ex-l wrote:I'd agree that it's fair to say that the version of Sufidom that has been sold to the West has been whitewashed and romanticised but, at the same time, Sufism in India appears to be a mishmash of Islam and Hindu/Indigenous shamanism.
Not just in India, sufism at its core is just a derivative of 'Advait Vedanta' and anyone can see the co-relation. The entire Muslim 'Golden Age' was just influence of Indian culture in that region. Their holy book uses Indian numerals even to this day despite all the historical whitewashing.
I would be interested in exploring this area with an expert to try and identify who it was Lekhraj Kirpalani went to see.
Good luck with that. Just a bit of caution from my side. You might be thinking that the BK spirit is bad but trust you me there is no dearth of darkness on this path. Although I have said above that one can realize truth based on any path including dark ones, there is good reason why saints have condemned such paths time and again. So be very careful while finding your experts. If you would take my advice, just don't bother with all this stuff. I, myself, have never been able to find a decent 'guru' in my life. It is not easy to have an innocent, faithful heart while being cheated again and again by charlatans and wicked people.
I don't suppose such "rascals" keep good records of who they initiated, but someone might recognize the signs we have so far, i.e. which 'school' or lineage of rascals it might have been.
Wrong. Their records are far more detailed than we can imagine. Such initiation is 'karmic bondage' for hundreds if not thousands of years and both parties will reap the fruits as they are in 'union' for entire foreseeable future. Whether you will find that 'someone' who will recognize and tell you all this ... well, that depends on your luck. At the cost of sounding irritating I would say just accept it and move on with your life. Don't fall into this trap (again).