Over at Headthegong, Bob posted an interesting observation on a recent blog post from Ken Wilber (or at least attributed to him on his blog). Wilber posted A Narrative on Guruji, a rather rambling, and disturbing endorsement of another guru, in this case a man who claims to be able to alter the molecular structure of matter.
Here is a brief piece of Wilber's post:
What I am claiming—and supporting—is that Guruji's capacity to conduct and transmit universal spiritual energy (or "shakti") is utterly remarkable, as proven by scientific experiments themselves. It is these direct, specific, scientific experiments and their results that I am reporting, and on which I am basing my endorsement. This is a scientific conclusion, not a spiritual one (although, of course, you are free to make those as well—but I am reporting the direct science, which is indeed astonishing).So I took the bait and did some deep searching of the internets to find these studies. But I couldn't find any of the 5,000 scientific studies - aside from Trivedi's own site, there is almost nothing on the web (nothing from a known, peer-reviewed journal), and Dr. Rustum Roy is not exactly a reliable source - he is a very vocal proponent of homeopathy.
To put it briefly, Mr. Trivedi has an empirically demonstrated capacity to alter the atomic and molecular structure of phenomena simply through his conscious intentionality. The number of experiments done on this capacity (known in Sanskrit as shaktipat) that have been done in coordination with Mr. Trivedi is quite extraordinary—so far, over 5,000 empirical studies by universities and scientific research organizations all over the world (including the world renowned materials scientist Dr. Rustum Roy at the University of Pennsylvania).
So what's up with all of this?
Bob posted an interesting take on Wilber's history of wanting to identify and attach himself to individuals who appear to support his "integral" model of spiritual development.
And this:Has Ken Wilber jumped the shark?
want to make clear right from the start that Ken Wilber has authored several of my all-time favorite nonfiction books. I dig a lot of his work and use his “four quadrants” to frame my own understanding of Integral Health. I remember reading Wilber’s Sex, Ecology, Spirituality and thinking to myself, “This guy is the shit!” Yesterday, however, after reading Wilber’s latest blog post (A Narrative on Guruji), I couldn’t help but think, “This guy has lost his shit!”
The first thing that struck me as odd about Wilber’s post was the style of presentation, which was riddled with rambling redundancies, poor reasoning, and flat-out bad writing. This from a man capable of exquisitely lucid prose. Now, maybe he meant it as an off-the-cuff type of thing and I’m being a bit unfair, but this is a guy who rarely posts on his own blog, so I was surprised he’d go on record with this scattered post. Then there’s the content of the post, which is a strong public endorsement of a spiritual teacher named Mahendra Kumar Trivedi.
Wilber seems to have a lot of confidence in the conclusions of one researcher in particular, the “world renowned” Dr. Rustum Roy. It should be noted, however, that Roy, like his associate Deepak Chopra, is not exactly lauded by mainstream scientists, as I’ve seen his name (perhaps unfairly) paired with words like “woo” and “pseudoscience” on more than one occasion (for instance here and here). Of course, there are plenty of science-based crusaders out there who would tear me apart, along with many of my intellectual heroes, so that kind of criticism in-and-of-itself doesn’t put Wilber’s endorsement on shaky ground. Rather, it’s Wilber’s credulity and weak justifications that have me scratching my head, and even cringing in embarrassment at times.Check out the whole post - and be sure to check out the comments section where Julian Walker makes some very clear and compelling points.
It's sad to see this pattern repeating itself with Wilber (think Adi Da, Andrew Cohen, Marc Gafni, and so on).
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5 comments:
I think we have pretty much always known that Ken Wilber had an aspect that was narcissistic and believed in magic. He has had to be ahead of the curve, way out on his own, and claim ownership of areas of science where he has made contributions.
I deeply wish Wilber would rein in his ego and be rid of his cult of acolytes, and see if he can start making sense, again.
Ken's vibration?
55. DIVINE WILL
Assertive--confuses rebellion and freedom to escape responsibility and commitment, pessimistic and defeatist, indulges habits while criticizing others, egocentric to a fault, believes one's own opinion to be universal truth, justifies own fault finding (toward others) as revelation, impatient.
Passive-indulges in long bouts of animus projection with few results, blames fate or other people for setbacks, passively resists Higher Will, repressed anger creates over aggressive actions.
Harmonious--seeks to blend individual will with Higher Will, innovative and inventive while inspiring the originality in others, pioneer of movements in new thinking and reform, encourages others from tribal dependency to individualized awareness, dynamic leader.
I was turned on to Ken Wilbur about 7 years ago by a psychologist I greatly respected. Within the span of a few months, I had read many of his books and thought I had discovered one of modern time's most talented philosophers. I have been a great admirer and follower since.
When I read Mr. Wilbur's article on Mahendra Trivedi, I was intrigued. If Ken Wilbur was endorsing this guy, then he must be the real deal. Like a total amateur, I traveled to South Carolina last week for a group and individual blessing by "Guruji".
What a complete farce!!!! The three hour group blessing was a two and a half hour slide show documenting "experiments" proving Trivedi's gifts, none of which were performed in the US. Also included was a very shaky, badly produced interview with Deepak Chopra endorsing Trivedi. Then, there was the five minute blessing, followed by a Q&A which he handled miserably!! Did I mention the "blessed" bottled water for sale in the lobby?!
The next day at the individual blessing things got even wackier. We were given strict instructions on what to say and do and not do in Trivedi's presence. When my turn came, I was asked if I had a boyfriend/husband. He placed his hand on my head and then told me my severe scoliosis would be healed within a few days. I was told to rest as I might feel dizzy or faint. Upon leaving, a volunteer asked if I would like to buy "blessed" bottle water and sign up for 3 long distance blessing for the price of one!!!
Throughout the two days, Mr. Trivedi was rude and demanding of all those around him. At one point, during the slide presentation, the screen went black and Mr. Trivedi lost his composure, literally calling the IT specialist an idiot in front of the entire audience.
Someone should shut this guy down! Did Ken Wilbur actually meet, sit down and talk with Mr. Trivedi?! Please tell me that this is not the same Ken Wilbur that I have admired for so many years!!
Hey SWALKER,
Yes, it is THE Ken Wilber - in his defense, not that he needs my help (he has a staff for that), but he has been very ill the past few years and my guess is that one of his "staff" posted the comments attributed to him (he is sick enough that he has several unfinished books, so I doubt he'd waste whatever energy he has on a silly blog post).
Either way, YES!, this guy is a fraud as near as I can tell.
Sorry man,
Biil
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