In defence of Hindu gurus

[Guest guest]

In defence of Hindu gurus

 

January 09, 2006:http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/jan/09franc.htm

 

 

When Marxist leader Brinda Karat attacks Swami Ramdev, she is not attacking

Ramdev in particular, she is attacking Hinduism in general. This guru or that

guru makes no difference to her; she is against all gurus.

Other gurus might think they are safe, that Ramdev committed some sin for

which he is paying. But one of them will be the next in the line of fire!

Swami Ramdev: Yoga does it

Hindu gurus are all vulnerable in today's India: The Kanchi Shankaracharya has

already been hit. So has Satya Sai Baba. Amritanandamayi has to live under the

constant shadow of a hostile Kerala Communist-dominated government. Dhirendra

Brahmachari is dead and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is periodically targeted as the

'Guru of the rich', the 'Glib Godman' etc.

 

May I be forgiven my arrogance, but what Indian gurus have to understand is

that for Indian Communists, Hinduism is the Number 1 enemy. Mao called religion

'the opium of the people'. But for Indian Communists, what stands between their

ambition for absolute power in India (and eventually the triumphant return of

Communism in the world -- as Indian Communists believe) is the hold Hinduism has

in the hearts of the rural people of India, who constitute 80 per cent of this

country.

Yet, the humble farmer from Uttar Pradesh to Tamil Nadu has a natural

understanding of the universality of God, who takes many names throughout the

ages who could be Buddha, Jesus Christ, Ram or Mohammad. This humble farmer

possesses the knowledge that there is a something deeper than the skin and the

mind, and a life beyond death. This knowledge is inbred, it is not in his head,

not even in his heart, but in his or her genes from generation to generation.

Ramdev vs Karat -- who's right?

Of course, the English-speaking media is too happy to oblige Brinda Karat and

come down hard on gurus with all kind of accusations.

Before Ramdev, they came down on the Kanchi Shankaracharya, before him on

Osho, before him on Dhirendra Brahmachari. You can even go back to Sri

Aurobindo, who was accused in the early 1900s by the moderate

Congress-controlled press to be a 'fanatic', when he was only demanding total

independence from the British long before Gandhi took it up.

Accusations against Hinduism of superstition, brainwashing, ritualistic

ignorance, date back from British missionaries and have been taken up today by

the Communists. Yet, Hinduism -- at least the Hinduism which goes beyond the

rituals and becomes universal spirituality -- has nothing to do with

superstition and conmanship: it is all about science, knowledge and light.

Look at Pranayama, a science that has known for thousands of years how to

harness breath and use it for controlling the mind, for a better, more healthy,

more spiritualised life. If you read Osho's books today, you find a lot of solid

common sense, wisdom, even light.

Satya Sai Baba cannot have millions of disciples from the most humble to the

Presidents of India without 'something' which is beyond superstition. So goes

for Amritanandamayi, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Ramdev, or Guruma of Ganeshpuri.

And why should Brinda Karat target Ayurveda, the most ancient medical system

in India still in practice, the first medicine to realise 3,000 years ago that

plants and minerals offer the best cure, that many illnesses have a

psychosomatic origin, the first to practice plastic surgery on patients?

In India today, every third shop is an allopathic medical shop, whose profits

go to Western multinationals (hello Mrs Karat!) at a time when Ayurvedic

medicine is becoming increasingly popular in Western countries, after being

disillusioned by antibiotics and other heavy-handed medicines.

 

We are witnessing an interesting phenomenon in India today. Some Communists,

some Christians, some Muslims and some Congress leaders -- all of whom have

nothing in common and often hate each other are united against Hinduism and

Hindu leaders.

 

In contrast, look at the Hindus: Swami Ramdev himself criticised Sri Sri Ravi

Shankar live on television, advising his followers not to practice Art of Living

breathing techniques. During the tsunami relief operations in Nagapattinam,

disciples of Amritanandamayi and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar nearly came to blows over

who would give relief to whom, instead of networking and uniting their efforts.

 

And who came to the rescue of Osho when he was maligned to death, or Dhirendra

Brahmachari when the entire press came down on him, or Satya Sai Baba, when he

was slandered, or the Shankaracharya when he was thrown into jail, or Sri Sri

Ravi Shankar, when Javed Akhtar accused him of coming 'from a cave to live in a

palace' (and not from a palace to a cave like the Buddha)? None of the

previously mentioned. Yet, Indian politicians can commit any crime, have any

number of court cases against them, and they still end up as Union ministers and

get positive press coverage.

The greatest curse of Hinduism throughout the ages has been its disunity --

and more than that -- its betraying each other. The British did not conquer

India, it was given to them by its warring Hindu princes, jealous of each other.

The same is true of Islam: the last great Hindu empire, that of Vijaynagar, was

betrayed to the Muslims by the Lingayats.

 

I know there is something mysterious and unfathomable in the manifestation of

the Divine upon earth, and that each guru has a defined task to fulfill and that

the combined task of all the gurus may solve the great puzzle that is this

ignorant and suffering earth.

 

Thus, it may not be necessary for each guru to communicate with each other.

But nevertheless, it is of the greatest urgency today that Hindu leaders unite

to save Hinduism, rather than 'each one for his own' that we see today.

 

The Catholics have their Pope and his word is binding on all Catholics.

Muslims have Prophet Mohammed's words and that binds all of Islam together.

Indian Communists have the words of Marx and Lenin, even if it has become

irrelevant in Russia, Germany, and also in China. But the poor Hindus have

nobody to refer to, so as to defend themselves.

 

Yet, if you take the combined people power of Satya Sai Baba,

Amritaanandamayi, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Swami Ramdev, Guruma of Ganeshpuri, the

Shankaracharya of Kanchipuram, and so many others I cannot mention here, it runs

in hundreds of millions.

 

Again, in all humility and conscious of the limitation of mind compared to

some of these great gurus whom I have met, I propose that a Supreme Spiritual

Council, composed of at least seven of the most popular Hindu leaders of India,

be constituted, maybe under the leadership of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the most

travelled of all these, the one who has disciples and teachers of all religions,

both from India and the West.

It should be a non-political body, and each group would keep its independence

but nevertheless. It could meet two three times a year and issue edicts, which

would be binding on 850 millions Hindus in India and one billion over the world.

Then and then only can this wonderful spirituality which is Hinduism, this

eternal knowledge behind the outer forms, the wisdom to understand this mad

earth and its sufferings, be preserved for the future of India, and for the

future of humanity.

 

I bow down to each of these gurus mentioned above and to all those not

mentioned, to Swami Vivekananda, the initiator of modern Hinduism, to Sri

Aurobindo, the great avatar of the supramental, and to all the great gurus who

have graced over the ages, this wonderful and sacred land which is India and

beseech them to hear my prayer:

Hindus leaders, unite, if you want eternal Dharma to survive.

 

 

Francois Gautier

 

================================================================================\

=============

When the intellect starts maturing, it starts questioning the source of

creation.Misunderstandings happen on this planet because of distance, because

there is no closeness, no one ever "sits next to" the other. In one house people

live on different planets. In a town, people live in different galaxies. There

is so much distance, and so there is no understanding. Knowledge is possible

only when you come close. From a distance, and in a formal atmosphere, knowledge

cannot blossom...Being together is the foundation of knowledge. - Sri Sri Ravi

Shankar

[Guest guest]

, deepak u <deepak_upillai> wrote:

>

This is a pity that communistic SH** which has been cleaned from CIS

and USSR, is enthroned in India.

 

Nehru alongwith his communist friends has damaged the very basis of

hinduism in 50 years, which Moguls and English could not do in 100s of

years.

 

But a revival is on the horizon, i see the light shining and

enveloping the world

 

This is aquarian era, and no one can be fooled by any dogmas

 

with love

[Guest guest]

There is enough blame for the decline of the purity of the religion

to go around many times over. I wouldn't get carried away rushing

from one extreme to another. The period that saw the rise of many

alternative paths, jainism, buddhism, sikhism, etc etc all were

ushered in by the decline within.

 

The strength of a religion lies in how the followers walk the talk,

how they live the truths they supposedly follow. The sincerity of

its practitioners (not fanaticism), whether its bringing people

together or creating divisiveness, whether it is helping people to

lead positive lives, how it treats each other specially its

disadvantaged and needy; how it takes responsibility for its own

actions - its folllowers and the lives they lead that are

ambassadors who will help regain the status of the religion. A

disproportionate ammount of time is spent on pointing fingers

at 'all those bad guys out there who are out to get us', instead of

attempts at unifying/ straightening /cleaning up our own house so

that it is restored to its potential shine!

 

I haven't followed the details of the Swami Ramdev's case, except

that he has had to withdraw many a claim because of people falling

sick. While his program is wonderful, (I follow his DVDs myself) I

recognize the responsibility on healthcare professionals,

traditional or otherwise, to make sure that informaton is given

appropriate to the audience and their consciounsness. He is

certainly not responsible for the stupidity of the followers, but he

needs to give sufficient public warnings of the consequences of not

following the practices exactly as suggested. It is for this reason

that serious Yoga therapists, refuse to give general prescriptions.

 

_/\_ Tat twam asi

 

Uma

 

 

, deepak u <deepak_upillai>

wrote:

>

> In defence of Hindu gurus

>

> January 09, 2006:http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/jan/09franc.htm

>

>

[Guest guest]

, "Tatwamasi" <tatwamasi> wrote:

>

> There is enough blame for the decline of the purity of the religion

>

It is not a question of decline of purity of a religion. It is a

political issue, why every one in the world tries to mock at Hindus ?

why our deities are printed on shoes, WCs, footmats ? Why our gurus

are painted black ? Rajneesh (osho), Mahesh Yogi, Mata Nirmala Devi,

Ramdev etc etc etc...why is it that their legs are pulled by media

and intellectuals (read idiot communists). why in our Higher

Secodary books children are being taught " Sikh gurus were

lootersAurangzeb was a secular king", "Mahavir was never

bornKrishna and Rama are imaginery stories"....you are living far

away from India and dont know the ground realities. Are All islamic

gurus pure souls ? Are not church masters blamed for sodomy ? but

these things are not discussed in media...and at least

christians/muslims dont relish these claims as we hindus do.

 

When we were in a time when we had to pay taxes for being Hindus

in our own country (called Zazia), how could we have

progressed...while we had no time save ourselves from the tyranny of

invaders. I dont wish to critisize anyone, but these questions need

answers from our own self. If Hindu thought is not Truth...Mother

nature will destroy it herself, no need of moguls or english or

communists.

 

If we see this episode from another angle, as per ancient Greek

philosophy, which says there is a dark force called "Jealousy of

gods". This dark force, is looking for any one who is trying to

cross limits set for human beings...hence any one trying to be the

bravest, or the most cruel, or the most kind or the most unkind,

becomes pray of the Dark Force. This force, as per Greeks, gives

these people long rope, encourage them in their zeal for superiority

and then dashes on them, and finish them in one go either by creating

alien environment around them or by creating another force equally

opposite, but more powerful than them. If we see any great leader or

any great saint or any dreaded terrorist, no one could escape from

the dark force...socrates, christ, osho, martin luther king, and even

Hitler, musolinis, and who knows soon a new name of laden will be

added.

 

tha z why Greeks always believed in moderation and never tried

to cross the limits set by mother nature, to avoid the anger of the

Dark Force. Ram Dev have enjoyed a lot of fame and name...and had to

meet his waterloo...

 

 

baba

[Guest guest]

Dear Sadhakas,

I just cant understand the hue and cry about Ramdeva's

alleged "medicines". Is this single case where medinices made from

animal sources had been manufactured, adminstered and admired.If the

manufacturing is defying some rules of the Drug Act, then let the law

take it's own course. And merely accusations dont make anything worth

discussion in this forum of some real learned and realised persons.

I suggest that the chaptyer may be closed and let us focus our

attention to Tantra v/s "disguised tantra of Kriya Yoga

or "Gorakhpanthi Yoga" which might unveil the misunderstanding about

Tantric traditions.

Love

Satish

[Guest guest]

I would like to address 2 points

 

1. Why communints remaned throned in india

2.Hindu disunity

 

firstly the communists ...

 

For communists communism is a religion

Being from WB i have observd that CPI(M) supporters are fanatical in there

support for the party . No matter what the party or its leaders do or say they

support with out questioning exactly like muslims support love for there

religion. in no other party have i seen this to such an extent definitly not

Congress or BJP (they are always infighting and critising each other in public)

Communists articulate the daily need of the poor very well , the hunger of

poor is a great weapon in the hands of communists world over not just india

 

It is the combination there formidable organizational strength and the super

capability to manupulate the Hunger/distress of the poor that keeps the commies

on the thron.

 

second point

 

Hinduism is a evolved religion unlike the other to bigs which has one leader

one book

for all to follow and there diktat is imposed on all its followers.

when ever you need to impose anything you need force and to generate that

force you need unity so you see fanatical unity in religious matters specially

in muslims.

 

since question of imposing anything did not arise in Hinduism so unity in

religious matters did not develop. It is evident through out indian history not

just to day.

 

The Libarel many path approach of hindus meant there never developed a

central authority in hinduism.

secondly hinduism is pluralistic by nature it always encouraged debate and

testing of facts

 

 

Also belif in Karma plays a part ... well if some one is suffering(even if he

is a guru) it is because of his own karma so why bother is the attitude.

 

I am sure if one fine morning The commies & Congs realized that 80% of hindus

will turn against them if they continued with there curent policys then they

will make an about turn. It is only there bluff master politics.

 

but as you said the future looks bright

 

love

 

 

Baba ji <beirut_ka_baba wrote:

, deepak u <deepak_upillai> wrote:

>

This is a pity that communistic SH** which has been cleaned from CIS

and USSR, is enthroned in India.

 

Nehru alongwith his communist friends has damaged the very basis of

hinduism in 50 years, which Moguls and English could not do in 100s of

years.

 

But a revival is on the horizon, i see the light shining and

enveloping the world

 

This is aquarian era, and no one can be fooled by any dogmas

 

with love

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spiritual path Aum

 

 

 

 

Visit your group "" on the web.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

I have no information on the case you quote, maybe you could provide

us with some links on articles about the facts of the story and the

accusations.

 

In any case, if there is really a persecution of Hinduism this is

against human rights and the universal democratic principle of the

free choice of religion. This reminds me a similar case in Greece

which has taken the attention of amnesty international. In that case a

famous scholar who founded a study group on Rumi in Greece has been

sentensed. Read more here:

 

http://viruswitch.blogspot.com/2005/12/black-list-of-shame-and-new.

html

 

and

 

http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engEUR250242005?open&of=eng-GRC

 

Communism in India? Hell no, the yogis in Himalaya should meditate

more and drive them away!

 

, deepak u <deepak_upillai> wrote:

>