--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@...> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "sparaig" <LEnglish5@> wrote: > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Emily Reyn <emilymae.reyn@> wrote: > > > > > > If this is such a priority and they really believe what > > > they are saying, why don't they just bring in meditators > > > from other countries to reach the goal? Are there not > > > 2000 flyers in the entire world? In the name of global > > > peace, I would think that many of the idealistic and > > > altruistic nature would volunteer even to pick up and move. > > > > They have imported about 1,000 Vedic PUndits, and pay > > Americans $800/month to participate full time (8 hours/day > > 7 days/week) for at least a month. > > > > I'd say they are pretty serious. > > Just so that Emily is not swayed by this disinformation,
Of course, it isn't "disinformation." It's a perspective that differs from Barry's. (Note that Barry is the one who complains loudly that his perspectives are called "lies" by those with different perspectives. That's actually a fantasy of his--it doesn't happen--but we can see where it originates: in his own propensity to do exactly what he complains about.) The difference in perspective hinges on the fact that the TMO is very heavily involved both in bringing in the pundits from India and in Howard Settle's subsidy program for full-time dome participants. The funding itself comes from donations, but neither project could be carried out if the TMO weren't quite serious about achieving the purportedly critical dome numbers. Of course, it isn't the least bit unusual for a well- endowed organization with a mission to ask for donations to fund specific projects. Nobody with any sense looks askance at that approach. > what she means by "they" and what Lawson means by "they" > are completely different. I suspect that by "they" Emily > meant the TM organization per se, the entity that has > been estimated by The Illustrated Weekly of India to have > a net worth of 3.5 billion dollars. Given that amount of > capital, and given the importance the organization > *claims* to place on getting large numbers of Yogic > Flyers together to do their thang for world peace, her > proposal seems very logical -- "Put your money where > your mouth is." > > *In constrast*, what Lawson is talking about are two > programs paid for entirely by donations begged or demanded > from TMers. The program that pays for people to buttbounce > full-time for $800 per month was paid for *entirely* by > one wealthy TMer. The pundits were similarly funded by > donations from well-meaning (and yes, idealistic) TMers. > > As far as I know, the TM organization itself, sitting on > top of all that wealth, *has not spent a penny of its > own money* to achieve its own goals. > > This is a policy that goes back to the very beginnings of > the TM movement. Maharishi was almost *never* willing to > spend his own money on his own projects. He always found > a way to beg the money for them from his followers, or > in his worst moments *extort* the money for them. (What > else would you call the frantic pleas for money some > time before he died in which he declared outright that > the world would end if it wasn't raised.) > > I think Emily has a point. If the TMO 1) actually believed > that its programs could bring about world peace, and 2) > were sitting on top of sufficient financial assets to put > those beliefs to the test, wouldn't their failure to do > so paint them as hypocritical at the very least, and > downright mercenary at worst? > > Lawson knows all this. He was taking advantage of Emily > *not* knowing it to spin things in such a way as to make > it seem as if the TM organization *itself* paid for the > efforts he listed. That isn't true, and has never been. > The TMO does *NOT* pay for these things; the same well- > intentioned suckers who have been paying for Maharishi's > dreams since the beginning of the movement paid for them. >
