Maharaji's Response to His Critics



During the September, 2002, event at Amaroo, Australia, someone expressed concern about the abuse that was inflicted on Maharaji on the Internet. This was Maharaji's response (taken from www.enjoyinglife.org):-

"It is not as if I am not aware of what is on the Internet. It would be very, very rare if you found a master who was not criticised."

"If you find a candle you are also going to find some matchsticks around it that did not quite light. The generosity of the master is at fault here. Some people should not have received Knowledge, they came for something else."

"But the worst part of it is that it is not true. It takes passion to see the truth, because if you want to see the truth, you have to open your eyes…"

He explained that answering such untrue criticism on the Internet would only reflect badly on him.

Criticism has always been levelled at him. When he was nine, the press reported that he was lip-synching to a tape recorder at events.

"I have been criticised since I was very young… Who should I complain to?"

In the face of this dilemma he said: "I have decided that I will do my own thing and in doing so I will be quite persistent. And if it is true that the Grand Canyon was formed by water, I will do quite well. There's an old saying in India, The elephant keeps walking and the dogs keep barking."

Of course his response is not a response to his critics, but is clearly designed to reassure his remaining supporters, and discourage them from reading this site.

In the first line, he places himself in the category of 'Masters', suggesting that the normal requirement of accountability in some magical way does not apply to him.

The matchstick/candle metaphor makes no sense. The spent matchstick near a candle is likely to be the one that lit the candle. This also calls into question Maharaji's own judgement, as many of these people received Knowledge from Maharaji himself.

In the next line he says that the criticism is not true, without specifying any specific allegation. Much of the damning content of this site is Maharaji's own words. Is he saying he was lying when he spoke them? The allegations about his private behaviour are made by several eye witnesses who have nothing to gain by lying, and it stretches credulity to believe they have somehow conspired to tell the same lies.

His question 'Who should I complain to?' is interesting. Who has asked or expects him to complain? It seems to be a very childish response. The mature response to criticism is to counter it with rational argument, or to accept it, and reform. Sadly, I don't think Maharaji is capable of either.

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