I think that the recent discussions about religion and the reaction to me proposing a test of Jyotish have shed important light on the *real* legacy of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. I think that we can see more evidence of his real legacy in the actions of a few True Believer followers yesterday than we can in any of his speeches or proclamations.
In short, the trend I see that he actively cultivated most in his followers, and that several of his followers *demonstrated* yesterday, is: Treat any critics of TM harshly -- demonize them and do anything you possibly can to make others think that they have no credibility. You incur no bad karma for this, and in fact are fighting the good fight. It is not only acceptable to demonize these critics, it is your holy duty. This is truly scary in my opinion. At the end of 2008, I look back on an "internet history" of watching TM TBs *consistently* attempt to demonize anyone who criticizes TM, the TMO, and Maharishi. In one case, the *same* person has been doing this for 15 years now, first on alt.meditation.transcendental, and now for the last four years on Fairfield Life. It's grown to be such a "modus operandi" of this loud- mouthed spiritual hit woman that it's actually *spread*, and others have picked up the behavior from her, and think that it is acceptable or even laudable behavior. In the last four years Fairfield Life has degenerated to the point that we actually see what happened yester- day as "normal," and don't think twice about it. I'm going to spend a moment thinking twice about it. All I did yesterday was propose a test of something that Maharishi believed in and sold for a high price to his TB followers -- Jyotish. The *immediate* reaction, coming *first* from the person who has been systematically attempting to demonize critics of TM for fifteen years, was to cast doubt on the test because I was a "liar" and my word couldn't be trusted. This "cue" was then picked up on by several others, who jumped on the "Quick! Gotta demonize the TM critic" band- wagon by screaming "Liar!" in unison with Judy. You know who you are -- Raunchydog, EB11, and Nabby. Then, when I took the possibility of "lying" out of the equation by creating impartial judges to the Jyotish Test, and giving them the answer to the challenge ahead of time, the TM TBs had to shift their strategy. Calling me a liar wasn't enough. So they shifted to more active demonization, and tried to suggest that in addition to being a "liar," I was actually doing a Bad Thing by proposing this test. Judy did her best to imply that I was "violating the privacy" of my friend by making the person's medical condition public. She kept harping on this over and over and over, as if she thought she'd found a true "gotcha" and had to make sure that everyone saw it. The ludicrous- ness of this will become apparent when I post the actual answer to the test. Raunchydog jumped onto the bandwagon and Googled up some irrelevant garbage to support Judy's claim of "privacy violation." Typical...not only that she'd "pile on," but that she wouldn't have the ability to say anything orig- inal. Again, wait to see how red their faces are over this "privacy violation" issue are when I post the answer to the test. Then EB11 piled on, *not* because she gives a shit about Jyotish, but because she has been pretending to be a TMer and felt she had to side with the TBs' "Gotta demonize the TM critic. Just gotta" parade. And finally Nabby jumped into the fray. Realizing that calling me a liar wasn't stopping the proposed test of one of Maharishi's cherished "vedic sciences," and that Judy's attempt to make me a Bad Guy wasn't working, he had to "up the ante." So he made up some stuff that he *knew* I could prove wasn't true, and started demonizing me with the *worst thing he could possibly think of*. He claimed I had been thrown out of the TM movement, and kept away from Maharishi. *Besides* the fact that this is not true, isn't it interesting that that's the worst thing that Nabby could think of to say about someone? Doesn't that just *shout* religious fanatic? JohnR's part in all of this has been benign. He may or may not actually present his analysis of my friend's chart. I hope he does, because that would illustrate that at least *his* heart is in the right place. But Judy? And Raunchydog? And Nabby? And *their* part in this little drama? Actively trying to demonize me in any way they could think of for the "crime" of proposing this little test of something that Maharishi claimed was a "science?" That was pretty nauseating. They came out of this little drama looking a lot worse than John did. John will *at worst* come off as lacking cojones, if he fails to present his analysis of the chart. Or he could present one and it could be wrong. He *could* present an analysis and have it be right. Another Jyotishi before him actually "saw" this medical condition in my friend's chart long before it appeared; John might, too. If he fails to take up the challenge, he gets to live with the knowledge that he's a coward and the suspicions of others that he's a charlatan and knows it. If he posts something that turns out to be wrong, he gets to live with the realization that maybe Jyotish isn't as accurate as he thought it was. And if he posts something and gets it right, he "scores points" for the Jyotish team, big-time. But Judy, Raunchydog, and Nabby? They "score points" only for upholding Maharishi's "real legacy" -- demonize the critic at any cost, and using any method you can think of. They have demonstrated how far 30-year TMers are willing to go to demonize someone who dares to challenge some- thing that Maharishi believed in. THAT is Maharishi's real legacy to the world. Not his teachings, but the willingness he has actively cultivated in his followers to *try to do harm* to anyone who dares to challenge those teachings. That is cult behavior, and needs to be exposed for what it is. Remember what these TBs did yesterday over the coming year. You'll be seeing them do it over and over and over next year as well. If you don't think it's a legacy worthy of a spiritual tradition or a spiritual tradition that you admire, SAY SO. Don't just sit back and let them do it. Then you become complicit.
