Before you read this article (Note: I am NOT a disciple of Sadhguru; I haven’t taken any Diksha from him. But I like to see people without any judgments, definitely not based on anything that I read or hear about somebody.)
I was having lunch with a friend & we were discussing anything & everything randomly when she said to me, “Sadhguru charges a lot, around 2000 $”.
“But whom does he charge really?” I wondered and asked.
“The rich people pay 2000 $ to meet him”, she said.
“Oh ! all the rich people out there!? I see. But if they are rich enough and they have a choice of how to spend their money, then who are we to decide whether they spend it on buying a gadget or in a meeting with Sadhguru, how does it make any difference to you?”.
“No. But it’s wrong”, she said.
“What is wrong my friend?”.
“You cannot charge for the spiritual knowledge.”
“Well, he is not charging for the spiritual knowledge for sure! If he were charging, then the sessions would have not been available online for everyone to see, and that so for free!
And if a rich guy out there, donates money and gets the very precious time of this highly conscious person, then what’s the problem?
I think that you are not able to understand spirituality and money together. It is just a concept & a way of thinking. It’s that simple.”
Then I paused and asked her, “Okay, tell me something, if you’d requested a tuition teacher to provide you classes but you’d set a condition along with that, that you won’t pay any money for his/her services, do you think that the teacher would give you his/her time?
And btw would you have really taken the classes from her if most of those were already available Online?
Of course NOT!
In the case of Sadhguru, it is not just the knowledge (that is also available free on the net) but it is the energy field that surrounds him.
People who have money and want to experience His energy field, are paying for it WILLINGLY & not FORCIBLY… Did He force them to Pay? NO. Then how is that wrong?”
A Non-profit Organisation operates using Donations from the people and their Volunteering efforts.
If people do not donate, how do you expect the Electricity bills and the Seating arrangement to be taken care of? (and I am not being biased here towards Sadhguru at all, I don’t need to be, I am nobody to him & he is not my Guru, but let’s apply our little brains here!
that’s how Nonprofits work my friend!)
“Okay but why does he charge so much for his courses?”, my friend enquired.
“I think you should do a little bit of research dear.
Many of his courses are available online. In fact, his most precious “Shambhavi Mudra” is also available online.
I came across it myself a few weeks ago on Youtube. Just that I would never learn “Shambhavi” Online, even if I’d wish to because I know the importance of Deeksha (initiation) given by the Guru himself”.
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We believe in negative statements about anybody so quickly.
Do you know why?
Because our mind wants Entertainment all the time. And it is very natural for our Minds to believe in the negative over the positive and enjoy the Drama.
Suppose you were a Celebrity, would you want the people to enjoy the drama of your life? Or would you desire the people to think logically, research & know the Truth about you?
We all know the answer.
But we are more bent towards believing that “This Guru also is a Conman because all Gurus have been like that”.
Well my friend see, the Fake brands exist only because the real ones do. “Nike” fake brand clothes are out there in the market because the real “Nike” is. If I keep the fake and the real brand cloth together (with almost the same quality) in front of you, would you be able to recognize them?
Image Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/magazine/22fake-t.html
No.
Now imagine, what if you had never seen the “Nike” brand before this test, would you be able to recognize the Real Brand cloth then?
Then how can you recognize a True Real Guru if you haven’t ever known one really?
So just because a few Gurus (fake brands) have been there in the past, we start seeing everybody from the same perspective. Is that right? No.
Look at the history of India, we have had great Gurus. Not very long ago, we had Swami Vivekananda, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Swami Dayananda, Guru Nanak, Guru Arjan Dev Ji.
How do you think these Gurus were existing? Real Gurus are existing even today ( although they are very rare).
The fake brands just copy the real ones. And thus we are no more able to distinguish between the Real & the Fake anymore.
In reality, it is only our Lack of Faith that is projecting itself on ” All Gurus” without us being aware of whether they are Real or Fake.
“I still do not understand why would one take money for spiritual events”, she said.”Have you heard of something called SEVA?”, I replied.
“Yes”…
“Do you know that this SEVA concept is prevalent all over India?
” Yes”.
“Do you know why?”
“No”.
Do you know that India has been taught the concept of Karma-Yoga for ages?
There are 3 ways to expand your consciousness through Karma-Yoga :
- Using your body (helping those in need)
- With your mind ( meditation)
- Using your money ( Guru Granth Sahib Ji specifically states 10% of your hard-earned money must be used for the welfare of the needy/poor ).
All these 3 forms of Yoga pay us back at the level of Consciousness.
And that has been the reason.
Our Gurus in India, centuries ago, had already set the foundation for us using the concept of SEVA.
Look around yourself, all gurus, and all holy places move on the same concept of SEVA.
It is your money given in Gurudwara that goes into buying Langar (free food) for those in need.
And how would you think the Holy Places could work without this concept?
What if you started saying today that the Gurudwara is bad or Fake because it is taking money? Is the Gurudwara forcing you to give money? or are you donating willingly?
Willingly. Yes, because you know that your money is being used for a good cause & it will pay you back at the level of your consciousness.
Hmm.
“I think that there is no need for a Guru actually.” she continued.
“What do u do?”, I asked.
“I am an artist. I act.”
“And where did u learn it from?”
“From my Guru, I mean my acting teacher.”
Let’s think it this way, just like an Artist or a Sportsperson needs the help of a good coach to progress in his field…
in the same way, a living Master is required on our spiritual journey to provide us with the resources that help us in our Spiritual Journey.
We are not even able to find the direction all by ourselves in this physical world, where we can see everything with our eyes and we still need a Google Map, and we think that we will traverse the path inside of us, without a Spiritual Teacher who has already traveled within?
(Also after the chapter of a series of Conman being caught, we have ourselves assumed that we do not need a Guru. Even a person who gained all his knowledge from insight (Swami Vivekananda) had a Guru that directed him up to a certain point). The history of India has witnessed poems, songs, and chapters on the importance of a Guru.
(Now we come back to the question, So Is Sadhguru a Conman? or a Guru? After writing down all these conversations that I had with my friend, I leave it for you to decide the answer for yourself.
How to judge a person? Should a rational & wise Human Being believe in anything and everything he listens to and reads?
OR should we experience the person’s (Sadhguru’s) presence ourselves and come to a conclusion based on our own personal experience?
In today’s world, which mostly works on the Internet, everything can so easily be put forward in the wrong light.
This brings us to the questions, ” Who is a Real Guru?” and “how do I differentiate between a Real & a fake Guru?”. “How to find a Real Guru?” I will write more about it in my upcoming articles.
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Authored by Kashish G, A Spiritual Guide, Writer & Consultant.
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Da, ako donirani novac ide potrebitima kako to da se Sadhguruovo bogatstvo procjenjuje na 20 000 000$ ?
Još jedan u nizu vođa kulta, kao Koresh i Jim Jones ali na Indijski način…
I spotted the fake shoe instantly!!! Just one clue…look at the toe box on both shoes, the fake one is very inferior to the real one.
For some people it is easy to spot fakes. There is a lot that can be said but I do not want to waste my time on such a human. It saddens me to see people like this and a pity for those that fall under his deceiving ways and much of the reason is his desire for the wealth of money rather than true caring of people…In gratitude to the true saints both past and present that have left their mark of good will on humanity.