Charging for Spiritual Truth

This statement is the result of over 40 years of sharing, free of charge, the world's spiritual traditions. I am speaking of pre-Christian "Old Age" Hindu and Buddhist spirituality, as opposed to what I perceive to be much of the proselytizing Christian and New Age marketing of spiritual experience. (I have little experience with Pagan or indigenous traditions.) This statement is not a manifesto, and I do not expect anyone to change what they are doing. It is just one perspective that: spiritual truths are free; all else is bought and sold (spiritual truths are also "open secrets" ... in my opinion there is no need to pay to receive "secret teachings.")

The Zen in me says that enlightenment is possible in a flash, in an instant. I am wary of any practice path that advertises "Level one" "Level Two" etc., or "Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced," or any spiritual practice that contains a series of steps or levels, or any kind of "progression" that one must advance through over a long period of time. The cynic in me says this is a marketing ploy.

For more than 40 years now (since 1969), my personal preference has been toward practice paths not involving money (or secrecy). That has become a kind of criterion: if someone has something spiritual of infinite value that can benefit others, they will be happy to share it, free of charge, and will not try to sell it for personal gain.

Here are some examples of how this criterion has worked over the last 40+ years:

• I sat with the Quakers from 1969 to 1981 without ever being asked to pay to meditate with them on Sundays, Wednesdays, or any other day. The experience of Quaker worship was free of charge in monthly meetings and worship groups.
• I visited the Osho Rajneesh ashram for three summers in the late 80's. There was a one dollar entry gate charge to enter the ashram, but inside all activities I participated in all day long, from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., were free of charge. I attended daily meditations, Gurdjieff practices, Sufi dances, African dances, all of Osho's discourses, and much more in the Osho Commune in Pune, India free of charge. My first contact with the "Rajneeshees was in 1981, in Seattle, when I won a Rajneesh raffle (buying a one dollar ticket was voluntary). My first experience with the Rajneeshees they paid me money!

The entire vibe in the Osho commune (I was there in the late 80's) was of pure, juicy love; of spiritual beings flowing and growing ... and the sannyasin vibe was most definitely non-material. There were a multitude of daily activities inside the Osho Commune free of charge.

Money was irrelevant to becoming an Osho sannyasin. Osho shared his overflowing joy free of charge. Osho never asked for compensation for giving sannyas (no long spiritual struggle needed, no levels, no "advancement" on a path). Neo-sannyas was freely given, just like Jesus said: "Ask and it shall be given you." (Luke 11:9)

I want to state this clearly because in my eight years with Osho, in Pune, India and in Oregon, when Osho was in a physical body, my first-hand experience was at odds with what was being reported in the media.

The media misrepresented one the most important experiences of my life. But then, reporters do not understand what happens between guru and disciple, and they always suspect that surrender means exploitation is happening, instead of love or trust or freedom from conditioning through meditation. Osho has showered love on me for decades now ... free of charge.

• I danced with the Hare Krishnas in Colombia over a ten year period, and they never asked for money. Hare Om Tat Sat! The Hare Krishnas were blissed out and happy to share their bliss free of charge. When you are overflowing with joy, you are happy to share your bliss. Bringing money into it would be a dissonant chord, a bummer, or, as some say: it would "harsh your mellow."
• I have sat with the vipassana groups for many years in various parts of the United States and they all operate on the principle of dana... there is never a charge for meditation. Donations are not sought, but, when freely given, donations are accepted. Dana is the practice of generosity. It is the first of the Three Pillars of the Dhamma that the Buddha taught, according to the Theravadan folk.
• I have attended satsangs with Amma devotees, including pujas, hugs from Amma, and divine chanting for hours at a time, free of charge.
• I have participated in crazy wisdom sanghas of Chogyam Trungpa with meditations and meditation instruction free of charge.
• I have received beautiful Deeksha blessings, free of charge. Charging for such spiritual beauty, for pure Bhakti spirit, would be ugly.

By the same token, I never considered charging for any kind of spiritual practice I have shared with others. Whether Sufi dancing in the library in Silver City, zikrs in my house, Gurupurnima nataraj dance meditations, laughter hasya yoga sessions, drumming circles, Osho's dynamic meditations, etc. ... I have always been opposed to profiting in any way for sharing what I have been blessed to receive from others.

This statement represents my personal disagreement with the New Age practice of selling spiritual truth, or selling experiences by leading you to believe those experiences are necessary for realizing spiritual truth. When an activity is labeled, for example: Shambhala Training Level One: The Art of Being Human ... Hello? What is wrong with this picture?

For those who choose to pay, perhaps nothing is wrong. But the people being paid are human beings ... not unlike Osho was a human being, not unlike the Quakers are human beings, or the Sufis, the Gurdjieff sacred dancers, or all the drummers, the laughers, and the divine singers and sacred blessers ... we are all human beings. We are all on the same journey home. Why charge tolls?

In the past 40+ years, all those fellow travelers whose paths have crossed mine; they chose not to collect a toll to share their spirituality. Sharing the spiritual was not conditioned on having material resources. No one was excluded; in the same spirit of the fragrant flower called Osho, in the same spirit of Jesus: "Ask, and ye shall receive." (Jesus did not say: "Ask, and ye shall have to pay a level one course fee")

I thank existence. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to commune, free of charge, with so many beautiful seekers and fellow travelers. We share this precious life as we travel together on this beautiful planet. Such gifts we have been given free of charge!

Swami Samarpan David