Beautifully said. And beautifully sad. Jim
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > What if the whole history of the TM movement were an > outgrowth of a young bhakti's attachment to the object > of his love, and desire to have that love "requited" > in the form of appreciation of the work that he did > on his behalf? > > I don't think many of us here know much about Guru Dev > and his personality. People make assumptions about his > enlightenment, but hey!...even the enlightened have > personalities. What if his was a bit on the gruff side, > as some of the photos hint at, and he was less than > emotionally open to those around him? Or, what if, > having been brought up in a tradition in which one does > not often praise those around them openly because that > might lead to the development of ego in odd ways, he > never praised those who worked with him and for him? > > And what if one of those who worked for him were a young > bhakti who was just head over heels in love with Guru Dev > (and please get your minds out of the gutter...I am NOT, > even for a moment, suggesting any kind of 'unnatural' love > here, merely head-over-heels bhakti) and who worked his > butt off for him every day, doing menial jobs and what- > ever needed to be done around the ashram? > > What if the process of doing that -- performing selfless > service -- got the young bhakti high as a kite and even > opened for him a few glimpses into higher states of con- > sciousness? And what if that were cool, but what the > young bhakti *really* wanted, more than anything else in > life, was for Guru Dev to turn to him one day and say, > "Mahesh, you're the best?" > > And what if that never happened? What if the object of > this love just up and died one day, without ever having > said it? What if the young bhakti were so distraught > that he threw himself into the Ganges, trying to follow > his beloved teacher to the grave? > > Time passes. The young bhakti is still fixated on Guru > Dev, still heavily attached to him, and still wanting to > serve him, because service is really the only thing that > really got him high. Besides, in his heart he's still > hoping to hear Guru Dev say someday, "Mahesh, you're > the best." > > Think about Maharishi's fascination with the story of > Trotaka, and about the importance he has given that story > in his teachings. What was the outcome of that story? > Someone saying, "Trotaka, you're the best." > > So the young bhakti puts together some meditation tech- > niques and begins to teach them. He goes to the West, > finds it receptive to these techniques, and an organiza- > tion forms. > > And as it forms, he subtly (and probably unconsciously) > shapes it to resemble the situation he grew up in. > There is One teacher, One source of knowledge, One chain > of command, and this time he's the One. And almost from > Day One, a strong part of the dogma he teaches is that > this set of teachings is "the best." > > As more and more people join the organization, the dogma > extends to measures to try to ensure that no one within > it has much opportunity to learn otherwise. Prohibitions > about reading books from other spiritual traditions arise; > after time they are actually enforced with shunning within > the organization or, if the need arises, removal from the > organization. And a subdogma arises about how the faithful > should *think* of those who have been removed from the > organization, or worse, have chosen to leave it on their > own. They are to be pitied for having lost the Way, and > they are to be shunned if encountered, and they are to be > badrapped to others if their name comes up in conversation. > > The image of "the best" is preserved. And the young man > whose spiritual teacher would never tell him that he was > "the best" becomes the person whom most of the people in > the organization consider "the best." And then, karma being > the real pain in the ass that it is, the young man gradually > becomes an old man, and along the Way has to deal with what > being considered "the best" can DO to an ego. > > These are just random thoughts on a holiday afternoon here > in Paris, sitting at a sidewalk café sipping a fine Saint > Émillion Grand Cru and thinking about Maharishi. You're > getting them as they flow by, unpolished, un-thought- > through. They're Just Another Café 'What If' Story. > > But I like the story because it makes me smile, and think > even more positively about Maharishi than ever. > > What if all of this were true? What if, to some extent, the > whole history of the TM movement were really based on a young > man's attachment to his spiritual teacher, and his desire to > hear four simple words: "Mahesh, you're the best?" What if > that really *were* what it was all about? > > Well in my book that would be just fine. Look at what > the man did. He managed to turn millions of fellow human > beings on to the joys of meditation and the pathway to > enlightenment. In one way or another, he will continue to > do so even after his own death. That's a nice thing to have > done with one's life, *whatever* the reasons for doing it > might have been. > > The karmic value of any actions are in the results of the > actions, not in the intent of those actions. The value of > performing the service is in the service, not in the motiva- > tions for the service. And as far as I'm concerned, Maharishi, > the results of your actions and your service may well "weigh > out" on the positive side on the olde karmic scale. Go easy > to your rest. > > And, just in case my café ramblings have any resemblance > to reality, and Guru Dev never said it to you, I shall raise > my glass to you and say it myself: "Mahesh, you're the best." > > > Uncle Tantra, 5 mai 2005, Paris To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! 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