Response below. --- In [email protected], "Ingegerd" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> As a woman, I think the attitude that MMY and his TMO have towards > women, is dangerous, for women. For us, in the West, that have fought > for womens rights and is still fighting, it is like stepping back > centuries. Like we welcome the Taliban regime. Not in Burka, but in > Saris. It is incredible that women from different countries don't > wear dresses from their own countries, but all dress in Saris in > Mother Divine - and International Courses and so on. It is like an > uniform. In the Good Old Days MMY used to speak about variety, and > how valuable variety is, to keep the Culture in our own Country. To > value the Culture that we have in our own Countries. Because the > Natural Laws worked different in different countries. If you look at > the pictures from Global County, the variety is gone. > To really challenge the TMO. In the 60ths and 70ths, it was both men > and women running the TMO around the world, with success. Now it is > only men... > When I was initiating in The Soviet-Union some years ago, I was > working with Brahmans. When they met me, they had long serious > discussions about how to treat me, because I was from the West,I was > a woman and I was unmarried. Should they treat me as a Whore or > Madonna, because we were supposed to held courses together. I had all > the odds against me. At last they decided - Madonna. So I lived with > those guys at their premises, watching my step every hour in 6 > months, happy to know that this was only a temporary situation. Now, > it seems that MMY and the TMO is making a lasting situation with the > women in the background, very humble and silent - it is just terrible. > Ingegerd snip ******** You have exactly pinpointed the principal cause of my disillusionment with the Movement: The promise of "cultural integrity" has been broken many times, in many ways. The original idea behind SCI and MIU was captivating—to take the best from all cultures, but only those things that "fit". If it works well, use it; if not, let it go. As an American, brought up on democratic values (however feeble they may have been in reality), I believed that part of the cultural integrity of my society was free and open discussion of important issues. In fact, this was never tolerated. Some have argued that what is useful for a greater society might not be practical in an organization. My response, based on what I have personally observed and experienced, is this: Take a good look at what is happening in the TMO; for better or worse, that is what Maharishi wants for the world. If we are fortunate to live long enough, eventually our perspective on things will become broader and deeper. When this occurs, many will discover that Hinduism, as embodied in India today, is a flawed religion/culture, and that perhaps its biggest flaw is its treatment of women. I further believe that eventually people will realize that Maharishi not only revived some of the lost aspects of Vedic culture, but he also perpetuated some of the most ignorant aspects of Hinduism, most notably as embodied in the Hindutva movement in India, for example. People everywhere who wish to exhibit integrity in their own lives should simply disavow that which they know to be wrong, regardless of who its current exponents may be. Those who insist that these blatant corruptions of natural law are essential to the success of the Movement are merely hastening its downfall. L B S 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/
