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.

Celtic Mythology

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Series on Celtic mythology

Celtic polytheism Celtic deities (list)

Gaelic mythology

Irish mythology Scottish mythology Hebridean mythology Tuatha Dé Danann Mythological Cycle Ulster Cycle Fenian Cycle

Brythonic mythology

British Iron Age religion British mythology Welsh mythology Breton mythology Mabinogion Book of Taliesin Trioedd Ynys Prydein

Religious vocations

Druids · Bards · Vates

Festivals

Samhain, Calan Gaeaf Imbolc, Gŵyl Fair Beltane, Calan Mai Lughnasadh, Calan Awst Index of related articles This box: view talk edit

Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, the religion of the Iron Age Celts.^[1] Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure. Among Celts in close contact with Ancient Rome, such as the Gauls and Celtiberians, their mythology did not survive the Roman empire, their subsequent conversion to Christianity, and the loss of their Celtic languages. It is mostly through contemporary Roman and Christian sources that their mythology has been preserved. The Celtic peoples who maintained either their political or linguistic identities (such as the Gaels, Picts, and Brythonic tribes of Great Britain and Ireland) left vestigial remnants of their ancestral mythologies, put into written form during the Middle Ages.

Contents [hide] 1 Overview 2 Historical sources 3 Mythology of Ireland 3.1 The Dagda 3.2 The Morrígan 3.3 Lugh/Lug 3.4 Others 4 Mythology of Wales 5 Remnants of Gaulish and other mythology 5.1 Julius Caesar’s comments on Celtic religion and their significance 6 See also 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 External links

[edit] Overview

The Celtic god Sucellus.

Though the Celtic world at its apex covered much of western and central Europe, it was not politically unified nor was there any substantial central source of cultural influence or homogeneity; as a result, there was a great deal of variation in local practices of Celtic religion (although certain motifs, for example the god Lugh, appear to have diffused throughout the Celtic world). Inscriptions of more than three hundred deities, often equated with their Roman counterparts, have survived, but of these most appear to have been genii locorum, local or tribal gods, and few were widely worshipped. However, from what has survived of Celtic mythology, it is possible to discern commonalities which hint at a more unified pantheon than is often given credit.
The nature and functions of these ancient gods can be deduced from their names, the location of their inscriptions, their iconography, the Roman gods they are equated with, and similar figures from later bodies of Celtic mythology.
Celtic mythology is found in a number of distinct, if related, subgroups, largely corresponding to the branches of the Celtic languages:

• Ancient Celtic religion (known primarily through archaeological sources rather than through written mythology; cf. Ancient Gaulish and British deities)
• mythology in Goidelic languages, represented chiefly by Irish mythology^[2] and Scottish mythology:
  • Mythological Cycle
  • Ulster Cycle
  • Fenian cycle
  • Historical Cycle
• mythology in Brythonic languages, represented chiefly by Welsh mythology (cf. also Breton mythology and folklore)

[edit] Historical sources

Votive Celtic wheels thought to correspond to the cult of Taranis. Thousands such wheels have been found in sanctuaries in Belgic Gaul, dating from 50 BCE to 50 CE. Musée d'Archéologie Nationale

As a result of the scarcity of surviving materials bearing written Gaulish, it is surmised that the most of the Celtic writings were destroyed by the Romans, although a written form of Gaulish using the Greek, Latin and North Italic alphabets was used (as evidenced by votive items bearing inscriptions in Gaulish and the Coligny Calendar).^[3] Julius Caesar attests to the literacy of the Gauls, but also wrote that their priests, the druids, were forbidden to use writing to record certain verses of religious significance^[4] (Caesar, De Bello Gallico 6.14) while also noting that the Helvetii had a written census (Caesar, De Bello Gallico 1.29).
Rome introduced a more widespread habit of public inscriptions, and broke the power of the druids in the areas it conquered; in fact, most inscriptions to deities discovered in Gaul (modern France and Northern Italy), Britain and other formerly (or presently) Celtic-speaking areas post-date the Roman conquest.
Although early Gaels in Ireland and parts of modern Wales used the Ogham script to record short inscriptions (largely personal names), more sophisticated literacy was not introduced to Celtic areas that had not been conquered by Rome until the advent of Christianity. Indeed, many Gaelic myths were first recorded by Christian monks, albeit without most of their original religious meanings.^[5]

[edit] Mythology of Ireland

Main article: Irish mythology

Cuchulainn carries Ferdiad across the river

The oldest body of myths stemming from the Heroic Age is found only from the early medieval period of Ireland.^[6] As Christianity began to take over, the gods and goddeses were slowly eliminated as such from the culture. What has survived includes material dealing with the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fomorians, which forms the basis for the text Cath Maige Tuireadh (the Battle of Mag Tuireadh), as well as portions of the history-focused Lebor Gabála Érenn (the Book of Invasions). The Tuatha Dé represent the functions of human society such as kingship, crafts and war, while the Fomorians represent chaos and wild nature.

[edit] The Dagda

The leader of the gods for the Irish pantheon appears to have been the Dagda.^[7] The Dagda was the figure after which male humans and other gods were based due to his embodiment of the ideal Irish traits. Celtic gods were also considered to be a clan due to their lack of specialization and unknown origins. The particular character of the Dagda describes him as a figure of burlesque lampoonery in Irish mythology, and some authors even conclude that he was trusted to be benevolent enough to tolerate jokes at his own expense.
Irish tales depict the Dagda as a figure of power, armed with a spear. In Dorset there is a famous outline of an ithyphallic giant known as the Cerne Abbas Giant with a club cut into the chalky soil. While this was probably produced in relatively modern times (English Civil War era), it was long thought to be a representation of the Dagda. This has been called into question by recent studies which show that there may have been a representation of what looks like a large drapery hanging from the horizontal arm of the figure, leading to suspicion that this figure actually represents Hercules (Heracles), with the skin of the Nemean Lion over his arm and carrying the club he used to kill it. In Gaul, it is speculated that the Dagda is associated with Sucellos, the striker, equipped with a hammer and cup.

[edit] The Morrígan

The Morrígan was a tripartite battle goddess of the Celts of Ancient Ireland.^[8] She was known as the Morrígan, but the different sections she was divided into were also referred to as Nemhain, Macha, and Badb (among other, less common names), with each representing different aspects of combat. She is most commonly known for her involvement in the Táin Bó Cúailnge.

[edit] Lugh/Lug

Lugh's Magic Spear; illustration by H. R. Millar

The god appearing most frequently in the tales is Lugh. He is evidently a residual of the earlier, more widespread god Lugus, whose diffusion in Celtic religion is apparent from the number of place names in which his name appears, occurring across the Celtic world. The most famous of these are the cities of Lugdunum (the modern French city of Lyon), Lugdunum Batavorum (the modern city of Katwijk, 10 kilometers to the west of Leiden in the Netherlands) and Lucus Augusti or Λοuκος Λuγούστον (the modern Galician city of Lugo). Lug is described in the Celtic myths as the last to be added to the list of deities. In Ireland a festival called the Lughnasa (Modern Irish lúnasa) was held in his honour.

[edit] Others

Other important goddesses include Brigid (or Brigit), the Dagda's daughter; Aibell, Áine, Macha, and the sovereign goddess, Ériu. Notable is Epona, the horse goddess, celebrated with horse races at the summer festival. Significant Irish gods include Nuada Airgetlám, the first king of the Tuatha Dé Danann; Goibniu, the smith and brewer; Dian Cecht, the patron of healing; and the sea god Manannán mac Lir.

[edit] Mythology of Wales

An illustration of Llŷr and the swans by H.R.Millar.

Main article: Welsh mythology

Less is known about the pre-Christian mythologies of Britain than those of Ireland. Important reflexes of British mythology appear in the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, especially in the names of several characters, such as Rhiannon, Teyrnon, and Bendigeidfran (‘Bran [Crow] the Blessed’). Other characters, in all likelihood, derive from mythological sources, and various episodes, such as the appearance of Arawn, a king of the Otherworld seeking the aid of a mortal in his own feuds, and the tale of the hero who cannot be killed except under seemingly contradictory circumstances, can be traced throughout Indo-European myth and legend. The children of Llŷr (‘Sea’ = Irish Lir) in the Second and Third Branches, and the children of Dôn (Danu in Irish and earlier Indo-European tradition) in the Fourth Branch are major figures, but the tales themselves are not primary mythology.
While further mythological names and references appear elsewhere in Welsh narrative and tradition, especially in the tale of Culhwch and Olwen, where we find, for example, Mabon ap Modron (‘the Divine Son of the Divine Mother’), and in the collected Triads of the Island of Britain, not enough is known of the British mythological background to reconstruct either a narrative of creation or a coherent pantheon of British deities. Indeed, though there is much in common with Irish myth, there may have been no unified British mythological tradition per se. Whatever its ultimate origins, the surviving material has been put to good use in the service of literary masterpieces that address the cultural concerns of Wales in the early and later Middle Ages.

[edit] Remnants of Gaulish and other mythology

Taranis (with Celtic wheel and thunderbolt), Le Chatelet, Gourzon, Haute-Marne, France.

The Celts also worshipped a number of deities of which we know little more than their names. Classical writers preserve a few fragments of legends or myths that may possibly be Celtic.^[9]
According to the Syrian rhetorician Lucian, Ogmios was supposed to lead a band of men chained by their ears to his tongue as a symbol of the strength of his eloquence.
The Roman poet Lucan (1st century AD) mentions the gods Taranis, Teutates and Esus, but there is little Celtic evidence that these were important deities.
A number of objets d'art, coins, and altars may depict scenes from lost myths, such as the representations of Tarvos Trigaranus or of an equestrian ‘Jupiter’ surmounting a snake-legged human-like figure. The Gundestrup cauldron has been also interpreted mythically.^[10]
Along with dedications giving us god names, there are also deity representations to which no name has yet been attached. Among these are images of a three headed or three faced god, a squatting god, a god with a snake, a god with a wheel, and a horseman with a kneeling giant.^[11] Some of these images can be found in Late Bronze Age peat bogs in Britain,^[12] indicating the symbols were both pre-Roman and widely spread across Celtic culture. The distribution of some of the images has been mapped and shows a pattern of central concentration of an image along with a wide scatter indicating these images were most likely attached to specific tribes and were distributed from some central point of tribal concentration outward along lines of trade. The image of the three headed god has a central concentration among the Belgae, between the Oise, Marne and Moselle rivers. The horseman with kneeling giant is centered on either side of the Rhine. These examples seem to indicate regional preferences of a common image stock.^[11]

[edit] Julius Caesar’s comments on Celtic religion and their significance

Golden Celtic wheel with symbols, Balesme, Haute-Marne. Musée d'Archéologie Nationale.

The classic entry about the Celtic gods of Gaul is the section in Julius Caesar's Commentarii de bello Gallico (52–51 BC; The Gallic War). In this he names the five principal gods worshipped in Gaul (according to the practice of his time, he gives the names of the closest equivalent Roman gods) and describes their roles. Mercury was the most venerated of all the deities and numerous representations of him were to be discovered. Mercury was seen as the originator of all the arts (and is often taken to refer to Lugus for this reason), the supporter of adventurers and of traders, and the mightiest power concerning trade and profit. Next the Gauls revered Apollo, Mars, Jupiter, and Minerva. Among these divinities the Celts are described as holding roughly equal views as did other populations: Apollo dispels sickness, Minerva encourages skills, Jupiter governs the skies, and Mars influences warfare. In addition to these five, he mentions that the Gauls traced their ancestry to Dis Pater.^[13] MacBain argues that Apollo corresponds to Irish Lugh, Mercury to Manannan mac Lir, Jupiter to Dagda, Mars to Net, and Minerva to Brigit.^[14]

[edit] See also

• Cornish folklore
• Fisher King
• Hag of the mist
• Táin Bó Flidhais
• Triskele
• Celtic Christianity

[edit] References

1. ^ Cunliffe, Barry, (1997) The Ancient Celts. Oxford, Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-815010-5, pp. 183 (religion), 202, 204-8.
2. ^ O'Rahilly, T. F. (1946. (reprinted 1964, 1971, 1984)). Early Irish History and Mythology. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. ISBN 0-901282-29-4.
3. ^ Ross, Anne (1972). Everyday Life of the Pagan Celts. Carousel Books. pp. 166–167. ISBN 0-552-54021-8.
4. ^ Chadwick, Nora Kershaw (1970). The Celts. Penguin Books. pp. 149. ISBN 140212116.
5. ^ Ross, Anne (1972). Everyday Life of the Pagan Celts. Carousel Books. pp. 168–170. ISBN 0-552-54021-8.
6. ^ Jackson, Kenneth Hurlstone (1971). A Celtic Miscellany. Penguin Classics. pp. 27–28. ISBN 0 14 044.247 2.
7. ^ Geddes & Grosset Ltd (1997). Dictionary of the Celts. Brockhampton Press London. pp. 41. ISBN 1-86019-709-4.
8. ^ Geddes & Grosset Ltd (1997). Dictionary of the Celts. Brockhampton Press London. pp. 130. ISBN 1-86019-709-4.
9. ^ Paul-Marie Duval. 1993. Les dieux de la Gaule. Éditions Payot, Paris. ISBN 2-228-88621-1. pp. 94-98.
10. ^ G.S. Olmsted. "The Gundestrup version of Táin Bó Cuailnge". Antiquity, vol. 50, pp. 95-103.
11. ^ ^{a b} Powell, T.G.E. The Celts. Thames & Hudson, London. 1958.
12. ^ Chadwick, Nora. The Celts. Pelican Books. 1970.
13. ^ Ross, Anne (1972). Everyday Life of the Pagan Celts. Carousel Books. pp. 208. ISBN 0-552-54021-8.
14. ^ MacBain, Alexander (1976). Celtic Mythology and Religion. Folcroft Library Editions. pp. 69–75. ISBN 0-8414-6043-4.

[edit] Bibliography

• de Vries, Jan, Keltische Religion (1961).
• Duval, Paul-Marie, Les Dieux de la Gaule, new ed. updated and enlarged (1976).
• Green, Miranda J. Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend New York: Thames and Hudson, 1992. ISBN 0-500-27975-6.
• MacCana, Proinsias. Celtic Mythology. New York: Hamlyn, 1970. ISBN 0-600-00647-6.
• Mac Cana, Proinsias, The Learned Tales of Medieval Ireland (Irish Literature - Studies), Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (1980): ISBN 1-85500-120-9.
• MacKillop, James, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-19-280120-1.
• Maier, Bernhard, Dictionary of Celtic religion and culture, Boydell & Brewer 1997 ISBN 978-0-85115-660-6.
• Monaghan, Patricia. The Red-Haired Girl from the Bog: The Landscape of Celtic Myth and Spirit. New World Library, 2002. ISBN 1-57731-190-6.
• O'Rahilly, Thomas F. Early Irish History and Mythology (1946, reissued 1971).
• Rhys, John, Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as Illustrated by Celtic Heathendom 3rd ed. (1898, reprinted 1979).
• Sjoestedt, M. L., Gods and Heroes of the Celts. 1949; translated by Myles Dillon. repr. Berkeley, CA: Turtle Press, 1990. ISBN 1-85182-179-1.
• Stercks, Claude, Éléments de cosmogonie celtique (1986).
• Vendryès, Joseph, Ernest Tonnelat, and B.-O. Unbegaun Les Religions des Celtes, des Germains et des anciens Slaves (1948).
• Wood, Juliette, The Celts: Life, Myth, and Art Thorsons Publishers (2002): ISBN 0-00-764059-5.
• Danilo Pennone I Celti, miti e leggende, Stile Regina Editrice, 1990.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Celtic deities

• Celtic Art & Cultures: a detailed description of the Gundestrup cauldron
• Celtic Religion - What Information do we really have
• What We Don't Know About the Ancient Celts
• Timeless Myths: Celtic Mythology Myths and legends from Celtic Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brittany.

[show] v t e Topics in Celtic mythology [show] Creation Beira Cailleach [show] Ancient Gaulish and Brythonic deities Abandinus Abellio Abnoba Adsullata Agrona Alaunus Alisanos Ambisagrus Ancamna Andarta Andraste Anextiomarus Arduinna Artio Arvernus Aufaniae Aveta Belatu-Cadros Belenus Belisama Borvo Brigantia Britannia Buxenus Camma Camulus Cernunnos Cissonius Clota Cocidius Condatis Contrebis Coventina Damara Damona Dea Matrona Dis Pater Dusios Epona Erecura Esus Fagus Grannus Hooded Spirits Icaunus Loucetios Lugus Luxovius Maponos Matres Nantosuelta Naria Nemetona Nemausus Nodens Ogmios Robor Rosmerta Rudianos Segomo Senua Sequana Sirona Smertrios Sucellus Suleviae Sulis Tamesis Taranis Toutatis Verbeia Vosegus [show] Irish mythological characters Abartach Abhean Aengus Alastir Ai Aibell Aimend Áine Airmed Anann Badb Balor Banba Beag Bébinn Bé Chuille Birog Boann Bodb Derg Brea Breg Bres Brigid Bronach Buarainech Caer Canola Carman Cenn Cruaich Cessair Cethlenn Cian Cliodhna Corb Creidhne Crom Cruach Cú Roí mac Daire The Dagda Danu Donn Dian Cecht Elatha Étaín Ethniu Ethne Ériu Fand Fionnuala Fódla Goibniu Lir Luchtaine Lugh Macha Manannán mac Lir Miach Midir Mog Ruith Morrígan Neit Nemain Niamh Nuada Ogma Plor na mBan Sheela na Gig Tailtiu Tethra [show] Irish rulers and warriors Caílte Conall Cernach Conchobar Conán mac Morna Conn of the Hundred Battles Cormac mac Airt Cúchulainn Cumhal Deichtine Deirdre Diarmuid Emer Ferdiad Fergus mac Róich Fionn mac Cumhaill Lugaid Medb Oisín Oscar [show] Scottish mythological characters Bean Nighe Beira Cailleach Crom Dubh Deò-ghrèine Glaistig Inghean Bhuidhe Lasair Latiaran Ossian Scota Seonaidh [show] Scottish rulers and warriors Aífe Connla Scáthach Uathach [show] Welsh mythological characters Amaethon Arawn Arianrhod King Arthur Afallach Beli Mawr Blodeuwedd Bran the Blessed Branwen Caswallawn Ceridwen Cigfa Creiddylad Culhwch Cyhyraeth Dewi Dôn Dwyn Dylan Ail Don Efnysien Elen Euroswydd Gofannon Gwydion Gwyn ap Nudd Hafgan Lleu Llaw Gyffes Llŷr Lludd Mabon Manawydan Math fab Mathonwy Modron Nisien Ogyruan Olwen Penarddun Pryderi Pwyll Rhiannon Taliesin [show] Locations Annwn Mag Mell Sídhe Tír na nÓg Cnoc Áine Cnoc Fírinne Drom Asail [show] Weapons Caledfwlch Dyrnwyn Claíomh Solais Fragarach Gáe Bulg Spear Lúin, [show] Festivals Samhain/Calan Gaeaf Imbolc/Gŵyl Fair Beltane/Calan Mai Lughnasadh/Calan Awst

[show] v t e Celts