From the ontologicalethics list:
Spirituality has never had it so good.
With the economy booming, an increasing number of Indians are turning
to spirituality to help them cope with pressures generated by their
materialistic lifestyles.
Catering to a huge and growing international market for instant
relief from stress and alienation, India's gurus and godmen are
smartly packaging spirituality and selling it in ways that are in
tune with thinking in today's globalized India. Many have
successfully built multi-billion dollar empires, confirming that in
India today the spirituality business is a booming industry. […]
The contrast between these gurus and those of the past is stark.
India's spiritual teachers of the past were known for their Spartan
lifestyle. They renounced all material comforts, even kingdoms - as
did the founder of Buddhism, Gautama Buddha - and spent long periods
in solitude to meditate and contemplate the big questions of life and
death. They were reclusive, as was Ramana Maharishi. They did not
seek crowds, the media or publicity. They owned nothing. Yogis (those
who practiced yoga), in particular, led austere lives, subjecting
their bodies to incredible hardship and discipline.
Compare this with the publicity and power-seeking godmen of today,
who in the name of raising money for social causes have built huge
empires that would rival even giant business corporations. These
gurus come alive under arc lights, surround themselves with the rich,
the beautiful and the powerful, and travel in fancy cars and private
jets. Acharya Rajneesh, aka Osho, was known to have a huge Rolls
Royce collection.
In an era of economic globalization, gurus and godmen have
restructured their messages to suit their clientele's preoccupations.
They do not urge their followers to free themselves of greed. Rather
the guru in the age of globalization helps his followers recharge
their entrepreneurial energies so that they can acquire more wealth. […]
What is distasteful to many is their amassing of wealth, lavish
lifestyles, soft spots for Westerners and pursuit of political power.
Most of the high-profile gurus wield enormous power over politicians
and have close links with parties, especially the Hindu right wing.
In the past ashrams (hermitages) offered pilgrims a place to stay for
free. Only the super-rich can afford the ashrams run by the new age
gurus. In several ashrams it is not uncommon to find separate
accommodation and dining rooms for Westerners and Indians.
Worse, several ashrams - even the not so fancy ones frequented by
backpackers - are out of bounds for Indians. Some Western
spirituality seekers, keen to soak to themselves in Indian culture,
seem keen to keep their distance from its people, a demand that gurus
have no problem meeting. […]
Critics of the new age gurus say that they are making knowledge that
belongs to all accessible only to those who can pay. If these gurus
are indeed good men who want to spread happiness and peace, why can't
they do it for free? Why can't they work among India's poorest?
The content of their teachings is not their own discovery. It is
wisdom passed down through the ages that they are regurgitating in
some cases, and giving a new spin in others. What gives them the
right then to patent techniques? […]
Critics of the new age gurus say that selling spirituality is
completely distasteful. Indeed, a true teacher after all wouldn't
sell knowledge that wasn't his in the first place. He would share it.
Siddha Ramachandran, "Business with the mystics" (Asia Times Online,
16 June 2011)
My teacher Rameshwar Jha, whose favorite banter with his soul-mate
Swami Lakshman Joo was to accuse each other of imagining himself to
be the latest incarnation of Abhinavagupta, always declared that his
was (not a disciple- but) a guru-factory. In short, Abhinava would
have recognized himself in the cross-fertilizing multi-faceted
aptitudes of all of us involved in this hydra-headed collective
enterprise!
svAbhinava – an exegesis à la Abhinavagupta (concluding lines)
Is the adoption of all these new business propositions, managerial
techniques, public relations, etc., the necessary adaptation of
traditional Gurudom to the modern (middle-class) life-style or do
they sound the death-knell of this ancient mode of spiritual
transmission?
Sunthar
