The Sri Sri Has Landed
File under: The Siddhi of PR
We've just had one of those "moment of clarity" thingies. You know, when you finally get to see that everything in your life has been a lost cause. We have just now realized that it's all over in America. The Sri Sri ME-ME-ME show is about to blow up bigger than an exposed nipple on a superstar at the Superbowl.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has come to the United States, and he has found it is just as easy to hookwink dumb Statesiders as it is anyone else in the world. Indeed, outside of the bit of resistance he'll get from the fundie crowd, we are certain it will be much easier here than anywhere else. Get ready for the impending U.S. invasion of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Sri Sri's list of accomplishments and programs and initiatives is so long — trauma relief and women's empowerment and conflict resolution and breathing classes that have been taught to millions of people — that it's a bit hard to get a handle on him, or to figure out why his name isn't a household word in the United States.A lot of hard work went into delaying that "household word" status in the U.S... until now. Of all Sri Sri's accomplishments, his greatest was hiring the people who run his
This could be our last post, as we've suddenly begun to hear a beautiful song sung by the Taos Gorge Bridge. The lyrics suggest that a heaven of eternally deep powder, supercell thunderstorms, and every species of snake ever created, all awaiting us 650 feet straight down at the bottom of the Rio Grande. We're not sure we're ready for heaven – and we expect that many in the world are hoping we go straight to hell – but right now it seems the only reasonable option we have if we're going to leave this plane with what little sanity we have, intact.
Au revoir, cruel world.
Labels: The Siddhi of PR
posted by guruphiliac @ 9:54 AM
55 Comments:
you should have jumped off that bridge long ago; for 'sri squared' had arrived in the US and become v popular a few years before.
'sri squared' had arrived in the US and become v popular a few years before.
Not in a widespread way. He's no Ammachi... yet. But he could become the male version of an Ammachi, which is how I expect he'll try to play it. Although of course without the hugging. Sri Sri is definitely not up for that level of commitment, especially when he can just surf his Hindu saint persona to more popularity without all the nasty tapas.
Neti Neti is quite appropriate for your state of mind. And you do not need to jump of the bridge or in the poop-pot. Sri Sri has got solutions for victims like you too. Now that you have lost your cause, how about attending his basic course for a change? Go do it and it may give you some new Vision and a purpose for life..
Jody said:
Although of course without the hugging.
In the early days of AOL, SSRS also used to hug each and everyone. This point was stressed by his ambassadors that he meets everyone.
Yes, but one have to give that the package come neatly, and how it just appeals to the whole TM crowd which have not had the desired result from there meditations.
That said the SK is an allright, if not sensational different, method for clearing out stresses and setting the stage for meditation. And it does not take the hard work of yoga.
Something aobut the unrefined nature of SK that very much appeals to the loud noisy world of ours. Its a baseball to the head technique and I predict that the time of massmarketing it is now!
I predict not only the Ammachi crowd but also all the Hatha yoga fans who have come down with to many injuries to practice is in target. As a marketing strategist of profession I find this very interesting.
And between you Jody and UG I believe the world is still safe. I choose not to get to emotionally involved, and stay with observation and discrimination.
Go do it and it may give you some new Vision and a purpose for life..
I'd rather jump off the bridge. I still have a purpose, to chronicle the Me Me Ravi Shankar show as he hookwinks the clueless over here as he has done in India.
Dont worry, GB&M, I still have plenty of reason to live and a purpose in life, now that I have the delicious potential of Me Me appearing in the American press with more frequency.
This point was stressed by his ambassadors that he meets everyone.
More of the brilliant marketing by those AOL PR witches. They are truly masterful and skilled in the art of instantaneous hagiography.
Take all the crowds of good folks who believe She She is a god, add them to all the ones who believe Maharishi is a god, mix in the ones who believe Ammachi is a god and Guru Maharaji is a god and Sly Baba is a god and Rajneesh is a god and Baboon Free John is a god and Jim Jones is a god and Meher Baba is a god and Jesus Christ, etc, not to forget that gal who looks like Jabba the Hut who thinks she is god and Karunamayi who is a god and all the other self serving bastards pretending they are god, stir in the thousands of poor souls in nut houses around the world who think they are god and compared to all the rest of us in this world, you aint much!
PS I took that basic She She breathing course and it wasn't much either!
Go do it and it may give you some new Vision and a purpose for life..
translation: Cough up hard earned money, learn to hyperventilate, and it will make u a crony for marketing the She She.
The only knowledge I have of Sri Sri comes from the AOL'ers I've crossed paths with. Weird vibes, always. I think AOL must sensitize them to judge and be afraid of their own humanness, as if humanness were the problem. I contrast this experience with my experience with Amma who, in spite of the foot-kissing bhakti act, genuinely seems to suggest self-love and acceptance as a component of enlightenment.
Don't jump off the bridge. Much better to look around and get a sense of geological time, a perspective which suggests indifference (or incognizance) rather than cruelty.
...and U.G. Krishnamurti has departed.
Laghu gurus rule!!
If you don't do it, who will?
I vote for you and Stuart Resnick, with a good heaping of the Chuckster on the side.
jody said...
I vote for you and Stuart Resnick, with a good heaping of the Chuckster on the side.
..................
As said before, I have learned a lot from you, Jody. Keep up the good fight. I'll put my arthritic shoulder to the wheel if you are there. Blade and Stuart and Semblance and Durga and New Betty, and Pug, and Jack Flush and all the others will too.
Chuck ! thats an honor. You included me in the list of upholders of the chariot of dharma. I never knew, besides playing the air gun and real piano, i can even do this.,,
thank you chuck !
(p.s But please make sure to keep me to other wheel from where new betty is, because she will ask me to bite. I cant simultaneously uphold dharma and bite her too.)
And i dont think jody will quit this blog that soon. It certainly gives him a certain high we cannot sense easily, a high thats more hyperventilating than she she's...
semblance s and orchestra said...
keep me to other wheel from where new betty is, because she will ask me to bite...
.........
Cool it with the down talk on New Betty, semblance, until I get my YRF (yenta retainer fee). If I could put you and NB together, it could kick start my on line yenta service and I could let go of APR (auto parts retail).
You are a genuine dharma lion, or at least a dharma lab!
Cool it with the down talk on New Betty, semblance, until I get my YRF (yenta retainer fee). If I could put you and NB together, it could kick start my on line yenta service and I could let go of APR (auto parts retail).
~~~~ Ok chuck. I will do all that required for the kick off.
The linux cardbus controller driver
is already loaded in my comp and i have made good use of it already. Besides NB i want valentino and ganga too. My expertise in anti cybersocial context forums can come handy and will discuss durga's lower left back quite freely.
"it could kick start my on line yenta service and I could let go of APR (auto parts retail)."
Chuck, thankyou for also including me on the list. As for your autoparts, just move to austin and start your cadillac deeksha service, I'm sure you will get instantaneous followers. BUt the yenta service is good too. Or you could go into raising black labs that specialize in skirt sniffing.
woof woof!!!
What you guys don't seem to understand is that Maharishi led the way. He is like Moses leading many of us out of the desert of ignorance. But again like Moses, his pride and weakness of character has gotten in his way. So Maharishi will not be allowed to see the Age of Enlightenment. It falls to Sri Sri to complete the job begun by his Master, Maharishi. In his heart, Maharishi knows he must let the power fall to his disciple. It is sad but true.
It is sad but true.
The really sad thing is how over-the-top deluded you are about all this.
Jody, it makes sense to me. Anyway, this is my faith.
The story of the Exodus, as told to me by my 10 yr old:
Moses and the Israelites were chased across Egypt by three divisions of Soviet-made T-62 tanks. Close to annihilation, Moses found a field radio and called in an airstrike on the Egyptian position. Next, Moses rang up the Israeli Navy and had a pontoon bridge built across the Red Sea. The Israelites crossed safely just as they fired off their last RPG.
What?, I said. Where did you hear this?
I learned it in school, Daddy.
No way. This can’t be what they told you.
But Daddy! What is more likely, that God killed one group of people to save another group, or that humans, in subscribing to the duality concept of Gods and Gurus, doomed thus to require external salvation, in desperate graspings for evidence of good, finding instead bad in other, are driven selfishly forward and down, all the way to the Red Sea, 1972?
It’s bedtime son. Nice work. I love you.
Semblance said: Besides NB i want valentino and ganga too
hey , don't you remember that u renamed valentina into New Betty, who just converted herself (myself)into Betty Boom???
Woof woof!!!!
The mark of a fake guru (like Sri Sri):
Start with a tiny group of people willing to give their lives to you. Use them up. Keep those on board who don't ask too many questions or cross you. Bring on board more powerful, rich, and obedient followers along the way to replace those in the first group that you kicked out when they started to question some of your habits. Keep fear in the first "old-timers" with this method (since they've given up their careers, where could they go -- better tow the line or you too could be booted like those who asked the "wrong" questions, or did the "wrong" things.)
Keep adding more and more connected people, keeping just enough of the original, obedient, brainwashed group, so you can say "these people have been with me 15 years..."
Voila! Art of Living!
Ravi Shankar has no loyalty, no decency, no love in his heart. He is a heartless, cruel, thankless person, devoid of even the basic things that describe compassion. He uses people as it suits him, and doesn't know what the word "sorry" means, when he has trashed peoples' lives.
God catches all such men/women. He can fool most of the people most of the time, but he can't fool God even for a second.
Anyone who believes in the Divine should pray for him. He's actually a lost cause.
I recently saw a movie on TV called "Wall Street". The Michael Douglas character really reminded me of Ravi Shankar, minus the squeaky voice and the white robes. But the attitude, drive, ambition and total disregard for the hearts and minds of others, was spot-on.
Ravi Shankar has no loyalty, no decency, no love in his heart.
I believe it. It would be nice to have some specific illustrations of Sri Sri in this light. If you could offer some stories with references to events, we'd have a bit of evidence we could offer folks about just how much of a fake Me Me actually is.
"keep fear in the first "old-timers" with this method (since they've given up their careers, where could they go....
That makes me think of a friend of mine who gave up his education, accepted an arranged marriage, and never developed a career so as to follow a sant mat guru in the 80's. i doubt he was as bad as how you describe shankar, but descriptions of this dynamic are starting to sound all the same to me. The guy I know remained dependent financially on his ex wife and keeps running from one new age theory to another to replace the old dogma. It's kind of sad the way people are used by these gurus, but I am sure the gurus justify it by telling their devotees they are erasing karma.
durga said...
As for your autoparts, just move to austin and start your cadillac deeksha...
>>>>>>>.
Durga, Semblance has convinced me I am too old to do cadillac deeksha. My only secret now is to be content inhabiting my double-wide, as long as it lasts... Not only am I a fat man, I now contend with very close veins that are knotted up around my flat feet like nests of water moccasins. My teeth also are wore down and my nose seems to have something on the tip end that could be Texas leprosy. All I've got left is my horse faced wife and my dogs. Even She She Ravishing Shankar can't help me! I'm reduced to being the whining mongrel that curls and sleeps at the feet of Guruphiliac!
Pretty soon I'll be an Guruphiliac oldtimer and live in fear of being cast out into the Big Thicket!
Betty Boom said>>>>>> hey , don't you remember that u renamed valentina into New Betty, who just converted herself (myself)into Betty Boom???
Woof woof!!!!
~~~~ Woof ! Got it BBoom. That was a mistake. Sorry NB(New Betty).
But as New Betty you are doing good val, In any case you now really like the immaculate madonna..Woof ! Woof !!!
BBoom ! Woof !! I missed you a lot here and remembered quite fondly along with Chuck Ji.
Welcome back Betty Boom !
"urga, Semblance has convinced me I am too old to do cadillac deeksha. "
Chuck, one is never too old to do cadillac deeksha. Look at Billy Joe Shaver, he's like 90 and still doing SxSW. You could call yourself the dimebox buddha and make a big name for yourself. Besides, the world needs cadillac deeksha. Look at the state of things- global warming, hurricanes, sri sris let loose on the planet.....you could really make an impact. You might even get so famous that they'll make a paper cut out doll of you with a set of interchangeable outfits.
woof woof semblance!
i am always here, reading this blog goes together with my mornig coffee,...
though most of the time i have nothing to say.
the only similarity i have with that Imm. Madonna is the personal preference for bulgarian rose essencial oil, but of course that is a presumption.
hope u enjoyed hoffman's potion's youTube video.
don't worry, i don't bite. woof.
durga said...
You could call yourself the dimebox buddha and make a big name for yourself.
...................
No Durga,semblance is right. For a big man to make it on that kind of stage, he's got to have an edge. He must look good with an earring, a beret, or at least a goatee. Forget about it! He must be photographed with pigeons coming out of the sky to sit on his shoulders or a baby squirrel in his pocket. But with the smell on me, this is unlikely.
Carrying this much weight has given me low back pain and my feet hurt of an evening. I'll have to leave saving the world to the Good Lord. He made the mess, he'll have to clean it up!
After freeing India of violence and corruption, Sri Sri is now showing path to end violence in the US:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Sri_Sri_points_way_to_violence_free_US/articleshow/1829906.cms
After freeing India of violence and corruption
You are on some SERIOUS delusion juice, my friend. Looks like all that funny breathing has knocked the sense right out of your head!
Either free fall is joking or he has free fallen on his head!
this Taos Gorge bridge, I mean the bridge not the band. Just remembered that I crossed this bridge the first time I saw Ammachi in Taos, 1987. I didn't know who she was, just happened to be in Taos at the same time. She went way out in the boom docks to install a statue of the Virgin Mary with full ceremonials, chanting priests, etc. It was actually very sweet. Aside from Ammachi and her priests there were only 10-15 people. On the way back to Taos, she had them stop the car and we all got out at the bridge to look at the water and the people going down in rafts.
betty boom said... >>>>
woof woof semblance!
i am always here, reading this blog goes together with my mornig coffee,...
~~~~ BB. thats great. Your sobered down poise tells me that you have been initiated at GP(guruphiliac). Im sure you dont to gulp down some frivolous stuff that you have to read here along with your morning coffee.
I think with this you have moved from hearth chakra to throat chakra. Your serene words will vouch for that.
In any case CHUCK JI alone can tell who is in which chakra. So we may request him to identify each one of us known to him by their chakra positions presently.
ChuckJi said>>>>
No durga,semblance is right. For a big man to make it on that kind of stage, he's got to have an edge. He must look good with an earring, a beret, or at least a goatee. Forget about it!
C'mon Chuck ! I dont like this arjuna disease in you especially when durga considers your blue denim as a sign of krishna consciousness. Wake Up and fight. Not because i want you to fulfill durgaji's secretly nurtured space daddy/mommmy aspirations but you stand a very good chance on your own strength if you can demonstrate asshopping miracle of TM, deeapthroat gasping of she she, rolled in to one, still keeping the 'quantum secret' hidden underneath the doublewide.
Then CDeeksha is going to be just as good as your mouth wash in the morning.
You can even consider this mocktail of she she's walk, kracki's bald head, ammachis's broken teethline, Tilak's dirty mouth, maharishi's giggle, osho's stare, ramakrishna's nudity, and with a slogan like "Donation First Blessings Next" and durgaji standing beside you singing endless bhajans.
Chuck you will surely do very well. Jody's blessings too with you always....
Blatantly must admit that my knowledge of Indian politics is limited.
semblance:
"I think with this you have moved from hearth chakra to throat chakra. Your serene words will vouch for that"
I have not moved from anyehere to anywhere.
"durgaji standing beside you singing endless bhajans. "
You all do not want to hear me singing bhajans. I gave that up long ago when my grade school music teacher humilliated my singing abilities.
Chuck, you are far too humble. A big man in overalls can be inspiring indeed, without the goatee and earring. Take Huey Long- but he could not even touch the snake nests on your feet, as his populist political talent comes no where near your profound psychic and chakra reading abilities .
Semblance said...In any case CHUCK JI alone can tell who is in which chakra...
Good Buddy, you just lobbed me an underhand soft ball...I would have to say that all of us here are round pegs in the square hole of the Fart Chuckra. The perscribed remedial is plenty of okra, battered and fried!
...................
Durga said... A big man in overalls can be inspiring indeed, without the goatee and earring. Take Huey Long...
.......
Guess that would make me Baby Huey, a name I have proudly carried like 350 pounds of hog lard all my life! Durga you and Semblance have bucked me up sufficient to pull the wedgie from my ass and continue!
Hi! I stumbled upon this and am a bit baffled about how this type of thing comes out. I have seen Sri Sri for 17 years or more and it seems like you are talking about someone else. So far the "PR machine," as you call it, has consisted mostly of relatively inexperienced volunteers around the world, so they would be amused by your perception.
People benefit from all the things you mention--the breathing, the trauma relief, the conflict resolution, the service projects. What is there to be against? Even the best studies on his techniques, showing significant mental and physical benefits, were done by the head of a major research institute that was trying to prove to his enthusiastic employee that the techniques did not work. But they did. After the tsunami thousands found relief from post-traumatic stress disorder in just a few days. People are being helped all around the world. And I personally watched him hug more than 10,000 people in one night.
I know that the guru relationship is acceptable to some in the West only if you are learning music or sports, but it is just normal in his culture (though he is held in high regard in that culture). And many (most?) take the courses or relief without participating in that relationship. It is actually remarkable to me that in all kinds of situations and times of day I have never seen him act in an unkind or inappropriate way.
It's good to watchdog and help people who might make a misstep, but there is hardly any bad aspect in this case (other than what you might expect from a group filled with millions of human beings at different levels of development and from different stratas of society). Be a watchdog, but go after someone who the facts support going after.
there is hardly any bad aspect in this case
Except for Sri Sri himself, who has been revealed to be ambitious for fame and a consummate showman, rather than a truly wise man who's heart is only in it for the people.
It's all in the comments here, although I admit they are buried in the content now.
That's just it Jody, there is no evidence of Sri Sri being ambitious for anything. He never sells anything when he appears, only gives. He travels constantly, has entered the red zone in Iraq to help. I read the comments on this blog, but they seem to be projections that are not based on the reality. I notice the facts I gave had no impact so what can I say. There is no evidence that he has any bad motives (unless appearing in public alone makes someone bad), and his organizations' work seems to bear only positive fruit in the world. I guess it is hard to imagine someone acting with good intentions in our cynical world, where so many are not what they portray and where people have been burned many times. Maybe try on the idea that he could be the real deal.
I read the comments on this blog, but they seem to be projections that are not based on the reality.
Of course they are. But your protestations are honest and clear of any interest in projecting your own ideas about Sri Sri, right?
We once had one regular commenter who was apparently in Sri Sri's inner circle during the beginning of his ascension into his current levels of name and fame. It's clear from this person's recollections that Sri Sri is just acting the part of the holy man of peace, that he's really an ambitious man looking to make himself famous for the sake of enjoying that fame, in addition to his wanting to show up the Maharishi for kicking him out of TM™ for being too self-ambitious there.
But since the act is so good now, tons of folks are falling for it, including yourself, apparently. There needs to be a counter-balance to all the uncritical hero-worship the man has so carefully fostered. Sri Sri and his people are going to have to get used to the fact that not all will see him as a savior, regardless of how much crap his people push on the media.
Your right, when someone becomes well known, people will say anything. Movie stars get upset when they see the made-up stuff in the tabloids. But you would think someone could say, "I saw him do this" or "I heard him say that." This blog has none of that.
Some people say that Mother Teresa was just in it for the fame, but even if that were true, they would be missing the point of her life.
you would think someone could say, "I saw him do this" or "I heard him say that." This blog has none of that.
Actually, it has quite a bit of that, but it's in the comments on this blog's many posts on Sri Sri. Unfortunately, I don't have any way to search for them.
Some people say that Mother Teresa was just in it for the fame, but even if that were true, they would be missing the point of her life.
I'm not saying that Sri Sri isn't doing some good, just that he's doing it because he's figured out that's what will get him the most coverage.
That is nice that you feel he is doing good work, but there is nothing to base ascribing a bad motive to him. From my personal point of view, his lifestyle is a sacrifice rather than something to desire. In any case, after observing him for many, many years--including watching him turn down several opportunities for coverage--I feel confident to say that fame or greed or any other selfish motive is just not operating. This is happening on a higher, more generous level than that.
This is happening on a higher, more generous level than that.
That's a nice thought, and exactly what Sri Sri is selling. Looks like you bought the whole set.
I don't know if you have ever done volunteer service--helping at a soup kitchen, helping someone relieve their stress, etc.--but doing some service like that yourself can give you the idea that someone else can also be doing something helpful, just to be of service.
doing some service like that yourself can give you the idea that someone else can also be doing something helpful, just to be of service.
Plenty of folks do it just to be of service. Sri Sri is doing it because it's helping him to get famous.
so silly. how could you possibly know that.
how could you possibly know that.
I trust the various insider accounts buried on these pages, like this one:
Having been involved in the Art of Living (not anymore!), and trained to become one of their teachers, I can say that Mr. Shankar is one of the most ambitious men I ever met. His greed for acknowlegment used to be well-disguised. Now it seems to be more out in the open. Good. Then we don't have to fool ourselves. This is business as usual.
I hope that is not all you are basing this blog on. Of course, it would be helpful to his mission -- easier to help more people -- if he were famous, but that is very different than helping people for the purpose of becoming famous as you are suggesting (and a ridiculous motive, of course). I'm glad you see the value in what he is doing. All I can say, is that there are many people who have been with him for more than 20 years (or 17 like me) who have never seen any hint of the ambition this person is reporting. Isn't that odd? Sometimes people just see who they are. (Or maybe all the time.)
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