Brilliant. Is Barry the one who posted this? Bravo!
on 5/2/05 7:21 AM, TurquoiseB at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > BURGERDAMMERUNG: TWILIGHT OF THE TRANSCENDENT, > or "Do you want fries with that enlightenment?" > > Those who have been waiting with 'bated breath to hear the official > definition of an Ideal Vedic Society from Maharishi need wait no > more; the verdict is in. The Ideal Vedic Society is a Burger King > franchise operation in drag. > > As we speak, several dozen devout TM teachers and TM pracitioners > are in residence at MUM learning the details of this spiritual fast- > food operation, and details of its organizational structure are > beginning to filter back to this and other forums. The old TM > structure is gone, kaput. Long live the new structure. The old TM > teachers have been obsoleted. Long live the kings and queens of the > new order. There are even loyalty oaths to sign before you can > become privy to the details of this new Ideal Society, much less > become a part of it. > > And this new Ideal Structure has all the earmarks of "New Coke," > that is, if the Coca-Cola Corporation had, at the time they brought > out *their* monumental marketing failure, declared that: > > * All existing Coca-Cola distributorships are null and void. > * All existing distributors must be "re-certified," at their own > considerable cost. > * The existing distributors are the ones to be blamed for the low > sales figures. > * No existing distributor has the right to sell "New Coke" > or "Classic Coke." > * NO ONE has the right to sell Coke, period, unless it's sold from > one of the approved outlets. > > The new structure is basically a fast-food franchise operation, but > one seemingly conceived in a nuthouse. Within four or five days of > the completion of the "New TM" course, prospective franchisees must > find adequate premises in shopping malls, office buildings or motels > and "set up shop." They must find 9 employees who are willing to > work for $15 an hour or less, and who must be willing to pay $2500 > for the "uniform" required for their job -- instruction in the basic > TM technique. (Do the math. This ain't gonna work. A massage > therapist would have to work 167 hours just to BREAK EVEN after > paying for the "uniform." Not to *mention* the requirement that > they have to raise 3 million bucks each within a very short time.) > > It doesn't stop there. The whole franchise operation is run > by "Rajas" who are required to dress up in long, flowing robes and > (appropriately enough) wear gold Burger King crowns. These royal > overseers are *required* to spend seven hours a day doing "program," > so it's not as if they're gonna get their hands dirty a lot. And > the absolute kicker is that male Rajas can instruct or check only > males, and female Rajas (or is that Rajinis) can instruct only > females. As a marketing plan, it simply defies the imagination -- > imagine going into a Burger King and being told that the guy behind > the counter can take your order because you're male, but your wife > or girlfriend is going to have to wait for a female employee to wait > on them. > > It's official -- the TM organization has lost its mind. > > So where does that leave YOU, as a still-loyal TM teacher or rank- > and-file TMer? Well, in my opinion, that leaves you in a pretty > enviable place -- spiritual crisis. > > As TM teachers, you have been rendered obsolete. You have been told > that you can no longer teach TM, the thing that you made tremendous > sacrifices to be able to do. Furthermore, as TM teachers you are > being specifically BLAMED for the obvious fact that TM has not saved > the world as it was supposed to do. The person blaming you is the > same person who has thought up this amazing boondoggle of a > franchise operation, and the blame is obviously coming from the same > place the marketing plan did -- senile dementia. > > It's going to inspire some moments of spiritual crisis in the most > devoted of followers, and I for one think that's a good thing. > > A lot of seekers don't *like* moments of spiritual crisis. They > actively hide from them behind the safety of blind faith. > Personally, I think that blind faith is a kind of spiritual "holding > pattern," in which seekers dwell for months or years or even decades > to keep themselves from ever having to deal with the R word -- > reality. > > Well, reality has hit the fan big-time in the TM movement, folks, > and pretty much everyone except the few dozen faithful at MUM is > going to have to finally deal with it. > > The *ways* that people will deal with it are all too familiar: > > * Some are going to persevere in blind faith and assume that > Maharishi "sees" better than they do. > * Some of these are going to go into Inquisition Mode and declare > everyone who doesn't immediately log on to the "New TM" idea Off The > Program. > * Some will declare anyone who even expresses doubts about the "New > TM" heretics. > * Some will begin to entertain doubts not only about the senile old > man who thought this hare-brained scheme up, but about everything > they have been taught for many decades, and will stalk off in a snit > and declare everything they've learned over the years invalid, and > themselves victims for having had it forced down their throats. > * And some will look at this situation not without passion, but also > not without reason, and will decide that although TM-As-Fast-Food- > Operation is so silly that even Saturday Night Live would have > rejected it as being unbelievable, TM itself is valuable and so were > a few things that they were taught along the way. And they will > survive, and be better for the experience. > > It is to this last group that I speak. I've been there, done that, > got the T-shirt. I bailed from the TM organization back in the late > 70s, after years running one of the Regional Offices and a short > stint as a State Coordinator. It was the latter experience that > precipitated a crisis for me; I was being asked by the TM movement > to do unethical and morally reprehensible things in the name of > enlightenment too often to able to continue doing so. > > And so I experienced my own moments of spiritual crisis, and went > through some of the phases I listed above, settling at last on the > final one. I still think that TM is a pretty cool meditation > technique. I think now that the TM-Siddhis are the same cartload of > Brahma bullshit I thought they were when I first learned them. I > think that Maharishi has had his good moments, and he has had his > bad ones, and that while some of the things he taught were valid, > others had their origin in the same nuthouse that this latest > Enlightenment Burger Franchise idea came from. > > But the bottom line is that I'm still grateful for the whole > stinking mess, all 14 years of it. I learned from the good times, > and I learned from the bad times, and I grew spiritually as a result > of both. So did you. In the coming moments of spiritual crisis > that this "latest and greatest yet" fiasco is going to precipate in > you, try to remember that, and try to keep some sense of balance > about it all. > > There is a great world to discover out there beyond the bastions > of "TM-approved" communities and activities. You can travel it > alone and still be spiritual, or you can travel it in the company of > other seekers from other traditions and still be spiritual. > > Crisis is good; it precipitates change. This Fast Food Chain Of The > Gods idea is going to force you to change, whether you are an > integral part of it or not. I'm just trying to let you know that > you don't have to be all bummed out AS you change. Let the T-shirt > you wear as you go through the change and come out the other side of > it say, "Been there, done that, still doing." > > Barry Wright, 2 mai 2005, Paris > > > > > > > > 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 > > > > > > > -- Rick Archer SearchSummit 1108 South B Street Fairfield, IA 52556 Phone: 641-472-9336 Fax: 815-472-5842 http://searchsummit.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! 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