The Big One Meets The Big One

File under: Final Samadhi

Adi Da has died. Our mentor Bruce Morgen says it best:

There is nothing so large
that it cannot be exaggerated,
no lily so perfect
that it cannot be gilded.

He emerged so suddenly,
so astonishingly gifted,
and died his own hagiographer.

One Of The Good Ones Moves On

File under: Final Samadhi


Guru Maharaj H.H. Swami Chidananda Saraswati of the Divine Life Society has passed away:

Various religious heads from Ahmedabad and nearby temples paid homage to Swami Chidanandji Saraswati, head of Divine Life Society, Hrishikesh, who expired on August 29 in Hrishikesh.

Chidanandji had worked extensively in Gujarat and has helped many disciples achieve spiritual heights through service to the society. Swami Ishwarcharandasji... said Chidanandji was a living example of humility, simplicity and divinity.

In other words, nothing like any of the big-time gurus, whom we are unfortunately still left with.

Update: Even in death, Chidananda inspires like no big-time guru alive. From a reader just now:

I deeply touched by the news of Chidananda's passing and the brilliant way he instructed his students for the final rites. No meddling from ashram superiors, and no invasion of govt, Bollywood types, or other gurus (like Sri Sri) who would pose next to the body. He seemed to know how much it would hurt his students and he kept it in the family of monks. He also seemed to know what a circus it would be if he didn't limit his presence, but 3 hours was just brilliant. One of the last of the old guard. God help us!

The Anonymous Saint

File under: Final Samadhi and Real True Gurus

She apparently was the real thing, that combination of spiritual understanding and compassion that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar so skillfully emulates in the masquerade of his false sainthood:

Pushpa Anand, a Hindu guru and social activist who worked ceaselessly for the health of Indian villagers and the empowerment of women, has died. She was 83.

None of the hundreds of thousands of people who benefited from her charitable work knew her name. Nor, indeed, did many of her disciples. She was known simply as Ma, whose dedication to the poor, especially women, inspired followers from around the world.

From the age of 34, she dedicated herself to several years of intense religious study and spiritual practice, and thereafter became known as Param Pujya (Her Holiness). But she always preferred Ma.

While the false saint Sri Sri spends millions upon millions celebrating himself, a real saint like Ma would have plowed that money right back into charity. Think about that the next time you attend another AoL birthday celebration.

Maharishi Gone, Folks Still Duped

File under: Final Samadhi, Satscams and The Siddhi of PR

He's ashes on the winds aside the Ganges now, after being observed in state by 20,000 in Allahabad, India.

Naturally, his people have elevated him to a monumental and glorious sainthood, helped considerably by a global world press seeking sales over truth and substance. Typically, the dupes are still duped, now believing they are getting the goods from beyond his grave:

“We were in constant communion with the Guru Deva in transcendence. It kept us in high spirits,” said Paul Morehead, a teacher at the Maharishi University of Management in Iowa, the US.

"Constant communion" spells p-l-a-c-e-b-o e-f-f-e-c-t in our book. It's the sauce that keeps the entire spiritual community alive, irrespective of belief or ideology.

As our own send off to the most hellaciously grandiose guru of the last century, we offer the thoughts of perhaps the second most grandiose guru of modern times. It may be a case of the pot calling the kettle stinking black, but here's what Osho, the Bhagwan Rajneesh, had to say about the Maharishi once:

Cheechli was the birthplace of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. He never mentions it. There are reasons why he does not mention where he was born, because he belongs to the sudra class in India. Just to mention that you come from a certain village, certain caste, or profession -- and Indians are very uncultured about that. They may just stop you on the road and ask you, "What is your caste?" Nobody thinks that this is an interference.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was born on the other side of the station, but because he is a sudra, he can neither mention the village -- because it is a village of only sudras, the lowest caste in the Indian hierarchy -- nor can he use his surname. That too will immediately reveal who he is.

His full name is Mahesh Kumar Shrivastava, but "Shrivastava" would put a stop to all his pretensions, at least in India, and that would affect others too. He is not an initiated sannyasin in any of the old orders, because again, there are only ten sannyasin orders in India. I have been trying to destroy them, that is why they are all angry with me.

These orders are again castes, but of sannyasins. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi cannot be a sannyasin because no sudra can become an initiate. That's why he does not write "Swami" before his name. He cannot, nobody has given him that name. He does not write behind his name, as Hindu sannyasins do, Bharti, Saraswati, Giri et cetera; they have their ten names.

He has created his own name -- "Yogi." It does not mean anything. Anybody trying to stand on his head, and of course falling again and again, can call himself a yogi, there is no restriction on it.

A sudra can be a yogi, and the name Maharishi is something to replace "Swami," because in India things are such that if the name "Swami" is missing, then people would suspect something is wrong. You have to put something else there just to cover up the gap.

He invented "Maharishi." He is not even a rishi; rishi means "seer," and maharishi means "great seer." He can't even see beyond his nose. All he can do when you ask him relevant questions is giggle. In fact, I will call him "Swami Gigglananda," that will fit him perfectly. That giggling is not something respectable, it is really a strategy to avoid questions. He cannot answer any question.

I have met him, just by chance, and in a strange place -- Pahalgam. He was leading a meditation camp there, and so was I. Naturally my people and his were meeting each other. They first tried to bring him to my camp, but he made so many excuses: that he had not time, he wanted to but it would not be possible.

But he said, "One thing can be done: you can bring Bhagwan here so that my time and my scheduled work is not disturbed. He can speak with me from my stage." And they agreed.

When they told me I said, "This is stupid of you; now I will be in unnecessary trouble. I will be in front of his crowd. I don't have to worry about the questions; the only problem is that it will not be right for the guest to hit his host, especially before his own crowd. And once I see him I cannot refrain from hitting him; any decision I make not to hit him will be gone."

But they said, "We have promised."

I said, "Okay. I'm not bothered, and I am ready to come." It was not very far, just a two-minutes' walk away. You just had to get in the car, and then get out again, that was the distance. So I said, "Okay, I will come."

I went there, and as I had expected he was not there. But I don't care about anything; I started the camp -- and it was his camp! He was not there, he was just trying to avoid me as much as he could. Somebody must have told him because he was staying in the hotel just nearby. He must have heard what I was saying from his room. I started hitting him hard, because when I saw that he was not there, I could hit him as much as I wanted to, and enjoy doing it. Perhaps I hit him too hard and he could not stay away. He came out giggling.

I said, "Stop giggling! That is okay on American television, it won't do here with me!" And his smile disappeared. I have never seen such anger. It was as if that giggling was a curtain, hiding behind it all that was not supposed to be there.

Naturally it was too much for him, and he said, "I have other things to do, please excuse me."

I said, "There is no need. As far as I am concerned you never came here. You came for the wrong reasons, and I don't come into it at all. But remember, I have got plenty of time."

Then I really hit him because I knew he had gone back into his hotel room. I could even see his face watching from the window. I even told his people:

"Look! This man says he has much work to do. Is this his work? Watching somebody else work from his window. He should at least hide himself, just as he hides behind his giggle."

Thanks once again, Sarloji!

Not Dead Beatles Go With The Flow

File under: Final Samadhi and The Siddhi of PR

Since the passing of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, practically every news item we've seen has mentioned the short period between 1967 and 1968 when the Beatles embraced TM™, blowing it up to appear as the defining event for all parties involved. We doubt it was as much for the Beatles, but it's sure turning out to be for the Maharishi. If he's going down in history as anything, it's as the onetime guru to the Fab Four.

In support of that hagiographic distortion, the still alive Beatles have chimed in to recognize the Maharishi's passing:

Sir Paul said: "I was asked for my thoughts on the passing of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and I can only say that whilst I am deeply saddened by his passing, my memories of him will only be joyful ones."

He added: "He was a great man who worked tirelessly for the people of the world and the cause of unity. I will never forget the dedication that he wrote inside a book he once gave me, which read 'radiate, bliss, consciousness', and that to me says it all. I will miss him but will always think of him with a smile."

Starr also released a statement paying his respects. He said: "One of the wise men I met in my life was the Maharishi. I always was impressed by his joy and I truly believe he knows where he is going."

Radiate. That's the key to understanding the Maharishi's metaphysics. Too bad it's nothing but a quaint idea. The world will be better served when the TM™ org finally drops the woo-woo nonsense, realizes the "Maharishi Effect" is in fact only wishful thinking and spend their resources doing something that actually helps. Maybe soup kitchens or food banks would be a good place to start. That's one Maharishi effect we're probably never going to see.

Buddhist Guru's "Suicide" Now Murder

File under: Final Samadhi

After two days-worth of monk rioting, police in Mumbai have finally given in and refiled in the case of the "suicide" of Buddhist monk and spiritual guru Bhanta Mahathero. Now it is alleged he was murdered:

Supporters say that the spiritual guru was murdered since he was opposing a slum rehabilitation project on a land that was meant for a Buddhist shrine.

Bruises found on the monk's body has strengthened their suspicion that foul play was involved.

“How is it possible that a [spiritual leader] who has devoted his life to others would commit suicide at this point?” questioned Bhadanth Mahathero, a Buddhist monk.

We have to agree that it seems uncharacteristic for a seemingly non-wackadoo guru to off themselves. Conversely, it makes perfect sense that he'd be removed for hindering somebody's profit principle. Truth, as ubiquitous as it is, is sometimes no match for good old fashioned human greed.