Miracle of Love
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The Miracle of Love is a religious group based in San Diego, California. It is headed by two spiritual leaders, or masters, Kalindi la Gourasana and The Lady. The group's stated mission is to break people free from the "cycle of birth and death"[1] (a another term for for reincarnation) and bring them home to God in this lifetime.
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[edit] Workshops
While there are workshops offered, the primary introductory vehicle for the Miracle of Love is The Intensive, which is regularly altered to achieve desired effects. It is currently a six-day, residential program. A confidentiality agreement is required. The Intensive involves long hours, lectures, intense small group sharing sessions, deep emotional release meditations using highly evocative music, and a variety of media presentations. There is a another workshop called the 21st Century Transformation Seminar (not sponsored by MOL but run by MOL members) which has a similar format but does not include a focus on breaking the cycle of birth and death or other religious teachings of Miracle of Love. The 21st Century Transformation Seminar web site states the following under "What you will receive from the Seminar":[1]
- You will have a profound, undeniable, life altering connection with Spirit, God, the Source, Love.
- You will be able to see the lies & illusions that have kept you from finding your true self.
- You will see the places where you are dead, shut down, repressed, resigned, dull, in denial. First you will be shocked. Then you will feel. Then you will come alive.
- You will come up against your limitations - mentally, spiritually, emotionally, physically. You will have the support to go beyond those limitations, and you will discover & experience strength and determination that you didn't know you had.
- You will learn what it means to listen from deep within and how to act on what you are hearing.
- You will see where, how and why you have protected your heart & you will open to a love that is beyond comprehension.
- You will let go of deep rooted fears & learn how to not let fear stop you.
- You will experience and learn the power of desire and develop a personal, real, alive relationship with prayer.
At the end is an intense celebration process. Afterward, when the participants are done, they commonly report altered states that can last for weeks. Participants report a wide variety of experiences during The Intensive, some psychological and many spiritual, including "connections" to God (or the Divine). Miracle of Love offers follow-up programs to encourage further involvement and work.
[edit] History
The Miracle of Love was started in 1987 by David Swanson, his wife Carole Seidman (who took the name Kalindi), Gayle (last name unknown, but who took the name the Lady), and several other seekers. It is stated that David Swanson underwent a transformation when he accepted his body being taken over by an Incarnation of God, Lord Gourasana, whom he had contacted. Kalindi and the Lady did transformational work under Gourasana and were considered fully enlightened spiritual masters by Gourasana.
In 1995, David Swanson died (purportedly his body could no longer endure the energy of the entity, Gourasana). Kalindi assumed the mantle of authority, changing her name to Kalindi la Gourasana. The Lady became second in charge. Since then, several members of the inner circle have also been proclaimed spiritual masters.
The group has established communities in Denver, Colorado, San Francisco, California, Seattle, Washington, Asheville, North Carolina, and other cities in the United States. There are also communities in Germany, Costa Rica, Australia, and the Netherlands. A new center was opened in San Francisco in 2006. But will move to Denver by the end of 2007. The Miracle of Love has also been growing in Argentina.
After it's founding, the Miracle of Love gained members from other groups, such as Rajneesh's and Erhard Seminars Training (est). Kalindi is a former Hare Krishna member.
The most active members largely live in communal homes, guided by an in-house spiritual leader. They follow a rigorous regimen of activities and austerities in order to help them break free of their attachments to the temporal and material world. Those who continue living in their private residences arrange their living space according to Miracle of Love recommended domestic guidelines.
This world is referred to as the "Illusion"[2] and individual illusions are considered affectations of the ego. While Gourasana encourages constant reevaluation, devout members live a life of unswerving commitment to the the group's mission and Kalindi.
Some of the ongoing activities of the Miracle of Love are fund-raising and attracting new members. Volunteer work is common in the Miracle of Love. A member is not considered to be serious about "breaking free" if they do not volunteer their time, services, contribute financially, etc.
[edit] Philosophy
The Miracle of Love teaches that this temporal life or plane of existence is one of duality, with inevitable pain, suffering, and emotional anguish to which we are locked by our attachments to the Illusion, continually dying and being reborn in the "Cycle of Birth and Death"[3] (reincarnation). This keeps us separate from our True Selves and from God.
The Miracle of Love teaches that people can break free of this cycle and "go home to God in this lifetime" by surrendering to the will of Lord Gourasana and Kalindi la Gourasana, following their guidance, and using theGourasana Meditation Practice[4] to break material and conceptual attachments. The ultimate goal is never having to be reborn into this life again, instead remaining with God in a state of eternally expanding love. The Miracle of Love states that many of the people who have gone through Miracle of Love programs have reported life-changing spiritual breakthroughs.
[edit] Criticism
Miracle of Love is a religious group with non-mainstream practices that has often been labeled a cult, and been accused of "brainwashing". Several negative articles have been written criticizing Miracle of Love, including "Kalindi's Cult - Miracle of Love" by Jill Kramer[5].
[edit] References
- ^ "Breaking the Cycle of Birth and Death" by Gourasana 1991,1996
- ^ "Breaking the Cycle of Birth and Death" by Gourasana (1991, 1996)
- ^ "Breaking the Cycle of Birth and Death" by Gourasana (1991, 1996)
- ^ "The Gourasana Meditation Practice" by Gourasana (1995)
- ^ "Kalindi's Cult - Miracle of Love" by Jill Kramer, Pacific Sun: March 17,2006
