The Oneness Movement – Enlightenment for Everybody?
Out of southern India comes a spiritual phenomenon that seems to be spreading like wildfire around San Diego County, North America and the world. It is known as the Oneness Movement, and its calling card is known as “deeksha” or “The Oneness Blessing.”
Deeksha is actually an ancient tradition referring to a transfer of divine energy given by a guru to a disciple. The founders of The Oneness Movement, Sri Amma and Sri Bhagavan, are considered by many to be avatars, a Hindu term for deities that have descended to earth in bodily form. In 2002 they founded Oneness University near Chennai, India, to train people to give deeksha to others.
Since then, Oneness University and the work of Amma and Bhagavan have attracted an estimated 70 million devotees worldwide. They have also received the attention and favor of visitors from the Vatican, Muslim leaders, indigenous tribal elders, political leaders from a number of countries, musicians, writers and Hollywood celebrities.
What happens during deeksha?
A deeksha giver gently touches your head for about a minute, during which time the energy transfer occurs. The experience may be strong, subtle or delayed. Reported physical experiences include a slight tingling sensation in the head, energy flows throughout the brain and body, or a sense of calmness and relaxation.
Evidence gathered from science, psychology, and personal experience seems to indicate deeksha is an intelligent energy that balances and harmonizes the activity of all the major areas of the brain and leads to a “flowering of the heart.” It is often accompanied by radical shifts in perception, including a sense of “oneness” in which one realizes the sense of a separate self is an illusion.
Many also report benefits such as stress reduction; consciousness expansion, integration of mental and emotional intelligence; more creativity; release of deep traumas and negative behavior patterns; increased freedom from emotional suffering; mystical connections to masters, guides and angels; and even miracles of many kinds.
How does deeksha affect the brain and body?
Christian Opitz. a neuroscientist who has studied the effects of deeksha on the brain, says “It seems deeksha first installs the neurobiological hardware of enlightenment and the software in the form of the individuals experience slowly catches up.”
Various experiences of ungrounded spiritual awakenings may have to do with the lack of preparation in the brain and body to sustain the influx of spiritual energies. Deeksha seems to prepare the brain and body to awaken, thus increasing the chances of enlightenment being complete and easy to integrate into human life.
This may be an example of Sir Aurobindo's prediction of the next step in human evolution, which he called “the supramental descent” of the Divine into matter, including the human body.
Who are the deeksha givers?
Worldwide, they number in the thousands, including about 1,000 in the USA. The website www.onenessmovement.org features a directory of deeksha givers. In San Diego County, there are more than a dozen deeksha givers, and you can find a gathering almost any night of the week.
Ray and Gail Wingfield have been married more than 20 years, and host deeksha events weekly in their San Diego home. They each have more than 30 years experience practicing Transcendental Mediation and have been deeksha givers for more than one year. Gail is a ballet teacher. Ray, a computer consultant, created a website located at www.deekshagrace.com,HOME - FEATURES - NEWS - FROM THE PUBLISHER
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