--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@...> wrote: > > Today for some reason I found myself thinking back to > the first time I saw Maharishi, in 1967. At that talk, > at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, he said a few > things that got me interested enough in the spiritual > path that I set about walking it. >
I went to the memorial service on MUM campus last nite. For Lilian Wallace, the Wallace family matriarch. Very much an old TM/MUM trustees event, and some of us other old-timers who have been around all alongside of this who are not TM-Rajas. Very nice evening of primarily the Wallace family reminiscing about Lilian Wallace. She was a very large personality that was along the whole way behind the scenes of the TM-movement by virtue of Keith Wallace and Peter. In character it seems she was a glamorous strong willed person of the mid-20th century. I know her first in California at one of the Humbolt courses with Maharishi. Was a big course with well over a thousand people. Most of us sat in a field house on folding chairs for the lectures. Up front was an area of stuffed chairs set out for the "rich ladies from southern California". They were the supporters of the 1960's. They were of that generation. 'Made-up' and dolled up they were taken care of up there. Initially Lillian it seems was brought in and introduced to TM and maharishi by her kids, Peter and Keith, she was of that time. The speakers at the memorial spoke stories of those times and her life. It was fun. Especially was Peter going on about he and his mom being with old Yogananda followers, learning kriya meditation and practices early on, Buddhism, and going to india and being with saints there. Anandamayi Ma. Peter was warm and animated. On the other side of the stage while Peter waxes on about visiting saints in India are Bevan and Keith stoically listening. It was a moment. Patronage. Was interesting to see the room, staging, and relationship of the Wallace clan to it. Keith is first scientist of the TM-order. He is not MUM, not a Raja neither. Bevan is evidently powerful. In the greeting of folks there was some ring-kissing demonstrations of fealty with Bevan going on as well as chit-chat. The position of the Wallaces is a special place, emeritus in a way by virtue of Bevan evidently. Bevan batted clean up as speaker and gave a nice statement drawing on a principle. It was nice and enlarging. I've gone to a lot of memorials of the meditating community the last few of years. Mostly the folks who would attend are the closer friends or co-workers of the deceased. Something I was noticing about some of the memorials is that even with some of the most true-blue rank and file people who have been around making things happen by deed of their work or money, often the level of this upper movement is not present with the families and friends of the deceased at memorials within the meditating community. This particular memorial was of the Taliban-class of the TM-movement. Evidently as a class they were present for this. It wasn't necessarily large. In looking, the two people who were particularly lit of the whole group were Craig Pearson and Susan Humphreys. Hopefully they can outlive the larger force of being there and usher a new feeling to the group. It's a pretty cold group. Lord help 'em. - Buck in FF > He laid out the benefits of meditation as he saw it, > that it offered a way to draw upon one's own inner > resources for one's sense of self worth and happiness, > and not be dependent on others and how they see us or > what they tell us to do for those things. I remember > him speaking about how meditation (as he saw it) > required no belief for it to work, and no leaders or > gurus for it to work. All that it did require was > actually doing the work -- practicing meditation. And > I remember him speaking about how meditation could > help to develop one's own creativity, and how that > could help to resolve the problems of life by being > able to create more effective solutions to them. > > At one point a person stood up and asked a question. > He talked about a particular problem he was having, > and how it had left him in a quandary, not knowing > what to do. He then asked Maharishi what to do. > > Maharishi's answer was the most impressive thing he'd > said in the entire talk. He said, "If I tell you what > to do, all that will happen is that it will make you > weaker. The next time you have a problem, you'll want > me to tell you what to do about it again. You will > become dependent on me. What you should do instead is > meditate, draw upon your own creativity, and solve > the problem yourself. That will make you stronger." > > Compare and contrast to what Maharishi allowed his > teaching and his spiritual movement to devolve into. > What I find myself thinking today, remembering this > first talk, is how SAD it is how little of what he > said that day turned out to be true. Or at least how > little of it turned out to be what he actually taught > and how he conducted himself as the years went on. > > Instead of the independence and self-sufficiency he > touted in that first talk, what happened -- and > within a couple of years -- was an environment in > which the students were taught to rely on him and > what he told them to do. Being on the whole young > and impressionable people in the 60's they may in > fact have brought a lot of this tendency to rely > on guru figures with them, but he allowed them to > do so, and in fact encouraged it. > > He also encouraged "magical thinking," the view that > all you had to do was meditate and that if you did, > and listened to what he told you to do, magical > forces that were larger than you would take care of > you and make everything turn out right. "Do less and > accomplish more," which in those early talks clearly > meant "Meditate and recharge your energy and your > creativity and then go out and USE it by working more > efficiently for the things you want" turned into "Just > meditate and everything will be taken care of." Prag- > matic thinking gave way to magical thinking. > > And look what the outcome of this reliance on magical > thinking has produced. People who can no longer imagine > solutions to the problems of hunger and war and violence > that come from humans using their own intelligence and > working towards pragmatic solutions. Instead, the only > source that they can imagine a solution to these prob- > lems coming from is magic, in the form of some Woo Woo > Rays emanating from the thuds of their butts on foam, > or from other, even more magical Woo Woo Rays emanating > from some teacher or guru or avatar. > > Call me crazy but I miss the message of that first > Maharishi talk. I am hopeful that the problems of this > planet, both individual and worldwide, can in fact be > resolved. But I don't believe that they can only be > resolved by some magical force outside ourselves, or > by Woo Woo Rays. I think that these problems can only > be resolved by the pragmatic, creative ideas of indi- > vidual human beings, creative ideas that are possibly > enhanced by meditation and other practices, but *our* > ideas, not those of some avatar or guru or spiritual > teacher or other source of magical Woo Woo. > > That, after all, was the message of the first talk I > ever heard Maharishi give. It's just too bad that he > either was lying about what he said, or didn't believe > it thoroughly enough to follow through on it in his > own teachings, and with his own students. If he had, > the world might have been a much better place, and > they would certainly have been much stronger human > beings. Instead, just as he said in that first talk, > he wound up making them weaker. >
