All Comments (12)

Pranay Gupta, I thought was a respected columnist whose views deserved attention. But after this column... well I would like to rethink my opinion. FOr one he is very apologetic about Hindu swamis. Why?

Being a Hindu, living in the west, he is probably attuned to the views of an older generation, who were scared of saying anything positive about their country.Maybe they were too scared to loose the greencard. Dear Pranay, a lot of water has flowed through the Ganges since the fifties and sixties and the new India is a powerhouse of software and market captilism and probably the hottest market for all the fortune 500 and maybe the Fortune 10000 companies. SO change your blinkered opinions...

Inspite of being an international columnist, maybe Pranay Gupta missed a point. That the battle is on between major religions. Almost like Coke and Pepsi. Almost as is Pontiffs and mullhas were saying " I have so many customers and how many do you have?"

Cmon this is the hidden battle nobody talks about. So Bush is ready to send his brigade of evanglists to Iraq while Osama seriously asks Bush to convert to Islam.

As far as Swami Ramdev goes, you have to do his pranayam for a week to understand the power of Yoga. The Church in various countries is at times scared that Ramdev may convert its followers to that "ancient scourge of Hinduism which is all about sack clothes and ashes".

ANyway Ramdev is not converting so Pranay maybe give this guy a chance. Pranayam alone can probably save millions from cancer and most diseases. After all Oxygen is God's own medicine.

Honestly every reviewer, before writing bitterly about Ramdev should do half an hour of PRanaym and then work on the keyboard. The power of Anlom vilom and Kapalbahrathi would have only changed the reviewer to the better

Mr. Gupte makes the same error in his approach to Indian spirituality that many non-Christians do in their approach to Christianity. He bases his opinion of an entire faith on the behavior of a few leaders of less-than-sterling character.

His broad brush painting is no more accurate than if I were to say that all Christian clergy are con-men simply because Jimmy Swaggart wears designer suits and a Rolex, drives a Benz, and holds pledge drives caliming that he can't make the note on his latest radio station purchase unless everyone in his audience sends him at least $100. Or saying that all Christian ministers are hypocrites because Jimbo had Jim Bakker drummed out of the Assemblies of God for sexual misconduct, then celebrated by going to New Orleans and boffing an ugly hooker.

Buddhist meditation without God concept is ideally suited to atheists (especially humanitarians) who seek spirituality outside religious dogma pertaining to God beliefs. Buddhism offers practical rules and guidance for a good life. Although the law of karma and reincarnation is integral to Buddhism as a religion, as a secular concept one can understand it as 'actions have consequences.' Even if there is no God watching over one's hidden actions and thoughts, there is a silent observer in oneself which does (which is just a more finite version of God) and all of one's actions follow the natural laws of physics at another level of consciousness which is measured in lifetimes, not the span of a single life.

Addendum:

Sorry, I wrote Mahabharata instead of Ramayana. Bhagavad Gita being one part of Mahabharata, it does not merit separate mention (it is required only to understand the Gita in its proper context). The Ramayana teaches the importance of Dharma (obedience to law and duty which demands rising above the instincts)as depicted by the life of Rama and the value of chastity in a woman as depicted by the life of Sita. Ravana represents the false ego with its insatiable sensual needs. He had everything (many wives) and wanted more, including another man's (Rama's) lawful wife.

The eight aspects (astanga) of Pathanjali yoga are:

1. Yama and 2. Niyama : depicts of moral and social conduct

Please note that without right moral and social conduct any attempt to get a perfectly healthy body with exercises is meaningless along the spiritual path. One may have a perfectly healthy body and a razor sharp mind but without the right moral and social conduct, one becomes no more than a powerfully inflated narcissistic ego. On the other hand Gandhi proved that one need not do gymnastics and have a perfectly healthy body in order to serve God in the most powerful way. Moderation in all things is the key. But even Mahatma Gandhi overdid it with his diet fads. Jesus Christ ate meat and yet was the most non-violent of human beings (fully human side of Him) that walked the face of the earth. One may be a vegetarian and yet be a violent person far removed from anything spiritual. It is possible to eat meat in moderation and yet be deeply spiritual.

3. Asanas : Hatha Yoga for physical health through various postures

4. Pranayama : regulation of breath for control of mind

5. Pratyahara : withdrawal and internalization of the senses of perception

6. Dharana : concentration on one's personal diety or favourite image that signifies God

7. Dhyana : meditation

8. Samadhi : the ultimate state of self realization or union with God.

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PEACE,PAZ,SALAAM,SHOLOM,FREIDEN,МИР,평화, 和平:

I am sorry but Mr. Gupte's article does not do justice to Indian spirituality. Sure, there are a lot of fake swamis and "Gurus". But there is that tiny number of true Gurus and true Swamis. Mr. Gupte uses a broad brush stroke to paint all of Indian spirituality with the same brush. The result is misrepresentation and distortion. These kinds of articles do not enlighten-- they only desecrate. But Mr. Gupte however does not have to worry. No fatwa will be issued for his head.

Buddhism (like Hinduism) has a koan that a student of Zen sometimes has to reflect upon and solve through deep contemplation:

If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him!

What does this koan mean? This is for Mr. Gupte to solve. A true Guru never thinks he is enlightened or has attained Nirvana.

The examples he relates of "swamihood" and their sad tales are not those of a true swami or a true Guru. They are just fakes. Any Guru who is peddling something for monetary gain, name, or fame, is not a true Guru who has no need for these things. True Gurus are nameless, faceless, egoless, and devoid of personality, just like the Divine.

I had the good fortune to meet some of them and the history of India is replete with their glory. No amount of garbage articles or analysis can detract from the glory of India's spiritual giants--Ramana Maharishi, Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Neem Karoli Baba, Shirdhi Sai Baba, Bhole Baba, Sri Aurobindo, Mother of Pondicherry, Guru Nanak, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Paramhansa Yogananda, ........ need I go on?

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Dear Mr Gupte

As an afterthought:

Please do not throw the baby out with the bathwater in explaining yoga. Hatha Yoga (asanas/postures) is one branch of the eightfold path of yoga leading to union with God, according to Pathanjali. Hatha yoga enhances physical health, making the body a better instrument in the service of God. Pranayama (breathing exercises) steadies the nerves and helps control the mind, once again only to make it a better instrument in the service of God. The other steps of yoga leading to experience of the divine follow, but it built on the foundation of a healthy body and mind. The complete path of yoga is a holistic spiritual path. No matter how anyone may misuse the spiritual path for commercial purposes, no matter that some may use only parts of it and that too only for superficial purposes, the path itself remains a supreme achievement of the Hindu spiritual genius.

It would be wonderful if Hatha yoga, pranayama and meditation were taught to ALL school children in India, not just to a TV audience! It is a pity that very few Indians(mostly Brahmins interested in such matters) get to benefit from the treasures of their own culture. I welcome wholeheartedly the suggestion for the Bhagavad Gita to be taught in schools in India. I would recommend teaching the Mahabharata as well. The highest achievements of the Indian culture and Hindu thought must become a part of every Indian.

Soja John Thaikattil
Sydney, Australia

PS: And then there is the brand of neo-hippies in the guise of atheists or religious cults (read: some new age groups) who are using meditation instead of drugs to promote a promiscuous sex culture calling it "love." One must thank, among others, the Indian sex-guru Rajneesh for the development! Once again those who feel drawn to such practice, do it because they find the sexual morals of the Abrahamic faiths a serious impediment. They choose to ignore the fact that in true Hinduism and Buddhism celibacy has a very revered place, and the sexual morality is even stricter, namely not only lifelong monogamy with no divorce, but also no remarriage for widows! Catholicism which allows remarriage for widows is milder in comparison.

Dear Mr Gupte

Your insightful article is timely. Religious practice being made into million dollar businesses is something everyone who are searching for true spirituality should be aware of. Westerners who forsake Christianity because they are disillusioned with how it is practised by many then fall into the trap of doing the same with "gurus" who can be grown like mushrooms. I do value true spirituality. But being an Indian, I also know true Hindu gurus are not media stars and businessmen and one has to search them out with difficulty for they have no self marketing strategy nor do they run profitable business ventures.

What really appeals to the modern man about a false interpretation of Hindu spirituality is that people imagine they are going to be transformed into instant gods through meditation. That is mighty seductive to a narcissistic personality. Which narcissist doesn't want to be a god? Abrahamic faiths with a faith in a Creator God does not lend itself to godhead for human beings that easily. Hence the exodus from the Abrahamic God of Christianity to the personal godhood of Hinduism. Some "spiritual" atheists seem do the same without the label Hinduism or Buddhism attached to it, claiming that religious practice and spiritual wisdom gained from genuine spiritual practice should be divorced from its source and merely used as a commodity to enhance one's ego. They don't say that in those words of course.

There is a need to develop standards to discern true spirituality for it would be a pity to deny the real benefits of spiritual practises to the masses.

I do believe that Maharishi Mahayogi with all his limitations is different from the sex-guru Rajneesh. One must give credit where credit is due. Mahayogi did introduce the West to meditation on a large scale even though he is no Vivekanda of course. And meditation does have its benefits, even though no instant godhood awaits anybody.

Soja John Thaikattil
Sydney, Australia

Hand Writings On The Wall?

Oooops, This is just come-in:

SCIENTOLOGY is SPOOKED to DEATH!?

http://www.newsweek.com/id/109410

These are unfriendly times to be a Scientologist. In December, Germany's Interior Ministry moved to ban the organization, which has tax-exempt religious status in the United States. In January, St. Martin's Press published Andrew Morton's salacious unauthorized biography of Tom Cruise, which describes the star as its de facto second in command. The church responded with a 15-page statement, calling the book "a bigoted, defamatory assault replete with lies" and saying Cruise "is a Scientology parishioner and holds no official or unofficial position in the Church hierarchy." Jenna Hill Miscavige, a niece of church leader David Miscavige who left the fold in 2005, this week came out in support of Morton and slammed the organization for, among other things, its practice of "disconnection--essentially severing contact with family members seen as hostile to the group.