Sai Baba, Spiritual Authoritarianism, and Gurus in General.........

I recently watched the documentary below about Sai Baba, the Indian Guru who had a massive following throughout India as well as in other countries, and who we now know was a pedophile who sexually abused many young boys, which was covered up.  Fascinating how followers of Sai Baba (at least, at the time of this  documentary) were immune to any criticism or allegations of their guru.  "To them it was just another test of their faith". That same "faith" can be seen in the faces of those who cheered on Adolph Hitler - he too became an idealized "Father" ("Der Fuerer"), and another  "God Man".  I reflect on the ways "faith" has become a pseudonym for all kinds of abuse, regardless of the form it takes, and this unyielding "faith" is, in its essence, related to the hierarchy and authoritarianism intrinsic to patriarchal culture, whether it occurs in India, Texas, or Germany. 

  Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad   are heroes of mine, because their writings so deeply embody true "new paradigm" thinking.  They coined the term "renunciate religions", used to describe doctrines in  religious systems that, hidden or blatant, teach us to renounce  nature, the body, sex and material existence as either not sacred, not heavenly, or "not real".  Since woman is the source of birth, all of these aspects of being alive on the Earth are usually associated with the untrustworthy feminine.   In patriarchal religions from ancient Greece on forward, sexual  "purity" is highly valued,  and women are scapegoated and distrusted, one way or another,  for inspiring sexual desire. 

In their book THE GURU PAPERS they so elegantly "unmask" these deeply embedded  aspects of contemporary religion and mysticism.  And as they point out, "renunciate" and authoritarian  systems of religious thought are a profound disaster for contemporary times, for the environmental crisis, because they are so very inappropriate for the environment, for a global society, and for women.***  

As they point out as well, the emphasis on "purity", whether a Hindu Guru or a Catholic  priest, usually results in abuse of power and its denial.

"Lying about sex is so rampant in every culture that structures what is sexually permitted it is commonplace to be inured to it and accept such lying as a given. But it is the lie, not the sex, that's the real issue.  The lie indicates the guru’s entire persona is a lie, that his image as selfless and being beyond ego is a core deception.  Many think that though a guru lies about his personal behavior, his message is still essentially true. Lying here as elsewhere is done to cover up self-interest.  If  the guru’s message is that purity without self-interest is the ultimate achievement, not only did he not achieve it,but he does not even know if it is achievable.  If being self-centered is an unavoidable aspect of being human, then any ideology that denies this will necessarily corrupt its promoters and believers.This why images of "purity"are always corrupt." **


http://youtu.be/hOjk2NpKMFM

 

**The Guru Papers:  Masks of Authoritarian Power 

          by Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad

The Guru Papers demonstrates with uncompromising clarity that authoritarian control, which once held societies together, is now at the core of personal, social, and planetary problems, and thus a key factor in social disintegration. It illustrates how authoritarianism is embedded in the way people think, hiding in culture, values, daily life, and in the very ideals people try to live by. Thus our basic problems are not the inevitable outcome of human nature, but rather are shown to stem from deep authoritarian implants. This offers new grounds for hope. The Guru Papers powerfully attests that unmasking and decoding hidden authoritarianism can disempower it, increasing the range of human freedom and possibility. The book also elegantly argues that this process is essential for human survival.

 

 ***  Witness the strange relationship conservative Christians and evangelicals make between Biblical thinking and the denial of climate change.

So Much Light

 "Have you noticed that today lies and deceit come to the surface faster than before?…Well, to access God’s understanding and life’s functioning is also faster than ever before."

"We are living the best time that humanity has ever lived, we will be witnesses and actors of the biggest transformation of consciousness that you have ever imagined. Inform yourself; wake up your unrest for these subjects. Science knows that something is happening; you know that something is happening; we all know that many changes are happening in many levels. Be a conscious actor of these changes.”

I had a conversation recently with a friend about the Year 2012, and the darkness of our time.  She mentioned an interview she had read by  Sai Baba. She told me that Sai Baba said "There is so much light now" - meaning, so much opportunity for understanding, connection, enlightenment and disclosure than has ever been possible before......and for that reason, my friend said that in spite of the horrors of the news, she was very optimistic about our time.  I've thought about her comment a great deal and finally found the article she mentioned. 

What Sathya Sai Baba**, one of India's most important spiritual leaders, has to say in the following extract from a 2010 conversation with a reporter resonates for me on two particular points.  The first has to do with his words about "light revealing shadow", collectively and individually. They say that the greater the light, the more the darkness is illuminated. For the past few years, all the work I've been doing inwardly, and most of my dreams, have to do with the Jungian concept of "Shadow work", whether I want to do it or not. It's as if I cannot avoid any longer the so-called "dark" areas of my story and behavior - they all come up for review, one way or another. Which means, my power and grace also keeps coming up for review, my "integral" being.

I found this article is affirming of this personal process, and a collective process universally occurring. When I find myself despairing, I must also remind myself that this "light", the "visibility" of our time has wrought huge changes at an ever accelerating rate. You can look the other way, but abuse, injustice, and social evils that were not able to be examined in the past are now profoundly changing, because now they are visible.

The second aspect of this interview I find important is his commentary about the magnetic and viberatory rates of the planet. As a "Gaianist" who views myself as a part of the planetary organism and hence, planetary as well as human evolution, then his statement that "If there is a change on the earth’s magnetism, there is a change on the consciousness and also an adaptation at the physical level for this new vibration." makes a great deal of sense to me. We are "in relationship" with all life, with the planet, with Gaia - there is reciprocity, there is empathy.

The Events of Our Time - Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba 

Question: “Have you heard of the year 2012 like a year where something will happen?”

Baba:  The truth is that the planet has been changing its vibratory state, and this change has intensified since the year 1989 where the magnetic poles have moved the last 20 years more than the past 2000. Well, in one way there are several prophecies that signal this date like a term or important conclusion in the history of humanity, but the most significant is the end of the Mayan calendar, which prophecy has been interpreted in different ways. The most negative ones think that during this year the world will end, but it will not be like that, it is known that during that year a new era will start, the Age of Aquarius.

This has to do with the rotation of the whole solar system (solar cycle) that goes passing through the different eras each one of them lasts 5125 years. The era in which we now are, called the Age of Pisces, started on the year 3113 B.C. and ends on 2012. If there is a change on the earth’s magnetism, there is a change on the consciousness and also an adaptation at the physical level for this new vibration. The changes are not only on our planet, but also affect the whole universe, and today’s science can verify that.

Inform yourself about the changes on the solar storms (that are magnetic storms) and you will see that scientists are up to date with these things, or ask about the movement of the magnetic poles during the last years, and airports having to modify their instruments.

This change on the magnetism translates or it’s perceived as an increment of light, or an increase on the planet’s vibration.  For you to understand it easily you must know that this vibration is affected and intensified due to the consciousness of all human beings . Each thought, each emotion, each new awakening of a human being towards the consciousness of God elevates the vibration of the planet. 

This might seem a paradox, due to the fact that the majority sees around themselves more hatred and misery, but this is not so.  I have been saying this on previous messages, each one chooses where to focus the view, and those who only see the darkness are focused on the drama, the pain and the injustice. If you don’t see the spiritual advancement that humanity has made it is because you haven’t focused on it, but if you do the right work and liberate your mind of the negative you will open a space where you will be able to manifest your divine essence that will put on the focus of what is really happening with humanity and the planet. Humanity is elevating its consciousness as never before.

Question: “But how!…Can’t you see the darkness?” 

Baba:  Yes, I see it, but I don’t identify Myself with it, I’m not afraid of it…How can I fear darkness if I see such clear light?…Of course I understand those who fear, because I have also been standing where I could only see the evil. This is why now I feel love for all of that. Darkness is not a force contrary to the light, it is absence of light. You cannot invade the light with darkness, that is not how the principle of light works. Fear, drama, injustice, hate and sadness only exist in states of darkness, because you can’t see the global context in which your life develops. Once you have increased your vibration and frequency (state of consciousness) you will be able to see towards darkness and understand what you have lived.

Question: “But…How can you say this if there is more evil in the world everyday?”

Baba:  'There is not more evil…there is “more light,” and that is what I’m talking about on this message. Imagine that you have a room or warehouse where for years you have been storing your things and is lit by a 40 w. bulb. Change the bulb to a 100 w. and you will see what happens. You will see the mess and the dust you didn’t think existed. The dirt will be clearer. This is what is happening, and this makes possible that a lot of people are reading this without thinking of it as foolish, like it could have been some years ago.

Have you noticed that today lies and deceit come to the surface faster than before?…Well, to access God’s understanding and life’s functioning is also faster than before.

This new vibration of the planet is what is making everyone nervous, depressed or sick, because to be able to receive more light and to rise to that vibrational level, people have to change physically as well as mentally, they have to change the way they think and feel, and delete or eradicate from their lives such beliefs or parameters that generally differ from reality or that take them towards the negative side of things.

You must put your warehouses in order, because each day you are receiving more light on your consciousness and even if you want to avoid it, you should start putting your hands on the project and begin the cleaning,  or decide to live in the middle of the dirt. This change creates physical discomforts, pains on the body, on the skeleton system -  medical tests often can’t find a reason for the illness that provokes it. 

Generally they relate it to stress or nervous states.  Nothing farther from the truth, because these discomforts are provoked due to negative emotions accumulated during our lives, fears and anxieties that you have carried with you always and that now have the opportunity to transcend and transmute. It’s about that dust accumulated for years that you are now seeing, the opportunity for it to be cleaned because it's now visible.

There will be nights when you will wake up and stay up for a few hours…don’t alter yourself, read a book, watch TV, meditate, don’t fight thinking there is something wrong with you.  It’s the new vibration of the planet that you’re assimilating, you will go back to sleep and the next day you will not feel a need to sleep more. If you don’t flow with this process properly, the pains will be more intense and you will be diagnosed fibromyalgia, which is a name that medicine has given to these pains that have no visible cause and for which they offer no treatment with concrete results, they only give you a prescription for antidepressants and this makes you escape the opportunity to change your life.

One more time you chose which reality you want to live, only this time the drama will be more intense and of course will be the love. If the Light is increased, also is the lack of need for it, this explains why there is so much irrational violence during the last years.

We are living the best time that humanity has ever lived, we will be witnesses and actors of the biggest transformation of consciousness that you have ever imagined.  Inform yourself; wake up your unrest for these subjects. Science knows that something is happening; you know that something is happening; we all know that many changes are happening in many levels. Be a conscious actor of these changes and don’t let them take you by surprise because you don’t know what is happening.”

**I am aware of a controversy that concerns Sai Baba and allegations of sexual abuse.  This does not, for me, disqualify his words.  It is  an irony that lends a layer of credibility to his comments.  Sai Baba is considered a saint in India, and if even saints can have shadows that become  exposed,  then there is something encouraging in knowing that even the Gurus are not "perfect", are accountable, and  that we are all evolving toward becoming  integral beings.

***This article is excerpted with gratitude from http://horizonsmagazine.com/blog/?p=14208