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Isolated from its Eastern religious and historical context and taught as a quick-fix, no-frills contemporary path to spiritual enlightenment, [Neo-Advaita's] tendency [is] to ignore traditional values like ethics and the cultivation of personal integrity. What’s more, it doesn’t give much credence to the values of the Western Enlightenment, either. Rationality, critical analysis, and common sense all take a back seat in its mind-transcending philosophy."

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Critique of prominent Neo-Advaita teacher Karl Renz:

[Around 2005, a very wise, sincere and spiritually sensible young American, "J," with his wife attended a few gatherings around German neo-Advaita teacher Karl Renz, while the latter was, like many neo-advaitins, conducting a series of meetings near Ramanashramam in Tiruvannamalai, South India. Ramanashramam is the ashram that arose in the 1920s around famous sage Ramana Mahârshi, and thus this vicinity is the perfect place for neo-advaitins wanting to lure new recruits. "J" confronted Karl on the limited nature of his (Karl's) views and teaching style. Here below is the concerned and "care-full" message that J sent me about this encounter. (I subsequently spent several hours with "J" on a visit to his parents home and can vouch for his character.) Note that, in the following text sent by J, all boldfacing, italics and bracketed remarks [] are by myself. --Timothy]


Dear One Timothy,

Regarding Karl Renz…

Before I begin, I would like to point out that I am not on some vengeance mission here… I don’t have it out for this man. I am sincerely concerned about the direction in which these precious teachings of the advaita non-dual traditions are being represented by immature teachers in the west, and what impact it may have on the generations of would-be aspirants in the future. Knowing what I know, I feel it is my responsibility to speak openly on these matters. I am focusing here on Karl because of his growing popularity, and the disquieting way in which I see him creating confusion around the teachings of authentic advaita vedanta, as represented by the great masters.

The fact of the matter is, I have associated with many of these neo-advaitin teachers, and am well aware of the now common trend to teach before being fully “ripe,” or having stabilized in a state of sahaja samadhi [the Natural Oneness of authentic, irreversible spiritual liberation]. I do not hold such expectations of every teacher out there who is willing to point the way, and help guide others. I am grateful for those, who with some understanding or illumination, give of their time and energy to serve as a spiritual guide. I have benefited immensely from such teachings, and they have served as a wonderful introduction, platform for further inquiry, and reminder to awaken from a state of slumber. Yet, for those who assume authority without having received it from a genuine source, or speak from a position of not having realized the ultimate understanding, I am most concerned for the possible abuse of power and distortion of truth.

Thus, having said that…

I have been going through a lot of material available on the web, which includes videos and transcripts of his dialogues, in the attempt to get a clearer idea of what it is about Karl Renz’s satsangs that trouble me. (I am being "affected"… oh, no! People will think I’m "unenlightened"! [NOTE from Timothy: in this remark, "J" is being humorously ironic].)

And Timothy, I deeply appreciate your article on the matter of common pitfalls of neo-advaitin teachers, as the ten point system you have presented, which has given me a very useful framework to organize my thoughts with. I agree with you that point #10 is most apparent in this case; that Karl is stuck in the deconstruction phase, fixated on “neti-neti” ['Not this, not this'], and abides in a nihilistic understanding of the absolute. Yet, as I read through your point system, numbers 1,2,4,5,6,and 9 are also very relevant to the flaws I see in Karl’s teaching[...]. I could go into more detail about each of these points in relation to Karl’s teaching, but I hope that what I have to report here will make it apparent enough.

What has become more clear to me in sifting through all this available documentation (and I must admit, I have not read his book… but then, such a pre-meditated offering would not be so representative of his teaching methods) is that Karl seems to be acting out of a concept of what the “Absolute” means, which is more akin to a state of nihilistic no-thingness, and to which makes all phenomenal existence valueless and meaningless (which ultimately, it is beyond value or meaning, but also not without value or meaning…like you reiterated with the two truths of absolute/relative, or the Zen saying “nothing matters, yet everything matters.”).

Moreover, he states that there is nothing to be done to realize that absolute state, as you are already realized in your Self, and there is no changing that fact, whatever you do. Again, mostly true, but not entirely true. He basically nullifies all necessity to seek, practice, study, etc, which is a major aspect to overlook. Essentially, he makes a mockery of the spiritual path, and the desire to awaken, and this alarms me.

[NOTE from Timothy: see my point-by-point critique of the identical "utterly-nothing-to-be-done" view promoted by neo-advaitin Ramesh Balsekar, a view that utterly neglects those many, many teachings from our sagely teacher, Shri Nisargadatta Maharaj, on the need for great "earnestness" in meditation on either the vital, animating Power or the beingness-consciousness-"I-Am-ness," and also for "zestfully doing one's duty" and "compassionately caring for others."]