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Newsletter Nr. 732
Amsterdam, September 22ndh, 2018



THE SIKHS: A BRIEF INTRODUCTION - ANDREA DIEM-LANE

What was lost was the understanding of how Sikhism evolved in the course of five centuries. Many Sikh scholars today are Sikhs themselves and defend the Singh Sabha interpretation. While some of their research is valuable in that it has given us insight into Sikh literature and customs, what is needed is a more objective academic scholarship. One such scholar who has succeeded in illustrating the evolution of Sikhism is W.H. McLeod. He contends that Sikhism developed out of a much larger Indian tradition, the Sant tradition. Sikh philosophy, mysticism and social patterns are directly tied to this parent movement. Not only does McLeod's research offer a historically viable view of Sikhism, he gives us an understanding of the overall dynamic structure of religion in general. Drawing from McLeod's work, my goal in this book is to scrutinize the Singh Sabha interpretation and to provide a more accurate view of this religion by discussing its origins and illustrating its evolution in the past centuries.


Read more:
http://www.integralworld.net/diem-lane34.html


THE CHANDIAN REVOLUTION - Demythologizing Radhasoami Beliefs - DAVID LANE

Over two decades ago I wrote a controversial essay entitled, "The Guru has No Turban"[1], wherein I argued that perfect masters don’t exist and that spiritual teachers (of whatever stripe) are—to echo Nietzsche—“human, all too human.”
I have long felt that the real, underlying problem in the politics of gurudom is the gross hyperbole surrounding so-called spiritual masters. Instead of simply stating that so and so (fill in the blanks) gives good advice on meditation, there is a tendency in various religious organization to elevate him or her to unqualified heights of glory and power, forgetting in the process that the guru in question has clay feet like the rest of us, even if he or she has access to levels of consciousness far beyond our present capacity.


Read more:
http://www.integralworld.net/lane144.html