Democrats or Republicans; Labor or Tories:
much of a muchness. Isn't the world waiting for something TOTALLY different?
YES, I VOTE FOR YOU AS MY
NEW SPIRITUAL TEACHER
NO, I AM NOT GOING TO VOTE FOR YOU
I DON'T KNOW YET
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NEW
AGE SPIRITUALITY:
THE ANSWER TO OUR ANGUISH?
OUR
"CRUSADE"
AGAINST "BUSINESS SPIRITUALITY"
Obviously, New Age is a thing of the past. The younger
generations may have never heard of it. As so often the paradigm's of this movement has
shifted from the early initiators (e.g. M.Ferguson), to small experimental groups, and
finally to society as a whole. The last category that is still involving itself in it
is.....big business. They (still) use it to upgrade effectiveness of the company with the
help of "business spirituality". It is one of the most ugly phenomena we have
seen recently. In order to save spirituality from these kind of evils in the future I
wrote a summary including some of the key aspects of the New Age movement. |
Jesus had two enemies: the
phariseans and
the traders in the temple
It sounded so promising. After 2000 years of
patriarchal oppression there was a great need for an optimistic approach to life. So an
alternative spiritual subculture started flowering including practices such as
meditation, channeling, healing, psychic experience,
holistic health, simple living, and environmentalism; or belief in phenomena such as
reincarnation. To become your (Divine) Self - something that had been forbidden for such a
long time - became the core of the moment. Soon the interest cristallized in concepts like
"everything is energy" (which is not true) and "you can create everything
through thinking" (not true either), "harmony" as the underlying force of
existence, and the like.While in the beginning these values were seriously tried and put
into practice - Zen, Vedanta - very soon less serious derivatives started to pop up:
crystal healing, masters from the Himalaya, astral projection, wishful thinking,
UFO's.....To Be your Self was considered an extension of the common self, rather than
being the transcendence of the latter. The result: a pseudo-spiritual movement where
everything originated from the common mind, focussing itself on satisfying its (egoistic)
desires e.g. "making your dream come true". |
Free spirituality from
ignorance, egoism and business
Two paradoxical consequences. On the one hand escape
from it all through practice of meditation and "realization", on the other an
increasing incorporation of New Age "values" into the mainstream of society. The
outcome of the former becomes more clear nowadays. Under the influence of Asian
philosophies the Divine ("Oneness", "That", "God") is put
against the world. The latter is considered transient and therefore illusory and
irrelevant. All efforts are focussed on "reaching the Other Shore" assuming that
"once arrived" you will be permanently "liberated" from "earthly
pollution", and the "shit" of your small self e.g. the personality. Not
surprisingly thus, that everything is centered upon "arriving" as the most badly
wanted goal in life. For most it has become an obsession*. To such an extent, that if not
genuinely achieved you just prentend. After the ritualistic pseudo (mind) approaches
(self-suggestion), fake guru's are the second stage of the current overall spiritual
degeneration. They have added to the confusion instead of offering liberation. It started
with concepts. Realizing Oneness with subsequent identification with it is called
"non-dualism". Wrong! Because identification with Oneness is excluding the
world, it should be called "dualism", like they say: my True Self here and my
miserable common self there. While those who accept, that after Realization the
personality is coming back - cause of a new stage in life in which the latter has to
become integrated into the former in order to finally achieve true Oneness (of the Self,
the self and the world) - are the real non-dualists..... *
I have heard that some people even tried the "strangulation" (sex) technique as
a last desperate attempt to become Enlightened. However, only those who died reached their
goal..... |
New Age guru's, most of them inspired by Eastern
philosophy, constitute the spiritual inspirational source of the movement. Their first
false assumption is - aware or not aware - that they embody ultimate authority. They might
have had an Experience of Oneness or the Light. Very (Too) quickly, they conclude that
they have realized the Ultimate Truth, though. Hence, in short notice many
presenting themselves as "teachers", "masters" and "guru's".
As you know from my writings, Enlightenment - to whatever degree - isn't the Ultimate
Realisation. There is "something" beyond: Emptiness beyond Emptiness. It is the
Non-Realm of the Cosmic Vacuum, also called Cosmic Womb or "Mother". Her
Absolute Nothingness cannot be attained, realized or possessed. No human authority can be
built on it. It means, that their whole self-acclaimed role is a fraud. It becomes
immediately clear, when you observe their teaching practises. While claiming
"universal compassion", these masters cultivate a very exclusive approach. They
preach before an exclusive group of "devotees", only. Based on the principle:
"you are special, thus I am too" (or vice-versa). Just sharing your wisdom may
seem selfless, because you aren't clinging to "results". In many cases it is
just an excuse not to involve yourself in the well-being of the devotees. This is
illustrated by the fact, that many teachers aren't interested in providing proper
guidance. They suffice with verbal indications about "dropping your thinking" or
"becoming your inner Space". HOW people realize THAT is left out. Not to speak
of difficulties students meet on their path. How to handle "negative" emotional
complexes that pop up as a consequence of awakening, something that often decides about
"heaven" or "hell" isn't either taken into consideration. The
impression is, that the teacher is sitting there for him (her) self, only. Showing his
wisdom is a goal in itself. Which often comes close to a (subtle) superiority-complex. It
varies from stealth smiles, to suggesting how stupid other people are, to speaking
belittlingly about the inferiority, futility, delusion of thinking e.g. the world. While
preaching "non-duality" they simultaneously emphasize superiority of Space over
mind, forgetting that these two dimensions are two sides of the same coin ("Nirvana
IS Samsara"). To them the "non-dual" means, that what is left after having
split off the world......Many of them cultivate "humility", "modesty"
and "love", concealing the fact, that behind the scenes they pursue an
uncompromising ambitious ego-career. |
Not
surprisingly, considering the inherent degeneration, having set in an early stage already,
the New Age movement became an easy prey of businesses of all kinds. First of all, the
guru's themselves turned to making money. They sold their soul in exchange for - in their
eyes - fabulous incomes. "Re-integration" businesses, the ones who's effort it
is to "guide" people back to their (slave) jobs, shooted up as mushrooms. These
"facilitators" (nowadays "coaches") became very skillful at applying
all kinds of "spiritual techniques". In the mean time the consumer-economy used
all the New Age slogans to push people deeper into their addictions with ads like:
"be your self", "just for yourself only", "be happy",
"spoil yourself", "you are the most important one" et.etc. The sad
highlight were (are) the Zen teachers - coming from such an honorable spiritual tradition
- who started to offer "Zen for managers ("leadership")" sesshins.
From one of their brochures: "Zen is an excellent instrument to improve your
flexibility, your innovative talents and the effectiveness on the work floor". Or
from another brochure. Zen helps you to find a balance between work stress and personal
needs. Some of the effects: more energy, better concentration, increasing clarity of
thinking, more patience (sic) and more stress resistance.
For the second time in recent
history "Zen" proves to be supporter of warmongers. Seventy years ago it was
Japanese Imperialism in WW II, now it is the Great Capitalist War against the earth.
"Zen" has learned nothing, whatsoever
These nice words have only a
(terrible) truth to hide: spirituality as a means to serve the Mammon. To this aim
"spirituality" is disconnected from its ultimate goal. It is portrayed as
something "value-free". No word about transformation of business into a more
humane enterprise*. At least that could give it some justification. By separating Zen from
its ultimate effect, the teachers - among whom renowned priests and monks, nothing really
surprises one anymore nowadays - are keeping their "honorable" status as
"spiritual leaders", as ones who represent "higher" levels of
"ethics" and "morality". No one talks about the true aim of the
businesses they serve. To ignore the fact, that "more energy, better
concentration" etc." ultimately serves profit maximalization, which leads to
more effectiveness, more competition, more growth.... and that in its turn to more
exploitation, more injustice, more poverty, more violence and more destruction of
nature.... these insights are not very welcome in those circles. To think that
"Zen" somehow could change all this - of course this is sometimes used as a
self-justification, in reality however is nothing but self-deception, an illness
(delusion) that Zen pretends to cure (...) - is at best (very) naive. It has to hide its
true aim. "Business spirituality" gratifies both teachers and students. Both are
part of the same rat race for more profits, influence, status, power.... It is the
ultimate decay of a spirituality that started in innocence some 50 years ago. Indeed,
capitalism is a monster (former German Bundespräsident H.Köhler) that eats everything
that comes in its way. It has fully corrupted the souls (conscience!) of those involved. A
tear tickles down my cheek.
* Some - in order to display a "human
face" - mention their "focussing on environmental awareness, education and
fighting poverty in the Third World" (with one hand "repairing" what the
other hand destroys). However, nowhere in their presentation they give any
substantialization of this, whatsoever.
However, there are some who
even go further. Like the Dutch priest...... who founded a "business
spirituality" faculty at a MBA school. He (knowingly?) spreads the illusion of
humanizing big business by bringing "more spirituality" into it. While it should
be UTTERLY clear, that no company on earth will voluntarily abandon the principle of
profit maximalization, putting humanistic values in the first place. Always will
"spirituality" have to serve the ultimate goal - profit - if she wants it or
not. To fight this anomaly we are still in the beginning. However, as is the case with
every suicidal system, the current crisis is doing its work by itself, already......
Read also: J.Carrette "Selling
Spirituality, the silent take-over of Religion", 2004 Routledge |
CAPITALIST KILLING FIELDS
Employees, Relationships, Families, Communities, Cities, Non-
Western Peoples and Cultures, Nature e.g. the land, the
oceans and the atmosphere.....at last humanity
as a whole
Summarizing: the New Age has degerated to such an
extent that from there no any initiative will come to renew life. However, to not drawing
too early conclusions I will turn to Buddhism as a possible "hopeful" to this
world and its possible salvation. |
Read
also:
AFTER CHRISTIANITY, WHAT THEN?
THE LAST AND DEFINITIVE "MARIAN DOGMA"
NEW AGE SPIRITUALITY: THE ANSWER TO OUR ANGUISH?
TRAGEDY OF BUDDHISM?
COULD BUDDHISM PERHAPS SAVE YOU?
FINALLY:
THE ORIGINAL TRADITION
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Last revising: 01/06/13 |
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