Swami Nity Hits Berkeley

File under: Satsang Report

In another stunning failure due to our addiction to the worldwide scourge of celebrity gossip, we completely missed this satsang report filed by ex-Muktananada disciple Stuart Resnick on SYDA guru Gurumayi's long-exiled brother, Swami Nityananda:

Nity sat up on throne in his swami costume and all, but there was only a shadow of the "we're in the presence of the Supreme Lord, Omygawd!" atmosphere that there was in Baba's day. I wonder how much of the difference was external and how much was the change in my own perception. In any case, all the talk etc was about how cool and great Baba was; it doesn't seem that Nity is encouraging that much glorification of himself.

But could he still be a repudiating-cultivating space-daddy like the just-a-letter-h-away Nithyananda? Maybe:

Nity's talk was kind of nice-sounding empty spiritual stuff. He did start out by quoting some scripture about how it's impossible to achieve the natural state without the guru's grace. Told a story about greatness of guru's grace. It was all kind of silly and meaningless. What does this have to do with real life? It's just something to make you feel good for a while when you think about it. And I think that's what people were looking for.

That sounds like some big-time maneuvering to us, in a you-can't-do-it-without-the-likes-of-me kinda way. That's S.O.P and right out of the big-time guru's playbook.

But at least Nity didn't ham it up as much as his satellite TV-transmitting sister did back in the day.

Meera Does Montreal

File under: Satsang Report and The Siddhi of PR

Our friend Swami Anandgyan went to see Mother Meera in Montreal. He returned with this report:

Mother Meera in Montreal... ...what you see is what you get.

Sure I wondered "who"'s going to see her, basically a Montrealer, and once there, you kinda try to settle down, sannyasin or not, just being present.

Tremendous turn-out, a full house though with hardly any Hindus, just two women I noticed...

When I heard that the seats in the middle section of the bottom rows were left vacant to allow the energy to flow (though not mandatory for the upper ones) I resented the kindergarten impression it left. [Ed.note: Make believe makes for a more "powerful" experience.]

Some young ones in the crowd, but mostly people in their forties, and just two faces I recognised and although we all seemed to be hankering for somethin' (I 'bought' the silent blessing), the procedure was done without uttering one word and at about fifteen seconds for each person, it would not have looked so machine-like if there would have been some variation, but no, same expression, or lack of it, all the time... I had not bowed to her yet, I was just glancing from afar, looking a the crowd that showed hardly any unity of purpose if not for receiving darshan. At one point, I felt a pressure against my chest, wondered if it was some sort of energy field around Mother but it vanished within a second and later on, it was as zen as waiting in line. Came the time when she was to look into my eyes... Well her's are quite nice but nothing happened, nada, no love, no smile, maybe she uttered a mantra (and I ought to trust Sanskrit as THE language for the divine) but fact is, and I looked at the crowd once more upon returning to my seat, just as for me, no one showed any sign of transformation as with soft tears, a radiant smile or a profound calmness, nah... nothing. I must be judgmental; what do I know really? Let's say the atmosphere had not improved one bit.

I got to my seat, put on my shoes, passed by the donation box and thought of sunyata and that I had just wasted my time.

So I'm still curious, sometimes cynical and somehow quite happy but I cannot recommend Mother Meera. I would do it again for Amma, at least it's not the gaze thing but a hug!

It didn't do me much good but it didn't do much harm.

Oh well, make love, not war.

You hardcore devi-junkies are going to blame the lack of anything happening on the Swami rather than on your precious object of love, but the fact is that anything that happens around Meera happens because you need it to happen. It's your subconscious shoving a pacifier in your mouth because you're so internally whiny. And because you have this need for something to happen, you aren't where the Swami is... yet.

One day, when you realize the Devi is inside each of us so much more than in any other person, you'll understand just how infantile the whole world-traveling devi circus really is.