--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Rick Archer" <r...@...> wrote:
>
> From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:fairfieldl...@yahoogroups.com]
> On Behalf Of wayback71
> Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 5:33 PM
> To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [FairfieldLife] Judith's book - I just read it
>
>
>
>
>
> I liked it for many reasons - and now I feel somehow closer to Maharishi.
> Judith is smart and honest and presents a balanced account, and was
> obviously in love with MMY. For those who are wondering whether to read it,
> I can tell you that Judith's account is dignified - no sleaze or unnecessary
> information. Just an honest, simple accounting. There is positive stuff
> about MMY, too - kind of a full picture, rather than a one-dimensional guru
> person. Rob McCutcheon's statement at the end is excellent and so clear and
> moving.
>
> Judith's story matches exactly the things I heard back in the 70's,
> including the information about "June." I had a brief interaction with
> "June" on Mallorca and instantly liked her. Back in the 70's a friend of a
> friend heard these rumors, and he decided to spend as long as it took to
> find out if they were true. He had done TTC in Mallorca, too. He just did
> not want to go on wondering and feeling ambivalent. He took about a year,
> and I suspect he called Judith and I know he went to visit a woman in the
> Seattle or Portland, Oregon area to talk with her ("Belinda"). He talked
> with those in the inner circle on those courses as well. At the end - after
> interviewing several people in person (he flew to see them) as well as by
> phone, he had no doubts that several women had been involved with MMY, and
> he dropped from the TMO. But he would not tell the details of what he had
> learned - he had promised confidentiality.
>
> For me, it was a relief to hear Judith tell her story instead of just
> hearing rumors and second and third hand accounts all these years. I already
> believed them to be true, so the book did not shock me. But it brought back
> memories and -what is really amazing is that it made me regain some of the
> love and respect I used to feel so intensely for Maharishi - he was a Master
> but also a human who made some big mistakes, felt guilty, and did not know
> how to be open about them. The way Judith frames the whole thing just shows
> that he too had his weaknesses as well as the devotion to Knowledge and the
> profound impact he has had on so many of our lives. Judith does a too-brief
> but good job in talking about what Enlightenment might or might not look
> like - and as has been done here on FFL - proposes that personalities may
> not be much influenced by the state of Enlightenment. As we have discussed
> here, Enlightenment might be a way of perceiving Reality, but not a makeover
> of one's personality. I finished it and felt as if the air had been cleared.
>
> What I am still curious about is what it felt like to be around MMY as much
> as she was. Did she feel intense darshan, have bliss or unboundedness as a
> result, did it change her spiritual life while in his presence? These she
> did not go in to.
>
> I asked her about that and she said she just loved him. She didn't relate to
> the experience in terms of darshan.
>
> Now, I would be curious to know if someone will be doing a book on the money
> in the TMO.
>
> We'll have to wait until Benny Feldman ("Kuberaji") drops out.
>
> Would you be willing to send this review to the FF Librarian Rebecca Huggins
> (see recent "book banning" posts): bhugg...@...
> <mailto:bhuggins%40fairfield.lib.ia.us>
>
Yes, I will send it to her this evening.
