Friday, March 23, 2007

My 2 cents worth on self-styled swami Vishwananda

I went to see Vishwananda, more than once in 2004 - initially I did believe his hype, but it didn't take too long before the cracks started to show. Vishwananda has certainly been very successful in creating a stir about him; supposed reincarnation of Yogananda has undoubtedly been the initial drawcard. There's been a lot of opinions of this youngish man from Mauritius reputed to do all sorts of miraculous acts apparently through his kriya yoga practices. Miracles of themselves are not so unusual of themselves - there are countless people throughout the world from all religious backgrounds who have displayed comparable 'miraculous' acts. This does not make them any less or more enlightened than the next person.
 
Respect to a swami or 'guru' should really be dependent on the ability to show sincerity and commitment to the needs of average people especially within their own communities. I believe that those who have a 'gift' of some sort have a duty to pass that on to those who are deserving and/or needy. I also believe that socio/political concerns form a fundamental part of spiritual life and no spiritual being can afford to ignore this or operate outside of this dimension.
 
Vishwananda comes from Mauritius which is still a 'third world' or developing country. Judging from his firm seating in the West and reports of houses and centres etc given to him, this raises many questions about what he is doing for his own country which should be a priority for his direction of service. One of the alarming things is his charging for 'darshan' at his American services (available on his US website). Charging for merely sitting in his presence must be a sure sign of his intentions to materially progress in the West. Aside from a Shirdi Baba temple years back in Mauritius, there is no evidence of significant service activities within his home country.

Just as an example of the widespread activities that are worthy of being looked at in Mauritius, some of you may have watched a programme in the UK some years ago on Diego Garcia. This little island was home to a group of people of mixed ethnicity largely whose ancestors had been indentured labourers from India in the 19 century who were sent to the chagos islands, South Africa and the West Indies to work on the sugar plantations. In the 1960s, the US (in alliance with UK) took the Chagos islands to construct a military base. These islanders were subsequently forced off the homeland and now have refugee status in Mauritius living in near poverty.
 
My point is that there is so much within Mauritius and neighbouring islands that needs upliftment and social change. Someone with influence could greatly assist in numerous ways. Without proving his concern, knowledge and care to his community and home country, Vishwananda is openly displaying his material interest in the West as well as the lack of maturity consistent with his age and lack of education (as he left school at '14'). People choosing to follow his should consider the wider implications more fully otherwise you may also be showing a great deal of ignorance in the spiritual journey.
.
I am grateful that Sathya Sai Baba accepted my manuscript on the Violet Flame in August 2010.
.
.

Friday, December 29, 2006

The pursuit of power and the female perspective

One of the most alluring things about pursuing a spiritual journey is the the attraction to beings who appear to be very powerful or 'special' in some kind of way. Speaking from the female perspective, this is where many women get side-tracked and probably even duped. Even the spiritual world is still relatively male-dominated and one needs to be pretty 'street-wise' even here. But rather than focus on the obvious concerns of being encouraged towards the many male gurus that thrive in communities where hero-worship can still be found, I prefer to look at the role of women directly and what may motivate them in their pursuit of power. Men can usually get away with much more but now and then even women prove to be subject to the same attractions.
In terms of this whole 'guru' phenomena, I can say that if you are connected directly to an avatar or direct incarnation of God, then you are likely to be on a safe track although even this is not certain. To clarify, an avatar would not have taken any previous birth unless that birth was of the same stature e.g Shirdi Baba's reincarnation as Sathya Sai.
From my own personal experience, I initially relied on Sai Baba to give me direction and by the end of 2003 I trusted that he was guiding me spiritually as I had a dream of him touching me on the forehead or more specifically on my third eye. After that I started to experience a great deal of third eye activity including visions, some past life images and a very profound inner experience. However, as I said in another blog, Sai Baba is still remote at a physical level and for more personal guidance, I have found Amma Karunamayi to be more accessible - your 'Sat Guru' or inner voice will guide you here as well.
One of the more interesting things as I moved deeply into a spiritual journey, was the huge attraction to spiritual power - women have definitely not been exempt from this. An alarming story that I came across subsequently was about a women who seemed to be attaching herself to those she perceived as very spiritual and even powerful. The purpose of meditation seemed to encourage more of a need to acquire mental power rather that focusing on inner union. The questionable thing was a tendency to reflect the spiritual journey of others without necessarily have the natural personality or attitude to life as they might have based on their own characteristics and upbringing. One of the questions was whether this was a subconcious tendency or a physical tendency which the person may have been practicing through the meditations especially since there appeared not to be a close personal bond with the 'spiritual' people that she was forming an attachment to. Where it really became a matter of concern is when karmic issues were also being reflected from this person towards others and hence causing various stressful situations. Anyway she is also on a genuine spiritual journey where lessons will be learned as is the case with all of us as we all continue to evolve.
These kind of issues are very complex and I will be continuing with this article shortly.......
Jan 2007
Coming back to the role of 'gurus' in contemporary society, my personal opinion is that this has to be a redundant concept. The very nature of the word 'guru' implies a surrender of personal power. If most 'gurus' are leading followers to believe that they are being empowered through various technical practices, this is another double-edged sword as power is still afforded to the 'guru' alone. In a book that I completed a few months back, I examined the concepts of power and sex in dealing with the individual ego. Although I did not look specifically at the role of gurus, there was some emphasis on matters regarding emotional intimacy and a related attitude to sex. Going back to a paper that I read a while back on the authoritarian nature of gurus, the issue of emotional intimacy was also covered - obviously this would highlight the problems associated with power and sex. The same is true for the followers - there has to be a deep underlying insecurity or the propensity to be very easily influenced to view impersonal sexual relationships within the spiritual context as acceptable. This does not just hold true for women in these situations but almost certainly for men as well. Other complexities also arise; for example, how are 'gay' relationships viewed? My understanding is that all relationships are a karmic journey anyway and an adherence to any faith would be a personal matter between individuals and their 'God'. But how do these 'gurus' address the diverse social predicaments that most of us are subject to!? The reality seems to be a loss of individuality on the part of the follower and an absorbing of the 'guru's' tendencies - the long term psychological effects may be overwhelming if not recognised.

I hope to research and write on the range of issues surrounding personal power on my return to South Africa before the end of this month. Too bad there are not any reputable gurus in the vicinity to pose the various questions. Then again we would be expected to dress up - some of us have barely left our student years. Prashanti was a real challenge in this regard - hopefully jeans will be allowed there soon.....maybe there is hope for Whitefield in the near future though.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Yogananda, a yogi?

In a wave of support for Yogananda among various groups in the last couple of years, there have been enough reasons to contemplate upon his status as a yogi. As a staunch Sai follower two years back, it was odd to suddenly feel a strong connection to a swami that I had only seen on the cover of a popular spiritual book numerous times. I had never had the urge to read the book until the beginning of 2004 when I picked it up specifically to read the chapters on a mystic yogi or avatar called Babaji. Yogananda's autobiography still held no genuine appeal aside from these chapters. A few months later, after the book constantly cropped up into my field of vision I finally decided to read it and sincerely enjoyed it, still holding the interest on the chapters of Babaji. Bizarrely there seemed to be a flow of attention towards Yogananda and his autobiography from diverse quarters such as Sai friends and colleagues from work. Along with this was the suspicious rise of the somewhat infamous young upstart "swami" calling himself Vishwananda claiming his pedestal to fame as the reincarnation of Yogananda. At the time I did not question this sudden connection to Yogananda but assumed it was some natural part of spiritual growth to be encouraged towards sages, saints and mystics.

In retrospect I have to wonder whether this odd inclination towards Yogananda, not only on my part, but many others as well, was a result of things outside of normal awareness! Whatever it was, I have to say that I have thankfully returned to my original opinion of Yogananda as just another of the innumerable Indian swamis of his time whose real claim to fame was his association with the West. The reality is, would he have been anywhere near as well-known had he just remained in his home country? Undeniably making a name for oneself in the West during 1930's and 40's would have been more than enough to be placed on that pedestal that many mystics seem to be seeking in the West at the moment. Without intending to offend any group, the West (especially USA) would have been ignorant of Hindu philosophy, beliefs, tradition and culture at the time. Someone like Yogananda, who seemed to thrive on charisma, confidence and scientific approach, would have had the right kind of appeal for the emergence of Western spiritual values. However does this make Yogananda a true yogi - not necessarily, as who would be the well informed judge of his path?

Having been committed to the notion of only Sathya Sai Baba being some divinely inspired guru from childhood and being inherently sceptical of all other swamis, it was odd to feel drawn towards Yogananda whose principles seemed to differ in many ways to those put forward by Sathya Sai, other than perhaps the promotion of 'love'. Yogananda was a Kriya yoga practioner which I assumed was an in-depth form of Kundalini yoga based on meditation and technical practices - this was until I encountered a book by Babaji from an alternate group on Kriya yoga which concentrated mainly on dharmic values and character development very similar to those proposed by Sai Baba. There was barely a mention of Kundalini or techical Kriya practices. Ironically this book was deeply reflective of my natural spiritual journey and personal tendencies, hence had to wonder whether Yogananda really was an expert on Kriya yoga or whether he was merely a Kundalini initiator of some kind. Furthermore from the little I read of spiritual teachings by Yogananda, other than his autobiography, there seemed to be a focus on development of power and meditation practices with less attention to character development - notably his discipline seemed to be devoid of the notions of non-attachment, purity of heart and removal of the ego which in contrast has always been stressed by Sathya Sai Baba (as well as by Babaji in the alternative book on Kriya yoga) as fundamental to reaching God. My personl feelings and experience is that it is impossible to move onto the path of Self-realisation without the intensive work of purifying the heart and attaining a good measure of non-attachment to relationships and the material world. These elements have been missing in whatever I've read of Yogananda.

As someone who was staunchly committed to Sai Baba as a guru, I used to constantly look for some sign of affirmation by him in my journey. As far as contemporary saints and sages go, Ramama Maharshi and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa are the two names he has referred to periodically - both of whom I have felt as a strong divine presence. He has also mentioned Swami Vivekananda and has referred to a few of the prominent Indian leaders in particular Gandhi. Conspicuously he has not made any reference to Yogananda in his discourses or teachings. Infact, Sai Baba has also told devotees questioning Kriya yoga that those interested in seeking Kriya yoga are motivated by ego - clearly a sign that he is putting people off from Yogananda and co's path. Ultimately it is still up to the individual to seek for themselves if the urge is strong and as I mentioned in the 'Sai Baba as a guru' blog, Sathya Sai's essence can be very provacative (sometimes mercilessly) along one's spiritual journey depending on karmic patterns, past life goals, natural tendencies etc etc. On a more personal note, as someone who grew up in a socio-politically conscious environment that included friends and family, I was surprised to note Yogananda's lack of political consciousness as he lived in a definitive period of India's history - many eminent yogis and saints appeared during that time and proved to be a great source of strength for all those connected to them. For Sai followers, Shirdi Baba incarnated and projected an image fostering Hindu-Muslim unity; Sri Aurobindo was imprisoned in his earlier days; Gandhi would often direct his ashram inmates to visit Ramana Maharshi; Sathya Sai Baba was emerging into his avatar status during that time and is recorded to have displayed unusual behaviour at the time of Gandhi's death and mentioned his passing shortly after. My point is that although Yogananda undoubtedly possessed a great deal of spiritual knowledge, there remains many questions of his true status as the genuine enlightened beings of the east remained deeply connected to their home country as sources of stability and strength during a time of inconceivable change.

So is Yogananda a yogi? My personal opinion is that he was a very powerful man who did some good works, but was not a saint or a yogi. I do sense that he exuded some measure of self-righteousness bordering on over-confidence which has reared a kind of arrogance through his followers periodically, many of whom fail to accept the existence of other avatars other than Babaji. I do feel that he had his vices as reports and rumours continue to surround him, affirmed by Babaji's discourses through an alternative group that Yogananda had left his body prematurely and had not completed his mission. Furthermore Babaji also happened to mention that deciples of Yogananda were practicing tantra (usually associated with sexual practices) which were going against the accepted discipline of Kriya yoga. According to Babaji, Yogananda and his group were no longer equipped to put forward his teachings and hence the alternate group who strictly adhered to his principles was formed. Within this group, Babaji is known as Babaji Nagaraj.

Unfortunately Yogananda has left a huge mark on the West and just from observation (including my own experience in 2004), he has continued to have a pulling power perhaps because of the countless people he is likely to have encountered in India, America and parts of Europe. For me it was a simple decision - I wanted to be free from this hold that he seemed to have and also did not relate to him as anyone other than a likely acquaintance. For others it may not be so simple, especially if they feel a strong past life connection or perhaps even relate to him as a former guru. Past life relationships are complicated especially if it marked a spiritual journey - karmic connections may run very deep for those who were deciples, followers or supporters of Yogananda during that life. Yogananda himself seemed very attached to his followers and supporters - people may not necessarily see this as a bad thing but this goes back to what should be the qualities of a true guru (which I referred to in the Sathya Sai blog). The real guru acts as a watchful parent and guide who gives you the freedom to find your own way should you wish to do so without attachment or judgement; he or she will also be happy to let you move on when you are ready to do so.

Yogananda's major achievement was introducing the West to eastern spiritual development in a time when it was almost unknown - while he can be credited for this, we must be careful in how much we credit him or similar beings as they themselves may still not have completed their own spiritual journeys. The most reassuring thing that Yogananda's possible grip on Western spiritual development was loosening came from an unlikely source - a former work colleague who had kept coming into contact with 'autobiography of a yogi' assuming it was a sign to read the book, finally did read the book only to be left feeling that it did not provide any spiritual answers that were relevant to personal growth. Yogananda failed to have any appeal to this person any longer so maybe for all of us looking for signs, this could see the opening for the true spiritual masters to come forth.


Those who found this post interesting may also find these blogs relevant:
.
.
.
Manuscript was accepted by Sathya Sai Baba in Aug 2010