wgm4u: > I haven't read the witch doctors book... > The book by Judith is a very slim paperback, just 219 pages with about a dozen ripped-off photos, and really poor ones at that. Apparently Judith actually took only three photos of the Maharishi in the two years she was in the TMO.
What is more interesting to me was the part about Ms Pittman and her position in the Maharishi's so-called 'inner circle'. How Judith got past Jemima and Nanda standing post at the MMY's front door in the middle of the night at a yoga camp in India is beyond me. Maybe Judith crawled in by the bathroom window, except MMY's house apparently didn't even have a bathroom. Go figure. There is one photo of the Maharishi sitting at a dinning room table with the inner circle that is really humorous though. He looks like a 'midget' compared to the others at the table. When I saw it my first thought was how in hell would someone as attractive as Judith want to be having sexual relations with a small guy like that, if you know what I mean. Power and prestige? Anyway, I do believe Judith was in love with the Maharishi and he may have been in love with her. But, the book is a big disappointment. Instead, I'd recommend the new book ($20.00) by Lola Willamson, a real scholar, who was a TM initiate and teacher, as well as an insider in Yogananda's Self Realization Fellowship, and the Siddha Yoga Org. Williamson's book makes Judith's account read like a sleazy tabloid bought at a grocery store check-out or a sidewaklk news-stand - not worth more than a dollar, tops! Work cited: 'Transcendent in America' By Lola Williamson New York University Press, 2010 260 pages. Illustrated. Notes. Index. Biblio. Amazon review: "This truly outstanding book is a major contribution to the study of Hinduism, the study of religion in America, and the study of religion in general (particularly the field of comparative mysticism and the epistemology of religious experience). Williamson manages to combine empathy for her subject matter with scholarly rigor to produce a work that is not only intellectually engaging, but that also rings true for those of us who practice within Hindu-inspired meditation traditions..." - Jeffery D. Long
