What has it meant? Culturally this sanctioning of blindness has allowed some really bad ethical behavior to go unchecked. In the marketplace TM it seems is well known for things not being right around money, sex and power. “Never entertain negativity” is a root of silence in its culture which has allowed, coerced, and condoned some really poor and even appalling ethical standards in a group of people. That would be my observation. It is said that change comes from within. There evidently is a lot of movement going on right now in the new TM Movement. I can see a hope for a better TM movement in process, like in changing or even getting rid of this ethos as an administrative policy tool. -Buck in the Dome
FW: A Cultural Survey.. "Never entertain negativity". Would you be so kind as to give us your understanding of what this phrase has meant to you and how your understanding has impacted your life. And if you wish to ask someone else their view on this phrase and submit it with yours, that would be great. Dear friends, ..on a committee, the Shifting Cultural Attitudes Subcommittee for the Mental Health Alliance here in Fairfield I am working with a sub group of that committee, the Cultural Committee, on one particular area right now. Which is to understand the meaning of phrases that have become a part of our local culture here. There are phrases which mean many things to many here. Some of these meanings may have lead to an erosion in mental health. I have written this group as a smattering of a cross-culture living here to get your understanding of the phrase, "Never entertain negativity". Would you be so kind as to give us your understanding of what this phrase has meant to you and how your understanding has impacted your life. And if you wish to ask someone else their view on this phrase and submit it with yours, that would be great. Thank you, # # The 1980 Pledge. Things in TM did seem to change from about then to become some lot about some theocratic sense of fealty and a lot less as to merit and performance. Is noteworthy that the Saha Nav hymn was extracted up to become a normative organizational code of conduct in an oath then (1980). C: The context is his teachers who were bitching about each other. Maharishi wants them to get back to work pitching his product and STFU about their personality problems with each other. Quote from Upanishads, which was used in Vedic Atom Pledge (1980) Let us be together, Let us eat together, Let us be vital together, Let us be radiating truth, radiating the light of life, Never shall we denounce anyone, never entertain negativity. Culture: Never shall we denounce anyone, never entertain negativity. Such that within the culture of TM the TM negativity policy like with the TM Saha Nav Hymn for instance, if someone commits a larceny within an element of the organization then by the teachings it would be entertaining negativity to administratively examine that action in another person or within such element of an organization by others. Or let us say hypothetically that someone commits some abusive harassment within an organizational element using some position of power over someone it would be committing a negativity to raise or consider that situation for the negativity that it should engage. Organizationally it would might even be communally better from a spiritual energetic standpoint as to negativity than having to denounce anyone thence to extend this teaching and hence better to remove the complaining negativity from an element organization; could be solved by simply removing complainant who got exploited, packing their bags, and thus alleviate the possibility of widely entertaining such negativity altogether in the group. Never do we entertain negativity and never do we denounce anyone. Hamstrung? Proly was often best to not say anything living within the culture. Dare anyone call a spade a spade in TM? -Buck # # “..speaking ill and thinking ill of someone, dwelling on the weaknesses of someone, all their bad qualities come to your heart; [this way] you get your heart and mind spoiled. So when through meditation, purity is growing in life, we don't invite this mud from outside to make us impure anymore. We have to be cautious against our thoughts that we don't think ill of anyone, and we don't do ill to anyone naturally. Speaking ill of others is a very bad.... We say it makes the cloth dirty, makes the whole personality very dirty and impure. That we have to guard against in our dealings and feelings with people. Very important; very, very important. It is as important as daily practice of meditation.” So evidently spiritually speaking what Maharishi is saying here is that if one entertains a negativity then one commits a negativity on the subtle. One may even take on the energetics in the subtle. Negativity in form then it seems is like an entity lodging in the system spiritually. Like a stress snag, an entity, like some would call a thought-form, energetically stuck in the fabric of the subtle system. There is proly some truth to that. -Buck Maharishi on Negativity: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FairfieldLife/conversations/messages/403800 https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FairfieldLife/conversations/messages/403800 https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FairfieldLife/conversations/messages/403804 https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FairfieldLife/conversations/messages/403804 ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dickmays@...> wrote : Maharishi on Not Speaking Ill of Others Don't Speak Ill, Remain Pure, 1964 Everyone has to discharge one's duty towards himself and towards spreading of this meditation in whatever capacity one can. And never undermine any other's attempt or desires in whatever humble way it may be. One thing of very great importance: that now when you have been meditating for some time, purity has grown in life quite a lot. As the mind gains more and more of the Being, mind becomes more and more pure. But one thing which you have to be very cautious about is that you don't think evil of anyone, don't speak ill of anyone. Otherwise speaking ill and thinking ill of someone, dwelling on the weaknesses of someone, all their bad qualities come to your heart; [this way] you get your heart and mind spoiled. So when through meditation, purity is growing in life, we don't invite this mud from outside to make us impure anymore. We have to be cautious against our thoughts that we don't think ill of anyone, and we don't do ill to anyone naturally. Speaking ill of others is a very bad.... We say it makes the cloth dirty, makes the whole personality very dirty and impure. That we have to guard against in our dealings and feelings with people. Very important; very, very important. It is as important as daily practice of meditation. In the olden days in India, there was a practice that if some man did some great sin, then the way to repent it was that he would cover his body with a cloth like that and will go to any village. Standing out of the village, he would shout out: my name is such and such, and I come from that village, and I happened to be doing like that and like that and like that. He would just announce it and go ahead, and keep on announcing from village to village. And the effect was: all the people who heard him, if in their evening meetings with their fellow men, they talk about that, then the contention is that they partake of his sin and after some time he becomes pure. Just by talking about the sinner, the people who talk about him share his sin. This is very dangerous. Someone has done something wrong and if we dwell on that and talk it over with someone, we have been affected by that sin and we spread that sin; we partake of his sin and take it upon us. Anyone who has done any mistake there or there or there, we just don't speak of it. Otherwise we will only be shrouding ourselves with the sins of others. Very important, especially now when through this Transcendental Meditation we are making ourselves more and more full with Being, means more and more full with purity, then we have to guard against this thing which is very dangerous. No one thinks that if I am talking ill of someone, then no one thinks that I am taking over his sin. It is a common practice in the world to simply talk something wrong done by others. It is just very harmful for us. Question (inaudible, about newspaper writers?) They do a great service as far as amending of the wrong is concerned, but as far as partaking of his sin is concerned, they do partake. They help the sinner by spreading the news about him and everybody talks about him, and then all of them partake of the sins. As far as partaking of the sin is concerned, that is helpful for the sinner. In Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna said to Arjuna at one point [Gita 9:1, see below] that I am giving you this most secret wisdom because, one condition out of many that He said was, that you never speak ill of others (anasuya). That is you don't speak ill of others, for this quality in you I think you deserve this wisdom, so I give this wisdom to you. Just this quality of not speaking ill of others. Out of my own experience, I tell you, in the ashram of my Guru Dev, there were 100s of people, all good disciples. And everyone after all is a human being. No aspirant is ever perfect. They come to the feet of the master for that perfection. So everyone has his own failing there and there and there. I had my own failings, I never knew what were they, but must be because no human is ever perfect. One thing I was famous about is that I will not speak ill of anyone. I would always cherish a hope of his becoming better sooner or later. I would always cherish a hope. If someone says: that man has done like that and such a bad man. [I would say:] “Now that he is in the ashram he will improve.” Always I cherish a hope against all the wrongs done by all the people. And the effect that you find today is all this world Movement to bring peace to every man all around the world; it is a very great thing in the long history of the world. This great force of purity and strength for spiritual regeneration of entire mankind, no surprise [that it] is based on the faculty of mind that will not cherish into the wrongs of others. Bhagavad Gita 9:1 The Blessed Lord said: Now I shall fully declare to you, who do not cavil, this the greatest secret, the knowledge combined with the experience, having known which you will be freed from evil. Quote from Upanishads, which was used in Vedic Atom Pledge (1980) Let us be together, Let us eat together, Let us be vital together, Let us be radiating truth, radiating the light of life, Never shall we denounce anyone, never entertain negativity. ================================================== Maharishi on the best principle in life is to find something good in others and talk about that good "Always we take a good attitude about a thing. Any situation we try to mean well. In our heart, in our mind we just take a good aspect of it. Taking like that a few times, we develop a habit of taking the best out of the thing, taking the best out of the situation, making the best out of the situation. Otherwise, it is very easy for us to become so critical: 'That is also not right,' 'This is also bad,' 'No good,' 'No, no, no.' Everywhere 'no' and 'no,' and the whole social behavior gets into a muddle. Because if that attitude becomes a habit, then no matter what comes to us -- 'That is no good' -- we will find a negative aspect and condemn it for that instead of locating a beautiful, good, positive point and accepting it for that. Always we look upon something due to which we can love that thing, that object, that situation. Always. Because if someone is a bad man, at least we should save our heart and our mind by not thinking of the evil doings of his. We will pick up some one good point in him and then admire him for that one good point. We don't mind the other dark side of him. Because if we think of the dark side, we are putting the dark shadow in our heart and mind. If someone is dark, why should we put their dark shadow in our heart and mind by thinking about it? He has done something wrong. Why by thinking of his wrong should we allow that wrong to occupy our heart and mind and muddle our life? And therefore, the best principle in life is: Find out something good in him and talk of that good, that's all. Otherwise, it's very easy when two people sit and talk about it, 'Look at that, that man, that, that, that.' [Audience laughter] Without any reason we bring the bad shadows in our heart and mind. It's lack of skill in viewing things, in commenting on things. Always we pick up a good point. We feel good about it. If we speak, we radiate good in the hearts of others. It's very, very necessary that particularly, particularly with those who are dear to you, when you sit together with them alone, always talk of some good things here and some good things there and some good things here. Then the meeting is of a very, very valuable, beneficial nature. If you sit together and think of that man like that and that man like that, [it's a] waste of life. That meeting is a waste. Never with your friends, with your near ones, with your dear ones do we talk of something negative. Because so many millions of things are there for us to talk [about], why focus on that one [negative] point and unnecessarily make ourself miserable and make that man miserable with whom we are talking? It's very important that we inculcate a habit of looking at the good points of others. And it's very easy to do so particularly when we are meditating and we have more ability to forgive others." ~Maharishi~ ~Squaw Valley, USA -- August 21, 1968 -- Audiotape~ Jai Guru Dev
