On 10/21/2011 05:18 AM, turquoiseb wrote: > Just as a followup, I'd love to hear someone -- anyone -- try to make a > rational case, based on real, accepted science, for how it could be > actually *true* that a few people, grunting and bouncing on their butts > in some padded room, could produce world peace. I don't think you can do > it. >
I've always felt that the concept behind this was the one of the Kumbh Mela festivals in India that happen every 12 years. There you have a very large gathering of spiritual folks hoping to effect the world with their vibes. There is probably some science of psychics involving how a group can "broadcast" into the world some effect but the Dome hoping probably just benefits Fairfield and not much further with a "softer" environment. That it will create "World Peace" is only a fantasy. On the other part of your original rant: What I think we're seeing now are the dying gasps of movement which as predicted after MMY passing would have internal struggles for power. From traditional viewpoints MMY really didn't make "acharyas" who could have carried on a tradition. For instance Sivananda did have disciples who could carry on as gurus. TM teachers are not gurus but just machines to parrot some basic mantra meditation. There are definitely some doubts that MMY was an archaya himself and by the tradition had no authority to even make meditation teachers. One may not like the idea of "authority" or "license" but that is the way these traditions work. Where I was in the 1970s doubts began arising among teachers with the "Age of Enlightenment" courses. Some started paying attention to what Muktananda was teaching since he would answer questions MMY would not. I personally don't know of any teachers who left TM and joined his movement but I'm sure there were some. I did when visiting Amritapuri (Ammachi's ashram in Kerala) see a couple of TM teachers I knew from the 70s who had joined that organization. And regarding Muktananda there was fallout in his organization after he passed because of who he delegated to run it. Price hikes also disturbed teachers. Not so much the $75 to $125 one but the one to $400. I recall Charlie Lutes at a meeting for teachers in my area lambasting the price increase during a recession. Everyone felt that keeping TM affordable was important. And then let's not forget that many teachers were leaving their 20's behind, getting married, having children and could not longer play "hippie in a suit" to support a family. Many simply left TM behind and having suits some turned into yuppies. :-D
