Read the comments here. All of 'em.

Quote

I would encourage all who are reading this site to decide for yourselves, with full awareness, what positive practices to incorporate in your life, and I challenge you all to be brave enough to recognize when something is no longer working and kick it to the curb.

Love and Blessings,
A humble witness.

[www.blogger.com]

From TM Free Blog an article

Taking the Fire to "Sri Sri" Ravi Shankar

[tmfree.blogspot.com]

Quote

If you aren't seeing enough parallels with the Transcendental Meditation Org yet, I highly recommend reading a new blog, Confessions of a Guruholic, by an anonymous Art of Living insider.

[artoflivingfree.blogspot.com]

from the blog:

[artoflivingfree.blogspot.com]

Quote

He used to say Maharishi used fear instead of love to hold his devotees. I am afraid Ravi has very little self-reflection.

It is interesting. If someone steals, we call that a “thief” and we report it to the police. There is nothing wrong with that. But if someone reports something wrong the Guru did, the one reporting is the criminal, the ignorant, low prana, will be stroke by thunder. The Guru abuses you for your evolution, because he loves you, because he cares, because he is moving you to the next level, because he is removing your karma, because he sees the big picture, because he is the big mind. I need to be forgiving, I need to see the big picture, I need to see beyond, I need to be grateful, I need to drop it, “accept people as they are, not see intentions behind people’s mistakes.”

Mission statement for this blog:

Quote

This blog was created with the sole purpose of providing former Art of Living members and currently doubting ones a space for healing, finding answers, understanding processes that we went through as active members and as "drop-outs", sharing, supporting each other, with understanding, compassion, and above all, freedom and forgiveness. We welcome you to share your stories. Authors will be kept confidential unless you request your name be published.

These two articles refer to the author's observations of affer effects suffered from
long time practice of AOL techniques.

Stupid or Relaxed? Part One

Quote

(Exerpt)A few years into the AoL, myself a teacher then, I started noticing my mind was not as clear and sharp as it used to be. It was as if a part of my brain was dead and the rest, slowly deteriorating. I had always been a brilliant A student, with perfect memory, excellent health.

'I was slowly noticing I had trouble eating, swallowing food, sleeping, suffering of massive hair loss, loosing my memory, incapable of following a debate. I had lost critical thinking and the ability to discriminate or make decisions on my own without the need to ask Ravishankar first for blessings or approval. For the AoL, the intellect was my greatest enemy, thus, whatever I described as “losses” were seen as my “spiritual evolution.”

[artoflivingfree.blogspot.com]

Stupid or Relaxed? Part Two

Quote

(Exerpt)I know someone who still dissociates today, as if they were still in a Part 2 but in real life - his mind tilts, freezes, checks out, even several years after having left the organization. In fact, he does not remember anything that ever happened in these courses. And believe me, he’s done tens and tens of Part 2 and 3!

an article on the dangers of meditation, recognized by teachers from valid traditions, but not mentioned by the more untrained or commercial minded types.

[www.thehumanist.org]

(tiny excerpt at the end of a longer article.
But are questionnaires enough? They can hardly screen those people who have undiagnosed psychiatric disorders. They also rely on people telling the truth. People may feel reluctant to fill them out honestly in case they are barred from participating in a retreat. The Icarus Project, a web community supporting those with mental illnesses, regards questionnaires as "arbitrary, intrusive, and discriminatory" and claims that retreat applicants "simply hide their psychiatric history on the application to avoid stigmatization." They also write that people with schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, or bipolar disorder have not only completed meditation retreats, but discovered that meditation is a valuable recovery tool.

Richard, a former meditator who gave only his first name, offers the following observations:

Quote

Those who play the "mental illness" defense card seem to have a vested interest in Eastern philosophy. Meditation appears to create mental imbalance by messing with the brain's chemistry. For all we know, the mentally ill might be better equipped to deal with such alterations since they're used to them. In other words, the mental illness defense doesn't appear to be based on fact, but as a knee-jerk excuse for why we see negative occurrences related to meditation--"he or she was crazy to begin with, it wasn't the meditation, it was their problem."

If one isn't after enlightenment or spiritual experiences, then I can't help thinking that exercise may be better for physical and mental well being than meditation. I just love my morning swims in the local pool.

Mary Garden finishes the article:

'After my Indian odyssey and my return to worldly life in 1979, I've found being back in the world not such a bad thing after all. I no longer regard the world as a place from which to escape or detach myself. My mind is no longer something to conquer or to cleanse of impurities. In fact, my life is immeasurably richer without meditation, as wasthat of India's great poet Rabindranath Tagore, exemplified in his poem "Against Meditative Knowledge":

Those who wish to sit, shut their eyes,
and meditate to know if the world's true or lies,
may do so. It's their choice. But I meanwhile
with hungry eyes that can't be satisfied
shall take a look at the world in broad daylight. (1896)

Mary Gardens book, Serpant Rising, is a nightmarish description of how she was recruited (by a western devotee!) into the ashram of a cruelly abusive guru, who got her pregnant, reacted viciously when told of this, informed her an ashram 'was no place for a screaming baby'..and ordered her to go get an abortion. This was in the 1970s, when so very many went trustfully to India, unaware of the hazards that awaited them.)

[artoflivingfree.blogspot.com]

My note about the mental illness issue:

A psychotherapist I know who has a lot of expertise counseling persons with bipolar, told me that if one is genetically loaded for this condition, it is essential to obtain at least 7 to 8 hours of high quality sleep.

This professional also told me that some persons with this condition, even when they get that amount of sleep, may still risk destablization if they try to adhere to schedules where they must get up before sunrise. This is often the case in ashrams or monasteries where the day begins before dawn. Even with 8 hours of sleep, plus medication, some persons with bipolar may still risk severe mood swings if they try to get up before sunrise. Another person who had bipolar has informed me that she learned this same thing--get up with the sun, not before--in her support group.

I have myself (corboy) attended vipassana and zen retreats. I am not genetically loaded for bipolar and it is a good thing, because I noticed that as the days passed, I and many other persons on the retreat, woke up earlier and earlier in the morning.

This too may be sufficient to destablize the mood of someone geneticaly loaded for bipolar or schizophrenia.

If a person has travelled through several time zones in order to attend a retreat, with a particular teacher, this in itself may also put a person with bipolar at risk--someone on Craigslist health forum reported that he or she had had their very first bipolar swing in their twenties, after flying from the US to Australia--enough to upset their sleep wake
cycle!

The kicker is many persons may even not know beforehand whether they are genetically predisposed for bipolar and may have the misfortune of being triggered for the first time during a retreat.

All I can suggest is that if you have family members already diagnosed with bipolar, exercise extreme caution when embarking upon a meditation practice and never allow yourself into a situation where your sleep wake cycle will be disrupted.

WELL WELL WELL!
i just found this after posting a new thread on this AWFUL organization...
I heard SRISRI talk 2x long ago...the group wouldnt leave me alone......kept calling / recruiting me.

see a site called GURUPHILIAC.COM...jodi reznak for much more info.

a friend of mine was with a famous teacher in Kashmir...sri sri showed up as an errand boy for his teacher maharisi....and there was an interesting few words from the saint to sri sri.....hahahahahhahahahahahhahahahhaha

sri sri is a cult leader far as i can tell.

'Newsflash' from Confessions of a Guruholic

[artoflivingfree.blogspot.com]

note how very quickly a devotee put a positive spin on this.

Why would an enlightened being care what's being written about him or her, all over cyberspace?

And, no dont try to argue with Corboy on this one. Its someone who cares about PR and marketing, who would care. Real spiritual projects work by attraction, not promotion.

Only someone still in the marketing rat race would assign someone the task of monitoring cyberspace 'chatter'. You cannot be beyond ego and be in the PR/marketing rat race at the same time. And any attempt to rationlize this, by (say) invoking the Ten Oxherding Pictures and talking about reaching spiritual attainment and reentering the market place with gift bearing hands--that doesnt cut it.

You cannot do the PR/marketing self promo game without neutralizing what little spiritual attainment would tempt you in that direction.

True spirituality is distorted or even vitiated by the PR/marketing rat race. It cannot flow in such channels and remain what it is.

To use an analogy:

Take what happens if you were to get some of the finest wine and distill it into brandy, --but conducted the distillation process using still in which the pipes weresoldered with lead.

The brandy would taste delicious, taste even better if then poured from that still into a fine wooden barrel and let sit the requisite number of years to bring the taste to full potential.

But, even if aged in the barrel and brought to gustatory perfection, that brandy, due to the contamination from exposure to the lead soldered distillery apparatus, will carry potentially harmful amounts of lead, picked up from the soldered pipes of ego-driven PR and marketing.

No matter what ecstacy such hypothetical brandy were to give to a tasters palate, the lead would still be there. No amount of pleasure could cancel out what insult being offered to ones ones' kidneys and nervous system by the contaminating factor of lead.

(Note: A form of gout caused by lead poisoning was once a real problem in areas where persons distilled their 'moonshine' using stills with lead soldered piping.)

However, tracing lead from bad plumbing into a bottle of moonshine is a straightforward matter.

But the subtle damage done when ego massaging mass marking and PR is combined with a spiritual message that is supposed to transcend that sort of rat race mentality..society has not yet reached consensus--though the story in which Jesus warned that we cannot serve both God and Mammon is a teaching tale that is
there as a reminder to those with ears to hear.

Okay, turns out begging in India is highly complex. Some appear to do it from inherited family tradition, and others for yet other reasons.

But for a very important subsection this is the only source of income they have to stay alive.

Quote

Generally, the elderly, the disabled, and the unemployed take to begging. Folks who were robbed during their pilgrimage, temporarily beg to return home. The lepers and destitute graduate to this profession. From beggars who cry in front of you asking for food to entertainers who beg with the help of pets and children, most homeless fall into the category of beggars with more or less the same yard stick.

In reading many posts on India Mike travel forum and other websites where begging and pandhandling in Third World areas is discussed, one common theme is to watch what persons who live in the area do and how they decide which panhandlers to give money to--and in most cases, locals give only to persons who are disabled and known to them.

This detailed article is worth a read.

Any affluent guru in India who tells educated, able bodied disciples to go and be beggars for a is TAKING AWAY revenue from those persons in India who need to beg for sustenance--those who are disabled, insane, or desperately poor and need a bit of money to return home because they were robbed.

Plus persons in that town will witness the charade of Guru X's yuppie circus clowning as beggars for a day. The onlookers be justified in feeling disgust towards the guru and his human zoo. But sadder still, the onlookers may become ashamed yet more reluctant to render aid to those who genuine need.

Here is text from this article. Got to the URL to see photos and also to read updates. This article was updated just a few days ago this year.'

[www.kamat.com]

Here is the text from the article as of today.

Again any guru in India who is affluent and pulls the kind of stunt with disciples that Sri Sri reportedly does--telling them to go out and be beggarr-for-a-day is robbing desperately poor folks of their livelihood.

Quote

The Begging Profession

by K. L. Kamat

Translated from Kannada original Bhikshatane. Published in "Mallige" Monthly
First Online: August 15, 1997
Page Last Updated: January 04, 2011


It is believed in India that Lord Shiva (topics - pictures) once ran his household by a mere income of scalpings collected by begging among rishis and sadhus. Have the times changed! Now it is extremely difficult even for full time beggars (panhandlers) to make good of two meals. Not so long ago in India, on Saturdays and Mondays every beggar who showed up at the door was given a measure of rice or juvar. The guru-bhakta who went worshiping to the temple on Thursdays, got a handful of goodies and money. The beggar community feels that due to the increase in mankind's selfishness and small-mindedness, they are not able to make a living. The government through its policies has not helped them either. "Like prostitution, begging is oldest profession on earth. Although varying by geography and the times, begging is universal. We have heard that even richest countries like America have beggars in one form or another," is the argument of the beggars.


Old Habits Die Hard

The intellectuals for long have been intrigued by mankind's attraction to living by panhandling. Why do able bodied, working people take up begging? Why do Bengali refugees return to starving Bengal after assisted relocation? Why have we failed to settle vagabond tribes like the Bhils and Mogalayas?

It is not easy to give up the skills of earning a livelihood. Even if you protect a prostitute in an ashram, the social reformers opine that she does not forget her easy life and in some form or another resumes old habits. Similarly I'm not surprised at the attitude of the officials of the "Panhandling Elimination Department", which is one of apathy and lacking sincerety.


Varieties of Begging

It is very difficult to generalize how and where panhandling begins in the life of a beggar. Some inherited from their ancestors. There are all kinds of beggars whose period of begging spans from five minutes to fifty years. A boy was begging for peanuts on the street, but when someone offered him money, he refused. "I like peanuts," he said ran away - his needs being very specific. The eight year old of a maid-servant who was instructed to play outside was begging the passers by for small change and bought candy. When I asked a strongly built man why he couldn't work, I was told that he was merely continuing his family tradition!

Generally, the elderly, the disabled, and the unemployed take to begging. Folks who were robbed during their pilgrimage, temporarily beg to return home. The lepers and destitute graduate to this profession. From beggars who cry in front of you asking for food to entertainers who beg with the help of pets and children, most homeless fall into the category of beggars with more or less the same yard stick.

Just like lawyers, administrators and athletes, the beggars can be very professional. They guard their constituencies with great care. It is common to fight over territories. The beggar who beggars in front of Ganesh hotel cannot go and beg in front of Krishna hotel! When an unassuming new comer from a village stuck out his hand in front of the temple, he was chased away and had to go to Saibaba ashram for shelter. Although the beggars do not have an association or union, they unite to defend their sources of income.


Attire

While the beggars of the temples, churches, and mosques need not travel, the beggars of shops and households have to wander a lot. The beggars have to care about their attire just like actors and performers. People who beg in the name of the religion have to grow beard, wear saffron (kavi) clothes and ash. The fortune teller Bhils wear peacock feathers and other make-ups. The Budabudakis who do not know about their next meal, but can tell customers what lies in the decades to come wear Zari Rumal, and apply ash on the forehead to give them a holy look. Devadasis (temple women -- see The Temple Women of India) wear turmeric powder, flowers, and kumkum. The transvestites (impotent men dressed as women) have altogether different, yet distinct style. They are clean shaven and apply fashionable cosmetics. They have acquired artificial feminine postures and dances. The beggars who use animals for fund raising have to decorate their pets, too. They have to buy caps for the monkey, jingle bells for the cow, and decorative clothing for the bull.

© K. L. Kamat

I really like this breathing technique. Its incredibly relaxing and has cleared out a lot of emotional instability.

Q: I just started a new anti-psychotic drug for the condition I have. I would like to hear from you some message of inspiration or hope. I love you and I feel so much a part of you but I am feeling like a failure right now, and I worry that I won’t regain my talents. I keep fighting, but some words from you will be very helpful.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: No, don’t fight. The body needs medicines, just take them, relax and be happy. If you have taken a step into spirituality, what you need to remember is – in any condition let me be happy, wherever I am, however I am, I want to be happy. I will be happy, I will keep smiling, and even if I have to go through a tough time, I will go through it with a smile – this one thought, this one determination you should have.

Q: Can people diagnosed with bipolar condition do Sudarshan Kriya or the Silence Course?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I don’t advice them to attend the Silence Course, but they can attend the Basic Course and do everything except Sudarshan Kriya.
Simple meditation, pranayam and some yoga is very good for them. They should do Sri Sri Yoga.