On 10/2/05 9:21 PM, "authfriend" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "sinhlnx" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> <snip>
>> 1. In the Pseudo- or Neo-Advaitin "tradition": Ramana Maharshi,
>> HWL Poonja, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Gangaji, I-Nome, Andrew Cohen,
>> Adi Da, etc....
>
> I just skimmed the article, so maybe this is
> answered and I missed it, but why would Ramana
> be a Neo-Advaitin? More generally, what's the
> distinction between pseudo- and Neo-Advaitins
> and Advaitins?
My impression would be that Ramana was "neo" because he helped usher in a
new trend where there wasn't teaching of techniques and methods. People came
and hung out with him in satsangs rather than practicing all the various
methods used in Advaita. IIRC all he taught was a form of self inquiry.
Pseudo advaita seems to be a product of spiritual consumerism which seems to
produce a kind of consumer narcissism. It not real nondualism but a faux
nondualism. None of these people who hold "satsangs" possess any realization
that is acknowledged or authenticated by a realized being or tradition that
I have seen. They often follow a "satsang" format where those who feel they
are "awakened" share their experiences with others. This movement seems to
have really caught on via Papaji (Sri H.W.L. Poonja), whose comments on
"satsang culture" are worth reading:
David Godman interviews Papaji:
David: ³You used to give experiences to a lot of people.
Why did you do it if you knew that the effect would not be permanent?²
Papaji: ³I did it to get rid of the leeches who were sticking to me,
never allowing me to rest or be by myself.
It was a very good way of getting rid of all these leeches in a polite way.
I knew that in doing this I was giving lollipops to the ignorant and
innocent,
but this is what these people wanted.
When I tried to give $100 bills to them, they rejected them.
They thought that they were just pieces of paper.
So I gave them lollipops instead.
David: Many of the people you gave lollipops to left Lucknow thinking that
they were enlightened.
Does the fact that they accepted the lollipop and left indicate
that they were not worthy to receive the $100 bills?
Papaji: ³If one is not a holy person, one is not worthy to receive the real
teaching.
Many people think that they have attained the final state of full and
complete liberation.
They have fooled themselves,
and they have fooled many other people,
But they have not fooled me.
A person in this state is like a fake coin.
It may look like the real thing.
It can be passed around and used by ignorant people
who use it to buy things with.
People who have it in their pocket can boast of having a genuine coin,
but it is not real.
It has no value.
When it is finally discovered to be a fake,
the person who is circulating it,
claiming that it is real,
is subject to the penalties of the law.
In the spiritual world,
the law of karma catches up and deals with all people who are trafficking
in fake experiences.
I have never passed on the truth to those whom I could see were fake coins.
These people may look like gold
and they may glitter like gold,
but they have no real value.
There are many people who can put on a show
and fool other people into believing they are enlightened.²
---
Most if not all of the westerners behind this movement are "fake coins" from
what I can grok. It's really about feeling good about small self and
consolidating ego. No practices necessary. Thus the term "pseudo".
Traditional advaita Vedanta is a rather systematic path. Often when the
student is ripe, the teacher imparts the experience of the nondual state.
And of course there are other forms of Advaita as well, like Sri Vidya (Guru
Dev's path).
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