advaitin Neo Advaita

[Guest guest]

advaitin, Gregory Goode <goode@D...> wrote:

> Hello Alan and Chittaranjan,

>

> Very good question!

>

> Yes, "pseudo" is a good descriptor. Having met scores of these

teachers and seen their satsangs, I came to the conclusion long ago

that they are really doing feel-good psychology-cum-celebrity-worship,

using a garbled metaphysical language that sounds more

"sophisticated." The "I am consciousness" that is rehearsed in these

satsangs is shorthand for "I feel very spacious right now." Then,

when the attendee gets out to the parking lot, the flip-flop occurs,

and they are back to their normal feeling contour. "I was

consciousness for like 2 hours, and now I'm not." It sets them up for

the next satsang.

>

> Unlike the teachings of the great ones you mention, the teachings of

the travelling satsang teachers pivots on the feelings. By that I

mean that it is not Knowledge that is sought, but rather a certain

ongoing detached feeling state, along with the absence of certain

kinds of thoughts (the ones in which the person themself is the object

of that thought). You can read the transcriptions of the satsangs and

see that what is quite prevalent is the encouragement not to get

involved with what might upset you. Instead of Knowledge, it is this

non-involved feeling state which is regarded as the criterion of

success.

>

> Another thing about the criterion of success in pseudo-advaita that

confirms that it is only a psychological state that they're aiming

for, is that it is sometimes acknowledged that enlightenment can be

lost if one is not vigilant. One must always be watching over the

mental-emotional reactions to check for involvement, and detach from

it at the earliest opportunity. Of course this creates a

monitor-character, which is just the ego kicked upstairs to a higher

level of subtlety, so that it is not recognized as such.

>

Namaste Gregji

My humble pranams and few reflections.

I think you have used rather strong language condemning the methods of

satsangha's in general- could rattle beginners like me who are part of

a few satsanghs.

Yes, the witness mode is advocated for people in early days. Vigilance

is recommended because, atleast people like me tend to be carried away

by the current of emotions and vigilance ( post your intellect as a

sentry) as one of the methods of getting a grip over the mind. It

would be , as you say, ego kicked upstairs but still, probably, a

little better stage in early days than living lost in the

identification with the body and the mind.

 

Related thought and question- can anyone help me with a brief idea of

what typifies neo vedanta and how it is different from the traditional.

Many namaskarams to all

Sridhar