Wow. What a story. I am unsure if your concluding perspective on Jyotish is that it's all mumbo-jumbo or it has a valid basis for being taken seriously?
All the best, Fred --- In [email protected], "Rick Archer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > In 1982 Maharishi asked us to make ourselves expert in Jyotish, the > Vedanga of astrology. A few of us took the instruction to heart. For > me, this was the beginning of decades of complications in my > reputation and relationship with the administration of his movement. > It seems the administration had the instruction that no one was to > be doing astrology, at least not us westerners and yet Maharishi had > told us to make ourselves expert in it and the only way to make one's > self expert was to do it. > > In 1986 we were in Delhi for the yogi flying demonstrations there and > for weeks afterwards were meeting in Maharishi's garden in the > evenings with Maharishi and every other night, the Shankarachary who > had a most interesting affect on us in that the moment he started > speaking we would all fall asleep. Very strange. > > One evening RD, from Canada, got on the mike and asked Maharishi what > the difference between free will and predestination was. Maharishi > said "They are the same thing." This began an evening long > discussion on astrology. At one point Maharishi asked if anyone > could see enlightenment in the chart. All the friends around me > began to push me up to the front because that is what I had been > studying in recent weeks but I had nothing to offer by way of > explanation, only questions. I got on the mike and told Maharishi a > bunch of nonsense (a fairly typical experience for me) like you look > here and here and there and there and perhaps it's could to look here > too in the chart. After finally running out of things to say i > stopped and Maharishi looked at me across the 3-4' that separated us > and said 'Perhaps more study is needed.' This was not a surprise but > I was really hoping he would give us some clues as to what to be > looking for. > > In 1994 we were in Holland after completing the Maharishi Jyotish > Teacher Training Course in Spain. Maharishi had called our course to > Vlodrop and wanted to meet with us. He kept us there for most of that > year working on various make work projects, curriculum for various > levels of education, a prashna course etc. Prashna is where you make > the horoscope for the moment a question is asked. Maharishi wanted us > to develop a course that could train people to answer the question > without a huge amount of learning time. He was always looking for > the direct route to the heart of everything. > > We were with him one afternoon and discussing with him a particular > prashna. He wanted to know what you would look at in the chart to see > if success could be predicted. I, again, got on the mike and again > began to speak out a bunch of nonsense (this was a downright habit by > this time). After some minutes of this I ran out of steam and > stopped. Now I had been wondering if he had remember his instruction > to me to study some more and this is what he said looking at me > across the room 'Seems the study has paid off.' > > What we don't know to this day was whether he was being sarcastic or > not because my answer on the mike was total nonsense. He did give a > clue though as to how to answer the question of success so something > really good did come of it. > > Some months later I was growing tired of being there in Vlodrop just > hanging out. The environment around Maharishi is always a little > intense and in many ways unnatural in that there are many people who > are very politically motivated wanting always to know who is seeing > Maharishi, and when and why and how often. I had decided that I was > going to leave and go home and at lunch, told the people in my group > that i was planning on leaving. Well one of them must have snitched > because later that afternoon while working on yet another project, > the phone rang. Someone answered the phone, said ok, ok and then > hung up. It had been Maharishi saying very simply 'No one should > leave. Everyone should stay.' Busted!!!! > > So ok. I had to stay but after another month or 2 I had had enough. > This time i was smarter and didn't tell a soul. I went up to my room > when everyone was meditating, packed my bags and quietly came > downstairs to call a taxi from the pay phone in the hallway. As I was > on the phone, Girish Brahamchari came by looking like he was looking > for someone. He walked by the payphone once then came back and looked > inside more closely. He saw me there and motioned for me to open the > door which I did. He handed in to me a note saying Maharishi wanted > me to give this to you. The note said 'If you want to leave, you have > to meet with me personally and tell me why.' After he saw that I had > read the note he took it back from me and left. > > Well!!! Busted again!!!! I, of course, never did meet with Maharishi > to discuss the strangeness of the people around him and only left > when circumstances dictated. This would end up being the last time i > spent in his environment and one of the last times anyone was going > to see him personally. A year or so later he began to retreat to his > own rooms and connected with people via video. > > No virus found in this outgoing message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.20.5/1279 - Release Date: 2/14/2008 > 6:35 PM >
