In the world there are many organizations that teach people meditation: charitable, commercial, religious, secular (or positioning themselves as such) and all sorts of different. People go to these organizations either to learn meditation from scratch, or to improve their practice.
And in this article I would like to discuss such an interesting, entertaining and, most importantly, a common phenomenon in our country, as "authoritarian organizations, training meditations." That is, schools with a strict code of rules, with a rigidly established authority of their founder, with a pronounced hostility to other similar trends and organizations, with elements of "closeness" and "elitism", that is, with some features of the sect.
It is very likely that you, in obedience to a completely natural desire to develop your consciousness and to know yourself, will fall into just such a school of meditation. Therefore, in this article I am going to consider the main features of such organizations, so that my reader will be knowledgeable and fully armed in his path of spiritual development.
I will not only criticize these schools, but also consider their advantages, which, of course, are. In the article I will not name the names of these organizations, I will just say that in one of them I took a multi-day course of meditation, and I heard about others from reviews of both former participants and current adherents.
People's reviews are usually divided into opposite ones: from enthusiastic and servile ("this is the best experience in my life!", "X is the best, holy and the brightest teacher"), to skeptical-critical-aggressive ("This is a sect, nightmare , do not go there! "," They cheat, inspire and enter into hypnosis! ")
And this article has matured as a result of reflection on these reviews, as well as on the constant letters of readers that I began to receive lately:
"Nikolai, tell me, should I go to study at the course X, I won’t get a brain wash there?"
And now I am going to make a very bold attempt to reconcile two opposing opinions and to tell in detail what kind of authoritarian circles of meditation are and “what they eat with.”
Features and properties of authoritarian schools
Here I will consider the features of such organizations. The first of these is the presence of a charismatic leader.
Charismatic leader
The organization has a leader, a founding father, an ideological inspirer (now living or already deceased is not important), whose authority very clearly permeates the entire system of training, transfer of skills and traditions in the organization.
In the school premises, as a rule, there are photos and gurus' images His name is constantly featured in educational materials. Teachers and coaches refer to it as unconditional authority.
One can constantly hear from teachers and adepts: "X says it is ...", "but X said that ..." (If the guru is from Nepal, Burma, Sri Lanka or India, the respectful prefix "ji "). Lectures "Guruji", the leader reads literally, directly in the text or as audio or video recordings.
But how is it possible to make ordinary people from the street accept the unquestioning authority of the guru? Very simple, here we go to the next item.
Appeal to shared values
In its mission for implanting the views and views of its leader, the organization exploits the already existing, existing authorities and values of the target audience. For example, in his lectures the gurus will refer to the Buddha, to Christ, to Science.
Refer to what is already valuable and expensive for many. And on this foundation will build its credibility. And as soon as it is established, the "help" of the great teachers of antiquity is no longer needed: the personality and the approach of the teacher, the founder of the organization, will clearly dominate the system of education.
Practice will be taught as it is seen by the modern guru, and not as it was thought by the teachers of antiquity to whom he refers. Teachers and trainers who pass on the practice strictly obey the code and do not step back from it.
But with all this, the teacher is the keeper of the secret, sacred knowledge that he personally passed on through the secret line of succession from the most ancient teachers.
"The only correct technique"
And since this knowledge is so secret and at the same time, of course, true, then it follows from this inexorable logic that only teacher X, Guruji, knows and has knowledge of the only correct meditation technique.
Whereas all other organizations, in his opinion, are mistaken, teach by wrong and inefficient technicians. The teacher very tactfully does not descend to senseless disputes with other currents, but at the same time, again, very tactfully explains to his audience why all these currents are wrong and false.
“Step to the left, step to the right - execution”
No deviations from the tradition of the school are allowed, either as a practice, nor in relation to certain "ritual" actions that exist around the practice. In these schools, you will never hear the following phrases from teachers: "experiment, try different ways, see what suits you best" or "if you want to develop the practice, then besides our organization, you can try to go to schools A, B and C ". Education within authoritarian schools is a closed and closed system.
"Porridge from the ax"
The meditation technique, which is old as the world, is taken, supplemented with some nuances and presented as a unique, unique author's method of guruji. Of course, people get the effect of such meditation, but not so much due to "additional author's nuances", but because of the known and studied principles of meditation. But at the same time, the audience begins to think that "porridge is tasty because of the ax."
Imagine that I am on my website giving a course of meditation, calling it "the unique technique of Nikolai Perov." During this meditation, I ask you to concentrate on breathing with your eyes closed and on each exhalation to whistle, and at the end of the practice of humming the chorus of Boris Moiseyev’s song - Blue Moon.
Technically, this will be a unique technique. And, the most interesting thing is that you will really feel the beneficial effect of this technique. But not at the expense of the Blue Moon and the “uniqueness of my method”, but at the expense of the basic principles of awareness, which were invented long before Nikolay Perov.
Another option is to say that the technique that is being taught is universal and practically the only possible practice. As if there were no other currents at all. That is, it is as if I said that meditation on the “blue moon” - this is Meditation in the classical sense, Meditation with a capital letter, Meditation “in general”.
If you take it on faith, then you will be surprised that it turns out that I taught you only a very private and specific practice, whereas the concept of meditation is much broader.
All are equal, but some are "more equal"
Inside the organization, a hierarchy is created that may have external attributes. For example, old students sit closest to the teacher and their places, according to the rules of the organization, can not be occupied by beginners.
Cons authoritarian organizations
Closeness and lack of flexibility
Pupils of authoritarian schools are implanted by the view of their founder, as the only true one. As a result, they have distrust of all other schools of meditation and the advice of those teachers who do not belong to the organization.
I witnessed how people literally fled from a seminar on meditation, when they suddenly realized that practice was taught in a different tradition, and not in the one they were used to. For them it was news that not every teacher of meditation is a representative of the authoritarian school in which they themselves are.
This is just the result of the fact that teaching in such schools always claims to be universally binding and universal. It never speaks of itself only as a separate school among thousands of other schools (as it actually is), but as the only school.
This can serve as a barrier for the improvement of practice, for independent research of one’s own consciousness and search for the most appropriate methods of awareness for a person (it is clear that one school cannot cover all methods, no matter how it strives for this).
Very often, students of authoritarian schools do not even suspect that meditation can be studied differently. After all, when a person begins to study the traditions of different directions, and does not close on one, then he understands much better the fundamental principles of meditation, which are deeper than sectarian differences and private authorial nuances. It promotes flexible, lively and dynamic practice. But in the authoritarian circles on this ban, they say: "you can only meditate this way!"
The students are already beginning to think in terms accepted in the organization, concluding their understanding of the technique within the limits of the logic of Guruji, which, of course, cannot exhaust such a profound subject as meditation.
Aggressive feed
Aggressive presentation of the material, explicit methods of suggestion and manipulation. This can repel critically-minded people, frighten new adepts, and create the impression that they are being brainwashed. Leaving these organizations, they can begin to think that "meditation is a sect!"
Pluses authoritarian organizations
Hard frames are needed for beginners.
Despite all of the above, I understand that many people need such organizations. And the main reason why I think so is that training in them sets a rigid framework for practice: "do it and not the other way!" This is not only a minus, but also a plus.
I myself, as a teacher of meditation, know how important it is to prevent unnecessary amateur performance at the stage of primary education, while the person is not fully aware of why he is actually meditating. Setting strict rules that in no case can not be broken - this is a good help for this.
Suitable for a particular type of temperament.
Some people, by their very nature, feel the need for a strong, charismatic leader who would lead them by the hand and tell them what to do at each step. Also, a certain type of person cannot be content with the moderation of ideas; he will listen only to one who speaks harshly and radically: "this is the only way!"
Sharpness and lack of a healthy compromise in judgments will be perceived by them as confidence in the truth.
How to treat authoritarian organizations?
Some critically-minded people, faced with schools of meditation based on the authority of the leader, immediately labeled "sect", tell their friends or readers of their blog scary stories about how they tried to brainwash and zazombirovat. Methods of manipulation in such organizations really exist. But they are everywhere: in the advertising that you see every day, in political and social propaganda.
Personally, in my experience, people who are all at once trying to try on the label "sect" are themselves, in a certain sense, sectarians with regard to their personal convictions. With the narrow-mindedness peculiar to classical sectarians, they are ready to defend them to the last, experiencing panic and fear when they are confronted with the fact that they differ radically from these views. And in order to defend their views, they are in a hurry to strung the label “sect” on opposing views.
As a rule, these people are not capable of learning, since it seems to them that they already know everything better than anyone. They go to meditation schools with ready-made expectations about "how everything should be." And, of course, reality confronts them with dissonance, giving rise to frustration and denial within them.
So, I hasten to assure you that authoritarian organizations are not a sect in the classical sense, although they contain some elements as such. Those schools that are known and at the hearing, often do not seek to take away your property and money, although, of course, tuition fees, either in the form of assessed contributions or in the form of voluntary donations, may be required.
And despite the fact that I use the term “authoritarian,” I understand that every system of education (not only meditation) uses authorities. And my articles are also a personal view of the question of meditation, within which I can discuss and criticize other views. But the question is how aggressively I do it. How much emphasis I put on my own authority. How stubbornly and radically impose my views and deny others.
So, those organizations that I call authoritarian are schools with a high degree of this denial and uncompromising training system. This is just a matter of degree. But such is their learning style. This can be feared and avoided. And you can use for the benefit of themselves.
Of course, I personally can criticize such schools. And I certainly prefer them more open learning systems, less "sectarian". Personally, I began to achieve a higher degree of practice, only when I began to experiment and moderately deviate from the given framework of the technique that I had previously followed. Rely on someone else's experience, but at the same time listen to yourself. Attend more “open” classes in meditation, with a strong focus on the research and experiment itself
But I understand that in authoritarian organizations one can progress in their practice. Especially if you are a beginner and do not know how to start meditating, you want to know the limits of your own capabilities, to plunge into the intense experience of self-knowledge. Especially if you do not have other opportunities.
And no matter how I feel about these schools, the fact remains that many people have really improved their lives and well-being after attending courses in the schools that I consider in the article. These organizations can be an excellent base for establishing their own regular practice and learning the basic principles of meditation.
The main thing is not to “get stuck” in them ideologically, not to turn into an adept fanatic, to preserve the moderation of one’s own views. Always remember that this is just one of many schools, reflecting only the private views of its founder. Explore other directions and trends. Always compare the information that is given in this school with the original source ("is this really true Buddhism? Did the Buddha really say that?").
Use them as a spiritual supermarket: take from them what can benefit you and filter out what is only the result of the pressure of the traditions prevailing there.
Or take meditation retreats in other countries where the choice of schools is much greater.
It's all.
I intentionally did not write the names of organizations that I consider authoritarian. First of all, you yourself will guess if you have already been to such events or when you will. Secondly, I understand that my opinion may be biased, since it is based on incomplete information and limited experience. I do not want to discredit other schools on the basis of this opinion.
If I'm wrong, then I'm wrong. But if I am right, then once in such schools, you will immediately recognize them by the following signs and recall my article and my advice.
I wish you success on your spiritual path! Grow, be unshakable, persistent and reasonable!
