I share a fascinating message critical of Gurinder Singh, with praise of Flora Wood

 Below is a message I received yesterday from someone who describes how Gurinder Singh, the current guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB), created a highly negative atmosphere in the United Kingdom after he became the successor to Charan Singh, a much-beloved RSSB guru......RS.

..........The message also is filled with praise for Flora Wood, a long-time RSSB initiate, or satsangi, who wrote a book for the organization and was a positive influence in the United Kingdom's RSSB membership.

It doesn't surprise me that Gurinder Singh comes in for such criticism in this message. There's plenty of other evidence that at best, Gurinder's ethics are at odds with how previous RSSB gurus have behaved, and at worst, Gurinder has engaged in financial fraud aimed at enriching himself and his family to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Here's the message. "Sewadars" means volunteers. "Sangat" refers to the RSSB community. "Radha Soami" is a greeting used by RSSB initiates. "Haynes Park" is a large RSSB center in the United Kingdom. The "Dera" refers to the RSSB headquarters in India. "Satsang" is a talk about the RSSB teachings.

......... I submit this to you anonymously.

In 2005 Mrs Flora Wood was asked by the Dera to write a postscript to her 1965 book In 'Search Of The Way' in which she recalled her Indian experiences with The Great Master Baba Sawan Singh, as well as the history of the birth and development of the British Sangat.

When Mrs Wood's friend, a secretary to her commanding officer in the British Army in India, told her that the colonel had became a satsangi, she followed him in that respect, but only after she had persuaded him to brief her, over dinner, on the teachings and the Master.

Flora Wood, born in 1923, and an early disciple of Sawan Singh, had served as representative to three masters. No satsangi in the UK could deliver a discourse at her level of spirituality and knowledge both of Sant Mat and of the Persian mystics. Under her quiet seemingly hands-off rule the satsang was intimate, peaceful, happy and without dissent.

All this changed when Gurinder made his first visit to the UK, and when Mrs Wood had booked the large Birmingham Convention Center in order to accommodate what had by then, under the guruship of Charan Singh, as well as mass Indian immigration, become a large sangat.

We sewadars positioned at the door of the VIP entrance were in awe expecting that another Charan Singh, whose bearing was that of emperor of emperors, who bathed in divine light, whose aura was of sanctified purity and spiritual radiance, instead witnessed the entry of an angry young man in a turban, boiling with rage, accompanied by a hired security made up of East London gangster types of the kind seen in Guy Ritchie's movie "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels."

 

Gurinder glared past our Radha Soamis and into the main hall leaving behind a shocked air of surprise and disappointment.

 

The word quickly spread that he was furious with Mrs Wood for the expense of the venue. Mrs Wood was quickly replaced by a family relation of Gurinders who may or may not have been very familiar with the English language and who confined himself to the Indian group. It is said that he did give a few satsangs in Punjabi to them.

 

From then the British sangat was butchered and by the time of the purchase of Haynes Park and the changeover of once loving sewadars to a sort of unkind Stasi rule, western satsangis were detaching themselves  from RSSB in droves.

 

A political shift to republican thinking about Northern Ireland saw its very capable secretary fired and all power moved far away to Dublin down in the Irish Republic; a long journey to satsang. As it happened however all the western satsangis in northern Ireland, disciples of Charan Singh, no doubt sharing a feeling of many around the world for westerners that the behaviour of Gurinder and his lack of any of the qualities of mastership including his allergy to giving satsang were intolerable, abandoned the Radha Soami Satsang Beas anyway.

 

Mrs Wood passed away at 100 years of age in 2023.

 

As stated in the beginning of this piece Mrs Flora Wood was asked by the Dera in 2005 to write a postscript to her book In 'Search Of The Way.' It can only be surmised that the reason for the Dera's request for this further addition to the text was that she would note in her postscript the new incumbency of Gurinder Singh at the Dera.

 

However, Mrs Wood did no such thing, she did not even mention Gurinder's succession or anything about him. One can only surmise that this very learned and old satsangi saw the successorship in a different light than the general conclusion.

 

It is one of those fantasies of a Dera Baba Jaimal Singh cut off from the larger Sant Mat world outside its gates that a master will always appoint a perfect successor, what used to be called 'Dera gossips.' In the reality of history this is not always the case.

 

Given the vast size of a possibly multi-billion dollar world-wide institution like RSSB with all its housing dependents and even old sewadar pensioners and huge numbers of Satsangars and other properties (particularly all across India) the last Master cannot just throw in the turban and say "OK, there is no worthy successor, we are closing down the RSSB tomorrow!"

 

No, it is just then allowed to rot at the head, true seekers are no longer drawn to it, or leave it when they find it is no longer true and it deteriorated into another religion. That is the kindest way to go about it, a gradual shutdown.

 

All these years later the surviving satsangis of Charan Singh are still in a daze at what happened and have had no explanation from expert sources. There is an unhealed wound in many hearts, there are disciples of Charan Singh who lost their faith in the confusion some of whom want to find the way back to the path. 

 

Today the RSSB to any outsider seems like some closed cult, hidden in plain sight from the world. To the spiritually minded internet seekers it is a black hole out of which no Bani comes. Anyone who goes to YouTube and looks up videos of Gurinder might be forgiven in thinking he is an apparatchick or politician of the Bhrata Janata Party or some sort of Raja.

 

He is ever seen surrounded by a posse of police officers or army men as he arrives in his private helicopter or jet somewhere for some reason. There is no teaching that an enquiring mind can grasp from this output, no satsangs of his to listen to (some say he does not give satsang).

 

Is Gurinder Singh a perfect master? Is there something that numbers of people have missed? Or is he simply the manager of a large institution playing it by ear? Many would like to know.

The article comes from the The Church of the Churchless  June 2024

The blogger Robert Searle of this site had a close connection with Radhasoami Satsang Beas notably in the 1980s. When he first saw a small photo of Gurinder Singh as the successor of the previous Master Maharaj Charan Singh he instantly knew he was not a perfect guru. However, he did take intiation in May 1993 into Shabd Yoga. He also attended the huge meetings in Birmingham where he saw Gurinder Singh.  He also knew Mrs Wood with whom he had a number of conversations. 

Meeting the Gurus in Britain

By Robert Searle


Blogger Ref Link http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Multi-Dimensional_Science






In the past, I met a number of gurus. The one that impressed me most was probably Swami Chidananda the recognized successor of the great Swami Sivananda. I recall going to interview him for Yoga and Health magazine. He was staying at a devotees home in Sutton (London area). He was a charming, and self-effacing man. I asked him a whole number of questions, and the interview lasted for over two hours....much to the amazement of the devotees as this was a rare thing for him to do! Ofcourse, the editor of Yoga, and Health magazine had to reduce the length of the transcript of my meeting with him. It appeared in published form in December 1989. It revealed some fascinating light about himself, and the workings so to say of his Divine Life Society. Unfortunately, the original tape recording of the interview went amiss.

Apart from him, I also came across Jashan Vaswani (whose voice was reminiscent to that of a Dalek!), Shivabalayogi (who called his meditation "mind-control" a term which has negative connotations in Western society!), Pandit Ravishankar (who had a strange effeminate voice, and not be confused ofcourse with the famous late Indian musician!) S.A.A Ramaiah (who was a somewhat "severe" sharp-minded intellectual guru who did not cut his finger, and toe nails as he claimed that this was because it made him more sensitive to "energies"), Mataji Nirmala Devi, Mata Amritanandamayi (who in one of her "love-ins" put her finger on my forehead, and whereupon I received an instantaneous injection of energy which was meant to send me into higher conciousness!) Shyam Ma, et cetera..

........One individual I met in Slough appeared to be a guru of sorts. Though he was clearly of Asian descent he used the Jewish name Moses for himself. He advertized his "Occult Group" in a local free-ads paper. I rang him, and he claimed that alot of people who phoned him thought he was into magic....or possibly black magic involving ritualism, and nudity! I informed him that he was wrong to use the word "occult" in his advert as this has a negative connotation to many, and thus, he had been attracting the wrong kind of public.
Anyway, I went to his flat in Langley, and there was only one other "devotee" with him. It transpired that he taught a form of Christian meditation involving the Kabbalah. Personally, I did not like him particularly, and he became somewhat defensive when I asked him whether he could give me any references of people who might have benefited via his meditation.He claimed that I was testing him.....which was not my intention. He also asked me whether I knew about the power of Silent Command (or so-called Telecult Power notably popularised by Reese Dubin) to which I said yes......When I left his flat, and walked home I could feel his energy but it soon wore off. Clearly, he had some degree of power, but how genuine he was is another matter.
Another guru I came across was via an advert in Yoga Today in about 1987. He had also published an article therein on Ajapa Yoga, and inner Sound. I contacted him as he was interested in starting a group on the subject. His name was Marjan J. Ebert who was German, and he travelled to England to meet me.
One thing he taught me was something very worldly. In a pure vegetarian restaurant he explained how Thali (a mixture of Asian curries in little metal containers along with nam bread, samosas, et al) is eaten correctly in India. Apparently, all the little food containers are turned upside down along with everything else making a "mess" on the large metal plate they were on! A grand nosh if ever there was one!
Marjan J. Ebert complained that in his meditation groups in Germany he would ask for donations to help forward his Ajapa Yoga. But this did not generally work out so he had decided on a fixed charge... However, he would give his meditation free if the person concerned happened to be Prince Charles!
Another guru I met was Kehar Singh. He was billed as being a Sant Satguru of Surat Shabd Yoga. In the early 1990s I was waiting to get initiated into Radha Soami Satsang Beas, and I came across Tarn Taran Satsang. This latter group was for many decades recognized by the former as being bona fide. However, when Kehar Singh "came to power" (so to speak!) Maharaj Charan Singh of the Beas Satsang tried to publicly avoid him unlike his predecessor, or so the story goes.
Anyway, I thought I would pay a visit on Kehar Singh who was staying with some devotee in Slough. We shook hands both uttering a lusty resounding Radhasoami as a greeting.I mentioned Maharaj Gurinder Singh to him, and he did not react negatively, but merely referred to him as Mr. rather than Maharaj, his honorific title.
Amongst the small band of people I was with at the time one Beas Satsangi was staring disconcertingly at me "trance-like". It was claimed that he had reached Sach Khand, and was greatly respected. It is not clear why he was present. Maybe he recognized Kehar Singh as being the genuine article. This would ofcourse contradict the stance held by Beas Satsang! As with all these things it suggests to me that subjective dynamics play a big part in all this.Unfortunately though, things went little awry with Kehar Singh in Slough as it emerged that he was becoming impatient in trying to raise funds for his organization as well as certain other matters.Yet, he did manage to get his picture in the local newspapers with some notables! So his trip to Britain was not totally wasted. Ofcourse, none of this means that he is an imperfect "Sant" .
Gurus are after regarded in the main as incarnations of the Absolute Power of the Universe, and can do anything even if it contradicts the mores of society itself which if they occur are seen as tests of faith.....Finally, I hardly if at all had any kind of "spiritual" experiences with any of the above with the exception of two Teachers. They were Dr. Sharma (aka Manav Dayal), and Harjit Singh both drawing their inspiration from Baba Faqir Chand.

Encountering Radha Soami Satsang Beas.

By Robert Searle


Blogger Link Ref http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Multi-Dimensional_Science






A BASIC INTRODUCTION.

The Radhaswami, or the Radha Soami Faith, or Satsang teaches the Ancient Wisdom of Sant Mat (The Teachings of the Saints), and Surat Shabd Yoga (Union of the Soul with the Sound Current of Spirit). Essentially, it involves an advanced form of astral projection at the time of meditation in which the soul "dies daily" by ascending to "Spiritual Regions." The Power to achieve this is the Sound Current, or Audible Life Stream which is traced to the "Highest Region" where "God-Realization" occurs.
On the journey "upwards" the soul meets the inner Radiant Form of the outer physical Master, or Sant Satguru. Such a Teacher would have connected the disciple to the Sound Current at Initiation. This Power cannot be contacted by ones own effort. Only the Master can connect the aspirant to It, and It has a special magnetic pull which helps one ascend "easily" to the "Higher Regions." There are said to be Five Key Sounds, or Shabds connected with Five Key "Regions" taught at initiation. These have to be contacted one by one in order to reach the Goal. Many lesser Sounds, and Visions may be experienced on the "upward" Path towards "God-Realization". Indeed, it should be added that there are an infinite number of intermediate "Regions" or planes, or sub-planes before the "highest" one is reached by means of merging into the Sound Current. It is also claimed rightly, or wrongly that religions, and notably many other mystical traditions do not have the "complete secret" of the "Higher Regions", and thus easily "mistake" certain "lower ones" as being the "highest". Hence, their understanding is incomplete.

Originally, I was interested in Eckankar, and "by chance" I came across a movement called Radha Soami Satsang Beas in 1980. A friend of mine happened upon a booklet he found on his parents table. It was called the Inner Voice by Colonel Sanders which gave a basic introduction to Sant Mat. It was fascinating....and I was determined to find out more. I noticed that the owner of the booklet had left his address inside so I went to him to enquire more. His name was Jit Johal, and I spent a few occasions visiting him. He informed me that I should really go to Satsang in London which I duly did. It was there that I met a number of interesting people including some notables such as Nigel North, and Judith Durham of the Seekers who I use to tower over. She called me Sir, on a number of occasions rather than my first,or last name. Another well-known follower, or Satsangi was Martin Shaw, the actor.

Anyway, I was also suprised to find how much had been printed on Sant Mat, and I studied this stuff avidly. Every Sunday I started to regularly attend Satsangs, and I felt at times imbued with a highly subtle energy of bliss....I also acted as a sevadar too. This took the shape of myself being a "doorman" at the Satsang Hall (now demolished, but used to be close to Paddington station).
Near the end of 1980, I wrote a long letter to Maharaj Charan Singh Ji who was the Present Living Master of Radha Soami Satsang Beas. His reply was remarkably comprehensive considering his busy time schedule. He notably complimented me on being a genuine Truth Seeker who was not just interested in intellectual "gymnastics". This was true even though I came across as something of an "intellectual" to some people.

However, I was suffering from an obssession. Apart from being a determined Seeker After Truth I had a morbid complex about a possible early physical demise before getting initiated into Surat Shabd Yoga by Maharaj Charan Singh Ji. At times, this obssession was driving me mad. I wrote to him about my concern, and he claimed that I should leave everything in Gods hands. Moreover, he made the claim that "....the Master (ie. himself) was only responsible for particular souls assigned to him by God."
All this lead to a bizarre twist of events. For many years I was due to parental pressure not able to go fully vegetarian, and hence, become an initiate, or Satsangi. Yet, nothing remains the same forever.
For a time I lost contact with the London Satsang, and in 1990 I was free to "do my own thing". In effect, I had just left my parents home as they had moved to Oxford. I rang up a Satsangi friend, and she informed me that Maharaj Charan Singh had just passed on...! I was amazed. Charan was right. I was not meant to be initiated by him.. It was to be his successor Baba Gurinder Singh .

PS. There is one thing I would like to add. When I was visting Jit Johal I saw a large photo of Maharaj Charan Singh laughing. Anyway, whilst I was doing some outdoor work at a golf club I was feeling very devotional, and had the sensation of doing everything for the Master as if he were physically present. This seva, or service can raise the conciousness to a high level which it did in my case. The upshot of this was an unexpected "telepathic" flash of the photographic image of Maharaji which shot by me. I rang Mrs."Chip" Wood who was the extremely knowledgeable, and experienced British representative of the Radha Soami Satsang Beas, and appeared to confirm the genuineness of what happened to me. She described it as dhristi, or a "glance" of Grace from the Master.
...............................................................................................

..............In 1990 Gurinder Singh was made head of Radha Soami Satsang. I first saw him in the flesh at the huge Satsangs in Birmingham when he was visiting England. This took place in the National Exhibtion Centre, or NEC. Security was high there too with police, and plain clothed detectives keeping an eye on things as the Sikh terrorism was still very much a problem.
Gurinder, or more respectfully Babaji gave a number of discourses plus questions, and answers with his booming voice. In the latter sessions l asked him when he was going to start initiation, and whether he would initiate me. Instead of hearing what he actually said I heard something else (ie a bizarre trick of the mind). He said that he would initiate me but ofcourse he did not actually say that....... The reason for all this was that I was going through a strange phase in life that I had become so obssessed with wanting to get initiation that it was starting to drive me "insane". I was also unnaturally concerned about the possibility of an early death (as mentioned earlier). Again, this would ofcourse mean that I would not get initiated...
Quite often at Satsang in London, or at the charming local home groups someone I knew, or not know would say that "I was going to die!" The imitation voice was just like that of the speaker...virtually indistinguishable. I should point out that I have never taken drugs, or psychiatric medecine. I believe what happened above was a "by-product" of a certain experience with Eckankar possibly during a "healing" session (see Realization of the Psychic). Ofcourse, esoterically the meaning of "you are going to die" implies not physical death but spiritual rebirth in the material body. Apparently, in withcraft the mental phenomenon of a voice imitating someone else, and tricking someone into believing what he, or she is saying is for "real(!)" is not entirely unknown..

Anyway, in 1993 I, along with a batch of people went to recieve Nam under the new Master Babaji (though physically not present) at Haynes Park near Bedford. This was the new UK headquarters of the Radha Soami Satsang Beas. Mrs. "Chip" Wood presided over the initiation, and later everyone was put into circular groups, and taught how to repeat, and pronounce the Five Holy Names. On another occasion, I actually saw Babaji at Haynes Park itself. Some people including myself possibly saw his face changing to that of his previous Master Baba Charan Singh.

I recall once being in the London Satsang, and Babaji suddenly appeared out of the blue, and gave a discourse. This has happened since apparently. He likes now, and again to give unofficial appearances presumably to inspire truth seekers, and satsangis.I felt very devotional during my "honey moon" period before initiation. But I was disappointed after initiation as the power, and aspiration suddenly "disappeared." I felt betrayed, and disheartened. I have come to the conclusion that a real Master must be able to give an initiate before, and AFTER initiation (be it Shabd Yoga, or whatever) "something to work on". In other words, an awareness at least of some kind of Power working for on's good. It is then that the initiate increases it's Grace via spiritual practice. Without some kind of inner support meditation can be incredibly difficult. It is vital to have some internal "drive", and "inspiration" to continue practice as we are such weak souls.............Many people have complained about this. Some Beas Satsangis have understandably gone to one of the Sant Kirpal Singh groups which claim that one can have "something to work on" in the spiritual sense. This is VITAL!!

As I was starting to move away from Radha Soami Satsang a bizarre number of synchronicities occured with chance meetings with "devotees". The first of these though was in Newbury which I had never been to before. A lady called Iris I recognized from the London Satsang was spotted, and I went upto her, and she comfirmed that she was the very same person. She was surprised to see me. As indicated there were other like "chance" meetings which are hard to explain rationally. Yet, it does indicate that somehow we are all interconnected in this Cosmic Drama of Life.....

The most recent one occurred in Windsor in 2007. I was sitting next to an elderly Asian tourist who was looking at his young granddaughter . Some of his relatives were around visiting Windsor, and its famous castle. For some reason, or other we talked, and the topic of reincarnation, and gurus cropped up. I said I had an interest in both subjects especially the latter. He asked me whether I had a Master. I said I had been initiated into Radha Soami Satsang Beas. He was astonished as he claimed that he was an initiate too of one of the previous Masters! He said that I was very lucky to have been initiated by Gurinder Singh as not everyone is. Apparently, he claimed to be a retired chief of border control in India,(his name may have been Dhawan but I do not have the exact details with me at the time of writing) and knew Mr. Mann who was the "top man" in the organization of Radha Soami Satsang. Anyway, he gave me his name, and number including that of the latter, and said if I ever I wanted to stay at his home I would be welcome to do so. Will wonders ever cease? Who knows? But synchronicity has played an important part in my life, and not just those instances connected with Radha Soami Satsang Beas.

PS..
Back in 2005, I recall once sitting on a bench in Langley near Slough. An Asian suddenly appeared from behind me, and said, "Your Master is sitting next to you!" I replied that I could see no one in the non-physical sense. I did though just about recognize the Asian from a very long time ago. He was an initiate of the Radha Soami Satsang.......
.........Also, before I became deeply involved in Shabd Yoga, an Indian claimed that it was a dangerous practice. Yet, I, never came across anybody suffering from any serious problems. However, one woman at the Beas Satsang claimed that she woke up one morning to find a "being" grabbing her throat. She then chased it out of the bedroom, and into the garden. It was claimed that this "being" was merely a projection of her mind.
In Sant Mat the intiate is given a special mantra which is charged by the Master which is meant to protect the disciple in meditation from evil influences. It is also used to test to see whether the inner Master is genuine, or not. However, if any negative experience is had at all like the woman mentioned above it can be rationalised as being a mental projection of ones mind. Ofcourse, this would not be somekind of "being" in the normal objective sense in which the special mantra would have helped protect against....
If one has a powerful connection with a Guru this should be sufficient protection....irrespective of whether a special mantra was given to the aspirant, or disciple....

Anyone Can Feel Energies..............

By Robert Searle


Blogger Reference Link http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Multi-Dimensional_Science



Back in circa 1994, or thereabouts Gurinder Singh, the head of Radhsoami Satsang Beas made a suprise visit to the London Satsang. At the end of his talk he asked whether anyone had any questions. I stood up, and claimed that during my spiritual search I had experienced "energies" from some gurus, or words to that effect. Gurinder rightly said that "Anyone can feel energies". There is nothing in the way of real spiritual advancement about it.

Anyway, in April 2011 I was at a famous yearly Sikh Festival in which a number of temporary free food stalls were set up on certain streets in Slough. These marked the procession of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs, and their actual living Guru. Just before the open canopied float in which it was placed along with the priests appeared, I was wistfully thinking about the energies of higher conciousness experienced at Haynes Park where I was at a Radhasoami meeting. I did not feel anything like that at the Slough Sikh Festival. However, much to my amazement as I came close to the actual float, and indeed, the Guru Granth Sahib itself I experienced the intensity of higher energies, and as such bowed to it with a respectful Namaste...However,no visual data was registered as the energies could have come from one of the priests rather than from the Granth itself in the open canopied float.

As mentioned in an early post in Esoteric Miscellany, I was struck by a ray from the Guru Granth Sahib itself as I paid my obeissance to it....! Whether this was a trick of the imagination, or not is impossible to say. Anyway, drawn by this energy I joined the procession of mainly sweaty, and at times smelly (!!) ladies who followed the float. Much to my suprise I saw in the crowd Fiona McTaggert, the MP for Slough who recognized me. She had an scarf over her head, and was dressed like an Indian Sikh lady if I recalled correctly. Thankfully, she did not give her usual Cheshire cat-like smile!

Apart from the above,I was once sitting at a public computer terminal doing my usual tapping on the keys when someone next to me passed me a note. On it was the word psychic....but without the question mark. It transpired that the person next to me claimed he could feel my "energies" and was wondering whether I was psychic, or not. I said that I was possibly. He also revealed he could pick different energies from different people but like me usually received no visual data. He rightly pointed out that this was a natural phenomena...........

Religare, Gurinder, and Beas Satsang, Part I.

The Bloggers comments on the two articles by Brian Hines................

http://hinessight.blogs.com/church_of_the_churchless/2010/04/the-big-money-surrounding-radha-soami-satsang-beas.html
http://hinessight.blogs.com/church_of_the_churchless/2010/04/rssbs-ties-to-religare-mix-money-and-spirituality.html

Sometime after my initiation into the Radhasoami Satsang Beas, or RSSB someone said to be an English teacher who worked in Spain came out with a claim. He revealed that Gurinder (shortly before Charan passed on) had done some kind of business "mistake," but the Dera Management sent a message insisting that he was a Perfect Master. Hence, he could do no wrong. The English teacher then asked me what sort of power we were dealing with? This was somewhat disturbing at the time as I did have some doubts about Gurinder which unfortunately are now bourne out by the revelations at Brian Hines Blog.
Indeed, when he became the new Satguru for RSSB he reportedly asked a certain question a few times. "How do you know that I am not a fraud?" My Satsangi, and Non-Satsangi friends found that amusing..
Another "red flag" was raised. When I was with friends at a home Satsang in which there was mention about the construction for a runway of sorts at Haynes Park so that Gurinder could land his aircraft! However, this came to nothing....probably due to the bureaucratic local planning authorities!! Admitedly, I did not think much of this...and everyone seemed to regard it as amusing. But is a "runway" a best way of using money....possbily money which originated from the Satsang itself...?
The question which I am concerned here is this. Does it all matter? In one sense, it does as revealed in Brian Hines two articles. But it must be remembered that the physical Master like many incarnations in India is seen as the physical manifestation of God. What I present here are three ways of looking at this subject with an open mind. Admitedly, I am a bit of a Radhasoami apologist because I feel there is more than meets the eye ....

KEY CLAIM I.

Whether Gurinder is perfect, or not probably does not necessarily matter as the following extract reveals, and is believed to have been said by Sawan Singh..

“....If the Guru himself has not reached Satlok, but his Guru is perfect or, like Swami Ji Maharaj, has come straight from Anami(the Nameless Region, the "highest" of all Regions),he will take his disciples up to the stage he has attained himself, and beyond that his Guru, or his Gurus Guru, or Swami Ji Maharaj Himself will take them. There should be no worry about this.”

Ref With the Three Masters, by Munshi Ram page 68, 2001 edition (minor editing)

But the question is this? Why should an "imperfect" Master exist? The answer may be that the Mauj (or Divine Will) of God wants to "wind up" RSSB for reasons best known to Itself. Indeed, the whole organization has become absurdly big, and "bloated". It does need to radically reduce its size. Ideally, Gurinder should step down from his position of Master, and possibly have set up a number of "Satgurus" who would be elected by advanced Satsangis. Such spiritual elections have already notably happened in Dayalbagh. However, this is unlikely to happen unless there is a serious power struggle at the top....
Furthermore, many people have complained that nothing is experienced in meditation after many years of practice. What is required is a database on which to draw upon made up of anonymous Satsangis who could give attempted descriptions of their experiences. This could act as an "encouragement".

KEY CLAIM II.

In RSSB the the physical Satguru is meant to be omnisicient....but there is plenty of evidence on the contrary though a disciple would simply regard this as as test of faith, and/or come out with some kind of rationalization......

........Just after Maharaj Charan Singh former head of Radha Soami Satsang Beas died in 1990 a book appeared on him, and his discourses entitled Treasure Beyond Measure. In it he discussed his own experiences about the utter suprise that he was appointed Sant Satguru in 1951 by the previous deceased incumbent Maharaj Jagat Singh Ji. He regarded the whole matter as a cruel trick of fate. To a Satsangi, or devotee this shows his utter humility! He was pretending that he was not a real Master!! However, what perhaps was Maharaj Charan Singh really saying without giving the game away? He was arguably indicating to those "in the know" that he was telling the truth pure, and simple as far as he could understand it at the time.
To understand what follows it is best to examine a mystic called Faqir Chand. He, like Maharaj Charan Singh was regarded as a much respected teacher of shabd yoga. But Chand claimed that though he was regarded as the physical manifestation of God he was not omniscient. He did not know anything about the miracles that his devotees expressed to him in which his Radiant Form would appear in the outer, or inner worlds of matter, or spirit. He found this same unawareness with other masters of the Shabd Yoga tradition, and this is borne out by evidence. He concluded that it was the BELIEF AND FAITH of the devotees which generated the phenomena of inner visions, and miracles due to their devotional love for him. However, this did not imply necessarily that they were merely hallucinations, but in many, perhaps most cases that it was their Higher Self (ie ones Personal God) which appeared in a Radiant Form that looked like him! Thus, Maharaj Charan Singh may be indicating the "truth" indirectly of the above phenomenon. It should be added that for the Chandian Effect to be "genuine" in the guru world one, or more of a line of Masters should be bona fide in the spiritual sense.

A rather odd thing occured in connection with myself. This is not a meditation experience per se but happened quite naturally, and spontaneously as I was walking. An image of Gurinder Singh appeared in the area of my Third Eye in a "circle" shape. He was dressed with his turban, and a white suit....the one which I wore at initiation back in 1993! The image changed but with the same suit. Perhaps this "mind trick" was suggesting in a crude manner that the Master was myself which is rediculous! However, my present Lower Self entangled in mind, and matter is ofcourse NOT the same as my pure Higher Self which is what Chand was really on about. But it was an odd "mind trick".

However, I do believe rightly, or wrongly that "God-Realised" Masters exist who are to a high degree "omniscient". Yet, most are probably not. Moreover, I suspect that Gurinder(or should I say Babaji?) probably fits into the "non-omniscient" catergory. It may well be that this process of unfoldment (ie.a degree(s) of "omniscience") may be "gradually" developed either before, or after a person becomes a Master. This is a big subject, and appears to have something to do with the mechanics of higher conciousness.

KEY CLAIM III.
Depending on ones sensitivity when I have attended Satsang at Southall there is an intense concentration of the subtle energies of higher conciousness. This awareness I believe has been increased after my experiences with Sant Harjit Singh. What is significant is that this "sea" of higher energies does NOT come from the Satsangis alone. In other words, it may well have a divine source, or sources. I recall feeling this Power descending from the ceiling of the Satsang Hall in a most gentle, and spontaneous manner. Sometimes ofcourse, one can see a white glow in some of the Satsangis themselves which is extremely subtle.
When I leave the Southall Satsang this higher energy of conciousness can be experienced in the wonderful park nearby. I also recall Sant Harjit Singhs energy not only in his house but also outside...and beyond ofcourse. This is a matter of personal experience, and I cannot prove it unfortunately...
Naturally enough, critics would say that the above is experienced in places like football matches, and pop music festivals...when the atmosphere becomes electric!! However, what I experience (along with many others) is something far more than this. It is A POWER unlike anything of this world...
In other words, RSSB is still a living faith par excellence....................




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