Chapter 5
Cheaters and Cheated
“Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhagavata Purana propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhagavatam, compiled by the great sage Vyasadeva [in his maturity], is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhagavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart.” (Srimad Bhagavat Purana Canto 1 Creation, Chapter 1 Questions by the Sages, Text 2)
Have I Got A Deal for YOU!
For those seeking a guru to endorse their spiritual laziness, bad habits, lusty desires, and unchecked anger, Adya from Cupertino has a great offer. For around $1500 you can attend a 5 day “Silent” seminar where he will affirm your own Godliness regardless of how rude, angry, greedy, lazy, violent or sleazy you may actually be. Most of that seminar will be spent not communicating with anyone, except Adya himself who makes an occasional cameo appearance so you can at least have something to tell your friends about!
“Has it ever occurred to you that you are seeking God with His eyes?” (Adyashanti)
Wow! I always knew I was pretty exceptional! I am soooo glad somebody finally recognized me for the extraordinary person that I really am. Yup… it’s all about YOU! You can be whatever way you want and we will all agree to label it Godly! Oh.. and anyone else can do it too so bring your friends. It’s all very easy. Sign up now before the next seminar fills up! Yes. We do accept credit cards.
Adya wants his cash paying patrons to believe that stepping out of your karma is as easy as stepping into his seminar and in this way he has reduced the Zen tradition down to a cheap parlor show. Invite your drunken uncle to the next satsanga too because Adya can enlighten him as well!
“The biggest barrier to awakening is the belief that it is something rare. (Adyashanti)
This is all part of the commercialized dumbing down marketing process necessary for Neo-Advaita to prosper. Suggesting that any guy on the street can master Zen after attending the $300 a day Adya show is as silly as the Christian concept that you can just hand Jesus your karma and everything will be fine! Both propositions reduce the process of enlightenment down to a Walmart Rollback Sale. “Yes Ma’am! One size fits all! Get yours today!” It is far more honest to recognize that once again, Krishna’s opinion on this particular subject isn’t as commercially profitable, but it does a far better job reflecting what we have historically observed as true.
“Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.” (Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Chapter 7 Knowledge of the Absolute, Text 3)
Sure. A whole lot of people can attend one of Adya’s seminars and then strut around with delusions of grandeur about how “Enlightened” they now are, but these types of religious fanatics can be found everywhere.
In this regard it has been observed many times that those who get caught up in the Neo-Advaita movement become more arrogant and proud then they were prior to being contaminated with this abhorrent philosophy. Some might say this is true of anyone who gets hooked into a religious believe system and there is certainly a lot of evidence to support that as well. But the very nature of the Advaita shuffle is such that one simply cannot penetrate it because all the normal channels of communication get thoroughly jettisoned. Those who take up the Neo-Advaita rap drop out of the conversation and become completely inapproachable.
The nature of bhakti is that it uproots the seed of the false ego which becomes transformed by the process of devotional service. When one becomes clear about how tiny, conditioned and dependent we really are for even the most basic survival needs, humility increases and one’s pride gives way to THAT profound TRUTH. By comparison Adya’s disciples take a whole lot for granted and remain extremely confused even though they might feel like exclusive members in the “Enlightenment” club. Vaishnavas are humbled by the fact that they actually begin to get in touch with their own serious foibles. When they see how incapable, fallen and hopelessly unqualified they are to serve anyone, they realize how rare it is to have the opportunity to serve the Supreme Lord!
koti-mukta-madhye ‘durlabha’ eka krsna-bhakta
“Even among millions of liberated persons even one devotee of Lord Krishna is rare.” (Caitanya-caritamrta 2.19.148 – SBV.1.153)
This is why thinking is discouraged by the purveyors of Neo-Advaita thought. They teach that if you use your intelligence, you wouldn’t realize the full scope of your own unchecked, untested, and unconfirmed, magnanimously virtuous concept of yourself. What’s the problem? Adya personally promises that you don’t have to change anything except perhaps your own misplaced sense of humility.
“You are pure consciousness, already free, awake, and liberated. Stand up and walk out of your dream. I am here to say that you can do this.” (Adyashanti)
When considered objectively one can realize that it’s actually much easier to fork over a big wad of cash to a professional shyster, who tells you there is nothing to concern yourself with and just “Be”, then it is to actually use your intelligence and realize: “If it sounds too good to be true… it probably isn’t!” A good con man puts on a great show. He will lure you in by arousing your greed, manipulate subtle psychological ploys, stroke your ego and get you to do what they want. It’s a lot harder to say something that endures and can impress great minds. That’s the difference between what Adya has to say and what Krishna said thousands of years ago. This is the whole purpose for putting together the “Wisdom of Wise” presentation which proves this very point.
Cash for Kudos
Organizing and hosting “Spiritual Retreats”, “Awakening Seminars” and “Meditation Intensives” etc. has become very profitable so in that sense Adyashanti is not alone when it comes to turning religion into a business. However those with even a little commons sense will immediately recognize that as soon as there is an exchange of money for spiritual instruction, the whole process runs the risk of becoming corrupt. This principal also applies to astrology and palm reading.
“Neither by (explaining) prodigies and omens, nor by skill in astrology and palmistry, nor by giving advice and by the exposition (of the sastras), let him ever seek to obtain alms.” (Manu Samhita Chapter 6, Text 50)
Some people are intrigued to know what’s in their future and they are willing to pay for that service when they believe someone can provide it. In that line of work it simply isn’t good business to tell your patron that within the next month your dog will die, your spouse will cheat on you and the IRS is going to call you in for an audit. No. Patrons pay because they want to hear good things that will make them feel better. Those who get caught up into the fashion of hearing from the Guru of the Month have the same attitude. They pay fees to hear things that will make them FEEL better, not to be reminded that: “As you sow, So shall you reap.” It is more profitable to say something cryptically cute like…
“Not ever could you have actually suffered for a reason that was true, only through an imagination, good, bad, indifferent. The intricacies of spiritual philosophy and theologies are just a thought within Emptiness.” (Adyashanti)
Well thar ya go! Now we can all forget about: The Ten Commandments; The Five Pillars of Islam, and the Ten Offenses to be avoided etc. because Adya said they are just… ‘Thoughts within emptiness.’ Books offer nothing to improve our existence and they just make us more miserable! Don’t worry about the seven deadly sins, (wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony). They are also just ‘Thoughts within emptiness!’ Really? Because Adya said so?
This of course also becomes his own rationalization for completely abandoning any of the “thoughts” that make up the core Buddhist tradition such as: The Four Nobel Truths, Eight fold path, The Three Realms and the Five Things to be Mindful of. No need for Adya to teach or study any of these philosophical points because they too are just empty thoughts. So that’s why he shamelessly makes a business out of lecturing to people who don’t realize that he is flagrantly violating the first of the Four Ways of the Bhodhisattva.
“1 “Giving” means nongreed. Nongreed means not to covet. Not to covet means not to curry favor. Even if you govern the Four Continents, you should always convey the correct teaching with nongreed. (Dogen Zenji)
“When you teach you should not wish to be paid or to receive offering…” (Thich Nhat Hanh – Opening the heart of the lotus. P9)
This is why Adyashanti portends to un-teach everything and in doing so clears the path so he can spew whatever reckless THOUGHTS that HE believes constitutes Zen. One really has to shut down all cognitive efforts to not see the lunacy of all this.
Even the atheists are struggling to settle on some type of moral codes, but not the Neo-Non-dualists! Nope. They got everyone beat and are FREE to do absolutely whatever they want guilt free! (Another really empty “headed” thought). That’s the very real reason why Adyashanti is so popular! Not because he is saying anything new, profound or even remotely intelligent. He is indiscriminately legitimizing the grossest form of unchecked greed. It makes one wonder how many of his disciples have also fallen for the Nigerian money transfer scam. (Hey Adya groupies… did you know there are several million dollars waiting for you if are willing to help some very rich political refugee from Nigeria transfer money to a US Bank!)
Those looking for something quick and easy are prime targets for being cheated. Those who have even a little sense of integrity will quickly realize that they don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars for a meaningful spiritual education. They know you get what you pay for and in this case the price isn’t in dollars, but a willingness to put out your cigarette, change your diet, stop hiding from your issues and start taking responsibility for what you do every day. Karma just doesn’t go away because Adya said it doesn’t exist. Krishna gave everyone intelligence for the very purpose of distinguishing between the smoke and mirrors from clever woo-woo orators like Adyashanti and the sound spiritual guidance given by Lord Krishna in Bhagavad-gita.
“Enlightenment is a destructive process. It has nothing to do with becoming better or being happier.” (Adyashanti)
“One who is not connected with the Supreme can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace? As a strong wind sweeps away a boat on the water, even one of the roaming senses on which the mind focuses can carry away a man’s intelligence.” (Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Chapter 2 Contents of the Gita Summarized, Text 66-6.7)
Lord Krishna spoke the 700 perfectly composed verses of the Bhagavad-gita to the Sun God Vivasvan approximately 120,000,000 years ago. It has been taught, memorized and carefully studied ever since then and will no doubt continue to be one of the most influential books on the face of the earth for many years to come. Five hundred years from now the only place Adyashanti’s name may be remembered is in a clinician’s mental health diagnosis guide.
“Sometimes, to mitigate distresses in this forest of the material world, the conditioned soul receives cheap blessings from atheists. He then loses all intelligence in their association. This is exactly like jumping in a shallow river. As a result one simply breaks his head. He is not able to mitigate his sufferings from the heat, and in both ways he suffers. The misguided conditioned soul also approaches so-called sadhus and svamis who preach against the principles of the Vedas. He does not receive benefit from them, either in the present or in the future.” (Srimad Bhagavat Purana Canto 5 The Creative Impetus, Chapter 14 The Material World as the Great Forest of Enjoyment, Text 4)
The Same Old Stuff…
Whether it be in the form of goddess worship, chakra tuning, aura healing, tantra yoga, crystals, candles, magnetic amelioration, esoteric astrology, harmonic convergence, psychic resonance, pyramid power or the plethora of various dumbed down commercialized forms of Neo-Advaita babble, they all perpetuate the myth that to be spiritual you have to paste on a smiley face and speak like a mother telling bedtime stories to her child. These potpourri faiths also teach that all paths lead to Rome and if you think you have the ONLY path, then you are a religious nut-job. (Excluding the Neo-Advaitas because they say there is no path and there is nobody to be on it.)
This is no doubt a reaction to the repugnant behavior of simplistic evangelical Christians and fanatically violent Moslems. It doesn’t take a PHD in philosophy to quickly understand the serious theological problems that gnaw away the credibility of these two largest faiths. These traditions have made an embarrassing mess out of religion primarily because they insist on teaching an exclusive paradigm. The Christians gather in their corner and insist: “Accept Jesus and the Bible or else..” while the Moslems stand in their corner and insist: “Accept Allah and the Koran or else!” The Vedas are extraordinary because they can accommodate everyone very nicely even the atheists and the Advaitists into their universal scheme of things. Every school has its place and is teaching an aspect of the divine, but all schools are not the same. Some serve a very simple audience like a local junior college while others provide very advanced studies in profound subjects like Ivy League schools such as Stanford, Yale or Harvard etc.
So until one has already made a careful study of what the inclusive Vedas have to offer, those who dismiss them would be a classic example of “Contempt prior to Investigation” . This concept was originally penned by an English philosopher over 100 years ago and if we look at the whole quote we discover that he is describing quite accurately the fate of those who sequester themselves behind the Non-dual shell game.
“There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance-that principle is contempt prior to investigation.” (Herbert Spenser April 27, 1820 – December 8, 1903)
Those rare souls who DO understand how vastly superior the content and integrity of the Srimad Bhagavata Purana is to everything else, have virtually no reason not to communicate this to others even if doing so may be misconstrued as offensive!
“Srila Sarasvati Thakura’s argot was hard not only for people to comprehend, but also for many to tolerate, as his modus operandi was bhidyte Hrdaya-granthis chidyant sarva samsayah, piercing the knot of material attachments in the heart and slashing all misgivings – and he continually employed pejoratives while berating the position of non-devotees and pseudo-devotees.” (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibava 1.317)
End Chapter 5: Exposing Adyashanti’s Ruse – Cheaters and the Cheated