On Aug 17, 2011, at 2:34 PM, merudanda wrote:
Poor Rick"Being banned from the domes has been compared to ..
practice of shunning"
see article in detail http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shunning
The members of the Golden Dome community successfully enact "their
rituals" without a common understanding of what the "rituals" are
supposed to signify or why they are meaningful?
Does the "symbols and rituals" sustain unity in the group
because they completely transcend the individual beliefs of its
members? Is it therefore socially meaningful as a source of social
solidarity because it transcends the personal beliefs of
individual, only?
(To be socially meaningful only, interaction does not have to
personally mean anything to the flyers. The »form« of a "ritual" is
the only thing that is socially significant because it alone is
fixed, objectified, and self-evident. It is significant even though
each participant in the ritual may attach a different »content« to
the form)
I've never seen a more confused-sounding lineage than TM's:
"...Maharishi "makes it clear" that Transcendental Meditation was
delivered to man about 5,000 years ago by the Hindu god Krishna. The
technique was then lost, but restored for a time by Buddha. It was
lost again, but rediscovered in the 9th century AD by the Hindu
philosopher Shankara. Finally, it was revived by Brahmananda
Saraswati (Guru Dev) and passed on to the Maharishi."
(from the Transcendental Meditation entry)
It was originally delivered to Krishna (presumably by chariot), who
lost it, but then the Buddha found it (it had been behind the couch
the whole time!), but Buddha being such an enlightened klutz lost it
AGAIN. Thank gawd for Shankara, 'coz he found it again (whew!). Guru
Dev obviously found some old Vedic Photocopies of Shankara's and gave
one to Mahesh, who then began selling it.
No one even mentions poor Trotaka and the Holy trad.
