Nasty criticisms of me from some "spiritual" RSSB defenders

I find it entertaining to see how supposedly "spiritual" followers of Radha Soami Satsang Beas, the Indian organization headed up by a guru that I was a member of for 35 years, can write such wonderfully insulting comments about me.

I'm sharing some recent comments below, along with my response in italics.


These are great comments -- don't get me wrong about that -- but they pale in vehemence, profanity, and stream of consciousness verbosity to comments I've received previously and published on my I Hate Church of the Churchless blog.

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Believer in Humanity said:

Brian Hines is the most egotistical person in the world. He became dead against the RSSB when his book was not printed by Dera. His ego was so much hurt. He will never let this truth out. He is a big time fame and attention grabber. He pretends though opposite...I closely know and have seen his actions first hand. The best thing we can do to him is IGNORE HIM. It is said that ignoring anyone is the best insult you can do to him. Let us not fell in his trap. If we all ignore him. He gets unsettled. He tries to find something to trigger news and get attention

Wow! I'm the most egotistical person in the world?! Thanks for the honor, but have you spent much time watching my country's president, Donald Trump? I humbly need to claim second place. Also, it was a mutual decision to have Return to the One published by myself, not RSSB. (Plug: click on that Amazon link to buy it.) Regarding me wanting to get attention, thanks for writing your comment, which I'm using to help get more attention. 

 

Naresh said:

Mr. Brian, You don't know and you will come to know in the coming days that you are an Idiot. By reproducing the text what Bombay Blonde has posted, you have acknowledged this. There is no wrong doing in conducting business by borrowing money from close family members. You have crossed your limits. It seems you are an aged person, please get your head examined.

Oh, I know that I can be an idiot. Just not all the time. A couple of days ago my car wouldn't lock after I'd parked it. I kept trying for about a minute, then realized I'd left the auxiliary power on while listening to the radio. I did indeed feel like an idiot. Regarding loans to family members being wrongdoing, read this Bloomberg story. You'll find that loans to the Dhillon family came from companies controlled in whole or part by members of RSSB, which led to "crushing debt" that helped destroy the Singh brothers business empire. Lastly, I do get my head examined at an annual physical exam. So far I've been able to correctly answer the senior citizen questions, like what my name is and where I live.

 

Gurdish Kaur said:

U r really sick and need to go psychiatrist .Mind ur own buisness and don't spread remours about dera .Ur bad statements can't harm anything.so get well soon.....Best wishes...

 

Thanks for the concern about my mental health. I'm married to a retired psychotherapist, so I figure that my wife will let me know if I become truly mentally ill. Of course, all wives sometimes think that their husband is crazy, so I'm not counting this as a mental illness, just a byproduct of marriage.

 

REVENGE said:

If only I could be the owner of hell, what splendid plans I'd come up with for the writer. I wouldn't stoop as low as you have but just remember KARMA. One day things unimaginable will happen to you and you will wonder what wrong did I do and then all of a sudden you will remember this, just know Karma fucked you hard.

 

I'd love to know more details about what sort of hell you envision for me. Suggestion: since I'm a liberal who detests Donald Trump, being forced to wear a red Make America Great Again cap and listen for eternity to Trump's campaign speeches would be a hellish punishment. 

 

Varinder Singh said:

You all are asshole stupid .you have no idea what you are doing

Well, right now I feel like I know that what I'm doing is writing a response to you telling me that I have no idea what I'm doing. But maybe this all is illusion, maya. Which would be far out!

sanjeev said:

Pigs are writing such poor attention seeking articles without having done any proper investigation. Idiot foreigners are writing such useless articles based on rumours.

 

Hey, I've got to stand up for my country! I'm not an idiot foreigner, I'm a proud idiot American! By the way, rumors sometimes are true. That's why the RSSB guru should authorize an independent audit of the Beas Trust and the Dhillon family finances. That way rumors could be dispelled. Or, maybe, confirmed.

 

Sonal said:

Total Rubbish...These people r making rumours of Rssb ...RSSB is as clean and pure as God itself...

 

Interesting argument. Not sure if it would stand up in a court of law. And what if God doesn't exist?

 

Akanksha said:

Now what good can u expect when Dirty people starts judging and blaming others who are doing good. Rssb is a class in itself. By writing a mere rubblish article what do u want to prove?? Just grow up.

 

I take a shower every morning and a bath every night. So I'm quite clean, mostly. Regarding growing up, I keep waiting for that to happen. I'm almost 70, so I'm beginning to doubt that's going to occur. But on the bright side, I'm pleased that I'm still growing, not stagnant.

 

Nidhi said:

Were u ever a follower, you Brian Hines? You are clearly KAL you should change your name to SATAN. You are the weakest human being who did have the strength to continue on the path so left it and start blaming and shaming the guru to hide your own weaknesses. They say the path is for the 'Soormas' and definitely not for swines like you. You are a bunch of weaklings and spineless swines. As I said before as well wait for your time to be over you will have to pay for your karmas and believe me you will not be able to carry their load. May God give you the toughest punishment ever.

 

Gosh, now I've gone from being a plain idiot to SATAN. Well, I guess that's a promotion. Sort of. And, yes, I was initiated by Charan Singh in 1971, through his representative Roland deVries. I meditated every day and followed the vows to the best of my ability for 35 years. I did a lot of seva for RSSB, including writing three books on the organization's behalf, serving as sangat secretary for many years, giving satsangs, and doing security seva at several of Gurinder Singh's visits to North America. Does all this count for anything with God, or am I still going to get "the toughest punishment ever"? Like, more than what Hitler or Stalin got? Yikes!

 

New one:

dharam said:

mr. Brian you have crossed the limits in writing abusive language. i request you to remove abusive language and picture from your blog immediately. i would like to narrate a story to u. some persons called 'bear' to some sangat asking for parshad in the congregation of a sikh guru and they had to be born as bears and again they were liberated from the species of 'bear' by the next guru.hope u might understand. i remind u there is heavy punishment by the God for the pain givers and criticisers of saints as per gurubani which is like bible. and thes press reports or other reports cannot be said as true or conclusive.and you better mind your business for sake of your soul.

 

I think bears are quite adorable. But I'm thinking more of Pooh Bear, than a grizzly bear. Do I get a choice of what sort of a bear I'll be reincarnated as? And is a panda a kind of bear? Being a panda would be OK. I'm a vegetarian, and I could learn to like bamboo shoots -- especially if I was a panda. Theological question: can both the Gurubani, which I assume is the Adi Granth Sahib (which I've read), and the Bible both be true? Me, I doubt it. In fact, I don't think any holy books are true, which is why I'm not afraid of anything happening to my soul, because I don't believe I have one.

 

Another new one, an email:

from Shivkumar B, Bathjia: 

In indian mythology there was one so called powerful person who had 7 heads. He was proclaimed as God. He tried to flirt with Sita wife of God. Not only he lost 7 heads he lost his entire family n his kingdom was reduced to Ashes.  How many heads you have? Your fate will be similar.  Your time starts now. Let us see how u protect yourself.

Hmmm. So Indian mythology says God cuts off someone's seven heads, destroys his family, and reduces his kingdom to ashes because he tried to flirt with the wife of God.  Seems like overkill, to put it mildly. Myths like this one is why I don't believe in God, who sounds a lot with the judgmental violent God of the Old Testament. In answer to your question, I have one head. I'm not going to do anything special to protect myself, because I'm not afraid of speaking truth to power -- even if the (mythical) power in this case supposedly is God.

Also, if someone flirted with my wife, my likely reaction would either be to ignore this, or to say to the guy (or gal), "Hey, you've got good taste, but this is my wife." I wouldn't want to behead them. So this seems to show that I've got more love, compassion, and self-control than whatever mythical God is being talked about in the "Sita" story.

 

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UPDATE: Jesse just left a Church of the Churchless comment that explained India's crazy (to me) laws about offending religious sensibilities. I've copied in a portion below. But I'm an American. We're fortunate to have a First Amendment that protects free speech. And the state where I live, Oregon, has an even stronger statement about free speech in our state constitution. So people who live outside of the United States need to remember that we can say whatever we want about religions.

 

For those who don't know, in India, it is illegal to criticize other religions. The law talks about "hurting the religious sentiments of others" or something (IPC 153) , and crazy religious riots are almost a daily happening there, literally, because people are too emotional to hear blasphemy. I've had conversations even here with people from India and they've used those words "hurt my religious sentiments." This is why you see here everyone who is freaking out is saying Brian has no right, he's slandering, it's illegal etc. Because they developed a culture where critique is not allowed and it is illegal where they live, because they want it to be. Mobs shut cities down regularly over words they don't like. What we have in the west called "free speech" simply doesn't exist in many other parts of the world, and people who don't have this mindset will almost never convert to it, nor will their kids.

 

It's interesting that the United States rarely, if ever, has violence involving either religious speech, or anti-religious speech, whereas India does. Sure, India has its own unique religious history, marked by a lot of religious hatred.

 

Still, free speech is a very good thing, and India needs more of it.

 

When people feel like they can't express themselves honestly ad directly, frustrations simmer. That's why I was so pleased to see that India's Supreme Court has legalized gay rights. It must have been tough for gays in India to feel like they are a genuine part of their country, when the laws discriminated against them.

 

Comments

[Arjuna]

@ Brian - we have disagreed and then you gave me food for thought! I have never been nasty to you as it’snit in my nature.

Respect Brian - you are still a good man And what’s coming out is leaving me feeling lost with humanity to be fair!

Respect

[Arjuna]

Hang on isn’t Trumo trying to kill if free speech in the US!

The U.K. tolerates free speech - I don’t think free speech will survive for long in the State under Trump as it undermines him. I guess the dumb ass think hill billes who voted for him will learn - that he is for the rick and not for them very soon!

I don’t like racists - and yes I know India has issues but I don’t care as I am from the U.K.! Hail Mueller and the Bob Woodward!

😀

[One Initiated]

I am amazed that you Brian found these nasty

Per the criticism done by this blog, these are below average I would say.

[Jesse]

Arjuna, I don't know if you're just extremely uninformed or trolling.

U.K. has barred an unprecedented number of US and Canadian citizens from speaking because of "hate speech" laws which are randomly applied to people who disagree with the status quo. I haven't confirmed this, but parents who spoke out against the grooming and sexual exploitation of their daughters were jailed under these same laws. Tommy Robinson has been jailed for "hate speech" many times as have many others, and they're not even extreme in their views. You do not have functioning protective measures for freedom of speech in the UK.

And your assessment of Trump is 180 degrees from reality on the question of free speech. He's dealing essentially with a media orchestrated coup which has forced him to seek measures to not limit their speech, but possibly enforce slander laws when there is a near monopoly in their industry. On the side of citizenry, he's the only president in my life who has been asked by multiple major corporations and members of all levels of government to help restrict the free speech of citizens. So far he has gone against them. Hopefully Twitter and Facebook, both of whom have become monopolies and want to eliminate freedom of speech, will face regulations by Ajit Pai, who happens to be the polar opposite of my earlier generalization of immigrants against free speech.

[Arjuna]

@ Jesse - not trolling - and certainly not misinformed. Just stating my opinion on my observations.

[Jesse]

One, they sound nastier because they're so stupid. It's one thing to rip someone apart, but the comments being left are limited only to the insult part. They're not even ad hominem attacks, since an ad hominem suggests that the insult is the argument.

These are just insults without arguments.

Did you read that cult watch link I posted? You're seeing a cult fall apart now.

[Arjuna]

@ Jesse - however I’m a fair guy and will look into what you wrote when I have time.

[Jesse]

I can't find it, but there was a public meeting with police officers somewhere in England which listed all the ways your social media posts could land you in jail.

It was basically saying that your intent matters not, what you say matters not, but how someone else perceives your words is what counts. That is as dystopian as it gets. We have some trying to push in that direction in USA now too. Dangerous times.

[One Initiated]

Jesse,

That was for Brian not for you.
You are miles ahead even that of Brian to assert what is nasty.
I am glad you are not the tenant of this blog.

"You're seeing a cult fall apart now"
At least that imagination is giving your poor mind some relief,
whereas your soul is craving for something else - you can't even listen right now.

[Arjuna]

@ Jesse - ok if you find that article post it. Interesting .

And yes dangerous times if that was true case. Anyone who has a grudge against one could land us in trouble due to their perception of what they think you said! Not good

Might as well give up my job and fly to the mars ! If that was the case

[Jesse]

If Juan is correct, One, then there is a serious problem and they're desperately trying to find a way to do damage control. This isn't imagination. Your guru being more than a filthy pig is your imagination.

RSSB was able to distance itself from the corruption of its leader(s) for a long time. Now that the connection has been made clear, the pressure on the guru and the org will increase. This is the sort of thing that causes schisms.

[Believer in Humanity]

Brian Hines is the most egotistical person in the world.
He became dead against the RSSB when his book was not printed by Dera.
His ego was so much hurt. He will never let this truth out.
He is a big time fame and attention grabber.
He pretends though opposite...I closely know and have seen his actions first hand.
The best thing we can do to him is IGNORE HIM. It is said that ignoring anyone is the best insult you can do to him. Let us not fell in his trap. If we all ignore him. He gets unsettled. He tries to find something to trigger news and get attention
BRIAN I AM NOT REFERRING To RETURN TO ONE...THERE IS ANOTHER ONE YOU KNOW VERY WELL.
WELL IN MY LIFE, I HAVE NEVER SEEN MORE EGOTOSTICAL PERSON THAN YOU. YOU beat by miles anyone I have known of in this life.
Also, I was surprised in my personal encounter with you. Could not even believe then that you were in path...this was those days...You were epitome of ego anyone can have...

[Believer in Humanity]

Jesse, sister I wish you well. I don't know you. I don't want to comment on your messages.
I know Brian much more than you know him.
Only one thing I want to say to you is
if someone else's freedom encroaches on mine then it is not called free speech or freedom
Colin Kaepernick is teaching everyone this...

[Brian Hines]

Believer in Humanity, I have no idea what you're talking about. I've written three books.

God's Whisper, Creation's Thunder was published privately, with RSSB subsidizing the publication by buying several thousand books from Threshold Books. I've recently gotten this book back in print, in a shorter and simplified version that is available on Amazon.

Life is Far was published by RSSB. I wrote it after being asked to by RSSB officials, who said the guru who initiated me, Charan Singh, always wanted to have a small book about the karmic rationale for vegetarianism.

Return to the One was written by me after I asked Gurinder Singh for advice about what my next book project should be. It was read and reviewed by many people in RSSB, but in the end it was decided that I would publish it on my own.

These are the only books I've written so far, though i have a new one in mind. There is no other book that RSSB was involved with. I don't know where you got your incorrect information, but you're wrong.

[Appreciative Reader]

Heh, brilliant! Read this post just now, and loved your witty and yet civil responses to these less than civil (and sometimes downright uncouth) personal attacks from the outraged faithful. Some of your responses had me actually laughing out loud. Nice!

[Sumit]

Whatever you want to do, u can't find anything except god..it is as pure as god..my dears...radha swami

[Amar]

Spending 35 years ..Writing some books which Motivated many to come to this path is awesome sir... V still have ur books in satsang centers ..
But couldn't understand y so much of hatred??
I believe u might hate the present master but u still love Hazoor ... He always used to say " love everyone.. love the enemies even more because God is there in everyone". Hating someone is hating God himself!!
So y not just leave this hatred .. ??

[DM]

Hi Brian,
I have been a seeker and associated with Rssb from last 35 years and I have also been a reader of your blog from a long time. and I confess you contributed a lot in strengthening my belief in the path and Master and in helping me mature as a spiritual seeker. I have nothing to criticize you or hate you for vitriolic writings against Rssb or Master. This is really strange for me too but as I kept reading about how vociferously you followed everything that happened in beas.. and criticize almost everything about Rssb, my concepts kept on clearing and I went a little deeper.. I agreed with you about how most of so called satsangis are imposters and many of management people are also far from good seekers but that's how it always is, the path of spiritual awakening is not meant for everyone and untill and unless you have some internal progress and realization to fall back, you can never be convinced of the way or the teacher. There's no surprise that very few of seekers are true seekers and most of the people are inane and at the far periphery of the true teachings.. but believe me there's that light and that sound and that transcendence where all doubts get dissolved and believe me all the anxiety, and the strong desire to prove yourself right and someone else wrong means nothing there! You once talked about zen Buddhism, nissargadutta maharaj and tao te ching... That's going the true way.. You know I have gone through all these teachings and those of ekhart tolle, sufis, shams tabrizi, rumi, rammana mahrishi and nondualistic vedantic teachings and who made me go through all these Rssb! Your criticisms ensured that some fierce critics of masters are there as they always are in every era and for every mystic.... Thanks for this!

[Dinesh Manchanda]

I sincerely request to all of pl do malign RSSB name without much knowing about it.
Filthy language in this blog is hearting the satsangis feelings .fyi RSSB was established in India in 1891.
I request pl do not pass any loose comment on GSD.as he is our master , however if anything wrong has been done knowingly or unknowingly there is a law which will do the scrutiny of what has happened and give decision publicly . PL wait till such things has been proved and do not jump on conclusion or assumtion . And if any thing illegal is done law will take it action and in such an senario GSD himself will surrender if anything wrong has been done.
Mr Brian be quiet till the judgement is there .first of all you being a foreginer you have no right to comment on any subject of what is happening in RSSB

[Bombay Blonde]

@ Dinesh Manchanda : This isn't an all Indian group here, most of the regular contributors here aren't even Indian. We are a group of multicultural and multiracial people. Wrong window. RSSB welcomes foreigners, it always has. Brian happens to be an ex-speaker for the sect, kindly read his profile.

I'm impressed that you smell a rat.

" GSD will himself surrender " is what you are saying which means that you and I are in agreement. Let's see what happens, the speculations are rife and it's healthy to speculate at a time like this.

On a side-note, financial wrongdoings aren't usually accidental or unknowing. I think you should stop trying to justify what you already know. ( Gut. A funny thing that tells you what's coming but no one wants to listen. )

[Todd Chambers]

I wish some of these fuckers from India would learn some English grammar before posting here.

[Todd Chambers]

Oh, and Shivkumar, it was ten heads, not seven! Get off your lazy ass and read a little about your own culture!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravana#Iconography

Asshole......

[Jesse]

I feel you Todd, but imagine how much worse it would be if Brian decided we could only use Telugu language on the site.

[Todd Chambers]

Well Jesse, if I had to post in Telugu, I would first consult a native speaker, and double check everything I plan to write, before actually posting.