totally devoted followers must be created and maintained through both cajoling the “ego” or “mind” of those that have any doubts, and praising the self abasement and imagined progression of the seeker as s/he surrenders more and more of her/his previous points of view. A new “healthier” and more “spiritual” group point of view is encouraged and one suddenly finds oneself embraced, welcomed and “loved” by the community. One has suddenly “found the one, the way and the truth”. The honeymoon begins...
Surrender of one’s moral framework happens step by step until a little way down the line one becomes both addicted to the buzz of being with the “perfect one” and the fuzzy feeling of merging with the group mind, such that one lives in a state of suspended investment of one’s previous mental/emotional condition and constantly turns to the guru or the group for guidance and re-assurance. Anything that seems suspect is interpreted as “resistance”, “ego” or “mind”.
I watched this particular teacher rise and assume the mantle of “The Guru” with all the business, videos, books, retreats and the necessary self promotion that goes with that role. As the crowd grew so did the usual insider/outsider game. I watched as he appointed others, who had “got it” to teach his method and watched them become “holy”, start off their own franchises and be able to pronounce that others were “getting it” or “not quite yet”.
I was curious because there was indeed a buzz in attending these larger groups and they reminded some of the Satsangs around Papaji where a taste of present moment freedom would spark off in one and then spread to many.
So if people were experiencing freedom in his company what was the problem? I felt in my core that this was off but didn’t know exactly how? I asked within to be shown the answer to this question.
A few days later it was this teacher’s birthday and after Satsang he walked among the crowd giving sweets to the adoring crowd. When he came to me, I remained simply present without any projection positive or negative. As he handed me a sweet, he looked at me and flinched in recoil; I was not one of those looking at him with any kind of wide-eyed adoration or attitude.
Outside the Satsang hall his crew was selling tickets to his birthday party later that evening. On the same evening I was invited to a birthday party of the six year old son of an Indian friend and there was no way that I wanted to buy an expensive ticket to a “birthday party” of this guru, but an inner urging prompted me to buy a ticket.
I attended the delightful and simple birthday party for the young boy down by the lake in a simple hut with a few Indian friends. On my way back to the room I was staying in I passed by the venue where the guru was holding his birthday bash and entered to find a section of the compound cordoned off.
I came up to a small gate where I presented my ticket to two beaming female devotees who wanted to stamp my wrist with the dayglo inks that are routine procedure at big rave music events. I told the “gopis” that I would only attend for 15 minutes maximum so would not let them ink my arm.
As I passed through the barrier I noticed a number of stalls selling expensive vegetarian food, the guru’s books, CD’s, photos, beads and paraphernalia.
My attention was drawn by the blast of music slightly further away and I turned to see the guru at the very centre of fifty or so people. He was dancing with his hands upraised while the group around him in a tight circle pressing to get close to him as they chanted his name over and over.
It was then that my question as to why this whole guru scene was off became answered. While he was providing something to this gathering and sharing the message Papaji had shown him, it was all about him and his need to be at the centre. While there was an undoubtedly charismatic nature to this man, it reminded me of the glow that had surrounded a man I had run into in a small street in London many years ago- his name was Paul McCartney.
I was also instantly reminded of U.G. Krishnamurti’s comment about the gurus who pick your pocket and sell you back your own wallet.
When we make a man an infallible god, egoic inflation and claims of abuse are almost bound to follow.
Caveat Emptor.
New guru same old same old scandal.
I have known a certain now famous and wealthy guru for many years since he first started arriving in Tiruvannamalai with the Lucknow crowd after Papaji’s passing in the mid 90’s.
At first I liked him a lot as he was funny, warm and relational and was not so interested in manifesting the “great man at the centre of the circle ” role that he later perfected. I met him and chatted with him in some of the shanty cafés around Tiruvannamalai and later noticed that he was beginning to develop an aura of “one who knows” and was often surrounded and clearly enjoyed the (then) small group of mostly female seekers and few sensitive men that surrounded him.
While I had zero interest in hanging with gurus, having been in a highly guru-centric cult for several years, I went to a few Satsangs over the years. Whilst I enjoyed the group meditation and earnestness of the attendees, I noticed how he was developing his style and subtly shifting his presentation of “we are all here together in this” to “I am here enlightened and you are too but you don’t know it” to “Just hang with me and you’ll be fine”. It was a short hop to tears of devotees, foot-washing and the sale of the “sacred soil” He had walked on.
Many of these professional teacher/gurus operate in a similar style to the professional“psychic mediums” who perform in theatres. In front of a large crowds; these apparent psychics say, “I am getting a ‘J’ is there someone in the audience who had someone recently passing with a J? ” Of course, there is always someone in a large audience who had an uncle John or aunty Joan recently passed. From then on in the audiences content is reflected back to them.
This guru points to the present aliveness that is clearly here and now in everyone who is reading these symbols in this moment. Concerns of the audience are undermined in classic Advaita Vedanta style by pointing the questioner to their own awareness.
This type of Satsang depends on what the audience bring and of course they are mostly full of projection about what the “wise one” will say. What is clear to me is that this wise one was often winging it and while there clearly was some insight and understanding, one could find the same among many who had been engaged in spiritual practice for more than a few years.
The professional “guru” needs the disciple to give him the submissive attention to empower his role as “wisdom holder”.
There is self abasement and self disempowerment of and by the seeker, who is used to this submission via parental and societal programming. There is a group energetic field that arises when any group focus on one person or persons, be it at a football match, political rally, music concert or Scientology meeting. That buzz indeed may lead to a limited type of self-transcendence and one feels part of a greater whole.
Pop stars, sporting events, politicians, including National Socialism, the Nazis, and Trump appeal and work the same territory. “Forget your everyday and look at me!”
The understanding of group dynamics is essential for the modern professional guru. An inner core of totally devoted followers must be created and maintained through both cajoling the “ego” or “mind” of those that have any doubts, and praising the self abasement and imagined progression of the seeker as s/he surrenders more and more of her/his previous points of view. A new “healthier” and more “spiritual” group point of view is encouraged and one suddenly finds oneself embraced, welcomed and “loved” by the community. One has suddenly “found the one, the way and the truth”. The honeymoon begins...
Surrender of one’s moral framework happens step by step until a little way down the line one becomes both addicted to the buzz of being with the “perfect one” and the fuzzy feeling of merging with the group mind, such that one lives in a state of suspended investment of one’s previous mental/emotional condition and constantly turns to the guru or the group for guidance and re-assurance. Anything that seems suspect is interpreted as “resistance”, “ego” or “mind”.
I watched this particular teacher rise and assume the mantle of “The Guru” with all the business, videos, books, retreats and the necessary self promotion that goes with that role. As the crowd grew so did the usual insider/outsider game. I watched as he appointed others, who had “got it” to teach his method and watched them become “holy”, start off their own franchises and be able to pronounce that others were “getting it” or “not quite yet”.
I was curious because there was indeed a buzz in attending these larger groups and they reminded some of the Satsangs around Papaji where a taste of present moment freedom would spark off in one and then spread to many.
So if people were experiencing freedom in his company what was the problem? I felt in my core that this was off but didn’t know exactly how? I asked within to be shown the answer to this question.
A few days later it was this teacher’s birthday and after Satsang he walked among the crowd giving sweets to the adoring crowd. When he came to me, I remained simply present without any projection positive or negative. As he handed me a sweet, he looked at me and flinched in recoil; I was not one of those looking at him with any kind of wide-eyed adoration or attitude.
Outside the Satsang hall his crew was selling tickets to his birthday party later that evening. On the same evening I was invited to a birthday party of the six year old son of an Indian friend and there was no way that I wanted to buy an expensive ticket to a “birthday party” of this guru, but an inner urging prompted me to buy a ticket.
I attended the delightful and simple birthday party for the young boy down by the lake in a simple hut with a few Indian friends. On my way back to the room I was staying in I passed by the venue where the guru was holding his birthday bash and entered to find a section of the compound cordoned off.
I came up to a small gate where I presented my ticket to two beaming female devotees who wanted to stamp my wrist with the dayglo inks that are routine procedure at big rave music events. I told the “gopis” that I would only attend for 15 minutes maximum so would not let them ink my arm.
As I passed through the barrier I noticed a number of stalls selling expensive vegetarian food, the guru’s books, CD’s, photos, beads and paraphernalia.
My attention was drawn by the blast of music slightly further away and I turned to see the guru at the very centre of fifty or so people. He was dancing with his hands upraised while the group around him in a tight circle pressing to get close to him as they chanted his name over and over.
It was then that my question as to why this whole guru scene was off became answered. While he was providing something to this gathering and sharing the message Papaji had shown him, it was all about him and his need to be at the centre. While there was an undoubtedly charismatic nature to this man, it reminded me of the glow that had surrounded a man I had run into in a small street in London many years ago- his name was Paul McCartney.
I was also instantly reminded of U.G. Krishnamurti’s comment about the gurus who pick your pocket and sell you back your own wallet.
When we make a man an infallible god, egoic inflation and claims of abuse are almost bound to follow.
Caveat Emptor.