Guru E: Mr.  D. C. P. Ratnakara
　　 Our fifth example is the founder of a well-organized society that exhibits many of the themes we outlined above. His is one of the oldest meditation societies in Sri Lanka and he is one of the senior meditation teachers. In the teachings of this guru and

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the life of the society, we see how far the lay meditation movement has gone toward sectarianism. Since I have written about this guru elsewhere and know him well, I will use his real name and the name of his society. [4]

The Guru:

　　 This guru's name is D.C.P. Ratnakara and he is the "lay Patron and Founder" of the Society of the Friends of the Dhamma (Sadham Mithuru Samuluwa). Before his retirement, Mr. Ratnakara was a lecturer in educational psychology at the Peradeniya Teachers Training College near Kandy. He too was in the first generation of lay meditators during the 1950s revival of meditation and studied with several teachers including some forest monks. He says that as a youth he had been very interested in Theosophy and read books by Indian teachers such as Vivekananda and Krishnamurti. Now the members of his society accord him great respect and believe that he has reached an advanced stage of the spiritual path. But guru Ratnakara is not the sole authority for this society, Mrs. Ratnakara also has a key role, as I will explain.

The Society:

　　 Ratnakara founded this society in 1962 and since that time it has grown to have almost one thousand members and many local branches. The story of the founding of the society reveals some key facts about nature of this movement. Ratnakara explains that it was not his idea to found a society, but it became necessary to do so because of the "revelations" that he and his wife were receiving and the demands of their teachers. To abbreviate a long tale (which I have given in full in my book), Mr. and Mrs. Ratnakara began receiving messages through a medium. Mrs. Ratnakara was especially receptive to these messages and served as the chief contact with the spiritual beings in this process. These messages consisted of comprehensive dhamma teachings about such topics as cosmology, ethics, meditation and healing. The Ratnakaras came to believe that these dhamma teachings emanated from a pantheon of higher beings, including "masters", yogis, gods and goddesses. Especially important in this pantheon were the goddess Saraswati and a "Buddha from another planet." Eventually, these higher beings told the Ratnakaras to form a society to study and follow these teachings, which is how S.M.S. came about. The charter of the S.M.S. states that "Masters or Spiritual Teachers mentioned in the Buddhist Theosophical Literature...do even now exist, and one could communicate with them by developing certain meditative states of consciousness...or through a trained medium." Today the society continues to follow these teachers and to be interested in some more recent cross-traditional influences such as the teachings of the Indian gurus Vimala Thakar and Sai Baba.

　　 The members of the society study and live by the dhamma given by these spiritual teachers rather than the dhamma of the Tipitaka. The charter of the society explains that "the oral teachings of the Great Sage were committed to writing long years after the Parinibbana of the Founder. By that time interested parties changed the original teachings and one can hardly ascertain how much." So the written canon is not to be trusted, but this dhamma mediated by the deities is pure. Accordingly the members do not study the traditional texts, but study the teachings given by the deities

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to the Ratnakaras.

　　 The content of this celestial dhamma is too detailed to explain here, but we can mention some of the chief categories. There are elaborate teachings on the nature of the pantheon of deities which is extremely complex, for example one of their main deity teachers is described as the 42nd assistant to the goddess Saraswati. The dhamma teaches new forms of Sila or ethical conduct and the society lives by a number of special regulations, such as rules concerning simplicity in dress and lifestyle. Members are advised to arise at 4 a.m., to observe a vegetarian diet and to avoid people who engage in "wrong activities."

　　 A major topic in this dhamma concerns the path of meditation. Ratnakara explains that having these spiritual beings as their teachers is a great help since samsara is like a prison and the devas are like beings who, having liberated themselves from the prison, can now show others the way out. The form of meditation that Ratnakara's society teaches is -- despite the esoteric source of the teachings -- relatively conventional. They stress concentration (samadhi) and mindfulness (sati). The teachings received from the spirit beings, however, provide some new explanations of the nature of the meditation process. One such idea that they teach is that nature or jivitindriya can be described as a force that seeks to elicit karmic reactions in order to keep human beings trapped in samsara. The goal of meditators, therefore, must be to recognize nature's scheme and not get caught in it any further. Through these teachings Ratnakara attempts to show his followers how to overcome suffering in this life. S.M.S. holds meditation retreats and camps for the members and it encourages them to meditate daily. They seek to attain Nibbana in this life. Or as one S.M.S. member explained, "We cannot visualize or even hope for Nibbana. But if we can be peaceful, not in conflict and not reacting, then that must be Nibbana, or at least a glimpse of it." Ratnakara claims that people in S.M.S. have attained higher states, but he does not put as much emphasis on this fact as Guru D does. Rather Ratnakara stresses that they believe in the possibility of reaching Nibbana in this life by understanding reality as it is.