Two Sundays ago, the PBS program, Religion and Ethics, decided to ask the question: “Why are Hinduism and Buddhism capturing the attention of business and management circles?”
The show profiled Professor Srikumar S. Rao, of the enormously popular Columbia University class Creativity and Personal Mastery, and Gautam Jain, of the Vedanta Cultural Foundation.
So the answer to the PBS question? The usual hodgepodge: happiness is elusive, the material world is illusory, one must not be possessed by one’s possessions… Since the 80s proved to business people that greed is not necessarily good, satisfying, or even lucrative in the long run, people are searching for another peg to hang a slogan upon.
I have a reflexive gag reaction to anything that smells of Deepak Chopra and the “pot of gold at the end of the spiritual rainbow” school of thought. While Prof. Rao and Gautamji came across as sincere, thoughtful and genuine (at least in the 5 mins alloted to each), I wonder if, despite their best efforts to explode the If/Then model of happiness, their students listen selectively. After all, these are people willing to pay $1,000 over the cost of the class to listen to Prof. Rao. His website, Are You Ready to Succeed? opens with this passage:
Life is short. And uncertain. It is like a drop of water skittering around on a lotus leaf. You never know when it will drop off the edge and disappear. So each day is far too precious to waste. And each day that you are not radiantly alive and brimming with cheer is a day wasted.
Which, frankly, leaves me lost (lotus, skittering, radiant cheer -what?) and slightly thirsty. 
But Prof. Rao has clearly affected and touched a lot of people, (his is, perhaps, the only business school course ever to have its own alumni association), and no doubt the class injects a much needed counterpoint to the general B-school syllabus.
As do Gautam Jain’s Vedanta teachings, which sound quite thought-provoking:
Vedanta, a “self-management†life strategy that reduces stress and emphasizes practical ways of approaching reality, centers around the fundamental concept that it is one’s relationship with the world that needs to be studied and understood. “One person enjoys a cigarette, another detests it; one wants to divorce his wife, another is desperate to marry her. Therefore, it is one’s mind, and not the world, that produces joy or sorrow in life,†says Jain, who returned to the United States after 10 years of instruction in India. link
But…but…but…I live in NY, land of the beautifully blonded yogis who teach classes on aligning chakras and smugly eat all-raw vegan meals while delicately puffing on their cigarettes. I’m wary of how easily complex Eastern philosophies become reduced to status items bought in a spiritual center’s gift shop. How easily the search for a harmonious understanding of one’s desires, relation to other people, and responsibilities in the world becomes transmuted into seeing oneself as a being superior to those who have not been enlightened.
As one of Professor Rao’s former student’s said with much confidence on my TV:
[The class] made be a better person…a better husband, a better listener, a better teacher.
I know he simply meant that the class helped him, but I cringe at that word- “better.” A less rapacious, short-term bottom-line focused business model would be great, but I fear the dawn of new, more “spiritual†business people who feel virtuous while claiming larger profit margins. But maybe I’m overreacting and these classes could really help the good folks at everyday places like Dunder-Mifflin.
Forget Eastern philosophies. Sometimes I feel like the novelty item.
Just nitpicking, It is “Vedanta”, not “Vendanta”….
Like Cicatrix and Tamasha, I’m skeptical when ancient Eastern philosophies are reduced to one sentence slogans. But, I think part of the appeal is that Eastern philosophy tends to shy away from hard and fast rules. This mind set might be useful in the context of modern business and economics because the global economy is so fluid that any person in a leadership position has to be willing to constantly reassess and re-evaluate his/her position within the system.
I would like subscribe to the Office Space philosophy. “You know what I would do with a million dollars? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I would sit on my ass all day long, watch TV and do nothing.”
yup. i can just see kevin saying: “This is the best meeting everrrr.”
ahh cicatrix:
send them asha’s dad and my way…our doors are open… we greet and treat.
Too bad these profs are handing out touchy feely bromides. They should be looking to the Arthashastras to steel the hearts of these MBAs to be. Chanakya was a real bad ass, he would have made Sun-Tsu run home to mama. Or at least so I have surmised from my indepth reading of the Amar Chitra Katha comic on Chandragupta Maurya.
Are blogs soon becoming forums for literary critics? I guess that’s where they are headed. Is there nothing outside the text? Word, comma, semi-colon, hyphen, rhetoric, intended pun, word, …
there are some forums which share experiences – food blogs, music blogs, travel blogs, photo blogs, M.I.A.’s groovy music 🙂
This line: ” [The class] made be a better person…a better husband, a better listener, a better teacher.” is also ‘data’.
but if you prefer hard stuff that looks like science (say, elegant mathematical models of the finance types) such data can also be collected from a population experiencing these touchy feely courses randomly over two to six months through surveys asking some questions,then aggregating them at the organizational level after looking at the intra-class coefficients, putting ‘better’ as the independent variable, and ‘bottom-line’ as the dependent variable into an unbalanced panel data set, and then we can run some generalized linear model equations, with one hundred twenty three control variables and look at the wald chi-squares. Whatever the market demands, will be supplied.
Steel chahiye to steel milega, touchy feely chahiye to touchy feely bhi milega.
Professor Rao has just defined my idea of hell. When I hear “brimming with cheer” I reach for my gun. Radiantly alive my ass. Out of my way, fools.
Spiritual wealth…ugh…yuck.
I need me some bling-bling 🙂
WesternGhaat, I’m a terrible speller and fuss away for an hour or so after posting. My bad 🙁
Naiverealist, could you please clarify your comment? Because as I now understand, you’re saying I’m being overly literal about a sentence…and launch into a long-winded analysis based on your misunderstanding. Please let me know if I should explain further.
There is no spoon…
Cicatrix,
I mentioned ‘literary critic’ because you and Kobayashi criticize passages and words/ phrases that are only expressions to describe the experience. This is a common trend in blog comments – picking on words, and I know my criticism only points out a deficiency that is inherent in language. We know more than we can tell. Knowledge is personal. Obviously linguistic expression of Rao’s/Jain’s (or any other practitioner of ‘eastern’ philosophy) tacit knowledge requires good grasp of the tool (language in this case), which may not be crucial in the practice of that knowledge (yoga, say). What they cannot tell, they simple demonstrate by action.
People are getting positive results from Rao’s/Jain’s demonstrations/knowledge. But you again criticized the student’s response:
because you didn’t like that expression ‘better’. It seemed to me you are not willing to consider direct experiences as any valid data, as if the feedback didn’t ‘count’. So, I thought if someone presents a ‘long winded analysis’ that looks like science (instead of simply taking a person’s word of mouth as proof enough), you might be convinced. 🙂
i gotta agree with tamasha (#1)… i’m really starting to get bothered by piecemeal cultural co-option. eastern philosophies really make sense when you practice them as a whole, not just as a business practice.
It is rumoured that Buddha’s philosophy was greatly influenced by his Amma’s constant reminder: “Life is like a Tiffin-box full of samosas…”
What I took away from the PBS program was that spirituality is primarily a tool here, to be marketed, one in a long line of magic wands that will guarantee you “success” (note that many of the guys offering those courses to managers promise “satisfaction or your money back”). It was TM in the seventies, Japanese management philosophy in the 80s, blah blah. Reminds me of Osho Rajneesh’s promo videos about how the secrets of Hindu spirituality can help Americans deal with the nuclear threat, social problems, etc etc. It’s always more about the audience’s needs than anything else, like all self-help religiosity (more and more religions are getting in on the game, of course, you have “Quranic management” promoted by the likes of Amr Khaled too). If people want to do it, more power to them. I’m not buying it.
Like louiecypher, I find the economic and political philosophy of the Arthashastra and even the Mahabharat richer. Those are harder to package into touchy-feely cliches, though.
“I’m skeptical when ancient Eastern philosophies are reduced to one sentence slogans.”
It’s not as if it doesn’t exist in the Desh. Look at the Bollywood stars. Religion is often reduce to one sentence slogans, in fact (as the religious sceptic that I am) I would like to argue that religion is always reduced to one sentence slogans, and that regardless of religion. The Wahabites, the evangelicals, you name it. Any one who still remebers the rise of Hindutva and the Mahabarata cartoon that Doordarshan aired in the early 90’s? Ever heard the crap that Vandana Shiva spews out about Gaia, about ancient Indian low energy society and so forth?
I’ve gone to those NYC Yoga classes, it’s good excercise, better than the gym. I’m happy with that. The inner “wisdom” of ancient philosophies be it western, eastern, mideastern, native indians or what ever is mostly overrated. Pick the parts that suit you best and dump the rest.
btw when religions and cultures are spread they change. Is this any different than hinduism on Bali being practiced differently than in various parts of India? Wasn’t Vivekananda the pioneer in trying to package Hinduism differently and spread outside the Desh? When Christianity comes to India it doesn’t look like in the Vatican state. When our culture comes to USA how can we expect it not to be influenced by the western culture? So what if the yogi is puffing on a cigarette, which as far as I have seen in the City they would not! Our hindu brothers in India are far more likley to light a fag than the american ditto.
That others are interested in our culture seems like a luxury problem to me, when my parents lived in Saudi they where faced with a whole set of far uglier problems than blonde yogis eating veg.
Asha’s dad
I liked his trucker friend neigbour better “Two girls at the same time”.
Samjay – you’re absolutely right about religious repackaging and adaptations in different contexts. Vedic management seminars took off in India in the mid 1990s, so it’s not like this is an Evil Western Distortion through and through. It still grates when purveyors and consumers of this single-variable, highly needs-tailored “package” of religiosity insist that this represents some sort of comprehensive deep and authentic spiritual wisdom of the ages that’s going to bring them peace and enlightenment, rather than recognising it for the simplistic, generic self-help “wisdom” it actually is. But if they did realise that, there wouldn’t be any USP, would there.
There’s also the Panchatantra. These stories were specifically put together for young princes to teach them the art of warfare, strategy, ethics etc. Sort of the children’s version of the Arthashastra.
I agree this touchie-feeliness is off-putting, but this seems to me to be an improvement on what they churn out in the various departments of Indology where the approach is too theoretical.
“It still grates when purveyors and consumers of this single-variable, highly needs-tailored “package” of religiosity insist that this represents some sort of comprehensive deep and authentic spiritual wisdom of the ages that’s going to bring them peace and enlightenment, rather than recognising it for the simplistic, generic self-help “wisdom” it actually is.”
Isn’t all religiosity tailored packaged? Is vedic management seminars in India more single variable than the karsevaks at the Babri Masjids? Personally I don’t think there is any deep authentic wisdom in any religiosity. Religiosity was how the world was explained before we got the scientific tools that we have today. I’m quite content with treating my yoga classes as the excersise it is. People that make other claims are either trying to make a buck (Deepak) or pushing a political agenda as we have seen both i the US, in India and perhaps most of all in the Mideast.
Did I suggest the kar-sevaks’ religiosity was somehow more authentic or complex, or that there is such a thing as deep authentic religious wisdom? I don’t think so. A utilitarian approach to yoga or Vedic management wisdom or whatever is fine,and even healthier than holding out hope that some religion is going to solve all your problems, if it is recognised on either side as such. The mumbo-jumbo that these guys are spouting in the PBS show is kind of pathetically self-helpish and it makes me wince to think these earnest Amrikis think they’re getting some sort of Deep Pure Wisdom of the East.
Then there’s also the question of moral whitewashing that Cicatrix alluded to in her post:
Will these touchy-feely businessmen feel better about themselves by doing some chanting rather than actually doing something to make the lives of those they employ better, or being more socially responsible? But that’s a bigger question that isn’t necessarily about the Desi Angle.
SP
My point was that all religiosity is mumbo jumbo and it’s main point is to make people feel better about them selves. I have no problem with people trying to earn more money, on the contrary, it’s how they do it that matters.
Great scholars and intellectuals who attract attention by using pedantic Vedantic terms which mean that all things are transitory and that only the supreme self is real, are only impressing themselves and their listeners for the moment. But soon, the net of delusion is sure to bind them. (K. Pattabhi Jois, “Yoga Mala,” p 31).
Check out the reviews on Amazon for Professor Rao’s book:
Some of them are clearly disciples under the sway of a charismatic guru; others are genuinely appreciative of his approach, which doesn’t appear to involve “chanting.” Personally, I would suspend judgment until reading it. I am intrigued that he is popular at Columbia, which I know is a very tough crowd, having gone there in a past life, and in London, where cynicism is hardened and omnipresent.
and no doubt the class injects a much needed counterpoint to the general B-school syllabus.
That’s probably the reason for its success. Surely there is much more to life than the repetitive kissing-tickling-fucking-money making cycle of the modern American capitalist framework? It’s funny, despite our astounding prosperity, many of us are still seacrhing for meaning, whether in “chanting” or “making life better” for our fellow humans. Or maybe we Americans are singularly stupid; we don’t know how good we have it, fattened, with running water and electric heating. We should give up the inner turmoil already.
Pedantic Vedantic
Wow. Pedantic Vedantic.
Surely a great Sepia Mutiny username of the future?
Inspired stevie, inspired.
That interactor could become a legend just by using that name.
Truly antic! And it sounds even better in a desi accent.
Maybe touchy feely was the wrong expression. While I am an “idealist” by orientation (i.e. consciousness is fundamental), I take a reductionist/pragmatic approach to my daily life. Why ? Because while everything might be a dream, it sure as hell isn’t my dream. If it were I would be so tired of female attention I would be exiling Bollywood babes from bed for getting popodum crumbs on my duvet. I can’t imagine going on some financial news program to answer for a bad quarter:
Maria Bartiromo: Mr. Louiecypher, what would you say to shareholders who have lost significant amounts of money during your tenure ? One of the board of directors has described your management style as somnambulistic…
Louiecypher: My child, should not those shareholders rejoice at the wealth I created for their brothers who shorted my stock ? Somewhere there is a hedge fund manager who has upgraded from fractional jet ownership to a private Lear jet. I am you and you are me, your joy is my joy as the self is an illusion. By the way, have you ever tried Tantra ?
I sense a cynical, skeptical and dismissive tone in the writeup as well as many of the comments. Is it because as rational and scientific liberals anything that even purports to derive from Indian philosophy is religious and worthy of dismissal?
Everyone learns through direct experience, inference or testimony from authoritative sources (different sources are authoritatitive for different people for various topics at different times). We are talking about two popular courses by Prof. Rao and Gautam Sen that have elements of Indian philosophy as their basis that seems to have helped the people who have taken those courses, based on their testimony. I have not seen anybody with a direct experience of these courses offer any feedback and yet the only input we have is by people from inference that since these courses are derived from Hinduism and Buddhism, whatever those isms mean, they are religious and so hocus-pocus and worthy of dismissal.
Do I have a direct experience of these courses? No. Should I be skeptical and doubtful of any courses that make claims to be helpful in some way? Yes. Should I keep an open mind and be willing to test these if I so desire? Yes. Do I have the time to test all the truth claims made by all courses or practical pursuits? No. Should I be agnostic until I hear from authoritative sources (whatever that maybe for one) and make an inference based on that testimony? Yes.
So it would be interesting to hear from someone who has actually taken these courses and how it was helpful or not helpful.
What?? On the contrary:
Please don’t dig for an anti-religion agenda. There isn’t one.
Yo yo yo, this shit is tantric, antic, The lines I’m layin’ down be making desis frantic, This ain’t no mind-trick, this ain’t pedantic, Cause I’m knocking down the beats and you gotta let me enta Bring my raw skills straight out of Vedanta…
Heh. Diatribes about radiant happiness notwithstanding, the real problem here is that spirituality, and specifically a more Eastern brand of spirituality, are being commoditized. These people are selling self-realization and happiness in a bottle, basically…all packaged with an ochre label with a highly stylized “Om” on it.
I think it’s very interesting to compare Hindu spiritual events aimed at “outsiders” (eg: people who have no real introduction to the philosophy) and ones aimed at people who were raised Hindu from birth (most often born and raised in India). I’ve attended a few of the former, and every mandir I’ve ever attended has taken the latter approach. The biggest difference I see between the two is that the events aimed at people unfamiliar with Hinduism seem to focus on marketing aspects of the faith — emphasizing its different spiritual values, but also relying strongly on exoticism. I hope that this provokes exploration and discovery of the faith, but I fear that it mostly results in a very shallow understanding which is ultimately displayed as little more than an intellectual accesory. I want to believe it results in greater understanding, but I have a sneaking suspicion it often results in Orientalism.
I wish I could say that the mandirs in the US do a better job providing a deep understanding of the faith. Maybe some do — my personal experience of these mandirs are mostly Swaminaryan ones and a few Vaishnav ones in the South and Midwest. But in my experience, these centers of American Hindu thought (which one would expect to provide a deeper, more complex understanding of the faith) are not particularly open to non-Indians, or even Indians who are not intimately familiar with the particular traditions of the geographic area represented by that particular mandir. In my experience (and again, I freely admit that this may be completely flawed — if you think it is, please correct me), they are mostly concerned with providing a cultural basis for first generation Indians to maintain ties to the homeland.
And maybe this is totally appropriate! I know that the level of cultural shock upon moving to the USA can be tremendous, particularly for older people. And I know that it must be a huge relief to have an institution you can access to renew your connection to “home”. But what does that mean for the future of the faith? How long with the religion survive if its purpose is to maintain a dream of India rather than providing advice relevant to people living and working in America? Where does one turn if he/she identifies as Hindu, feels a strong connection to the faith, but gains little spiritual nourishment from the mandir itself?
Here’s my take on the whole “new age” spirituality scene.
Last night I attended a “kirtan” by someone who is quite big in the international new age/kirtan scene – along the same lines as Jai Uttal and Krishna das.
Yeah, the new agers are corny and all that, but I sense an underlying depth of sincerity and purpose, which I appreciate.
But the thing about them that I really appreciate is their ability to take the best of ancient Indian culture – it’s spirituality, it’s art, it’s dance, it’s music and poetry, without all the repressive and judgemental bukwas that is so prevelent in India’s religious/cultural reality today.
Unfortunately, when one aligns oneself with an “authentic” sampradaya or parampara in India and delves head first into all of it’s teachings and cultural mores, what one emerges with is not only spiritual insight and wisdom, but also alot of the hang-ups that go along with such sampradayas and paramparas, due to the cultural mileus that they spring from.
I see this in my own religious group, which prides itself on “authenticity”, and some members of which poke fun at new agers and the like. Such “authentic” groups have a tendency to not only pick up the good aspects of Indian culture, but also many of the bad.
What I like about new agers is that they keep their progressive, post-feminist era egalitarian, liberal mood in tact, while at the same time adding the good aspects of Indian spirituality.
They are chilled, relaxed and non-anal-retentive, and at the same time “religious” or “spiritual”.
Religion without repression. I think the world can learn alot from them.
the real problem here is that spirituality, and specifically a more Eastern brand of spirituality, are being commoditized
Oh, please. Spirituality was first commoditized when the first bhaji-walla set up a stand next to Prince Siddhartha’s soapbox under the bodhi tree.
Seriously, though, this is an interesting post and thread. I’m all for any injection of anything touching on ethics in a business curriculum. The truth is that over time, possibly due to “trends” like TM in the 70s, etc., business practice and culture have changed. It’s not your father’s circa-1950 General Electric, for the most part (but “better” or “worse”… who knows).
Whether any of this actually makes businesspeople more “ethical” is another matter (possibly quantifiable via a study a la naiverealist’s scenario). Even at the most skeptical level, maybe it will affect the worldview and personal life of some of the attendees. Interesting, though, that it’s able to be incorporated into the curriculum at an institution like Columbia. One wonders if a similar seminar such as “Incorporating Christian Ethics” would be given such a warm reception or be seen as unwelcome intrusion of the religious into the educational sphere. Maybe because Hindu/Buddhist thought passes muster because is “other” to the mainstream and doesn’t have the same religious “baggage” that a lecture on “Jesus’s view of the moneylenders” would?
Oh, please. Spirituality was first commoditized when the first bhaji-walla set up a stand next to Prince Siddhartha’s soapbox under the bodhi tree.
Yeah, but the bhajiwallah sells bhajis, not Buddhism. There’s a big difference. I’m not saying some guy shouldn’t sell T-shirts that say “love, happiness and the Eighfold Fence.” I’m objecting to the sale of love, happiness and the Eightfold Fence.
They are just teaching people techniques for happier living.
I guess I’m old school. I always figured those were the things you couldn’t really teach/learn to/from other people.
Apna kaam swayam karo, and all that.
The whole concept of guru sisya sambandh is based on the fact that you CAN learn these things from others. And guru sisya sambandh is old school – can’t get any more old school than that.
funny you should mention that. just yesterday, i heard from a friend yesterday that jeremy piven’s trip to india was partly inspired by all the indian artifacts he has in his house…
ultimately, i think it’s an affluent, individualistic culture thing, and if there’s a buck to be made, it will be made. it’s ironic, i think, that the “anti-capitalistic” (if you will) philosophy can thrive only in this, the most capitalistic country.
nice title for the post, btw.
Ever since rituals came into existence, someone was selling ritual items. Spritual books have always been available for sale since they first came into written existence.
The whole concept of guru sisya sambandh is based on the fact that you CAN learn these things from others.
True. I hadn’t considered that. But gurus could not teach their sishyas how to attain self-realization, really. It had to come from within, through study, ritual, meditation, etc.
That’s really my point. These people are basically selling a whole lot of confused people a whole lot of snake oil.
I don’t agree that it’s snake oil. Basically it’s just tips on how to achieve what you set out to achieve.
These people are basically selling a whole lot of confused people a whole lot of snake oil.
Well, I guess the philosophy and teachings are what you do with them, right? It’s not an all-or-nothing deal all of the time: There’s a whole set of “predominantly Christian” nations where only a handful of people are full-blown monks, and an entire Hindu nation where only a handful are full-blown sadhus, etc.
Don’t get me wrong, I get slightly annoyed/skeptical of people who latch on to the latest Chopra “mantra/movement du jour”… but would you rather have a religion semi-appropriated or completely ignored? In my opinion, we’re all “confused people” latching onto something, or (increasingly) bits of this-and-that to try to make this life a little less confusing.
but would you rather have a religion semi-appropriated or completely ignored?
I’m guessing “completely ignored” is the wrong answer here?
I agree that we’re all looking for something, but I’d rather find it myself than have someone show me how. It makes it seem more like discovery, and less like a market transaction.
Err, Gaia reminds of Asimov and the amazing Foundation series. I have heard a lecture by Vandana Shiva relating to farmers suicides and the effect of farming subsidies, organic farming and she definitely came across as a person who knows what she is talking about – it’s a different thing whetehr you believe in it or not. This Gaia thing might be a little outrageous though.
He is big even in India and his philosophy has influenced many. I can say personally that while I have not dabbled too much in other Hindu philosophy yet except Vivekananada, I love what he writes simply because apart from a certain few assumptions he gives logical reasoning behind a lot of things.
I agree that we’re all looking for something, but I’d rather find it myself than have someone show me how. It makes it seem more like discovery, and less like a market transaction.
It’s an optional class, not part of the required curriculum. That it’s oversubscribed both at Columbia and the London Business School demonstrates that people are “looking for something.”
Also traditional modes of transmission, while alive, are being gradually marginalized. Look at India today: there are cable channels dedicated to the preachings of charismatic gurus, cyber-pujas, and ashrams which resemble the sanitized IT campuses where many of its sikhsas and patrons are employed.
Some desis I know tend to view themselves as final arbiters of authenticity, when their cumulative knowledge of such subjects is derived from reading a few Amar Chitra Katha comic books. If the new guru on the block happens to be brown, they are infinitely more bristled. Perhaps Jesus was right: “you can never be a prophet in your own home town.”
Isn’t that the nature of religion itself and probably its presence in our lives? I think a few things go into it. We as a species, over time keep doing different things to be happy but then at some point realize that most of this happiness we get is short lived (pardon me if I sound like another new age guru but I will come to the point here soon). Some of us accept that such is the nature of things, that we have to constantly work on being happy and thats works for them – the atheists of our day. But then there are others who get tired and start seeking a solution, and unfortunately some solution which they cant find in non spiritual/religious ways. Then there is the other thing about the fear of the unknown, fear of dying and what after that, fear of harm coming ones way. For both these things, spirituality and religion provide good answers – that there is something greater and that our worries are insignificant. Or else, there is a good lord out there taking care of us. The psychological need of most human beings to feel safe and to have a purpose is satisfied by their belief in religion (at least to a reasonably degree). Thus religion is a highly psychological thing, it helps too that science cannot answer everything (say what happend before the big bang – if before is even relevant a word in a pre big bang scenario) and so faith has room for existence.
So if you look at it from that point of view, these classes are just satisfying that same need and as long as people come away feeling happier and more satisfied and as long as these new age gurus in fact are not exploiting people,is it really so bad? In the end, isn’t helping people what matters whether you do it the old fashioned sacred text way or the new age way? And frankly, if someone who goes to these classes feels unsated, he/she can always dig deeper and get to the ‘real philosophy’, no one would stop that person after he/she gets his intial dose of eastern philosphy.
Of course the exploitation of religion for half the problems that happen today is a whole different beast!
cicatrix, how sweet it is to find such a cue to vent.
On Saturday, I went to ABC Home on 19th and B’way, to check out their India promotion, and ended up taking a wrong turn into what they are calling their marigold theater for the duration of the promotion(…”our platform for arts, wisdom and healing” according to the brochure). It’s a sale room hung with mostly Benarasi saris at one end to form a stage, and partially peopled with random wood or alabaster murtis, mostly of Krishna and Ganesh, and strewn about with flea market chairs and variously sized cushions all upholstered in more Benarasi silks. The cushions were for the audience, who had to take off their shoes at the entrance, as if entering a temple, but actually to keep the cushions clean. One had already been offered Deepak Chopra teas, unsalted cashews and dried fruit near the entrance and told to consume them before entering the marigold theater. Retail personnel wafted about in ghagras and dreamy expressions, acting as bouncers because Patti Smith was there. There was a collection of very large thangka-type paintings of Tara up on the walls too, by Romio Shrestha, who wore full Tibetan ceremonial dress, and, as it turned out, had become friends with Patti Smith at William Burroughs’ funeral– but that revelation came much later. I claimed a flea market chair while ABC’s Creative Director made her faltering speech about being overcome by spirituality and the sound system started up with New Age violins mewling away, and wondered how this would play in India if a shop in Gurgaon were hung with ball gowns and scattered with creches and madonnas and pietas, and everybody had to sit in little gold ballroom chairs and cross themselves while a store executive talked about his admiration for the West. Anyway, there might as well have been incense, since Romio asked everyone who felt like it to close their eyes while he talked about how much the female principle was needed in the world today. Quite a few women did close their eyes, clearly confusing spirituality with self-hypnosis, while the violins went on. I realized actual religious teachings of any sort would never do for these people. When Romio had called Patti Smith a goddess the third or fourth time, it was her turn to take the mike and play and talk and sing, so the mewly music was turned off and she did her own wailing-growling thing and played her alternately musical and bizarre chord progressions, explaining that she could perform her most difficult works with ease because of the positive energy in the room. The room was of course full of people acting out their perceptions of spirituality and behaving like they had taken opium, with a few Indian onlookers at the edges wearing vacant expressions. Patti Smith explained that her last song was about William Blake, a 19th (okay) century Londoner who had addressed the inequities of his day by claiming that all people contained the Divine within –whatev, it went to show how gullible/malleable you had to be. After all this was done, and the audience told they could disperse, it turned out that all this was to sell four books, two quite remarkable and under-priced ones of Romio’s paintings, so huge that only a strong man could pick up both at once, plus one by Patti Smith about her own life and — Deepak Chopra’s Kama Sutra. I asked a woman how long she though India would be reflexively connected with this sort of spiritualty. Her eyes glossed over while she thought. “M-m-m-m-n, forever!” she said.
Uncle MC, are you for, like, hire ?
Preach, Amrita, preach! Tell the truth and shame the devil! An excellent rant!