The dark side of spirituality

[Guest guest]

Thanks Dan for a very reasonable response. There is much value in what you

say and I think you walk the fine line between honestly expressing your

opinion and yet taking care to be open to both sides of the issues. There is

a dark side to spirituality and well known gurus and religious and spiritual

teachers and masters, etc. There always has been. It is useful to bring it

to light. Rationalizing it, pushing it under the rug, justifying it on the

basis of some higher wisdom cannot be constructive in the long run. I will

pass this on to . I am playing the mail man today and

forwarding some good posts.

 

Love to all

Harsha

 

 

Dan Berkow, PhD [berkowd]

Tuesday, January 11, 2000 9:27 AM

NondualitySalon

[NondualitySalon] Re: Sarlo/Osho and other gurus

 

"Dan Berkow, PhD" <berkowd

 

Hi Sarlo. Yes, I was referring to the community in Oregon when I

discussed Osho's separation from the human community in general. This

community involved armed guards, busing in vagrants from various places -

registering them to vote to affect local elections, and one member of

Osho's staff trying to poison people. You seem much more aware of the

details than I am. Apparently you lived through it. I acknowledge that my

views here are second hand, and that your presentation of first-hand

knowledge carries a degree of insight into the day to day dynamics that I

don't profess to have. I know someone who was affected by Rajneesh (that

was his name at the time) in ways that were not too cool. From her account,

there was a kind of group hypnotic effect that occurred in his community

in India. As for Adi Da, I think his writings speak for themselves

regarding increasing grandiosity.

 

You chastise me for having opinions

about people that I haven't worked with first-hand. There is validity to

this. However, my stating of my opinion brought you to state yours, and

this is the value of a forum such as this. For a short time, I was

involved with a guru-centered organization, and I watched the group-think

mentality unfold, and saw how the belief-system was expounded, maintained,

and attempted to be promulgated. I'm rather leery of such organized

attempts to use a human figure-head as a God-symbol while expanding a

political organization. Can the same be said of many organized religious

movements? Yes.

 

I'm wary of attempts to elicit adoration and a group-think

mentality toward a guru or spokesperson for God. That's where my remarks

come from. I know that for some people, the concept of bhakta is

important, and they can overlook mass hypnotic effects for the sake of

bhakta. I simply support the idea of "open eyes", which, in fact, is a

concept promoted by the very same Franklin Jones who became Bubba Free

John, Da Free John, various other names, and finally Adi Da. The truth is,

I find some of Adi Da's teachings to be on target, and also find this to be

true of Osho. My position is, take truth where you find it, trust your own

insight and intuition, throw out what doesn't fit, as yours is the

awareness that is truth itself.

 

Is there something wrong, per se, with a teacher behaving in ways that

challenge expectations? Not at all. You used the example of Jesus and the

money lenders. There are other Biblical examples as well.

How about the Jesus in the Revelation of St. John? How about Moses coming

down from the mountain? Among recent teachers, Ramana and Krishnamurti

consistently challenged expectations, and I find this very valuable as well.

Krishnamurti, by the way, considered Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (his name at

the time) to be a "criminal". Well, opinions can get intense regarding

spiritual matters, how they are taught, and whose truth is right. Is my

truth right concerning Da and Osho? I make no claims here that I am right

and others are wrong. Simply that I have an opinion, and perhaps it is a

good idea to take all opinions with a grain of salt. You see mine as a

relatively uninformed opinion, and you are entitled to that position.

I find no reason to question your assertion that you benefited from your

work with Osho. I appreciate your sharing this, and I found your account

interesting and worthwhile. Obviously, there are always conflicts of

opinion about religions, teachers, and teachings. Hopefully, we can

discuss in an atmosphere of acceptance and openness to find truth. For me,

ultimately, the truth isn't contained by any person nor any organized

presentation of the truth. In many of their statements, Osho and Adi Da

supported this concept. In some cases, their organization of their truth

led to hurt (in Da's case the internet is full of such postings), and in

some ways, their organizations benefitted people. Perhaps this is the way

organizations work, some causing less harm than others, but none being able

to "make" people see the truth that is themselves.

 

In conclusion, my statements in no way are meant to invalidate learning

that occurred for you in the time you studied with Osho and his

organization. It sounds like genuine learning took place for you there,

and I appreciate hearing about it.

 

-- Love -- Dan