To smoke or not to smoke?
Ordinarily smoking or not smoking is a matter of choice. Like eating or drinking or dressing, these habits change from region to region. However religions from time immemorial have tried use habits as tricks to convince that they are superior or in control.
Sometime back I had synthesized my thoughts about Habits here.
Now smoking and drinking is strictly prohibited in Radhasoami Cult. In their corporate head-quarter town ‘Beas’ (situated about 50 miles from Amritsar) there is not a single shop selling tobacco. A good place to quit smoking. But that is a different matter.
In Radhasoami hierarchy Swami Shiv Dayal is most reverend because he was the Guru of Baba Jaimal Singh who was first to arrive at Beas for meditation and is treated as founder. Now it is discovered that Swamiji (as he is called) was a hukka smoker. See following video:
The above video relies upon a book published by Radhasoami Trust which mentions that Soami Shiv Dayal answered this question while smoking Hukkah. Here is a picture:
Pic courtesy: http://www.radhasoami.supremeknowledge.org
Personally it does not matter. If a person can appreciate Gurdjieff with all his personal lifestyle, it really does not matter.
But why this hypocrisy?
The answer is to suppress the truth that it does not matter. A teacher is a teacher whatever his personal habits and because Swamiji was in Agra where smoking or chewing tobacco is part of culture. After all it was the Mughal Capital. Mughals were the importers and grand users of Hukkah. At that time having Hukkah in the house was a social necessity. Hindu and Muslims who did not like to share plate of food with each other, would share same Hukkah behind individual handkerchief.
However Beas is in Punjab, a sikh dominated area and all Babas are also Sikhs (they retain their beard and pagri etc.) Hence they added tobacco to their list of vices. Just plain expediency. Nothing moral or religious about it.
The conclusion is that Soami Shiv Dayal could attain salvation while smoking Hukkah, we lesser mortals have to abstain if we want to follow the path.
© Sandeep Bhalla
Sandeep Bhalla's Blog 
Reincarnation I was Maya Ratti member of the same family
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my name is Suraj Kumar Ratti my first personal view is I wish Bharat which means India as whole is that smoking and alcohol is banned for life my favourite aunty shakuntala bhanot vimla khalia was radhasoami satsangi my mum uma ratti is and myself are radhasoami satsangi
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So, I’ll try to keep an open mind ( I was born in a RS family do definitely have biases even though I may not consciously know about them ). I have personally experienced RSSB and know about prohibition on the use of any sorts of intoxicants if you want to be initiated. NOTHING in their literature or teachings says, you will go to HELL if you use intoxicants, like you have indicated in your comments on Sept 19, 2013. If you have seen it anywhere, please point out. Every belief system has its practices and so does RSSB. But a recommendation against alcohol and tobacco is a GOOD practice, so where does hypocrisy comes into picture. Also perhaps the founder smoked. But what stops an organization to evolve its practices. Hindus used to sacrifice humans and animals, today they don’t. Would you call it hypocrisy if such sacrifices are not acceptable in Hindu temples ? I am a Hindu, RSSB didn’t ask me to give up Hinduism. It is a belief system that in no way stops you from practicing your native religion or culture. And their central theme is meditation. So despite the flaws you might find, I believe that RSSB and many other groups like that are far and beyond better than the so called traditional organized big business religions of the world. Let’s discuss further. I am not trying to defend them or recommending that you join RSSB, but I want to be reasonable when it comes to arguments against any group. Often what I find is that groups or people who have totally distorted belief systems of their own are pointing fingers at others.
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You have raised a good argument but I do not think you got the point. My point was and is that taboos are created out of the background of civilization and there is nothing spiritual or religious about them. As regard Hinduism, please study more to understand that this had nothing to do with religion. Only now it is used in a religious concept. All the best.
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Whole article doesn’t make any sense,
AGAR MERE DADA JI,,, DRINK KRTE THE,,, TO KYA MAIN KISI KO YE NAHI BOL SKTA KI DRINK NAHI KRNI CHAHIYE !
time to time things changed, grow up man !
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You have asked this question in Hindi: “If my grand father was a drunkard, can I not preach abstinence?”
My answer is: “Yes and with authority and example of your Grand Father but not by telling people that if they drink they will go to HELL as you grand father did because you do not know where he went.” It is time that you grow up. There is no point in being vegetarian if we can not shed violence even if it is through sarcastic words.
BTW article was about change of times. Hookah was part of Mughal Culture and is against the Sikh Culture. Cultural and financial matters should not be mixed with religion. If done it becomes politics.
Kindly prefer to use English, next time. Thanks for you valuable perspective.
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Its (RSSB) nothing but a destructive cult. This is the characteristic of such cults. They ask you to abstain from such items, also, sex, non veg food, onion, garlic, etc. This helps you to get better in transdental meditations, Using TM they keep u under their control. The people in such cults are brainwashed. Please refer to the “brainwashing techniques”. You may google and get a lot of info about it. Also see “Cult mind control”
Please Please Please… Feel free to share wrong activities of such cults, any experiences by Ex members of such Cults, etc
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I donot think they ristrict garlic or onion. Every religion where follower has to pay is just another shop.
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Yes. You are right. RSSB people don’t restrict followers from eating onion, garlic. But others do ask the followers to abstain from them. They restrict their diet pattern in some way or the other, so that they can be easily brainwashed and kept under control.
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Any person who is looking for some authority, to solve his problems is inviting to be brainwashed. Unless a person chooses to surrender to hypnotist, he can not be hypnotized.
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For more information about brainwashing/Mind control :
http://www.phinnweb.org/neuro/brainwash/
http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/mindcontrol/index.htm
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Dear Hemant, You are giving too much credit to them. I suggest that instead of wasting our energy as to how RSSB hypnotizes its followers, we should step away from such cults and try to live our live peacefully without trying to control it. Only the people who want to control their life, end up at cults. Accept life as it comes and there is no problem. Life always take care of small desires but we move so fast that often it is unable to catch up with us. Thanks for your contribution. I wish you all the best.
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Please don’t waste your time in writing and doing this type of investigation, instead of smoke hukka and do meditation to know the real truth ………and very soon you will come to know the truth.
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Thanks for your difference of opinion. My apologies if facts hurt you. But facts have tendency to to collide with belief. I wish you luck with your meditation. For me living itself is a meditation till it is not made a chase. See Middle Path of Buddha and conscious living. All the best.
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Smoking or no smoking, it makes no difference in meditation practice.
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I agree but decit or lies or hyprocrisy certainly makes all the differance. BTW meditation practice is a misnomer, meditation happens. It can be waited but not practiced.
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Sorry for your long thesis in the comment box. Due to space constraint it can not be accepted here as comment. You may upoad it at some forum and may post a link here alongwith your comment. Thanks a lot for your time and your perspective.
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