More Contradictions (Education) at Sahaj Marg

More Contractiction at Sahaj Marg as in most Religions

Here are some exerps from a Speech by Chari:

Inaugural Address at CREST (Centre for Research, Education, Sadhana & Training), 9th August 2006, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
http://www.srcm.org.in/literature/recent.speeches/060809_Bangalore.jsp

Nota Bene: Comments by Author, 4d-Don, are highlighted, bolded, in (Brackets) and in "RED")...


Chari's speech:

The Place of Education in Spirituality

"But as a Mission, we have come into a sort of invertendo in our evolutionary process too, as I observe. Babuji started with this spiritual evolution of mankind. He concentrated solely only on spiritual practice. The few books that were available when I joined this Mission—Reality at Dawn, Commentary on the Ten Commandments of Sahaj Marg, Towards Infinity, Philosophy of Sahaj Marg—were all from his heart. And they were, in a sense, the summum bonum of spiritual values, summum bonum of spiritual teaching, and all that was necessary to practice to try to become like Him.

Then came the need for a physical expression of this, and so the Mission started putting up ashrams one by one, one by one. In his lifetime, there were but few. Today there are many—many outside in the world, many in India too. (Outside in the world?? And India is not "in" the World??..Is this Freudian or arrogant?) So from the spiritual, we came down to the physical. Now in swinging back and forth, we have come down to the mid-point and we are going to try to offer education so that the mind knows what this is all about, the intelligence doesn’t have to speculate. It absorbs what is given to it and makes use of it. In the Indian tradition, education which cannot be used in one’s lifetime is a waste of time. In India there is no unnecessary learning. (And now the contradiction...Now there is something "essential to the spirituality" of the abhyasi, "Education" or "knowledge"!! What about "Logic"? And "common sense"? And Philosophy? (Chari says in another speech that there is "no philosophy in Sahaj Marg"). And what about "no more megalomaniacal myths such as "channeled messages from the "deceased" such as in Whispers from the Brighter World?) In India there is no unnecessary learning. We are taught to learn what is essential for our spiritual progress. Babuji Maharaj said that Lalaji gave him enough, and what was that enough? We don’t know, because probably it was a few words: do and learn and become.

So the process of learning has a place between the doing and becoming. That, we are trying to expand beyond the sutra [aphorism] form, as given by Lalaji Maharaj, because some background of world religions, world cultures, world nuances of how people live, the ability to appreciate without criticism [is necessary]. That as people are many, so are the ways of life, so are the modes of education, so are cultural mores, so are even truths.

So you see, we are now swinging into one point of the pendulum where we are trying to tackle this educational phase of our spiritual life, because there are parts of this world where the spiritual system without any educational base, or knowledge base, is not considered a total system. It is linked with New Age in California and voodoo in Africa and humbug in India! So we have to set all these misconceptions straight, and our people in India have to lose this pride that the Hindu teaching is the best teaching, the Vedas are the ultimate teachings, and that the Indian God is God of all. There is no Indian God, there is no Christian God, there is no Muslim God; God is One, though He (this word indicates an "attribute" called "gender", making Chari's God, not ONE, as the female attribute is "missing" and must be in another part of the ONE or in another Universe...or the "logic" is faulty. The correct word is either SHE/HE/IT or the neutral IT) is known by many different name.

Look at what Sahaj Marg (tm) is teaching the kids at their "Lalaji Memorial OMEGA School:
http://www.spiritualityfoundation.org/youth/story92.html

"God is Male, Nature is Female"

The "gender attributes" of the ONE (and of NATURE) in Sahaj Marg (tm) is not a "oversight" but a flaw in "logic". Nature has Masculine, Feminine and Neutral (and "all of the above- in combination") "attributes". The ONE also accepts "homosexuality" as "natural", unlike Chari.

And we continue with the speech:

Essentially, Sahaj Marg teaches of a God who has no name, no form, no attributes. I was interested to learn from a recent book that what I said about fifteen years ago in a talk at Hyderabad—that God is not a person but a principle—has been voiced by Western philosophers, deep thinkers into what these things are and mean, because God cannot really be a person if you think over it. If he is a person, he can be destroyed. If he is powerful, then there can be something more powerful. If he is educated, there can be someone more educated. If he is big, there can be someone bigger. If he is small, there can be someone smaller. So the Hindu tradition, the Vedic tradition describes him as anoraniyaan mahatomahiyaan—smaller than the smallest, bigger than the biggest. Now, we are at liberty to conjure up whatever figure or image of the divine existence that we wish to choose, but they will all be fruitless. Because Vedic tradition also speaks of Shiva trying to find out this Ultimate, assuming the form of a swan and going from beginning to end, and finally finding that there is no beginning, there is no end. Therefore the Divine is called anaadi anantam—beginning-less, endless,But as a Mission, we have come into a sort of invertendo in our evolutionary process too, as I observe. Babuji started with this spiritual evolution of mankind. He concentrated solely only on spiritual practice. The few books that were available when I joined this Mission—Reality at Dawn, Commentary on the Ten Commandments of Sahaj Marg, Towards Infinity, Philosophy of Sahaj Marg—were all from his heart. And they were, in a sense, the summum bonum of spiritual values, summum bonum of spiritual teaching, and all that was necessary to practice to try to become like Him.

Chari speaks (by intimation) as if he had by "divine inspiration" invented something new about the ONE (God) "not being a person", and that now, "deep thinkers" and philosophers and theologians finally (fifteen years later) knew the "truth", and that they were now imitating or copying him and his enlightened logic and revelation. It is really not so. He is the one who is "contradicting what he told the kids on his site that "God is Male" (so has "attributes", gender). Chari is not an intellectual or a philosopher but is an engineer, a "capitalist and an ex-mill manager with TTK a large "conglomerate" in India. That is his "illumination".

And we continue (with the speech) ...

Then came the need for a physical expression of this, and so the Mission started putting up ashrams one by one, one by one. In his lifetime, there were but few. (less physical, more spiritual) Today there are many—many outside in the world (outside in the world?? Lord almight!! India is "inside" the world!! Is this "freudian"??) -many in India too. So from the spiritual, we came down to the physical. (Not the SPIRITUAL) Now in swinging back and forth, we have come down to the mid-point and we are going to try to offer education so that the mind knows what this is all about, the intelligence doesn’t have to speculate. (or use myths and chanelling but Sahaj Marg will use "LOGIC"?) It absorbs what is given to it and makes use of it. In the Indian tradition, education which cannot be used in one’s lifetime is a waste of time. In India there is no unnecessary learning. We are taught to learn what is essential for our spiritual progress. Babuji Maharaj said that Lalaji gave him enough, and what was that enough? We don’t know, because probably it was a few words: do and learn and become.

So the process of learning has a place between the doing and becoming. That, we are trying to expand beyond the sutra [aphorism] form, as given by Lalaji Maharaj, because some background of world religions, world cultures, world nuances of how people live, the ability to appreciate without criticism [is necessary]. That as people are many, so are the ways of life, so are the modes of education, so are cultural mores, so are even truths. (Sahaj Marg will teach respect for other culture's truths? religions and mores? Doesn't one have to know something and practice it before "teaching it". How about not organizing all day meditations on traditional Western Family Times such as Christmas day? And seminars at Easter break, another traditional Western family time? or don't say that Christians are "welcome" and that they can continue "worshiping" in their own way and be an "abhyasi" and then "denigrate" their form of "worship". Arranged marriages are not part of "western" culture, so SRCM (tm) and its Master should respect that. And Indian men are not "better" that "occidental" men and Occidental women do not "prefer" Oriental men as Chari says. Some men and women are apparently easily manipulated by various systems of "eastern" meditation but such racist statements will bring about "retaliation", not harmony as per the United Nations philosophy that SRCM (tm) claims to "adhere to" and promote. And have any of you read what Chari says of other religions? In VBSE, what you are teaching the children about "all religions" promoting war and violence? (see the VBSE lesson 10)

These are my Comments and Opinions:

So one can see that Sahaj Marg (tm) is not spirituality any more but is "education" to achieve "knowledge" or "indoctrination" of the next generation (the young) to Chari's own version of cultural and fundamentalist "hinduism". Sahaj Marg (tm) has become an exact copy of other religions of the "outside" world and is no more a "universal" spiritual philosophy, but is just another sectarian movement of an arrogant, misguided, culturally "superior" group of Brahmin businessmen chosen by the Master (a flesh and blood embodiement of "God", according to Chari), travelling the world to promote their own cultural/business agenda. The Mission is now more "spiritualism" with mediums and channeled messages from "elevated" souls such as Whispers from the Brighter World (heaven??), than Spirituality (a direct relationship with the ONE or the DIVINE). The relationship in Sahaj Marg (tm) is with the Mission, the Master and the Method which must all be "obeyed" and which demand "loyalty".

The Sufism of Lalaji and the spiritual "Sahaj Marg" of Babuji are completely gone and Chari himself is the one saying so. Now, education (indoctrination), is "essential" to Sahaj Marg spirituality and is their "modus operandi" and the focus of their time and resources. (except for the odd castle in Europe and ranch in Texas as "retreats" for those (no doubt free (as the seminars) to the wealthy insiders and "entourage") who are "weary of money- making" and dealing with the "power structure").