Tuesday, September 17, 2013

The prostitution of the dead


Ye gods, please save us from the many headed hydra that is Facebook! If this is the modern age, maybe we deserve a re-run of the Dark Ages ...

Trawling through my timeline, I'm gobsmacked by a quote from Kahlil Gibran which goes like this: "If your heart is a volcano, how can you expect flowers to bloom?" OK, let's get something clear here: Gibran was an alcoholic who died of TB and cirrhosis of the liver. Now if you're a drunk, surely there's a lot of anger there and booze was his pain-killer of choice. - Yet still he managed to produce reams of so-called inspirational prose and poetry. My second point is that volcanoes have some of the most fertile land on Earth and lots of flowers grow on their slopes. So it's a totally hypocritical and bullshit quote: anger and emotional dysfunction was the fuel that produced The Prophet not LURV 'N' LITE!

And we're not talking about the Love and Light of the 90s here, which involved Star Trek style channellings and wacky ideas of planetary ascension. The Lurv 'n' Lite crowd of the new millennium are the confused progeny of Louise L. Hay and Shakti Gawain whose trite moral calling cards banish all negativity and confirm what a good person you are (usually at the expense of the proles beneath your feet!) 21st century spirituality is supine, soporific and saccharin sweet: a totally insipid consommé of neatly manicured sayings stolen from those who have long since shed this mortal coil. Nothing is new and everything is a borrowed simulation - it's all sound bites - emblematic of the banality of popular culture. The irony is that the dead are not only being prostituted - but also the living - because they have become the living dead. Everything is wet and weak and ersatz feminine. A politically correct, emasculated techno-spirituality is the new male principle! How do you ensure a yin-yang dynamic when the balance is so distorted? No one says what they truly feel: they hide behind superficial platitudes that wreak of craven moral cowardice. Now half of the Facebook feed is flooded with this aspirational spiritual dross, parading quotes from the likes of Rumi and numerous Zen masters we've never heard of. By posting some fluffy quote from a dead person, it's safe and secure. You know they're not gonna embarrass you in public (à la Russell Brand) - cos they're eating worm!

Everybody thinks that they are oh-so spiritual - when this is the most cynical form of neo-liberal capitalism yet. In Tiru no one does self-enquiry anymore or retires to a cave on the hill (well, except for the legendary sex saddhu, Sven, but that's another story!) They retreat to their designer shag pads, watch Youtubes and download movies from Pirate Bay - launching their new company on the internet while doing Facebook! These twitching zombies of consumption do their sadhana online (and play the guru too!) in a world of Shares, Comments and Friend Requests. Steeped in gross material and emotional parasitism, they are selling a pretend version of their lived experience. This is patently a lie, but it is legitimated by the economic machinery of the society it serves. No longer required to be honest in everyday expression, our emotionality is simply a commodity to be bought and sold. Spirituality has been privatised and depoliticised so that you can formulate a role-playing version of yourself, which earns you future reward. In this Greek drama, the persona bears no relation with reality. No one dares look at the Gorgon beneath the mask ...

The tragedy of this spiritual affectation is an addiction to temporary pain relief rather than the permanent cure of personal annihilation - cos that's too high a price, right?! It seems to be the modus operandi to commodify the words of the dead and wear them as a badge of one's own attainment and piety. Of course, unlike the Middle Ages, you don't actually have to buy an annulment from the church to remove all your sin. You can just hit the Like button or post another Sufi poem and everything will be all right ... you'll be guaranteed a place amongst the saintly!

Delusional and deeply dishonest. But if it gives you a moment's respite from your inner demons - why not give it a whirl?!



90 comments:

  1. As for parading quotes of Rumi....most Americans are unaware that he was god intoxicated; they think they are love poems and buy a copy for their 'sweethearts' and partners on valentines day!

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  2. Facebook is the most appalling spying machine that has ever been invented. Watch this!

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  3. Well said Kevji. This has to be one of your better posts and its good to see that you can still get straight to the point when you want to. However, on one point I will comment thus: there is no point to personal annihilation - its just a device that spiritual teachers give to their students to keep them in control - because you cannot annihilate yourself and survive and besides nobody wants to. Its just the idea that maybe if you can just get rid of your naughty little self that just wants to feel good you will attain to something finer, purer, lighter etc. Beginning to sound like Rumi? Its just an old gambit thats been tried by just about everyone who has visited the spiritual bubble, planet Tiru not to mention countless other locations we could care to mention. So why not have fun, even on crummy facebook pages. Sure, no-one is really going to like or love you for it, especially the uptight holier than thou people, but if you want to touch base with some old friends around the world it can be a handy tool. I don't think anyone entertains a private life any more. Thats a thing of the past like so many good things.

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  4. this feminized men thing you're always banging on about. Presumably you wish a return to the joint rolling 'chicks' of your youth?

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  5. Actually, I preferred the Punkettes with attitude and Jim do you really wanna be a PC eunuch?

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  6. For Jim Seventies:
    The Royal family had email in the seventies, the CIA is behind FB. Assange is illegally detained in the Ecuadorean Embassy and even Edward Snowden has made no impression on you. You idiot! The gun is on the side of your head and all you can talk about is the sixties? Those joint-rolling 'chicks' now run Google and are on the board at JP Morgan! Wake up Asshole and look out the window. See what's happening outside your dark, ignorant, little universe!

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  7. Yep, a kung fu kick straight in the bollocks. That's exactly the kind of attitude I meant. How ya feeling now Jim?

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  8. Some people seem very proud to expose private messages from other people working in high places but who wants their own personal messages to be hacked? Sure, we can point the finger at the controllers and manipulators of this world but what about your own unimportant manipulations and controls. Want them exposed too? I think not.
    Sure, the system is unfair, full of lies and corruption but we already know that. Exposing the system will not change it at all. It will just create more diversions for an intelligent and frustrated populace who got to realise before some of the others that our time here on this planet is almost up and there is not anything that anyone can do about it.

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  9. More advaitic fatalism! Arrogant, narcissistic, self-destructive pessimism. The only thing you want to uphold is your petty, shoddy little world of (non) importance - just like those who now decide what you have for breakfast by calling another war to crash the economy (AGAIN). Obviously you are another advocate of the Rothschild Illuminati party. You're so convinced that this is exactly how it should be, I'm sure we'll soon see you waving a flag as your very family is barcoded and transported to a FEMA camp for not complying with reduced food rations and reporting on their neighbours. No, there's nothing anyone can do - because you are a stupid donkey who brays "I am the Self" and "this is all karma" - every time you are slapped on the butt. There's definitely nothing you can do - because you were told it in school, on the media and by every institution and every religion on the planet - so it must be true. Well done, you worked it out, you're "so" intelligent. There's nothing we can all do so we should just accept our fate: then we can all earn our just reward in heaven!

    You need to watch this and find out EXACTLY what you are mindlessly complying with: The Money Masters. Oh, but I forgot: you won't "mind" because you are above these "irrelevant", "earthly" concerns ...

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  10. In the year of 2000 there were seven countries without a Rothschild owned Central Bank:

    Afghanistan
    Iraq
    Sudan
    Libya
    Cuba
    North Korea
    Iran

    The rest speaks for itself.

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  11. Yes you got it. I am part of a privileged elite. You will see me often at Ramana Supermarket stocking up on groceries sold at exorbitant prices by an unscrupulous member of the local Rothschild clan. The privileged have to pay over the top prices for everything. The Rothschilds took care of that. Basically, the Rothschilds and their local henchmen pretty much control every business, rikshaw driver, fruit wallah and hotel owner in Tiruvanamalai. There is nothing that they don't have their fingers into. Any new business no matter how small will be brought to their attention. But I'm not too bothered by all this because I can still afford to be here and that's what matters. The beggars, wannabes and tourists can all go to hell, and if they stick around long enough they probably will. This place is hell for a lot of people and it will only get worse. It is no surprise to hear people like yourself being really pissed off! YouTube information is all well and good, but there is no substitute for on the ground experience. Anyway, we are all aware that the Rothschilds control YouTube. If you don't believe me just ask any Rothschild. Or check out this link: (but remember, they control wikipedia too. Good luck.)

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  12. "I'm not too bothered by all this because I can still afford to be here and that's what matters. The beggars, wannabes and tourists can all go to hell."

    I would like to point out to the rest of the world, that not all of us in Tiru are like this ...

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  13. That is absolutly DISGUSTING! Everybody can go to hell cos you've still got the MONEY?!?!?!?!

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  14. Hmm, what are you doing on facebook if it is soo EVIL chi-ting master? Seems a bit, well, hypocritical to me. Hmm?

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  15. The reason we are on Facebook is to get a wider readership for Chi-Ting, pure and simple. We post original and authentic material, not the recycled poetry of dead people and spiritual popstars!

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  16. There were 8 countries without the Central Bank actually: also Venezuela. That's why Muammar Gaddafi was considering seeking asylum there with Hugo Chavez, before he was brutally taken out. And now Hugo Chavez is mysteriously dead too ...

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  17. Anonymous @11.10am is a sad indictment of Advaita. This is a prime example of the extreme self-interest and utterly demented egomania this religion breeds.

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  18. Nobody ever says anything about themselves on Facebook. It is a game of charades. Everyone pretending to be something they are not.

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  19. How can the Rothschilds run things in Tiru? they are not Tamils! what nonsense!!??

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  20. They operate through mind control, you idiot! Cultural conditioning and ... RELIGION. They give you systems to follow, philosophies and practices SO YOU NEVER LISTEN TO YOURSELF!

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  21. Anonymous who hates beggarsSeptember 23, 2013 at 1:04 PM

    I would like to congratulate the "all of us in Tiru" people but wait, is that the population of 144,683 "all of us in Tiru" or is that just two hundred or so foreigners on tourist or extended visas "all of us in Tiru". Because if so that makes a big difference. 144,483 to be exact. Anyway, congratulations, you are still using the internet which means that you "still have the money" right? Not a beggar quite yet. Not quite on the other side of my high stone wall surrounding the compound where I live. It has broken glass cemented into the top of the wall to deter unwelcome visitors. The thing is, my shoddy little world is mine. And I never read a book on advaita nor had the patience to listen to an advaita lecture. I know that Ramana was a beggar himself but I am sure he showed respect to the punters and never became abusive or threatening. Ditto for his devotees who would go into town and sing for their food. But in Tiru 2013 there can be a very thin line between a beggar and an abuser. A prankster and a molester.
    I have seen drivers seriously damage pedestrians and then leave their vehicle and simply run away. When finally caught, the victim could not be compensated because the driver .... had no money. This is the hell I am talking about. Its a day to day occurance that was never so much in my face in my birth country as it is here in Tiru. So tell me, wake up the world, is your landlord an alcoholic? What about your driver? The man who sells you your fruit? Rampant out of control alcohol abuse, domestic violence, young girls forced into prostitution. Its happening all over the 3rd world.
    People do not seem to be wanting to "wake up the world" around here. Self-interest is the norm. Everyone has self interest. The advaita fatalism haters too. Most people I meet here are just like anyone else. Seeking survival or happiness or fulfilment. What I like about the people here is that they don't bullshit. There is just no time for that. But here on this blog I can bullshit as much as I like and that is a lot of fun. I can feed the begging bowls of those hungry to vent their anger or seek revenge on those that they feel betrayed them. The Advaita wankers have to be at the top of the list. Well, I might be a wanker (sometimes) but I am not an advaita wanker. Do not see any point in that.

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  22. No they were not Tamils but Siddhi (Sid) Rothschild did visit Arunachala when Ramana was alive. Sid came from the British nobility side of the family and was curator at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew. He was visiting Madras as part of the British East India Mission and wanted particularly to study the rusty-spotted wild cat which at that time roamed the forests of Anamalai separating the Ramana Ashram from the Arunacheleshwar Temple. It was not considered safe to walk there after dark due to the prevalence of wild cats including panthers and cheetahs.
    Sid's appearance had no connection to another member of the family, Colonel Steven Rothschild who served under the British command of General Coot and attacked and defeated the French Army at Gingee Fort in 1761. It was this action which would later influence his son Nathan Mayer Rothschild to finance the British war effort in Europe which defeated Napolean and established British rule in India.

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  23. Re systems to follow, each has his own unique system of inborn vasanas, which render external systems superfluous by their sheer preponderance and immediacy, and so the LISTENING TO ONESELF is nothing more than paying heed to one's vasanas.

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  24. Listening to oneself is not paying heed to one's vasanas!

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  25. OK I suggest a compromise ... paying heed to the PROCESS of listening to oneself may put vasanas on the back foot, which in turn will reinforce and accelerate further listening ... Voila, we've created a feedback loop where none existed before, and so it goes, the endless charade ... which make me reach for a panadol.

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  26. Paying heed to the process of listening to oneself is not listening to oneself either ... Vasanas are always the inner voice whether they come singly or in a process (however you like). When there is no listener and what would be listened to also disappears - in that space - what comes forward is "listening." That is not self-enquiry. There is no technique for this or way of making it happen. And yet it is the unique quality of being human. One of our natural capacities. Not meditation, therapy, self help or any type of attempt to listen can be made. It is here that all religion and practice gets left behind.

    Now you can reach for the panadol. Double strength!

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  27. The Demographic Analyser of Tiru seems to obsess about a few Westerners residing there and doing their level best to dodge the ever increasing hazards, such as covert Christian proselytisers, hellish noise levels and chinkungunya ... He conveniently overlooks the lakhs of indigenous 4 wheel drive diesel monsters, which converge on Tiru with ever increasing numbers. This emerging Indian monied class is blind to the indigent among them - as though they did not exist. The itinerant hit and run pilgrims (some of which represent the acme of arrogance and corrupt, ill gotten gain) are the ones that seem to escape opprobrium.

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  28. The capitulation of the French at Gingee in the year 1761 - and the resultant harsh terms of surrender imposed by Tippu Sultan - set the precedent for the infamous punitive Treaty of Versailles ... so history does repeat itself albeit with a cruel twist. Every century has its own Tippu, adored by some, reviled by others.

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  29. Get your facts right! It's Tipu Sultan with one 'p' and he was ELEVEN in 1761!

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  30. Talk about apocalypse - food prices up hugely at Ramana Rip Off (opp Ashram) Shop at Subramania Store, about 1/2 mile away on the Vetavalam/Satanur Dam road towards town in the muslim quarter, discounts and basic prices...

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  31. Talking about the dead…. After Sister K left her mortal coil I see only Chi-ting Master’s jolly face in the comments. All the prominent commentators of this blog like Myles O’Blarney, Lucrezia Borgia, Firefly, Aghori and a few others have mysteriously disappeared! Are they just on holiday or are they all decapitated by our Chi-ting master so he can take full totalitarian control over the comments? Can our reverent Master shine his light on this peculiar affair?

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  32. On the subject of getting your facts right, hey Darth, Siddhi was not a curator at the Royal Botanical Gardens....he was a taxidermist for the British Museum! His trip to Tiru was catastrophic for the local ecosystem and he made himself very unpopular with Ramana's devotees, having shipped out several stuffed bonnet macaque and gray hanuman langors to Britain. However, some of the locals saw the potential for new business and persuaded Sid to harvest his beloved wild cats, which would fetch a market price ten times higher. Within fifteen years the wild cats were no more.

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  33. Does this new shop sell sardines? I need them for my cat!

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  34. Retail price wars in Tiru, like everywhere else, are not an apocalypse. It is the free market at play which gives you the whinger; the option to patronise those who offer you the best value for your rupee. Haven't you heard of consumer bloody choice? If you have, then use your head and exercise it ... if you are 100% impecunious, I'm sure some good Christians at Quo Vadis may come to your rescue sooner than any dyed-in-the-wool Advaitin (to whom everything including money does not exist - or if it does - it must be an illusion).

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  35. There is no such thing as a "free market" - even if it is an illusion. It's a rigged cartel! Tiru is just a microcosm of the neo liberal nightmare and now the consequences of the devalued rupee are biting hard.

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  36. What is this bullshit about food? If you want Italian olive oil and pasta's or Canadian maple syrup or French cheese or Greek olives and other fancy expensive food items you have to pay any price the shopkeepers ask, or go back to your country and enjoy your gluttonous eating vasana’s there. If you want fish for your cat go to the fish market. Try and eat some local food, like idli, dosa, vadai and some rice and sambhar. You will feel much better and your wallet will be surprisingly full. But then you have nothing to complain anymore; that of course is a problem. Life can be so easy if you just make a little effort!

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  37. Given the readiness and enthusiasm with which Indians embrace anything Western - including WESTERN CULINARY HABITS! - it's only a matter of time before they discard their traditional dishes and replace them with olives, french cheese, pizza, pasta and even maple syrup - and rightly so! They are simply recognising the fact that nutritionally speaking, the West has a lot to offer. As for myself, I garnish my idlis with an olive or two and relish a dosa with a liberal lashing of CANADIAN maple syrup ...

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  38. Siddhi may have seemed like a bad dude to some but his son Ziggy was far far worse! It was Ziggy who really streamlined the business, organizing the locals and the customs officials in Madras; opening up the market internationally in London, Paris, Frankfurt and New York. Those wild cats were getting shipped out big time! Things were looking good for Ziggy but trouble was heading his way because he was beginning to draw too much attention to himself and being a foreigner this made him more vulnerable to the locals. But they did keep him on because he’d developed a lot of important relationships which they needed to keep but basically he no longer had the control and had to start sharing out more of the profits too! Eventually the business just dried up. Last I heard he was playing in a jazz band touring London clubs.

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  39. all the local food is GM....no nutritional value at all...tastes good though@#$%^&*(... might give you the shits{}""OOOO

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  40. there is certainly some kind of cartel operating...... many wonderful auroville products are unavailable due to sanctions by local business! and the products that are available...more than double the price!

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  41. Sister Klaus was the only modern suffragette who fought to break through the glass ceiling - and the ceiling was too tall! Rest in peace here after - you deserve it for no other reason than winning all your battles armed with nothing more than the autumn of your madness! ...

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  42. GM stands for God Monsanto,a deity presiding over the fertile plains surrounding aruunachala.he feeds devotees abundantly, thus each gets modified to be a vairagi.....are you one of them?

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  43. Sister Klaus and myself certainly had our differences but I admired the position she took regarding the closing of the inner path which was a complete disgrace on the part of those responsible who never came forward to apologize for their stupidity. On another occasion, she was brave enough to point out how Steve, regarded by many as some kind of saint, was in fact a misguided rogue who in turn misguided innocent people who came to Tiru to seek spiritual awareness, and thru Steve's guidance, ended up being carted off to mental hospital for overdosing on hallucinogens!....but did I hear it right that Sister Klaus actually died? or did she just move on?

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  44. GM food? Well, that's the least of our problems because Endosulfan is the real silent killer. Although banned in most countries, including the states of Kerala and Karnataka, in 2012 the Indian government asked the Supreme Court to allow use of the pesticide in all states except the above mentioned ones. And even if the Supreme Court refuse, regulation will not make a difference because the stock piling continues and there is still around 20 years supply of endosulfan sitting in barns and cowsheds all over India.

    The only safe way to buy fruit, vegetables, grain and dairy products is to know the exact source of that product and that the production was genuinely insecticide free. For more info: click here.

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  45. If you live close to a farm you may have noticed a man with a large liquid container on his back and a hand spray in his hand. He has no protection whatsoever. No goggles or gloves not even a scarf around his mouth, nose or ears. Thats your local endosulphan dispenser. Is he aware of the danger to himself and his family? Is he completely ignorant? Or is it that he just does not care or does not want to look like a cissy in front of his mates? I have not figured this out yet and feel reluctant to start that conversation with him. If you live close to a rice field, observe when it is time for harvest; the rice sits in a pile waiting to be put into bags for the market. Along comes our dispenser man and gives the pile a good dose of spray just before its all bagged. That's right it goes into the bag soggy with spray. Perhaps the logic behind this is that bugs appearing at the point of sale could deter the buyer. If I were the buyer, I would buy the bags with bugs in them, because I'll know it hasn't been sprayed, at least not before being bagged.

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  46. To Anonymous @3:29 AM:
    So glad you opened this can of worms. Just a couple of brief comments out of a few hundred I could make. We who live here permanently and especially land owners realize how bad the food situation is around here. As Anon stated they are either ignorant or just down right indifferent to health and the wellbeing of themselves and others. Money at any cost. Since I own 2+ acres, 8km west of town, I wish to share one other insight into these demons' use of chemicals and the sprayer. I have noticed for many years the sprayerman will ONLY spray on the days where he can get maximum coverage by using the wind. Wind is his ally and his poison contaminates everything and everybody in 500-1000 meters. So many fields are being sprayed daily in India, sooner or later ALL India becomes defiled. Everything is killed or sickened (milk cows are eating this shit everyday) if you are in their broad neighborhood. I cannot grow crops which need pollination via insects and especially bees. That means we do not get to eat nice homegrown vegetable which I would be offering to the public. I have the land and water ... Is there anyone who has the money to build a couple of 20' x 20' hydroponics greenhouses for a 'grow controlled environment'? Good food and very good money as a side benefit. Co-op anyone? There is very little healthy food (of any kind) to eat in T.V.Malai. My final comment: the genetics of these people go back at least one million years to a time when what we define, know and accept as a "human" today was not incorporated into their genetic template. So my research and observation at this time led me to interpret the data as "a people that are not human (soulless beings [Srimad Bhagavatam]), ignorant, selfish and indifferent to others(i.e. health) and very "DANGEROUS"! I will close ... probably said too much anyway. Thanks. Hey Kevinji ... "dead prostitutes" sounds like 'party time' to me!

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  47. I know I've got a bad reputation, but I'm not Hannibal Lecter!

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  48. What WAS incorporated into their genetic template is an affinity for the notion that if all is one then, advaitically speaking, "I crap on them who crap on me - who craps on him - AND WE ARE ALL TOGETHER so no worries." There are a fair few nanogenarians in Tiru who seem to plod along regardless of the nature of hazards. Others succumb early on, extending capital punishment for offences such as spraying piles of grain in the manner described, unless the perpetrator can prove genetic markers for cretinism and imbecility. A whole range of food adulteration scams are no less odious: the Chinese executed the profiteers behind the baby milk powder substitution racket - so that could be a valuable precedent.

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  49. "A people that are not human (soulless beings [Srimad Bhagavatam]), ignorant, selfish and indifferent to others(i.e. health) and very "DANGEROUS"!

    Your self knowledge is astonishingly accurate Aghori, I touch your feet. Keep up the Self inquiry, who knows some day you might get a kind of result (not very likely though!)

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  50. Looks like the queen of pelf is at it again! Through 'Arunachala Grace' which is her mouthpiece, she is now gloatng over and flagrantly exhorting the less then honourable practice of temples engaging in accumulating and hoarding massive amounts of cash. Pictured are overflowing coffers of currency notes, from the generous donations of devotees. These are modern day money changers which she so readily endorses and she even bleats that the Arunachaleswar temple should follow suit and adopt their business model. What the hell is wrong with this woman? As it is Arunachalaswar temple has already undergone a distasteful materialistic u turn towards Mammon!

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  51. Anon at 7.34 a.m.

    Not sure what spiritual background you are coming from. What this 'woman' in Arunachala Grace is exhorting is right in my opinon as well. The practice in ancient times in India was the Palace or the temples would utilize the money for the welfare of the people. Good amenities for pilgrims like yourself, schools, colleges were some of things that the money was used for. They are doing it in Tirupati and Vaishnoo Devi. I support her that the Arunachaleswarar Temple should also do its part. It too should be held accountable. and believe me there are people working on it... once we get this 'secular' government meddling out of hindu affairs... things can be straightened out at the micro level. Hang in there Anon

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  52. In ancient Mayan mythology, the legend of the Hero Twins features prominently. In Tiruvannamalai, its contemporary representatives are the 2 characters who host their respective web sites ... Meenakshi Amma of 'Arunachala Grace' who glides between shiftiness and shiftlessness with the ease of a falcon in search of prey ... a kind of 'I am spiritual but I mean business' ... The other hero is more complex: Richard Clarke has all the hallmarks defining incurable Stage 4 Narcissism ... In his latest post, he bangs on about some detailed boring statistics relating to his web site ... Someone ought to tell him about the 3 categories of falsehood, namely lies, damn lies, and statistics. He seems to believe that the false impression generated by these misleading statistics will reflect positively on the good, selfless heroic martyr he thinks he is ... In the process, he's cannibalising his own self through an extreme form of attention-seeking that he is a victim of ... And lastly, he should examine the statistical aberration that caused his emergence from an ovum fertilised by Narcissus.

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  53. Helping the poor? Are we talking Arunachalswar temple where officials have built themselves opulent villas on temple ground and banished sadhus which are now an endangered species within the temple precinct.
    So greedy Lakshmi Amal of Arunachala Grace website ....stick that in your pipe and smoke it!

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  54. At the micro level ... the prospect of things improving by tinkering at the edges of a massive corrupted and corruptive process is less than bright. Human beings, self serving as they are, are inclined to resist any inner call for priority to their conscience. In the Indian context this in doubly magnified for reasons that need not be elaborated here. The feather nesting of officials is front, left and center of this game and I dont see it ending any time soon, regardless of the anti-coruruption badges pinned on their lapels. Perhaps every candidate whose ambition is to join a temple board of trustees should undergo a poligraph test to check his motives. And then there is nepotism - which as some wag observed - there's nothing wrong with it, as long as it's within the family!

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  55. WARNING FOR ALL:

    First I wish to bring to your attention there has always been a counterfeiting of major currencies going on in India; but over the past 5 years (because of all the new tech printing devices the problem has escalated many fold especially in the major tourist areas. It has come to my attention they is also a problem here in Tiruvannamalai. Both Indian and foreigner currencies are being distributed from at least one location here in town.... namely Shanti Cafe (My direct personal experience). You may be ok changing foreign currency into rupees but when you change rupees into foreign currencies is where you may have a problem.
    Make damn sure you know how to check the currencies (from your home country) you receive from such dealers. Also it would be good to know how to check the Indian rupees for counterfeit (Google it). It is also a known fact counterfeit Indian currency is being despensed through the ATM machines as well. If you get counterfeit money from an ATM take it to one of the bigger banks for a refund. India law says no question asked 'with free replacement of the counterfeit money with legal money'.
    Scams of all kinds is a way of life for many people but especially Indians. Do not trust any Indian. A 'lie' is the truth for most Indians.
    Always be on guard. An Indian will not approach you unless they want something from you no matter how big a smile they have. Remember the Indian is master of 'Energy Vampirism'. A honest Indian will not even waste his/her time approaching a foreigner. People need to understand that Indians believe all foreigners are below a 'dog'; and in India the dog is about the lowest thing there is.
    Go to a license money changer who will give you a receipt for your transactions. You need that receipt to change money back from rupees into your home currencies when you leave India. Also remember it is illegal as a foreigner to bring in or take out Indian currencies from India. There are at least two exchange agency downtown. One is located upstairs very near Axis Bank. Now you know! So if you let one of these entities screw you then it is your fault. The Indians also believe that as well. You are the 'stupid foreigner' so don't blame them (the Indians) for screwing you. It is their religion and obligatation to do so.
    I hope you have a positive experience in India.

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  56. dear victim......sympathising with your heart wrenching predicament,HOWEVER,back off from trying to unleash culture wars stemming from your bitterness of being on the receiving end.beware not to tar the entire nation and its culture with the same brush....they target you for your ethnicity no more then you target their currency's exchange rate which you take advantage of to give more bang for your dollar,euro,or british fricki'n pound....keep your shirt on,be alert,and keep a sense of humour ,even in the face of adversity.(if possible).

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  57. To Anon@ 4:07 AM

    Normally I do not reply to stupid people but hopefully it will help you and the other clones like yourself to refrain from making comments based on incomplete information.

    First my 'Warning' and remarks have nothing whatsoever to do with my personal negative experience but a general message concerning India and its people and the major issue of counterfeit money. What I have stated are facts and if you would like me to take you by your hand and initiate you into the corruption of this country and its people I will happily do so. Also your idiotic comment about taking advantage of the exchange rate is totally absurd. When I transferred my life savings into India some 10 years ago the rate of exchange was 43.60/per 1 US$. So if you can do the math your will see I have lost between 30-35% of the original value of my money over the years. As a permanent resident I lose everytime the exchange rate benefits you part time tourist to India. What you condemn me of (benefiting by the exchange rate) is exactly what you are doing each time you come to India. Tourism and foreigners are destroying this country. So before you leave other comments make sure you know all the facts. Oh by the way I do not need any sympathy from you are anyone else.

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  58. dear foreigner residing in india (tiru)??.......being a loser and a whinger is not a good combination....nature abhors clueless mugs like you,and provided them with no defence mechanism for a a good reason,that they may be flogged a little longer than is the case with quick learners....at the end of the day no one cares about the litany of your dwindling finances,when 800.000.000 of the indigenous population live on the smell of an oily rag....you bleat about how bad indians are,yet somehow decide to settle in the midst of those you claim treat you worse than they would a dog....YOU PROBABLY DESERVE IT.

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  59. Hey,that dude who transferred his life saving 10 years ago and did not bother to hedge it againt basic risks such as currency movements is now regaling us with his crocodile tears.....he states losing a third of his US$ holding....sounds like our classic king Midas in reverse Richard Clarke.who fancies himself as a financial advisor to the rickshaw-wallahs....lord save us.

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  60. That goose reckons foreigners and tourists are destroying India. Well buddy, try as we may as tourists to accomplish it, we don't have a hope in hell CAUSE the Indians are doing it much better. Don't kid yourself into thinking that the Indians don't consider you as a foreigner a tourist, not a full quid, or worse. They'll gladly swap passports with you, but will you be willing? I don't think so! You prefer to snooze in your own peculiar dreamworld and that's OK.

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  61. You are correct Mr chi-ting ...spirituality(packaged and commodified) has been privatised as well as deregulated, corporatised,globalised and monopolised by the money sniffers....these bean counters look at spiritual seekers as loose beads on their abacus which they slide back and forth to a position that provides for the highest YIELD.,,someone estimated the global yoga sector alone at a whopping 18 billion dollars....add up all the other branches and offshoots of spirituality-for -sale round the world and it would easily match the $ worth of narcotics both legal and illicit...and here's the twist...a famous cult busting deprogrammer is setting up life coaching clinics to dissuade high risk, fee paying spiritual shoppers from their addictive practice. problem is the fees he charges are astronomical,,,which makes him also one of those cunning bean counters mentioned before,but then he uses a novel aversion therapy whereby Mooji is shown besmeared with ash and turmeric while disenchanted devotees rub garlic on him!

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  62. The recently announced extention of visa on arrival to every tom dick and harry is brilliant. Less red tape means potential increase in QUALITY tourists motivated to make a constructive and pious contribution to India while at the same time minimising the imposition of their own cultural footprint on the fair subcontinent. Sounds like a description of Tiru's exclusive european enclave with their fancy dress parties at Adiannamalai.

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  63. a friend of mine attended a new age spirituality expo overflowing with self-improvement accessories.a bewildering array of merchandise was on offer...he was duped into signing up for a 'human potential' workshop that set him back 2800$,and to sweeten the pill they gave him a free meditation cushion and a yoga mat that retail for 60 bucks each......the potential for human folly is thus writ large.

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  64. In recent times David Godman has uploaded numerous 'spiritual clips' on YouTube ... ALAS, one 7 minute upload entitled MY HOME, MY SISTER, MY FRIENDS stands out and raises more than the odd eyebrow ... The viewer is taken on an inspection of his less than spartan manor on a sizable spread complete with lavish gardens. The central feature is a large ORNAMENTAL POND. Let us pose 2 questions here and hope he does not get surly: 1) Is that pond manmade? It looks like it might be. In light of the severe water shortage, we wonder if this indulgence is justified? - 2) Why do you feel the world should be aware of your private opulent shangri-la in a place that holds up asceticism as the ideal?

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  65. And also see Godot's freshly new 2-hour interview: Click here

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  66. Oh no, not another remake of that zombie movie "The Living Dead!"

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  67. The rumour is that Godot has been in America recently - grovelling to his wife after his recent dalliance with the very naughty Sister Didi!

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  68. The Brasilian ball magician Didi was at least as good as that other virtuoso Pele. His mind blowing goal against France at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden is on YouTube. He was then 26, but sadly is no longer with us. Was he related in any way to Kevji's Didi - is she as gifted?

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  69. Yeah, she's gifted, she'll play you like a flute!

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  70. That king of fandango, Rick Archer, seems to relish running his Buddha At The Gas Pump. The primary function of this online house of ill repute seems to be to create pretexts on which he can justify the blunt and blatant plea for donations. To date he managed to lassoo 200 odd dropkicks whom he considers the planet's spiritual vanguard - not least our own Tiru-ite, Godman! While displaying the demeanor of a defendant under pressure fending off heavy prosecutorial probing, he did not completely discredit our holy kshetra but his bizarre fixation with his one time guru Lakshmana Swami along with that handmaiden Sarada is worthy of a shrink's couch. He harped on about it for quite a bit, while the befuddled Rick Archer tried to make sense of it all! Kevinanda, should you be approached for an interview at this rotten gas pump? Name a HEFTY price!

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  71. Well put, Anon. Archer pursues his own agenda for his guests, many of whom are self-promoters. I thought Godot looked rather dull and gloomy in the interview, compared to some of his earlier appearances. Is this the result of his years of self-inquiry and association with gurus?

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  72. Yes anon that is how you will look like after years of self-inquiry and associations with Gurus without any discrimination…..dull, gloomy, boring and self-indulged…. in short a; zombie.

    The also incredible boring youtube slide show…. My home etc…. reveals one interesting point. At 5:00 you can see a glimpse of the late sister Klaus, looking languishing at a little girl, his apparent friend Godot looking the other way. So if they are friends one wonders about the nature of their relation. Was it straight sex, SM, homo erotic, were small girls, boys or animals(I spotted a catfish!) involved, bondage etc, etc? One can just guess, but I fear the worst, the unspeakable.

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  73. Has anyone seen tubby Richard Clarke's latest pictorial tomfoolery? He is now the official and honorable RIBBON CUTTER for up and coming new breed of entrepreneurs in the hospitality business in Tiru. In his newly found role as promoter of small to medium economic activity, he may well end up a major stake holder in Tiruvannamalai's expanding commercial pie. One of Richard's rickshaw wallahs leaked to us his intention of increasing patronage at Ramana Supermarket by starting a customer loyalty program. Customers spending over a specified amount get to be taken to a vantage point from which Richard will show them the inner path at a distance and enthrall them by speculating on possible esoteric reasons for its closure - much to the delight of those touring patrons.

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  74. I am so glad Richard doesn't take you seriously. In my view, he is helping the sadhus and auto rickshaw wallas when you and the Chi-Ting Master are thumbing your nose up at them. Who do you think Arunachala is going to reward? BTW, it was Richard and Meenakshi Mami's blogs that helped me when I first came to Tiru. I am glad that there are more clean good eateries opening up in Tiru. When we are visiting and dont have a gas stove or fridge, eating out is our only option. So I am glad Richard is doing something about it.

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  75. Are you so STOOPID that you think Arunachala will reward you, Richard Clarke and Meenakshi for your petty pieties? Arunachala is not Jehovah! There are no angels with karmic scorecards, ushering the good boys and girls into heaven. These things are just a product of your religious imagination!

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  76. the comment at 11.46 could have only been written by a sufferer of vascular dementia,so on that ground he can be excused for his stupidity,and i shall not add any thing further to what Chi Ting Master pointedly observed at 12.00.

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  77. next time he goes out to feed the sadhus that incurable buffoon whose name escapes me should, in addition to his camera,also take a trumpet,,,,and than there's that strumpet,,,what's her name?

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  78. "There are no angels with karmic scorecards, ushering the good boys and girls into heaven. These things are just a product of your religious imagination!" REALLY Chi-Ting Master? Are you not wasting your time in Tiru where we believe in Karma, in Lord Yama and Lord Chitra Gupta. Google these names or look them up in Meenakshi's blog.

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  79. Who is this "WE" you are talking about? Some crack troop of Hindu fundamentalists?!

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  80. Karma originates in a solar cult which was later institutionalised by the priests who wrote and grouped their authority around the texts of the Upanishads. It's a well known fact in a few universities that the concept of karma was made up to disperse the horse and fire cults left over from the period of the Vedas. There is very precise documentary evidence to show that long before the beliefs of "karma" arrived, man was thought of as a divine being who did not know death and his actions were always in concert with the universe. Those wishing to dominate and control the populace, then invented "karma" and "death" to say there was a precise way you "had" to act in order to avoid being "reborn." These documents showing the implicit corruption that is the foundation of Hinduism, Vedanta, Advaita and Buddhism have been placed under lock and key for fear of what their release would mean. They are buried in the academic vault. Meanwhile, in the name of "truth," the religious devotee is lost in a world of totalitarian fantasy, part of a political coup d'etat set up to dominate man and use him as a pawn to maintain a select elite.

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  81. Yes, Chi Ting Master it is the Hindu belief. If you call it fundamentalist then that is your crap and has nothing to do with us. Also, are you not wasting your time in the land of Hinduism, and the land of Ramana Maharshi who has said that there is karma. To hell with the academic viewpoint when those of us who meditate, those of us who follow the Hindu practices of puja, chanting, and girivalam have experienced it for ourselves.

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  82. Anyone who is even slightly grounded in their body will see that karma is impossible. Ramana also said at varying times there was no karma (depending on who he was speaking to), but the people who believe in it are far too busy reading their books from Ramana Ashram and telling everybody to do self enquiry to notice. If you want to believe in karma, fine, but it is only a belief. A very limited belief, which every person in Tiru has the right to decide whether they want to adopt, or not.

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  83. India is not the land of Hinduism. It is the land of Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Bahaism, Christianity and Hinduism. And Tiru is not the land of Ramana Maharshi. He was one man on a mountain for a very short space of time. Tiru, India, they belong to no one. We are all her guests. Who is this person to morally litigate who can and can't be in Tiru - and what they can and can't believe? I should say that "fundamentalist" is putting it politely! More like "fanatic" and "extremist"!

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  84. BTW, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism are offshoots of Hinduism. The rest came in because Hindus are a tolerant lot. Not fanatic or extremist or fundamentalist as you would like to label them. Your years of living in Tiru has made not a change in you. Poor you is all I can think of saying to you. Also, by the same token, who are you to morally or socially litigate how Richard and his wife or Meenakshi Mami or David Godot should conduct their lives. Sour grapes is the only thing that comes to my mind. Godot has lived in the Kannappa temple and slowly moved up. Like Ramana Maharshi he spent some days in poverty and now Arunachala is rewarding him with a family and much wealth. Bless him, feel happy for him rather than being jealous. Ask yourself what has your contribution to society except a satirical crap which is really a jealous rage at those who are spending their lives usefully. Just my opinion Kevji.

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  85. What a bigoted and narrow world you live in! I suppose you also think that Islam is an "offshoot" of Hinduism too? This blog is satire and we refuse to support the view that Arunachala is a judicial entity bestowing reward and punishment. Our contribution to society is to challenge ideas of moral supremacy and hierarchy - and wake people up from their collective stupor!

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  86. Ha ha it seems the joke is on the ones who who think they got it. When I went to Tiru, I saw that the mountain is very, very ancient. It has seen everything: the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Vedantins, Shankara, the Advaitins, the Christians, Ramana, and now all the Hindu nationalists, the sadhaks, the gurus and their followers. Everbody has their "go" at saying what is and what isn't. The mountain stays. Unperturbed it looks on.

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  87. Anon 5.59, You sound like such a goody goody two shoes!
    Why talk of jealous rage? You want to take stock of the rage within yourself!

    glow

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  88. If this site is so evil, then you wonder what these religious people are doing on here. Surely they will accrue more negative karma just by association? And if they really believed in karma, they wouldn't be telling others what to do or what to believe for a start. But they just can't keep away!

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  89. Keep your shirt on! Remember this is a satirical site meant to lampoon and expose a few 'stuffed shirts' and puffed up phoneys parading in and around Tiru.

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  90. "Taking a serious view of reports of lack of care of cows kept at the Tiruvannamalai Arunachaleswarar temple, the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department has come out with a detailed set of guidelines for proper maintenance of cow sheds (‘goshalas’)." - Is anyone surprised? The last time I looked, there were almost no sadhus within the temple and temple functionaries had built substantial villa units for themselves on temple ground!!

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