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I may not be able to
completely articulate what I am trying to get at,
here, but I found I couldn't just shrug and move on
to the next thread. so I mean to attempt to stay
and try to say what is bothering me about your
answers.
you wrote:
You say 'What first turned me off was the
evasiveness with which my wife and her premie
friends answered my questions regarding the EV
organization, M's wealth, M's personality, and
other questions a person might ask before accepting
someone as their master...Can you be honest with
me?'
I can be honest.
Here is my honest answer which likely will be
challenged, but - what the hey - its honest:
'a) I dont much care about M's lifestyle as long
as I dont support it financially.'
by advocating for him, and what he is doing, in
any form, you are supporting him. by siding with
him, by endorsing him, by identifying yourself as
someone who looks to him as your Master, you are
complicit in whatever he does.
' I dont think I want him judging mine
either.'
this is reprehensible. this reeks of 'don't ask,
don't tell'. this is not friendship and support,
and this is not being 'noble and nonjudgemental'.
this is corruption. a true friend does not support
another in alcoholism, or in their infidelity to
their spouse, or in perpetrating a deception on
others. this smacks of the sort of collusion and
mutual degradation that alcoholics and addicts
reinforce in one another. two winos in the gutter,
sharing a bottle. two junkies in an abandoned
building, tying each other off and shooting up. two
politicians, each of whom knows the other's darkest
secret, stumping for each other's campaigns.
that's not true friendship. and its not true
support or endorsement, either. thats mutual
corruption. the first is corrupt, and by going
along with it and saying nothing to stop it, the
second becomes corrupt too.
a true friend won't go along with it. A true friend
will call it what it is. a true friend will
advocate the good, the right, the straight.
b) His personality? He's charming, amazingly
charismatic, controlling, stubborn, funny,
creative. I love the guy. I dont think he's
perfect. But I do love him. Alot.
have you given any thought to the shock of what you
call his being funny? have you ever paused a moment
while everyone else is smirking at his remarks and
said to yourself 'wait a minute. that isnt cool.
that was rude. that was cruel. that was insulting.
hold on a minute!'
In miami at a festival, he publicly humiliated a
longtime devotee, whose wife had just died on him,
after a long and agonizing terminal illness. the
fellow stood up and in grief looked to maharaji for
some explanation, something bright to grasp for.
maharaji made some cruel, dismissive remarks,
making fun of him in his pain. the audience
laughed, right on cue.the guy went home and
committed suicide in his garage by carbon monxide
exhaust at the answers he got.
was this humor you had to love?
when marolyn nearly died three times in succession
with her brain aneurism and strokes, when she came
home, fragile from brain surgeries and unable to
take any part in anything but nursing and rest,
maharaji angrily told her 'don't ever do that to us
again'
this is funny?
are you at all aware of the maharaji who exists
off the stage? off the throne? do you know that the
image you describe is only like that when he's on
stage, when its showtime, and all that attention is
for him? do you know that the man away from the
stage is completely otherwise? a rageaholic?
caustic? abusive? cannot get thru a day without his
alcohol? his nicotine? his cannabis? do you know
that he loves nobody? do you know that he holds the
premies in contempt and disgust?cannot stand to
hear the truth about anything? has everyone around
him frozen in fear? since he cannot stand to hear
the truth, no one dares tell him. they move in a
climate of lies, pretenses, silencings,
concealments, and fear of being found out and
banished, replaced immediately by the next willing
and covetous climber.
this is not love. this is not peace.
and this is not indicative of mastery.
d) The EV organization tries very hard to do
things right. Too hard, four hard, six hard. Its
dysfunctional, and everyone knows it. You will hear
no argument from most thoughtful people on that
subject.
maharaji is a classic alcoholic and his deadly
contract of denial with EV is one of codependent
abuse. they live in fear of leaving, because he has
them believing they can't make a life without him.
so they believe his wrath when he is not pleased,
and they believe it is all their fault, and he is
never satisfied, because addiction is insatiable.
they can never be functional as long as they are
listening to him. they are enabling him to continue
without any consequences. it is unwinnable.
3) Does it bother you the way Elan Vital and
Maharaji have handled this issue in the past 2
years?
I don't know how I feel about it, to tell you
the truth.
' I know the 'faqs' are an embarrassment.'
For just this moment, let us forget about we, the
'ex=premies' and focus on you, the premies. You
have already said that you are conviced that nthing
will satisfy us. OK. Then forget us right now. What
about you? If the FAQ's are an embarassment to most
premies, then why don't you all say so? Why don't
you tell them so? Why haven't you all gotten
together and said that they are? If they are an
embarrassment, then apparently you share some of
Jim Sander's personal and ethical unhappiness with
brnging people into this from everyday life.
Apparently, you know in your soul that what is
being said isn't the truth, anymore. It seems that
you are acutely aware that what is being presented
isn't right, doesn't say what you would want
said.
This is most strange. supposedly EV is a nonprofit
body of people with knowledge, that believe that
the world ought to come and hear this man, this
supposed Master, speak about what he knows, and
what he can show them. Ostensibly, they are
registered as a charity for educational purposes.
Ostensibly,they organize events in their locale,
rent the hall procurement, do the publicity and so
on, and they 'invite' this great speaker to come
and talk. The Speaker is supposed to have a
separate life, independent of them, and 'accepts'
their invitations
to come, of his own free will.
And yet, if EV is a charity, and a nonprofit, and
is ostensibly for the purpose of educating the
public, then as a charity, who does the money go
to? where does it go? Does it go to helping the
public? To the needy? As a nonprofit, where is the
annual report to the shareholders and to the
public, showing what they received in donations,
and what it went for in expenditures? This is law.
This is the lawful procedure. Why is that report
not forthcoming to any person who wishes to see it,
same as it is with any charity or nonprofit?
If EV is a collection of individuals who feel that
this speaker is of such value to the world to see
and hear, then why are they so afriad? If this
speaker's views and gifts are so great, then why is
the group most active in promoting him so
dysfunctional? Does that seem to follow? Wouldn't
such a great speaker affect his most dedicated
advocates to be dynamic, clear, effective people?
Wouldn't you think so?
And why would he have such a denigrating view of
them if he agreed to come to their events and
speak? If he had such a scornful opinion of them,
why would he ever bother to teach them anything?
And if what he has to teach is so positive and
powerful and lifechanging, why are they like they
are?
What kind of speaker goes on for hours, for years,
about the preciousness and beauty of life, and then
humiliates his closest organizers? Muzzles them and
forbids them to say anything about it? Is this how
a human being shows gratitude to those who make it
possible for him to even have a place to speak to
the world?
do you see how it doesn't fit?
'Having said that, I'm not sure anything EV did
would satisfy people here, whose primary goal is to
see M drawn and quartered.'
Never mind about people here. How about YOU? How
about You, the Premies? How many of YOU are there?
How many of him are there? How many of YOU are
embarassed by the FAQ's? How many of YOU are
unhappy with the state of things? How many of YOU
think you're owed more gratitude than you get? YOU
are the ones who make it possible for him to do
what he does. YOU can demand change. YOU can raise
your objections. YOU can insist on better! YOU are
the poeple that make up this organization! Without
YOU, he is NOTHING! Don't you realize that? YOU,
the Premies, can break the spell. YOU can turn the
tide! YOU can refuse to be treated like this! YOU
can withold what he wants. YOU have all the
power!
' You know what? What bothers me the most is
that when I heard about this, maybe 15+ years ago,
it didn't even register. I just sort of tucked it
away. That sucks big time.'
this is powerful. this is excellent. you have not
lost your core humanity. it lives in you yet. you
realize right from wrong. now act on it. move on
it. motivate others. this is the right course to
take. don't tuck it away again. you have woke up.
now stay awakened, and wake others.
'Like many premies, or thoughtful people, I
guess, I'm most concerned about my own
foibles.'
well, if you're going to be concerned about your
own foibles, make them worthy ones, not petty
ones.
' I'm embarrassed - hence, my apology. What
f'ing unconsciousness!'
make that your battle cry, my friend.
'One more thing - you take someone as a 'master'
because they can teach you something.'
' I received K before I ever met M. I enjoyed K
before I ever met him.'
there is a problem between these two statements.
they dont reconcile. you cannot take someone as a
master but receive their instruction before you
ever meet them. you cannot enjoy someone teaching
you something before you ever meet them.
look at your own statement and see how impossible
it is. look at it.
you had and enjoyed this something before ever
meeting the master. you say so yourself in your own
words.
so the master did not in fact teach you. He had
never met you. You got it another way before you
met him.
Isnt that peculiar? does that make sense in
english? dont backpedal and start explaining. we
all know the drill. just look at that.
suppose you had never met him? suppose his name had
never reached your ears? suppose you had gotten
this teaching just the same? from the same person
who in fact showed it to you?
take a minute, and let it sink in.
you were TOLD by someone. you didnt meet the master
and have him personally offer this! you didn't
persoanlly ask him! he never met you or saw you or
spoke to you! He wouldn't have known you if the two
of you were alone in a room! He didn't teach you
anything!
you were having this experience before you ever met
him.
what does that tell you about how little
connection--in fact, no connection--there is,
between him, and the experience? your
experience.
do you know what?
the truth is--there is none.
you told yourself there was.
someone told you there was.
and he told you there was.
but he didnt teach it to you. he didnt know you.
you had this experience before you ever met him. so
he had nothing whatsoever to do with it.
' The arrangement (for want of a better word)
has taught me a lot.'
say that again, this time with irony. there is
going to be a lot more, and i dont mean bliss,
either...
' It has facilitated a lot for me.'
and what has it cost you? think about your
relationships, with family. with yourself. with the
world around you. with society. what have you told
yourself? what have you ratonalized? what have you
swept under the carpet? think about Jagdeo.
think about what you have facilitated for maharaji.
do you think he --and we have already hit the
realization that he didnt actually teach you or
show you this--but do you think he did this for you
out of the goodness of his heart and expected
nothing in return? does he just give it away for
free and go on? really? truly? if so, what pays for
the gulfstream V? the Serenity Yacht? The malibu
estate? the helicopter? Amaroo? La Tierra Del Amor?
His collection of $5000 watches? Marolyn's brain
surgery? Her diamonds?
ask yourself honestly what he has ever actually
done for you, yourself, ever?
the truth is--
nothing.
He holds a darshan line and goes home with $250,000
in untraceable cash.
He holds receptions at malibu for contributors who
can produce 6 figures. He sells off the front seats
at events for contributors in the 4 figures.
Don't avert your eyes. This is the way it is. Do
you really beleive and think that he would continue
to do this, if the premies stopped cold? Witheld
all cash and refused to be treated like this any
longer?
More to the point--could he?
No. He could not.
The premies hold all the power, here. You guys
really should realize it and use it. He has nothing
on you. You have everything over him.
'I don't think its a moral failing that I can
separate that from M's personality, lifestyle and
personal issues.'
well, my friend, if you can do that, then you can
make the final moral separation, and step away from
the whole ignoble business.
you said it yourself-- that you already had this
experience and were enjoying it, before you ever
met him.
he didnt give it to you. its not his.
can i show you how strange it sounds?
if you're hungry and you find a tv dinner with a
label that says 'swanson's' on it, and you follow
the directions and heat it and eat it, and it sates
your hunger, do you tell everyone for the rest of
your life that 'swanson's taught me how to
eat'?
if your friend hands you a condom and it says
'Ramses' on it and they show you how to use it, do
you tell everyone forever after that 'Ramses taught
me how to have sex'?
If you find a bic pen and for the first time
discover you can write with it, do you tell
everyone that Bic taught you how to write?
see how queer it sounds? can you spot the
mistaken attribution to the brand and not to
yourself?
heres a slightly more insidious analogy:
you live on an island, a simple people with your
own ways. one day a ship wrecks on your coast and a
man of a different skin and dress comes ashore. you
are awed by his strange appearance. he brings with
him many things from his ship you have never
seen.
you communicate first by acting out, then over time
he learns your words and you learn his.
and one day, years later, he tells you that he is
going to teach you something miraculous. he teaches
you all, the alphabet. you all are amazed to put
pictures and shapes together. that you can write
the words you say and someone else can read them.
your words now can live on, away from you, in time
and in plac you venerate him and his amazing gift
to you.
in time he dies. youcarry on teaching your children
the alphabet and the language he taught you. you
believe you have something unique coming only from
him. it is integral to your people and how you feel
about yourselves.
and then years later, another ship comes. and
another. they become regular. some of your children
and grandchildren go on the ships and travel away
to other lands on them. and they are shocked to
discover that the alphabet is known everywhere, and
it was not taught by the shipwrecked man who came
to your island. they come back to you and tell you,
and you cannot beleive it. family fights break out.
finally your island must be evacuated. say the
volcano blows and the ships take you all aboard to
escape the lava. you travel with the ships to the
very lands your children spoke of, and you see for
yourself the same alphabet in use, everywhere, and
when you ask, no one has ever heard of the man who
came and taught it to you. it is taught in every
school, in every home, and no one owns it. and your
whole world of beleif must alter to come to grips
with the fact that this profound teaching you
recieved, which you thought all your life was the
special property of this awesome and singular man,
in fact was not his, and he was no more a master of
it, than any schoolchild you meet in this new
place.
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