The Vows and Commitments
The Dangerous Dynamics of Sat Yoga’s Commitments and Vows
Exporing the hidden dangers within the commitments and vows at Sat Yoga, revealing how centralized power and manipulative practices create an environment of control and dependency. Under Shunyamurti's absolute authority, these vows suppress individual autonomy and exploit members psychologically, physically and financially.
Vows to Totalitarianism
The commitments and vows at Sat Yoga (find below) are designed to create a controlled environment under the absolute authority of Shunyamurti. While they may appear to promote spiritual growth and community harmony, they are inherently dangerous due to the centralized power and manipulative practices at play. Below are the key reasons why these commitments and vows pose significant risks:
Absolute Authority and Lack of Accountability:
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Centralized Power: Shunyamurti holds absolute authority over all aspects of life at the ashram. This level of control leaves no room for accountability or checks and balances. The community members are required to seek permission for virtually every action, making them entirely dependent on Shunyamurti’s approval and guidance.
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Manipulation and Control: The requirement to adhere to the "chain of command" and the discouragement of independent thinking create an environment where manipulation is easy and resistance is futile. Members are conditioned to suppress their doubts and fears, often leading to a loss of individual autonomy.
Psychological Manipulation and Emotional Abuse:
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Ego Suppression: The vows demand the suppression of the ego and emotional expression, branding any independent thought or dissent as a manifestation of the ego. This can lead to severe psychological harm as members are forced to deny their authentic selves and emotions.
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Isolation from Support Networks: By encouraging members to cut ties with their biological families and outside friends, the organization isolates individuals from their support systems. This isolation increases dependency on the ashram and makes it harder for members to leave or seek help.
Financial Exploitation and Dependency:
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Financial Strain: Members are required to contribute financially to the ashram while also being discouraged from maintaining savings or alternative plans. This financial dependency ensures that leaving the ashram becomes nearly impossible without external support.
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Energetic Strain: Members are required to contribute to a full time schedule of "karma yoga" in service of Shunyamurti. This work that is never compensated financially usually involves working 6 days a week starting after morning meditation which takes place at 4am. This strain reinforces the susceptibility to be mentally and emotionally controlled.
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Mandatory Contributions: The requirement to pay for various expenses within the ashram, despite being told that money is unnecessary due to the imminent collapse of the outside world, creates a contradictory and stressful financial environment for members.
Health and Safety Risks:
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Medical Requirements: While members are required to maintain medical insurance and personal medical funds, the ashram’s control over health decisions and the discouragement of seeking external medical advice can put members’ health at risk.
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Mind-Altering Substances: The use of substances like Ketamine under Shunyamurti’s supervision, combined with his hypnotherapy skills, raises serious ethical and safety concerns. This practice can lead to further psychological manipulation and control.
Perpetual State of Fear and Paranoia:
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End-of-the-World Predictions: The constant prediction of an imminent apocalypse keeps members in a state of fear and anticipation. This fear is used to justify the extreme control measures and discourage members from leaving the "safe haven" of the ashram.
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Surveillance and Reporting: The culture of reporting interactions and behaviors to Shunyamurti creates an atmosphere of distrust and paranoia. Members are constantly monitored and fear repercussions for any perceived disloyalty or dissent.
Suppression of Personal Growth and Sovereignty:
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Discouragement of Independence: The ashram discourages any form of personal initiative or independence, labeling it as rebellion or ego-driven behavior. This stunts personal growth and keeps members in a state of perpetual dependency.
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Psychological Manipulation in Sessions: Individual sessions with Shunyamurti, where members’ ideas and feelings are dismissed as egoic, reinforce his control and prevent members from achieving true inner sovereignty and self-realization.
Conclusion
The commitments and vows at Sat Yoga, under the leadership of Shunyamurti, are designed to create an environment of total control and dependency. While they are framed as paths to spiritual enlightenment, their true effect is the suppression of individual autonomy, financial and labor exploitation, psychological manipulation, and emotional abuse. In such a context, where all the power resides in one person, these commitments and vows are not only dangerous but also ethically and morally questionable. They transform what could be a spiritual sanctuary into a restrictive and harmful cult-like environment, ultimately hindering true spiritual growth and personal liberation.
It is important to remember that authentic ashrams and spiritual communities are typically built around an established tradition and an order of various monks and seniors. They include a structure that inherently prevents unhealthy power dynamics and abuse. However, Shunyamurti is completely self-proclaimed with no accountability whatsoever and pretends that all that is unnecessary because of his spiritual perfection. Although it might be tempting to trust him on that, the reality is far different. One should also remember that authentic enlightened beings are not controlling or demanding of authority over others. Authentic enlightened beings do not sustain a climate of fear, reporting on each others mistakes and anticipation of cataclysmic world events.
The Commitments
These are the commitments to which one has to agree:
- Consider your ego as dead, your past egoig life as over, and all egoic identiti as illusion, and to move forward in your new yogi life without attachment to biological relatives or friends form the past and without looking back and without nostalgia.
- Live anywhere in the property you are asked to be, and to move when necessary to another abode.
- Live as a humble, obedient, saintly, truthful and complete Bramachari.
- Remain at the ashram permanently, taking vacation days only when permitted and for as long as permitted by Shunyamurti and the ashram management council.
- Ensure you always have medical insurance that covers emergencies and a personal medical fund to cover expenses and treatments.
- Always maintain a legal immigration status under Costa Rican laws.
- Take no alcohol, cannabis, magic mushrooms, or other mind altering substances, except for legitimate shamanic proposes under the supervision or permission of Shunyamurti.
- Do whatever karma yoga you are assigned to do by the authorized yogis in charge of management of the ashram.
- Accept all the conditions of life at the ashram without complaint (although you are free to speak to Shunyamurti and authorized yogis in charge when appropriate and in confidence about difficult situations or to request changes in assignment.
- Be friendly and cheerful to all nivassis and visitors, and always on best behavior.
- Attend all mandatory classes and meetings and read all assigned texts.
- Fullfill the Dharmic vows impeccably in both letter and spirit.
- Have no emotional instability, tantrums, meltdows, mood-offs, or hypochondria.
- Continue doing intensive inner work, deep meditation, and perpetual silencing of the ego mind.
- Prepare yourself ceaselessly to be a spiritual teacher, leader, atmanologist, healer, sage and liberated being.
The Vows
I _________ vow to make wholehearted effort to live accordingly to the principles of sattvic purity in every area of my life. I vow to work diligently to fulfill the yamas and niyamas of a true sat yogi, these include the traditional yamas and niyamas, plus the spefici Sat Yoga commitments. I vow to work on perfecting all the following disciplines:
- In addition to the Yamas and Niyamas, I vow to:
o Keep my commitments
o Deal immediately and appropriately with any bad moods and not contaminate others with negative egoic energy.
o Refuse to make negative comments about others, except when done with integrity in the authorized position of guide, teacher, supervisor to correct someone who is out of alignment with the dharma.
o I will avoid any appearance of favoritism or projections of any sort.
o Refuse to engage in escapism (inappropriate TV, film, internet addiction, substance abuse, non spiritual reading, or other frivolous behavior)
o Keep a sattvic diet.
o Maintain healthy sleep patterns.
o Do early morning meditation daily
o Volunteer whenever possible to do service for the community
o Work regularly and truthfully in individual sessions to analyze all conflicts, negative emotions, including persecutory projections, emotional, mental and physical symptoms and dreams
o I vow to attend classes and satsangs whenever possible and participate fully in the community and to help build and sustain the sat yoga ashram as an ideal community.
o I vow to practice inner silence and solitude constantly and to cut all attachments, fixations and egoic identifications. I vow to make effort to remain mindful of the Presence of the Supreme Self at all times. I vow to Support the Sat Yoga Order, Institute, Sangha to the full extent possible and practicable. I vow to never do anything to harm the community or any members of the community. I vow that when talking or emailing or communicating in general with people outside the Sat Yoga community, I will not engage in gossip or negative comments about the community or the Sat Yoga process. I understand that I am free and encouraged to speak openly in sessions and other appropriate venues if I disagree with any of the teachings and policies. But I will also humbly open my mind to learn the more subtle reasons behind what Sat Yoga is teaching and to comprehend these deeper ways to understand reality, and to give fair hearing to the teachings before trying to get my own point across or denying their validity.
o I will speak in private with Shunyamurti or another authorized teacher if I have any confusion or disagreement with Sat Yoga policies or actions, or conflicts with other members of the Sangha, and I will work through the established procedures for dealing with such matters. I will do my best not to create maya for others while resolving any issues that arise.
o If I break any of the above vows, I will speak about the matter with Shunyamurti or an authorized guide and will process the issues involved until there has been full resolution of inner conflicts.
o If I have doubt about taking any course of action or if I need extra assistance with any difficulty, I will request a meeting with Shunyamurti to explore the issue and receive his counsel. I will not hold back, but will be truthful and open in my conversation with him, as well as with any other Sat Yogi counselor I may be working with.
o I will participate fully in karma yoga, as well as in classes, and will work diligently toward becoming a teacher, guide and a role model for others.
o I fundamentally vow to accept my life fully, to dive into life fearlessly, to live joyously, in purity and nobility of Spirit, to accept all that comes and to recognize that all that happens is a blessing, and that all happens within the Eternal Presence of the Supreme Self. I know I am beyond the false ego, That One Self.
o I vow to keep forever growing in humility, love, and wisdom.
Specific Sat Yoga sadhak Vows:
- I vow to interact with all the sangha members and visitors with cheerfulness, friendliness, compassion, generosity, openness and haji spirit of service, balanced with wisdom and firm adherence to the Dharma.
- I vow to offer stability to the sangha by my permanent residence in the ashram and impeccable reliability in karma yoga.
- I vow undivided loyalty to Shiva, the sangha, the chain of command and the principles of Sat Dharma.
- I vow to work constantly on transcending ego and attaining full realization of the Supreme Self.
- I vow to keep all the vows I am making now for my whole life from this moment on.
YAMAS
Ahimsa: non violence
- To be non-aggressive in thoughts, words and actions
- I will be assertive when appropriate, but always in a way that is respectful kind gentle and benevolent.
- I vow to refuse to feed the fire of anger if it flames up, but to pour on it the healing water of love and wisdom
Satya: truth
- I shall be truthful with myself and others in thought, speech and action
- I shall not manipulate people
- I shall not be opinionated or judgmental
Asteya: non-stealing
- I shall not steal people´s things or ideas
- I shall not steal people´s partners, time, money or trust.
- I shall be intellectually honest in every situation
Bramacharya: sexual restraint
- As a disciple I shall not use sexuality inappropriately
o As an outlet of aggression or an act of conquest, possession, security or egoic jouissance.
o In an uncommitted relationship or to fill egoic lack even in a committed relationship.
o And work to control and eliminate lustful objectification even in thoughts, fantasies, and gazes that exude lustful energy.
- I will make every effort to raise Chakra 2 energy to Chakra 6 in order to activate sacred union with the Supreme Being and complete liberation from body identification and thus sexual desire.
- If I intend to take further vows to be a full sannyasi, then I shall prepare to live even now as a true Bramachari, free of any chakra 2 residue, even if I am in a couple relationship.
Aparigraha: non covetousness
- I shall not feel greed for the possessions or status or attributes of others
- I shall instead cultivate generosity of spirit: I shall become a true giver.
NIYAMAS
- Shaucha: internal and external purity
o I vow to maintain purity of physical hygiene and diet
o I vow not to be stained by ugly thoughts whether my own or others
o I vow to uphold purity in my lifestyle and attitude and transmit this value to others
- Santosha: contentment
o I vow to reduce egoic desires and live in simplicity
o I vow to learn to rest in the present moment and to be content with what I have
- Tapas: deep meditation
o I vow to meditate regularly and deeply.
o I vow to develop greater self-discipline and endurance of difficulty without complaining, sulking or losing heart.
- Swadhyaya: daily study of the wise words of sages
o I vow to read daily words and teachings of the great sages.
- Isvara pranidhana: surrender of all actions to the Supreme Being.
o I vow to dedicate my life to spiritual liberation and union with the Absolute.
o I vow to learn to download the wisdom of Atman and not follow the dictates of the ego mind.
o I vow to learn to be an accurate instrument of God´s will.
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