spiritual snippets
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Spiritual Snippets
N K Srinivasan
Introduction
I am writing some of the thoughts that occur to me from time to
time relating to spiritual path and spiritual awareness. Though
I am a Hindu, I hold all religions to be valid paths for self-
realization or liberation or salvation --these being similar
terms,though may connote slightly different meanings to
followers of different faiths.
If you consider human history, you will find that religions
founded by the Great Ones---Hindu seers, Jesus Christ,
Gauthama,the Buddha, Prophet Muhamed and others---were suited to
their times with certain common themes /concepts which are true
for all ages . Oftentimes , in the practice of each religion,
one gets confused between the time-less meassages and the timely
practices and find disconsonance and much quarrel ensues.For
instance what is holy food ,what is filthy food---this varies
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from one religion to the other depending on the situation at the
beginnings of that religion.
The Paths--common denominator
The spiritual paths are essentially two: Jnana or path of
contemplation,meditation,introspection and path of self-inquiry
or Atma-vichara in Hindu parlance and so on
AND
Bhakti or the path of devotion,worship,prayers, chanting and so
on.
It is considered by many that the path of Bhakti is easier and
suited well for modern times since many do not have the time or
energy or mental quietitude for contemplative life and for
pursuing Jnana. Be that as it may, in my opinion ,both the paths
are equally difficult though a modern person may find it easier
to follow the path of Bhakti.
Jnana path is intellectual in content and difficult to
comprehend for many of us. One needs a guru or preceptor to
learn the rudiments of this path and then pursue it. But Jnana
path is quite general and is the same in almost all mystical
traditions in different religions.Thus a true Jnanai attracts
people of different faiths, as did Bhagwan Ramana ,for instance.
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Bhakti path implies two things: worship of a personal
deity,call the deity or personal god as Rama, Krishna, Shiva,
Muruga, Quan Yin or prophets like Moses, Jesus,Mahomed or others
representing God on earth.
The second thing is that the Bhakta or devotee loses his
personal identity and surrenders at some point of time to the
personal god, leaving aside his personal desires, will and plans
[samkalpa].His or her identity to the chosen God or Ishta devata
is such that he /she lives and moves in the being of the God or
Goddess.
I may add that this position of a Bhakta is akin to that of a
chaste wife,who feels that she belongs to her husband, though
she attends to the needs of her body in normal daily life.[ A
few men also feel the same way towards their beloved partners.]
We can briefly state the rewards one gets in this life for
following the Jnana path or the Bhakti path. One in Jnana path
experiences 'bliss' or mental peace and tranquility, not easily
described in words-- " a peace that passeth understanding"..
[One may also experience ecstasy , as often people associate
ecstasy with the effect of drugs used by those who wish to have
'altered state of consciousness'. But Jnana gives a lasting
experience of mental peace unlike drugs which are temporary and
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Japa is chanting a mantra or holy name or name of gods with certain
prefixes. The common mantras or nama japa used extensively are: "Hare
Rama", " Hare Krishna", "Om Namo Narayana", "Om Namasivaya" and
several others used throughout India. Repetition of these for several times
[ a few thousand times to a million times a day] is found to be very
effective....Japa controls your thoughts and mind, and purifies your mind
for introspection and enlightenment. Many in Bhakti path will vouchsafe
that " you do not need any other practice but chanting of Lord's name". I
would agree with them without any reservation. But this is important.One
who practices Japa must believe in this practice--either because he feels
so or he is told by his guru or preceptor or develops the practice based on
family traditions. In most cases,we learn Japa from family traditions.
Chanting the special mantras may be effective--as is the case
with chanting the 'Gayatri' mantra. Unfortunately chanting this
mantra ,after initiation by an elaborate ceremony, called thread
investiture ceremony, was limited to brahmin boys. Other castes
were forbidden; so also women; but such restrictions have
largely disappeared due to social movements. One finds Gayantri
mantra being played in supermarkets, as background music while
shopping! Imagine how the sacredness associated with this mantra
has been trivialised in modern times!--Obviously nobody cares in
India !One would say that the power of the mantra has been lost!
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Mantra Diksha is the initiation ceremony for chanting a mantra
given by a guru, teacher [acharya] or pontiff of a matha. The
mantra may be a common one or special one tailored to you or
chosen by their guru lineage. The question is : Are these
special mantras more effective than the common ones listed
earlier? Can we have special mantras for healing or for
bestowing special favors like prosperity?
I, for one, do not believe so. This may be contrary to what is
told in numeros mathas [monasteries] by pontiffs and
priest/preachers attached to temples and modern gurus and self-
styled yogis/acharyas who have built their followers on such
beliefs.
The common mantras are effective in cleansing your mind and that
is all you need.
[Note that Buddhists chant 'mantras' like "Om Mani Padmehum"---
derived from Hindu practices.]
I shall elaborate on this because "offering mantras" has become
a big business for fake gurus , collecting millions of dollars,
by hoodwinking gullible followers by false claims, especially
naive western followers. Often the gurus give special mantras to
presumably invoke various gods and goddesses with whom the guru
supposedly is in talking terms or has received special
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dispensation. Associated with this, the guru performs elaborate
'diksha' or initiation ceremony , either one on one or for a
group, to form a cult following or just collect money and
further their ashram interests. There is hardly any basis for
special mantras.The common mantras like "Om Namo Narayana" or
"Om Namasivaya" are hallowed by their use by great saints over
several centuries. I do not think that modern self-styled gurus
with false claims can come up with mantras any better or
anything specific. {Read the book on mantras by Swami
Vishnudevananda,( a disciple of Swami Sivananda) for whom I have
a high regard.}
Over the years I have found that many of these gurus themselves
succumb to several diseases or painful conditions and some have
had tragic deaths or even committed suicide or undergone self-
immolation.[Recent instances are the death of a Baba in Andhra
Pradesh due to serious illness at a young age and the self-
immolation of a young saintly woman , also hailing from Andhra,
by lighting petrol on herself in Thiruvannamalai.] If they
have had a grip on powerful mantras,such instances cannot be
easily understood; if they cannot take care of their own
problems, how they came forward to treat others? In most cases,
such Babas and gurus were charlatans taking gullible devotees
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along the wrong paths--especially unsuspecting, naive western
followers or they were self-delusioned mental deliquents.
Meditation or Dhyana is the second practice, often promoted by
Jnanis as the only method for self-realization. Dhyana often goes with
japa or chanting. A beginner often starts his practice of meditation
with silent chanting of his chosen mantra for a long time.Later he
would watch the breath--inhalation and exhalation for several
minutes.Then he may associate a mantra with breath--for instance,
saying "om" with inhalation and "namasivaya" with exhalation.
One powerful technique in traditional Hindu meditation practice
is "Soham" meditation. For details and other factors relating to
meditation, you can read the present author's book "Fruitful
Meditation" [Pub: Pustak Mahal, New Delhi, also available at on-
line sources.]
Meditation is often promoted by modern yogis and teachers with
much fanfare and heavy price-tag to gather money. In traditional
ashrams, meditation was taught without any fee; A modern ,high
flying Swami, with several 'franchised' meditation centers
charges about $50 for an elementary course in meditation in
India and eleswhere. It was Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who
popularised meditation in the western world.The credit goes to
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him. But the modern ones learned that this franchising of
meditation courses can spin money for them.For commercial
purpose, they take trade mark rights! Needless to say, many of
them have been rejected by the Hindu public or chastised by
local community. Often these yogis lack the depth of knowledge
that goes with advanced methods of meditation.
Meditation---watching the breath, sitting cross-legged in some
asana," keeping the head,neck and spine erect "[as given in the
Gita] are well worn techniques in India, often seen in all
temple towns. Similar practices form the essential means in
Buddhism also---for instance "zazen" in Zen form.
There are two important factors to be borne in mind for success
in meditation: 1 Long periods of practice....not just 10 or 20
minutes as touted by money swindling swamis and yogis. One needs
to practice meditation for one to two hours in each
sitting,though one may begin with 30 minute sessions..This is
required because it takes that much time for thoughts to
subside and mind to quieten after its wanderings! {Sri
Ramakrishna used to state this analogy: a bird flies hither and
thither for a long time;after getting exhausted,comes back to
the ship's mast to rest.]Therefore one should cultivate the
practice of long durations of meditation ,either in the early
hours of morning [around 4 AM ] or at night [after 10 PM].
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The second factor is to cultivate the practice of silence; this
indeed is very difficult for modern man or woman as they keep
talking all the time. Practice of silence, for at least 2 to 4
hours every day, is essential to make progress in meditation. I
have seen visitors and inmates engaging in conversations for
hours in Ashrams and retreats---in corridors and in rooms.This
habit should be given up. Americans keep talking most of the
time,hardly using a few words to express themselves. Most
American visitors to Ashrams in India waste their times in
useless talk within the premises of ashrams, annoying others and
spoiling the serene atmosphere that obtains there. Most Indians
are too polite to stop this form of disturbance --not to offend
foreigners!
I have seen many swamis/yogis going to a lonely beach and
observing silence and doing meditation, gazing at the rolling
waves. This is a good practice if you live close to a beach or
stay in a sea-side resort.
Fasting is a good spiritual practice, besides bestowing health benefits.
In the first place, fasting helps to rest the stomach muscles
and also cleanse the alimentary canal if one drinks lot of
water. It reduces metabolism rate and also helps the brain to
rest more. Many elderly persons routinely practice fasting for a
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day once a month or once a fortnight.They will extol the
benefits of fasting. I observe fasting by skipping one night
meal every week.The benefits are seen in the next morning
meditation which becomes deeper. Yogis are supposed to take noly
one meal a day. But one should practise fasting based on their
body conditions and after consulting a physician.
Pitfalls of Bhakti and Jnana paths
Hinduism being an ancient religion, several undesirable or
obnoxious practices have crept in over the centuries. With
certain level of prosperity in India ,these practices have
reached bizarre levels in the past two decades in India. I shall
mentiaon a few of them as pitfalls ---to be guarded against. It
is the task of 'enlightened' swamis/yogis to put an end to such
practices...but such swamis are hard to find ;instead many
swamis profit from such practices to hoard wealth, squander
money,build their empires and untimately ruin themselves and
their mathas or sansthans[oganizations].
Let us take the Bhakti path. Devotion to a deity often leads
to elaborate rituals.Certain forms of rituals form part of
temple worship or worship at the family altar. Offering flowers
or lighting lamps and incense sticks are common.Elaborate,
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complex and costly rituals soon take root. In most temples, huge
amounts of gold ornaments are added to the deities or idols and
also elaborate "marriage rituals" ["kalyana Utsava"] are
performed in stylized forms by priests, taking huge amounts from
the devotees. The devotees believe that such practices ,done
with the help of priests, would bring credit for them or punyas
and also bestow worldy happiness and prosperity. Thes
e practices started when India was a rich and prosperous
country,sometime between 10th and 14 th centuries. This is
continued even today. It is not uncommon to find lot of food
offerings made to gods and then distributed to rich devotees as
'prasad' inside the temples while poor itenerant beggars and
sadhus go begging at the entrance to the temples. I have seen
this in so many temples, especially in South India,that when
prasad is given inside ,I take only a small morsel --a few grams
--as token prasad.
Over the centuries, many of the rituals performed for deities or
idols in temples were extended to pontiffs of rich mathas and
swamis of various religious orders or Abbots of mathas. This has
reached ridiculous proportions to day, mainly to gather money
for these ignorant charlatans . A common practice is to
celebrate the birthday of a swami [60th or 70th or 80th
birthdays] with gold coin offerings ["kanaka-abhisheka"] during
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which gold coins are showered over the body of the swami by
holding a grill on the top of his head and dropping coins over
the grill! [Later ,in one instance, the same swami was found to
fondle a woman in his private study, though he had taken a vow
of celebacy at a young age and was charged for some criminal
cases later.}
While showering gold coins may be a harmless gesture to make
money, other practices are obnoxious.In ancient India, swamis
and yogis traveled on foot, often wearing no sandals and
therefore it was a custom to receive them as guests and wash
their feet before offering food . This practice of hospitality
took a bizarre turn . The swamis are offered a seat, their feet
are washed with water, the wash water is collected on a platter
and then distributed as 'prasad' or nectar ,called "charana-
amrit "[charana-foot amrit-nectar] to devotees to drink. The
devotee is told that such 'holy' water is sacred and may cure
some diseases .It is considered an act displaying humility and
piety. It is the duty of 'enlightened ' swamis to stop such
practices; but unfortunately such practices are encouraged by
these swamis and even converted to money-making propositions --
to do such 'pada-pooja' to these ignorant swamis one should
register, pay a fee and wait in line. This practice goes on in
many ashrams and mathas I have seen. What is worse, many
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educated middle class and rich patrons of the mathas line up
with all pomp and show.
[The practice of taking wash water of idols, made of some metal
or herbal preparations, may have some medicinal value and may be
acceptable, but not washing the dirty feet of these charlatan
swamis or pontiffs.] [There was another bizarre habit of people
rolling on the leaf plates with left over food taken by brahmins
in a certain temple in Karnataka. After severe protests and
legal tussle, this practice was recently banned by local
legislature!]
Oftentimes these charlatan swamis are seated in golden rathas or
chariots like gods and taken in procession ,the cord being
pulled by devotees....Apparently the swamis seem to enjoy such
shows. One baba was so rich that his devotees could arrange for
a helicopter to shower flower petals on the ratha.
Pure devotion with singing hymns [bhajans] and performimg simple
poojas or worship can lead to prema or sublime devotion to God-
But the costly, obnoxious practices in the name of devotion to
swamis and yogis and even in temples should be curtailed...it
may be a few decades before this happens in India.
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Pitfalls in Jnana path
The most common and dangerous pitfall for a supposed Jnani is
intellectual arrogance---that he has learned scriptures,
understood Jnana and therefore intellectually above the common
lay person or a bhakta. The superior air and the intellectual
tone of such pseudo jnanis can be seen in almost all ashrams of
great Jnanis in India. Often such pride increases exponentially
when one is surrounded by a few devout seekers or sadhaks and
the proud one organises discourses or sat sanghas in nearby
halls or homes or he is invited for a 'biksha' or food offering
by a devout person. In many ashrams, a budding jnani is asked to
do menial tasks to curb this tendency..this is often
misunderstood. The Zen masters have the simple dictum: "After
meditation, chop wood". In Indian context, one can say: "After
Dhyana, sweep the floor or wash the utensils."
My father gave me a simple advice when I was a serious student
and voracious reader: after half an hour of reading,do some
manual task...yes that is good for mind and body.I have followed
this advice to this day.
The second serious pitfall of those in Jnana path is to deride
bhaktas or who follow the path of devotion,with a superior
air. They forget that the very Jnanis whom they worship also
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followed or follow certain devotional practices.They regard true
bhaktas as emotional childish persons, playing with toys .Ramana
used to visit temples and read "peria Puranam" containing the
biographies of saiva saints.Nisargadatta used to do simple pooja
for the pictures in his small room.
Then there is the third and most serious pitfall---to consider
Jnana as an intellectual exercise and study scriptures as an
academic pursuit. One goes on 'learning" from one or more
masters the standard texts of Advaita philosophy ["atmabodham",
Vivekachoodamani,Panchadasi, Yoga Vasishta, besides the
principal Upanishads with Shankara's commentaries] over several
years. All that is good, but is not the same as inner attunement
or real Jnana which is hard to achieve. Lacking inner
purification and self-discipline, mere scholars take the path
of academic pursuits. The problem often surfaces in early stages
. Many get confused with various 'technical' terms used and
spend years in discussions and disputations over the meaning of
the words as given by acharyas or commentators. Unfortunately
there are no shortage of books or commentaries on these texts,
hundreds of them written over centuries by scholar-philosophers.
Even today, new books on commentaries and interpretations keep
coming. Recent authors such as Sri Aurobindo and Swami
Chinmayananda have added some more books. What exactly Jnana
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entails is often missed. Lacking proper gurus, this could be a
problem for many sincere seekers or sadhaks. Therefore the
future Jnani takes to the easier path of learning the scriptures
and their interpretations for several years.
To quote one simple example, the concept of jivan-mukthi
[liberation while having the physcial body]is interpreted in
many ways by different sects in Hinduism that one had to spend
considerable time to learn what this could mean or accept one of
the many interpretations. One swami,who is a friend of mine,
told me that there are 15 interpretations for jivan mukthi and
advised me not to waste the time.
As I have seen over many decades now, the Jnana path is not only
difficult, but practised by many like a hobby or avocation so
that at the end they become disillusioned and turn to Bhakti
path and surrender to a Guru or God towards the end of their
lives. Hopefully the grace of the Almighty might give them
enlightenment if they are pure at heart. Otherwise they write
some more books to get some satisfaction, adding to the list of
advaitic texts.
By this writing I do not wish to discourage an aspiring Jnani
from India or elsewhere to pursue this path. But let me add
that "practice of Jnana" is important, not the scholarly
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approach of Jnana or advaita philosophy. Jnana is essentially
beyond mind and intellect. Mind and intellect are useful devices
, like tooth picks..they have to be thrown away after proper
use.Use your mind and intellect wisely.
Combining Jnana and Bhakti
This is my favorite theme about which I have written in other
articles and have told in conversations with my friends. On the
surface the two appear to be diametrically opposite. But there
comes a time when the two merges into one. This is indeed a
subtle process, understood by great masters like Bhagwan Ramana
and Sri Ramakrishna.They are not like water and oil that they
wont mix. [Even oil can be mixed with water by making droplets
of oil and suspending them in water as an emulsion!] When we are
with body consciousness with all its limitations and
proclivities, Bhakti path is helpful.When we are in purely
contemplative mood, Jnana can be useful. Does this mean that one
should flip-flop from one to the other...the answer is yes with
proper understanding.
Elaborating on this ,one may note that advaitins invented two
levels of Reality --the absolute [paramarthika] Reality and the
transactional or vivaharika ,apparent reality of mundane
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existence. We spend most of our time in the realm of apparent
reality. Hence devotional path is needed to sail through life.
I do not wish to write more on this because this would again
reduce to academic discussion.I am sure most readers are able to
understand what it means here.
The Role of a Guru
This is a vexed problem in Hinduism and also the question: "Does
one need a guru? " is a loaded one.Gurus are not mere teachers
or instructors.
Gurus mould your character, change your personality, teach you
humility and guide you and watch you for years to come till you
reach your self-realization. Therefore Guru-Chela relationship
is a life-long one--nay, it may extend to several births. Many
in the spiritual path cannot comprehend the Guru-Chela
relationship at all.
There is a dictum in Hindu faith that "When a chela [disciple]
is ready, the guru will appear." In other words, when the chela
is fit to receive the instruction, a 'suitable' guru will be
sent by God. It will be ordained.Does that mean the chela should
keep quiet? No...he should purify his mind by spiritual
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practices and seek sat-sangha or association with saintly
people. This is what St Meera, the Rajasthani princess, did
and other countless saints in India.
The chela may wander from place to place,go on pilgrimage and
read scriptures. Most important ,he should chant some mantra and
observe silence as much as possible. Soon trivial talks and
mundane cares will drop off. A sense of peace will prevail in
his mind...At the right time, the true guru will appear and take
care of the chela.
[Pilgrimage to holy shrines has been an important practice in
India for centuries. Modern yogis often make fun of this
practice. With the right frame of mind and observing silence, if
one visits various shrines in India, the effect can be
wholesome.At the same time,such travel may increase the wisdom
of the pilgrim. I have been immensely benefited by my
pilgrimages in India ,often alone and with little baggage.]
Most teachers and preachers who masquerade as gurus are merely
scholars with the gift of the gab, trying to build large ashrams
,hoard wealth and strut about and even indulge in political
power.
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The spiritual path is a long one ,fraught with dangers and
pitfalls.A guru acts like a forest guide holding a lighted
lantern in hand to lead you in the way.
Instant Awakenings
In the last few decades, several gurus have appeared from India,
professing that they could give instant
realizations or awaken at an instant and even perform mass
awakenings. They claim that they can raise the kundalini by
uttering a few mantras or by touching your forehead.
All these claims are unreliable. One cannot raise the kundalini
of a chela in mass programs or by touching the forehead without
much preparation on the part of the chela.Unfortunately ,to
gather a large following and to satisfy the craving of a chela
for instant,quick-fix realization, these charlatan gurus indulge
in these tricks. Oftentimes the atmosphere is created so that
the chela or cheli tends to believe that he or she has had
realization or awakening or raising of kundalini or whatever.
In the mass 'instant fast-food culture' in the west, the
westerners come to believe that by signing up and paying the
fees, they can get what they are "offered" with minimum of
effort on their part at discount prices.This commercialization
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of spritual awakening goes on, with the appearance of several
gurus both in the West and in India.The real facts emerge in a
short time .Many disciples get disllusioned after a year or two
and leave the organizations. Some stick on because they benefit
enormously by perpetuating the 'system' started by their gurus.
One kriya guru was found to have done lot of cheating and
indulging in sexual misconduct with female disciples..Yet
his 'disciples' went on to found more centers, obviously to make
money and lead a comfortable life.
In simple commercial terms, when the 'awakener' has found
methods to make money by offering useless programs, he becomes
truly commercial.He or she starts investing in other enterprises
to stabilise the operations.This has happened in the case of
almost all the yogis I know of, in India, to a lesser or greater
extent. Even traditional pontiffs of mathas which are more than
athousand years old have indulged in such obnoxious commercial
practices. A small part of the money may be spent for social
service projects in India or elsewhere to satisfy the urges of
chelas who want to do something for India's poor and get some
public support or media coverage.
I am writing this not because I am angry with these
charlatans....Such charlatans will always exist in the society
and have existed from the time of Vedic seers and Mahabahrata
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wars.I am writing this mainly because by these charlatans ,the
fair name of Hinduism and Hindu spiritual practices are
tarnished and defiled.
Siddhi Powers
As one progresses along the spiritual path, one obtains
various supernatural or psychic powers. These powers are not
to be sought by the sadhak or devotee. These are the by-products
of spiritual practice. Great saints like Shirdi Sai Baba used
them only to help their true devotees in times of distress. They
never exhibited them as cheap parlor tricks or like street
magicians.
Nowadays you find babas trying to 'materialize' sacred ash or
vibhuti or get some gold rings or necklaces or trinkets to
attract gullible devotees,calling these tricks as 'visiting
cards' or 'business cards'. Why a self-realized person would
ever need a 'business card'---one wonders. Why should they
attract devotees this way at all?
It is all business tricks to build a huge ashram and help their
kith and kin.The materializations are all magicians' tricks and
sleight of hands only, for hand-held objects. Swallowing a piece
of gold amalgam and then regurgitate or vomit out after the
amalgam gets hardened and becomes smaller in volume, by
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swallowing large glasses of water to float the nugget in the
throat column, is an old trick for trained magicians. The
devotees are made to believe that the master has materialised a
'golden lingam' from his stomach.
Some yogis claimed that they can levitate their devotees by
certain magical mantras [sutras taken from Patanjali's yoga
sutras]. What they could demonstrate was the hopping of devotees
like forgs, not levitation at all.[ This was mentioned by
Paramahansa Yogananda in his book : "Autobiography of a
Yogi"]Somewhere the navigation part worked wrongly. These cheap
demonstrations are repeated even today by some swamis,claiming
levitation...levitation does not take place. One wonders why the
teacher or swami himself is unable levitate and demonstrate
before common people.
Spiritual Practices for all
To sum up, the most important and effective practices are
chanting of Lord's name and meditation. Meditation can take
different forms ,but a guru's guidance is required. Both the
practices require long sessions and daily routine.There is no
short cut or quick path in this.Scriptural reading would help a
bit but could lead to waste of time beyond a certain point.
Scriptural study alone would not lead to spiritual progress.
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There are several swamis and yogis making false claims mainly to
gather money and build ashrams, at the expense of gullible
followers, especially from naive Western brothers and sisters.
'Customers beware' slogan is relevant here!
Note: I may write further articles on this subject depending on
my interest in future.
------------------------ Om Tat Sat-------------------------------------