OK, sounds good, Ravi; it is good to have a mission statement. If you are asking me, I have no idea of who Amma really is, any more than I do of who anyone really is. I have never been particularly wowed by Amma, personally, but that may just be me, a question of "chemistry" perhaps. Other people whom I do respect a great deal, do respect Amma a great deal, and I appreciate the magnitude of the devotion they bring to the table. My feelings for Maharishi have gone through the entire gamut over the past 40 years, and I find now I can hold no one view paramount, to the exclusion of all the rest.
Personally, I enjoy devotion, at times, and in one sense it probably doesn't matter too much what the object of one's devotion "really" is. If one can feel devotion for and see the divine in a rock, why not in a person, flawed though they most certainly are from other points of view? On the other hand, it appears to me that we do tend to assume the qualities of our object of devotion, and cultic abuse may subconsciously be carried down through the generations. Or maybe we are just drawn to that particular cult because it matches our own abuse history and patterns. Or both. Of course, it is good to use our intellect in conjunction (and I do mean conjunction) with our heart. I do think we are probably all deceived and deluded to some extent. I know I certainly am, at any rate. All we can do is try to take the feedback into account, and learn, and grow. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Ravi Chivukula" <chivukula.ravi@...> wrote: > > Religious delusional beliefs - a set of beliefs, consisting of > religious terms, myths, symbolisms, archetypes, philosophy and/or > paradigm that form a person's narrative of his or her subjective, > spiritual, mystical experiences which thereby leaves the person > invulnerable to reality. > > So an important premise of the definition is that each of us human > beings are created, vulnerable beings i.e are subject to be influenced > by reality (or life or existence or God or whatever way you would like > to objectify this energy which I have chosen to merely define it as a > mysterious, dynamic, organic entity) > > Once an agreement is reached on the basic premise, the definition of > religious delusional beliefs is very easy to be understood and why I > choose to label Amma under the grip of a religious, delusional belief, > hopelessly deceived and deluded. > > Amma - went through genuine mystical experiences but the villagers then > enchanted by this woman, Amma in a mystical trance assumed Amma to be > possessed by the Divine Mother. In line with centuries old superstitious > beliefs of theirs, their objectification of the âmysterious, > dynamic, organic entity. > > Here Amma, a woman who was much abused by her family, crude and > uneducated fishergirl didn't know any better. Her father, who also > enacted these myths of divine possession - of Krishna and Devi must > have played along as well. Why not - this was part of their folklore, > their beliefs. > > Thus started the myth of the Divine Mother which would fool humanity for > a long time. > > Now you can see this from her autobiography - a tale of magic, mystery > constructed out of the above narrative. I think the people around her > conveniently fit her child abuse, her other stories into an incredulous > narrative of 18th century woo-woo. > > And on the myth spread and now the PR team takes it one step further > and elevates her to the status of a humanitarian - medals, awards - > even a doctorate follows. > > Westerners burdened by their guilt for poor, for suffering, ridden by > this existential angst, eager to unburden themselves, numb themselves > from reality's puzzling, baffling, perplexing contradictions and > complexities were quite willing to buy into this mystical, magical tale > who a-la-Christ suffered for humanity's sins - this loving, embracing > Saint. > > It's a wonder that she has fooled the public and press for this long - > the majority anyway. > > So will reality play along with Ravi Chivukula's theory? Is Ravi - a > mere instrument of reality in this unravelling of the myth of Amma? > Amma - a mystically entranced Amma, an innocent village girl turned > charlatan? > > Or is Ravi deluded and deceived himself? One thing for sure - if I am > indeed deceived and deluded because I am forever vulnerable to reality - > I will absorb any new information that disproves me and gracefully > adapt to the new reality. >
