Re: Guru Swami G
Posted by:
John A. Lobur
()
Date: June 25, 2013 05:41AM
Hi there Guru Watch
Yes it is my personal opinion that this teacher is realized. The evidence is ultimately, and admittedly, subjective, and I have no desire to try and convince anyone of the veracity of something I personally take as no longer a matter of belief. All are free to make their own determination. All who have ever left were wished well (and I personally sincerely wish them well) and, as far as I know left completely alone, as is only right, ethical and proper.
Just because the teacher is very difficult does not make them a fraud.
People go to physical fitness "boot camps," don't they? Nor is it expected for the teacher to work for free -- Some very charitable people insist on payment just so that the service rendered will be valued and the instruction followed. Some teachers can be quite difficult --
The use of Clonazepam, was openly stated by the Guru long, long ago. There are no surprises here, and realized beings still have nervous systems. The psychological effects of PTSD are gone but the Guru has, for a long long time, stated that certain things still trigger a physical response, just that there is no mental/emotional residue attached to it.
I have personally seen (very) many students turned away because there were psychological issues revealed and the Guru felt that they were not suited -- that their condition was too complicated, and that for reasons of safety and health they were better off with another venue.
The Guru has stated that the disability (what percentage, I do not know) received from the Govt. is military disability due to PTSD trauma suffered from horrific sexual abuse while in service.
I have been with the group for a while and will say this:
I will not judge those who have left. Many, many people (beyond counting) leave, for what seems to be a variety of reasons.
I have personally never witnessed or experienced anything unethical. Have I seen the Guru give people a hard time? Yes. Have I seen people have difficulties with the Guru's personality? Yes.
I will not speak for those who may have left, but from what I have observed, for those who leave with resentment it usually seems to come down to two things (or a combination of the two).
1. They feel personally disrespected by the Guru's teaching style. The crazy wisdom modality is basically an insult to the ego from top to bottom. Swami-G's own Guru acted in this way to her and the story is well-known to anyone with a little time on their hands.
Recall, too, that at the most prestigious and respected Zen monastery in Japan (eihei-ji) life is very hard. The novice monks are treated like dirt. They undergo what we would consider physical and psychological torment and the senior monks smack their faces if they so much as look them in the eye (I do not exaggerate). This is well documented in the bestseller Eat Sleep Sit. I have never seen the Guru expect any student to undergo anything of the kind.
In the Christian world, being a monk is not always easy, and, for example, for the Monks on Mt. Athos one takes a vow never to leave. Visitors are hissed at for folding their hands improperly in prayer.
Are we to consider this abuse as well?
2. The Guru's lifestyle and deportment does not conform to what they personally consider a Guru's lifestyle should be -- note this does not mean they witness anything actually improper or unethical. It means they are turned off by the fact that the Guru wears makeup and jewlery, dotes on her pet dog, plays an instrument or two, likes to sell cell-phone covers, buys a motorcycle, takes Clonazepam, had gastric bypass surgery, likes to eat meat, watches Jerry Springer, enjoys listening to Barbara Streisand, dances Flamenco. . . That sort of thing. If anyone wants to add to the list, they are free to do so as I am probably forgetting a thing or two. I do not think that any of these things makes one a fraud--and they are, indeed, openly displayed, not hidden. One never finds revealed a discrepancy between public and private life. Much of it too has to do with the fact that holiness does not mean conforming to a set of external criteria -- it is, at times, a lesson in itself.
What seems to be never mentioned is the fact that this Guru's personality is not always difficult but also displays great concern, compassion and tenderness too when this is warranted.
Anyway, that is all I have to say for now. And please, I do respect the fact that people have a right to their opinion and to express it wherever they may please. I just hope that what I have written adds a different perspective in a constructive manner.
--JL.