GURU DAKSHINA!

The word Upanishad literally means sitting at the feet of the Master or Guru.( Upa- ni – ne- shad verb Latin sit) which forms part of the spiritual treatises 800-400 BC. Atman: is the mystery of our life. It has become a fad - everyone wants a guru who claims to be enlightened, walks through fire and on water with millions of followers in his wake. What good can he do for you? – Except quote some mystical verses about life and utter some profound gobblydock. The trend for the western world is to embrace some eastern sages or gurus with weird robes and hairdo’s. It started with the Beatles way back in the sixties when they spent several weeks in Rishikesh at the foothills of the Himalayas. Here they tried to imbibe transcendental meditation and meaning of life under the tutelage of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The group split later and the visits and meditation petered out. Julie Roberts also dabbled and converted to Hinduism while Richard Gere embraced Buddhism during his traumatic phase in the seventies. He along with Goldie Hawn and others follow the Dalai Lama the spiritual leader of the Tibetans. Some of the Gurus like Sathya Sai Baba, Osho, and Shri Ravi Shankar have grown much bigger than their rich and famous devotees and become celebrities with wealth and following far in excess of their celebrity followers. A lot of home grown and garden variety of gurus and yoga teachers are still languishing in India. The latest fad for a galaxy of stars and celebrities is Kabbalah an ancient religion forgotten by time like one of those supposedly extinct deep-sea creatures that wash up on the shores o every now and then. It came from a different era, shouldn’t have still existed, but nevertheless, there it was—old wine in new exotic bottle. In this “material” world it was introduced by Madonna and has followers like Lyndsay Lohan, Demi Moore,Gyneth Paltrow and Cat Stevens. Newer religions and gurus are sprouting like mushrooms called New Age movement and the Western 'ascended ones' propaganda... all with a host of explanations like some sinister telekinesis going viral on the net. It is a case of the hunter becoming the hunted as these high profile Gurus accompanied by bodyguards and other accouterments become the new celebrities holding International Mega Events, brand identity strategies and a carnival type of jamborees and discourses enter the new world all of which comes at a huge cost to devotees. If we follow these commercial Gurus who claim to perform miracles, walk through fire and on water, we will surely be drowned in their own hubris. Not, through following the intellect of these Gurus or their sacred teachings, nor through much learning is the Atman revealed. The mystery of life is unknown to the learned and known only to the simple.-Vinay- Kena Upanishads.