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Is this guru for real?

Anonymous — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 08:26:02 -0800

What do you know about Nithyananda and the Life Bliss Foundation? Should I be worried that my partner is embracing this new spiritual path that is so alien to me? Similar to the recent Amma the Hugging Saint thread, I'm wondering if anyone has experience or knowledge about the spiritual leader Nithyananda, or his Life Bliss Foundation.

My partner has recently become very involved--spending thousands of dollars to go to India and spend months on his ashram, and volunteering lots of time here in Canada at the local Life Bliss centre. Many aspect of what he's learning seem very positive--letting go of worry, regular meditation and yoga practice, etc.

But aspects of it freak me out. Now that he's back from India, he's whole hog into the organization, wants to start teaching yoga and giving the proceeds to Life Bliss (though the organization apparently expects only 60% of the proceeds of you teaching their method), volunteering at events that he also pays for. And aspects of the practice bother me--the worshiping of pictures of this guru, the wearing of beads blessed by him, the belief that predictions this guru made will eventually come true...it all rubs me the wrong way.

Now, I'm probably being over sensitive because I fully admit that I am very uncomfortable with religion and spirituality, to the point of intolerance. I am very very much an atheist and none of this kind of thing appeals to me. For the most part our relationship seems to be surviving this rather large hurdle, and I've avoided posting this question until now because my partner is very okay with my doubts and my questions, and though he encourages me to meditate, he otherwise is not pressuring me in any way to embrace his new lifestyle. However I'm realizing that he will likely only become more and more fervently involved, and I'm becoming more and more intolerant in my own head...not a healthy thing to happen in a relationship, I know.

I guess my question is...are my internal alarm bells that are going "cult cult cult!" totally out of line? I've seen this critical Guruphiliac post, but it is the only piece of criticism I've found online and doesn't seem very reputable. I will admit that a nasty part of me totally wants this dude to be a fake so that I can "get my partner back"...again, not healthy thinking.

And also....is there hope for two people with such divergent spiritual beliefs? Should I just grow some tolerance and get over myself?

Van Morrison sample

dooabledawg — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 05:14:07 -0800

Calling all Van Morrison fanatics. I'm trying to identify a sample of music used at the end song "A town called Paradise" on the album "No guru, no method, no teacher". I can't upload the music here (don't know how) but the sample appears 5 minutes and 18 seconds into the song. It's driving me mad cos I heard the piece before, many years ago and I can't place it. I think it's a classical piece and was used in an epic western film like "The magnificent seven" or something like that. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

looking for a TV keep fit guru

Jody Tresidder — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 17:39:43 -0800

This is embarrassing, but here goes. I used to be a fan of Denise Austin - a perky TV exercise guru -and her daily workouts which ran for months on cable (east coast). I became a loyal sucker for the whole package, the psychological prod of a show at a certain regular daily time with an invisible crowd of fellow imagined exercisers doing the same routine simultaneously, the changing sunny outdoors backdrop, the privacy, her oddly brisk but relaxed schtick, the way you could calibrate your own efforts (weights/speed etc) to higher levels as you became fitter. I kept at it amazingly well (for me) with very happy results. (Back in the local indoor pool for laps, plus some cycling). Denise disappeared off the air, things slowly slipped horribly- as they do. Now I've turned back into a lazy, weak, skinny-but-flabby, shy lump. Not remotely keeping up with my teenage sons, which is shaming. And I'm facing a huge home desk bound new editing project - through to the spring. I fairly urgently want to tie this new project mentally to reversing my sloth. Is anyone following anything on east coast cable they could recommend? Is there something worth paying for - say that comes with an add-on sports or other speciality channel? -that changes daily with an encouraging, non-irritating, plausible 'guru'? Something that's not only about weight loss, or yoga - but that is basic enough to at least start from a not very admirable level of fitness? I'd be really grateful for any suggestions - I only originally "found" Denise through a random conversation with someone with a similarly peculiar attitude to loving shared exercise with people who weren't there!

Alton vs. Martha in the Kitchen?

UnclePlayground — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 11:42:57 -0800

Alton Brown vs. Martha Stewart: Who do you trust more in the kitchen? Please help my wife and I with a minor disagreement regarding who should be more respected in the kitchen with the cooking. This has nothing to do with crafts and gardening, we all know the scope of Martha's domain. Strictly food.
If you wanted to follow the teachings of one or the other, which would you prefer and most importantly, WHY?

How kosher is Younge Khachab Rinpoche?

zadcat — Mon, 02 Aug 2004 18:22:41 -0800

A friend and I are both longtime Tibetan Buddhists. We've encountered a new lama who's been touring to give teachings in North America: his name is Younge Khachab Rinpoche. He has detached himself from all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and is more or less freelancing, which has positive and negative implications. The question is: how kosher is he? If we take up with him, is it going to be a fruitful experience or a dead end? Does anyone have any experience or any friends in this subculture whose opinion they can ask, or avenues of inquiry to suggest?