Friday, May 15, 2015

Sahaj Marg Proselytism: Be Contagious

Translation of article by Elodie: "Prosélytisme: Soyez Contagieux", on her blog in Europe: Pour Que Vive Le Sahaj Marg. 

May 15, 2015 

Sahaj Marg Proselytism: "Be Contagious"

The number of our abhyasis is growing, a very special egregore is also developing dramatically; it has just begun and we are happy. (Whisper 04/03/2015)

In February 2015, Kamlesh bhai announced that the hierarchy of Sahaj Marg Masters had allowed preceptors from around the world to have new responsibilities to facilitate the growth of the Mission. (...). This is another way of working, made ​​necessary by the growing expansion of the mission in the world. (Bulletin 16.3.2015)

Kamlesh bhai ended the talk with a call to one and all, "Just one abhyasi Bringing in one new abhyasi every year. So please try it. I will not say anything further.  Be contagious. Thank you." (Delhi Speech 04/05/2015)

Sthapati said: “In Sahaj Marg, as with many Hindu traditions, proselytizing is forbidden.” (11/05/2015)

 Be Contagious!


All the signs are there. From "Whispers" to Patel, all the signs point in the same direction. SRCM is relaunching its proselytizing crusade.

Kamlesh Patel has taken over the pilgrim's staff that Chari had to abandon because of his health problems.  Globetrotter guru, he's traveling the world to re-mobilize the followers of Sahaj Marg in a new quest for growth.

On one hand, Whispers and Patel announced that the Mission is growing, it becomes necessary to give more responsibility to preceptors to deal with this influx.   On the other hand, Patel creates an internet tool (Heartfulness) to attract the typical person and he encourages his troops to proselytize.

"In Sahaj Marg, as with many Hindu traditions, proselytizing is forbidden"? 

One wonders where Sthapati went to get the idea that proselytism is forbidden in Sahaj Marg, when that always is its reason for being, at least in the minds of these successive gurus.

Upon his arrival, Chari tried to convince Babuji to conquer the West. He then used the preceptors as a small army of soldiers who bring ever more new followers.

More than the spiritual growth of individuals, Babuji wanted the Mission to reach a sufficient critical mass to "tip over" the world.

That Patel allegedly violates the rule against proselytizing does not seem to unduly inconvenience Sthapati. The latter then makes herself the champion of Heartfulness.org without the least restrictions. The Sahaj Marg gurus have always had an amazing ability to convince their followers of one thing and its opposite.

 
Élodie

Some links:
 

 
Extracts From Whispers
 
We do not work in vain, Sahaj Marg is growing and it touches the people with its simplicity of approach, but above all with the results that follow over time. (25/02)
 
The number of our abhyasis is growing, a very special egregore is also developing dramatically; it has just begun and we are happy. (4/03)
 
Much remains to be done; the number of abhyasis is growing, which points to the power of this mission in the future, as it is provided for the benefit of our members and, by extension, of their surroundings. (6/03)
 
Over the years the Mission has advanced and it extends into the world, it has structured itself and will increasingly do so more and more, according to its growing implantation. (16/04)

 
Preceptors From Around The World - New Responsibilities
Bulletin No. 2015.22 • Monday, March 16, 2015
 
In February 2015, Kamlesh bhai announced that the hierarchy of Sahaj Marg Masters had allowed the preceptors from around the world to have new responsibilities to facilitate growth of the Mission. These new authorizations do not replace the existing face-to-face practice for individual sittings, and group or introductory sittings. This is another way of working, made ​​necessary by the growing expansion of the mission in the world. This results in the following changes:
 
1. New seekers are welcome to join a group meditation without previously taking separate introductory sittings.
 
2. Seekers may be introduced to the practice of Sahaj Marg in groups on consecutive days if individual introductions are not possible.
 
3. The preceptors can give individual sittings to groups of abhyasis simultaneously (at the same time).
 
4. The preceptors can provide remote individual sittings when necessary. These remote sittings can only be given if the preceptor has just received confirmation just before starting that the abhhyasi is available and if both sit for the sitting at the same time.
 
5. The preceptors can conduct remote group sittings in cases where there are no available local preceptors, or where the conditions are actually too difficult to participate, for example in case of bad weather. They may also include abhyasis who have good reasons not to participate in person at the satsang.
 
This new freedom requires caution and wisdom. For example, Kamlesh bhai said recently: "We should not reach that scenario where  someone would ask for a remote individual sitting while he is less than a kilometer away. No. This is what I will call an abuse of the system. You must be careful. The more freedom that was given to us, the greater also are the major responsibilities that rest on our shoulders."
 
The preceptors also received permission to give sittings remotely when there is a real demand and not in situations that defy the spiritual culture, for example, when an abhyasi wants to avoid taking a sitting with a local preceptor that he does not like, because it would lead to disharmony. Unity and brotherhood are the culture of Sahaj Marg.

 
Sthapati said:  
 
“(...) 
One very different change that is new to the Marg is our opening up (for lack of better words). Prior to now, we’ve been accessible and free to anyone who sought us – but generally only those who did the seeking on their own. In Sahaj Marg, as with many Hindu traditions, proselytizing is forbidden. And in Sahaj Marg, there have been times when remaining obscure even seemed to be encouraged so that purely and surely only those who really are seekers found our method of Raja Yoga. 
(...) 
But for Sahaj Marg that might be changing in some way currently. There’s a new “initiative” called Heartfulness that has me very excited about what the future of Sahaj Marg might look like.
(...) 
we discussed how challenging it can be for Westerners to take to foreign concepts – in this case, Indian / Hindu concepts and vocabulary 
(...) 
and that most people in the West have no idea really what words like dharma, karma, meditation, and yoga ( to name only a few ) actually mean.
(...)
So now we have this “Heartfulness” stuff. And, for lack of knowing the best way to say it, Heartfulness is Sahaj Marg without all the foreign words. It’s the very basis and basics of our practice, spelled out in Western language. When the emails and newsletters were released to abhyasis telling us about this, I read over the new resources in detail. There’s practically no mention of our lineage or the heart chakra or raja yoga – in fact, I think in all that I read, there was only a single mention of our method of yogic transmission.
(...)
I’ll admit that my initial response was one of disappointment. How can you share Sahaj Marg without sharing Sahaj Marg?!?! And then, with the help of a fantastic preceptor, it hit me: We’re not sharing Sahaj Marg. Not really. We’re essentially performing one of Sahaj Marg’s highest values which is to find the end of religion and thereby experience the beginning of spirituality. 
(...) 
Surely, our entire community will be collectively motivated and encouraged in this way by recent developments.
(...) 
The general / main link for the new initiative can be found by clicking here: Heartfulness. 
(...) 
A preceptor nearest to you will reach out to you.”


Sunday, May 03, 2015

Sahaj Marg's "Mecca"??

Translation of an article by Elodie:  "La Mecque du Sahaj Marg", on her blog in Europe: Pour Que Vive Le Sahaj Marg.


May 3, 2015.

 
Sahaj Marg's Mecca?

Will Kamlesh Patel change Sahaj Marg? Is he very different from Chari? His recent speeches and recent events show us that unfortunately this is not the case.



Friday, Avril 17th, 2015, Fatehgarh, Kamlesh bhai said, “The Hierarchy wants to convey that the time has come for the Mission to grow rapidly.”

 
Saturday, Avril 18th, 2015, Lucknow, he recalled Master Chariji’s advice for growing the Mission “Every abhyasi brings one new abhyasi every year.”



In his first public speaking, Kamlesh Patel called for unity. He then strongly emphasized discipline. Today, he re-launches the proselyte project of the Mission.

If one believes the Whispers (From the Brighter World), these psychic messages from the "hierarchy" of the (alleged) previous masters of Sahaj Marg, SRCM is growing and needs to accelerate the movement. Hence the increase in the powers of the preceptors by Patel, hence the creation of this new heartfulness.org website to lure people on a spiritual search, and hence the relaunching of proselytizing.

Kanha project - in pursuit of extravagant projects

In 1999, Chari inaugurated the Babuji Memorial Ashram at Manapakkam, the first "jewel" of Sahaj Marg, the first major sumptuous project of the Mission.

April 26, 2015, on the eve of the celebration of Babuji's anniversary in Lucknow, Patel attended the erection of a statue of Babuji at the building under construction at Kanha Shanti Vanam. A statue of 13 tons and almost 10 meters high, a hundred sheets of metal cast in a mold from a gold alloy of five metals.

The statue of Babuji will from now on sit above a bright star-shaped building, which will itself be the focus of a future building in the shape of a heart, to portray the aerial view of the esoteric symbol published in  whispers (From the Brighter World) .

This project Patel called the "Mecca of Sahaj Marg" (April 10, 2015) was born "with a handful of extremely dedicated abhyasis, thirty kilometers south of the new international airport in Hyderabad," because the "Mission's growth has also signified that we were financially able to tackle larger (more important?) projects. "



Nothing is Too Beautiful to Celebrate the Greatness of This Spiritual Path 

"The Masters of the past united cast their gaze on this grand work which is being built at Hyderabad.  There will be the "high place" of Sahaj Marg, where great things will be accomplished under the impulse of the current Master, Kamlesh Patel." 

"(...) Nothing is to beautiful to celebrate the greatness of this spiritual path as it will be perceived in the future. Precedents have thus marked this world; why could Sahaj Marg not accomplish this also, in the framework that is its own! (...) Large buildings around the world tell of this humanity, and this in its various forms (...). Yes, this site will be visited and appreciated, it will be highly charged, and that by God's grace (...)." (Whisper of  March 31, 2015)

Thus, "our masters have created a future for us; a future where we will be safe, free to practice and grow in these beautiful places, spiritually charged." Says Patel. As if the followers of Sahaj Marg were neither safe nor free to practice today. 

Codenamed "Kanha Shanti Vanam"

Remember what we learned from Alexis last November, that this project matured by Chari since 2008 from a living place with an ashram and living space for the abhyasis, a colony based on 4 charities created in 2010 with the acquisition of 200 to 300 ha (hectares) by this handful of a dozen (or so?) extremely dedicated abhyasis, most of which are large investors and entrepreneurs.

Let us not forget that the mission's foreign capital comes by over 50% from three people: two computer designer and pharmaceutical Indian American start-up, and (a Russian?) oligarch from Transnistria. 
Settlement (colonial?)  Projects Sahaj Marg 

By pursuing Chari's draft, Patel subscribes definitely to the continuity of his predecessor.  His program can be summarized as: Unity, Discipline and proselytism, more than ever inspired by the mediums.

Elodie


Bulletin No: 2015.42 – Tuesday April 28, 2015 :  

(…) Our beloved Chariji Maharaj had a special project close to his heart. Not many people knew about it, except towards the end. Actually, at its inception, probably only he and Mr Varma, the engineer, knew. The initial idea was to create a special grand memorial to his dear Master, Babuji Maharaj. He had already created a gem, the Babuji Memorial Ashram in Manapakkam, and at the time he was like a child, confiding he was not able to believe that this had been possible. Then time flew and new developments emerged. The idea of a beautiful samadhi for Babuji in Shahjahanpur developed along its own lines. The limiting factor there was space. The Mission grew in leaps and bounds and there was a greater need to have larger spaces for abhyasis to gather and also to live. 

The growth of the Mission also meant that we were financially able to tackle larger projects. Then came the acquisition and development of a huge area by a small band of extremely dedicated abhyasis, thirty kilometres to the south of the new international airport in Hyderabad. Chariji Maharaj chose this place for an unparalleled memorial.

His path had some years back crossed that of a very talented sculptor, Mr Prajapati, who resided in Jaipur, and he started commissioning statues from him to embellish the ashram in Manapakkam. Then came the plan for a huge statue at Kanha, to sit on top of the building dedicated to the new culture created by Babuji. This building is in the form of the heart-shaped esoteric symbol and it can be seen from aircraft flying in and out of Hyderabad. The total height is limited by the Airport Authority regulations at fifty-two feet. Over time it has become clearer that people from all over will flock to this memorial and it will become a well-known centre of light; it is so spectacular. 
On Sunday the 26th of April the statue of Babuji Maharaj was finally installed, under the supervision of beloved Kamlesh bhai. On its own, it stands at thirty feet, and it is a true work of art.

The face is so expressive and serene, and the fine hand-beaten work is lifelike in its detail. It is made of an alloy of five metals, and approximately one hundred sheets of metal cast from moulds made from the clay original were welded seamlessly together. The statue weighs thirteen tons. 

As we waited the night before, the extremely fine atmosphere of this place nurtured us. It is amazingly light. We were all left speechless at the grandeur of the design of the whole thing, and the dedication of the band of workers who are making the dream of the Masters come true. It feels as if Chariji Maharaj is overjoyed to see this.

We can only be grateful at the manner in which our Masters have created a future for us; a future where we can be safe, free to practice and to grow in such beautiful, spiritually-charged places.  
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