>
>
> On May 23, 2006, at 7:40 AM, TurquoiseB wrote:
>
> > --- In [email protected], Vaj <vajranatha@> wrote:
> > > On May 22, 2006, at 2:47 PM, authfriend wrote:
> > >
> > > > The point is that she doesn't seem to have the
> > > > requisite credentials to trash Vedic science.
> > >
> > > She's a scientist and someone raised in that culture--I'd
> > > certainly say she does. esp. given her masterful overview
> > > of the development of this trend. Really the only thing
> > > necessary is the minimum insight necessary to expose the
> > > fraud...otherwise you're merely appealing to authority and
> > > using faulty logic.
> >
> > Not to mention "killing the messenger."
>
> And that "killing of the messenger" in this specific context is an
> artifact of clinging to the "idea" that the vedas and science go hand-
> in-hand.
>
> We all grew up in a technological age and so it's a very compelling
> idea, but not necessaily the truth of the matter. It could be we just
> bought into the commercial and the advertisement that is part and
> parcel of the TM PR machine. Once one recognizes they made this
> error, they do understand why that occurred and also notice why
> others would do the same or why it's a comfortable blanket to hold
> onto. But basically it's just spin to play with our own attachment to
> science as a belief system.
To some extent, yes. MMY specifically wanted to make TM acceptable in the West, so he
was interested in scientific research on it from the very start (see _Hermit in My House_/?
Maharishi at 433_ for an example of this in 1959).
However, MMY obviously, to me, honestly believes that Western Science WILL substantiate
the Vedic world-view. Of course, one can claim that he's twisted the Vedic world-view to
accomidate science, but given the old saying that there are as many valid interpretations
of the Veda as there are enlightened people, this may not mean anything to the Vedic
believers.
>
> > There is a
> > great deal of resistance on the part of members of
> > Indian-based spiritual groups to equating the
> > "Vedic Science" movement with Christian Fundament-
> > alism, but I think that not only is it a valid
> > parallel, it's something that seekers should be
> > more aware of. Far too many of them just accept
> > what they've been told about the Vedas and Indian
> > history (much of it myth) as gospel truth, when
> > it just might not be.
>
> What throws people off is that Indian spiritual thought represents
> the *left* of American (and western) thought and lifestyle--
> fundamentalism, generally, the *right*. But in India, the movements
> which seek to try to make the vedas scientific are fundamentalist,
> right-wing nationalists. They're like our "religious right", our
> "moral majority".
Sure, the brahman caste definitely has been a supporter behind the scenes of the TMO, at
least in the South, or so I recall from the PhD thesis I read ages ago (still can't remember
the guy's name).
>
>
> >
> > But isn't it fascinating that when this issue
> > comes up, the first post reacting to it on FFL
> > is an attempt to demonize and discredit the
> > author? Typical.
>
> Yes, I'm not surprised because at one time I would've done the same
> thing.
>
It may or may not have been a knee-jerk reaction on Judy's part, but its a valid question:
just how qualified is the author to make the observations. A lay-person criticizing the
Roman Catholic Church can bring a lay perspective to the issue, but unless she's devoted a
great deal of time to researching the internal politics and activities of the Church, her
perspective is STILL mostly that of an outsider.
Anthropologists acknowledge that insider and outsider perspectives are both valid, when
reporting on cultural phenomena and that there is a tradeoff when one assimilates into the
culture to report on it, rather than maintaining a distance as an outsider.
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