Sahaj Marg(tm)'s Religion vs Spirituality

Taken and translated from an article by Élodie: "Religion vs Spiritualité" on her blog in Europe: Pour Que Vive Le Sahaj Marg.

November 25, 2012

Religion vs. Spirituality

The other day, I interrupted my personal reflection and discussion around the idea that, having failed to spread spirituality, Sahaj Marg has become a kind of religion.  Led by Chari and the myths spread by Whispers, we saw hatch a religion where God is embodied by a "special personality" called Babuji, residing in the Central Region in the midst of the spiritual Hierarchy of the great saints of history. This new religion has bestowed a project upon itself, a Grand intelligent design but mysterious and hidden, and which occurs after multiple disasters and the Apocalypse. Whispers promises abhyasis that  they are the elected (elite? chosen?), the vanguard of the so-called "World of Tomorrow".

For further reflection, I offer a patchwork of quotations from various interviews with Frédéric Lenoir, philosopher and sociologist, historian of religions, director of the French magazine "Le Monde des Religions". This man is not my guru, or even my spiritual guide, but I find it very exciting.

One can find a number of his interviews on the internet, listen to French radio France Culture, read his essays or his books. This time, I purposely selected quotations related to differences between spirituality and religion and definitions which he gives to these two terms:

(...)"Spirituality is personal, religion is collective.

(...) Religion is really a collective practice, it is rituals that organize society starting with common beliefs. Spirituality is individual. It is a path, it is a personal quest.

(...) It is the individual who seeks what is the meaning of life.

(...) Religion re-connects (re-ties?)  (religare in Latin), and spirituality loosens (unties, liberates) it releases (frees).   It releases (liberates?)  to better re-connect.  Religion re-connects because it creates a social bond.  To share the same religious beliefs creates links between individuals but religion also creates intolerance towards those who do not share the same beliefs. Spirituality is to work on oneself, "wisdom" is roughly the same for me, it is a work on one's self in which one learns to know one's self.

(...)  And suddenly, we will arrive by untying, that is to say, by being fully oneself, to be free and to  better love, to be re-linked to others in a more just manner,  because the purpose of spirituality is love. Freedom leads to love. "


In contrast, Chari said about obedience in Salient Features: # 4 (It must be a secret as a password is now needed) 

 "(...) the best disciple is one who is the most obedient.

(...) At Sahaj Marg, without obedience, nothing can be achieved, absolutely nothing.  

(...) It is my belief, confirmed by my personal experience with the Master for over 20 years, after much analysis and reflection. So you see, success is not due to education, or to the application or to the practice, it is only obedience that finally remains in my mind today, as the first and single factor in our spiritual development. "

Élodie

Sahaj Marg(tm) Let's Talk Money!

Taken and translated from an article by Alexis: "Et si on parlait d'argent", on his blog in Europe: "La Fabuleuse Épopée du Sahaj Marg"

Let's talk money ...

In 1976, so as to control NGO (Non-Government Organizations) funds coming from abroad, the Indian government put in place the "Foreign Contribution Regulation Act" (FCRA) to avoid the excessive "... influence of the foreign hand" on the policy and the public projects of India.  Each year, the Department of Indian Affairs publishes a list of the NGOs in the country. For those who exceed ten million rupees in revenue from abroad, it also publishes the names of donors and the amount of their "foreign contribution", as well as the total amount of expenditures made by the NGO ( see http://mha.nic.in/fcra.htm ).

To see List of Foreign Donors (with dates and amounts): 

*Click on FCRA link.  
*Under: "Foreigner's Division" (Yellow tab on left),  scroll down and click on: "Associations that received over one crore rupees in a financial year".  
*Select year, and then Select State and click on "Get Records":  (The Foundation (SMSF) is in Tamil Nadu, and the Society (SRCM) is in Uttar Pradesh).
*Click on the society (SRCM) or the Foundaitons (SMSF, LMES, BVET, etc...) to see the lists of donors.
* Click on  "Find" (Look under "Edit" in your browser) to find the info on a donor inside the document.  Enter the "search words" in the box which opens up at the bottom of the page.

 
Regarding Chari's Sahaj Marg(tm), the Indian SMSF, SRCM, LMES (Lalaji Memorial Education Society), and  BVET (Chari Foundation: Baal Vatika Education Trust)  are duly recorded  (RCN respective Registration Numbers: TN 075900957R, UP 136700005R, TN 075901050R and TN 075901033R). The SMSF and the SRCM blithely exceed the threshold, and their accounts are available for the years 2006 to 2011.  The LMES appears in 2006, 2008 and 2009. The BVET does not reach this threshold during this period ...
 
Let us recall and understand that Chari's school  (Lalaji Memorial Omega International School or LMOIS) is controlled and funded by two societies: LMES (Lalaji Memorial Educational Society) and the BVET. (Chari's Baal Vatika Educational Trust).  (Baal = Master or Lord ?, Vatika = Hermitage (note "Vatican" roots) 


Foreign Contributions
 
According to the FCRA, revenues from India and abroad for the  SRCM and  SMSF combined , accumulated over 6 years (01/04/2006 to 31/03/2012) reached almost 2 billion rupees (28 million euros or $ 35 million U.S. dollars).   It is composed of half from donations, half from the interest earned on the financial assets or capital gains over time.
 
Expenses represent 40% of revenues and are widely covered by the interest on investments.  In fact, the latter are strong and are steadily increasing (multiplied by 16 time in 6 years): 31 million rupees in 2006 to 521 million rupees in 2011 (7.4 million Euros  or  $ 9.5 million dollars ). Consequence: with benefits (donations minus expenses), interest has allowed the financial capital to be multiplied by 2 in 7 years, from one billion rupees in April 1, 2006 to 2.2 billion rupees as of  March 31, 2012 (31 million  €  or $40 million dollars).
 

What is the difference between the Mission and the Foundation?

Their respective turnovers are relatively close from 58% for the Mission and 42% for the Foundation. But then, 64% of the donations are made to the Foundation, while 65% of the interest is produced by the Mission, which spends more than 3 quarters of its revenues, where the Foundation is confined to just over 10% ...
 
The Mission's capital is hence much greater than its Foundation! This is not  surprising, it benefits from its anteriority (grandfather clause) ... Otherwise, the picture drawn by these accounting items is nothing close to what Chari assigns as their respective objectives today, the Mission is responsible for the daily expenses, living on the interests from its capital; the donations are mostly managed by the Foundation which invests it, notably in real estate (over a quarter goes to  LMOIS for example) or 4.6 million Euros, $ 5.8 million dollars).
 

Where it diverges somewhat from the announced statements is that the Foundation spends very little in proportion to the capital gains and the increase (360% increase in capital over the period, against 120% for the Mission over the same period). Finally, the Mission does not need anything to meet its expenses since it survives very comfortably on the interest from its capital.

Contributions (membership fees), donation and profits from the sales of publications are no longer needed neither by the Mission nor the Foundation! So what projects do Chari and Patel have in the works to continue to squeeze the abhyasis?


Who funds the Mission?

The Indian SRCM and SMSF therefore received 1,012,703,272 rupees in donations from abroad in 6 years, 14.5 million Euros or $ 18.4 million dollars. They come in at 76% from North America, 15% from Western Europe, 5% from Asia (excluding India), 1.5% from Eastern Europe, 1% from Oceania,  0.7%  from Africa, and 0.1% from Latin America. Countries which are the largest donors are 73% from the United States, France donates at 5%,  and 5% and 2% come from Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates.

Of all these donations, 17% are anonymous thus transiting through the missions or national foundations, and only their country of origin is known, but we know the donor's name for the 83% remaining. There are 280 who  have given more than 100,000 rupees at least once in 6 years, they account for 72% of all donations.

The top 50 largest donors account for 62% of all donations, 34 of them are of Indian origin, specifically 31 are Indo-American.   Most are at the head of start-ups in the computer hardware or software, or they are in the production of generic drugs. They are indeed the new Indian middle class, a generation of expatriates uprooted and torn between their origins and modernity.

The first three of them have contributed more than half of the donations (more than 400,000 per donor per year), the following 47 more than 10% (5,924 euros per donor per year), and the 230 others also 10%  (931 euros per donor per year).

But then, who owns the Mission?

You want the answer?


Number 1: Madhava Reddy supports the U.S. Republicans (political party) but much more the SRCM. Personally, or through the Lachimi Foundation or through his start-up HTC Global Services, he paid almost 266 million rupees (3.8 million Euros or $ 4.8 million dollars) in 6 years according to the FCRA, or more than a quarter of the foreign donations made to the Mission and to its SMSF Foundation.

This expert accountant is the CEO and founder in 1992 of the Global Hi Tech Consultant Services Inc. of Troy, Michigan (www.htcinc.com).  According to The Hindu Business Line dated March 8, 2012, the company for computer and  technology solutions employs 4,000 people and generates revenues of about $ 160 million.  It is also present in India, (in Chennai and Hyderabad), in Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore and the United Kingdom. Two of its vice-presidents also donated to the Mission (SRCM) and its foundation (SMSF) 3 million rupees between them in the same time period . Incidentally, Reddy is also a member of the Board of Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories Ltd. (www.caraco.com), a subsidiary of SunPharma.

In 1999, Madhava Reddy created the Lachimi Foundation to manage most of his donations to the Mission without having to pay fiscal taxes.  Between 1999 and 2010, the accounts of the Lachimi Foundation show payments totaling more than $ 10 million dollars.

Chari currently resides in the cottage (within the confines of Babuji Memorial Ashram) of this preceptor of Sahaj Marg, who is also a member of the Board of Directors of the SRCM in the U.S., according to Echoes of India in November 2012.


Number 2: Madhusudanarao Kothapalli paid more than 137 million rupees ($ 2 million Euros or $ 2.6 million dollars) to the Mission and its foundation over the same period according to the FCRA, or nearly 14% of all foreign donations.

Originally from Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh, the Indo-American immigrant co-founded in 1998 CorePharma LLC in New Jersey (www.corepharma.com).

In 2005 he resold his shares in the company to the RoundTable Healthcare Partners LLP, created the Aravind Foundation and donated $ 5 million through this foundation: 1 million to the SRCM and another million to the Baal Vatika Educational Society (BVET- the future LMES) in 2005, $ 3 million to the SMSF in 2006 ... and again 28,000 dollars to SRCM in 2009.
 
In 2011, Madhu Kothapalli founded another R&D generic drugs company in his hometown of Hyderabad, India  (www.leiutis.com/).  Chari is in the habit of inviting himself to the residence of this preceptor when staying in Hyderabad.

Number 3: Our beloved Vice President and successor to Chari, Kamlesh Desaibhai Patel, whose birthday was last September 28th,  paid personally or through his family and his network of pharmacies, to the Mission and its Foundation, over 108 million rupees (1.5 million Euros or $ 2 million dollars), still in the same time period, according to the FCRA, or more than 10% of all foreign donations.  Two of his colleagues and friends, pharmacists from New York  have also paid between them, more than 5 million rupees, but I did not find any evidence that they work for him.
 
I will not return to the background of the next master of the SRCM which was already somewhat documented. The question I ask myself is one about what comes first, the egg or the hen: Patel will succeed Chari because he has paid for his place or is it because he was chosen by Chari that he pays? Knowing he was already paying when Ajay Kumar Bhatter was supposed to succeed Chari.  Besides, how much had Ajay (Kumar Bhatter) paid?  I did not have the answer because he is Indian and therefore he is not recognized in the foreign donors list!  What a Shame ...

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A Sahaj Marg (tm) Renegade (Elodie's Testimonial)

Taken and translated from an article: "Renegade", by Elodie on her French blog in Europe: Pour Que Vive Le Sahaj Marg.

November 13, 2012

Renegade

Among the values ​​which my parents transmitted to me during my education, two of them helped me  build the adult which I became: the freedom to think for myself and the superiority of the spiritual life over the material life.

 

It is in this spirit that they met Babuji and chose him as a spiritual master nearly 40 years ago.   My brother, my sister and I were bathed in this environment from a very young childhood and we have logically adhered to it once we reached an older age.   Meanwhile, Babuji was replaced by Chari without it bringing any change in our commitment.

 

We met our companions (partner?) within the Mission, my parents were appointed preceptors by Babuji, my brother and my sister-in-law by Chari, the union of my little sister was blessed by Chari, my older nephews and nieces were educated at LMOIS (Lalaji Memorial Omega International Schoold).   A real "Mission" family, as Chari  dreamed.

 

I had the feeling of belonging to a larger family and one based on the values ​​that I had been taught by my parents. Sahaj Marg represented everything I aspired to since always, a wonderful dream shared with my partner and which I was eager to pass on to my children.

 

 Some grains of sand have jammed up this wonderful drive gear.  In 2005, the announcement of Whispers by Chari and the interruption of satsangh by his son for an auction have been the electro-shock that pushed me out. I broke with the Mission, I broke up with my family and I also later broke up with my former partner.

 

First supported by my partner and finally also rejected by my last support, I found myself without family and friends, and terribly alone.  Added to this was the fact that I had to admit that I had strayed into a dead end and one totally contrary to my principles. I had been used and manipulated without my knowledge and against my will without my noticing it for many years. It is not the easiest thing to recognize. My family was always - and still is - a willing hostage of a pseudo-spiritual deception, a vast and deadly scam.

 

I suffered terribly from loneliness and from the difficulty of admitting that I had left myself  be abused for so long and so substantially. My son and daughter were my strength, but what has  truly saved me, it is our exchanges and analyses on this blog as well as the relationships I have forged with some great spiritual personalities, remarkable in my eyes.

 

Let there be no mistake, I do not write this to encourage your pity or your compassion, I do not want it.   I write this for you who doubt, for you who are wondering if your future is in this sinister mission or outside. Leaving this sidetrack is an indispensable necessity if you still believe in spiritual values ​​and if you refuse to serve any longer as a cash-cow to a crook; but the way to stop the addiction is long and difficult.

 

 Realization is a slow and complex process, although some events may precipitate it. My first questionning of the Mission appeared with insignificant doubts. When I questioned my parents or a preceptor, either I got some guilt-inducing responses questioning my practice, or I ran into a wall.  I have now forgotten my trivial questions of the time, but I will never forget the attitude of those who replied to me. I was a bad abhyasi, I was not using the Mission correctly, my love for Chari was not strong enough, etc.. etc..

 

How is it possible that one thus eludes any questions on a spiritual path? From a preceptor, I undoubtedly would have accepted it.   I had more trouble accepting when it came from people which I then took for real  friend (s).   I absolutely refused when it was my family.  It was in total contradiction with the values ​​which my parents had transmitted to me, how could they hold on to such language?

 

I doubted more and more, incredibly disappointed by the behavior of people I considered members of this large family which the Mission was then for me, until the events of 2005, which precipitated me out. Chari demanded from us 250 euros for a book not yet printed and with an unknown subject, based on trust (confidence?).  I had no more confidence left and 250 euros for a book the group-purchase of which was prohibited, as also was photocopying or lending, that is a bit expensive. The commercial aspect had become too obvious.

 

My departure and the creation of this blog are not the end of my story with Sahaj Marg, far from it. One does not abruptly go from doubt and loss of confidence to a full dis-endoctrination. There are steps, many steps. The process is not sudden and total, it is slow, difficult, sprinkled with doubts and some very personal issues, very sentimentally charged and very emotional.

 

It still took me a long time to see Chari as he truly is, and not with the eyes of a fanatic disciple, enamored of his/her spiritual master. I have long believed that the excesses of the Mission were due to individual members who composed it, precisely because of their human condition. Sahaj Marg remained the best spiritual method and Chari was its undisputed master. I still believed in the possibility of a Sahaj Marg rid of its human misdemeanours and hoped to re-render it its noble acclaim.

 

With the discoveries and the evidence that accumulated on the blog, I was very much obliged to gradually accept the omissions and lies of Babuji and Chari. I managed the desecrating of Chari by discovering the contents of Whispers it was the final straw that broke the camel's back. The divergent discourses of Sister Kasturi and Narayana (ISRC) also helped me.

 

I needed the analyses of Cricri, Michael and Alexis, and the support of 4d-Don, to understand and accept intellectually that I had succumbed to this pseudo-spiritual trap for suckers, without noticing. My encounters with spiritual personalities from all sides finally demystified Sahaj Marg. This is not a unique and universal method as claimed by Babuji, I am now convinced, and I have much evidence. There are many other spiritual paths which are at least as interesting.

 

Today, seven years after slamming shut the door on the Mission, I dare say that I have come to a new equilibrium.

 

The consequences are many. My family has almost cut its ties with me and I am infinitely sad and disappointed at their renunciation, even if I do not lose hope of seeing them one day finally open their eyes to the puppets they have become.   I lost all my false friends, but of that, I congratulate myself today. And for my self-preservation, because one never turns the page completely, I refuse to meet directly with anyone who had anything to do with Sahaj Marg, near or far, it is still too sensitive. After having been much influenced and abused, I am unable to give my full confidence to a spiritual guide, whatever his merits, it has become for me a basic survival reflex.

 

I lost my family and my truly false friends, but over time I developed some new relationships and true friendships in my surroundings, a thing that was impossible when I was in the Mission. For that matter, as long as we stay, we do not realize how much the Mission imprisons us and cuts us off from our immediate surroundings.

 

I lost a Master and a pseudo-spiritual method, but I have met many exceptional spiritual personalities. My spiritual stagnation at the heart of the Mission has ceased, I have again taken up my spiritual quest, I met wonderful guides and found my inner God.

 

Paradoxically, leaving Sahaj Marg, breaking with the Mission and its master has allowed me to reconnect with a real spiritual experience and to regain my freedom of thought. I have finally become myself.

Elodie 

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Sahaj Marg (tm) and Myths for a New Religion

Taken and translated from an article: "Des Mythes pour une Nouvelle Religion", by Élodie on her French blog in Europe: Pour Que Vive Le Sahaj Marg

November 7, 2012

Myths for a new religion

Sahaj Marg, the alleged "unique" and universal spiritual method modernized by Babuji, can work very effectively as long as the master remains in close contact with his disciple.

 

It's more complicated with preceptors, some are ill-intentioned, others are quite honest but not always competent. When a preceptor acts for his own personal ends, it becomes useless to hope for spiritual growth. When a preceptor is led by the teacher, all the benefits of the method are possible.   It would be fair that the disciple be able to choose his preceptor with as much care as he chooses his master.

The first disciples of Babuji, such as Kasturi or Varadachari received all the benefits of Sahaj Marg.  But his method has competely failed in its globalization, because of the preceptors.

With the exception of an elite which has the good fortune of being able to approach the Master, most abhyasis today stagnate spiritually. Chari has appointed so many perceptors, often without even knowing them, that  mal-intentioned or incompetent preceptors have become the majority.

Even though Chari is moved to act from time to time, he prefers to make the abhyasis responsible for their own condition, the wage of their non-progression in his eyes, rather than questionning the hierarchy he created. Still, let us remember the basic principle is that it is the master, and in a pinch, the preceptor, who is the principal architect of the spiritual progress of his pupil, as Lalaji and Babuji before him, clearly stated.  As Michael said, one can judge the quality of the Master by looking at his disciples.  Chari's adepts prove to us every day his mediocre spiritual worth.

 

Nobody is fooled, only a small elite who meets the master progresses spiritually. A savage struggle is established between the abhyasis so as to gain the attention of their Master.  Love for the master has  grown, the cult of the personality became established  and Chari gave the rules: Obey and Serve.

 

Alexis has already described the effect: an autocratic and totalitarian guru, the adepts have become groupies, fans of the star. The spiritual effects of Sahaj Marg have become so attenuated in contact with the preceptor caste and Chari, that they do not bring anything better than a vague conventional tool for personal development.  Chari's Sahaj Marg is only effective as a self-help or as a stress management technique.

If Sahaj Marg has become ineffective, how has Chari retained as many followers?

Why has the disciple of yesterday, who has become the adept of today remained in the Mission when he/she has lost almost any chance of seeing his/her spiritual quest become realized. Has he/she forgotten his/her original purpose?  Has he/she been brainwashed? And what else?

 

Undoubtedly, there a little of this and other things also, but mostly, Chari is a clever and dangerous manipulator. He has shown an ability to recycle the myths which act as vehicles for Sahaj Marg(tm) and to build from it a religion.

 

Three myths come immediately to mind, there may be others: the myth of the Central Region, the myth of the Special Personality and the myth of a grand plan that is beyond us.

 

Everyone knows that the purpose of Sahaj Marg is the divine fusion, the promise of a quick access to the Central Region or the luminous World (Brighter World). This undefined place, described by Babuji is erected as the holy grail, the ultimate goal to reach as soon as possible.

 

Long eclipsed by Chari so as to impose himself, Babuji has recently been resurrected by the "Whispers", as the timeless (eternal) master of the Mission, the Special Personality designated by the spiritual hierarchy of all the great saints of history.

 

Babuji put in place a spiritual method for all spiritual seekers, but he also evoked a collective grander design to achieve: to make the whole entire world fall into spirituality. Whispers is the last stone which was missing from the edifice. the formalization of these myths at the center of  a religious sect.

In the absence of individual spiritual progress, Chari's adept has a false impression of   participating in the largest collective and spiritual adventure of all time, to make  humanity fall into  another dimension.  The Grand Design is there, and for that, he/she have the reinforcement of the "Special Personality" who is now established in the World of Light, in the midst of the great saints of all times.

 

Every day in Whispers, Babuji is apt to reveal to ordinary mortals, some of the mysteries of this inaccessible and incomprehensible path, of which we can not understand all the ins and outs, but we are the linchpin.

All the necessary ingredients for the emergence of a new religion are in place: a dogma, some sacred texts, Heroes with the qualities of saints, a strong belief system which overcomes a feeling of threat and the need for protection, some certainties, some simple principles and some immutable truths.

 

A Recent human fabrication, Chari's Sahaj Marg now offers a total vision, a "unique" model, a worldview where each problem finds its solution. It guarantees the abhyasis  that they will emerge victorious of the turmoil, as long as they identify with the ideal that transcends them, and to comply with the requirements laid down.

 

I am here paraphrasing Serge Moscovici, a specialist in social psychology, in "The Age of Crowds", cited by Alexis. Here is a direct quote to conclude: "Religions are the work of the "sons", of the successors of the founding fathers (...). They exonerate and at the same time legitimize them, by concealing their crime to the point  that nobody sees in them, their authors."
 

Babuji was a remarkable spiritual personality, but he certainly is not THE Special Personality, if it can be that one can exist one day.  Access to a Central Region is not an end in itself, it is the journey and spiritual quest that matter.  As for the mysterious Grand Design, it is an mystification without name which cements the abhyasis around their chief and allows all kinds of abuse. We do not know what it is, we can not even imagine, but we are asked to adhere blindly.

With Whispers, Sahaj Marg(tm) has achieved its transformation into a dangerous religious sect, empty of all spiritual content.

Elodie

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The (alleged) Tremendous Growth of Sahaj Marg(tm)

Taken from an artictle by Alexis: Un Croissance Fulgurante, on his French blog in Europe: "La Fabuleuse Épopée du Sahaj Marg"

Tremendous growth

At his death in 1931, Lalaji had 212 followers and the equivalent of ten preceptors, according to his grandson Dinesh Kumar Saxena.   His main disciples have spread his teaching under various denominations: The Sufi Path for his brother and nephews (Golden Sufi Center) like his son (NaqshMuMRa), the Santmat Path of Ramashram Satsang for others.

(For more information (French), see Lalaji between Sufism and Santmat ).

Having met Lalaji 3 times, Babuji was one of his 212 disciples.   Nothing more, nothing less. Unlike others who spread the teaching of Lalaji immediately before his death in Uttar Pradesh and all its surroundings, Babuji did not move until 1944-45. This is when he created the Sahaj Marg, an (alleged) refinement of raja-yoga.   Only his dreams show an affiliation with the teaching of Lalaji.  His teaching gradually gains a foothold in southern India. (Sister) Kasturi becomes his disciple in 1947, (Dr. K.C.) Varadachari in 1955, Chari in 1964 ...

 

Chari estimates the membership of the Mission to have been 750 abhyasis with a dozen preceptors at his arrival in 1964.   Eight years later in 1972, always according to him, there are not more abhyasis, but fewer (600) but already, there are 60 preceptors.  Finally, at the death of Babuji, we arrive at 3,000 abhyasis and 180 preceptors.

 

Obviously, these figures should be taken with a word of caution, since Chari is already using them to enhance his role in the development of the SRCM. Globally, between 1945 and 1983, they have gone from one preceptor for less than 10 abhyasis to one for 17 abhyasis.   Enrollment increased by about 20% per year, while the preceptors have not increased by 15%.   What is certain is that the Mission has spread across India, and it started to internationalize in the late 60s.

In 1991, K.C. Narayana, son of Dr. Varadachari estimated the number of abhyasis at around 20,000, and then in 1995, Chari declares the number to be 50,000, then 55,000 in 1997, 75,000 in 2000 and 250,000 in 2005, to return to 150,000 members at the end of 2011!  More seriously, because a list exists, the number of preceptors reached is:  1,129 in 1995, 2,377 in 2007 and 3,014 in late 2011 ...

 

Undeniably, the growth is strong, very strong, between 1983 and 1995: more than 26% annual increase in membership and more than 16% in preceptors. Then we get one preceptor for thirty (30) abhyasis, knowing that the gap is large between India and abroad (one preceptor for nearly 70 abhyasis in India, against twenty-one elsewhere). The framework is seriously  "to be desired" ...

 

Since 1995, growth has run out of steam. Chari took the opportunity to strengthen the framework, the number of preceptors increasing faster than the membership, about 6% annual growth in the number of preceptors, while the Indian membership grows by 2 to 3% per year and the number of foreign disciples by only 1%.   This brings us back today to one preceptor for less than 40 abhyasis in India, and for less than 10 abhyasis elsewhere.

Chari continues to appoint preceptors always at the same rhythm to reward his most loyal subjects while the Mission's growth is at "half mast".   At this rate, we should reach nearly 90,000 contributors in 2020 with 75,000 in India and 15,000 elsewhere, with over 5,000 preceptors or one for 25 abhyasis in India and 6 for elsewhere ...

 

They are getting carried away with their hierarchy!   Here we can see the limits of the system: 200 000 supporters today, 75,000 contributors for 3,000 preceptors, and nearly 250,000 supporters, or 90,000 contributors for over 5,000 preceptors tomorrow (the hopes and wishes of the pyramid acquiring more and more admitted "SLAVES to desires" brought in by other slaves ...)

 

At this level, multiplying the hierarchical levels is imperative. The preceptor no longer only plays a key role in the Mission. Being a preceptor is no longer enough to access Chari, who does not even know personally all those he has appointed ...

Links (in French) :  

- La mumltinationale
- Abhyasis pratiquants, cotisants et sympathisants 

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Sahaj Marg's The Master, the Preceptor and the Disciple

Taken and translated from an article: "Le Maître, le Precepteur et le Disciple", by Élodie on her French blog in Europe: Pour Que Vive Le Sahaj Marg


Nov. 1, 2012

The Master, the Preceptor and the Disciple


What does a spiritual seeker do?

He/she undertakes a long journey in search of his/her inner God. 

What does Sahaj Marg Propose? 

Acceleration of the process: the rapid realization of  "union with the divine source (...), in the context of a normal family and professional life." 

The Raja Yoga of Patanjali consists of eight steps. In Sahaj Marg, Babuji occults the first six steps with meditation (dhyana), in order to achieve more quickly the last step (samadhi), that is to say, merger with the God within (laya avastha), absorption in the absolute, the divine or the Central Region or the Luminous World (Brighter World). 

How does he (Babuji) Proceed? 

Babuji (aka Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur)  develops Lalaji's (aka Ram Chandra of Fatehgarh)  silent (Sufi) meditation on the heart, in which the relationship between the master and disciple becomes crucial, the latter being responsible for the spiritual growth of his students. It is the guarantee of the speed of the result. 

In so doing, Sahaj Marg introduces an intermediary master between the divine and the spiritual seeker.  So there is an intrusion of an exterior living being into the deepest depths of the heart of the spiritual aspirant, with all the risks associated with such a practice. Babuji did not make a mistake, when he added that "It is better to have no guru at all than to have a bad guru." 

The abhyasis of Sahaj Marg chose their master, Babuji (aka Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur).  However, they did not choose their preceptor. The preceptor is appointed by and theoretically serves as the master's channel so as to increase his work with a large number of disciples. As long as Babuji worked directly with his disciples, he does not seem to have had any problems. 

It is clear that things started to go wrong as soon as Babuji had to use preceptors.  As Alexis points out, according to sources at SRCM (Shri Ram Chandra Mission), Babuji at the end of his life had 3,000 followers and 180 preceptors. If we are to believe his grandson Sharad and S.C. Kishore, Babuji, being aware of the difficulties, had even stopped appointing preceptors and had prohibited any further appointments. 

What happened? 

On the one hand, abhyasis chose their master, Babuji, but not their preceptor. On the other hand, some preceptors have not come up to Babuji's expectations, developing alternative methods and taking advantage of their power over abhyasis for personal ends, as denounced by Dr. K. C. Varadachari in 1970. 

The intrusion into the heart of a disciple by an exterior living being animated with impure intentions has proven catastrophic.  The abhyasis spiritual growth slowed in the best case,  and more often, it has completely disappeared.  A small caste of local potentates has emerged and has installed itself between Babuji and his followers, taking advantage of their influence on others to gain a semblance of power. 

Since then, this caste has continued to strengthen. How can they be controled and prevent abuse? 

Chari announces that he has more than 3,000 preceptors today and he is also as critical of them as Babuji was in his time, even if he never wanted to limit their number and especially if he makes abhyasis responsible for their own lack of progress in a formidable reversal of responsibilities. 

Sahaj Marg, the spiritual method modernized by Babuji, may work very effectively as long as the master remains in close contact with his disciple. It becomes extremely dangerous when a third scoundrel is intruded into the relationship. The original Sahaj Marg is not accessible to the greatest number of disciples, its limit is formed by the number of followers that the master can guide directly, without intermediaries. 

The first disciples of Babuji, such as Kasturi or Varadachari have received all the benefits of Sahaj Marg, (allegedly?) quickly accessing a merger with the divine. The abhyasis today stagnate spiritually, with the exception of an elite which has the chance of approaching the master. 

The Caste of Preceptors 

... and the entire hierarchy built over time blocks the abhyasis.  Consciously or not, nobody is fooled.  All means for getting closer to the master are good, Babuji yesterday, and Chari today, hoping to finally achieve some spiritual progression. 

To do this, one must either advance in the hierarchy (service?), or stand up to get noticed. Competition is fierce, and it is a real competition, a struggle that develops between abhyasis. 

How does one show the Master that one's love is greater than the others?   To that, Chari provides a simple answer: all must "obey the Master and serve the Mission." Serve and obey,  such have now become the ins and outs of the spiritual method of Sahaj Marg. 

Where then is the initial quest of the spiritual seeker for the divine light which is within one? 

Forgotten by the wayside, and no one was even moved, it was diverted to other purposes that have nothing to do with spirituality.  The Master and the preceptor interposed themselves, and definitively interrupted the direct relationship with the God within. The master and his hierarchy captured the obedience and the service of their followers for their personal gain. 

Meanwhile, the spiritual seeker has gone from the status of a disciple to that of an adept, without noticing.  Sahaj Marg has finally not fulfilled any of its spiritual promises. 

Incredible but true, nobody is stirred and everybody (some?) seems satisfied with it. 

Élodie