Sure, there are arguments in both directions on this one. But seva does engender enlightenment, it's just not a part of the TM program as it is not part of many other spiritual sadhanas.
Another thought. I was thinking that what Guru Dev could not accomplsh in the world, MMY did. Guru Dev was the total inward stroke of tapas. MMY spread that spiritual force to millions of individuals and introduced meditation, literally, to the world. It's really quite amazing to think about it. And what MMY can not accomplish in the world, Sri Sri will. Their personalities, dharmas, whatever, all limit them and their impact on the world. It's obvious to all except the most ridiculously self-blinded TB that the TMO is pretty much kaput in the world. No one can take it seriously anymore if they ever did. But as Claudia pointed out SSRS has made very serious inroads, as it were, into mainstream organizations around the world. I think a lot of it has to do with his naturalness, friendliness and lack of fanaticism. This is also reflected in his "followers", for lack of a better term. Brahman just keeps rolling along! -Peter --- Rick Archer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > on 5/10/05 10:29 AM, Rick Archer at > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > on 5/10/05 10:12 AM, Peter Sutphen at > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > >> The idea of seva or service has always been > sorely > >> lacking in the TMO and with MMY. > > > > There's plenty of seva to MMY, MUM, etc. Staff are > explicitly requested to > > work tirelessly, and are are often told not to > question or get "creative" > > with policies and directives - just to work. > There's a macho pride in how > > hard one works, pulling all-nighters, etc. After a > big project such as the > > preparation for the Taste of Utopia course, people > are publicly praised for > > their sleepless dedication. But I've never seen > any sort of seva directly > > applied to the needy. In Mallorca, Maharishi said > "People are poor because > > they are lazy." Maharishi's expressed philosophy > has always been that we > > help the disadvantaged most effectively by > approaching and winning the > > support of the wealthy and influential, who in > turn will help the > > disadvantaged. The metaphysical equivalent of this > approach is that we don't > > deal with problems directly, because that would be > watering the leaves and > > there will be no end of problems. Rather, we > enliven collective > > consciousness and the nourishment at that root > level will enrich more > > manifest levels and thus eradicate problems. > > > > I almost sound like Bob Brigante here, but my > implication is that I don't > > totally agree with this approach. If you're going > to take it, you should > > simultaneously work directly to help the needy, > both for their sake and for > > yours. It cultures compassion and selflessness. > > An addendum to these thoughts: Teach a man to fish > if you want to, but you'd > better give him some fish to eat while he's > learning, or he'll starve to > death. > > > > > > 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 > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com 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/
