Why people leave Sat Guru? Organized religion is often nothing but politics and ego-play

Sti Sri Bhajan Brahmachari

(from "Living with My Himalayan Master: Sri Sri Bhajan Brahmachari"):

Samiran Dirghangi, another disciple of Thakur, brought out yet another facet of the religious life and guru-disciple relationship. He asked Thakur, "I have seen many people come to take shelter under your benign presence with immense enthusiasm in the beginning but after a while move away and leave you. Why do they come and why do they leave?"

It is a pertinent question and Samiran Dirghangi was blunt enough to ask it directly. Thakur smiled and opened his heart to the assembled group, saying,

"Humans at times are very cunning. They think that no one is as intelligent as they are. When they hit roadblocks that they cannot resolve themselves, they are in such a mental and physical state that they become convinced they need divine intervention. They run to sadhus and saints who have healing powers and a big following. They go to Gurus and take shelter. If they are in the dark tunnel, they stick to the Guru. They work desperately to receive the Guru's mercy. Once they are out of their turbulence, however, they are gripped once again by deep tendencies of greed, jealousy, and other dictates of their conditioned, egoic mind, which begin to foul the environment for themselves and for others."

Thakur hits the nail on the head. This clearly brings to light why in most religious or spiritual organizations there have been and inevitable are such levels of power politics and such an unholy atmosphere, particularly in the inner circles of organizational hierarchy. This is the influence of maya, the illusive potency that clouds the mind and conspires from inside to be gripped by the influence of power, money, and control.

I have personally experienced this living in the ashram of my Beloved Master when I was ordained as a monk. On one hand, the disciples demonstrated their bhakti, their devotion to the Guru. On the other, they were continually stirring the waters, mud-dying things up with conflict and confusion throughout the ashram. I saw all of that playing out again and again in the life of the ashram of my Gurudev. I came to believe that organized religion is often nothing but politics and ego-play that invariably lead to groups and power games. 

Most people who come to masters are worldly. Scratching the surface, they take anything of value they can, while keeping their ego intact. Over a period, the reality comes to the surface. Only a few are ready to embrace the world of inner awakening. And only a handful among those is alive enough to the seed of pure compassion to have the destiny of lifting others to their next stage of evolution.