Dark Secrets

So everyone has dark secrets, huh? He asked me with a quizzical expression on his face. We were reading about this so called saints of India. This question was asked in reference to the fat holy woman who was having sex with her assistant and romping in a bathing suit while projecting a clean sari clad image of purity and wisdom.
The topic veered to another atrociously rich guru and his son who were in jail for rape and illegal confinement of two young girls. So there were numerous cases of romping religious leaders and their sexual behavior. It’s not confined only to Hinduism, since it exists everywhere. Recently the Pope removed certain number of priests for engaging in sodomy and unnatural sexual acts. Incidentally there aren’t any governing bodies like the Vatican in our world. They are all fragmented and never count. Their followers are so very much vocal in disowning the so called religious leader. A few years ago the head of a religious order was found swindling the order and finally one day he vanished with his loot. Similarly a wild haired self proclaimed dead sage was found hoarding huge stockpile of foreign currency and tons of gold and jewelry.
There are tones of examples where the gullible folks are drawn towards these fiends who project a saintly image but are actually the devil in disguise. The fake imagery these so called sages project hides a dark side of their lust and greed.
A true sage never hides anything at all. He doesn’t sit on high dais and golden thrones meeting droves of crazy followers. They do not form associations or societies. Even if they happen to be a part of one they dissociate themselves sooner than you think. Sages like Sivananda or Chinmayananda moved away from mainstream. Saibaba and Ramakrishna never founded groups or societies. They never flaunted opulence in the form of huge ashrams or lands. They never conducted training programs and workshops for people.
They wore simple clothes and ate simple meals. The best part of their lives is that they were not hypocrites. If Baba or Ramakrishna had to say something they said it in their simplest and down to earth terms. Local language interspersed with colloquial wit and wisdom. They never projected a false image of knowledgeable persona. They said simply that they didn’t know something. True to their sagacious nature, they lived a frugal and simple life. Not pretentious at all. Full of humility and compassion.
So if truth be told, my friend, these are not saints who masquerade around in white spotlessly clean cloth, but human beings whose main goal is to con the gullible folks.
In the Sai Satcharita it’s mentioned that anyone who is teaching you anything besides the true knowledge about the self is not a saint. The yogic postures and other knowledge about the body leads you elsewhere. Truth lies in learning the knowledge of the self. Everything else will lead you away.
Coming back to sexually romping or crooked millionaire conmen and women, you gotta save yourself from their worldly traps. Avoid going to those who lead you to any other destination besides the knowledge of the self. Be safe and not sorry.

Image Courtesy by Deathtothestockphoto