On 07/18/2012 09:13 AM, Vaj wrote: > > On Jul 18, 2012, at 12:01 PM, turquoiseb wrote: > >> It's fascinating, Vaj, but I really feel such a distance >> from Maharishi in every possible way -- emotionally, spir- >> itually, and intellectually -- that I can't work up enough >> interest to read anything by him these days, let alone >> about him. He just holds no interest for me whatsoever. >> >> His followers, and what became of them...that I still find >> interesting. That's why I still skim FFL and post here. >> But Maharishi himself...there is simply no connection to >> him left in me. To read some account of him would be like >> reading about a fictional character. >> >> Of course, one could easily say that such an account *is* >> about a fictional character, given how much of his rep >> he invented and spun himself. :-) >> >> But when it comes to reading fiction, I have higher standards >> for characterization than I'm likely to find in the character >> of Maharishi, no matter who tells the tale. > > > I'm always curious how honest new accounts of him will actually pan > out to be. There's so much effort that goes into air-brushing his > reputation, concealing his past and that of his various product lines, > it's always interesting to see how well writers are able to (ahem) > transcend the "spin" and write something authoritative and factual.
MMY was pretty much a "me too". If you think about it he was looking at the successes that yogis had starting organizations and jumped in. He simply had better luck than the others and maybe because some of those others like Sivananda really didn't care about being something "really big" but teaching actual knowledge. MMY's luck was that probably a lot of kids back in the 1960s and early 70s who were looking at the spiritual smorgasbord opted for the most secular looking one which was TM. They already had flack from families from growing their hair long, wearing hippie clothes, using drugs and even dropping out of college. Running around chanting "Hari Krishna" with a shaved head in robes might not have gone over so well with mom and dad. The techniques are something that anyone could have cooked up with some knowledge of Ayurveda or other parallel Indian philosophy or schools of yoga. They are pretty much "yoga lite" and to be fair I think MMY expected people who "tried it" and "didn't like it" would naturally seek something else that did work for them. That is a fundamental ground rule in yogic instruction. But if you want archaya level knowledge seek out a true guru.
