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stripping the gurus - Brahma Kumaris Info

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80 STRIPPING THE GURUS<br />

According to Chinmoy’s website, his own personal record for<br />

“most instruments in a single concert,” playing music to soo<strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

savage chakras—purported subtle energy centers in <strong>the</strong> human<br />

body—is now up to 150.<br />

There is some music that is really destructive to our inner<br />

being. This music comes from <strong>the</strong> gross physical or <strong>the</strong> lower<br />

vital. Undivine music tries to awaken our lower vital consciousness<br />

and throw us into a world of excitement (Chinmoy,<br />

1978).<br />

Given that, it is interesting to note that Chinmoy’s devotees<br />

have included Sheena Easton and Grammy-winning musician and<br />

“guitar god” Carlos Santana who, with his wife, devotedly followed<br />

Chinmoy for nine years, from 1972 to 1981. Also, Clarence “Born to<br />

Blow” Clemons (Bruce Springsteen’s sax man) and Roberta Flack.<br />

“My guru takes <strong>the</strong> morning train....”<br />

* * *<br />

Chinmoy claims up to seven thousand disciples worldwide, formerly<br />

including <strong>the</strong> late Zen Master Rama, or Frederick Lenz.<br />

(Lenz’s first book was dedicated to Chinmoy, prior to <strong>the</strong>ir split.)<br />

His reported teachings on <strong>the</strong> relation of sex to spirituality for<br />

those students are unequivocal:<br />

In order to have Self-realization, celibacy is absolutely necessary....<br />

God-realization and <strong>the</strong> sex life are like <strong>the</strong> combination<br />

of sugar and salt. If we try to put <strong>the</strong>m toge<strong>the</strong>r we cannot<br />

taste ei<strong>the</strong>r....<br />

Those who are really advanced find that lower vital necessity<br />

does not enter into <strong>the</strong>m. For <strong>the</strong>m <strong>the</strong> life of pleasure<br />

is replaced by <strong>the</strong> life of real joy. And naturally, once realization<br />

takes place temptation can never assail <strong>the</strong>m (in<br />

Ross, 2003d; italics added).<br />

Such a position, however, stands in contrast to <strong>the</strong> numerous<br />

allegations of sexual misconduct made against <strong>the</strong> guru himself,<br />

raised via <strong>the</strong> Testimonials section on <strong>the</strong> www.chinmoycult.com<br />

website. It likewise does not square with <strong>the</strong> following allegations:

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