--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "feste37" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Judy is absolutely correct on every point here. The vast majority of > people who learn TM do not get involved in these kinds of activities. > Those who do, as Judy says, find them nourishing in some way. Some of > those who do not like to get together on this board to poke fun at > those who do and congratulate themselves on how much wiser and > cleverer they are than those poor benighted TMO cultists. I'm not > convinced.
And don't you think the use of the word "cult" rather gives the game away? It's part of that intellectually disreputable "grammar" of belief that runs on the lines of: *I* have rational and intelligent beliefs *You* have a sincerely held but irrational religious faith *They* are members of a cult "Cult" without coercion seems like pure rhetoric IMO. So I don't buy TM being a cult. Take Christianity. A proseletyzer (eg my sister) might tell you that the essence is that you just need to read the Bible and believe in salvation through Jesus. So does it invalidate that simple message if there are 000000's of folks who ALSO go way beyond that and believe in doing funny things with bread & wine, dressing in funny clothes, and having an odd relationship with some bloke in Rome? Is it somehow "misleading" to preach that simple message just because it turns out some may end up going much further than that if (big if) those believers choose to do so? > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <jstein@> wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > > > I just LOVE this announcement. I think it should > > > be printed up on glossy gold paper with a photo > > > of Maharishi and all the Rajas (in costume, of > > > course) at the top and passed out at all TM intro- > > > ductory lectures wherever they are given around > > > the world, along with the "scientific" charts. > > > > > > For most people (that is, those who are seeking to > > > learn a simple technique of meditation and not to > > > join a cult), this would present the true picture > > > of what they are signing up for if they learn TM. > > > > Actually, that would be a false picture. What it > > would be a *true* picture of is what they're signing > > up for if they learn TM and then choose to become > > heavily involved with the TMO. > > > > Thing is, the folks who choose to become heavily > > involved with the TMO do so because they find this > > sort of thing appealing. > > > > <snip> > > > IMO there couldn't possibly BE a more cult-like > > > document. > > > > Actually, it would be a lot more cult-like if it > > said folks were *required* to attend the celebration. > > >
