He said: If you sincerely want to know the truth, I'll help you come to terms with Maharishi and the Movement. But Ricky, if your heart is already set and I would be wasting my time, then, you can go on with the negative judgements and good luck.
I said: I thought a lot about this and kind of "felt" my way into it during meditation, and here's what I think (and feel). I love you, Bobby, Paul Morehead, Craig Pearson, my old Purusha buddies, and the many good souls in the movement. Most of the people I just mentioned love what they're doing and seem to be thriving doing it. Bobby (to whom I'm Cc-ing this note) absolutely glows with love, energy, and enthusiasm. I consider him a genuine saint, (although, being a genuine saint, he wouldn't admit or even know that he is). So many of the people I just mentioned are brilliant at what they do. I couldn't hold a candle to them. My heart recoils at the thought of engaging them in a conversation in which I would be obligated to bring out things that might dampen their enthusiasm and devotion. If it ever becomes more evolutionary for some of these people to leave the movement than to stay in it, then probably that's what they'll do. Most of those who stay in the movement will see them as having fallen or become deluded, because seeing their course of action as perfectly acceptable might shake the foundations of their own motivation. But those who leave can live with that. The conditions you've set up for our discussion are not equitable. You clearly imply that you possess "the truth" and that I am mired in "negative judgments" from which you might extricate me. I don't regard you or anyone as having a monopoly on the truth. If some of my own judgments are overly negative, I'd certainly like to revise them. Others may be insightful or well-informed, but for you to see them that way would be to start a crack in the cosmic egg, and as I said above, I don't want to do that. I don't mean to sound condescending, but chicks have to peck their way out. Helping them from the outside can be injurious. My guiding principles are pretty well expressed by the quotes on the home page of FairfieldLife: "What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the wish to find out, which is the exact opposite." ~ Bertrand Russell "The healthy mind challenges its own assumptions." ~ The I Ching "Whatever you think, it's more than that" ~ Incredible String Band "Believe nothing merely because you have been told it. Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. But whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be kind, conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings -- that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide." ~ Dharma-pada, Buddha Shakyamuni "Take what you need and leave the rest." ~ The Band I do not claim to know the truth. I hope my judgments, if I am making any, remain open to revision as new information presents itself. And I try never dismiss any information out of hand. "Pretty much any topic is fair game." (Another line from the FFL description.) We don't live in a black and white universe and a fundamentalist, holier-than-thou attitude, whoever expresses it, is a reflection of individual ego, not of the true nature of things. It reveals a failure to appreciate God's infinite, all-embracing, compassionate nature. So I hope we always remain friends, and can spend some fun time together, as I often do with the Moreheads, without friction over our different orientations. Perhaps a few years from now we'll each see things from different perspectives, and long discussions will be appropriate and fruitful. Your pal, Rick P.S. The Vikings say they're coming for you next.
