Posted November 11th, 2005 by assistantmummer(#15849)
Thank you Kamalakanta, Arpan, Tirtha, Purnakama, Doris, Palyati,
Claudia, and Martin for your very kind replies. And Niriha, thanks for
the interesting quote!
Probably many of you became students of Sri Chinmoy through a very
natural process. You were searching for something, moving around
examining different options people were choosing in life. Maybe you
came to a peace concert, or took a few meditation classes. You sensed
in your heart that here was a teacher who was wise and beneficent,
here were people who had spent many hours praying and meditating,
singing spiritual songs, doing dedicated service, and so they were
tuned in to a higher reality. If you felt an inner affinity with the
teacher, and you sensed that these people were good role models - the
kind of people who could help you grow spiritually - then maybe you
sent in your picture. Then you started "trying out your new wings,"
getting a closer look at Sri Chinmoy's path from the inside, finding
out what kinds of things interested you, where you had an aptitude and
what would fulfill you.
Today, seekers sometimes face a more difficult road. The very success
of Sri Chinmoy in sharing spiritual teachings with the West also makes
him a target. Had he not succeeded, people would have just said: "Oh,
he is a very nice man from India. Look at the feeling of peace in his
eyes!" But since he has succeeded in expanding acceptance of Yoga,
there is organized opposition. In recent years, there have been
attacks on many bona fide teachers of sterling reputation, such as Sri
Ramakrishna and Paramahansa Yogananda. But gradually, the spiritual
community repelled these attacks.
Palyati, by all means march to the beat of your inner drummer and
don't let me distract! (I am only the assistant mummer.) You
questioned the value of tilting at windmills. I wonder if your view is
a little U.S.-centric or even Alaska-centric. In some places there is
much less freedom and it can be difficult to hold a simple event like
a concert. There's a connection between spiritual groups, the
societies in which they live, and harassment by anti-cultists. It's
not simply "set and forget" or "wait for the day when the Supreme has
made everything better." Sometimes it's a question of working to
ensure that existing laws and ethical guidelines are applied in
today's world.
People who are not spiritually strong (a category in which I fall) may
suffer the most under conditions of harassment. I admire people who
have graduated to a level of bliss and detachment where they are
unaffected. It makes sense that if you don't feel personally harmed by
something you won't be motivated to change it. That is fair. But I
admit it sometimes bothers me that new seekers have to get past the
screaming banshees in the form of anti-cultists. It's kind of like the
old Monty Python line: "I didn't expect the bloody Spanish
Inquisition!" (Their chief weapons are insanity and too much time on
their hands.)
I do struggle to accept present world conditions, but like the late
Rosa Parks, I don't think I'm being "uppity" if I say that spiritual
seekers shouldn't have to ride at the back of the bus. Our society
does have many existing ethical rules which need to be applied fairly
so that religious minorities can't be harassed with impunity. Yahoo
execs like Terry Semel, Mark Hull, and Anne Hoge need to act with
basic human decency, rather than using loopholes in the law to
profiteer off hate speech. Yahoo reportedly hosts the largest number
of hate groups anywhere on the Net, and sees them as a source of free
media content which they can use to run ads. That is despicable
personal behavior and irresponsible corporate behavior. In my piece
"Jane on the Subway" (message #14537), I tried to call attention to
the human consequences.
In over 40 years of teaching, Sri Chinmoy has built up a legacy of
trust. That trust is the currency which allows him to minister to the
needs of seekers hungry for peace, light and joy. I'm personally
attached to the idea that if someone tries to damage such a precious
resource by defamation, harassment, vilification and other illegal
acts, lawful due process should be used to protect that resource from
being destroyed by vandals.
People who can be persuaded to act ethically tend to feel better for
it. Showing that unethical or illegal conduct has consequences helps
to draw a bright line that discourages decent people from being
involved in harassment, and also makes the few incorrigibles see that
they are isolated.
Many people who were temporarily "spitwad throwers" have returned to
the Centre and disassociated themselves from the hostile people. While
that is 99% due to the Supreme's Grace, maybe human beings who said
"This will not stand!" helped in some small way. The process is not
over. Maybe our discussions here do help some people make peace with
themselves and with the Centre.
As spiritual seekers, we all have so many things to learn, and it's
not a matter of hearing them only once from an enlightened master like
Sri Chinmoy. They need to be heard many times, and to filter down to
the level where people mired in suffering can hear them. Learning is
possible, change is possible. The great thing about banging your head
against a stone wall is that it feels so good when you stop! Most
people long for peace and want to feel good about their lives; they've
just gotten a bit lost. If the directions are repeated often enough
and the language is varied, some people will get it.
It's not a binary choice of being either a devoted, surrendered
disciple of Sri Chinmoy or being some kind of "hostile force." For
people who once felt spiritually high but are going through an extreme
low period, sometimes an intermediate goal can just be steady everyday
living - eking out a firm middle ground that's not too high and not
too low.
That "hunger for the Infinite" Kamalakanta talked about can generate a
lot of internal pressure. Society at large is steeped with problems;
sometimes people come to Sri Chinmoy with some sincere aspiration, but
also some baggage from bad home situations and so forth. On the one
hand, they benefit from spiritual practice; on the other hand, they
are not well-balanced.
Going down the highway, a person needs speed but also control. Fast
speed is very good as long as they have control of the car and the
highway is unobstructed. But if they run into obstacles and lose
control, then the speed becomes a danger. At that time, better to lose
some speed, lose some intensity, but don't have a crackup.
Just because Sri Chinmoy brings down so much Light, it's easy for
people to develop a fanatical attitude. I'm not sure how to describe
the difference between devotion and fanaticism. Maybe true devotion
has a calm, humble quality, while fanaticism is agitated and
ego-driven. Does that make sense to anybody?
Devotion will not cause people any problem because it just burns
sweetly and steadily. But fanaticism has a quality of pushing oneself
too hard outwardly without cultivating enough inner sweetness and
calmness. If people become fanatically pro-Sri Chinmoy today, tomorrow
they may become fanatically anti-Sri Chinmoy. That is the nature of
the ego. But if they can maintain the kind of devotion that burns
sweetly and steadily, then they will not have a crackup. This is just
my theory. :-)
It is the feeling of inner sweetness that makes it possible for
someone to follow a well-organized spiritual path. Otherwise, they
will feel it is like being in the army. They will say everything is
being imposed from outside, and naturally their nature will rebel.
Sometimes this happens when seekers are going through a dry period.
If someone has a special kind of problem where they go from loving Sri
Chinmoy to hating him, they may need to take the pressure off. If they
can't let go of their anger or recriminations, they may need to look
for ways of breaking the cycle of their constant mental churnings. A
well-balanced person does not spend their time plotting against their
former friends and teacher. That is not a useful kind of work. Better
to do some gardening, go on long walks, listen to some peaceful music,
and regain a sense of normalcy in everyday living. Forgive oneself and
forgive others for real or imagined wrongs. Try and have good will to
all. This needs to be said and heard many times.
Thank you Kamalakanta, Arpan, Tirtha, Purnakama, Doris, Palyati,
Claudia, and Martin for your very kind replies. And Niriha, thanks for
the interesting quote!
Probably many of you became students of Sri Chinmoy through a very
natural process. You were searching for something, moving around
examining different options people were choosing in life. Maybe you
came to a peace concert, or took a few meditation classes. You sensed
in your heart that here was a teacher who was wise and beneficent,
here were people who had spent many hours praying and meditating,
singing spiritual songs, doing dedicated service, and so they were
tuned in to a higher reality. If you felt an inner affinity with the
teacher, and you sensed that these people were good role models - the
kind of people who could help you grow spiritually - then maybe you
sent in your picture. Then you started "trying out your new wings,"
getting a closer look at Sri Chinmoy's path from the inside, finding
out what kinds of things interested you, where you had an aptitude and
what would fulfill you.
Today, seekers sometimes face a more difficult road. The very success
of Sri Chinmoy in sharing spiritual teachings with the West also makes
him a target. Had he not succeeded, people would have just said: "Oh,
he is a very nice man from India. Look at the feeling of peace in his
eyes!" But since he has succeeded in expanding acceptance of Yoga,
there is organized opposition. In recent years, there have been
attacks on many bona fide teachers of sterling reputation, such as Sri
Ramakrishna and Paramahansa Yogananda. But gradually, the spiritual
community repelled these attacks.
Palyati, by all means march to the beat of your inner drummer and
don't let me distract! (I am only the assistant mummer.) You
questioned the value of tilting at windmills. I wonder if your view is
a little U.S.-centric or even Alaska-centric. In some places there is
much less freedom and it can be difficult to hold a simple event like
a concert. There's a connection between spiritual groups, the
societies in which they live, and harassment by anti-cultists. It's
not simply "set and forget" or "wait for the day when the Supreme has
made everything better." Sometimes it's a question of working to
ensure that existing laws and ethical guidelines are applied in
today's world.
People who are not spiritually strong (a category in which I fall) may
suffer the most under conditions of harassment. I admire people who
have graduated to a level of bliss and detachment where they are
unaffected. It makes sense that if you don't feel personally harmed by
something you won't be motivated to change it. That is fair. But I
admit it sometimes bothers me that new seekers have to get past the
screaming banshees in the form of anti-cultists. It's kind of like the
old Monty Python line: "I didn't expect the bloody Spanish
Inquisition!" (Their chief weapons are insanity and too much time on
their hands.)
I do struggle to accept present world conditions, but like the late
Rosa Parks, I don't think I'm being "uppity" if I say that spiritual
seekers shouldn't have to ride at the back of the bus. Our society
does have many existing ethical rules which need to be applied fairly
so that religious minorities can't be harassed with impunity. Yahoo
execs like Terry Semel, Mark Hull, and Anne Hoge need to act with
basic human decency, rather than using loopholes in the law to
profiteer off hate speech. Yahoo reportedly hosts the largest number
of hate groups anywhere on the Net, and sees them as a source of free
media content which they can use to run ads. That is despicable
personal behavior and irresponsible corporate behavior. In my piece
"Jane on the Subway" (message #14537), I tried to call attention to
the human consequences.
In over 40 years of teaching, Sri Chinmoy has built up a legacy of
trust. That trust is the currency which allows him to minister to the
needs of seekers hungry for peace, light and joy. I'm personally
attached to the idea that if someone tries to damage such a precious
resource by defamation, harassment, vilification and other illegal
acts, lawful due process should be used to protect that resource from
being destroyed by vandals.
People who can be persuaded to act ethically tend to feel better for
it. Showing that unethical or illegal conduct has consequences helps
to draw a bright line that discourages decent people from being
involved in harassment, and also makes the few incorrigibles see that
they are isolated.
Many people who were temporarily "spitwad throwers" have returned to
the Centre and disassociated themselves from the hostile people. While
that is 99% due to the Supreme's Grace, maybe human beings who said
"This will not stand!" helped in some small way. The process is not
over. Maybe our discussions here do help some people make peace with
themselves and with the Centre.
As spiritual seekers, we all have so many things to learn, and it's
not a matter of hearing them only once from an enlightened master like
Sri Chinmoy. They need to be heard many times, and to filter down to
the level where people mired in suffering can hear them. Learning is
possible, change is possible. The great thing about banging your head
against a stone wall is that it feels so good when you stop! Most
people long for peace and want to feel good about their lives; they've
just gotten a bit lost. If the directions are repeated often enough
and the language is varied, some people will get it.
It's not a binary choice of being either a devoted, surrendered
disciple of Sri Chinmoy or being some kind of "hostile force." For
people who once felt spiritually high but are going through an extreme
low period, sometimes an intermediate goal can just be steady everyday
living - eking out a firm middle ground that's not too high and not
too low.
That "hunger for the Infinite" Kamalakanta talked about can generate a
lot of internal pressure. Society at large is steeped with problems;
sometimes people come to Sri Chinmoy with some sincere aspiration, but
also some baggage from bad home situations and so forth. On the one
hand, they benefit from spiritual practice; on the other hand, they
are not well-balanced.
Going down the highway, a person needs speed but also control. Fast
speed is very good as long as they have control of the car and the
highway is unobstructed. But if they run into obstacles and lose
control, then the speed becomes a danger. At that time, better to lose
some speed, lose some intensity, but don't have a crackup.
Just because Sri Chinmoy brings down so much Light, it's easy for
people to develop a fanatical attitude. I'm not sure how to describe
the difference between devotion and fanaticism. Maybe true devotion
has a calm, humble quality, while fanaticism is agitated and
ego-driven. Does that make sense to anybody?
Devotion will not cause people any problem because it just burns
sweetly and steadily. But fanaticism has a quality of pushing oneself
too hard outwardly without cultivating enough inner sweetness and
calmness. If people become fanatically pro-Sri Chinmoy today, tomorrow
they may become fanatically anti-Sri Chinmoy. That is the nature of
the ego. But if they can maintain the kind of devotion that burns
sweetly and steadily, then they will not have a crackup. This is just
my theory. :-)
It is the feeling of inner sweetness that makes it possible for
someone to follow a well-organized spiritual path. Otherwise, they
will feel it is like being in the army. They will say everything is
being imposed from outside, and naturally their nature will rebel.
Sometimes this happens when seekers are going through a dry period.
If someone has a special kind of problem where they go from loving Sri
Chinmoy to hating him, they may need to take the pressure off. If they
can't let go of their anger or recriminations, they may need to look
for ways of breaking the cycle of their constant mental churnings. A
well-balanced person does not spend their time plotting against their
former friends and teacher. That is not a useful kind of work. Better
to do some gardening, go on long walks, listen to some peaceful music,
and regain a sense of normalcy in everyday living. Forgive oneself and
forgive others for real or imagined wrongs. Try and have good will to
all. This needs to be said and heard many times.
A.M.