A CONVERSATION ON MASS SPIRITUAL INITIATION
Manoj Sivan : Mass initiation policy followed by Ramakrishna math and mission is not a good system....
Sugata Bose : But in this world of increasing demand for some sort of spiritual guidance what else may be the way out, Manoj? The spiritual guides are few but the aspirants are many. If the Ramakrishna Math does not open its doors thus, these aspirants will stray and fall into the hands of quacks and deceitful Gurus who are making a business out of providing initiation and creating a following thus.
In principle you are right, for mass initiation to all and sundry, who are devoid of the requisite qualifications in terms of knowledge or yearning to receive the mantra, dilutes the movement, although, it expands it. On the other hand, if initiation be reserved for exclusive aspirants who have all the desired qualifications and attributes for receiving it, the movement will remain intense but shall not spread. This is the organisational hazard that Belur Math is facing and, I guess, they are trying to optimise the outflow of spiritual knowledge thus without nullifying content quite as much as you, perhaps, are apprehending.
It remains then for the Math authorities to formulate programmes post-initiation periodically that will provide for back-up work on the initiation imparted. Spiritual retreats on a regular basis and on a serious note at that, as opposed to the customary 'bhakta sammelans' or conference of devotees for a day, ought to be a feature of the activities of all branch centres of the Math and Mission which will spiritually nourish initiated devotees and help them advance in their spiritual path. But things are easier said than done and it remains, thus, entirely up to the sincerity of the initiated devotees to religiously adhere to their daily devotions and steadily advance toward their spiritual ideal.
While the Ramakrishna Math is supposed to be run exclusively by the monks, the Ramakrishna Mission is supposed to be run conjointly by the monks and the lay devotees, and it is in this latter sphere that active and fruitful participation by the laity is much needed. When devotees awake to their spiritual consciousness and lend their creative and productive support to the Mission, these lacunae that presently beset the fuller functioning of the Mission will be filled and the Mission's activities rendered whole.
So far as I know, group initiation has been conducted in Belur Math since the days of Swami Virajananda as President of the Order. I beg to be informed more about this and exhort aged devotees who have been initiated long back to do so without, of course, revealing any sacred secret of the initiation process which is a spiritual imperative for all devotees to abide by.
Manoj Sivan : Mass initiation policy followed by Ramakrishna math and mission is not a good system....
Sugata Bose : But in this world of increasing demand for some sort of spiritual guidance what else may be the way out, Manoj? The spiritual guides are few but the aspirants are many. If the Ramakrishna Math does not open its doors thus, these aspirants will stray and fall into the hands of quacks and deceitful Gurus who are making a business out of providing initiation and creating a following thus.
In principle you are right, for mass initiation to all and sundry, who are devoid of the requisite qualifications in terms of knowledge or yearning to receive the mantra, dilutes the movement, although, it expands it. On the other hand, if initiation be reserved for exclusive aspirants who have all the desired qualifications and attributes for receiving it, the movement will remain intense but shall not spread. This is the organisational hazard that Belur Math is facing and, I guess, they are trying to optimise the outflow of spiritual knowledge thus without nullifying content quite as much as you, perhaps, are apprehending.
It remains then for the Math authorities to formulate programmes post-initiation periodically that will provide for back-up work on the initiation imparted. Spiritual retreats on a regular basis and on a serious note at that, as opposed to the customary 'bhakta sammelans' or conference of devotees for a day, ought to be a feature of the activities of all branch centres of the Math and Mission which will spiritually nourish initiated devotees and help them advance in their spiritual path. But things are easier said than done and it remains, thus, entirely up to the sincerity of the initiated devotees to religiously adhere to their daily devotions and steadily advance toward their spiritual ideal.
While the Ramakrishna Math is supposed to be run exclusively by the monks, the Ramakrishna Mission is supposed to be run conjointly by the monks and the lay devotees, and it is in this latter sphere that active and fruitful participation by the laity is much needed. When devotees awake to their spiritual consciousness and lend their creative and productive support to the Mission, these lacunae that presently beset the fuller functioning of the Mission will be filled and the Mission's activities rendered whole.
So far as I know, group initiation has been conducted in Belur Math since the days of Swami Virajananda as President of the Order. I beg to be informed more about this and exhort aged devotees who have been initiated long back to do so without, of course, revealing any sacred secret of the initiation process which is a spiritual imperative for all devotees to abide by.
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