Brahmachari Scott
I’m Scott, founder of Skeptic Meditations. For 14 years, I was ordained a monk of Self-Realization Fellowship Monastic Order, a Hindu-inspired meditation organization founded in the U.S. in 1920 by Paramahansa Yogananda, the famous Yogi who wrote the Autobiography of a Yogi and was the first Indian-Swami to permanently make his home in the West.
I was known at the time as Brahmachari Scott. Behind cloister walls were hundreds of monastics who vowed to live in perfect celibacy, simplicity, loyalty, and obedience. A spiritual utopia; a heaven on earth‒so we thought. Everyday, for at least four hours, we practiced sacred rituals of prayers, chants, visualizations, affirmations, and, of course, silent meditation techniques. But, the ashram monks didn’t only sit all-day, cross-legged and cross-eyed, chatting and navel-gazing.
The daily routine in the monastery-ashram revolved around contemplative practices, but also “how to live” classes, 9-to-5 office jobs running the SRF world-wide organization. During the evenings and weekends we had ashram duties including cleaning and scrubbing the monks’ quarters toilets, showers, and kitchens mingled with ministerial-clerical duties such as counseling or leading temple services for SRF members and the public. (Unfortunately, unlike Trappist monks, we did not brew beer or ferment cheese!). For monetary allowance, each monk received $40 cash per month, room and board, healthcare, and all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffet. Why would a monk leave such a paradise on earth?
For reasons that are as complicated as life gets, I realized a decade plus after entering the Order that I really didn’t belong in a monastery or ashram. This wasn’t the end, though. In the most important ways, my journey unfolded (or unraveled) when I escaped back into the outside world.
I’ve never regretted nor looked back after leaving the monastery‒having escaped the ashram and it’s renunciate worldview‒both physically and, most importantly, psychologically.
Beliefs in supernatural entities add layers of complexity that aren’t necessary. The world as it is makes more sense without postulating that there’s some divine being who is somehow in charge and who has all the answers. Beliefs in the supernatural powers of yogis, meditation, and enlightened masters are–more often than not–steeped in layers of psychological manipulations and magical thinking.
At Skeptic Meditations, I explore the extraordinary beliefs and practices of meditators, mystics, and yogis. Writing and blogging helps me process my past experiences and beliefs. My hope is that in this process I may sow seeds for furthering your own journey and explorations.