--- In [email protected], bbrigante <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > --- In [email protected], "Premanand Paul Mason" > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > "Many saints treat their most vociferous critics at par with > their > > most > > > devoted followers. The devotees serve and worship the Mahatmas > but > > share > > > with them their hoard of spiritual powers, but the critics take > > nothing for > > > themselves, they just wash away their sins. We should indeed be > very > > > grateful for the beneficial service that they render and should > in no > > case > > > try to stifle their criticism."--quote supposed to be by > Maharishi > > approx > > > 1967 or 1968 > > > > This is actually a quote from Guru Dev himself - contained in the > 1965 > > Hindi biography of Gurudev by Rameshwar Tiwari, later 'transcreated' > > into English by Prem C. Pasricha onto pages 46/47 and still > available > > at 21st Century:- > > http://www.21stbooks.com/page/21stbooks/prod/eo0002 > > also they have a new book on Gurudev:- > > http://www.21stbooks.com/page/21stbooks/prod/tm0014 > > ************** > > I'm not sure if it's clear to readers what it means to say that > critics of mahatmas wash away their sins: it means that people who > insult mahatmas take away the past sinful karma of the mahatmas and > place the burden on themselves because of their sinful and stupid > attacks on the mahatmas (and Maharishis are Mahatmas): > > Vasistha: "They who...treat such holy men disrespectfully, surely > invite great suffering." p. 34, http://tinyurl.com/6xndt > > Paul Mason and Rick Archer and other fools think they are doing the > right thing by insulting Maharishi, but they'll find out different > later, probably in another lifetime when it's too late to do anything > about it.
**** There are very good reasons why criticizing holy men in power, would have invited great suffering in the past. You would have most probably lost your life because of that. But we live different times now, at least in the western world. Why are you afraid of starting critically assessing your guru? Are you absolutely sure the statement you quoted is true in all circumstances? What would you feel if it were not true? Why would criticizing a guru, even your own guru be a bad thing? If the guru is firmly established in Self , he can tolerate and receive criticism. His self-esteem isn't threatened by it. When the guru is responding to the criticism, the student gets clarifications to his doubts and new insights. If the guru is not totally established in Self, his self-esteem is dependent of the adulation and adoration he receives. He is very much afraid of his weaknesses being seen. All perceptive criticism is a serious threat to him and to his loyal followers as well. The guru represents for them a idealized dream of themselves. And they cannot allow this dream to collapse. For this kind of guru-disciple relationship to persist, the guru has to be distant. In a close daily contact the idealization would collapse rather fast. There are ideologies, institutions and aspirations that sincerely see themselves as well-meaning and righteous, even though they might accompany serious injustice, distorted use of power and violation of human dignity. No single institution that identifies itself with the good is free of this risk. The cleaner and the holier the facade is, the stronger the opposite tends also to be realized. This happens, because the shadow is not recognized or acknowledged, and it can grow in secret like cancer. The danger of the system is in its blindness to its weaknesses. The kind of structure does not naturally accompany any mechanism that it could use to gain critical information about itself and its possible problems, which it could use to assess and amend itself. The notion of infallibility and being perfect prevents the emergence of such structures. Systems with such notions easily start to exploit others. The most systematic evil and the evil that has raged the most excessively in this world has almost without exception been connected to persons who have been raised to the status of a god or a saint or seen as otherwise superior beings, whose understanding surpasses our own. Therefore every guru and mahatma, if he is really interested in the welfare of humanity more than he is afraid of losing his face, or even his earthly position and power, would welcome critical questioning. Irmeli 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/
