Tag Archives: Radhasoami Satsang Beas

Radhasoami Faith’s Hypocrisy

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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

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Radhasoami cult Dogma

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Following is an interesting summing up of the criticism of Radhasoami cult:

“It always bothered me that satsangis [RSSB initiates] often tended to sum up morality as basically:

–don’t have sex with anybody but your spouse

–karma is simply “whatever is done to you, you did to others”

–ahimsa is just about being a vegetarian and not killing spiders

There’s no interest in studying what ahimsa truly is, or any of the other yamas or niyamas. But then satsangis don’t need to study the subtle aspects of eastern (or western) philosophy, ethics, and morality because we are above all that. Just do your meditation and all the virtues will appear.

If you are a vegetarian, you won’t incur bad karma; bad things won’t happen to you. Never mind that you destroy people mentally, emotionally, physically, or financially. Never mind that you are deeply disturbed, because if you’re a vegetarian and won’t even kill a bug, you’re swell!. The rest is just karmic adjustment ‘till you’re outtahere.

I wish I could invent a Crapometer. Or how about a Dogmameter? You know, something that goes ding, ding, ding, flashes bright lights, and has a dial that indicates how much crap or dogma is being dispensed. However, sigh, I suppose it would probably ding incessantly for everyone and we would all have to remain in silence forever.” via More criticism of Radha Soami Satsang Beas – Church of the Churchless.

If I have to criticize I would only say Radhsoami or for that matter all religious groups/cults do not practice what they preach in terms of money. Some of the habits they preach for others, they do not follow themselves. One instance of hypocrisy about smoking is here. What they rob from peter they share a small sum with poor people with freebies like Lungar (food) etc. and attract crowds.
If purpose of this life is pursuit of God and emancipation then why the Guru himself is in accumulation of money? See here.
In the present era of Internet and mass communication why we need to build Satsang Ghar (read Properties) in every city town or village? Why not school or hospital or just a dispensary?
It is just “my temple/church is better than yours” syndrome, everywhere. But who actually bothers for people beyond symbolic way. Therefore it is just another cult existing to exploit people.

Any how these immoral cults can not shake my faith in God.

© Sandeep Bhalla

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Happy Radhasoami

Gurdjieff Cultural Clubs & Hypocrisy

Radha Swami Satsang Beas Expose: Business Dealings

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A shameful tale of exploitation.

If Guru needs to accumulate wealth, to secure him or his family in this world, how he can guarantee security to other people in the next world? Faith in money and faith in God do not go together. While they inspire others to part their money for sewa (service for the cause) their personal conduct is different.  A usual religious hypocrisy.

Radhasoami teachings:

One who is intoxicated with his worldly status, his family, his wealth or its instruments, in the same way as one gets intoxicated with alcohol or narotics , cannot do bhajan. And when he says that he has no spare time for bhajan, this is all a fraud of the mind.

More on parting money service (sewa):

Service to the Master is measured on the scale of love,
not in wordly terms.

Once a satsangi lady told Maharaj Ji that as she had no income of her own, she always asked her husband to give her some money for offering in seva. “Will this sewa be of any benefit to me? Does it have any value?”

Maharaj Ji replied, “Yes if both of you are happy in giving this seva”. Maharaj Ji further explained this by giving an example of a satsangi with one leg who used to come during the bhandaras. “He used to come from the hills of Himachal, and was very poor. Just to save money to give in seva, he used to walk from his village in the hills to Dera, with the help of his crutches, covering a distance of over 75 miles.

“Once he was brought to me during ‘money seva’ by Mr Bolokani. He offered one rupee in seva.
“How can you value this seva? Is it not worth much more than the hundreds and thousands that the rich give?
“The value of seva is not in how much one offers, but in the feelings and love with which it is offered.”

The above passages taken from the web site claiming Radha Soami Satsang info, are linked to their respective page. Now if Guru himself is clinging to money or he can not decide where to stop accumulating, can he ask others to part with their money? Did Guru Nanak built an empire of Religion? Did Dadu Sahib, Paltu Sahib, Kabir Sahib or all those people who are relied in Satsangs, accumulate wealth? They were Masters. These are dream merchants.  Read more on personal conduct:

Radha Swami Satsang Beas Expose: Business Dealings.

Sebi nod to Gurinder Singh Dhillon for consolidating Rs.1163/-  Crores

Money is garbage. We just acquire it personally.

Now forget about above. Where are the accounts of Sewa? Who maintains it and who audits it? Where are these  displayed? No link to it available on Internet. It is public money but appropriated by a private society which is not a public trust! Why public has no right to know?

I have no answer. If somebody has any answer, please let me know.

See also:

Religious Cults.
Radhasoami Faith’s Hypocrisy
Babani Sahib’s Radhasoami Satsang and Interview
Radhasoami Beas Secret History

© Sandeep Bhalla