human being wrote:There are usually 2 kind of people who talk about spirituality. One who really care (and are very, very few); and the one who are having some psychological/emotional problems and are using it as either a facade behind which they hide or seek some kind of salvation out of it. Both kinds want to pretend ...
Sadly, honestly, I think the BKism is compromised very largely of the second category, to which I'd add - or more tightly define - "escaping social/familial problems".
I don't know what the pair of you are falling out about. I don't see any great clash, try not and take things too personally as it's only the internet and a very limited forum of communication. Everyone has some virtue to offer.
BTW, I started another topic, here; Who or what is the BK god spirit?
One thing that I have learnt from my BK experience is that it was not just they, but also me, who was dishonest and hence I wasted a lot of precious time in my life by not listening to the honest warnings of my heart. We mostly suffer in life not because we are sick or weak but because we are too arrogant to accept the reality and hence fail to take remedial actions.
I think you're being very humble and honest here and it's very accurate and heartfelt advice to others.
BKism, without any doubt, encourages dishonesty. It even encourages adherents to become skilful at it. From that, we could say it encourages delusions; delusions at the micro (the self) and the macro level (time and space etc). From that point of view, which I think has been inarguably proven time and time again, it is the opposite of a true "spiritual path".
My experience as a BK has taught me that the so called philosophies and, especially, the Maryadas or rules of a religion, are really only way of living to exist and survive *within* that specific cult or religion, e.g. "turning the other cheek" (Christianity) does not work if you are boxer living in a boxing ring (a metaphor). BKism does not actually teach you to survive, nevermind thrive, in greater the society around you. It only teaches you to survive within the BK world, and very largely at a very low, submissive level.
Note how, in BKism, you cannot "get better" than the Seniors. Indeed, arguably, if you try, you are knocked down or the goals shifted to maintain their positions, and it's never made clear what position is based on. To 'succeed' as a BK is to "grind your bones" as a worker drone.
In order to sustain adherents' committment, BKism weaves webs of delusion around individuals so deeply that they exist, and remain, inside of the adherents' minds even when the individual is apart from the main body of the cult, or has exited. It takes some time to unpick what has been woven inside.
I don't know what you would define as "concentrating" meditations versus "non-concentrating" meditations. I know, in the West, "mindfulness" is currently being "borrowed" and applied to the treatment of depression and other mild mental disorders into hybrids such as 'Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)'.
Would that count as one? My suspicion is that it is happening because it is cheap but it does appear to work in some cases.
On the other hand, also in the West, others are attempting to combine therapy with core Buddhist values, e.g. Karuna Institute. I wonder how "psychotherapy" is approached in India and other traditional/develoing societies? I know in some places mental disorders can be 'taboos', and treatments non-existent or even barbaric (friends real life experience), is it the domain of "gurus".
Looking at the nature of "the enquiries to Sister Shivani" people erroneously send us, it's very clear that the BKs are feeding off and exploiting them. And take their money too.