From Timothy Conway's website.
The description of Karl Renz, a Pooja spin-off may ring a bell.
Am posting this not to distract into discussions of the complexities of advaita, but for a close examination of the tricks utilized by too many satsang teachers -- a project that our message board is well equipped to tangle with.
Do these people all go to the same training camp?
To go right to the description of Karl R's invalidation of question asking,
after you are on Conway's page, do a Control F for search and put these
words
what I saw appalled me into the slot.
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www.enlightened-spirituality.org]
This excerpt will give us a taste.
Quote
When I saw him [Karl Renz] in Tiruvannamalai, my wife and I initially went because we had been told by many people that “he was the real deal” and thought to be genuinely enlightened. Out of curiosity, we attended a couple of satsangs. At first, I just witnessed, and what I saw appalled me. [My wife] was horrified… she felt physically upset, and I’m not exaggerating (she is very sensitive).
As for myself, I am not so easily put off, but here I perceived a very clever man playing his audience, and I was dismayed to think it was considered a “satsang”, and that the people gathered thought so highly of him.
He would say things like “Who is next? Who wants to step up into the boxing ring?” Because it was a public execution for whoever spoke out, and the audience appeared enthusiastic for the next ignorant jiva [self, soul, person] to have their “ego” dismantled. Whenever Karl struck his nonchalant blows… disregarding the person, confusing them, nullifying their relative stance, and pulling the rug out from under their feet (as you mentioned in points 1 and 10)… the crowd would laugh and laugh, delighted to see the ego be so openly beaten and censured! There was a delirious kind of self-righteous “I know better because I have transcended the need to ask questions and now I’ve got it” complex, which seemed perversely eager to see the next poor, ignorant seeker snuffed out by Karl’s quick mind and clever retort… because isn’t it true that to stop seeking is the mark of a superior understanding? (Or so they seem to think).
And no one could ever win in this boxing match of wits, because Karl always had the upper hand (the one-upmanship you mentioned), and would pull out some “absolutes” from his bag of tricks to render his questioners speechless. In some cases, it would instill a temporary sensation of thoughtless presence, which could be considered a glimpse into the enlightened state (a temporary high). But often, it seemed to result in a kind of confusion, or stupefaction, and not a genuine samadhi. In either case, the main point is that Karl was unwilling to take accountability for his side in the debate, and to engage in a way that demonstrated humility or a mature form of fair and even-handed discussion
The rest of the discussion continues below. You'll have to scroll downwards through this article to find it.
[
www.enlightened-spirituality.org]
The rest of the article is a very, very long read.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/04/2020 03:50AM by corboy.