Here I attempt to explain some of the reasons why I hold tradition in high esteem and my critical nature to keep such intact.

 Tradition vs Western Imitation

By Durgadas, Ved Kovid, AYT

(c) Durgadas (Rodney) Lingham.
All Rights Reserved.

No part of this article may be copied or reproduced without direct permission from the author, either electronically or in any other manner.

There is a good reason why Brahmins didn't agree with the Buddhistic liberal idea that all should have access to Vedic wisdom rather than the samskara-based system of aptitude, best reflected in genetics in the varna system and various gotras spanning centuries or millennia. I still adhere to such a belief, having also seen the egotistical projections due to overconfidence and overestimation of those outside these folds who project inferiority complexes when their knowledge of tradition is corrupt, not fully formed and still bears the marks of their own cultural conditioning which corrupts and taints the Vedic.

Ironically while many reject the Christ-figure in the western world, they are still obsessed with becoming a Christ-like figure and leaving their mark upon the world, confusing their own personal dharma with their culturally-innate sense of missionary activity superimposed upon the Vedic.

Here, only those born into tradition and representing it by way of both deeper karmic and genetic association or by way of deeper study and sadhana beyond the superficial may truly be said to be qualified to speak on such. 

Traditionally, the bloodlines or deeper samskaras were vitally important. Mantras and their effectiveness were cultivated as an actual siddhi (perfected state) in bloodlines and were handed down so that others would also become deeper aspirants. Various mantras depended on various gotras or seer families and also lineages or paramparas. The power of potent mantras can also active others - and again is not simply about finding a mantra and teacher - or even an Indian Guru who has learnt the mantra from an existing tradition, but who has no personal siddhi or it, or received it from one who had no personal siddhi or such. The so-called "effects" many claim mantras have in the west are also nothing more than placebo-effects and various projections of lesser worldly shaktis as also other mental-states that being ignorant of, the masses confuse it for something spiritual or an attainment.

Here, no book or lecture would reveal one's deeper path which the Yogi obscures. The yogi does not disclose his Vamamarga (the way of the left) or Dakshinamarga (the way of the right) approach personally. He remains end enigma. One would never know, but a few close associates alone, who is and who is not the Vamamargi on India. And of these paths, such is not about the macho-image of projecting one's contempt for Christendom as a kind of social-status and hence the boundary-crossing of so-called 'taboos' and 'secret rituals', which are nothing more than mudhabhavas (deluded states) within the individual's own mind and actual inability to transcend their social conditioning which they instead ignore or repress and assume an authoritarian position in native faiths or pseudo-traditions long having lost their roots such as European Paganism, Mithraism, Gnosticism or admixtures of pan-African systems muddied with Catholicism and other fetishes! Such hybrid systems remind us of the more dualistic approaches to Vaishnavism in India that resemble Islam and Christianity more than mainstream Hinduism and hence I take such (Caribbean and other) fusion systems of spirituality as about as seriously as I do the Puranas in India or movements such as Ambedkar's, Mahatma Gandhi's ahimsa, Tamil Nationalism or Sri Yukteshwar's 'Holy Science' and his disciple Yogananda's so-called Yoga system, interwoven with Christian tenets!

The west has no yet learnt this yet and, wearing such aspects as a label, adopts such as a fashion trend, revealing their own failures and fall into crude egotism over transcendence. Cultural is appropriation it appears, is the foundation of western culture, commencing with the taking of the Judaic Bible from the Jews, adding to it, distorting the terms and then using it against the Jews. Such a subliminal anti-Semitic psyche was hence implanted in Europe as is also being imparted now by Anglo-colonies who retain their contempt for native Hindus and other "savages", again on a subconscious and even unconscious level that exists in the substratum of society, seeing themselves as superior in that the Colonialist-samskara has not yet been fully scrubbed out! Indians serve the purpose, for most westerners, merely to gain access into their kingdoms of ancient and sacred knowledge to announce it to the world and grandstand, emulating the egos of their past Emperors such as Caesar, Nero and Constantine!

As there is a difference in mispronunciations of Sanskrit west and regional variations in India, so also this subtle difference exists between what the Hindu makes publicly available out of tradition and what he does not, as also how he goes about it. By contrast, the western adopts the haphazard approach! There is a fine-line between for example, traditional healers that possess an inner power to heal people and those in the West wishing to learn within a year, a month or weekend, such techniques and practices that were specialised in families in India and other nations for thousands of years and again, passed on in the bloodline!

There are those for example who in American Ayurveda circles wish to associate themselves as educated in tradition, but have gone over at best, two classics and bluff the rest of their way, commenting on others' posts, articles and such to assert their knowledge which is often lacking and also of which they, in an attempt to appear authoritative to their peers will later plagiarise!

No foundation in Ayurveda is actually complete unless one can discuss the entire Yogic tradition as all other darshanas with clarity as also the vedangas such as jyotisha and explain the original foundations of these, the symbolism and modern scientific equivelents from the classical texts. Otherwise, one is following either a rigid non-traditional approach or simply withing to taint it all with a New-Age brush of superficiality. So far, I have also come across none personally in the west who embody all of these to the complete degree as we find in European and Indian scientists who had many facets to their learning - of India, not simply neo-Vedanta, but the entire system and all paths as well as all associated with it, from ritualism to astrological aspects to the four vedas and their deeper secrets.

The majority in the western world (Americas) are usually just wishing to become public figures; they are but frauds alone who, while taking the approach of being seen as a Yogi, fail to admit their ahamkara's projection in the public sphere, making them no more than Arts graduates who wish to become inspirational speakers and personality-cult marketers!

The inner paths are not about doing a degree in philosophy, history or linguistics and trying to become a "philosopher-historian" or present one's self as a modern-day Socrates! It is also not about reading Aleister Crowley, Alain Danileou and Arthur Avalon and trying to imitate them or even the paths that they were on, which if one knows true Tantra, differs as per the individual and there is no"one size fits all" sadhana or spiritual practices - if one can even have the spiritual aptitude for such, which is known only by external samskaras coming out in one lifetime, in addition to one's astrology being done and assessed by one's teacher or Guru, who can then understand and guide the sadhaka deeper (not merely do one's own chart, which generally fails as we superimpose). If this is not done, then one professing to speak from tradition and such and become, as it were, an egotistical zealot espousing our own views, having no real roots or foundation.

It is also sad that even those that have the greatest knowledge of such teachings are themselves still quite base-level compared to Hindus and other Westerners they quote (usually as examples to raise themselves on pedestals) – and even then of the best of them, they are quite juvenile in approach and appearing like a jealous dog wanting the attention of his master, constantly!  

I have found only one sadhaka who I have taught the deeper path to who has been with me training in the Vedic sciences for over a decade with many daily sadhanas. As for others, I have found none who have the background nor ability to be able to handle higher practices and teachings or are even mature enough! Others are developing as it were.

Sri Ramakrishna had really only Swami Vivekananda; Sri Ramana Maharishi had Ganapati Muni - he himself had Kapali Shastry and Daivarata Sharma and Sri Aurobindo had The Mother. Beyond them, there were really very few who followed them seriously and as noted, hardly any who had their inner teachings and continued them in a proper manner.

Here, there is a difference between learning and repeating something to have an audience and being born with a true deeper and inner pull. Even I have some sadhakas that wish to learn from me for egocentric purposes alone, despite that they think I am naive otherwise! In charts and years of reading people, much is perceived!

For our advanced courses, these one starts off at the level of the base sadhakas and even then require deeper backgrounds including ability to answer questions pertaining to the classics and common Ayurvedic questions. So far, nobody in the Americas has successfully answered these, despite their so-called claims of being Ayurvedic professionals! The same goes with the Vedas and those claiming to have studied the Vedas.

Outside the Americas, Europeans and Indians have a deeper knowledge. Mainly as they are not evasive in their answers and seek the truth behind semantics and excuses - something it appears Americans rely on.

While this might seem depressing, we must remember that the deeper teachings and the truth was not for one and all and that few actually succeeded!

For me, I don't want American parrots and pseudo-sadhakas trapped in the sphere of denial of their love for New Age concepts and Christian views or abusing terms as "esoteric" and "occult"! Hinduism is already esoteric and occultic to western audiences! Such terminology itself screams of the socialist attitudes so typical of the Arts world and its zeal to reinvent things in their own umbrella and defend it as “traditional”, when in fact it simply reveals the Achilles’ heel of such individuals and their aloofness from actual traditions, learning or even deeper self-study beyond quoting those the mainstream would consider “spiritual psychopaths” and sociopaths.

Instead, I want true sadhakas who can truly realise the issues of the past - not (white) Hindu apologetics or wannabes (the "Indians in a western body" nonsense). I didn’t spend my years in tapas and sadhana, nor continue my own family’s legacy and heritage for teachings to be repeated to some New-Age orgiastic lecture!

Harsh as it may seem, my family has tried to keep the teachings pure for centuries. Now being the next who continues this legacy, I am not about let it become corrupted by westerners wishing to "cash in" or exercise their ego!

There is a difference between the classics, which state of the ideal characteristics of one who should adopt Yoga, Ayurveda, Jyotisha or other disciplines which outside circles were rare, and the idea that the teaching is for 'one and all' - meaning that anyone can access it on any level and become a master! These again are not the same thing.