advaitin Neo Advaita

[Guest guest]

Hi Greg,

 

It is true that spirituality based only on

a fleeting mood is fragile. The foundation

must be more solid than that.

 

However, let us not get too puritanical

and pretend that 'bliss', 'illumination',

'expansion of consciousness' and other

'psychological' experiences are not

part of it. They are.

 

Also, let us not pretend we are supermen

and can suffer any torture without even

noticing. Only a corpse can do that.

 

However, you are right than nondual

wisdom, whatever that may be, transcends

any particular psychological experience,

or there is no true freedom.

 

In other words, a little incense won't hurt,

and may even provide a spiritual boost,

albeit a temporary one.

 

Benjamin

 

 

 

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.

>

> And to me, the one thing that most obviously makes that form a "pseudo" rather

then a

"Neo" advaita is its total disregard and disdain for advaita-vedanta's

magnificent written

tradition.

>

> Best regards,

>

> --Greg

>

>

> On 8/02/04 03:45 am "Alan Adams-Jacobs" (alanadamsjacobs) wrote:

> Dear Greg and Sri Chittaranjan,

>

> Thank you for your invaluable postings on this topic which help

> me clarify my understanding of this new movement purporting to

> be Advaita.Perhps Pseudo would be a better term than Neo .it is

> rampant in the West and delays many young people from

> making the effort to dig deeper into the teachings of great Sages

> like Sankara, Ramana, etc.

>

> Every best wish and warm regards, Alan