Anatomy of a Bogus Guru

[Leo Volont]

Anatomy of a Bogus Guru

Last week I was contacted by a Self Appointed Guru who quite considers himself Great Enough to warrant His Own Messianic Era and Dispensation. Guru Kurt is his name. Let me make it clear that when I speak of a Bogus Guru, I am not referring to him, but to a Self Appointed Guru I met a few years back who also thought he was Great Enough to warrant His Own Messianic Era and Dispensation. I am sure Guru Kurt is quite genuine. His website is Neo-Christian something or another, and you can visit it and see quite how respected he is by all and sundry.

But as to this Bogus Guru I once met… surprisingly his troubles started when he gained what the Mystics call “Enlightenment”, “Realization”, “Satori”, “Nirvana”, “Liberation”, “Samadhi”, “Whatever”. But it fell short of God Realization. What he experienced was the Effulgence of his own Soul… in Sanskrit it is called the ‘Atmic Experience’. You know how they say Man was created in the Image of God, well, that is the Atma. He experienced the Atma and was quite overwhelmed with the splendor and Beauty of it. So, what was the problem? The Problem can be suggested by the Legend of Lucifer and the Fallen Angels. Remember, that Lucifer was also struck by his own Grandiose Beauty, Splendor and Power – enough so that he thought he could rival God Himself. So it was with this Bogus Guru, and other Bogus Gurus who have the Realization of their own Soul but stop short of Rising to God.

While working with Kundalini Yoga in my youth I was often warned of the dangers of Insanity coming from Partial Realizations, but never took the Warnings very seriously. I thought a partial Realization would be better than nothing. Wow! But when I encountered that Bogus Guru, again, NOT Guru Kurt who must be genuine, since that is what he claims… when I encountered that Bogus Guru and was able to see through his megalomania that made him contemptuous of Humanity, Enemy to Religion, and even Rival to God, it was alarming and sobering. Yes, while I would never discourage anybody from Meditating, I would now advise that before you would get too deep into Yoga or Meditation, to make sure you are extremely well grounded in Devotion to God and to be careful to Run in Terror from any Realization of the Self if it comes to you as being Separate from the Realization of God. The Realization of God would give you the Humility of The Saint. But the Realization of the Self Alone would instill the Pride and the hatefulness of a Lucifer.

 

[duendy]

Anatomy of a Bogus Guru

Last week I was contacted by a Self Appointed Guru who quite considers himself Great Enough to warrant His Own Messianic Era and Dispensation. Guru Kurt is his name. Let me make it clear that when I speak of a Bogus Guru, I am not referring to him, but to a Self Appointed Guru I met a few years back who also thought he was Great Enough to warrant His Own Messianic Era and Dispensation. I am sure Guru Kurt is quite genuine. His website is Neo-Christian something or another, and you can visit it and see quite how respected he is by all and sundry.

But as to this Bogus Guru I once met… surprisingly his troubles started when he gained what the Mystics call “Enlightenment”, “Realization”, “Satori”, “Nirvana”, “Liberation”, “Samadhi”, “Whatever”. But it fell short of God Realization. What he experienced was the Effulgence of his own Soul… in Sanskrit it is called the ‘Atmic Experience’. You know how they say Man was created in the Image of God, well, that is the Atma. He experienced the Atma and was quite overwhelmed with the splendor and Beauty of it. So, what was the problem? The Problem can be suggested by the Legend of Lucifer and the Fallen Angels. Remember, that Lucifer was also struck by his own Grandiose Beauty, Splendor and Power – enough so that he thought he could rival God Himself. So it was with this Bogus Guru, and other Bogus Gurus who have the Realization of their own Soul but stop short of Rising to God.

While working with Kundalini Yoga in my youth I was often warned of the dangers of Insanity coming from Partial Realizations, but never took the Warnings very seriously. I thought a partial Realization would be better than nothing. Wow! But when I encountered that Bogus Guru, again, NOT Guru Kurt who must be genuine, since that is what he claims… when I encountered that Bogus Guru and was able to see through his megalomania that made him contemptuous of Humanity, Enemy to Religion, and even Rival to God, it was alarming and sobering. Yes, while I would never discourage anybody from Meditating, I would now advise that before you would get too deep into Yoga or Meditation, to make sure you are extremely well grounded in Devotion to God and to be careful to Run in Terror from any Realization of the Self if it comes to you as being Separate from the Realization of God. The Realization of God would give you the Humility of The Saint. But the Realization of the Self Alone would instill the Pride and the hatefulness of a Lucifer.

No, NOt grounded with the idea of yet ANOTHEr meglomaniac residing in the clouds, crwon on, surrounded by our saints, as King of the Mountain....No

rather it is to be GROUNDED...EARTHED. realizing GODDESS/Nature/Cosmos

originally in Greek myth, when it got first writ down, we have:

CHAOS~~~~~~~~~GAEA~~~~~~~~~~~EROS

WE CAN ...(retaining the insight of spiralic continuum) see chaos as 'negative/void/creatrix' , gaea as earth/groundedness, and eros as 'positive' erotic potential and desire

when the desire isn't grounded, and wants to fly off, or control everything etc. in mythology this is flying to close to the sun so much so one's wax winds melt and then we natrually fall to earth

 

[duendy]

haha.....'wax WINGS melt"...idunno, me and me typos

 

[Silas]

Regarding Guru Kurt, I'm somewhat confused - what constitutes a "genuine" guru, Leo?

Regarding the Bogus Guru, you just present us with your analysis of what he's about without describing exactly what it was he did that led you to those conclusions about him. It's hard for the rest of us to contribute without some added information about this Bogus Guru.

 

[Cris]

The simplest way to recognize a bous guru is if they claim to be a guru. The true guru will never in their natural humility that comes with wisdom claim such a state. The title will only be of real value whan others in meaningful numbers recognize the wisdom for themselves and raise the claim.

 

[Leo Volont]

The Temptation of Christ

Having run into so many Bogus Gurus in my lifetime thus far, I was wondering if there was something inherently wrong with the Yoga and Meditation Systems that seem to turn out such Bad Product. Being familiar with the Basic Doctrines of these Schools, I can mostly vouch for them, as they insist upon the Centrality and Superiority of God as emphatically as Christianity… and then I remembered the Temptation of Christ. It came to Christ after His Baptism, but before His active Ministry. Perhaps it came to Him as something of a Right of Passage that all on the Mystic Path must go through. Of course, the exoteric writers of the Gospel did not understand the true metaphysics of what really went on, and so they described the Temptation in terms of a Devil offering Worldly Goods, which is something that ordinary people could understand well enough. But now I suppose the Satanic Temptation is more integral than that, that it is a veritable choice between that Self, which is caste in the Image of God, and God Itself. The Temptation is Self Realization – being captivated, like Lucifer, by the Beauty and Splendor of one’s own Soul.

Now, don’t confuse this Self Realization with anything comparable to examining one’s feelings, or one’s intellect. The reason that Mystics are so Tempted with the Vision of their Own Soul is that this Vision, this Realization, is a very rare thing and most difficult to attain. Few prospective Mystics ever achieve it. This is why they can reasonably infer that it must be the Highest of All Realizations. Consult any of these Bogus Gurus and they will impress you with the years of Meditation and Austerity they underwent in order to attain their Realization. They honestly believe they’ve found the End of the Road.

One of the most Famous Mystical Yogic Organizations has even named itself “The Self Realization Fellowship”, not ‘God’ Realization, but ‘Self’. And then it is practically a Mantra of the New Age Movement that ‘God is within’. It seems as though the Modern Mystical Organizations have a serious pathological problem, all sourcing from a failure to be aware of the Warning given to us of the Temptation of Christ, that Self must be renounced and the Journey continued on through to God.

Still, these fellows who achieve their Self Realization have been brought up through Organizations that largely discuss God, and so they see it as something of a duty and obligation to continue to pay God the tribute of Lip Service. The tell-tale sign that they have fallen short of God is their Spiritual Impotence. What people fail to understand about the Scriptural Portrayal of the Temptation of Christ is that Satan’s Promises were all empty. People actually suppose that Satan could have delivered on his promises, but Satan would have been satisfied to simply pull Christ away from His Higher Ideal, and that could be done with an Empty Promise as well as a fulfilled Bargain. The Experience of Self Realization is Satan’s Empty Promise. The Self Alone has no Connection to God, no Connection to the Vine of Christ. Every Miraculous Saint claims that they do nothing, and that God does Everything, and that is the Truth. The Self is Powerless without the Touch and Participation of God. But typically your Bogus Gurus will claim that they could perform miracles, but choose, on ethical grounds, not to. Yes, right. I suppose their argument is that by NOT performing Miracles, they are morally better than Christ and the Saints, who, perfect in everything else, couldn’t resist pandering to the People with the exhibitionism of Wonder-Working.

All these pseudo-hindu Yogis and Meditation Experts should really know better than to be falling into their chronic trap of arrested development in Self Realization. Perhaps the most basic Hindu Mantra, everyone knows it, is OM TAT SAT. Roughly translated it means “God is Existence”. What could be more explicit that God cannot be found in the Self than to be told that God is in All that is Outside. Anybody who has mumbled OM TAT SAT a million times in the course of his Spiritual Disciplines ought to know that the Pursuit of Spirituality cannot stop with Self Realization but must penetrate further and deeper beyond the illusory existence of the mere Self until one touches that which is the Existence of All Things. One does not Know God until one has connected existentially with that which is Outside the Self.

 

[everneo]

The Experience of Self Realization is Satan’s Empty Promise.

From whatever i read about self realization, its a state where the illusion of 'self' vanishes and the realizer stay put in "Ishwara Pragnya" (roughly translates to constant awareness and worshiping of God). I don't know much about what buddhist self realization means. If anyone claims 'self realization' and boasting around is either fell short of 'self realization' or an outright fraud.

 

[Leo Volont]

From whatever i read about self realization, its a state where the illusion of 'self' vanishes and the realizer stay put in "Ishwara Pragnya" (roughly translates to constant awareness and worshiping of God). I don't know much about what buddhist self realization means. If anyone claims 'self realization' and boasting around is either fell short of 'self realization' or an outright fraud.

I would tend to agree with you, except that some of these instances of the rise of Bogus Gurus indicate a pivotal change in their lives... one day they were drudges trudging along in the daily grind, and the next they are out their claiming Self Realization and trolling for devotees. I was thinking maybe late onset psychosis brought on by that crappy vegetarian diet they all eat and not enough sleep, or maybe even just snapping during a Mid Life Crisis, supposing that the nervous breakdown that put them into a fetal position under the coffee table must have been Nirvana. It all seems too sudden to be just an ordinary con.

Another thing... if it was an ordinary con, they could probably be better at it. All the Big Media Gurus ARE studied cons -- they know how to do and say the right things. These pathological examples I've been running into are dysfunctional, obnoxious, off-putting, and probably sincere.

So, yes, in the literature and the traditions, Self Realization has often been used as synonomous to God Realization, and even in practice it may often go that way, but, still, all of the Yogic Traditions pass around stories about devotees and initiates having 'flipped out' and 'gone insane'. Of course, even in the general population people flip out and go crazy. But it just seems to happen more in the Spiritual Community.

Perhaps the Catholic Religious Orders have the right idea. It is okay to practice Mysticism, but first you have to agree to live behind a big high wall for the rest of your life where you won't hurt yourself and others, and where your crazy behavior won't embarrass the Church.

Some of these crazy self appointed Gurus I've met, they'll tell you what spiritual Organization they're from, and although you would think they would be grateful to them for their "Realization", it is more typical for them to complain about how wrong they are about everything. So much more reason for them to break away and start their own Organization. You think the Parent Organization should be allowed to just go out and grab these renegades and bring them back and fix the problem they caused. Hospitalize them, and bring them back to a healthy state of mind, and than go back and see what was wrong with a Realization that made them meglomaniacal and paranoid. Live and learn. Maybe with that experience behind them, they could really attain to the True God Realization the next time.

 

[spidergoat]

Stick with Catholocism, Volont. Bogus gurus are the ones that talk about God like it was something separate from us. The Hindu Godhead is not the same thing as your God-King. The basic myth of Hinduism is is that the world is God, playing hide-and-seek with himself, it's a devine play, where the one becomes many, and the many returns into one.