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Raja Begum
Unregistered User
(12/21/01 2:19 am)
Reply 		In Praise of Guardians
This afternoon a very dear friend of mine, who happens to be a Guardian, made an astute observation that many of her type reading my posts might feel attacked by my analysis of the differences between them and Idealists. I was quick to realize not only how correct she was but also how merciless I've been with the "Rationals" via my discussion of Tara Mata and Bro. Anandamoy.

There is no doubt that psychology and temperament talk can become a divisive tool when used to stigmatize people into irreconcilable catergories. But that was never its orignial intention, which was and is highly spiritual. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (a precursor to Keirsey) was the brainchild of two women who were searching for answers to the complex social problems in their world. To quote from another site: "Having been influenced by World War II, they [Isabel Myers and Catherine Briggs] hoped to develop an inventory that would lead to greater understanding among people -- an effort to lead to a world harmony. "


Just for the record. Should Free aka. Rigiditananda is one of my very close friends. We have shared a strange and perhaps singular journey in the land of Self-Realization Fellowship. Though we met in Hidden Valley many years ago and were sympatico from the get go, I had no idea that SF and I would one day be involved together in challenging some of the fundamental tenets of the SRF organization. We were just your basic nice devotee. Nothing more.

It was Should Free who first exposed me to the valuable insights on temperament. I bought Keirsey's book because SF kept bugging me to get it....or rather, kept "shoulding" me to get it ("You should drop everything else and buy that book! You must read it!"). I didn't crack it right away. Truth is, it hung on my kitchen counter for weeks like a dried-out fruit. One arbitrary day, I decided to take a shot at it, and it was as if my mind was experiencing an internal Fourth of July. As far as important books go, it impacted me so profoundly that I have to say it is to me psychologically what the Autobiography of a Yogi has been for me existentially.

The most rewarding part of this discovery was how it gave me an opportunity to serve others. I have been blessed to help many people put their lives back into perspective through the use of these tools. I use it frequently in a professional context; sometimes my colleagues approach me for insights. Sometimes it happens spontaneously at a party as when I recently helped an Artisan "Performer" who, a product of a Guardian family, was working in a the highly Guardian world of finance and banking with very little satisfaction and a high sense of inadequacy. After our discussion, he realized that his talents leaned in the direction of networking and being a laison. Artisans are brilliant at thinking on their feet, and they like working with people. I have also helped several people improve their marriages and, I'm happy to report, have utilized this tool to help my family heal its own historical wounds. Every human wants to feel useful. I've been very blessed that Spirit provided me with an avenue for using my communication skills in a way that can bring understanding to others. A smile on an appreciative face is the most sublime reward.

So now you know a little bit more about me. In case you think I'm some declared enemy of the Guardian race, let me just share with you that two of the most beloved people in my world have been Guardians -- my grandfather and grandmother. Grandpa was an ESFJ "Provider" Guardian. Grandma, still alive, is an ISFJ "Protector" Guardian. The two of them made a conscious decision to be a stabilizing force in a family being broken apart by my parents' divorce. They gave unstintingly of their time, financial assistance and companionship to us all. To be so deep into the war zone of a fractured family must have been a thankless task, but these were Guardians -- salt of the earth and pillars of society -- honorable human beings. I cannot begin to tell you how much I love them. My hardworking and dedicated grandfather has long been gone, and my grandmother is now bedridden and getting ready to depart for the next world. She barely recognizes me or remembers my name when I visit. But I have to share this with you: Like a true-blue Guardian protector till the end, she recently asked me if I had enough money. Playfully I asked, "How much would you like to give me?" "Oh I'd like to give you twenty-thousand dollars" was her childlike reply. Truth is, grandma doesn't have that kind of money to burn. But it's the thought that counts. Always checking to make sure I had enough to eat, always slipping a couple of bucks in my hand when times were tight, always standing by my side when life took a strange turn -- that was my "Protector" Guardian grandmother. In the early days of my sadhana, she became concerned about my involvement in some strange cult run by an Indian man who I would affectionately refer to as "Guruji." Being a Guardian it was natural bent to be concerned about anything and everything I was getting into. To satisfy her curiousity we spent many days together reading from the AY and discussing spiritual matters.

There have been other Guardians who have been inspirational in my life but I think you get the idea. I love many things about Guardians. And believe it or not, I extend my hugs and love to those Matas and monastics of SRF who provided good old-fashioned values and a place of grounding for a young man unsure of his place in the world. I've never been the enemy of the Guardians. What I do contest, and what I feel in every ounce of my being to be true, is that SRF has become skewed and unbalanced in its representation. Speaking for all those I know inside and outside of SRF, Idealists have their own specific requirements for actualization.

If you are not an Idealist and find my words distressing, imagine what life would be like if the majority of SRF and its leadership were Idealists like me and my buddy, Should Free. I'm sure you're not looking forward to the day. Furthermore, imagine if, in order to be an accepted member of the approved version of your guru's universe, you had to bury your own sense of authenticity and accomodate forever to a totally foreign aesthetic which your guru didn't entirely invent. Imagine: The way we talk, how we dress, our choices in life, our value systems, our energy level and how we solve problems --- imagine this every day for twenty or more years. Imagine, whether at work or with friends, experiencing life as a huge symposium of ideas and discussions, enlightening and being enlightened, digging and exploring, sucking out the marrow of life together. Oh the horror!! Imagine 1:00 am phone calls on a work night to share an inspiring idea or the latest post on the Ezboard. Idealists read a lot, they talk a lot, they zoom mentally through the galaxy a lot, finding meanings in abstractions. They abhor excessive structure. Would you enjoy such a world? Would you enjoy having a husband, wife, or lover who insisted on getting mentally penetrative with you every time you met? Imagine having to learn about psychology in SRF How-to-Live classes. Imagine the monastics being certified in the healing arts. Imagine an SRF which extols creativity and the arts above mundane forms of service. Imagine guest speakers being invited to share the platform on a Sunday Service to speak on the search for God in the world. Imagine monastics being treated on equal terms with lay-disciples. Imagine the minimization of monastic influence and a laity which charts its own course. Idealists don't talk about service and obedience, they talk about creativity and inspiration. What would you do? Would you walk away from such a scene? Choose another guru? Would you willingly and indefinitely contort yourself into unnatural positions just to cater to the majority? No way? Then what makes you think others would?

My Guardian friend tells me that our ideas are not wrong, but we are insisting on too much too soon. She may be right. But from mine and all my Idealist friends, we have been holding our breaths for decades and we have no more breath left to hold. We must seem like pompous little upstarts to intrude uninvited into your perfect world, but hey, they say nothing lasts forever.

What we Idealists want to do is make sure that the part of Master which we understand best has a visible place in his growing work. Master left a unique legacy for all the types. Each is a custodian of a specific jewel from his wisdom.. We take our conservatorship very seriously. Our assertiveness at this time is not merely a mild tremor in the SRF landscape; it is a shift in the tectonic plates of human consciousness all over the world..

We are all important members of Master's family. Take a good look around. Who do you see? Have we stretched and grown? Are we so sure we've plotted a correct course and are heading to the oceans of universality? What other spiritual work is there if not this? It's a headache to gripe.. But so long as any specific group turns SRF exclusively into the likeness of its own image (never proving with hard cold facts that Master wanted it that way), and so long as even 10% of his family are neglected, so long will there be a loud and loyal opposition to shake it from its slumber.. If SRF were run by Idealists at the expense of other types what would you do?

This is not an imaginary problem. SRF has a history of alienating, ostracizing, firing, exiling, and making pariahs out of those who've tried to approach it creatively --- which is ironic since our guru was so tirelessly inventive and progressive. God is not a box. This organization must begin to make a place for its creative types, for its intellectuals, for its healers, its teachers, its lay counselors, and its artists. It must no longer be what we consider a droll, bliss-saturated ant hive. I know that sounds insulting, but that's exactly how it feels.to us.

We don't want lip service; we want tangible change. Keirsey's message is that Guardians can change and be progressive, but they just need to be treated with a little patience. That's perfectly acceptable. What's not acceptable, and will not be tolerated even for a nanosecond, is the tactics of silence and secrecy which pervade the SRF organization and give it an air of cold autocratic rule. Whose creed do they serve when they call themselves a church of all religions? How can one call themselves harbingers of original Christianity and then set out to mimic the structure and politics of a 2,000 year old institution? What science are they teaching if there is no inquiry? How can they call themselves ministers and counselors and perpetuators of a living truth and then conduct themselves like secuirty guards standing watch over the Hope Diamond? And yet, to deprive them of this is to rob them of their sense of purpose? Enlightened Guardians build sturdy trellises for the flowering of idealism. One needs only to consider the purpose of a man like George Washington who, majestic as a Rock of Gibraltar, lent stability to the furious beginnings of a nation. Idealists like Franklin and Thomas Paine and Rationals like Jefferson were the advocates of change and the authors of destiny. But without Washington's Guardian presence, there would be no one to lead a rugged Constitutional Congress with a steady hand through its first unsure steps into a brave new world,.

If the leaders of SRF take the destiny of this movement seriously -- which I seriously believe it does --- it would profit them to emulate the Guardian virtues of George Washington on Mt. Washington.

Been there
Unregistered User
(12/21/01 7:47 am)
Reply 		Latest from RB
Very enjoyable post -- just when I thought I was a little weary of the Myers Briggs stuff. Reminded me of what I actually was initially drawn to in the teachings. And of the earthshaking disappointment at realizing that this beauty was being unceremoniously eliminated by the Guardian-gone-berzerk tone of the current leadership.

It is easier for me to understand now why you and SF want to revitalize the path for yourselves. For myself, witnessing the brutality in the current system has soured me on ever wanting to get near it all again. Like others who post here, I am in recovery mode and cannot tolerate the vibration.

By the way, one of the monastics who left this past year was definitely a Guardian (not the only one I am sure) and this person's "defection" brought out the worst in the Guardians who were left to run the place. I suppose that losing what they felt was one of their own made them even more fearful and reactive than ever.

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