E-mail David Christopher Lane
directly at dlane@weber.ucsd.edu
Author: David Christopher Lane Publisher: The NEURAL SURFER Publication date: March 1998
E-mail David Christopher Lane
directly at dlane@weber.ucsd.edu
I
want to go back to the home base now.
TESSLER WRITES:
Part Ten:
.....
Lane's strange allegations of spiritual deception by "Kirpal and
crew" are worthy of closer examination. In the final chapter of "The
Radhasoami Tradition" he discounts Sant Mat itself, having used Kirpal
Singh as his primary vehicle to lead us to his conclusion that its all just
ego and politics in the end.
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DAVID LANE REPLIES:
Actually, I don't say "its all just ego and politics in the end." I
say, rather, that I have discovered a remarkable humanness in guru
politics--some of it virtuous, most of it not.
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TESSLER WRITES:
In this new effort, while again using Kirpal
Singh as his critical focus, he goes even further in discrediting the Sant
Mat of Soami Ji, Baba Sawan Singh, and his own guru, Charan Singh of Beas.
Lane, a longtime follower of Charan Singh, says, "You don't need a guru
after all in order to have advanced spiritual experiences, all you need is
a brain."
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DAVID LANE REPLIES:
Are these direct quotes from my writings or summations?
I say this because although I quite clearly state that neurology is
central to inner visions, I don't deny that certain gurus may act as
"catalysts" in helping prompt such neural displays.
Now can one have an inner experience without a guru?
Yep. People have them all the time: from NDE's to OBE's.
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TESSLER WRITES:
In place of the spiritual teaching of Soami Ji, Lane elevates the
unique teachings of Baba Faqir Chand, Lane's early mentor.
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DAVID LANE REPLIES:
I don't think it is in place of Soamiji, as much as it is in place
of inflationary or hyped thinking. As for Faqir Chand being my
"early" mentor, there is no doubt that his frank autobiographical
admissions have certainly influenced my own train of thought.
The larger issue, of course, is that I think common sense and not
necessarily "super" sense is what is dictating the politics of inner
experiences.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
TESSLER WRITES:
After all, was
it not Faqir Chand who stated that it didn't matter who or even what you
worshipped, living or dead. "I say that wherever or in whomsoever you have
faith think that He is a Perfect Man and Omnipresent and your purpose shall
be served."111 [The Unknowing Sage: The Life and Work of Baba Faqir Chand.
editor David Christoper Lane, Mt. San Antonio College Press, 1993,
p.76.]
This fundamentally contradicts basic Sant Mat philosophy which teaches
the necessity of a Sant Sat Guru, a living perfect Master, if one is to
attain final spiritual liberation.
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DAVID LANE REPLIES:
Yes, Faqir certainly does "contra dict" (contrasting version)
orthodox Sant Mat. But then again so does Dawkins, Gould, Wilson,
Nietszche, Churchland (Paul and Patricia), Da Free John, and a host
of other thinkers.
The more important point, though, is which view is correct or
evidential.
As for that most loaded of all terms "living perfect master", I
would suggest a close reading of another series on this Neural
Surfer website, THE GURU HAS NO TURBAN: TOWARD A NEW UNDERSTANDING
OF "PERFECT" Masters, wherein I argue that much of Sant Mat rhetoric
(like "perfect") is more or less gibberish (in the precise sense of
the term: an inability to clearly "demonstrate" what it claims).
Now concerning "final spiritual liberation," it appears to me a
theological issue and one akin to arguing about how many angels can
manifest at the head of a pin..... It all depends on what one a
priori believes or is attached to.
Or, do the Sant Mat Masters welcome debating clubs on these
questions in Sach Khand and above for non-following yogis?
--------------------------------------------------------------
TESSLER writes:
Indeed, Lane's charges against "Kirpal
and crew" closely echoes statements made by Faqir Chand on other Sant Mat
gurus:
"I wonder when I read the lives of these Saints and mahatmas and doubt
whether these mahatmas did any justice to their ignorant disciples. They
did not speak the total Truth as they knew it..." 112 [ Ibid. p. 74-75]
What is this truth as Faqir saw it:
"It is your own faith, your own desire that helps you."113 [Ibid. p. 91]
"O man, your real helper is your own Self and your own Faith, but you
are badly mistaken and believe that somebody from without comes to help
you.... This entire game is that of your impressions and suggestions which
are ingrained upon your mind through your eyes and ears and of your Faith
and Belief."114 [Ibid. p. 64]
Perhaps this is merely a clash of competing Radhasoami theologies.
Yet, Faqir Chand alone is not the sole source of Lane's views. Lane has
been a follower of the late Charan Singh for over twenty years, a teacher
of a more orthodox form of Sant Mat than Faqir Chand's. However, Charan
Singh made it a point from the very beginning of his ministry to
periodically indicate his own lack of spiritual realization.
"I do not make any claims whatsoever to spiritual attainments" was
Charan Singh's frank confession to the sangat at the time of his ascension
to the guruship.115 [Heaven on Earth. Daryai Lal Kapur, RS Satsang Beas,
1986, p. 307. As late in his ministry as 1978, Charan Singh confessed to a
group of westerners that he still battled with sleep and meditation.
Spiritual Heritage. p. 120-123]
If Lane has lost sight of certain of the foundations of Sant Mat
teachings, it may be in part due to the lack of emphasis on these points by
his own spiritual mentors.
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DAVID LANE REPLIES:
No, it is not that I have "lost sight of certain" foundations, but
rather that when I looked at those very same foundations with a
critical and inspecting mind I found that they did not hold up the
theological pretenses they claimed.
I "tested" the unique claims and found them to be anything but
unique.
I discovered a much more common denominator to meditation
experiences, a much more common form of logic:
Neuro-Logic.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
TESSLER writes:
Kirpal Singh strongly affirmed the inherent ability of every
individual to have spiritual experiences. However, in contrast to Faqir
Chand, Kirpal Singh placed a great and vocal emphasis on the necessity of a
competent spiritual Master in catalyzing and to some extent mediating the
inner spiritual progress of the disciple. In doing so, Kirpal Singh was
echoing basic Sant Mat teachings which asserts that the Master is capable
of granting spiritual vision whenever and to whomever he chooses.
Lane, on the other hand, must reconcile his own involvement with
Radhasoami with his academic career as a social scientist.
-------------------------------------------------
DAVID LANE REPLIES:
Nope, it is not that I "must" reconcile my involvement with R.S. and
academia.
It is much more simple: I realized that anybody, given the right
circumstances, could induce those "spiritual" experiences to a large
majority of people even if they didn't have a turban, a third eye
patch, or the claim of "mastership."
This is somewhat akin to "fire walking" which many people believed
could only be accomplished when one had "mastered" the mind or
followed someone who was "competent" to teach the esoteric practice.
As any good skeptic knows (read Skeptic Magazine or Skeptical
Inquirer, for instance, on episodes concerning fire walking),
almost anybody can fire walk.
It doesn't take a "Tony Robbins" to fire walk.
It doesn't take "mastery of the mind" to fire walk.
Why?
Simple physics explains the phenomena, so that any joe smoe off the
street can do it.
Thus, following my analogy here:
It doesn't take a "Kirpal Singh" to invoke inner visions.
It doesn't take initiation into Sant Mat to see lights and sounds.
It takes a brain and a technique and perhaps some coaching.
That's all.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
TESSLER writes:
Blending Faqir
Chand's seeker-rather-than-guru based theology with a little
neurophysiology, would seem to be the shoe that fits.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DAVID LANE REPLIES:
Forget whether shoes fit or not.
The fact remains that I have done the experiment repeatedly and
hundreds have seen light and sound..... and Lane is no guru.
What was causing it?
That's the issue.
I have an answer:
Neuro-logic..... That is, the brain's amazing ability to produce
inner lights and sounds.
Gurus take credit for that which is already inherent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TESSLER WRITES:
The Sat Guru's spiritual perfection, and his spiritual role in relation to his disciples
are discounted by Lane in favor of neurochemistry, auto-suggestion, and a
good technique.
As quoted above, Lane writes,
"..... unsuspecting seekers (who number in the thousands) were taught
to believe that it was the guru himself, not the disciple, who was
orchestrating the elevation of the soul into higher regions. But Kirpal
and crew were not being completely forthcoming about the mechanism which
governs access to such amazing sights and sounds."
Later he writes, "The 'Kirpal Statistic' is exactly that: the
probable outcome that the majority of meditators, provided the necessary
instructions in Shabd or Nad yoga practice, will see and hear something."
In these quotes Lane is saying that technique is everything, the
Guru's role perhaps a dated cultural anachronism used to attract
"unsuspecting seekers." However, the spiritual literature of Sant Mat is
heavily biased towards a Guru centered teaching. Kirpal Singh tells the
story of Emperor Janak, the father of Sita of the Ramayana) to illustrate
the power of a truly competent Guru. "Even in the time of Emperor Janak
who was prepared to pay a big fee for the theoretical knowledge of this
Science, only one, Yagyavalkya, out of all the Rishis, Yogis and Munis in
India, was able to do so and won the prize. Yagyavalkya however had the
moral courage to admit, 'Gargi, I know the theory only but have no personal
experience of it.' On a second occasion, Emperor Janak proclaimed that he
wanted a practical experience of this Science on a certain date, and that
in a very short time too, not exceeding the time taken to straddle a horse
and put each foot in its stirrup. Great Yogis and Rishis throughout the
length and breadth of India were invited, but at the appointed time only
one person stepped forward to accept the challenge. This was a hunchback
named Ashtavakra, who had eight humps in his body. The audience, taking
him for a maniac, laughed aloud at his appearance. Ashtavakra said, 'How
can you expect to get a spiritual experience from these cobblers you have
collected, who have eyes only for the skin of the body but cannot see
within?' The experience was duly given the Emperor within the alloted
time. The point to consider is that at the time when spirituality was
thriving, only one person came forward to accept the challenge. In these
times then when materialism is on the increase, we do not find competent
Masters growing like mushrooms."116 [Man Know Thyself. Kirpal Singh,
Sawan Kirpal Publications, 1983, (first published 1954), pp. 22 -23]
-----------------------------------------------------------------
DAVID LANE REPLIES:
Nice story, but it doesn't contradict the results of my experiments.
My point, lest we forget, is a simple one:
Almost anybody, given the right circumstances, can help others
"induce" inner experiences of light and sound.
I did it repeatedly, so have scores of other gurus (both in and out
of Sant Mat circles).
I didn't "transmit" anything.
But I did serve as a catalyst for eliciting that which was already
potentially held in reserve within that grand neural symphony we
call the brain.....
The gurus take undue credit, I believe, for that which is already
self generated.
---------------------------------------------------------------
TESSLER WRITES:
The following story is told of Tulsi Saheb, guru of Soami Ji Maharaj:
"Once Tulsi Sahib, in the company of Swami Ji, went to a fair. While
the crowd was dispersing, they stood on one side of the road and Tulsi
Sahib, in a moment full of compassion and grace, said to Swami Ji that
whoever came and bowed in respect, his or her soul would at once be taken
into subtle spiritual regions. Although Tulsi Sahib was ready to grant
this boon, there was hardly anyone to receive it.
"Out of thousands of people going from the fair and passing that way,
only one person, a prostitute, cared to stop and pay her respects to the
Saint. Tulsi Sahib asked Swami Ji to place his hand on her head. At this
Swami Ji remarked that whereas the boon was being given by the former, the
hand of the latter was being used to carry it out.... In short, by the
blessings and grace of the two Saints the woman's inner eye was immediately
opened, she had celestial visions and her soul ascended to subtle
transcendent planes."117 [Tulsi Sahib: Saint of Hathras. RS Satsang Beas,
1978, p. 7]
These various stories are meant to indicate the importance Sant Mat
places on the guru. There is a large body of literature published by
Kirpal Singh initiates over the years, indicating that suggestion, faith,
and technique may not be at all adequate to explain the process through
which inner experience occurs.118 I have met many people who have known and
tried the technique and had no inner experience prior to their initiation,
yet after initiation they did have definite inner experiences. [118 - See
the Ocean of Grace Divine collection of dozens of accounts. Also, The
Celestial Music by L. Gurney Parrott, Divine Darshan by Sharan Malhotra,
The Harvest is Rich by Dr. George Arnsby Jones, dozens of individual
accounts in Sat Sandesh magazine, as well as articles and accounts
published as pamphlets, or in other books. A number of fascinating
accounts are found in Love, Unity, and Peace, a commemorative volume
published for the centenary of Sant Kirpal Singh's birth.]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
DAVID LANE REPLIES:
Yes, remember not all of my students saw light and sound.
But, more importantly, nor do ALL of Kirpal's initiates.
I have talked with dozens of Kirpal initiates who NEVER saw light
and sound during the time of initiation, even when Kirpal took them
to another room for a private sitting.
Just one week ago I had dinner with Robert Pirsic, an Austrian
businessman and an initiate of Kirpal Singh, who told me point blank
that he NEVER saw any inner light and NEVER heard any inner sound.
All of this despite the fact that Kirpal Singh took him aside
personally and gave him a one on one meditation sitting.
My point again is obvious:
The variablity of inner experiences and inner sounds can be
dependent upon a number of factors, not the least of which are:
1. The brain
and/or
2. The catalyst
I don't doubt for a second that certain gurus work better than
others in "inducing" cerebral fireworks, just as I don't doubt that
certain "prostitutes" work better than others in "inducing"
orgasmic discharges.
I know the analogy may at first glance seem crude but I don't think
it is.....
Orgasms--no matter how beautiful the lover--is something
self-generated.
The lover merely "excites" an already pre-existing program.
I would say the same with "gurus" and inner experiences.
They merely "incite" an already pre-existing program.
Taking credit for another's orgasm is akin to taking credit for
another's inner experience.
To be sure, some gurus may serve better in eliciting a mystical
response, just as some lovers may be better in eliciting an orgasmic
response.
But let us not forget the underlying point:
the orgasm and the vision arise within one's OWN self.
------------------------------------------------------------------
TESSLER writes:
Another member of "Kirpal's crew", Soami Ji Maharaj, father of the
modern lineage, argues forcefully against Lane's and Faqir's view :
"Nothing can be achieved without the help of the living Sat Guru."119
[Sar Bachan. RS Satsang Beas, 1971, p. 92]
"Karma (action, rites and ceremonies); Upasana (spiritual practices);
Gyan (knowledge); and Vigyan (knowledge in the esoteric sense) are the four
stages; and none can be attained without the help of a Sat Guru."120 [
Ibid. p. 74]
"How can the blind lead the blind? Hence the insistence upon seeking
a Sat Guru. So long as He is not found, the Inner Secret of the Path
cannot be known. Sat Guru is He who is enraptured in the Shabd within,
reveals the Inner Secret, and shows the way to the soul's Real Home through
Shabd."121 [Ibid. p. 125]
The Inner Secret to which Soami Ji refers is not the technique of
meditation itself, but the esoteric experience achieved by its practice
under the auspices of a Sat Guru.
Lane writes, "Kirpal's disciples generally did not question his
grandiose claims, since many of them did indeed see and hear something
during their meditation. What they, of course, did not fully appreciate
was that almost anybody could have induced them to have inner experiences."
These comments are oddly self-cancelling. The fact that Kirpal
Singh COULD deliver; COULD offer a practical demonstration of the
teachings, COULD help his disciples progress on the way, is taken as a
negative rather then a positive. Instead of using spiritual experience
as a testing agent to affirm the that one has found a competent Master,
Lane is using Kirpal Singh's ability to give anyone a spiritual experience
as a criticism.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
DAVID LANE REPLIES:
No, if you re=-read THE KIRPAL STATISTIC again, you will notice that
I didn't deny that certain gurus (like Kirpal) could be serve as
good catalysts, but I argued that they take UNDUE credit for it.
Frankly, I have been extraordinarily successful in getting students
at various levels (from high school to graduate school) to have
"inner" experiences.
Does it then follow--given the logic of your argument--that I have
spiritual competency?
Nope.
It merely points to a much simpler explanation (pull out that
Occam's Razor and shave baby):
We already have such potential within ourselves.
The guru proffers the technique and takes UNDUE credit.
I gave the technique and it works.
Now remember, even Kirpal Singh had "failures"--people who saw and
heard nothing....
Why?
I have a really good hunch:
His "transmission" has nothing to do with it.
The disciple's lack of emission is the point......
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TESSLER writes:
According to Lane, this binds his disciples in ignorance
rather than gnosis (knowledge based on direct experience). This carries us
into the heart of the subtle changes in understanding of the Sant Mat
teachings that prevail when spiritual experience takes a back seat to blind
faith or faithlessness. Somehow Lane shows himself to be in the
interesting bind of being torn between both.
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DAVID LANE REPLIES:
Who is making "spirtual experiences" take a back seat?
I am doing the opposite.
I am saying that such experiences occur because of the front
seats.... that is, the frontal lobes, the visual cortex, the already
pre-existing potential for such visions within every human being.
I am opening the Pandora' Box to inner experiences and saying,
"Yes, we can indeed have them, but let us not get confused on who or
what is causing them to happen."
We are doing it to ourselves but we give the credit to the catalyst.
Kinda of like giving credit for "taste" to the cook and not our
tongues, kind of like giving credit for "sight" to the sunset and
not our eyes, kind of like giving credit for "hearing" to the band
and not to our ears.....
Kinda of like CON-FUSING our own Beings with the alleged
"tranmissions" of others.....
We are the engine and we think the combustion is caused by somebody
else.....
Nope: we do it to ourselves.
That's my point.
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TESSLER writes:
What Lane also fails to point out is that there are lower lights
associated with all the chakras, but without a Guru, according to Sant
Mat, one cannot go further to experience higher lights and to rise above
body-consciousness to travel into higher spiritual regions. Does David
Lane, who claims that by his suggestion his college students have
experiences of light, also find that his students rise above
body-consciousness and eventually experience self-knowledge and
God-realization?
DAVID LANE REPLIES:
Lower lights to whom? Thakar's group? Ajaib's group? Charan's group?
Kirpal's group? Gary Olsen's group? Eckankar's group? Michael
Turner's group? Or Lane's group?
Remember, at this stage of the game we are not really talking about
"inner" experiences as such.
We are, rather, talking about "REPORTS" of inner experiences.
I would imagine that Thakar's group thinks that their "inner"
experiences are real and those of a rival group (hmm, Ching Hai?)
are not.
I remember that you, Neil, once felt that Darshan Singh was not the
genuine successor to your guru, Kirpal Singh. You once followed,
albeit briefly, Ajaib Singh.
You later changed your mind.
Arran Stephens once tried to convince me that Ajaib Singh was
genuine because he had an "inner" experience which convinced him it
was so (oh the joys of Bhanwar Gupha visions).
But if I talked with Arran today, he dis-counts Ajaib.
If I talked with Thakar people they discount Darshan.
And if I read your prose, you discount current Beas' lineage.
Who is right in this guru slug-fest?
Well, it all seems so very very human.
And, that is why each and every rival guru camp will claim that
their visions are "higher" and the others "lower."
This whole discussion has got nothing to do with inner visions, per
se, but REPORTS.....
And at this stage, I demonstrated that I can get as many "reports"
as the next guru.
What you want to reconcile is a Theological Dispute, by attempting
to "inflate" the reports to ontological missives about the true
nature of mysticism.
I, on the other hand, realize that this Theological Dispute is not
much more than a human dispute about whose guru is bigger or
badder...
And on that score, I find myself once again seeing the silliness
of guru jockeying.
To quote Nietszche, "Human, All Too Human."
-----------------------------------------------------------
TESSLER writes:
Baba Sawan Singh writes, "If you have placed your destiny in the hands
of the guru, he will and must take care of you, until the day of your
complete and perfect deliverance."122 [Spiritual Gems. RS Satsang Beas,
1965, letter 207]
Now, in the light of Lane's paper the question must be asked: Are
these not grandiose claims of spiritual liberation through the guru? Is
Baba Sawan Singh being completely forthcoming about the mechanism by which
this process of perfect deliverance occurs?
If one wants to find "grandiose" claims in Sant Mat one need look no
further then the quotes of Soami Ji and Baba Sawan Singh above or these of
Soami Ji and Baba Jaimal Singh below:
"When He has made your eyes fit to behold Him and your heart fit for
Him to reside therein, he will manifest Himself."123 [Sar Bachan. Ibid. p.
85]
"Satguru is all in all. If he likes, he can burn to ashes billions of
sins by only one glance."124 [Spiritual Letters. Baba Jaimal Singh,
(letter 24). RS Satsang Beas, 1967.]
"The Sat Guru can take a disciple at once to the region to which he
has initiated him."125 [Ibid. p. 40]
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DAVID LANE REPLIES:
I quite agree, Neil.
These gurus are indeed making grandiose claims and, I believe,
taking undue credit (implicitly or explicitly) for that which is
already the innate potential of human beings anyway.
A lover does indeed help one's orgasm, but it is YOUR orgasm all the
same.
A guru does indeed help one induce inner experiences (even if the
guru is a scum bag), but it is YOUR experience all the same.
Don't get me wrong: I prefer "good-looking" gurus to scum bag ones
(give me Darshan Singh 100 times over Thakar Singh, for example),
but even an ugly prostitute can get a client off given the right
circumstances.
Or, more to my line of argument:
Even a surfer dude can get students to see inner lights and sounds.
The important issue here is not to take supernatural credit for that
which is "natural."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
TESSLER writes:
One further aspect of Lane's paper is particularly disturbing. Lane
repeatedly speaks of Kirpal Singh's assertions as if they had been
proclamations in the first person. Lane writes, "Kirpal Singh argued that
such experiences constituted proof of his competency in guiding seekers on
the shabd yoga path," and "Gurus like Kirpal Singh who insist on taking
credit for their disciples wondrous visions...," and "..he claimed to be
the responsible agent." Here, Lane has indulged in a pernicious
misrepresentation of Kirpal Singh, that is a rugged deception and ragged
scholarship. Kirpal Singh has said:
"It is the Divine Grace of my Master that whosoever had the good
fortune of seeking inner life has been blessed with the conscious contact
of the Holy Naam within....now it is up to you to develop it from day to
day by regular faithful, and accurate meditations."
(The Way of the Saints . Kirpal Singh p. 330)
"Perhaps I was a spendthrift. My Master Hazur Maharaj Ji saw that
this spendthrift would give away the wealth freely to all and sundry. And
that was what he wanted, for his treasury of Naam is inexhaustible and will
remain full forever. And that is why thousands are getting the benefit of
his munificence. It is not my wealth. That is why I say that I am only a
stalking horse. You must be under an illusion, so much so that you do not
believe me even when I tell you that. But it is a fact nevertheless." -
Kirpal Singh (Sat Sandesh. April 1993, p. 21 From a talk given on the eve
of his birthday, February 5, 1963.)
"Guru is not just a physical body, although we have respect for that
body in which that God Power is manifested. He is that Power--call it God
Power, Christ Power, Guru Power--and he is there to help you experience
that manifestation within yourself. (Sat Sandesh. November 1973, p. 28)
"They are conscious co-workers of the Divine Plan; they see that it
is the Father working through them, and they give out what they see. When
such a person meets you, it is the God in him that gives you contact with
it..." ( Sat Sandesh. January 1976, p. 6)
"'In the company of the Sant, you see the Lord within.' How? 'The
Master gave me the key to the inner door.' (scriptural quotation) He gives
his own attention. He never says, 'Do what I say and eventually you will
get something.' The True Master's words are very clear on this subject.
'As long as I see not with my own eyes, I cannot believe the guru's words.'
The so-called master usually tells the seeker, 'Follow my instructions and
we will see what happens - you are in my hands and even after death will
come to me.' But he never shows anything so what is the proof of his words?
Something practical must be received by the seeker. 'A bird in the hand
is better than two in the bush.'" (Ibid. p. 22)
Disciple describing an experience at home one evening:
..."but your voice was so clear, calling, that the whole room was
like thunder.
Kirpal Singh: 'I tell you now. As I explained many times, the son of man
is not the Master; the son of man is the human pole at which God as the
Master works. And it is that God Power that goes around and awakens all
those who are initiated. He even appears to those who have some
background, although they do not know who is who....This is God Power.'"
(Sat Sandesh. May 1976, p. 9)
"What is the Master? He is not the manbody. It is the Power working
through Him--THAT gives the boost." (Heart to Heart Talks. Vol. one. p.
2)
"That is His Grace--if He leaves me, I am nothing. I am Mr. Zero. I don't
do anything. That is the safest way." (Heart to Heart talks.. Vol. 2.
p.120)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
DAVID LANE REPLIES:
Nice try here, Neil, but no cigar.
Why not cite this quote and see its far reaching implications:
An incident retold in the book, Heart to Heart Talks, Volume
II, reveals Kirpal Singh's position with regard to the Dera
and its successors:
"It so happened here in India that a man was suffering
greatly
on account of cancer.
He could not sleep, even for a moment.
He was fortunately, or unfortunately, related to me, Gurdial
Singh.
So Baba Charan Singh went over there.
The sick man asked, "Will you kindly help me?"
Charan Singh answered, "Well, I can't do anything."
As Gurdial Singh was related to me--my brother's
daughter was married to his son--she dragged me there.
They wanted me to put my hand on him.
He said, "Will you help me?"
I told him,
"Baba Charan Singh has been with you.
Why did you not request him?"
I did request him but he said, "I can't do anything."
So I was forced to put my hand on him, you see, and
all trouble was relieved."
[Heart to Heart Talks, Volume II (Delhi: Ruhani
Satsang, 1976), page 80.
Further on in the same book, Kirpal Singh explains the
difference between his mission and the Beas successors
after Sawan Singh:
The other day I gave initiation to six hundred and fifty
three people.
All saw Light--about two hundred saw the Master's Form.
The teachings at Beas are the same, but the words given
at initiation are not charged [his emphasis]. That
is the difference [my emphasis].
[Ibid., pages 157-158.]
Sorry, Neil, but Kirpal Singh is indeed making "exclusive" claims
about himself. Yes, God may be doing it, but geez God picked "me"
(Kirpal) as his channel.
No matter how you wish to disguise it (and you can replace Kirpal
Singh here with Sawan Singh, if that makes you feel more
comfortable), the gurus are indeed "taking" credit for their
"unique" calling, for their "unique" mastership......
Calling it God's Grace, but then saying "the other guy is not
competent" is making exclusive claims about "where" God's grace is
being channeled.
It is another form of self-promotion, lest we forget.
Yep, Kirpal did take undue credit.
That's my point.
I also don't think that he "transmitted" healing power in the above
story....
I think the healing depended upon the receiver's own faith and own
belief and own hope.....
Healers too take way to much credit for that which the body itself
has potential to do.
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TESSLER writes:
Just take
Over and above Lane's allegations of deception, is this the complete
explanation of the experiences of those initiated by Kirpal Singh? Lane
mentions in his article that Lane gives meditation sittings to his students
and prompts them to expect some kind of experience and lo and behold many
of them do. Are the meditation sitting given by David Lane or some
patently false guru likely to generate an equivalent level of experience as
that given by Kirpal Singh or one of his successors? How about experiences
after initiation? Naturally, these questions may be difficult to assess in
an objective and thorough way, but one thing is certain, in attempting to
address this issue,The Kirpal Statistic sheds more heat then light.
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DAVID LANE REPLIES:
Quite the opposite.
I have actually "tested" and "experimented" and found the exclusive
and unique claims of some Sant Mat gurus to be both unwarranted and
unproven.
Again, we have "opened" the pandora's box to inner experiences.
I wouldn't be the least surprised that a fuller understanding of
neurology will allow us in the future to induce such
"transcendental" visions by designer drugs or by designer
techniques.... And without all the superstructural rhetoric of
guru movements....
As I said in the "Kirpal Statistic" anybody, anywhere, anytime can
potentially have such experiences.....
Why?
The brain, or for a more nebulous term, "the SElf."
As for "heat", yep I sure have generated some of that....
Hopefully, enough so that our self-proclaimed God-men can provide us
with some better evidence than they have given us so far.
Pretty sad state of affairs when a surfer dude can replicate a guru
dude and provide more or less the same "mystical" voyages....
Oh, i know, surfers induce "lower" visions,
whereas guys with turbans induce "higher" visions.
But it is all "neural" surfing......
That's my point.
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TESSLER writes
Lane,
by criticizing and devaluing the need for a spiritual Master who gives
firsthand inner experience, (used also, by Lane, as a vehicle to criticize
Sant Kirpal Singh), has undercut the very position and teaching of his own
Master, Charan Singh, and Sant Mat itself, of which he has claimed to be a
follower. Let readers be aware of this before taking Lane's works as a
credible source for understanding and evaluating Sant Mat.
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DAVID LANE REPLIES:
Or, we can actually reverse this.
Before "believing" Sant Mat gurus and their exclusive claims, it is
always good to know that much of what they do can be replicated by
a surfer guy in southern california.
Which is another way of saying,
Sant Mat needs more critics and more scrutiny and less
blind adherence.
Or, less theology and more neurology.
Or, less absolute claims and humble testing.
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E-mail The Neural Surfer directly
at dlane@weber.ucsd.edu
I want to go back to the home base now.
