I have spent the past month closely following this blog. Now I wonder, beyond anonymous dialogue, what can we do?
I understand the need for anonymity, especially in the context of Swadhyaya (the organization) as it is today. If my parents found out that I wrote this article, they would be furious. It is not that they would disagree with anything that I have written. Instead, they would be afraid of what others would think about us if they found out. Would we be the next family shunned from Swadhyaya (the organization)? Swadhyaya (the organization) means a great deal to my parents, in fact they are dependant on it for everything. It is their social circle as well as the sole avenue they access for spirituality and "good work". So, though this fear of theirs (and thus mine) may be irrational, it is therr not only in my family but throughout Swadhyaya (the organization)
I understand the need for dialogue. Dialogue such as the one started on this blog is constructive and the people participating seem to be genuinely concerned with trying to find solutions instead of creating more problems. Clearly all things valuable have started with dialogue. But they have never ended simply in dialogue. There must be an agreement, and then a test of this agreement through some action, that comes from this dialogue, otherwise we will spend all day talking in circles.
So I ask, what can we, not Didi, not the motabhais, not the trustees, but we, as blog readers, as people concerned with Swadhyaya, do?
Most people I know would say, "Why do anything at all?" My friends who are still very heavily involved with Swadhyaya (the organization) would say there is nothing wrong so nothing must be done. If anything is wrong, it is with those who are "anti-Swadhyaya" and spreading these messages. My friends who have drifted away from Swadhyaya over the past few years would say that they can practice Swadhyaya philosophy in their lives and do not need the organization for help. Since all the current "problems" deal with Swadhyaya the organization, and these people do not need the organization, no need to do anything. My parents and their friends would say that they are still able to go to pravachan and gain valuable insights by hearing Dadaji's vichaar without getting involved in the politics. So they say there is no need to do anything and rock the boat when they can still get from Swadhyaya what they were getting from it when Swadhyaya was in its "prime".
Yet I do see the need for action. This comes from seeing people that I care for on both sides of the Swadhyaya fence being negatively affected by all the distrust that exists both within and outside Swadhyaya (the organization). It also comes from feeling like Swadhyaya the philosophy [What exactly does this mean anyway? We say this all the time, but has anyone defined this? Or, more importantly, have we each defined this for ourselves?] has impacted my life in a positive way and is not something I can easily walk away from. I am no proponent of organizational structures, especially not dysfunctional ones, yet I cannot envision a world where people do not eventually come together on the basis of common thought. And so we should not try to get rid of these commonalities but figure out how to best utilize them. Through Swadhyaya (the organization) we have gained access to large group of people who are interested in "personal development", thus development of those around them.
How can we being these people back together in a space where nobody FEELS afraid? Regardless of whether you believe this has to / can be done within or outside of the organization, something must be done.
So, what can WE do?
