Reality is a boat without oars

Yesterday a regular visitor to this blog, tucson, left a comment on a post that deserved more attention than it likely was going to get.

(Irritatingly, TypePad, my blog service, doesn't take a click on a "recent comments" link directly to the comment, only to the post; tucson's comment was on an old post with hundreds of comments on multiple pages, so it was hard to find).

Here's what tucson had to say in response to a previous comment by "Neitzsche" that talked about the guru of an Eastern religious organization (RSSB), Gurinder Singh. I thought tucson's advice to Neitzsche was wise. And I even was able to smile at tucson's dig at Obama.

Nietzsche made a few remarks:

N. said: "I read that a satguru does not have to achieve the highest level possible, that makes sense to me but I've read that only a truth master can initiate so there must be a lie somewhere. If the satguru refers to your inner master that makes sense to me too."

--You repeatedly say you have "read" that so and so is true. I suggest relying more on your personal experience, reason, common sense and not on what you read. Does anything that you read about a satguru make sense to you, i.e. the supposed powers he/she has, etc.? What in your personal experience would lead you to rationally conclude that a satguru can do what you "read" about him/her. Would you believe me if I told you, without any evidence to back it up, that I know beings from the planet Venus and travel there with them regularly? I do, you know. What the master claims is far more implausible, imo.

N. said: "Especially because I've had the following experiences:
1-just after my initiation a friend, who is still very psychic, said looking at the foto of Gurinder, this man has no powers judged from the aura."

--I am a little "psychic" at times and once got the same impression about Gurinder, but don't rely on us. What do YOU feel? That's what is important.

N. said: "2-a paranormal gifted person that I consulted years later said when showed the foto's of Gurinder. He is hiding something and he does not want people to figure him out. He also said that he was not a very high person but seeing the second foto commented that he was learning fast."

--How would a person, such as a psychic, know if someone is "high"? How is "high" established? Perhaps the psychic is not "high" enough to recognize how high the master is or isn't. IMO we are all the same. Nothing higher, nothing lower. Bug, cat, human..all equal manifestations in mind or consciousness. The master is the disciple, the disciple is the master. Snake...Barrack Obama. Same thing. (Sorry, had to get in my political dig.)

N. said: "3-a friend that can very good tell what people feel when holding an object of the person held the foto of Gurinder in his hand and said that the person was grumbling that thins did not go like he wanted them to go. Not a saint at all he said."

--Why presume that a saint can't be in a bad mood sometimes? These presumptions are ideas, concepts that you have accumulated about how a supposed realized person might behave. Consider the possibility these concepts may not have anything to do with the truth of the matter, whatever that may be.

N. said: "Especially the last comment hit close home because all people above did know nothing about santmat but I know that Gurinder tends to send sewadars home now and then when things don't go his way and my own observation is that he is not very patient indeed and I have the ability to judge character if I may say so. I just didn't want to see it."

--Well, I don't think that a "realized" person necessarily must behave perfectly according to a relative set of standards. Why should they? Who knows what such a one would do?... Sing Kumbaya all day? Maybe. Throw bananas at gawkers? Maybe. Who knows?

But here you touch on something significant. YOU sensed that Gurinder's character was not very good, yet you try to deny that which was before your very eyes, your own gut feeling, because of what you were told, or read, or the opinion of others about the ways of a master. People like to say that when their guru behaves badly it is only a reflection of their own inner condition or that it was some kind of spiritual lesson, or some kind of karma had to be cleared. Blind belief in this kind of stuff, this kind of thinking, cult mentality, could get you drinking some poison kool-aid one day.

N. said: "And now? Should I go on that he is only pointing at my higher self? Shouldn't he tell the truth to his followers? Are they better of believing? I am treated as outcast now and then by them :("

--He should tell the truth to his followers but that probably would put him out of business. RSSB is a religious cult, imo. People brainwashed by the cult mindset are going to reject that which does not fit nicely into the cult mindset box...namely you. Congratulations, it appears your escape is immanent as evidenced by your statement below.

I feel that you are a nice person, too nice sometimes, and are maybe a little naive (no offense intended). You give too much of your power to others and rely on them too much...psychics, masters, bibles, heresay, scriptures can be tools but the ultimate tool is with you as this which you are, always present. Stand strong within yourself. Listen to your gut and intuition and see what is really true for you.

N said: "The group pressure from the satsangi's I escaped a long time ago. What is wrong with me or my christian roots? And why shouldn't I feel good about me? Why is it so important to all think alike and to be little slaves? I find the group pressure having much resemblance to a cult."

--There. You have answered for yourself and knew it all along, but maybe as a suggestion you should consider applying the same scrutiny to Christian beliefs as well.

It's a little uncomfortable at first but you may have to stand alone facing the vastness of infinity without a guide, without oars for your boat. But don't worry, infinity is the guide. For me, the truth is... there are no oars and infinity takes care of itself.

After tucson posted his comment, I left one of my own in the same distant reaches of a 2005 blog post. Mine contained links to a So You Think You Can Dance hip-hop performance by Alex and Twitch that, to me, conveys some deep truths about the meaning of life -- or the lack thereof.

Here it is (if you watch the video, keep in mind that Alex is a professional ballet dancer):

tucson, great comment. There's a lot of wisdom in what you said. As for me, about all I feel like adding to your sentiments is...

A link to a post on my other blog about a terrific hip-hop dance message: "Get Out of Your Mind!"
http://bit.ly/cDzjeT

And a link to a video of that performance, which I found strangely compelling. If all psychiatrists acted like this, that'd be way cool. Also, all gurus. (A short ad precedes the video.)
http://bit.ly/a2fwC7

Speaking of comments... I've decided to turn on TypePad's "comment moderation" feature. There's been a summer infestation of trolls whose pathetic life seems to consist in large part of leaving infantile insults on this blog, which I have to delete.

Prevention is better than cure/deletion.

With comment moderation, where I approve non-troll comments periodically during the day, this here Church of the Churchless isn't bothered by jerks yelling comment-wise, "Look at me! Look at me! I know how to talk like a foul-mouthed five year old!"

So until a different fancy strikes me, I'm enjoying having comments published after a relatively short delay. As I said before, I've got no interest in having this blog used as a platform for spewing fundamentalist religious nonsense or inane insults. 

On the positive side, recently I've gotten some emails from people who appreciate the churchless message of my blog posts and visitor comments. Those comments often are the best part of a post, as evidenced by tucson's thoughts above.

Comments

[Bob]

Brian,

Thanks for posting Tuscon's response! It's a keeper!

Bob

[Nietzsche]

These lyrics of Maxim mean a lot to me, hope you'll enjoy:

[Maxim]
Walk the waves which I emmenate
Displace the friend of a better taste
I prove the relics of my onslaught
Deny the truth and you will get caught
Design, project to clear your minds eye
Raise (?) fear barrier, fear carrier
Hallucinator, mind captivator
The pace that I conjure
Orginal, a miracle I wonder
I feed the addict to my venom
Rhythmic, smooth rock the pend'um
Myself, I'm so (*scratch*) glorious
I play with hopes till victorious
Gridlock within my prison
Spitting face of pure isms!

[Chorus - Maxim]
Killing the culture (Killing the culture)
Killing the culture (Killing the culture)
Creating culture (Creating culture)
Kissin' more contracts
Suicidal impacts

[Maxim]
You've been iced, my secret sinner star
I cast the shadow, of a sorcerer
A thousand acres of critics
Two thousand hectares of addicts
Terrify, test ambition
Entice your soul, drive my piston
Reflect your soul in the mirror
Vice-captain the true sinner
Intellect when I battle
Silence snakes when I rattle
Ideas breed like algae
A beast of pure obscenity
Distort your only vision
A tyrant to the system
Fear the words spoken by the tounge
(?) by force, yet to come!

[Chorus]

[Spoken Interlude - Maxim]
Our Father, give us this day, our daily bread
and deliver us from evil and forgive those
who tresspass against us

*scratching*

[Maxim]
Impregnate points on pysche
Relocate your anxiety
Drop bombs, stain your eardrum
Release fear from the asylum
Bribe (?) to hear my seminar
Forcing will to be the major star
I'm'a start inject the vaccine
The Maxim in your bloodstream
Defy laws of physics
Dispell the myth from my cynics
Life for design, set the pace
Silent check, respect my space
Ignite a spark
Vicious and sharp
Face to face with the tutor
Bringing hell to the piper

[Chorus]

[Ruhari Abdullah Sawan Singh]

The title church of the churchless strikes me a real test of democracy to uphold a right to worship on a blog say without being sworn at in that church.A case of individual freedoms,presented for dissection and ridicule, by who m the church fathers?
No worship in this cyberspace sense i of an individual expressing themselves on a free site should have some degree of decorum,whether or not you believe a hunan being capable of becoming god for example. For example some believe Baba jI is an incarnation of Guru Nanak-ok whats wrong with that? Are you an incarnation of Guru Nanak, how do you know you arent? How do you know he isnt? How do we know anything? OK so hes experienced God within saw Guru Nanak and Baba ji were one and the same.Freedom of expression freedom of worship, what we gonna do now.Assassinate Baba Jis ass.? Or asskiss Baba jis assassin? When we perceive someone as not having the right systems of worship like we do in place is the time we are being fanatical. Saints do come in this creation ,they are as real as the Liberty bell in Philadelphia, as real as Barack Obamas presidency.
A saint is a person who has gone to the 5th spiritual region.A perfect living master is a saint who has been appointed to initiate
souls into the science of surat shabd yoga, yoga of the sound current.I have had many interviews with 2 spiritual masters,one past one present and have had 28 years of struggle on this path ,and know it to be bona fide and fit for everyone in the planet, who want to,give up alcohol,drugs,eggs,fish,meat, lead a moral life,celibate or married and live a norma l life while meditating for a min of 2.5 hours each day as described iat initition.
Thats it really I dont agree with some that sant mat is a cult or a sect, it is neither Anyone can join the society of saints,one only has to ask It doesnt make you any greater or lesser a human being ,but it does help you overcome your problems.No I firmly believe sant mat is for everyone,its not a religion and will never become so.Assassination plot or not Baba Ji has to keep doing his job, as satguru at Beas and worldwide satsang speaker, as described in the will read out in Beas June 10 1990. Nothing can stop the spread of the teachings of the saints.

[Ruhari Abdullah Sawan Singh]

Masters of sound and light will always be in this earth to help those brave ones who wish to learn of the mysteries of surat shabd yoga. yoga of the sound current.
No master has said that they are the only ones,all masters preach the same one message.Theirs is not a religion a sect nor a cult.
How can you build a church to house the nameless,how can one race be the chosen ones when all human beings share the shabd
share the word.Masters of the system of surat shabd yoga have been ,are here now and will be in the future.Some call god ,radha soami ,yahweh, jehovah the place where we have come from,the place where we are going.Let us unite as a family of diverse beliefs at least to allow freedom of worship of this energy some call tao,shabd,kalma,When we can awaken ourselves from the strict tenets of religion and see what lies inside the holy scriptures,we will see that surat shabd yoga is the same teaching as espoused by all previous masters, once we have the courage to enquire honestly with an unbiased mind, tihei mauri ora, Manuia

[Roger]

"A saint is a person who has gone to the 5th spiritual region."

--Please provide the title of the person that has only gone to:
1. first region -
2. second region -
3. third region -
4. fourth region -

Thanks for the education....Roger

[erik]

While both Lauren and Kent were wonderful dancers, Kent does not yet have the upper body strength to pull off many of the dance styles that involve lifting and catching his partner. He will grow into it. Lauren had strength, grace and the ability to dance every style given to her. She deserved the win. congratulations to her!