Recently, one Irish journalist wrote of a former New Age guru who now scares people that practicing yoga is ‘demonic’.
She writes that fortunately she does not believe such nonsense, but is angry that some people would be scared that her grandmother (the kindest Catholic person she ever new) could be at risk, as she visited a local community centre for a yoga class to help her aching joints.
This is serious stuff. We now have a world where very new converts are going online to scare people witless if they take a dog to a Reiki healer or listen to a lovely Sanskrit mantra.
The defence of yoga has not been made easier by scandals that have rocked the world in recent years, with tales of sexual abuse where (not unlike the catholic church) the top schools have chosen to hide the truth, to keep power and money. But real yoga has nothing to do with million-dollar DVDs and toxic PVC yoga mats.
In his wonderfully funny book Happy Yoga, Steve Ross (a former rock guitarist who spent years living with ‘real gurus’ in India’) teaches of how most people have got ‘manifesting’ the wrong way around. Rather than an endless stream of desires, the goal is to find inner peace, then you just flow through life and what comes to you – comes to you naturally.
He says you literally have to be Jesus (who could walk on water and turn water into wine) to be able to have that kind of focus to manifest without distraction, unlike the rest of us mortals who ultimately will fail, then yell at the universe that ‘we didn’t get what we ordered from the cosmos!’
Sen of Calm Down Mind writes something similar. If you try to ‘manifest’ a simple peaceful happy life but subconciously are stressed, you’re never going to make it. You must practice manifesting for inner peace, or else you’ll simply stay creating the same stressful situations again and again.
One reader asks him ‘If I go after a peaceful state of being, I don’t need to define what I want anymore? Is that correct, or am I just being lazy?’ Sen replies, ‘Actually, that’s how it works’. Yoga teacher Erich Schiffman says he ‘lives like a King’ without asking for anything, due to finding inner peace (his yoga teacher wife is the daughter of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall).
We all die. We all suffer. We all have karma and predestined circumstances that can’t be changed. Vedic astrologers say most of our lives are mapped out (to the letter) before we are born, and there is nothing much we can do to change things.
One even says it’s so mapped out that if a boat goes past your viewline at 4.02pm tomorrow afternoon, that was always going to happen. As well as all the other big stuff. So rather than take on the burden of trying to change it all, sometimes life is much simpler to ‘let go and let God’ and just go with the flow of whatever is going to happen anyway.
What’s true or not, who knows? But Love and Peace (not control by organised religions) is the answer. And you can find that peace yourself or in organised religions that practice it. It’s your choice.
Read Jesus in the Lotus, a wonderful book by Russil Paul (a Christian monk and yogi) who studied with Bede Griffiths – a Catholic priest who also studied and lived at Indian ashrams. Interesting stories from this book:
From the author Russil Paul:
As you continue reading, you will see I have a deep love for Jesus and that I understand the significance of his life, death, and message. However, there can be no doubt that the West is in need of balance. Some of the best parts of Eastern spirituality (especially Yoga) can contribute to restoring this balance. The East is not perfect either and can benefit from values emphasized by Christianity.
Unlike indigenous cultures, Western peoples have tended not to replenish what they have taken from the earth and have not practiced taking in moderation. This has brought on global warming and other ecological imbalances. Is it not evident that our relationship with our planet is directly associated with the way in which we understand God?
Be Careful of Religious Zealots:
This highly-qualified homeopathic practitioner has lots of testimonials (including likely saving the life of a woman with a near-fatal brain injury and healing serious abscesses on a child). Homeopathy at Wellie Level (run by homeopaths and qualified vets) also have excellent courses and testimonials) including by farmers who would have lost their herds to mastitis, were it not for help.
Yet one major US Catholic website warns people not to practice homeopathy as there is no proof (actually there is), that homeopathic medicines are ‘linked to the New Age’ (they are not) and they don’t have Papal approval (but The Vatican covered up child abuse and currently rents out land to McDonald’s for around 30,000 Euros per month).
For real Catholic wisdom, the book Jesus and the Lotus is a wonderful read by Russil Paul (who has lived in both the Catholic and Hindu faiths so is expert on both) and looks at what we share to thrive, rather than what keeps people apart.
In the US especially there tends to be many ex New-Agers (which is not the same as real Eastern wisdom) who now are hard-right Christians who are scaring the daylights out of anyone who wishes say to practice yoga or visit a Buddhist temple. But it’s interesting that many are former famous new agers who made a lot of money, before conversion.
And instead of going away to pray in peace, these very ‘new Christians’ have taken it upon themselves to be ‘lead players’ in converting everyone else. When there are obviously far more experienced Christian writers who could do this.
And there is also a bit of narcissism here: all these people seem to be from the US – which only has around 1 in 50 of the world’s population. Surely if God had ‘appeared as a vision’ to tell the world’, they would tell someone to go spread the word in China?
How to Escape from a Religious Cult
Cults often employ manipulation tactics to maintain control over their followers. This initial warmth can quickly turn into fear-based control, where dissent is met with threats or shaming. Members may be told they will lose their salvation or face dire consequences if they question teachings or leadership.
A well-thought-out exit plan can be the difference between a smooth escape and a chaotic departure. Identify trustworthy individuals outside the cult who can provide support.
Timing your departure can significantly reduce the risk of confrontation. Leaving during a busy period or when the leader is preoccupied can minimise attention. The goal is to slip away quietly without raising alarms.
Cults: Coercion & Control is a book to help people know what a cult is, usually formed by someone wanting power. Filled with stories of notorious cults, often the victims are people who perhaps have been vulnerable so are more likely to be seduced by offers of inner peace and security.
If you need help, contact Cult Information Centre and To Think Again (services by a qualified counsellor and ex-cult member who spent three eyars attending meetings of a Bible-based cult run by a narcissist who used unethical methods to entrap and financially exploit its members. This left him unemployed, isolated and with serious psychological damage. Now he uses his experience to help others.
