Yoga - Life in Yogaville, Va

Author

Life in Yogaville, Va

dorwong2000@yahoo.com

2005-05-26, 5:54 pm

A conflicting division has existed for a long time in Yogaville and has
repeatedly expressed itself through personalities that choose to remain
there. Those who have sensed the unsettling truth of the dilemma have
either left the community or have retreated to relatively safe,
wholesome and autonomous areas away from the ashram grounds and are
reported to be "waiting in the wings."

Physical/mental/emotional/spiritual sickness, financial pressures,
decay and rifts within married and intimate relationships, confusion,
animosity, unyielding politics and malicious gossip. These are just
some of the observable symptoms of a pervasive negative pattern within
the Yogaville community which has prevented and continues to thwart a
feeling of fellowship, community-spirit or harmony.

Infesting Yogaville throughout, there exists unequivocally, an
intelligently-directed, life-force-consuming phenomenon which is given
license to and perpetuated by the egomaniacal and often
desperately-attached personal motives of individuals who have chosen,
albeit blindly, to allow this darkness into their lives.

Anything of the light is constantly repressed as the evil works through
those who are single-mindedly focussed upon their own desires/needs and
who are thus blinded to the truth of the expanding inimical situation
in their lives. They are unable to discern the signs and clues that lie
all around, recognition of which would surely help to heal the growing,
belligerent schism within them and the community.

True illumination is substituted for the resident 'guru', Swami
Satchidananda's (SS) often-tacit edict that the problem is due to each
person's karma and that everyone has to go through it.

Buddha said that he who perseveres in his sincere search for truth
would find it and it shall enlighten him.

It is true; the vast majorities of SS's spoken words have factual
substance and are unquestionably correct. However, whatever his words
may convey outwardly can be easily nullified and even reversed very
effectively with those who are helplessly and hopelessly surrendered to
"the Master."

Even though SS has said before that dependency upon the guru is not the
way, it is by his acceptance of the continuation of that very
submission that he has always maintained an implicit encouragement of
guru-worship (not God-worship) at Yogaville and so the unhealthy
subservience is endured.

Faith may be used as a power in itself which, like a vacuum, draws all
surrounding forces into itself, and thus endows the person with which
it is connected with the forces towards which it tends.

Religious leaders depend as much on the faith of their adherents as
their adherents depend on the initial inspiration, which they receive
from their leaders. Once this mutual process has started, it grows like
an avalanche.

The combined forces of those whose faith is directed towards a
religious leader make him a center of forces which go far beyond those
of his own person or separate individuality. It is for this reason that
we should not expect religious leaders taken out of their surroundings
to display the same super-individual forces, which centered upon them
before they were deprived of the contact of those who had faith in
them.

What we call miraculous is nothing but a short cut in the interaction
of natural forces. That is, a direct action from mind to mind, without
the usual roundabout way via the senses and material agents. Faith
merely acts as a conductor, which makes the short cut possible. Just as
electricity - which is potentially present everywhere - becomes
effective only in the presence of a conductor, so spiritual power
becomes effective only in the presence of faith, be it faith in a
divine power, or a human guru, or faith in an ideal or in one's own
inner reality.

The reference to faith in the previous paragraphs is equally applicable
to blind faith; the conductor is the same.

When I first visited Yogaville one year ago, I was astonished to note
that despair and deprivation seemed to be two of the common maladies
affecting the personalities of most, if not all, of SS's ardent
followers.

It is not difficult to see how the incessant pining and dependency of
so many upon one man could place a major drain on him. It would not be
unreasonable to infer that the circuit of faith discussed in this case
may have been a co-dependent one.

However, at this time it is sadly patent that SS has drawn back to
himself much more than his fair share to the extreme detriment of all
of his vulnerable dependents.

It is apparent that SS once must have had relatively pure intentions.
However, any teacher has a great responsibility and is so often forced
to deal with an abundance of temptations, even more so a spiritual
teacher. The lure of power over others with its ego-gratifying
attractions often seduces the most well-meaning of men and this fact
has been brought to light by many other 'masters/gurus' of our time.

It is my belief that what residual goodness is still left in SS has
been overpowered completely by his dark side, which is born of and
magnified by his attachment to worldly things, such as name, fame,
money and power as he now grows older, weaker, more hopelessly
possessed and more insincere and dangerous than ever before.

There are no true swamis or disciples in Yogaville as nobody is
dedicated to God or the Truth; those who are have left or have been
driven away by the hostility of those SS-adherents who wish to protect
him together with their own painful illusions. Instead, salvation from
personal suffering alone is sought and people prefer to place all of
their security and hope in SS.

The ongoing pattern by SS is a reflection of the caliber of the teacher
and lends itself, indeed it is quintessential, to the perpetuation and
strengthening of the conductor of faith which, in turn, ensures the
unimpeded continuation of his aspirations which have become more urgent
as he himself has grown increasingly more power-hungry.

There are many signs and events which together unquestionably support
the preceding observations. Following are a sample of these:

* Experiences have been reported whereby a choice is imposed upon
an individual by an inner vision. Once the person has chosen to
surrender to SS following their compulsion, he/she feels relieved - but
always temporarily. However, if such a commitment is not made, the same
person begins to feel threatened, afraid, depressed or worse.

* Grandiose and colorful visions are received by those who have
surrendered to the 'guru', especially in dreams, which always exult SS
as the solution.

Why SS and not God or the Light or Love or Truth?

What is it that can take over a person's life and guide their thoughts
and actions?

So many at Yogaville earnestly believe that by belligerently defending
their 'faith' and SS, they are standing up for the Truth. How few have
the courage and sincerity to look deeply within themselves.

Daily communion with God/Truth on any level would be evidenced by
progressive joy, a growing sense of purpose, ever-fresh inspiration and
increasing wonder. In such high spirits, unconditional love for all
becomes spontaneous and natural. The opposite is true at Yogaville as
the negative pattern asserts itself in all those who bow blindly to SS.
There are so many signs, but nobody wants to hear or see, ostensibly
because it may involve the pain of a complete revision of their belief
system and lives.

Those at Yogaville can make the choice both individually and as a
community to begin healing, but first they must identify and accept the
problem. This unfortunately means a painful change for the vast
majority. It necessitates an acknowledgement of personal error and a
loss of something, albeit false security had by many of those people
who have been drawn to and remain at the ashram.

I have been to well over one hundred ashrams and spiritual centers in
India, Europe, Canada and the USA, but never before have I beheld so
many painfully unhappy and troubled swamis and chelas following this
path in one place.

How many can really say "I work because I love God alone"? With this
attitude, however, work becomes play and is relatively effortless.
Actually it is spontaneous when devotion is developed but, in my
opinion, is one of the most difficult paths in reality because so many
of us want something for ourselves and that is precisely why we work;
whether it is for money, acclaim, friendship, love or spiritual
emancipation.

It has been repeatedly observed that SS passionately advocates karma
yoga as being "The Way" while tacitly denying that alternative paths
may be more appropriate for some seekers with differing tendencies.

It is apparent that this insistence of his over the years has harvested
much abundance for himself, like the procurement and maintenance of his
own kingly comforts, including: the building and upkeep of his vast
house with oversized satellite dish, delightfully perched high upon a
prime spot within Yogaville and overlooking the whole area of the
ashram grounds; the service of his numerous Cadillacs and a Rolls Royce
at the ashram garage; the providence of his private aircraft and the
allowance of his many vacations abroad to exotic countries (where he
often spends time with wealthy and influential people).

Bearing in mind the aforementioned expenses and considering also that
SS has a private bank account in his own name, it is not easy to
reconcile, for example, such actions as the auctioning of his artwork
(simple but "priceless" Sanskrit letters) for many hundreds of dollars
each in satsang so as to provide adequate funds to furnish the ashram
school with essentials like carpets etc.

We can take nothing through the funnel of spiritual deliverance with
us; no religion, book, guru, belief system. Dependency on anything must
be shed and one security alone should be nurtured - our trust in God.
We must find the courage to stand alone in truth, alone in the sense of
being free from material or spiritual attachments and desires. Yet
truly we are never alone, as God is always present, waiting patiently
at the door of our hearts in readiness that we may faithfully choose to
let Him into our conscious lives.

omjaram

2005-05-27, 8:55 am

Snip... wonderful description of the crap we all have to deal with in
life. I will save this post and use it as a sample of the level of
writing/descriptive power I aspire to!

> We must find the courage to stand alone in truth, alone in the
> sense of being free from material or spiritual attachments
> and desires. Yet truly we are never alone, as God is always
> present, waiting patiently at the door of our hearts
> in readiness that we may faithfully choose to let
> Him into our conscious lives.

Yes we must and it is obvious to me you have answered your own lament.

Namaste

calderhome@yahoo.com

2005-05-28, 5:52 pm

I have never been to Yogaville, but I knew Swami Satchidananda at
Ananda Ashram in Monroe, NY, around 1970-1971 and traveled with him in
India and Ceylon in late 1970. Satchidananda was a 3rd rate yogi and
liar. He taught celibacy yet forced himself sexually on his female
disciples and there were many public scandals, even when he was an old
man. His teaching was just passing on traditional Hinduism and he was
not "enlightened" or even very high.

Swami Chidananda, who also came from the Swami Shivananda Ashram in
India, was a 1st rate yogi and was VERY high. Satchidananda always
hated Chidananda because their master, Shivananda, always liked
Chidananda best and appointed Chidananda his successor while sending
Satchidananda to a dinky little ashram in Ceylon. When you saw the two
men together, it was like watching a brilliant spotlight (Chidananda)
sitting next to a night light (Satchidannanda).

http://www.sivanandadlshq.org/saints/chida.htm - Swami Chidananda

Christopher Calder
http://home.att.net/~meditation/
--------------------------------------
medit8@meditationsociety.com wrote:
> What a crock of lies and stupidity! Since he died, how can you still be
> referring to Swami Satchidananda (SS) as if he is still at the ashram
> in physical form? This entire post is a fabrication and displays how
> arrogant some people can be. Proclaiming how only "our trust in God" is
> all we can depend on, yet making up complete lies about a holy man and
> a holy group who have brought peace and wisdom to millions, only
> demonstrates how hypocritically people will ask others to depend them
> and on their view of things, which are actually designed for no other
> purpose than to pull themselves up by pulling down others. You have
> shown you know nothing about Yogaville and Swami Satchidananda, and are
> simply trying to pontificate so as to appear that you know something.
> This is an excellent example of egomania and I hope no one will buy
> into even remotly thinking you know anything you speak/write about.

medit8@meditationsociety.com

2005-05-30, 9:01 am

You sir are absolutly 100% wrong in what you present about Swami
Satchidananda and also about his relationship with Swami Chidananda.
There is a video they both made in which they share their memories of
their master Swami Sivananda, and in which they show their equality and
mutual respect and love for each other. They were brother monks and
couldn't have been closer. The video was recorded at Yogaville during a
visit by Swami Chidananda. To see what his organization, the Divine
Light Society, and he feel about Swami Satchidananda, check out this
from their site:
http://www.dlshq.org/saints/satchidananda.htm
There was a total of only one sexual accusation against him, which he
denied and which was simply one woman's word which was presented
without any evidence at all, and was never proven. Take that and
measure it against his 50 + years of teaching and his contacts with
thousands of people who recognized him as one of the holiest people of
our time, and the wisdom shared in his books, tapes, videos and the
Integral Yoga Organization itself which continue to bring Truth, Love
and Consciousness to people all over the world, and measure it against
your little ego trip that is demonstrated by your trying to gain
something by putting him down, and it is clear what is really going on.
You lie to achieve some gain in name and fame. He gave selflessly and
served thousands some of the purest consciousness evolving wisom ever
known. The truth will of course win out and you have your own agenda,
and he had his. It is clear whose is righteous and whose is self
serving.

medit8@meditationsociety.com

2005-05-30, 9:01 am

So your daughter and a Swami fell in love. Get over it. And why would
this have any bearing about Yogaville itself, which has spread yoga and
meditation knowledge to thousands of people without any cult-like
actions ever, and has been a forerunner of all that we could hope for
in any educational and spiritual community? They simply share wisdom
from all traditions and religions in a way that points to mental,
physical, emotional and spiritual good health. And you do what? Try to
tear them down because you don't like a choice your daughter made. Look
to your own faults before pointing a finger at one of the most positive
communities anywhere.

calderhome@yahoo.com

2005-05-30, 9:01 am

At Ananda Ashram, whenever Satchidananda talked about Chidananda it was
just XXXXX, XXXXX, XXXXX. Sure, he may have put on a show for the
cameras at a public meeting, but that was his false face. Swami
Satchidananda was a FALSE FACE! Chidananda was a big man and had
nothing against Satchidananda. The trouble was all in Stachidananda's
confused and jealous mind.

There were many accusations against Satchidananda, in New York in the
early 1970s and even near the end of his life at Yogaville. You are
either ignorant of events or just in a state of denial. Satchidananda
had an affair with the wife of one of his main disciples, I forget
their names it was so long ago. His entire organization rebelled
against him at the time. Satchidananda was a nut sexually. He once
bragged to me that he could sleep with two young girls at the same time
and still resist the temptation to have sex with them. India is not a
healthy society when it comes to sex. Indian gurus become
schizophrenic, saying one thing and practicing the opposite. They
become dirty old men. Swami Muktananda was the same way, as were most
of the other Indian gurus I met. They talk about celibacy and then
force themselves on their female disciples. Muktananda had a
particular love for young teenage girls. One Indian guru I knew gave a
girl friend of mine a blouse and then walked in on her as she was
putting it on. It was just a cheap trip to see her naked.

I don't gain anything from telling the truth other than the enjoyment
of telling it. Some people love to tell lies. Many gurus love to lie
and make big bucks lying. I am not a guru, have no profit motive, and
am just an ordinary guy who values the truth. That is really all there
is to it.

Christopher Calder