--- In [email protected], "authfriend" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], "Hugo" <richardhughes103@> > wrote: > <snip> > > I'm not sure if you'l find this relevant but... > > I used to work in the TM press office and one day a > > really negative article came in that actually had > > someone in tears as it was so critical of MMY. I > > asked the press officer, a damn nice chap who is > > now a Raja bless him. I asked him how bad a peice > > has to be before they would sue anyone and he said > > they *never* sued no matter what was said because > > either they are right, in which case it's our karma. > > Or it's wrong, in which case it's theirs. I thought > > that was quite an enlightened perspective. He also > > caught me spending a lot of time replying to negative > > e-mails and told me not to bother because rolling > > in the dirt just creates negativity in the mind > > when we should be concentrating on the positive at > > all times. > > > > Not as much fun though is it ;-) > > Nope! > > In any case, two TMO-related organizations *did* > sue Andrew Skolnick for that disgraceful muck- > raking article he wrote for JAMA, and that certainly > must have been with blessings from the top.
Sued successfully? The only story by Skolnick I can find in JAMA is the one about Chopra and co lying about having financial intertsts in ayurveda. This one in fact: http://www.skeptictank.org/gs/sci603.htm Doesn't sound like muckraking to me. Maybe he has expectations borne of experience about how researchers should conduct themselves. Perhaps this is a case of your opinion clouding judgement? Happens a lot round here I've noticed. I've commented myself that the TMO often seems to use science as a marketing tool and isn't really interested in whether the claims it makes are true or not, and that is something I worked out over many years, not an unreasoned rant. Quantum physics and jyotish anyone? I would like to know what happened in court with Skolnick though. > > I used to do the same thing as you for quite a > > while, I was always defending the ME and the research > > but you might have noticed I'm not so into it now. > > Funny how we can change, I never thought I would > > get so sceptical about it all. But then I was never > > a believer and the only Darwinist at the academy so > > maybe it was just a matter of time. > > Sheesh. What was everybody else? You've gotta be kidding! Did you never do SCI? A major TMO belief is that the universe is created and run by consciousness, we are expressions of vedic literature. There are more holes in it than grains of sand in the desert. NO objectivity ever gets applied by the TMO towards it, not that I've ever seen. I sent a letter to Tony Nader asking for a few clarifications about some of the more obvious howlers, but he never wrote back. I can't see how any of it fits with the observed facts of biology and physics, not by a long stretch. I know that a lot of MMY teachings are ways of unifying the two concepts of eastern and western thought but they don't belong together one is empirically derived and vedic stuff seems just whatever came into someones head a few thousand years ago. Seems like that by using the terminology they hoped we would assume it was the same thing, it didn't get past my radar. When I was working in an academy I remember sitting at the dining table reading a Darwinist book (The Scars of Evolution by Elaine Morgan if I remember, very good) when A TM teacher looked shocked and said that "Maharishi doesn't believe in Darwinism". I replied that I wasn't asking him to and there the matter rested. > > I think my criticisms of the research are fair but > > it's a work in progress. Trouble is they don't do > > enough research into the most contentious aspects > > of MMYs teachings. > > Such as? You mean the Maharishi Effect? I've not seen anything convincing about the ME yet, I think that as that is the main thing that sets the whole show apart from the rest of the meditation techniques they should be concentrating on that, but then they are with the invincible America course and that doesn't seem to be producing supportive data does it? Charitably I would say it's case not proven. Yagyas and jyotish should also be tested scientifically partly because they are considered part of vedic science, mostly because they are a criminal (in my view) money making machine for the TMO, were talking pots of cash here, millions. I don't see why they should be exempt, what is the point of doing the same old experiments into blood pressure and happiness etc if the TMO has a "technology" that can change your life so totally, wiping out a previous lives karma. The way they promote it says to me they are confident.
