Spiritual Tourism

[bestofall]

We have lot spiritual gurus & spiritual , soul universities attracting more NRI and western devotees from different parts of the globe.
I Think we have benefits by Spiritual Tourism like more Air line business , Hotels , small crafts business and Donations in Big amount continue flow of foreign exchange . and create local employment in cottages , Handi Craft Indutries, Restaurant workers

Of course each Guru conduct onsite Training and short term boot camps in different countries but end of the day money will reach our shores.

I heard some boot camps they charge 6000 $ for 20 day course

But I wonder who will bother as long as business flourishes ,helps economy and create some employment .

Keeping the business benefits aside ,I wonder are these gurus favoring real true Hindu dharma ? Does it have positive impact on people ?
I failed to understand


http://www.onenessuniversity.org/HTML/contact_us.html

http://university.kaleshwar.org/en/soul_university

http://www.amma-europe.org/

http://www.amritapuri.org/8503/msg-sa/

[Purujit]

Keeping the business benefits aside ,I wonder are these gurus favoring real true Hindu dharma ? Does it have positive impact on people ?
I failed to understand

I would not trust any Swami who siphons money from the western countries even if it helps India. These jet setting swamis and renunciates should practice what they preach and do not keep running after fame and fortune. Or best they should not preach. They give God and religion a bad name :)

[boca]

They give God and religion a bad name :)

Perhaps God sent them into this world for a reason. :) Isn't that what he/she/it does? If that is the case, how can they give God a bad name? :confused: Perhaps a fault in God's manufacturing process? If so, they will be duly recalled. :)

[sumeet]

If so, they will be duly recalled. :)

Perhaps at a rate bit faster than Toyota!:)

[indigoyogi]

There are several gurus starting from Vivekananda, Yogananada Paramahamsa to Swami Dayananda Saraswati etc of today.. Initially, Vivekananda and Yogananda came to share the Advaita Vedanta to the people in the west. A lot of Swamijis restrict themselves to their primary purpose of sharing the knowledge with the westerners as well as to advice the Hindu community. Once you have people coming in to make quick money, without a spirit of service, then it's not worth it. There are indeed several people that do a lot of service without being noticed.. For people, that care to know some good ones, google 'Swami Bua'. There are really some venerable Swamis, but people don't have the time to follow them.. They want someone to wrap the goodies in a fancy bag..

[KirKS]

Keeping the business benefits aside ,I wonder are these gurus favoring real true Hindu dharma ? Does it have positive impact on people ?
I failed to understand

Bestofall -
I have no real qualification to authoritatively answer your query. However, since this forum is mostly for material conscious folks (real estate, finance, investment etc.), you will have very few people who actually go one step further on spirituality. I wish there were many, but sadly you won't find many. In such a situation, I could jump in to share my viewpoint, which I request you to take it with a grain of salt.

Meaning of Guru:
In Sanskrit, Gu means darkness and Ru means light. A Guru is literally a person who would lead a disciple/follower from darkness of ignorance to light of knowledge. This system is from time immemorial. In olden days, a Guru actually selected/picked his students. There are instances wherein a Guru would refuse to teach even a royal family person. No one bothered about Guru's origin as such. What they cared is the ability of a Guru to lead. Some folks have even questioned the origin of Sri Rama's guru Vasishta, linking him probably to a not-so-credible parentage in terms of validity.

Gurukula System:
The whole education system in ancient India was based on Gurukula. A student, irrespective of his background (rich, poor, caste) etc. would go, stay as a Brahmachari (celibate) in Guru's ashram (open forest school) to learn for a fixed number of years. A guru didn't ask for any fees except labor during the stay, followed by 'dakshina' (kind of fees) at the very end of education. Obviously he also needed to sustain his livelihood, so that was the only occasion when the student would give (mostly voluntarily) based on his family's economic status. So in essence, the system was mutually beneficial. A student is cardoned off from material world's daily grind to fully focus on his studies, while a Guru would offer everything he can selflessly, in return for a handsome dakshnia/fees at the very end. No wonder the society kept Gurus/teachers at the very high end of spectrum leading to 'Guruh Brahma, Gurur Vishnu, Gurur Devo Maheshwarah' kind of chants. Guru is everything and one needs to follow his teaching with absolute faith.

As time progressed, Hindu society saw ups & downs. So Guru system changed per system. Still one thing is absolute. A Guru who is leading a spiritual life in a non-materialistic way, is the ideal one. Trust me, even today, there are thousands of them, if not more. They are there in plenty of places, selflessly helping a student learn spirituality and religion.

One important thing about cultural Guru Kula system in India is that a Guru usually appoints the best student/able student to take over his position for the next generation. He would appoint after careful study of spiritual ability, control over senses among other things. So not anyone could become a maharshi or brahmarshi.

Appointing the next in chain:
This is an area that has caused two forms of Gurus in India (and world) today. One system still follows 'appointment' from a senior Guru. For instance various mathas in South India like Sringeri, Kanchi, Mantralaya, Udupi, follow this system. A shishya/student needs to demonstrate his ability for years before being appointed as a future Guru/Shankaracharya/Swami etc. based on the place's title system.

'Pop' Gurus:
Then there are what I call as 'pop' Gurus. They are self made. Sai Baba (both), Sri Sri Ravishankar, Amma, Nithyananda kind who would show up one day with a small group admiring their miracles/lectures/ability. Slowly this transforms into a cult culminating in a 'spiritual' empire so to say. Usually these 'empires' collapse within a generation or two after the death of main guru/baba/swami. Some of them do end up failing litmus tests like Nithya failed. Since they are self made, there is no accountability to any of their Gurus, mathas, peethas or centers. They are not answerable to any tradition. For instance a Sringeri Shankaracharya is being appointed for well over 13 centuries, using very similar parameters. There is a big following of disciples being handed over this tradition by their parents. On the other hand, no one knows what happens to Sai Baba of Puttaparthi. He is almost at his end now and in 25 years, we may even see that ashram/cult completely dissolve.

Homework to be done by a Guru seeker:
My suggestion is then simple. If you or anyone is seriously interested in exploring Sanatana Dharma/True Hinduism/Vedanta, explore in person a would-be-guru. It's difficult particularly for those with little or no knowledge of India, sitting in a foreign country. That's the core point some of these 'pop' Gurus have taken advantage of. I can assure you that there are thousands of true Spiritual Guru opportunity in India today. A true guru would never advertise himself of miracles or 'all problems solved in 60 days' kind of brochures. A true guru would not seek donation upfront. A true guru won't make you worship him/her as God. There are so many things a true Guru won't do.

Famous True Gurus:
Some True gurus respected in India from time immemorial. Some of these also may have been self made, but their lifestyle would tell anyone if they were materialistic or not. Also, not all of them just taught vedas/upanishads. Even after generations, they still stand tall: [INDENT]

Adi Shankaracharya

Sri Aurobindo

Ramakrishna Paramahansa

Chinmayananda

Dayanand Saraswati

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Swami Vivekananda

[/INDENT]Starting with a Preacher, before shortlisting Guru(s):

The last thing is about proselytizing or preaching part. Since Hinduism in most senses doesn't have 'join my team, leave your wrong-team' philosophy, most of these folks limit themselves to preaching or guiding only. This is where another tricky matter comes through. Just because there are thousands of true selfless gurus in remote corners of Indian ashrams, bhaktas/seekers won't turn up there. The seekers need things fast in this internet age. They need videos.. they need in the comfort of their home or in some 'upscale' touring place. They won't go into the hassles of living in a remote ashram somewhere near Himalayas. So even some true selfless Gurus have and still making adjustments to their Guru Kula system. They are actually going to cities/countries where they know people are waiting to learn from them. This particular activity needs to be specifically monitored. Do they stay as materialistically disconnected, as they possibly can? It is up to a current/prospective student to assess.

If I were to be a student, I would not go to a Guru who asks for donations beyond reasonable arrangement/location cost. I would not go to a Guru who would force me to worship him/her. So yes, there is plenty of positive aspect on society from this Guru system.

In fact, if you count those who are preaching, not truly 'Guru' status by themselves, there are thousands in TV media itself. A prospective student can watch a channel Aastha for instance for 3 months, to gauge who is the person best suited for their delivery methods, knowledge among other 'impression' things. Choices are humongous in today's electronically connected world. Just some homework is needed to eliminate 'fake' gurus.

Here is the list of preachers of Aastha channel for instance.
http://www.aasthatv.com/Aastha_Schedule.pdf

[LIST=1]

Acharya Anil Vtasji

Acharya Avdheshanand Giriji Maharaj

Acharya Sudharshanji Maharaj

Avdhoot Baba Shivananad ji

Brahma Kumaris

Dr. H.S. Rawat

Morari Bapu

Munishree Tarun Sagarji

Pt. K.P.Tripathai

Pt. Kamal Shrimali

Pt.JayPrakash Sharma ( Laldhagewale)

Pujya Ananad Murti Guru Maa

Pujya Devkinandan Thakurji

Pujya Didi Maa Ritambharaji

Pujya Gopalmaniji Maharaj

Pujya Kiritbhaiji

Pujya Niruben Amin

Pujya Rajendraji Maharaj

Pujya Satpalji Maharaj

Pujya Shri Nirmal Babaji

Rajat Nayar

Ramesh Oberoi

Sadhu Kailash Manav

Sant Rajinder Singhji Maharaj

Shradhey Acharya Balkrishnaji

Swami Hari Chaitanya Puriji

Yogrishi Swami Ramdevji
[/LIST]
Majority of these are fairly good in communicating spiritual knowledge and this list is from just one day of Aastha's calendar. Add to this, numerous devotional channels available in TV in various languages. You will literally find thousands of very able, high communication level capable, preachers.

In my view, first absorbing what these preachers are saying, digesting it for a few months and then shortlisting based on their preaching, some true gurus would be ideal. The final Guru could be orthodox/traditional or unorthodox/self made. But scrutiny upfront is necessary.

Lastly, the future of Hindu or Sanatana Dharma is pretty bright. I have heard a few dozen of these and still planning to explore further as time allows me to. The sheer amount of knowledge, sheer number of satsangs (assembly of spiritual folks), sheer number of bhajan/musical assemblies, sheer number of temple processions, sheer number of charity work done by religious folks and the sheer number of those willing to bring 'light' into one's life is simply mind boggling. Yes, there will always be a few quick buck makers jumping into this massive ocean of spirituality/religion. A few of those bad applies would never make a true seeker to throw away the entire basket of apples.

That is my viewpoint. Hope you got time to read till here :) If you are personally interested in finding some true guru/ashram, send me a private message. I can link you to a few who know what they are talking/doing.

- Kiran

[boca]

However, since this forum is mostly for material conscious folks (real estate, finance, investment etc.), you will have very few people who actually go one step further on spirituality.

Deeply discerning postulate. :)

[KirKS]

Deeply discerning postulate. :)

It's factual. See the top 25 posters that RRK mentioned for instance.
http://www.r2iclubforums.com/forums/memberlist.php?order=desc&sort=posts&pp=25

How many even believe in God based on their own declarations/hints? I have seen enough posts & views from regulars in this forum to make such a statement.

[bestofall]

That is my viewpoint. Hope you got time to read till here :) If you are personally interested in finding some true guru/ashram, send me a private message. I can link you to a few who know what they are talking/doing.

- Kiran

appreciare lengthy informative post !

[M V]

It's factual. See the top 25 posters that RRK mentioned for instance.
http://www.r2iclubforums.com/forums/memberlist.php?order=desc&sort=posts&pp=25

How many even believe in God based on their own declarations/hints? I have seen enough posts & views from regulars in this forum to make such a statement.

Believing in God is ingredient #1 for being spiritual? Please.

Spirituality vs Religion, Spirituality vs belief in God are among the oldest debates.