Gurinder, Religare, and Beas Satsang (Part II)

By Robert Searle


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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....................

Baba Faqir Chand.

The following is from  http://www.babafaqirchand.com  It is a site connected with Sant Harjit Singh whose master was the esteemed Baba Faqir Chand. RS


                                         Baba Faqir Chand (1886 to 1981)

                                                     

Baba Faqir Chand was born in a Brahmin family on 18th November 1886 in the village Panjhal in district Hoshiarpur of Punjab State. At the age of 7 years, afflicted by the poverty at home and always feeling afraid of his father's strict nature, he sought relief in the worship of God, the creator of this world. Under the impact of Hindu Sanskars, he developed a love for Lord Rama and Lord Krishna and meditated upon their holy forms.

Baba Faqir Chand studied up to middle standard at Pind Dadan Khan in Distt. Jhelum, (now in Pakistan). His father Pandit Mast Ram was a Constable in the Indian Railway Police and couldn't give him higher education. In 1904, at the age of 18 he was employed as a signaller in construction line of the Indian Railways. At this tender age he came into contact with the Platiers and contractors of the department, their company had its impact upon him and he turned a non-vegetarian.

One day whilst going for a walk, Baba Faqir Chand accompanied a Jangli-a village head man. Before departing the gentle man handed over a chicken which Baba Faqir Chand handed over to an employee who beheaded and dressed it for cooking. Once at home Baba Faqir Chand asked his wife to cook it. When his mother learnt about this act she went inside the kitchen, closed the door and bolted it from within, she wouldn't open the door and then frightened, (because smoke was coming out of the kitchen) Baba Faqir Chand forced the door open with an axe. His mother came out, suffocating the smoke in the kitchen, angry and disappointed. Overpowered by motherly affection, Baba Faqir Chand embraced her and implored, "Mother, why did you not open the door? Had you been suffocated to death, where could I have found you dear mother?" Then she spoke thus, "you have killed the baby of a mother. The mother hen must be wailing over the loss of her dear child. You have committed a terrible sin." At once, prompted by my conscience, Baba Faqir Chand made a firm determination that in future, he would never commit such a sin.

Baba Faqir Chand prayed and wept to God in the form of Rama and Krishna because he wanted his mental slate of the sins of his undesirable acts cleaned. Once, he wept for 24 hours continuously for the glimpse of his Lord. Doctors were called in and they administered medicine to him. At about 5 A.M. Maharishi Shiv Brat Lal Ji Maharaj appeared in his vision. He drew water from a near well and gave him a bath and then told him his address of Lahore.

This vision convinced Baba Faqir Chand that God had incarnated Himself in the form of Maharishi Shiv Brat Lal Ji. So Baba Faqir Chand wrote every week to the address, which Data Dayal Ji had told him in the vision. Inside the letter he always addressed Maharishi Ji as God. After full ten months, he received a letter from Data Dayal Ji Maharaj, wherein he wrote, "Faqir, your letters, I have been receiving regularly. I value your sentiments and your passions for Lord. I, myself have discovered, Reality, Truth and peace at the feet of Rai Sahib Salig Ram Ji of Radhaswami-Matt. Provided you feel no reluctance in following this path, come and see me at Lahore".

Baba Faqir Chand reached the ashram of Hazur Data Dayal Ji and prostrated his humble self at His Holy feet. He advised Baba Faqir Chand to attend Sat Sangs of Radha Swami Matt wherever available. In-ward practice as directed by His Holiness, became part and parcel of his life. And remained satisfied with his concentration on the Holy Form of His Holiness Hazur Data Dayal Ji Maharaj.

In 1916 (during the 1st world war) Baba Faqir Chand was posted in Baghdad. Here, he threw head, heart, and himself in Sadhana. and gave as much time as possible to inward-practice and shed a life of complete celibacy. With these sincere efforts and cravings to know the truth bore fruit and in course of time Baba Faqir Chand ascended all the inner stages and experienced the relative lights and sounds at each stage of the inward path.

In 1918 Baba Faqir Chand was granted annual leave from Iraq and went to His Holiness at Lahore to spend my maximum time in His Company. During his stay with His Holiness, he always troubled him with never-ending questions and queries. One day he placed before His Holiness the main agony of his heart in these words, "My God, I have traversed many in Light within and experienced sound in indescribable abundance. No doubt, these experiences have been a great source of Joy to me. But still I long to see myself and know the sublime goal of Radhaswami-matt. How and why the goal of Radhaswami-matt differs from that of other religions? I yearn to experience the declared supremacy of Radhaswami faith-myself." His Holiness assured him that he would answer his questions the next day.

In December 25, 1918. Hazur Data Dayal Ji called Baba Faqir Chand to his room. Hazur Data Dayal Ji placed one coconut and 5 coins on Baba Faqir Chands' hands and made a long frontal mark on his forehead and bowed himself to his feet saying. "Faqir, you are yourself the Supreme Master of your time. Start delivering spiritual discourses to the seekers and initiate them into path of Sant-Matt. In due course, your own Sat Sangies will prove as your "True-Guru". And it is through your experiences with them that the desired secret of Sant-Matt would stand revealed to you. Faqir, you may be suffering from 99 shortcomings, but one sure virtue of Truth in you will surely lead you to your goal of life. You will not only redeem yourself, but would help many others to attain release."

In a nutshell, Hazur Data Dayal Ji assigned Baba Faqir Chand three duties, which became the mission of his life.

1. Your name is Faqir (Saint) Be true to your name. Do not look at the faults of others. Instead have pity upon the helpless, ignorant and the weak. With your love and affection help them out of this sphere of Kal and maya, guiding them to their Real Homeward Journey.

2. You have come blessed with a form, which is really wonderful and unique. Your mission is "welfare of the Humanity". Remove the walls which divide the humanity and tell the entire mankind, how it can live a happy and peaceful life.

3. Liberate the deserving amongst them from the cycle of life and death. Be their guide and take them to the state of Nirvana.

In 1933 on request of a large number of people, satsang was arranged. In that general sat sang Data Dayal Ji said to Baba Faqir Chand, "FAQIR, THE TIME SHALL CHANGE, THE TRADITIONAL WAY OF PREACHING SHALL NOT BE ACCEPTABLE TO THE PUBLIC. THEREFORE YOU MUST CHANGE THE MODE OF PREACHING BEFORE LEAVING YOUR PHYSICAL BODY".

In obedience to the command of his Sat-Guru Baba Faqir Chand devoted his life to speak out his experiences and research to the world. His teachings to each and all are, "Be pure in thought, word and action, hate no-one but love all. As we sow, so shall we reap. Sow, love and justice, reap the same and live a happy and peaceful life.

The Two Inner Awakenings; A Personal Account..

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Meeting Dr Sharma In London 1990.

Back in summer 1990, I met up with Dr Sharma also referred to as Manav Dayal a teacher of "Shabd Yoga" in the Faqir Chand tradition. I came across him via a contact, who claimed that it might be best to meet him at Heathrow Airport which was not far from where I lived at the time (ie Slough). This I did, and went to the correct arrival point for passengers. I had a sign with his name on it. The only pic I had of him was as a younger man, and it was not a particularly good reproduction. Anyway, I waited awhile as the passengers left the plane, and then I saw an Asian go towards a portly elderly man from the crowd of onlookers. He put a garland around the new arrival to Britain. This I knew to be a traditional gesture of respect to someone of importance, and I rightly guessed that it was Dr. Sharma being honoured. The Asian devotee though seemed taken aback by this as he could not understand how I could have known the identity of his guru....
Anyway, I talked briefly to Dr. Sharma, and for whatever reasons he mentioned something about psychic odours. Personally, I found this an odd subject compared with the high brow thinking of "Shabd Yoga", and Sant Mat. Indeed, I have to confess that I found Sharma to be somehow eccentric in manner.
After that, I drove down to Hammersmith, London to a certain address to meet him again for an interview I was doing for the magazine Yoga and Healing. Dr. Sharma was staying with some devotees, and I hardly got any questions out as he seemed to be intent in giving a long rambling intellectual discourse on Hindu mysticism. This was recorded ofcourse but unfortunately the tape was later lost. Anyway, he referred to Sant Mat as Sat Mat, or the Path of Truth, and regarded Beas Satsang as ".....being like an empire." He may well have got these two points from his own master Faqir Chand, and simply repeated them to me. He also gave the old traditional interpretation of the word Radha, and reversed it by repeating it as "Dhara, Dhara, Dhara,"......meaning spiritual current! At some point during the interview (or should I say discourse from Dr Sharma!) I thought I heard him say the following......"I do not know who is saying this. Some current is flowing through me.." or words to that effect. Again, I must stress the word "thought" of him saying this as I do not fully recall whether this actually appeared on the tape, or not! Maybe a trick of the mind........After all this, I had an informal chat with him. At one point, he left the room, and thereupon re-appeared, and said "I am your Satguru!" Later, we had a wonderful vegetarian lunch.
When I left to return to Slough in my car I had an extraordinary experience. I became aware of a power flowing through me. It was controlling me in the most NATURAL, and SPONTANEOUS manner. There was no fear of any sort involved. It was as if something truly wonderful had been re-discovered from ages past. This energy was incredibly subtle in a way that is difficult to describe. It was a super-tactile experience. No sounds, or lights, or anything similiar was had. It was a PROCESS of AWAKENING from the dream-like creation of the physical universe. Though I used the word "natural" just now in capitals it was somehow more than "natural". This experience went on for a long while. The following day after my encounter with Dr. Sharma I rang him about it. He commented to his surprise "......that it was happening already " (spontaneous initiation). However, I felt that this subtle energy seemed to be trying to "control" me too much, and I managed to break away from it. I would have loved the intensity of that experience to have continued but the problem was that I did not really take Dr. Sharma very seriously, and did not regard him as my real Satguru. Yet, as Jashan Vaswani once informed me that "THE REAL SATGURU IS WITHIN YOU" Oddly enough, this was what Faqir Chand claimed...that the physical master only acts as a catalyst for psycho-spiritual experiences. This was something I did not appreciate at the time.
Sadly, Dr. Sharma passed on several years ago, but the teachings continue through various lines of "masters".
Postscript. I should also said that at the interview Dr Sharma claimed that the Sound Om could be heard not just in the lower realm but also in the higher ones. A Sant Mat purist might well interpret this as indicative that his "version" of "Shabd Yoga"s did not lead beyond the planes of Kal, and Maya. Morever, it is not seen as the highest spiritual meditation, but seen as being one of many.


Meeting Sant Harjit Singh in Southall.


In January 2007 I made contact with Sant Harjit Singh. He is one of the recognized successors of Faqir Chand. Before actually visiting him in Southall I viewed his website, and on occasions listened to his mantric "music", or rather extracts of it to be more precise. It definitely carried a highly subtle energy, and helped to create a devotional "atmosphere" in me (ie. a heightening of conciousness).
What occured was a PROCESS largely identical to that experienced after visiting Dr. Sharma back in 1990. This could be suggestive that both teachers reached the same "highest", or "ultimate" level of superconciousness usually indicative of "God-Realization" though ofcourse there are an infinity of different "planes". The key features of the PROCESS OF AWAKENING are as follows.
i) An awareness that ones own inner lower self was being slowly transmuted into something else in the most NATURAL, and SPONTANEOUS manner. In other words, I was "dying" to gradually be reborn into a higher state of being......

ii) An awareness of being surrounded by the unseen energies of higher conciousness especially in the evening, and indeed, the morning.

iii) An awareness at times of being "possessed" in the most NATURAL, and SPONTANEOUS fashion by these extremely subtle "forces" without any sense of fear at all. Yet, there was something akin to awe by the growing onset of these experiences, and at times an overwhelming sense of gratitude. This was ones feeble response to the awakening process.

iv) An ability to spontaneously control, and dissolve any improper thoughts entering the mind.
v) A greater ability as never before to actually calm the mind without any mental chatter. In other words, I often became one-pointed with the repetition of the Five Holy Names in a wonderfully NATURAL way. I suspect the unseen energies were stilling my mind oftentimes to perform "real" meditation.
The above is all GRACE without which any kind of spiritual practice is virtually impossible. Infact, I am coming to the conclusion that a true Master of any degree should be able to successfully transmit such experienes irrespective of the evolution of the disciple. However, I suspect that it depends on ones sincerity for it to happen rather upon the amount of purity an individual soul may, or may not have.

Anyway, I met Sant Harjit Singh at his Southall home. Just before that, and earlier on at home in Slough I was acutely aware of energies of higher conciousness. When I arrived at Harjits home positive vibrations were virtually palpable, and inspiring. As I entered the front room I shook hands with him. He was dressed in orange, and wore a homemade turban if I recall correctly.
I explained I had some experiences before meeting him. I claimed that the higher conciousness which was trying to "posses" me in the most SUBTLE, NATURAL, AND SPONTANEOUS fashion was influencing my behaviour for the good. Submission to it was proving beneficial.
I mentioned being suddenly awoken in the bed when I felt a transmission of energy shoot right though me. This caused my body to jerk. Harjit claimed that this was something due to the (spiritual) heart though I did not fully understand what he meant by this.. I mentioned my contact with a certain Sound though this may well have been a trick of the mind.
Though I asked only a few questions, Harjit two, or three times asked "Can I go now?" as he was wanting to do some meditation upstairs. Admitedly, he did have some doubt about the genuiness of my experiences (though I did not fully describe them).
He also seemed to regard Dr. Sharma, the chief successor of Faqir Chand a little questionable too. This was evident in the way he spoke. Like many devotees of the latter Master the former was not liked particularly. However, Sharma did visit Harjit Singh on a certain occasion.
One thing that did clearly tanspire in the meeting was this. Harjit Singh clearly revealed that there was no set sequence of key planes as indicated in the Radhaswami literature. Indeed, such things were merely mental projections....nothing more.

Harjit Singh understandably wanted his exact address secret. The reason was that he wanted to make sure that whoever visited him was "genuine" in their desire for spiritual progress rather than someone who was merely interested in intellectual "games".

PS. Sometime before I met Harjit, and had the above experience a woman unknown to me used to say to me in the high street in Slough that "You will be reborn." At one point, I followed her into the mall, and asked for an explanation. It turned out that she was a Peruvian, and a spiritist. She believed to in reincarnation, and even suggested that I might have been her husband in one of her previous lives. What her strange statement of "You will be reborn" was probably a kind of prediction in which I would be reborn in the spiritual sense via my encounter with Harjit Singh.
Significantly, a link to my awakening process appeared on a yahoo forum. This was the forum connected with Harjit Singh which seemed to validate the genuiness of my experience. Morever, Mushin Schilling on his blog seemed to regard it as such, as it was probably like those of his group which had "awakenings".