On Jun 14, 2005, at 8:16 AM, t3rinity wrote:
And above that, I know enough
of the Vedic tradition to understand it in terms of these. IOW, if you
are critzising a holy man (supposed he is holy of course, which no one
knows for sure, neither to the positive nor to the negative), then you
insult the gods, whom this person is walking with. Thats why in India
people are careful of Sadhus. You shouldn't insult one, even if they
are weird. It's not that *they* want anything bad to you then (as they
maybe beyond ego) but there are entities feeling very protective about
them, whom you call on then.
I guess it depends what you mean by "Vedic tradition".
"The Vedas prohibit the sale of God in any form. It says: O mighty Lord of countless wealth, I will not sell thee for any price (Rigved 8.01.05). The role of a guru is that of a guide and a giver, and not of a taker.
There are four categories of gurus: a false guru, guru, Sadguru, and Param guru. In this age too many false gurus are coming to teach (or give a mantra) for a price. These false gurus are the merchants of mantra. They take money from disciples to fulfill their personal material needs without giving the Taartamya-vidyaa, or Brahm-jnaan, the true knowledge of Brahm. Saint Tulasidaas said that a guru who takes money (or any form of Sevaa from the disciples and does not remove their ignorance of metaphysics goes to hell (Tulasi Raamaayan 7.98.04) )."
-Ramananda Prasad, American/International Gita Society
