A
Anders
Guest
Part 1 of 6
The New Age scene of Love and Light has over the years had many amazing new inventions. Just when you think it can"t get any worse, then up pops another one. It recent years there has been the Avatar movement of creating your own reality, the Satsang movement with the "here now" tilt and the latest to top it all of is the Deeksha movement.
I will go in to further detail about this latest movement later but wish to first define what a cargo cult is:
According to Wikepedia
When I first heard about this in anthropology years ago I was amazed that some people could be so naive and gullible. I think this was a common reaction amongst fellow students. Little did I realize that I myself was emerged in a cargo cult - namely the New Age movement.
Discontented with the monotheistic religions and spiritually starved, the West in all it"s material opulence was ripe for a cargo cult. No - not a material cargo cult, but a spiritual cargo cult. A cult that would promise enlightenment, eternal happiness, peace and love on Earth and harmony amongst human being - in the future - found easy pickings in the West.
When the cargo didn"t arrive as promised in Melanesia, up started another movement with yet another future date or in the new age scene a better package, better techniques, new spellbinding teacher etcetera.
The last movement was the satsang movement. For those unfamiliar with the the word here is wikipedia:
Unfortunately the idea of being a teacher, enlightened and being considered special attracts a considerable amount of people, who instead of setting people free, encourages the transfer of authority from the seeker to the teacher. A dependency is created and the seeker looks to the teacher for their "fix" of happiness. Once the "fix" wears off the seeker just looks forward to the next teacher rolling in to town.
One could say that the movement has been ponerized, but I think that is too strong a word. It is very like what happened to the Reiki movement, which more people probably are familiar with.
The latest cargo cult is the deeksha movement. I will briefly explain to the best of my knowledge what the movement is about and why it is so disturbing.
Deeksha is Sanskrit and means "initiation". The traditional meaning is described here:
The following describes it further
So what next?
Well first you have to go to his ashram for a 21 day course. Cost is US$5500
And furthermore as this support website says
As a marketing ploy extraordinaire, group leaders in the New Age scene around the world have been invited to do the 21-day process free of charge. In this way their tacit support is almost guaranteed and for a lot of seekers it gives them an extra reason to go as the group leaders that they have on a pedestal and thus by mere association gives a process legitimacy.
For those who have done the 21 day process, they can go back for a 10 day deepening process, which again has a cost of US$1500.
A quote from the wave series by LKJ is helpful to put it into perspective:
A couple of acquaintances who had been to the onenessuniversity and done the 21 day process visited the other day, and what they recounted was pretty scary to my way of looking at reality. They on the other hand thought of it as amazing. They told me that Bhagavan has the capacity of putting people into a “high state†. He does that only with people he thinks are ready and willing. He calls these 'Cosmic Beings' and they are put into a state where they are basically vegetables. They no longer have a contact with their body and sit just motionless in a "conscious state". People have to feed them and move their limbs, so they basically sacrifice themselves for "healing" the planet. They told me that they have an "awesome energy" and that there currently are 16 people like that. The aim is to have 8000 beings like that "radiating love" out to the world.
When I heard this, I must say I was a bit shocked. Even more so in realizing that our visitors thought that this was great. They likened these cosmic beings to Ramana Maharshi, an Indian sage, who by his own chosing and capacity got into and years later out of a 'high state' of consciousness.
What is so great about someone turning people into vegetables!!! From a gardeners point of view, I can see some benefits, but seriously. To top it off, they are now revered as almost demigods. Talk about sacrificial lambs. I see it more and more like possibly a feeding hierarchy going straight to 4D STS.
It reminds me of something that I recently read in 'Bringers of the Dawn'
I discovered how difficult it is to talk to people about this issue of the cargo-cults. Most of these difficulties are due to limiting beliefs and severe lack of knowledge.Some of the difficulties are
1) A rigid belief that we are on the top of the foodchain.
2) Unwillingness to look at the possibility of hyperdimensional realities
3) Belief that Enlightenment is always STO (service to other) oriented.
4) Believing that all people have the best interest of humanity at heart.
5) Unwillingness to consider the possibility of evil.
6) A belief that there is no harm in trying.
7) Believing in a free lunch universe. The ability to get something for nothing.
8) A desperate wanting to see good in the world, to the point of negating what is.
9) General lack of knowledge.
Obviously the difficulty is greatest with the people, who are involved in a cargo-cult, which is not unlike the difficulty explaining to someone in America that there is no democracy. Like I mentioned in the beginning, then I am myself no stranger to the cargo-cults of the New Age scene and have learned by experience. This does not mean that it is an experience that everybody needs to have, which is one of the reasons why I have written the above.
Experience has taught me not to give my authority to anything outside of myself, be it a teacher, a scripture, an ET or a cosmic being. NO MATTER how fantastic it sounds, looks or feels. Giving authority to something outside of yourself is Believing in something outside of yourself MORE than what is your own experience. That is the TRAP. Or so I think :)
A clever person learns from his mistakes, a genius learns from the mistakes of others.
The comparison of the New Age scene with the Melanesian cargo-cults could just aswell include the Christian Rapture movement but that is another story.
To be continued...
Anders
The New Age scene of Love and Light has over the years had many amazing new inventions. Just when you think it can"t get any worse, then up pops another one. It recent years there has been the Avatar movement of creating your own reality, the Satsang movement with the "here now" tilt and the latest to top it all of is the Deeksha movement.
I will go in to further detail about this latest movement later but wish to first define what a cargo cult is:
According to Wikepedia
In essence it is materially poor people, who cling to the belief of a movement that the "god/spirits" in the future will send them all the material things that they see the western/white people having.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult said:A cargo cult is any of a group of religious movements in Melanesia, in the Southwestern Pacific, which believe that manufactured western goods ('cargo') have been created by ancestral spirits and intended for Melanesian people. Cult members believe that white people, however, have unfairly gained control of these objects. Cargo cults thus focus on overcoming what they perceive as undue 'white' influences by conducting rituals similar to the white behavior they have observed, presuming that the ancestors will at last recognize their own and send them cargo. Thus a characteristic feature of Cargo Cults is the belief that spiritual agents will at some future time give much valuable cargo and desirable manufactured products to the cult members.
When I first heard about this in anthropology years ago I was amazed that some people could be so naive and gullible. I think this was a common reaction amongst fellow students. Little did I realize that I myself was emerged in a cargo cult - namely the New Age movement.
Discontented with the monotheistic religions and spiritually starved, the West in all it"s material opulence was ripe for a cargo cult. No - not a material cargo cult, but a spiritual cargo cult. A cult that would promise enlightenment, eternal happiness, peace and love on Earth and harmony amongst human being - in the future - found easy pickings in the West.
When the cargo didn"t arrive as promised in Melanesia, up started another movement with yet another future date or in the new age scene a better package, better techniques, new spellbinding teacher etcetera.
The last movement was the satsang movement. For those unfamiliar with the the word here is wikipedia:
It should be mentioned that the socalled "founders" to my knowledge never had any intention of founding any thing, but were merely being themselves, which happened to be what could best be described as selfless.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satsang said:Satsang (sanskrit sat = true, sanga = company) describes in indian philosophy 1) the company of the "highest truth"; 2) the company of a guru; 3) the company with an assembly of persons who listen to, talk about, and assimilate the truth. This practice also takes the form of listening to or reading scriptures, reflecting on, discussing and assimilating their meaning, meditating on the source of these words, and bringing their meaning into one"s daily life. Especially in the tradition of advaita-vedanta, satsang with an "enlightened" master is considered to be a prerequisite. Contemporary satsang-teachers in the west sometimes mix traditional eastern knowledge with methods of modern psychology.
Satsang in the West
The modern satsang masters have freed their teachings from the strict expectations of traditional advaita-teachers toward their followers. The masters assert that rituals or meditations are not necessary for inner freedom. Enlightenment is the ever-present truth that is being found beyond any conditions and spiritual states. As attachment to thoughts and to unresolved emotions are considered to be the hindrances to this cognition, many teachers emphasize the importance of accepting emotions unbiased as they are, with no attempt of changing or dissolving them. This, they say, will take the energy away from the stories of the mind, and thus from the stream of thoughts. Others recommend to permanently "return to the moment" in order to reach the same result. Because these practices are aimed at experiencing freedom in the presence, they are not regarded as "techniques" with an outcome to be found in the future.The worldwide fast-growing satsang movement has its roots in H. W. L. Poonja, a student of Ramana Maharshi.
Unfortunately the idea of being a teacher, enlightened and being considered special attracts a considerable amount of people, who instead of setting people free, encourages the transfer of authority from the seeker to the teacher. A dependency is created and the seeker looks to the teacher for their "fix" of happiness. Once the "fix" wears off the seeker just looks forward to the next teacher rolling in to town.
One could say that the movement has been ponerized, but I think that is too strong a word. It is very like what happened to the Reiki movement, which more people probably are familiar with.
The latest cargo cult is the deeksha movement. I will briefly explain to the best of my knowledge what the movement is about and why it is so disturbing.
Deeksha is Sanskrit and means "initiation". The traditional meaning is described here:
Yet, the word deeksha has a special meaning in this latest movement:http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Deeksha/id/59315 said:deeksha: (Sanskrit) "Initiation."
Solemn induction by which one is entered into a new realm of awareness and practice by a teacher or preceptor through the bestowing of blessings and the transmission of pranas. Denotes initial or deepened connection with the teacher and his lineage and is usually accompanied by ceremony. Initiation, revered as a moment of awakening, may be conferred by a touch, a word, a look or a thought.
On the official site they go even further:http://www(dot)onenessuniversity(dot)co.uk/deeksha.php said:Deeksha is a transfer of divine energy designed to bring about the state of Oneness and flowering of the heart in the recipient. This energy has been brought to the world by the grace of the avatars Amma and Bhagavan.
Deeksha initiates a neurobiological change in the brain that when completed enables the senses to be free from the interference of the mind. When the senses are unclouded by the mind's interpretations, a natural clarity of perception occurs with accompanying spontaneous feelings of joy, inner calmness and connection to the Oneness in everything.
Bhagavan or "Kalki" as he is also called, is said to have the ability to enlighten people by his very touch.http://www.onenessuniversity.org/oneness/cms/home/ said:DEEKSHA
A phenomenon ablaze across the planet.
Deeksha is God reaching out to you, punching a hole in the wall of the mind that alienates you from the divine.
The following describes it further
On the same page there are some disclaimers about what enlightenment is not, but in order not to discourage the potential customer it continues:http://www(dot)net-blast.com/Webdesk/netblast/pages/index.html;jsessionid=197170671960BA371B8FD286F4700ABE?id=311827 said:hands upon your head in a state of divine union, and become channels for cosmic energies directed by Kalki to reorganize your neurocircuitry. Kalki refers to this process as "divine surgery". A golden ball of divine grace descends through the crown chakra, and the kundalini channels get activated, initiating a process in which the entire brain and nervous system is reorganized.
This golden ball is programmed by Kalki to reorganize the biological circuitry of the brain, leading to enlightenment. It has a living intelligence, and operates differently within each person. Once it has descended into the crown chakra, however, the process automatically continues, programmed by the divine "sankalpa" (intent) of Kalki and Amma.
Bhagavan is out on a mission to save the planet and intends to have made 64000 people enlightened by year 2010 in order to save humanity and create a golden civilization with mass enlightenment by 2012. Sounds great! Who doesn"t want to be enlightened and be free of suffering.http://www(dot)net-blast.com/Webdesk/netblast/pages/index.html;jsessionid=197170671960BA371B8FD286F4700ABE?id=311827 said:There are as many kinds of enlightenment as there are people to experience the state. Many experience a deep inner silence, others experience an all-pervading joy, yet others an abiding sense of love for all creation. Many experience a sense of oneness with creation, or even cosmic consciousness. The states come and go, and vary from person to person, but there is one thing every enlightened person will experience in common. When the self disappears, suffering ends.
So what next?
Well first you have to go to his ashram for a 21 day course. Cost is US$5500
And furthermore as this support website says
Once a person has done the 21 day process, then they are qualified to give deeksha to people back in the west. Yes, it is not quite as powerful as when the head honcho gives it, but people who go report feeling relaxed, at peace and this encourages people to come back week after week for another "fix" for which there is a fee. Sounds familiar?http://www.atimetoheal-om.net/sec%20A%20-%20articles18-21-day-preparation.htm said:This course should be attended only when one feels ripe for it, when one feels a sacred call from within. One also needs to go through a preparation course.
For the process to be fully effective, some basic trust is needed. If one gets operated, for appendicitis for instance, most people have trust in the surgeon, who could theoretically replace any organ in you. Or when one puts a huge sum of money in a bank, people seldom worry or get sleepless nights. In that sense, one needs trust in the Founders, the source of this phenomenon - Amma & Bhagavan - as well as the guides. Without this genuinely heartfelt trust, it will be very difficult for you to get the deeper fruit of the process.
As a marketing ploy extraordinaire, group leaders in the New Age scene around the world have been invited to do the 21-day process free of charge. In this way their tacit support is almost guaranteed and for a lot of seekers it gives them an extra reason to go as the group leaders that they have on a pedestal and thus by mere association gives a process legitimacy.
For those who have done the 21 day process, they can go back for a 10 day deepening process, which again has a cost of US$1500.
A quote from the wave series by LKJ is helpful to put it into perspective:
I happen to know quite a few people, who have done the process and despite the process not coming up with the goods. The one thing that I keep hearing about is about the experiences, the love, about the golden era coming and so on. Like the cargo cult, the goods always come later and the true followers are not disturbed by it. Another point is, that when you have spent a "small" fortune doing some group you are less likely to say it was worthless even if that is the case. No one wants to look like a gullible fool.Laura in The Wave vol 2 pp 117-120 said:In Matthew 24, when Jesus was asked "what will be the sign of the end - the completion, the consummation - of the age? he answered:
So, we have some ancient traditions about this time of the "End," (or so we suppose it to be due to our many current observations about the state of the world), that support the idea of many, many channelled teachings and messages being "poured out" on the Earth in that given time. We note, in the first place, that it is described as a "pouring out of God's Spirit on all flesh" so that many are inspired to "prophesy" or have dreams and visions.Be careful that no one misleads you - deceiving you and leading you into error.... And many false prophets will rise up and deceive and lead many into error... for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive and lead astray, if possible, even the elect... (Matthew 24:4,11,24; Amplified, Zondervan)
Okay, that's all fine and good. BUT then we are told that a LOT of this will be "unlimited seduction to evil and with all wicked deception" brought through by "false prophets" and "wonder workers." Further, it is clearly stated that this influence is as a result of that very same "Spirit of God" when it is stated: "God sends upon them a misleading influence, a working of error and a strong delusion to make them believe what is false..." The final piece of the puzzle is "false prophets will arise, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive and lead astray, if possible, even the elect..."
It's pretty clear, I think, that "the Elect," whoever and whatever they are, must be considered to be the prime targets of this activity, so we have to consider that it is NOT going to be an easy task to sort the wheat from the chaff! We can expect the "deceptions and delusions" to be VERY subtle and clever.
Again, I would like to call your attention to the remark: "God sends upon them a misleading influence, a working of error and a strong delusion..." Don't you think that this is an ASTOUNDING statement? I do. It certainly makes it understandable why so many "sources" can come across as teachers of "love and light" when, in fact, they are purveyors of error and "strong delusion." In effect, we are being told that these are TESTS!
And how do you pass a test? A really difficult one? At the very least, you have to have some knowledge of the subject. In most cases, it requires a great deal of study and effort.
The point is: there is an ancient tradition that tells us that deception is going to be the keynote of the times. Those who have not done their "homework," and who are not AWARE of this, look upon the expanding "spiritual concerns" of the New Age "movement" as a sign that the world is going to be "transformed by love and light" and the aliens are here to help us, and we should all embrace every new "avatar" that comes down the pike showing us "signs and wonders" or telling us that we are "special and chosen," as our savior and way-shower to the Elysian Fields of sanctity and bliss.
According to the Koran, God is the "Best of deceivers." In chapter 231 of Ibn al-'Arabi's Futuhat, ("Unveiling"), which is entitled "On Deception," there is a long description of the various forms that God's deception may take. It is said that God's deceptions appear as the "wiles of Satan" and the lower soul which often consist of:
In this chapter, Ibn al-'Arabi discusses various manifestations of deception, especially as it affects the general spiritual seeker, the "elect" and the "elect of the elect." These last can be the ones who are tempted by the desire to convince others by manifesting "signs." To attempt to "sidestep" the natural laws of the world in which we have our being is considered to be a very great "discourtesy" toward God because it suggests a judgment on the creation or a "breaking of the natural laws" without a direct command from God. It seems that, as a "test," God bestows upon some people the "power to break the laws of nature," and then places within such a person an urge to manifest these signs in such a way that he is unaware that this is a deception. Hence, he is inspired in his soul to manifest the signs as a kindness to "attract the creatures to God." Such a person does not understand that, by so doing, he is depriving the witnesses of "acting upon insight." [cf. Chittick]The continuation of favors in spite [the servant's] opposition [to God's command]. [God allows the "state" to continue] in spite of the servant's discourtesy in the manifestation of miraculous signs without divine command and without being punished.
In our own view, God's deceiving [the servant' is that He should provide him knowledge which demands practice, and then deprive him of the practice; or that God should provide him with practice, and then deprive him of sincerity in the practice. When you see this in yourself or recognize it in someone else, know that he who has such an attribute is the object of deception. [Chittick's translation]
In other words, such a person has deprived his devotees of Free Will.
The dangers come, of course, when a person deliberately seeks to "channel higher beings" or the "higher self" before being well educated in the history and forms and results of such activities. Such practices become, in effect, a "piercing of the veil," or as Ibn al-'Arabi calls it, "unveiling."
Text in bold is how it appeared in the original. Colors used to highlight other partsThe experience of unveiling opens up an infinite expanse of previously unseen realities to the heart of the spiritual seeker. ...The realm into which the adept first enters is, after all, the World of Imagination, whose byways never end. It is the domain of the satans and other deceiving forces. The traveler needs to keep a clear head during his journeys and not be misled by the swirling forces which lie just beyond the horizons of stability and balance.
...Nowadays most people interested in the spirituality of the East desire the "experience," though they may call what they are after "intimate communion with God." Those familiar with the standards and norms of spiritual experience set down by disciplined paths are usually appalled at the way Westerners seize upon any apparition from the domain outside of normal consciousness as a manifestation of the "spiritual." In fact there are innumerable realms in the unseen world, some of them far more dangerous than the worst jungles of the visible world. No person familiar with the teachings of Sufism would dare lay himself open to such forces... [Chittick, The Sufi Path of Knowledge]
A couple of acquaintances who had been to the onenessuniversity and done the 21 day process visited the other day, and what they recounted was pretty scary to my way of looking at reality. They on the other hand thought of it as amazing. They told me that Bhagavan has the capacity of putting people into a “high state†. He does that only with people he thinks are ready and willing. He calls these 'Cosmic Beings' and they are put into a state where they are basically vegetables. They no longer have a contact with their body and sit just motionless in a "conscious state". People have to feed them and move their limbs, so they basically sacrifice themselves for "healing" the planet. They told me that they have an "awesome energy" and that there currently are 16 people like that. The aim is to have 8000 beings like that "radiating love" out to the world.
When I heard this, I must say I was a bit shocked. Even more so in realizing that our visitors thought that this was great. They likened these cosmic beings to Ramana Maharshi, an Indian sage, who by his own chosing and capacity got into and years later out of a 'high state' of consciousness.
What is so great about someone turning people into vegetables!!! From a gardeners point of view, I can see some benefits, but seriously. To top it off, they are now revered as almost demigods. Talk about sacrificial lambs. I see it more and more like possibly a feeding hierarchy going straight to 4D STS.
It reminds me of something that I recently read in 'Bringers of the Dawn'
It brings to mind what the cassiopaeans have talked about “going for the gold without looking beforehand and the challenge of temptations†. One of the temptations here is the shortcut apart from a desired paradise state. Also what Ibn al-'Arabi says in the above quoted from the wave is worth repeating: †Hence, he is inspired in his soul to manifest the signs as a kindness to "attract the creatures to God." Such a person does not understand that, by so doing, he is depriving the witnesses of "acting upon insight."Bringers of the dawn said:You may know that these beings are not of light, and you may know it to the core of your being. You may become sickened in a society that does not know this. Many people will turn to worshiping these beings because it will seem as if miracles are occurring and the grandest event in the history of the world is taking place. It may seem that humanity is being given a whole new opportunity, a whole new golden era. Then there will be a very big surprise, and people will find that the tyrannies are larger than ever before.
I discovered how difficult it is to talk to people about this issue of the cargo-cults. Most of these difficulties are due to limiting beliefs and severe lack of knowledge.Some of the difficulties are
1) A rigid belief that we are on the top of the foodchain.
2) Unwillingness to look at the possibility of hyperdimensional realities
3) Belief that Enlightenment is always STO (service to other) oriented.
4) Believing that all people have the best interest of humanity at heart.
5) Unwillingness to consider the possibility of evil.
6) A belief that there is no harm in trying.
7) Believing in a free lunch universe. The ability to get something for nothing.
8) A desperate wanting to see good in the world, to the point of negating what is.
9) General lack of knowledge.
Obviously the difficulty is greatest with the people, who are involved in a cargo-cult, which is not unlike the difficulty explaining to someone in America that there is no democracy. Like I mentioned in the beginning, then I am myself no stranger to the cargo-cults of the New Age scene and have learned by experience. This does not mean that it is an experience that everybody needs to have, which is one of the reasons why I have written the above.
Experience has taught me not to give my authority to anything outside of myself, be it a teacher, a scripture, an ET or a cosmic being. NO MATTER how fantastic it sounds, looks or feels. Giving authority to something outside of yourself is Believing in something outside of yourself MORE than what is your own experience. That is the TRAP. Or so I think :)
A clever person learns from his mistakes, a genius learns from the mistakes of others.
The comparison of the New Age scene with the Melanesian cargo-cults could just aswell include the Christian Rapture movement but that is another story.
To be continued...
Anders