Fatal Traps for the Gullible and the Ignorant
Beware of the Fake Gurus
The first and guiding principle of Buddhism, Hinduism, Tantra, Jainism and any of the children of Sanatanadharma would have to be ahiṃsā (अहिंसा), the ethical principle of non-violence, do no harm to any creature by action or inaction. A second very important principle is that of asteya (अस्तेय), the principle of not taking what is not your due. Just as ahiṃsā can be done by action or non-action, taking from another under deceitful or false pretenses is considered a form of theft.
It's clear that when someone offers a product or service, he must warrant his good faith and integrity, if he is to be trusted. One way we do that is to provide clear and verifiable credentials for the service he offers. Another is to be honest about what skills he has and how they are valuable. Yet another is not to offer a product or service that has the potential to harm or injure another person who reasonably relies on the offerer's statements.
There are many reasons for deceit, some of them almost justifiable such as that which will prevent harm or deceit in order to ensure survival.
Apart from the lies and misrepresentations may be necessary for survival, the deceit and misrepresentations that are used for personal gain or profit are particularly egregious. Those that con the gullible or vulnerable, and give false hope are nothing less than evil.
I have always been vigilant to identify those individuals who unethically and immorally offer services that are potentially harmful to those who fall for their sales pitches. I am especially adamant about identifying those charlatans who offer psychospiritual or emotional advice or services but have few or no qualifications.
As a psychospiritual specialist and a scholar of yogic Tantra (तन्त्र), and as a professional caregiver and mentor, I take particular offense when I am confronted with fake teachers providing fake teachings.
Two such individuals have recently caught my attention because they are so arrogant and brazen that they actually proactively place themselves in the public's eye, as if no one would pick up on their ignorant and transparent deceptions.
The first scoundrel works out of the United Kingdom and calls himself J**** Tantra. Mr Tantra will sell the fragile, lonely, gullible, and vulnerable just about any titillation he can cook up. Of course, his line is what he calls "neo-tantra," which is simply the scam and practice of gay orgy, thinly disguised as a spiritual discipline.
Mr Tantra and his so-called "husband" offer everything from online workshops, LoveFests, Tantra diplomas and certificates, and his most recent addition to his rogues menu of snake-oils is the Tantra Coach certification. The problem is, Mr Tantra is not qualified to certify anything at all, and his so-called "school" is not an accredited education entity. He nevertheless attempts to sell his certifications.
His most recent exploit is to team up with another questionably qualified character in California -- now does that surprise you -- to offer a combined Tantra-diploma/Tantra coach certification, requiring the gullible to fork over at least $2,000 a year for three years.
Now some gay men may have that kind of money to throw around but even if they do so voluntarily, it does not justify Mr Tantra's fraud.
If you think I'm being to hard on Mr Tantra, let me refer you to Tantra 4 Gay Men and their own online publications. I warn you in advance, the language and the grammar is pitiful, and some sentences are not even intelligible, but Mr Tantra appears to think that he is being informative.
For example, Mr Tantra describes his victims appropriately as "customers," a term NO bona fide spiritual guide would use when referring to his followers. That should be a dead give-away that Mr Tantra considers those men buying into his scam as revenue, not as students or disciples. No real spiritual guide or mentor would ever charge his followers for his teachings. Yet, a planned event in 2021, the first convocation of thegullible and ignorant who seek Mr Tantra's diplomas and certifications, will take place in October, in California. It's a one-week "residential" course with a price tag of US$ 2,394.00 (Mr Tantra breaks this down to $1,599 plus $795.00 food & lodging).
Mr Tantra makes some very vague but very ambitious promises in his promo material:
"Tantra Coach Training will give you the skills and experience to hold transformative space for others using both Tantra techniques and practices integrated with psychotherapeutic models of understanding."
It's unclear which tantric techniques and practices Mr Tantra is offering, but the fact that he is offering psychotherapeutic models is distressing, given Mr Tantra's lack of credentials.
The description of the training goes on to describe a "TantraGayMen 'Coach' method of holding space, " tantric practices including tantric massage, rituals, and tantric exercises, psychotherapeutic models, and a number of other bizarre descriptions.
One particularly egregious item is his promise to "unlock your fantasies for significant depth and embodiment." Whether a professional psychospiritual guide or an ignorant laymen, anyone would have to agree that fantasies are not the best things to "unlock," nor do fantasies provide any significant depth nor whatever it is Mr Tantra thinks is "embodiment." He goes on with his nonsense by promising an increase in the sucker's "professional knowledge and practice of ethics and boundaries.
The words "ethics and boundaries" must have gotten stuck in Mr Tantra's gullet, they're obviously so foreign to him.
Mr Tantra wastes no time in suggesting a timetable for completion of his bogus coursework:
"We recommend that as a maximum you do both one Tantra Coach training module per year and one Diploma in Tantra module per year. We recommend that you allow yourself the space to do this as a 3-year journey. If you try to do it faster than you may not fully benefit from the spaces in between to let the integration into your day to day life."
Even with the poor grammar and syntax, I don't think I need to interpret what's going on here.
I don't shock easily but there was one section that really sent me dizzy:
"The practices, exercises and techniques you learn in the Tantra Coach Training can support in growing your offering* to clients.
"*Not all the methods learned in the Tantra Coach Training maybe offered to your clients due to local prostitution laws. You are responsible to only offer clients that which is legal and lawful which is different on a state by state, or country by country basis. We cannot take responsibility for how you might choose to use your learnings. Please do ask us if you are have any concerns." [emphasis provided]
Another outright lie in Mr Tantra's propaganda piece reads:
"The programme is the only training world-wide that offers you such a comprehensive and complete training in Neo-Tantra, specifically designed for men who love men."
That statement is completely untrue. There are several reputable, legal, and professional programs that teach traditional yogic Tantra without having to provide a warning that you might be violating "prostitution laws!
Surprisingly, Mr Tantra does have a momentary lapse when he actually lets the cat out of the bag regarding what his training program actually provides. Under the heading, 5. Is this a professional training, he writes:
"Tantra is an unlicensed practice in that it is not licensed in the USA whereas massage as an example is....Completing all 6 modules [US$ 6,000.00 - 9,000.00] of the Tantra Coach Training we believe will give you the skills to safely, ethically, help and support others in the practice of Tantra...The Tantra Coach Training in no ways skills you to be a “therapist” of any sort. Therapy is a licensed practice whereas Tantra is an unlicensed practice. The spaces you hold for others using these techniques and methods do not constitute therapy, but instead hold space for others and with consent, ethics and local laws..."
Well, Mr Tantra assures us that (1) you won't be a therapist when you finish his course but doesn't say exactly what you will be. He also says that whatever it is you will be doing does "not constitute therapy." Well, I wouldn't want to take my chances with some District Attorney or a judge who may think it does constitute therapy, particularly if you are in the situation of navigating far too close to violating any "local prostitution laws." Sounds like he gets your money and you get to run the risks.
Gentlemen of the LGBT+ community and potential victims of this type of scam artist, I rest my case.
If you find that you might be interested in reading the entire half-witted narrative published by Mr Tantra, you can find it at Tantra Coach Training | Tantra for Gay Men. I do not recommend reading it on a full stomach.
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