--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Sal Sunshine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On Feb 8, 2008, at 3:29 AM, george_deforest wrote: > > > > curtisdeltablues wrote: > > > > > > I got a lot of peace from the article in the Skeptical Inquirer > > > in 89 or 90 that compared these personality traits with popular > > > gurus... > > > > > > It explained how he could use and discard people as he unfolded > > > his "mission." I don't see this as a putdown. > > Curtis, this is the main thing that has bothered me about MMY and > the TMO--how could he (they) do that? How could they take the good > will and good intentions of so many really nice people and treat > them like that? I think I may spend a long time pondering that > question. I look forward to any revelations along the way.
I can only pass along one of the things that I found comforting and "releasing" about looking at such actions by spiritual teachers in terms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. They really aren't *concerned* with how "other people" may feel about being treated one way or another because in a very real sense there ARE no "other people" in their world. The NPD per- sonalities lack empathy; they're locked inside themselves (or themSelves, if you feel that they really are enlightened), and these other people around them really have no reality at all. The only thing that DOES have any reality is the stuff going on inside the head of the NPD personality. So it's really not as if they're "dissing" these people and their good intentions and their many contributions, financial-wise and trust-wise and devotion-wise or any other kind of -wise. The NPD personalities just don't FEEL these other people, AT ALL. They barely ever *exist* for the person whose life embodies Narcissistic Personality Disorder...these other people are little more than gnats flit- ting around them. Gnats come and they go; the only thing that is important to the NPD person- ality is their "mission," the way they see themselves (or themSelves). I guess what I'm saying is that I don't think that it's PERSONAL that Maharishi or any other NPD spiritual teacher doesn't treat their students with respect. My feeling is that they barely even notice that the students are even THERE.
