Oh Really?

The Shaman Leads to Bliss in Nothingness

2 Chronicles 33:1-6, Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem: But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever. And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

The time of Manasseh is not unique in the history of mankind. In fact, during the last thirty or so years of the twentieth century his practice has seen a remarkable revival through the coming of Eastern religions to the West. As people once again showed that they are in essence spiritual beings, seeking for meaning and fulfilment, many turned to Hindu holy men and their teachings, hoping to find what they were looking for through the various schools that promoted the pursuit of happiness by means of transcendental meditation, yoga, and the worshipping of the shamans. A shaman is considered a holy man in Hindu religion. He is one who has been in nirvana (the realm of nothingness, of pure spirituality) and has come back to lead others on one of the many paths which lead to this state of eternal nothingness which presumably is the ultimate state of bliss to which the Hindu believer can attain. That these so-called holy men are taken very seriously was made clear by a secretly filmed festive procession of these shamans through one of Indias main cities. Worshippers were lining the roads by the thousands. Not only were they lining the roads, but they would wherever possible move on to the road to place their hand on the road surface, pick up some of the dust on which the elephant of a holy man had trodden and lick it off their fingers, hoping to attain to closer identification with that holy man. It was considered a special stroke of fortune if you were able to grab hold of some excrement which one of the animals might release during the procession. During the 1960s and 1970s the holy men started to target Westerners with their religion, notably through the Hare Krishna movement. The Beatles were among the famous ones who were for a while heavily under the influence of Maharashi Yogi. Eventually they escaped and they boldly stated in an interview that they had made a mistake; after all, they were only human. Yet, they inspired a flower-powered, druginduced generation to seek enlightenment from Indian holy men. Today thousands of self-proclaimed godmen continue to invade Western culture. When famous actress Shirley MacLaine came out openly professing her belief in reincarnation and all things Hindu, the dam broke and Hinduism or Cosmic Humanism as it was known in Western society became very acceptable (she is filmed standing on a beach in white, diaphanous dress, calling out across the ocean I am god, I am god). When she gave birth to her daughter she told the press. just to imagine that this little one

may well have been one of my forbears, might even have been my very own greatgrandmother! As Chuck Smith and Caryl Matrisciana (who grew up in India) interviewed many Hare Krishna followers, those followers told them very clearly that they worshipped their spiritual leader and would give up everything for him (Pagan Invasion Series Volume 2, Invasion of the Godmen). This also meant giving up family ties, because the shaman was all-demanding of his followers devotion. Many a husband or wife was left bewildered and alone as the spouse sought spiritual fulfilment. Children are also seen as obstacles, taking worship focus away from the holy men. The wealth accumulated by the shamans is enormous. Fleets of Rolls Royce cars, villas in prestigious regions of Switzerland, yachts and other baubles for the seriously wealthy have been paid for by the believers who give their all to stay under the shamanic aura. Gift shops, classes in yoga, training sessions in meditation, and camps for business people to discover their true potential with self-discovery programmes based on Hindu concepts, all these reach money beyond the direct sphere of influence. Tal Brooke, currently President of the Berkeley-based Spiritual Counterfeits Project Incorporated, was at one time part of the inner circle of Sai Baba. He tells of the very real power this shaman displayed, how he would have his Rolls Royce filled with water at one time as the vehicle had run out of petrol and be on his way again. Sai Baba would pick fruit from a tree in southern India, fruit that would only grow in the northernmost parts of the country. When a scientist from the USA came to him with an incurable skin disease, Sai Baba greeted him by name, told him to get back on the plane because he was healed and he was! There are many paths to the highest level, says one holy man in an interview (Pagan Invasion Series Volume 2, Invasion of the Godmen) and it is the solemn duty of the holy men to show their disciples one of those paths. Where does this path lead? It leads to the ultimate goal of every Hindu believer of becoming one with the cosmos, which means being divested of all that is physical and earthbound, and growing in godlikeness, that is becoming pure spirit through the processes of reincarnation. It is an empty delusion, but it is a very real and present danger in our society. It has invaded advertising, programmes for well-being, medicine, dietary approaches, and philosophical channels to help people to reach fulfilment in an ever-upward evolution of the god within. It is a works salvation leading supposedly to self-annihilation (sorry, cosmic unity). Such is the bliss the shaman offers. Manasseh would have been a zealous follower of these godmen as he did all the destructive things in terms of witchcraft, self-deification, and self-deterministic morality with which the shamans seduce and destroy their followers.

Dr Herm Zandman 5/11/2012