he has had doubts as to whether or not TM and Christianity are compatible ever
since I roomed with him on a residence course in 1975 - he has been having more
doubts lately due to my corrupting influence as I pass on all things I find
about TM both the positive and negative. I think he likes talking to Jerry on
some level because it re-affirms his desire to believe TM is a gooooood thang -
he did touch on some of the allegations about M's dalliances with women with
Jerry and Jarvis said those things absolutely never happened. At least, he
never saw them.
Were I to be asking the questions, I would like to know how so many other skin
boys saw and heard that which Jerry did not. But maybe Bill will ask him that
sometime. Jerry did tell my friend he is not too keen on the behavior of many
of the TM big wigs these days, but they did not get into specifics.
--------------------------------------------
On Mon, 1/6/14, authfri...@yahoo.com <authfri...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: Marshy and Religion
To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
Date: Monday, January 6, 2014, 10:18 PM
OK, thanks. I don't understand how he can
do both with full commitment if he's so sure TM is a
religious practice. TM would be OK with his being an
evangelical, but evangelicalism would most definitely not be
OK with his doing TM.
Please do pass on anything he tells you about his
conversations with Jerry Jarvis. (You could pass on to
him--to Bill--my comments too if you wanted to. I'd be
fascinated to hear his response.)
<< He does his
program every day, twice a day now that he's retired.
Goes to church a couple times a week too - he also has been
having ongoing conversations with Jerry Jarvis the last
couple months. He spoke with him a couple hours last about a
week before Christmas. I'll pass on any good info or
stories if Bill gives me any. >>
--------------------------------------------
On Mon, 1/6/14, authfriend@... <authfriend@...>
wrote:
Subject: [FairfieldLife] RE: Marshy and Religion
To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
Date: Monday, January 6, 2014, 6:44 PM
What do you mean
by "TM aficionado"? He sure doesn't sound
like
one to me.
<< In honor
of what FFL was supposed to be and sometimes is, I offer a
piece of writing sent to me by a friend who is both a
devout
Christian and a TM aficionado. Those of you reading may
not
agree or like it, but I think it makes a number of good
points. >>
Maharishi Defines Himself Through the Spiritual
Regeneration
Movement
M defines himself as the instrument through which a
precious knowledge, lost after Shankara’s revival, will
be
given back to the world: “It was the concern of Guru
Deva, His Divinity Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, to
enlighten
all men everywhere that resulted in the foundation of the
worldwide Spiritual Regeneration Movement in 1958, five
years after his departure from us.”(p.16)
And again, “...the SRM (was) founded with the sole
purpose of spiritually regenerating the lives of all men
in
every part of the world. (p.21)
Guru Deva was M’s guru, the Spiritual Regeneration
Movement (SRM) was created by M, and it is significant
that
the original name for M’s movement was “Spiritual
Regeneration”.
This is heavy stuff. These are words that belong to
the
domain of religion and can only be understood in that
context. If M’s explicit aim was to “spiritually
regenerate the world” by spreading enlightenment,
creating
a society where every action of the individual was “in
accordance with all the laws of nature”, i.e. in
Christian
terms “without sin”, the accomplishment of this aim
would represent no less an event in spiritual significance
than the life and death of Jesus Christ. It is difficult
to
talk about TM not being a “religion” for those who
center their lives around the practice of the technique,
and
study the teaching’s of M. For those people who take TM
“seriously”, who devote themselves to both the
practice
and to M, the following statements (in italics below)
concerning an online Webster dictionary definition of
religion can be honestly made:
Webster Definition Of Religion
re·li·gion noun \ri-ˈli-jən\
: the belief in a god or in a group of gods. TM teaches a
great deal about the nature of god, about getting the
favor
of gods, and about direct experience of God.
: an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules
used
to worship a god or a group of gods. TM teaches a system
of
beliefs concerning the nature of spiritual growth, for a
fee
the organization offers spiritual ceremonies (Yagyas),
performed by specialists, for obtaining the favors of the
gods for the acquisition of specified blessings. All of
these are based on faith in the accuracy of M’s
teaching.
: an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very
important to a person or group. There are many people who
completely devote their lives and their fortunes to M and
the TM movement.
Full Definition of RELIGION
1
a : the state of a religious <a nun in her 20th year
of
religion> The TM organization offers full time
monastic
positions to certain qualified persons, allowing them to
become Hindu monks and nuns.
b (1) : the service and worship of God or the
supernatural
(2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or
observance Success with the TM technique is based on
regular practice. Initiates start out with 20 minutes
twice
a day, peopl with advanced training often graduate to 90
minutes twice a day. This is represents a serious
commitment to “the supernatural”. While the benefits
of
TM help sustain this commitment, there is certainly an
element of faith that is also required. M also talks
about
the necessity of faith to achieve the goals of TM.
2
: a personal set or institutionalized system of religious
attitudes, beliefs, and practices. The teaching of M
(“attitudes, beliefs, and practices”) have certainly
been codified and institutionalized over the past 50
years.
3
archaic : scrupulous conformity : conscientiousness The
term “scrupulous conformity” is a good description
especially of the people that live in TM communities, in
terms of dress, language, diet, and overall lifestyle.
4
: a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with
ardor and faith The teachings of TM include a specific
set
of beliefs (life after death, reincarnation, the nature of
spiritual growth, etc), and the “ardor and faith” to
which these are held can be witnessed by speaking to
almost
any committed practitioner. M’s expressed goal of
“spiritually regenerating the world” is a certainly a
cause that many devote their lives to.
The Bhagavad Gita and TM Holy Tradition As Scripture
“The BG is the highest expression of divine
intelligence understandable by man.” (4:1, p.252)
This is a pretty profound religious statement.
“This path of action for gaining success in the world
and freedom in divine consciousness has a long tradition.
In its content it is eternal. Even if in time its purity
is
lost and it is forgotten by man, each time it is restored
in
the world by a wave of revival that comes from God.”
(p.247)
There it is, you either accept this as from God or
you
don’t.
“It is deplorable that such precious accounts of life on
the highest human level as are to be found in the
historical
material of ancient India should have been regarded as
myth.
They should, on the contrary, be recognized as a most
useful history of the highest civilization that has ever
existed on earth.” (p.254)
There are many that might accuse M of being a bit
egocentric about his country’s history.
4:2
“The holy tradition of great masters, which
responsible for reviving the teaching after every lapse,
has
captured the minds and heart of lovers of Truth in every
age. It is not merely held in high regard, but has come
to
be actually worshipped by seekers of Truth and knowers of
Reality.” (p.257)
This is religion. I have a feeling M wishes he
hadn’t written that.
TM As Fundamentalism
“It may be added that only through TM, which is the
direct way to gain PC and rise finally to GC, can absolute
purity be lived in daily life.” (p.312)
This is not only religion, this is fundamentalism!
Maharishi presented TM as the only effective way, the
“one
way” to enlightenment, and himself as its messenger.
Being a member of the Christian evangelical community, I
have to say that this has a familiar ring to it.
