RJW Das, What was the time frame where this occurred with Jay Latham and the
gurus? 1990's, or during the 00's?
What a fabulous picture of words in this post. Like a photo from the FFL
family album. Like one of those family pictures in an album where names are
written in with arrows pointing. Thanks to Jay for labeling the people, this is
very helpful in bringing them to light. It's a very special picture of a time
and people.
Jai Gurus Devs,
-Buck in the Dome
---In FairfieldLife@{{emailDomain}}, <punditster@...> wrote:
Galaxy of Fire: Journey to an ancient spiritual world.
"Why is he here? How did he get in? The men were all clean shaven and had
their best suits on. Worst of all, there couldn't have been more than fifteen
Westerners, all total; the very top of Maharishi's Western organization, all
there by personal invitation from Maharishi himself, and all sitting in the
front row in full view of the main entrance.
So much for "blending in." Behind the Westerners sat hundreds of exuberant
brahmin boys whom Maharishi was instructing in the Vedas. The few ladies I saw
were the top administrators of Maharishi's "Thousand Headed Mother Divine
Course." I sat down directly in front of Maharishi who was sitting about
fifteen feet away on his dais. To his left, and above him on his own dais was
the present Shankaracharya of Jyothirmath, the spiritual "pope" of North India,
Sri Swami Vishnudevananda.
To his left, sitting on an even higher dais, was Guru Dev's successor
(appointed by Guru Dev himself, in his will), Shri Swami Shantanand Saraswati
Maharaj, retired Shankaracharya of Jyothirmath. These two sat under the gold
and red umbrella of the Shankaracharya, on the throne-like chairs of their
position. Surrounding them were about fifty of the most illustrious looking
orange-clad swamis I'd ever seen. This was the top of India's spiritual
tradition in the flesh. The stage area was surrounded by hundreds of lights
(candles, oil and ghee lamps) which are traditionally ]it for Diwali. The scene
was a blaze of spiritual light.
As I was sitting down Marc looked up at me with an inquisitive, raised eyebrow
and silently conveyed, "What in the hell are you doing here ... what's with the
beard and the dhoti, are you completely out of your mind?" The other Westerners
were also checking me out, having, of course, immediately recognized me. I
didn't even want to know their thoughts. All I could think was "God, when you
fulfill a desire you really go all out. Since this is probably the last time
I'll see Maharishi for not being properly invited, I must thank you for the
fabulous send-off."
I drank in the whole scene. I'd stepped into the ageless, fiery world of the
Swami Order of Lord Shankara. A Sanskrit puja was underway in which Maharishi
was the deity. A couple of old pujaris were chanting, with one making offerings
to Maharishi splashing Ganges water on him, adorning him with green leaves,
offering incense, light from ghee lamps, etc. It reminded me of a silent film
I'd seen of Maharishi's master, Guru Dev, in which he was worshiped as
Shankaracharya in similar fashion.
This was a great honor for Maharishi, and demonstrated in the most symbolic
way possible that he was held in highest esteem by the present Shankaracharya
Order; with both the reigning and retired Shankaracharyas of Jyothirmath in
attendance. They obviously regarded Maharishi as the most enlightened disciple
of their own guru, Swami Brahmananda Saraswati (Guru Dev). I had heard that
Swami Vishnudevananda was supporting Maharishi and his movement in recruiting
Indians for the mass group practice of the TM-Sidhi program.
Maharishi always generates a feeling of eternality and transcendent silence
around him that is the most profound I've ever felt, but I had experienced this
most often in the context of large gatherings of Westerners in Europe. In the
midst of his own people, including the most illustrious of the Swami Order
itself, the feeling was deeper, more natural, because the land and its
spiritual history supported it. This was the "Whole Thing, the Real Thing" as
Guru Dev used to say.
If this were to be my last sight of the master, I had picked the right night.
I felt God smiling on. For the entire evening, Maharishi remained in samadhi,
eyes closed. That doesn't mean he was completely lost to the world, though,
because at one point I felt as if he were "scanning" me checking me out with
his inner vision. He's far too powerful to not have his attention felt by his
teachers. I felt him look right through me, my organs, subtle body, mind,
everything. While this was going on, I tried to send him the telepathic
message: "Lord Shiva got me in here as a boon."
If Maharishi was upset about my being here, it was his own fault-he was the
one who taught me, in person, the highly effective techniques for locating
transcendental consciousness and fulfilling desires through That. I was living
proof of his own success this night. I'd gotten through his carefully selected,
highly effective human shield and then been delivered at his feet as a VIP.
That is the power of the Lord.
The deep velvety-red umbrellas of Swami Vishnudevananda Saraswati and Swami
Shantanandji Saraswati, embroidered with large gold Sanskrit letters, were
obviously very old. To me, they represented the cosmic umbrella that one gets
under for spiritual protection when initiated by an enlightened guru into the
ancient tradition of the Sanatan Dharma. Each umbrella was imbued with the deep
spirituality of ancient India?and great men of cosmic consciousness.
I was mesmerized by the rare darshan (sight) of Swami Shantanand Saraswati. He
must have been in his eighties at the time, but still had the wrinkle-free face
of a baby. The glow on his face was more pure, more translucent, than I had
ever seen on any human being before. He looked like the transcendent
personified. He remained seated in deep meditation the entire evening. He never
moved, never opened his eyes. He looked serene, breathless, in his all-time
natural state of cosmic consciousness. From his whole body he radiated powerful
waves of love.
He was a sensory feast to behold, seated in the highest position in the room
on his "throne" chair that was placed directly underneath what looked like the
same umbrella that Guru Dev had sat under as Shankaracharya. The man had a pure
white halo that encircled his whole body."
Source:
"Galaxy of Fire"
by Jay Latham
Sunstar, 2000
p. 550-553.
o
