[FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi on Guru Dev, part II
Very nice- thanks for posting that. Recall it clearly from TTC- Always a beautiful talk to hear again from MMY. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, nablusoss1008 no_re...@... wrote: http://tinyurl.com/nfadau
RE: [FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi introducing Guru Dev
From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of curtisdeltablues Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2008 12:29 PM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi introducing Guru Dev In the movement mindset, I always assumed that this claim meant that Guru Dev was using magic to support the place without cash. Now I think this is unlikely at best. Of course he might have had an inheritance that he could direct to the math so outside money was not needed. The movement story is that Guru Dev had a magic box and that whenever he needed money, he opened it and found what he needed in there. Haven't you heard that story?
[FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi introducing Guru Dev
--Maybe the Ashram was facing North. That would explain it. - In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of curtisdeltablues Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2008 12:29 PM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi introducing Guru Dev In the movement mindset, I always assumed that this claim meant that Guru Dev was using magic to support the place without cash. Now I think this is unlikely at best. Of course he might have had an inheritance that he could direct to the math so outside money was not needed. The movement story is that Guru Dev had a magic box and that whenever he needed money, he opened it and found what he needed in there. Haven't you heard that story?
[FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi introducing Guru Dev
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of curtisdeltablues Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2008 12:29 PM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi introducing Guru Dev In the movement mindset, I always assumed that this claim meant that Guru Dev was using magic to support the place without cash. Now I think this is unlikely at best. Of course he might have had an inheritance that he could direct to the math so outside money was not needed. The movement story is that Guru Dev had a magic box and that whenever he needed money, he opened it and found what he needed in there. Haven't you heard that story? I had heard this. Probably generated by the very imaginative Dr. Varma. I was just trying to make sense out of what Maharishi was claiming without resorting to that explanation. I was trying to go the route of good will intentions rather than my usual assumption of bamboozlement. In that case there could coexist a separate material source of funds but Maharishi was just letting the individual devotee off the hook for contributions. I would like this version to be true.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi introducing Guru Dev
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer rick@ wrote: From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of curtisdeltablues Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2008 12:29 PM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi introducing Guru Dev In the movement mindset, I always assumed that this claim meant that Guru Dev was using magic to support the place without cash. Now I think this is unlikely at best. Of course he might have had an inheritance that he could direct to the math so outside money was not needed. The movement story is that Guru Dev had a magic box and that whenever he needed money, he opened it and found what he needed in there. Haven't you heard that story? I had heard this. Probably generated by the very imaginative Dr. Varma. I was just trying to make sense out of what Maharishi was claiming without resorting to that explanation. I was trying to go the route of good will intentions rather than my usual assumption of bamboozlement. In that case there could coexist a separate material source of funds but Maharishi was just letting the individual devotee off the hook for contributions. I would like this version to be true. no reason the magic money making box couldn't have existed. just as we are talking about other subjects that can't be proven, this one can't either. but rather than declare the lack of proof as the reason the magic money making box couldn't have existed, i'd rather turn that reasoning on its head, and say that is the reason the money making box could've existed. there is a 50-50 probability.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi introducing Guru Dev
no reason the magic money making box couldn't have existed. Sure there is. It violates many laws of how shit works that we have discovered. just as we are talking about other subjects that can't be proven, this one can't either. An accountant would be able to eliminate most of the obvious sources for the funds that ran the Math and locate the actual accounts the money came from. This is the kind of rumor that exists because we don't have access to the Math's financial records. but rather than declare the lack of proof as the reason the magic money making box couldn't have existed, i'd rather turn that reasoning on its head, and say that is the reason the money making box could've existed. there is a 50-50 probability. Then you are taking an extreme skeptical position on our ability to know things within probabilities. All options are not equally likely or we would never be able to advance out knowledge. It isn't just a lack of proof that makes this claim unlikely. It is our confidence in how the world works from our collective experiences. Just because we can be wrong or have incomplete knowledge about reality doesn't mean we can't ever be confident in our probability choices for knowledge. And in this case extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof because it violates all sorts of well founded beliefs on how the world functions from our experience. Now if many of us had experienced boxes that could generate currency that was magically valid in the banking system of a country (I believe it was coins or bills rather than raw gold that the box was supposed to produce)then the odds of Guru Dev having his very own would go up. But I sure haven't seen one or heard about one except in this movement rumor so the odds for me go way, way down. The movement story is that Guru Dev had a magic box and that whenever he needed money, he opened it and found what he needed in there. Haven't you heard that story? I had heard this. Probably generated by the very imaginative Dr. Varma. I was just trying to make sense out of what Maharishi was claiming without resorting to that explanation. I was trying to go the route of good will intentions rather than my usual assumption of bamboozlement. In that case there could coexist a separate material source of funds but Maharishi was just letting the individual devotee off the hook for contributions. I would like this version to be true. no reason the magic money making box couldn't have existed. just as we are talking about other subjects that can't be proven, this one can't either. but rather than declare the lack of proof as the reason the magic money making box couldn't have existed, i'd rather turn that reasoning on its head, and say that is the reason the money making box could've existed. there is a 50-50 probability.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi introducing Guru Dev
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: no reason the magic money making box couldn't have existed. Sure there is. It violates many laws of how shit works that we have discovered. just as we are talking about other subjects that can't be proven, this one can't either. An accountant would be able to eliminate most of the obvious sources for the funds that ran the Math and locate the actual accounts the money came from. This is the kind of rumor that exists because we don't have access to the Math's financial records. but rather than declare the lack of proof as the reason the magic money making box couldn't have existed, i'd rather turn that reasoning on its head, and say that is the reason the money making box could've existed. there is a 50-50 probability. Then you are taking an extreme skeptical position on our ability to know things within probabilities. All options are not equally likely or we would never be able to advance out knowledge. It isn't just a lack of proof that makes this claim unlikely. It is our confidence in how the world works from our collective experiences. Just because we can be wrong or have incomplete knowledge about reality doesn't mean we can't ever be confident in our probability choices for knowledge. And in this case extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof because it violates all sorts of well founded beliefs on how the world functions from our experience. Now if many of us had experienced boxes that could generate currency that was magically valid in the banking system of a country (I believe it was coins or bills rather than raw gold that the box was supposed to produce)then the odds of Guru Dev having his very own would go up. But I sure haven't seen one or heard about one except in this movement rumor so the odds for me go way, way down. yeah, i shouldn't have tied it to odds-- 50-50. i do enjoy the process of keeping an open mind though, even when i don't want a particular story to be true. this reincarnation discussion is a perfect example-- i'd love to side with the reincarnation folks, but keeping an open mind means that there are more discoveries in the direction away from reincarnation. this is why i like the story of the money box- it is too cool to ignore, and i can think of several ways in which it could be possible.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi introducing Guru Dev
Some comments on the occasion of the thousandth posting of this translated version of Maharishi's press release... It made me wonder what it would be like to hear Maharishis speak in his native tongue. The translation takes this out of the style and vocabulary that we are accustomed to hearing from him. He did end up speaking English for the majority of his life, so maybe there was not much difference in the end. One unique principle of the great Sage that distinguishes him completely from other living saints of today is that he does not accept money as gift from his visitors or disciples. This may also be the occasion of the thousandth time I have commented on this so I'll try to say something new or at least brief. I will avoid rehashing the obvious irony of Maharishi presenting this quality as a virtue. I wonder what exactly is being claimed here. Was it some legal distinction that people could support the Math through another entity as Maharishi was fond of creating for his own organizations to stay ahead of the tax man? Don't Sanyasi monks have some rules about accepting cash anyway? Most of the orders have strict rules about how much they can eat so they must be restricted about the cash they can receive personally, right? In the movement mindset, I always assumed that this claim meant that Guru Dev was using magic to support the place without cash. Now I think this is unlikely at best. Of course he might have had an inheritance that he could direct to the math so outside money was not needed. I know that whenever I draw attention to this it seems as if I am being critical, but it goes beyond that. This point was being used in the spiritual equivalent of a marketing claim. So I think it is appropriate to consider what exactly is being claimed and how much stock we should put in it as an accurate statement. If in fact there was another way for donors to support the place, than it was just the refusal of small monies from the public that he was talking about. I would respect that insofar as most religions feel no shame in shaking down the poor for their last rupies. If this is the case I would view this claim as a very compassionate act and a sensitivity to people who would be tempted to give beyond their means. It would be a reform practice that I could respect. That positive spin is new, at least for me. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, nablusoss1008 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The Great Saint of the Himalayas is Coming to Shower His Blessings on the Metropolis The Statement issued by: BAL BRAHMACHARI SHRI MAHESH JI. Press conference convened by Shri Shankaracharya Reception Committee, Delhi on the 15th October 1952 at 5 p.m. in the Young Man's Tennis Club, Queen's Gardens, in connection with the visit of HIS HOLINESS SHRI JAGATGURU SHANKARACHARYA MAHARAJ OF JYOTIR MATH. *? It gives me a great pleasure to welcome you all and have your company here this afternoon. It gives me enough encouragement and support to acquaint you with the details of the mission for whose fulfilment His Holiness Shri Jagatguru Shankaracharya Swami BRAHMANANDA SARASWATI MAHARAJ will be visiting your city about the 12th of November 1952 and stay here for about a month for Dharmopdesha. Swami Brahmanda Saraswati Maharaj, the present Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math Badarikashram (in the Himalayas) is a magnetic personality with a sweet amalgam of High Wisdom and Love of humanity. He combines in himself the Knowledge of the self with the mysterious powers -- the siddhis arising out ofyogic perfection and hard penances, which he has undergone throughout his life. He is a great living yogi and scholar and is revered by millions of Hindus as their Supreme Religious head. This greatSaint of the modern age was born in Uttar Pradesh in a well to do and renowned Brahman family in 1871 and was enthroned to the seat of His Holiness Jagatguru Shankaracharya in 1941 at Banares, during the ninth session of the All India?Sanatana Dharma Maha Sammelan convened by the Bharata Dharma Mahamandala in conjunction with a countrywide support of almost all the ruling princes and different socio-religious institutions all over the country. It may be recalled that it was a long persuasion of about twenty years which could convince Param Virakt Swami Brahmananda Saraswati to accept the great responsibility of the Shankaracharya at the age of seventy. From the tender age of nine when he came out of his home in Search of God, till this time, his life was mostly spent in the lonely hidden regions of the Himalayas, Vindya Giris and the Amarkantakas which are rarely frequented by men and are chiefly inhabited by wild animals. For years together he has lived in hidden caves and thick forests where even the midday sun frets and fumes in vain to dispel the darkness that may be said to have made a permanent abode there in those solitary and distant regions.
[FairfieldLife] Is Maharishi a Guru?
Shannon Dickson's report on his Brahmachari initiation: Hi Rick, Regarding my Brahmacharya initiation by MMY, it was a lovely ceremony late one night in Majorca. He had the large picture of Guru Dev above a puja set in his room at the Hotel Samoa, and when I came in the room he had me sit on the floor on a skin at his feet and he told me about the significance of the master-disciple relationship and other such things for a good while and then he had me perform the puja in front of the almost life-size painting of Guru Dev with him sitting over my shoulder and afterward gave me a new recluse mantra, we then meditated about 15 minutes with the new mantra, and then had me systematically sit facing the north, south, east and west with my eyes closed while he was chanting some different Sanskrit at each of the different compass directions that I was sitting, and while placing his hand on the top my head. He then bent down and whispered some more Sanskrit into my ear other than the mantra and the whole thing lasted around 45 minutes to an hour or so. And afterward, he told me to stop rounding and just serve him from then on. It was after that that Billy, Louis and I took over from Rob, Casey and Ned as his personal secretaries handling his daily affairs and schedule and taking care of him. Regarding my meditation, he said ³if there was time to close the eyes during the day for a brief while that was alright, but that it wasn¹t necessary as my devotion and service to him would be enough². I was 19 years old, a few months shy of 20, and went from 13 to 15 hours a day of rounding to about 4 to 5 hours of sleep a night tops, and almost no meditation in no time, and we ran on the pure adrenaline of youthful enthusiasm and joy of talking care of MMY 24/7. That whole time with him, at that peak time of the movement, was a marvelous experience! Take care, Shannon To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
