Hi Unc, Thanks for your reply. Yeah I realized it was the 6th not the 14th when I reread your message, and that it is the same soul incarnated anyway.
Not that it is a big deal but I DO believe that this is so, because it makes sense from the Buddhist view, that of direct, physical service while enlightened (I'm sure some of the more scholarly here could be more precise about this...), so that even gaining freedom from the wheel of death and rebirth does not preclude the return of the dalai lama generation after generation. Excellent mind boggling story of the lama in prison. How often I have struggled with my compassion under far less trying circumstances! It is disturbing to see that the only two consciously prevalent options among many on this board regarding Maharishi are: 1. That a positive view of what he is undertaking is somehow naive and unevolved, or 2. That a negative view of him as deluded, criminal, thoughtless, unenlightened, selfish and rediculous is the only true conclusion of one who is being objective about the man. I share a third opinion that fully supports all of what Maharishi says and does. I am not some naive sap or 'bliss-ninny' or hungry for a guru for my enlightenment. My logic is very simple and straightforward: I read the Bhagavad Gita from cover to cover two years after beginning TM in November 1975. Everything in it made perfect sense to me, especially Maharishi's discussion about a personal God vs an impersonal God, and that it was easier to worship the personal nature of God because it was concrete. Maharishi provides a good commentary on this also in SBAL, ~p.272. I have always been more of a bhakti person than a gyani person. Granted the two go together, but I have generally followed my heart and feelings vs. a path of knowledge, hence worship has always come more naturally than study to me. So I prayed and did TM for awhile longer, worked for the Movement twice, discovering in the process that the Movement and I were like oil and water as far as a lifetime committment went. Then when living in Santa Barbara, riding my bike past the lemon groves I began to see Guru Dev's head and shoulders appearing in my mind's eye (third eye I think it is called). This experience persisted from time to time for a few years, and I finally stopped noticing it. I then found myself in Washington DC, married, with a daughter, and out for a jog. I began having such experiences again, this time approaching Guru Dev, naturally at his feet. It is a curious thing to approach Guru Dev because one naturally approaches his feet; that is where my energy and his naturally intersected. I could see the delicate design along the hem of his garment and his beautiful toes (!). Anyway, not one to dwell on such experiences, I went on with my daily 'chop wood, carry water' existence. Then in April 1993 I was visited for four days by Guru Dev, 24 hours a day, in his presence constantly. At the time it was shall we say both very very natural and very very different. Just to clarify, he was actually physically present as a human body. I drew a picture of him at the time and looked deeply into his eyes and at his body. He took me into the galaxies of stars and on a walk in back of my house too. After four days or so, he left and the experience wore off. Since that time, my spiritual perspective has changed tremendously as you might imagine. I clearly realize Maharishi as my spritual leader, though Guru Dev will always be my spiritual master. It is impossible for me to doubt Guru Dev and any of the events that he set into motion, including his preparation and delivery of Maharishi to the world. So, no I don't accept Maharishi blindly as some sort of savior. My opinions and beliefs are built upon facts. Even Guru Dev I have angrily spurned on occasion, becuase that is the true way to find enlightenment; within ourselves. So in conclusion I believe it is best to at worst reserve judgment about Maharishi, his motives and his direction. The reason I have shared these events is to illustrate that there is a third opinion about Maharishi. It was not to revel in some weird spiritual experience or to 'prove' how enlightened I am (which is a pretty disgusting thought really). I have far to go in my journey. I was just blessed with that which I ardently sought in my heart. It can happen to anyone, nothing special about me. The ability to share such events comes from those on this board. As fractious and freewheeling as this group is, there is a lot of light here, a lot of purity, dedication and knowledge. Otherwise I would never, ever express myself so freely. Thanks, Jim --- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Well, the current Dalai Lama is (I think) the Fourteenth, and I was > speaking about the Sixth, but in the traditionalist view it's the > same guy. I don't necessarily believe this is true. <snip> > I think that stories such as this are apt right now, as we all try > to make sense of the senseless and deal with the latest oddities of > Maharishi and the TM movement. Whatever one believes about his > latest actions and their motivations, one can still have compassion > for the man. > > Unc 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/
