Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Guess!
By Anon.
Kaun Banega Carorpati (Who will become a millionaire)?
Obviously, His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Maharaj
Yesterday (3rd November 2010) night at 9.00 pm Sony Television broadcast a special episode of “Kaun Banega Carorpati”; an Indian version of “Who wants to be a millionaire”. Six sportsman were invited to play for their favourite charity.
Guess the name of charity!
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Vidya Mandir Organization !!!
This is the same organization which is specifically named by SAD Swami in his first post against Negative blog as NON CHARITABLE:
8. I personally have been involved in the trauma relief and rehabilitation projects in the tsunami hit areas of Tamilnadu and Sri Lanka. Anyone who has been involved in any of the service projects of AoL will know that these allegations are false. The very fact that these negative bloggers have made factual errors about our projects in itself shows that they are all false. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Vidya Mandir (SSRVM) schools are not charitable schools and no where we have claimed that.
How deceitful is this for Art of Living to project SSRVM as a charity when they themselves have claimed that this is not a charity.
What a mastermind manipulator SSRS is.
Tomorrow’s episode of KBC will be an action-packed experience with as many as six sportsmen joining Amitabh Bachchan on the show. Big B delightfully introduces them as ‘the Super six who have done India proud at this year’s CWG’. The names include Leander Paes (Tennis), Sushil Kumar (Wrestler), Manoj Kumar (Wrestler), Jwala Gutta (Badminton), Sreesanth ( Cricketer) and Ashwini Ponnapaa (Badminton). All these players will be playing for their favourite charity – the Shri Shri Ravi Shankar Vidya Mandir Organization.
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Beyond The Art of Living 
To all the bloggers
HAPPY DIWALI
Proton
Guys ….Wishing you a very happy Diwali… and guess what bawa and dinesh’s blog has been supsended … i dont know how long will this suspension last… but you can go and check it out here
http://bawandinesh.name/cgi-sys/suspendedpage.cgi
This is so sick. AOL changes the charity status as it suits them. It is very important that this blog should become popular and get noticed by the popular media. Ravishankar should be exposed for the fraud he is.
The blog is suspended, what a pity, Guys, forget radha and krishna, go to bawandinesh.name to see the outpouring of radha-rukmini love, and see the birthday mushings of Ping over Pong. While there, it is hard to miss their intestinal obsession, anybody remembers the constipation saga which ended by some judicious use of a can of coke? Their facination with the output end of the digestive canal is …. [we will spare you the innuendo]. Ping Pong …… Ping Pong ….
The selfstyled senior teachers of AOL are so much fun, wonder why you complain so much? Before anything else, let me qualify that I am not blueblooded, mine is red. And that’s not due to influence of marx, engeles, mao, etcetra. Nor am I a mechanical engineer; I would rather be a civil one.
From atheists, the teachers cover the whole range to zoroastrians. And talking of the latter it would be a tough call to decide whether he should be a swami or a rishi. Har Haar —–
Admittedly there is a lot of heroworshipping of so called senior teachers. On the way to imbibing spirituality if some weakminded people get intoxicated on Weak-rum, you can’t blame rishi guitarpaad for it, can you. Have you also noticed, this one likes to photograph his feet and footwear and display on his blog, and elsewhere?
Do you think they are enlightened? They are all getting heavier instead 🙂 And they have the same issues as tenagers do; they too compare whose is thicker and longer. Don’t get any funnny ideas,ladies and gentlemen, there are some “Satvik” people lurking around here; they are only talking about beards.
Anand Rajendran, the mega course teacher, must have wondered why I repeated his signature call so enthusiastically, unaware that what I was shouting so vividly was: JACKASS !!! JACKASS !!!!
Oh, the glamorous one named after a flightless bird – man, what a high-flyer who meandered through several relationships enroute to leander.
Rajita Bagga:- reading her testimonial on artofliving life stories the Guru should be eternally obliged that such an eminent personality came to associate with the A-of-L.
Personally I respectfully revere the Guru who gave kriya, knowledge on ashtavakra, bhakti sutra, yog vasista, tripura rahsya, and many more. Only can not rationalize why he is surrounded with such trash, which includes apex [no]bodies too. First thing they put on is ego – then where is hollow and where is empty; where is humpty and where is dumpty?
My sincere apologies, I should have checked the facts before posting — the aforesaid blog is indeed functional, and has new interesting matri-real. Enjoy this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc8xX7gJWig
Hmmm … relieved that the boonkie bonking saga continues
That was real funny and weird.
@ Goneagain
See my favourite foto of Bawa-Dinesh
I guess they have to come out of closet and say what is obvious. People may not mind after that. of course ‘The Guru can claim he accepts whoever they are’.
so who are the sportstars who are supporting this ahem charity?
maybe they are followers?
soz i missed the end part of the post, oops!
Q. Who Wants To Be A Billionaire?
RaviRavi: Me Me Me. Make me Billionaire.
@comeagain
i just saw the photo and rofl!
Why didn’t ravishankar himself join the program, it is claimed that he is the most intelligent person on earth and above all he possesses divine powers;-)
@coward .. as far as I know He does not claim anything like that.. and its not fair to blame him for someone else making over the top claims… for example Small kids often claim that their fave Actor can jump 10 buildings and crash through thick walls but the actor cannot be blamed for that…
Yes but this issue of SSRVM charity – not charity does need to be clarified… becoz as far as I know it was never a charity.. SSRVM is a school for urban kids and Sri Sri Seva Mandir is a school for rural & tribal kids… Often in the ashram the SSRVM is often used for the village and tribal kids also… the Ashram should clarify the same…
@OASCS,
In fairness to @coward, most teachers and especially senior teachers make the claims about his having divine powers. One really has to wonder where this stems from.
If you want proof of this, I suggest you read Guru of Joy by Francois Gautier. The book is crammed full of such “Guru stories”, and as it must have been read by Sri Sri himself before it was published, and published only with his approval, this means that he himself has endorsed these claims. Otherwise he would have asked for them to be removed.
So this clearly indicates that the claims of his having divine powers come straight from Sri Sri himself.
It’s a typical cult strategy. Guru never directly makes other-worldly claim in public(he does that in very close circles which are already brainwashed) It is his important followers who make the claims, Guru never reproaches them or refutes these claims and upon being asked about the veracity of these claims directly, he gives an confusing, unclear and digressive answer neither accepting nor refuting them.
So, it is a convenient get out of jail card for the cult leader and the already brainwashed cult members are always eager to lap up anything that supports their viewpoint and speaks positively about the leader.
An important reason that turns off a lot of people from art of living is the deification of Sri Sri.
Case in point: I myself have heard many senior teachers claim that Sri Sri is enlightened, and I’m sure many others have too.
Yet on the latest post on the Exposing the Guruholic blog we have the following:
Why would he even write this? What purpose does it serve to begin a post claiming that Sri Sri isn’t enlightened? What provoked this? The only thing it does is to add to the evergrowing melting pot of confusion and contradiction that surrounds Art of Living and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and ultimately ends up making it look more like a cult!
@Doc .. The point that Sri Sri is over-defied is agreed. AoL folks do over deify the Guru… I don’t know what causes them to do that.. I have read “The Guru of Joy many years back.. I don’t remember much of the contents… But I remember that the book mentioned that he twice received a double promotion in School.. which was why he graduated early… I do not know how true is this… But true or not.. this is the AoL explanation for his early graduation….
Regarding miracles … I think Sri Sri As I know Him contains even more such stories…. And they somehow do not feel fake…
I agree with you that Sri Sri is over deified by the AoLites but this journalist question has nothing to do with this… this was just an answer he gave at the moment…. I don’t its possible for him to chalk out a strategy for answering questions… he just answers what comes to his heart….
Yes again Sri Sri being enlightened does not absolve AoL from hiding its financial details with the members/course participants and the world.. But I think we are just attacking him left, right and center… If he has to be attacked then the issues have to be more concrete….
Possible perspective
Its quite possible that Sri Sri started out with good intentions … he may not have had got many good people to work with when he came out of his silence … so he choose some arrogant snobs that he had at that time to do good work… obviously arrogant snobs will do stupid stuff.. so he had to overlook all this crap they did.. to get the technique to reach the people… These group of crap people(senior teachers/swamis/rishis/ zombie devotees) became powerful and started dominating and torturing the good people out here.. but he had to overlook this for the greater goal of uplifting humanity.. as these crap people were reaching out and making people meditate.. so what if they didn’t have a clue of the knowledge… and so on.. And all this became so huge.. that it got out of hand of Sri Sri to bring them back into control through direct means…
The above perspective is just one of the possible perspectives it may be true or may not true.. I am not saying it happened like this.. but what I mean to say is – to reach the truth and point him guilty or not guilty will involve looking from all perspectives…
@OASCS, Across the last two posts above, the point I was trying to make was not just that he is over-deified by all these teachers and followers, but that it actually looks like he himself is the source of these rumours. Who else would spontaneously spread these stories of his divinity, why are these stories told throughout DSN and TTC courses, and why do they form such a large part of Guru of Joy? The most obvious answer which suggests itself is that he wants the world to believe that he is an incarnation of the Divine.
Regarding the journalist question, I actually believe he was telling the truth here when he said he wasn’t enlightened!!
Yes the courses do revolve around establishing his divinity…..
It’s sad… that following AoL can shake you off your goal in life..
And I do remember seeing his arrogant behavior in a closed group Satsang when the Silver Jubilee Angels(or Orbs???.. I think orbs) pictures came out…
Hmm…. all this is so confusing…
I think one would need to do a serious offline research(or investigation ?) on him…
Can somebody compile all the things that need to be investigated … i.e. his studies, his divine claims, etc etc….
The Art of Living (Off Of Others)
This is a copy of one blog post written on Thursday, October 22, 2009 by “Infinity” and can be found here.
http://ringsofjupiter.blogspot.com/2009/10/art-of-living-off-of-others.html
Since I quit my job a few months ago, I’ve had time to think about life, my role in it, what makes me tick and all that deep stuff.
I want more out of life. Actually I want it all. Love, Respect, Money, Power. Everything. And I want it to last.
And then I had an epiphany. Voila! I know what I need to do. I’m going to become a Guru. I’ll follow the trail blazed by the likes of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (RS to keep it real)
Lets rewind a little bit. Year: 2003, Place: San Jose,CA.
In a moment of weakness, I shelled out $100 for the Art of Living (AOL) basic course. I landed up at the class and was met by some slow AOLers. I don’t mean slow in the head but slow in the way they were gliding across the hallways, looking unnaturally calm and serene. But as soon as they realized that I was here to pay for the course, there was a flurry of activity and before I knew it I was already feeling lighter 😉
The place was full; it seemed like the whole of Silicon Valley was there. A big picture frame of RS was strategically placed near the stage, and a few minutes later a lady in white appeared – the AOL teacher. She looked radiant and captivating in her white salwar kameez – that is until she spoke and revealed that she did indeed have feet of clay. What a disaster! Need parking space – pray to RS. Need to be saved while riding a water scooter in Goa – pray to RS. From parking space to saving a life RS can do it all. But of course you need his ‘blessings’ (read moolah).
I looked around the room during this inane talk – I saw heads nodding all over. It seemed like the whole of the Valley was bowing its head to RS in complete acceptance. No questions asked! It was sad and comical at the same time. These were the crème de la crème of the tech world, the educated class, the scientifically inclined. These were my people! I saw them changing in front of my eyes. It was like watching a sci fi movie –smart, educated, yuppies getting converted into zombies! It was one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen.
Fast forward to 2009
– I am excited. My checklist is ready.
* The Art of Clients: Number of rich, educated, yuppies looking for a new guru/ ready to convert to a new one. Millions! – Check.
* The Art of Investment: A few well meaning friends and family and the power of social networking. Check.
* The Art of Qualification: Be like RS. No message, no spirituality, no intellectually stimulating discussions. Nothing. Zilch. Nada. Nihilism? Hmmm. Check
This is a fool proof plan and it’s going to work like a charm 🙂 I am ready to jump on the ‘guru’ bandwagon and look forward to my first million.
Watch out for my new foundation ALOO! Ah. The Art of Living Off of Others !
The sarcastic tone of this post is unhelpful and unnecessary. It would be enough to just pose the question, “The Swami said one thing and the newspaper article states another – what’s the truth?” But you didn’t ask what the truth was, you made accusations based on assumptions, which does a disservice to the overall discussion here.
Speaking of the truth, I did some research and here are the facts:
Although most of the SSRVM Trust schools are not charitable (students pay a tuition), there are two which ARE charitable. Students attend for free. One of the charitable schools is in the Dharavi slum in Mumbai: http://www.dharavischool.org/
The KBC event mentioned in the blog post was a fundraiser for that school.
Given that this particular blog post is centered around claims which are demonstrably not true, I think this post should be removed from the blog. What do you say, Skywalker?
ahem who are you to curtail free speech? everyone is allowed an opinion here, right or wrong. i wouldnt remove it skywalker.
I’m not asking that the blog be removed just because I happen to not appreciate the tone.
The disclaimer on this blog reads:
At no time is any content posted by the blog creator knowingly false.
By the blog owner’s own standards, the post does not comply.
infact i find your posts sarcastic and unhelpful always.
so just cos i said, i think skywalker should remove all your posts alltogether and ban you forever from this site.
not to mention you are a BORING ZZZZZZZZZ……(infinitely) poster.
doreen the boreeng (boring).
now now – lets keep it civil here please. Lets debate issues and facts instead of falling to name calling. I don’t think it helps anyone in anyway.
@ Doreen
As per you, out of all SSRVM schools for profits only two schools are charitable and you could name one. Hope someone will be able to verify the authenticity of the proper use of funds in this school (is Abhilash reading?).
This mix of charitable and un-charitable business is very dangerous. When AOL seeks and collects donations it shows its charitable face but when the time comes to spend it wisely the un-charitable face comes up. In AOL structure no separate accounting is maintained. Everything passes through one funnel and money drops to SSRS lap in Switzerland.
Removal of the charitable mask of SSRS/AOL is one of the outcomes of this blog (though it is not the dominant purpose).
Hi @Anon,
Actually I can name both – the other is in Andra Pradesh. They are listed on the SSVM website, http://www.ssrvm.org
I think it’s totally legitimate for this blog to raise questions about how AOL operates, and about the mechanics of spiritual organizations. But if one is going to really explore what the truth is, one should be open to the possibility that not everything AOL does is automatically sinister. Otherwise the blog risks being on the same level as a supermarket tabloid – predictable and unquestioning of the negative.
In my dreams this blog would have the same journalistic standards as, say, the New York Times. Let’s do some real investigation! If there are actual, provable problems then let’s talk about them! If there are open questions, then let’s lay them on the table! And let’s talk about specifics. But the kind of tone reflected in this particular blog post gets under my skin because it serves no purpose. It’s nothing more than a hate rally.
@peaceful warrior
i know, i know, i apologise for my rather childish remark, but then i put it down to my age. oops!
but behind the childish remark i was making a point.
which i will make now – finally – lol!
i think it was wrong of the said person to come here on a public forum and tell people how and what to think.
maybe anon’s comment was sarcastic, though i didnt find it so.
so all doreen had to do was come here and give her opinion and that would have been that but what she did was come here with her cult rules and thats wrong!
maybe in the cult her guru and the devotees quash dissent, free speech and they succeed but this isnt her cult. out in the real world people have democracy, free speech and the rest, she has no right to come on here and threaten skywalker to delete anyones comment.
pw, i have similar threats at my own cult sites but rest assured there isnt a law in the land that can quash free speech.
i know cos the devotees from my ex cult tried it and they were laughted out of court…
so if doreen really isnt pleased im gonna challenge her to go the same way, through the courts, or else stop coming on here threatening
the owners of the blog and quit whining about other posters who were just making comments.
@Belle….
Doreen is not an aol lackey… she is just giving her fair opinion… so relax .. no court cases …
@ Doreen .. the question here is will the money really go to these schools mumbai and andhra pradesh… or is it going to end up at Sumery realties, Promotions, Bhanu Didi’s son’s various companies
This blog highlights the sinister plot of “SSRS and Co” family enterprise. AOL is a ‘Name and Fame’ game being played by SSRS without following any rules. Cult practices are used to brainwash people and the purpose is to amass money and wealth. SSRS is a two-faced personality.
His public face is all sugary and devoid of any substance. It is all airy-fairy. But I have to give the XXXXX his due, he holds all marketing cards. In public, he is all charms and specially gravitates towards rich and vulnerable people. He gives limited exposure of himself and manipulate a cultish yearning in the heart of pure souls. The one funnel is the basic course and every effort is channeled to sell basic courses. The GURU is highlighted at the earliest stage keeping in view the sensitivity of the place, group and person. If it helps the GURU photo is hidden until the person is brainwashed via yoga, satsang and ancient guru stories. Once the GURU is presented then it is all downhill for the gullible eg. advanced course, DSN, Eternity, Part 3, Yes, Yes Plus, Art Excel, TTC, Course Tape, Guru Puja, senior Teacher, Rishi and Swami.
The more a person gets entangled they start behaving like SSRS and believe in being knowledgeable and the other face of you know whom glows with money and hope of getting a Noble prize.
Alas, there is no Noble Prize for non-noble acts.
Emphatic words do not the truth make. Anyone can sling unsubstantiated accusations. It’s not something that I support, just as I don’t support anyone in AOL making these kinds of accusations against bloggers.
What would be more convincing is a coherent and detailed analysis and statement of your case, with details about how you arrived at your conclusion. A few substantiate-able facts (or at least some basic fact-checking of assertions) would give more power to your words.
I invite you to state your case. That is something I’d really look forward to reading and considering.
@Doreen,
When I’ve been threatened (in person and by phone) multiple times by AOL people and by SSRS himself (!), how would you propose I state details without giving up my identity?
Therefore, you will have to simply take my word for this:
SSRS is not a holy man. He doesn’t behave in a holy way. His actions are centered around protecting and preserving an image the public has about him that is far from true. He is vicious when he thinks he will be exposed for what he is. Those with specific details are the worst attacked, so you probably don’t fall in that category. Those of us who have been closest to him, with unlimited access, and have left because we saw too much, and felt sickened by it, are the least likely to come forward publicly, I think, for fear of him and his followers.
How do you prove abuse of this type without exposing yourself? It seems impossible to me.
It happened to me and many others I know, all of whom left. Some were teachers, full time, and some were not. Some suffered gravely (because they knew too much and he was afraid of what we would say, so we were defamed, and lied about endlessly) and others did not, but knew that what was being said about me and others was lies.
His family was poor. They are now rich. The money they have came from donations, and has been funnelled to Bhanu Didi’s family’s companies, created to launder that money. There is absolutely no way to prove this unless the Revenue Offices raid them, and the press exposes them all.
So I leave it to them.
Believe it or not, the worst you read on these pages is the most true. The vague accusations are just that, vague. The strongest remarks are facts. Sorry to inform you of this. I cannot prove any of it either. It is my personal experience, and that of many others.
@doreen:
Lots of peoples’ cases have been stated in these blogs. If you dont want to be convinced, you will not be. Anyways, the aim of may here, is just to share their experiences, not to “convince”.
How does it lessen the validity of other peoples’ experiences with AoL, just because you are not convinced?
@anonymous
Through a trusted friend I am in touch with a journalist in India who has expressed willingness to investigate the financial aspect of AOL. But they will need some solid information to start with. Would you be willing to speak with them? Or at least direct them to who they should be talking to or where they should be looking?
If yes you can email me at my alias email address:
doreen.a.wright@gmail.com
@Original Anon – Sincere Confused Seeker
“Doreen is not an aol lackey…”
glad to hear it.
@ doreen
” But the kind of tone reflected in this particular blog post gets under my skin because it serves no purpose. It’s nothing more than a hate rally.”
and what purpose does your cult blogs serve? if blogs such as these are over critical, which i dont think they are but anyway. then your cult sites are pure love fests and nothing else. so if you find us annoying then say the same about the pro websites too. go there and moan to them aswell, why just constantly come here putting posters here down. what an arrogant attitude.
@doreen
“But if one is going to really explore what the truth is, ….”
go on then, whats stopping you, everyone else is doing their best, but if it aint good enough for you, do your own research and bring it to this blog. why tell everyone else to do more, do something yourself for a change.
“But the kind of tone reflected in this particular blog post gets under my skin because it serves no purpose”
i could say the same about your general attitude and posts.
@anon “This blog highlights the sinister plot of “SSRS and Co” family enterprise.”
precisely and i would say it highlights cults in general since most people in a cult never think they are in one! and also some deluded individuals think cults are made up of rainbows and raindrops.
sinister and cults? surely not. heaven forbid.
they are the most deluded of the lot.
@ doreen “Emphatic words do not the truth make. Anyone can sling unsubstantiated accusations”
are you sure you even realise we are talking of cults, are you even aware of such a thing called cults. you seem to be surprised by everything everyone says. first wake yourself up because you come across as completely deluded.
i think doreen IS a aol lackey
she is constantly disagreeing with everyone everytime.
@belle – PLEASE, stop bashing Doreen!
She’s just expressing an opinion and really doesn’t deserve to be slated like this. For the most part she has been very civil since she starting posting here, and hasn’t been abusive one iota, unlike many others. Whatever her beliefs, please treat her with courtesy and respect.
for the one remark i made, i believe i’ve already apologised for that.
and for the rest i’ve provided feedback. i havent been abusive or disrespectful.
Spirituality a means to become financially independent
I have always wondered how someone who is less fortunate would look at the AOL organization. Spirituality as seen through the eyes of a humble soul. When the promises of a better life don’t appear to happen the natural step (as encouraged by the teachers) is to take a DSN course or an advance course and the hope flourishes again. Only this energy gets channeled into helping the AOL organization recruit and do seva as a means to resolve ones issues and negative patterns, for most people this provides a short relief issue but leaves them unresolved. Then the ultimate knowledge is given is just have faith in the Guru his grace will elevate you and all will be taken care off. Little is the person aware that what will actually happen is the grace gets transformed into greed benefiting the Guru and his relatives. Suddenly realizing that the master is jet setting first class everywhere and that his sister indulges in a most luxurious and plush life style.
The advice is given by someone who just finished a 3 weeks teacher training course and seems to think they have all the answers in life, based on knowledge of the master, and takes pride in being the extension of the him. Wonder how much life skills AOL teachers really have, especially those that are recruited straight out of college.
Yet any teacher who has been or currently is associated with he Art of Living must have had the thought where does all the course revenue go? Of course there is the standard answer course fees are used to fund the charity projects of AOL. It was stressed on TTC to answer this question the same way and then skillfully drop the issue and move on to other questions.
Some teachers will discuss it between themselves, but they will drop the whole issue rather quickly. Cause someone will remind them that they are entertaining impure low prana thoughts and the guru might just pick up on them. And when he does his grace will fade away and once he takes it all back bad things will happen to you. And at the end of TTC you actually believe it all as well.
So because of my critical questioning I have fallen out of favor with the master and his grace a long time ago but I can report that I am alive and kicking. Faking till I make it is not used as a life strategy anymore.
But what about the money ?????
As teachers we generate (and have the potential) a lot of money for the AOL company (sorry I am going to call it that) as a full time teacher one needs to recruit 30 new warm bodies (full paying) and this at 300 dollars when annualized it is a Gross amount of 108.000 dollars. I know I know expense need to be taken into consideration. But still not bad when one multiplies this with a factor of XXX teachers. It adds up very quickly and in just a couple of years one could have a nice pension set up for the future.
Any company will have board meetings in which pricing and marketing aspects are discussed.
The AOL corporation is no exemption lets take look at a directive which was send to all the European Centers a couple of years back . I wonder if the decisions on prices were made at the best interest of humanity or the Corporation and its beneficiaries.
In the following you find a summary of the course fee structure for Art of Living courses held in Europe. This structure was discussed and finalized during the European AOL Board Meeting in February and April 2008 in Bad Antogast. Donations made by the National AOL organizations to the International Art of Living Foundation (IAOLF) are aimed at supporting the projects carried out by IAOLF. The structure is valid for all European countries.
Art of Living Courses in Europe
Financial Agreement (valid from 01.06.2008
latest mend on 07.09.09)
Part 1, ART Excel, YES, YES!+, KYC and KYP
IAOLF 25%
National AOL 75%
If courses are conducted as part of a project (on local, national or international level) then the 25% donation to IAOLF needs to be included in the project proposal for grants.
This is the flagship product of the AOL corporation and really sets the foundation for all the other courses. It is why the SK tape is so secretly guarded, and protected with tooth and nail. Nothing spiritually about it if it were to be easily available the after sales would suffer a significant blow. The revenue for the basic foundation courses are split in favor of the national center. Very smart move it keeps the interest of the teachers and the local board focused.
This is the most critical part when one starts a new center or location, to get up and running and process as many people the foundation courses. A base of devotees will be created so that the other courses can be marketed. Volunteers can be created, and we know how this is stressed on TTC. Volunteers are very important identify who are the good ones and nurture and recruit them. I can still hear the TTC trainer pour that into all of us and he was dead serious. You need people doing the leg work for you as teachers, little did I know that I was doing the leg work for the Master and his family members.
In the agreement between IAOLF and the Center it states “While not a prerequisite to being recognized by IAOLF, it is expected that——— center makes regular donations to IAOLF in order for IAOLF to maintain its aim to organize and realize the support of needy people by charitable, humanitarian and educational projects worldwide.”
Thus most of the center revenue’s gets transferred to IAOLF because one is subtly urged to do it and it is seen as good Karma.
Part 2 and Part 3
IAOLF 100%
The entire knowledge fee is donated to IAOLF. VAT, travel expenses, food and accommodation (also for the teacher) are covered by either the National organization or the participants.
Once the base is created and is gaining momentum there is no stopping the marketing machine of the AOL corporation. As you will notice once the foundation course is given the split for the advance and specialty courses works the other way. In favor of IAOLF. Can some one explain what the entire knowledge fee is any way. To me it is a nice way of saying the revenue generated is OURS. And all the expenses associated are to be observed by the National organization or the participants, very spiritual gesture of the BOARD. I wonder who came up with that one,………I think I know.
Sahaj Samadhi Meditation and Eternity Process
IAOLF 80%
National AOL 20%
80% of the knowledge fee is donated to IAOLF. VAT, travel expenses, food and accommodation (also for the teacher) are covered by either the National organization or the participants.
DSN
5H Program in India 100%
100% of the knowledge fee is donated to the 5-H project in India. VAT, travel expenses, food and accommodation (also for the teacher) need to be covered by either the National organization or the participants.
Sri Sri Yoga
1. Course is organized by national AOL chapter
Sri Sri University in India 15%
National AOL chapter 50%
Teacher 35%
The expenses are covered out of national AOL chapter’s part.
2. Course is organized by teacher itself
Sri Sri University in India 15%
Teacher 85%
The expenses are covered out of teacher’s part of income. Price for using national AOL network (website, satsangs, mailing list,…) is 15% of total income and it needs to be transferred by teacher to the national AOL chapter.
Not a bad deal if you’re a SSY teacher you could earn some money, just don’t use any resources of your local center, cause you will have to pay for it (revenue loss for the AOL company). Whoever designed this payment scheme is very good at business. You need to do everything on your own you can not use anything from the center, but the irony is that in the SSY yoga course you will have to promote the part 1 and the part 2 courses (it is part of the syllabus). You will be the sales man peddling these course to the people in your course.
What a Win – Win strategy for the AOL corporation and it does not cost them a dime.
But what if you were to organize a course and invite the Master to come and share his knowledge, and infuse your flock of devotes and teachers with enthusiasm. People will come for sure they all want to be in his presence. Let us see what the instructions from the head office are………….
Very simple actually:
Guruji’s visit on request of national AOL chapter
Shankara Europe 25.000 EUR
This amount needs to be transferred to SE account latest one month before the event.
International Courses or Courses announced as ‘Course in the present of H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’
IAOLF 100%
100% of the knowledge fee is donated to IAOLF latest one week after the course. VAT, travel expenses, food and accommodation (also for the teacher) are covered by either the National organization or the participants.
So all it takes is a little bit of advance planning and just EUR 25.000. Expenses are to be covered National organization or the participants of course.
Don’t you just love the business of spirituality. Invite the master and pay EUR 25.000 at the same time have a course in the presence of the master and all the course fee also neds to be transferred to IAOLF. And please do so with in a week. And since the master will only travel first class and stay at five star hotels it will be a costly experience for the center and the devotees. But the grace and knowledge will just be amazing,………..so they say.
The reader may have noticed that a piece of the pie (ie course fee’s) needs to be transferred to IAOLF. Yes in deed the same one that is incorporated in Switzerland.
International Art of Living Foundation
c/o Fischer & Partner
Schulhausstrasse 9
6052 Hergiswil
Switzerland
(“IAOLF”)
As was discussed on this blog in the past (just see posts), Switzerland is one of the biggest offshore banking jurisdictions and is one of the few countries which still has a banking secrecy. Fisher & Partners is a trust company. A very elaborate corporate structure for a foundation at least that is my opinion, but remember I have no grace left from the Guru.
Once the revenue’s are transferred into the accounts of IAOLF, the curtain falls and no light of day is ever seen again. New corporations with links to the CEO Sri Sri and his family are however created, at least the portfolio of family assets is being diversified, and the money is used wisely.
But what is also interesting is that the agreement also mentioned specifically which laws will are applicable incase of a dispute.
The Applicable Law and Venue
This agreement shall be construed and governed in accordance with the laws of Switzerland, excluding its conflict of law provisions.
In the event of any dispute arising out of or in connection with this agreement that cannot be settled amicably the competent courts of Basel, Switzerland shall have exclusive jurisdiction.
I wonder if the banking secrecy and laws were the main reasons to incorporate in Switzerland. Surly not, there must be another reason and or reasons…….
Anybody care to give them cause I am at a loss.
The little giant has awakened.
Nice Post Ronin…..
One question… when there is a course to be organized as “Part 1 or Yes!+ or PDS etc in presence of SSRS” does any money get paid to the teacher or does the entire stuff goto the IAOLF in switzerland?
They charge a similar fee of $25k in US for guru visit. The money is raised, not from the center, but from devotees who pay for the privilege of hosting Sri Sri Ravi shankar. No money, no guru. The work done to organize his visit is not enough. The money from the public talk goes to AOLF of course.
@ronin
thankyou once again for your wise insights,
this is exactly how cults operate, mine aswell as yours.
a massive, sophisticated system geared towards scamming unsuspecting people, who go there with the sincerest of intentions.
@ronin
as for your last question about where the money goes in aol,
i cant really help on that matter cos i dont know anything about aol except what i’ve read on this blog. i wouldnt know how and where the money goes, though i would appreciate insight on this subject like you.
any takers?
@belle
I wouldn’t know how and where the money goes, though I would appreciate insight on this subject like you.
Easy!
Via India or National AOL direct to Switzerland .
@anon
yup! point tkn – lol
i just read ronin’s post again.
Why guess the name of the charity when it has to be made clear before posting it?
Actual name of the charity is
http://dharavischool.org
which is part of SSRVM providing free education along which schools like
ssrsm-ahd.org