[FairfieldLife] Re: The Double-Edged Sword
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@... wrote: snip A close examination of Mahesh across time and from people who saw his on-stage persona and his off-stage self, shows that the image of the blissy giggling guru was just that: an image, a caricature, a stage illusion; most never knew the Real Reesh, the Grinch. Or maybe it shows that he had more than one side to him, as many of us do.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: The Double-Edged Sword
On Jul 27, 2011, at 2:45 PM, Mark Landau wrote: And, of course, that's another thing we loved so much about being with M, how much and how warmly he and we all laughed together. In the early years. I left when laughter started to be actually frowned upon. laughter stopped in M's presence? When was that? He became more irritable and grumpy as time went on. One of the landmark moments I recall is when he got an interview with a journalist, who arrived to find he wouldn't actually be with the Maharishi, but he appeared on a TV screen. The reporter asked one wrong question and M. dug into the journalist with great anger and venom. Of course people who were close to him had been seeing his outbursts for years, but that's the landmark public demonstration of his imbalances that I recall. By that time he was sequestered like a Hindu Howard Hughes in his Vedic mansion in Holland, and only met others, like this poor reporter, via closed circuit TV. By that time, in the brief video snippets I'd see, you could see the signs of dementia and the accompanying anger, along with type of eyes seen in long-term diabetics. It seemed like he was partially blind. Special camera set ups were arranged to make it look like he was sitting cross-legged, but he was actually lying down in bed. Perfect health, alas, was another fantasy, even for the Great Oz.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: The Double-Edged Sword
On Jul 28, 2011, at 8:10 AM, Vaj wrote: He became more irritable and grumpy as time went on. One of the landmark moments I recall is when he got an interview with a journalist, who arrived to find he wouldn't actually be with the Maharishi, but he appeared on a TV screen. The reporter asked one wrong question and M. dug into the journalist with great anger and venom. http://guruphiliac.blogspot.com/2008/02/more-dirt-in-sea-of-tm- whitewashing.html Saturday, February 16, 2008 More Dirt In The Sea Of TM™ Whitewashing File under: Gurubusting, Satscams and The Siddhi of PR A little more truth has surfaced in the ocean of inveterate whitewashing that's been occurring in the international press over the last week; an article by the last news writer to interview the Maharishi when he was alive. Get ready for the Austin Powers-level wackiness of Yoga's Dr. Evil, the late, yet not so great, Maharhishi Mahesh Yogi: For the historic interview I was ushered into the so-called brahmastan, a sort of giant pagoda-style wooden palace. I was flanked by two sternfaced, light-suited ministers, who introduced me, to the untold thousands of disciples watching this bizarre charade via the live global video-link by which the Maharishi communicated his edicts, as a distinguished international journalist - which was certainly a first for me. Then, just as I was expecting him to make his entrance, a giant screen flickered to life and I was greeted not by a real live guru but by a sort of hologram with a cotton-wool beard and a shiny, teak- brown pate. Only then did I realise that the Maharishi would be addressing me only via closed-circuit TV from his chamber, presumably somewhere upstairs. His Holiness never meets anyone because his doctor is concerned that he might catch germs, Roth whispered. He hasn't been outside for years. In truth, it was more a monologue than an interview. The Maharishi spouted incomprehensible mumbo jumbo for several minutes-then launched into a diatribe against Britain - a terrible country which believes in divide and rule and was responsible for much of the misery besetting the world. This, he said, was why he had decided to excommunicate this country, meaning that his disciples were banned from teaching TM here (a state of affairs which, I regret to report, he later reversed). My one small victory was that I managed to ask him - ever so politely - about The Beatles. Given all the bad blood, did he regret his involvement with the band who made him a household name? Suddenly, all that serenity evaporated and the mystic came over all mortal. Forget about it! he spluttered furiously. If at all, (The) Beatles became substantial by my contact. I did not become great by association of The Beatles! Beatles make Maharishi great? Pah! It is a waste of thought. Arrogant, full of pride, deluded. This was your leader, TM™.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The Double-Edged Sword
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Mark Landau m@... wrote: On Jul 27, 2011, at 1:12 PM, turquoiseb wrote: Not so much in his presence. It was still permitted to laugh at his joke and plays on words. But it began to be frowned upon at TM centers, and at National, where I worked for the last year or so of my TM period. And it continues here at FFL where we contiunally laugh at this self-important clown. As you probably know Mark, there are stong suggestions to support that this fellow was thrown out of the TMO, head first, all access to courses immediately closed. Untill this day he holds agression towards the TMO. At least 80% of his posts here is in some way a trying to make a Maharishi-put-down. But he succeeds as a clown. I continually laugh at his vain attacts on Maharishi and his supporters on this forum. He seems to be flabbagasted by the fact that one person on this forum, that got Eternal Freedom from the blessings of Maharishi, Jim, refused to be bullied by Barry and stayed here, posting frequent. You will see by analysing the posts here Mark, that Jim was the only person to give concrete advice regarding finding a new job for you. This fellow IS Love. In his short life Guru Dev blessed him for all times to come. Because he was ready. Do all you can to become ready ! Do have a checking !
[FairfieldLife] Re: The Double-Edged Sword
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@... wrote: Step right up to the microphone, the audience awaits and all the world's a stage! It is interesting to note that you were never in the same room of Maharishi, small or big.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The Double-Edged Sword
Mark Landau: And, of course, that's another thing we loved so much about being with M, how much and how warmly he and we all laughed together... Do you think it's strange that Turq left out how much fun and how much laughter there was around MMY? Go figure. turquoiseb: IMO, the proper soundtrack of the movie or soap opera that is the pathway to enlightenment is laughter...
[FairfieldLife] Re: The Double-Edged Sword
Vajradhatu: A close examination of Mahesh across time and from people who saw his on-stage persona and his off-stage self, shows that the image of the blissy giggling guru was just that: an image, a caricature... You mean compared to your other guru, Trungpa, who reminded me of a drunk Lobsang Rampa, dressed in a suit and tie. I'll never forget the time Trungpa got shit-faced drunk at a lecture seminar up in Boulder and then proceeded to light up a Marlboro Light on stage, and flicked the ashes onto the top of Ram Das's bald head! Not sure if Ram Das thought it was funny, but I sure did! Can you share some other interesting stories of the drunk Trungpa - like the time he got naked and insisted everyone at the meditation camp take off all their clothes? LoL!!!
[FairfieldLife] Re: The Double-Edged Sword
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, richardwillytexwilliams willytex@... wrote: You mean compared to your other guru, Trungpa, who reminded me of a drunk Lobsang Rampa, dressed in a suit and tie. I'll never forget the time Trungpa got shit-faced drunk at a lecture seminar up in Boulder and then proceeded to light up a Marlboro Light on stage, and flicked the ashes onto the top of Ram Das's bald head! LoL!!! HaHa, that video must be available ! Vaj's guru dead drunk, hehe !
[FairfieldLife] Re: The Double-Edged Sword
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@... wrote: snip A close examination of Mahesh across time and from people who saw his on-stage persona and his off-stage self, shows that the image of the blissy giggling guru was just that: an image, a caricature, a stage illusion; most never knew the Real Reesh, the Grinch. Actually it shows that he had more than one side to him, as many of us do.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: The Double-Edged Sword
On Thu, Jul 28, 2011 at 9:38 PM, authfriend jst...@panix.com wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@... wrote: snip A close examination of Mahesh across time and from people who saw his on-stage persona and his off-stage self, shows that the image of the blissy giggling guru was just that: an image, a caricature, a stage illusion; most never knew the Real Reesh, the Grinch. Actually it shows that he had more than one side to him, as many of us do. Maharishi had been considered for Mount Rushmore but the US Department of the Interior/Parks Department surveyed and decided there was only room left for one face.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The Double-Edged Sword
Eeyore speaks! --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: What is the sound that causes the most disparate reactions in people? Some can hear this sound and react with fury in the moment of hearing it, and seemingly hold on to that fury for years, basing whole vendettas on it. Others can hear the same sound and join in, as if adding harmony to an already-sweet song. To the former, this sound closes the door on any possible future communication or resonance with the person or persons who laughed at them forever; it is perceived as an affront that can never be forgiven, an offense that should and must be punished. To the latter, the same sound actually *opens* doors to enhanced communication and increased resonance; it is perceived as an invitation to expand one's awareness, both of self and of the world. The sound in question is laughter. In particular, the sound of other people laughing at you. I've heard this sound a lot, because I studied with a spiritual teacher who used it as almost a mahavakya to facilitate breakthroughs to higher states of attention. Rama would poke merciless fun at us, his students, often in front of an audience of hundreds of other students. Whatever else he might have been, Rama was a natural comedian, as fast on his feet as Robin Williams; he could find something funny in almost any situation. He specialized in finding the funny in situations that almost everyone around him treated with deadly seriousness. One of the things that almost every spiritual aspirant takes seriously is their self -- its stories, its importance, and above all its very seriousness. This 'tude is seemingly endemic to the spiritual seeker, and often to the spiritual path itself, as reflected by the very language that path uses. A good student is described as a serious student; a proper attitude to the study itself is described as taking it seriously. Color me not convinced of this. I'm with Christian philosopher G.K. Chesterton, who said, Seriousness is not a virtue. Not only do I agree with him that there is no virtue in seriousness, I have come to believe that seriousness is the very antithesis of spiritual practice. I believe this because the few human beings I have encountered on this planet whom I would suspect of being enlightened or close to it were funny as hell; they could find a joke in *anything*. Including themselves. Rama felt similarly. What was best about him is that he wisely included himself in the list of viable targets for humor. He was remarkably self-effacing, and made himself the butt of his own jokes as often as he did us. In my 14-odd (very odd) years with him, I shared the limelight with him many times, and became the butt of many of his jokes. Some of them roasted me mercilessly, and resulted in many of my fellow students joining in the laughter. This presented me with a koan: What is the sound of one person not laughing, in a room full of laughing people? Fortunately, in almost every case I decided that the answer to that koan was An absolute boob who has started to take himself FAR too seriously, lightened the fuck up, and joined in the laughter. I rank doing so right up there with my highest satori experiences in this life. Without exception, every time I managed to break through the self importance of seriousness, I found my self dwindling to the tiny, mischevious, and genuinely laughable imp it really was, and being replaced by Self. There is IMO very little in life as liberating as being able to laugh at oneself, and one's self. IMO, the proper soundtrack of the movie or soap opera that is the pathway to enlightenment is laughter. If your path doesn't have a laugh track, you might want to consider grabbing the remote and changing the channel. The sound of laughter -- especially when people are laughing at you -- is a double-edged sword. It presents you with a koan. You can choose to reply to that koan with outrage and anger, or you can choose to lighten the fuck up and join in the laughter. Or, even better, take the joke that you are the butt of and riff on it, not only joining in with the laughter but piling on and provoking an even bigger laugh. I've been reminded of such an occasion recently on the Rama-oriented forum I've mentioned recently. One woman recapitulated one of her all-time highest experiences with the dude. It was at one of our formal dinners -- the guys all wearing tuxedos, the women in evening dresses; I think we were having dinner at the Pierre in NYC. At any rate, that night she was feeling off, having sunk into a period of taking herself and the study far too seriously. Rama, himself dressed in a tux, walked up to the table at which she was sitting with about ten other students, and made the rounds, making some comment about each of their states of attention that night, from his point of view. He got to her, stopped, and said, You are
[FairfieldLife] Re: The Double-Edged Sword
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Mark Landau m@... wrote: Is there anyone here who spent long and equal time with M and Rama? Besides me, you mean. 14 years each. I have one friend who felt that Rama's darshan blew M's away. I would have to agree. But she didn't spend nearly as much time with M as with R. And, of course, two others who saw him fly and disappear. You can find thousands of people who saw that. Of course we know how he spiraled out of here. Sad. The guy had so much potential, and pissed it away. And, of course, that's another thing we loved so much about being with M, how much and how warmly he and we all laughed together. In the early years. I left when laughter started to be actually frowned upon. On Jul 27, 2011, at 6:10 AM, turquoiseb wrote: What is the sound that causes the most disparate reactions in people? Some can hear this sound and react with fury in the moment of hearing it, and seemingly hold on to that fury for years, basing whole vendettas on it. Others can hear the same sound and join in, as if adding harmony to an already-sweet song. To the former, this sound closes the door on any possible future communication or resonance with the person or persons who laughed at them forever; it is perceived as an affront that can never be forgiven, an offense that should and must be punished. To the latter, the same sound actually *opens* doors to enhanced communication and increased resonance; it is perceived as an invitation to expand one's awareness, both of self and of the world. The sound in question is laughter. In particular, the sound of other people laughing at you. I've heard this sound a lot, because I studied with a spiritual teacher who used it as almost a mahavakya to facilitate breakthroughs to higher states of attention. Rama would poke merciless fun at us, his students, often in front of an audience of hundreds of other students. Whatever else he might have been, Rama was a natural comedian, as fast on his feet as Robin Williams; he could find something funny in almost any situation. He specialized in finding the funny in situations that almost everyone around him treated with deadly seriousness. One of the things that almost every spiritual aspirant takes seriously is their self -- its stories, its importance, and above all its very seriousness. This 'tude is seemingly endemic to the spiritual seeker, and often to the spiritual path itself, as reflected by the very language that path uses. A good student is described as a serious student; a proper attitude to the study itself is described as taking it seriously. Color me not convinced of this. I'm with Christian philosopher G.K. Chesterton, who said, Seriousness is not a virtue. Not only do I agree with him that there is no virtue in seriousness, I have come to believe that seriousness is the very antithesis of spiritual practice. I believe this because the few human beings I have encountered on this planet whom I would suspect of being enlightened or close to it were funny as hell; they could find a joke in *anything*. Including themselves. Rama felt similarly. What was best about him is that he wisely included himself in the list of viable targets for humor. He was remarkably self-effacing, and made himself the butt of his own jokes as often as he did us. In my 14-odd (very odd) years with him, I shared the limelight with him many times, and became the butt of many of his jokes. Some of them roasted me mercilessly, and resulted in many of my fellow students joining in the laughter. This presented me with a koan: What is the sound of one person not laughing, in a room full of laughing people? Fortunately, in almost every case I decided that the answer to that koan was An absolute boob who has started to take himself FAR too seriously, lightened the fuck up, and joined in the laughter. I rank doing so right up there with my highest satori experiences in this life. Without exception, every time I managed to break through the self importance of seriousness, I found my self dwindling to the tiny, mischevious, and genuinely laughable imp it really was, and being replaced by Self. There is IMO very little in life as liberating as being able to laugh at oneself, and one's self. IMO, the proper soundtrack of the movie or soap opera that is the pathway to enlightenment is laughter. If your path doesn't have a laugh track, you might want to consider grabbing the remote and changing the channel. The sound of laughter -- especially when people are laughing at you -- is a double-edged sword. It presents you with a koan. You can choose to reply to that koan with outrage and anger, or you can choose to lighten the fuck up and join in the laughter. Or, even better, take the joke that you are the butt of and riff on it, not only joining in with the
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: The Double-Edged Sword
On Jul 27, 2011, at 12:16 PM, turquoiseb wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Mark Landau m@... wrote: Is there anyone here who spent long and equal time with M and Rama? Besides me, you mean. 14 years each. great I have one friend who felt that Rama's darshan blew M's away. I would have to agree. thanks, too bad I missed it But she didn't spend nearly as much time with M as with R. And, of course, two others who saw him fly and disappear. You can find thousands of people who saw that. And do you hold it was actual seeing of physical events or images he was able to fill people's minds with? Of course we know how he spiraled out of here. Sad. The guy had so much potential, and pissed it away. Yeah, glad his main squeeze didn't go with him. Ending your life seems to be more prevalent in the tantric Buddhist traditions, though TM has those who sacrificed themselves in that way. You probably knew of my friend, I won't mention her name here. Rama used to tell certain groups that she was his best student. And, of course, that's another thing we loved so much about being with M, how much and how warmly he and we all laughed together. In the early years. I left when laughter started to be actually frowned upon. laughter stopped in M's presence? When was that? On Jul 27, 2011, at 6:10 AM, turquoiseb wrote: What is the sound that causes the most disparate reactions in people? Some can hear this sound and react with fury in the moment of hearing it, and seemingly hold on to that fury for years, basing whole vendettas on it. Others can hear the same sound and join in, as if adding harmony to an already-sweet song. To the former, this sound closes the door on any possible future communication or resonance with the person or persons who laughed at them forever; it is perceived as an affront that can never be forgiven, an offense that should and must be punished. To the latter, the same sound actually *opens* doors to enhanced communication and increased resonance; it is perceived as an invitation to expand one's awareness, both of self and of the world. The sound in question is laughter. In particular, the sound of other people laughing at you. I've heard this sound a lot, because I studied with a spiritual teacher who used it as almost a mahavakya to facilitate breakthroughs to higher states of attention. Rama would poke merciless fun at us, his students, often in front of an audience of hundreds of other students. Whatever else he might have been, Rama was a natural comedian, as fast on his feet as Robin Williams; he could find something funny in almost any situation. He specialized in finding the funny in situations that almost everyone around him treated with deadly seriousness. One of the things that almost every spiritual aspirant takes seriously is their self -- its stories, its importance, and above all its very seriousness. This 'tude is seemingly endemic to the spiritual seeker, and often to the spiritual path itself, as reflected by the very language that path uses. A good student is described as a serious student; a proper attitude to the study itself is described as taking it seriously. Color me not convinced of this. I'm with Christian philosopher G.K. Chesterton, who said, Seriousness is not a virtue. Not only do I agree with him that there is no virtue in seriousness, I have come to believe that seriousness is the very antithesis of spiritual practice. I believe this because the few human beings I have encountered on this planet whom I would suspect of being enlightened or close to it were funny as hell; they could find a joke in *anything*. Including themselves. Rama felt similarly. What was best about him is that he wisely included himself in the list of viable targets for humor. He was remarkably self-effacing, and made himself the butt of his own jokes as often as he did us. In my 14-odd (very odd) years with him, I shared the limelight with him many times, and became the butt of many of his jokes. Some of them roasted me mercilessly, and resulted in many of my fellow students joining in the laughter. This presented me with a koan: What is the sound of one person not laughing, in a room full of laughing people? Fortunately, in almost every case I decided that the answer to that koan was An absolute boob who has started to take himself FAR too seriously, lightened the fuck up, and joined in the laughter. I rank doing so right up there with my highest satori experiences in this life. Without exception, every time I managed to break through the self importance of seriousness, I found my self dwindling to the tiny, mischevious, and genuinely laughable imp it really was, and being replaced by Self. There is IMO very little in life as
[FairfieldLife] Re: The Double-Edged Sword
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Mark Landau m@... wrote: Is there anyone here who spent long and equal time with M and Rama? Besides me, you mean. 14 years each. I have one friend who felt that Rama's darshan blew M's away. I would have to agree. Mark, I was rushing somewhere earlier, thus the brevity of my reply. I'll try to do more justice to a reply in this post, since you have brought up the guy's name a couple of times and seem honestly curious. To put my view in some perspective, I never spent any- where near the time you did in close proximity to MMY, but I did get to meet and work with him close up many times during the period when I was a TM State Coordinator and was Stan Crowe's second-in-command in the Western Regional Office. I usually don't talk all that much about Rama here, but it's been on my mind lately because I find myself part of a new online forum among 90+ former Rama students, pretty much the most contact I've had with any of them since 1996. So it's been on my mind. Pretty much everything I have to say about him is in a book I wrote about my time with him called Road Trip Mind. The price is right, if you're curious -- it's online, free, at: http://www.ramalila.net/RoadTripMind/index.html If you choose to peruse it, please bear in mind that I am held in pretty much the same regard by Rama True Believers as you might be by TM True Believers. I bailed from his study a couple of years before he offed himself, and even though I carried through on my promise to him to write a book about my time with him, it is far from the Party Line. I struggled long and hard trying to come up with some way that I could write about him and yet remain true to myself. If it has any value in the canon of books about spiritual teachers, that value is probably that it's a seeker's tale, not another tale about another perfect teacher. I tried my best to be honest in it, and tell the story *as I saw it*. You can find books about him by more...uh... serious students at this link: http://www.ramalila.net/LetDrLenzsStudentsBooksTeach/index.html One of the reasons I'm replying is to second the comments of many on this forum. I love the stories you tell, and the way you tell them. There is a refreshing honesty there that is sadly missing from many attempts to tell the story of that most confusing of beings, a Supposedly Enlightened Teacher. One of the things Rama once said was that in his opinion there could never be any such thing as *the* definitive book about any spiritual teacher. He felt that the only thing that could do any of them justice was 20 to 30 books, all written by different people and told from their per- spective, and all of them mutually contradictory. I feel the same way about any attempt to tell Maharishi's story. I'd love to see your attempt added to the canon. If not for publication, in posts here or on a blog of some sort. I think you have a unique voice, and that your view of what it was like to spend time with him would do much to fill in the gaps of the story of a complex individual. On the job front, I second the advice here to NOT put your photo on your resume. In Europe that is standard, but that is Europe. I've been an HR person in the past, and I know that many US companies have a rule that if they receive a resume containing a photo it goes straight into the trash, unread. The reason is that they cannot take the chance of being accused of racial profiling in their hiring practices. I also second the notion of networking, and talking to people you worked with in your former company, and any contacts you developed outside the company as part of doing your job. Good luck, on all fronts. Turq (Barry Wright)
[FairfieldLife] Re: The Double-Edged Sword
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Mark Landau m@... wrote: On Jul 27, 2011, at 12:16 PM, turquoiseb wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Mark Landau m@... wrote: But she didn't spend nearly as much time with M as with R. And, of course, two others who saw him fly and disappear. You can find thousands of people who saw that. And do you hold it was actual seeing of physical events or images he was able to fill people's minds with? I honestly can't say. I know that I experienced these things, not just once or twice but on a weekly or monthly basis for 14 years. So did hundreds of people in the same room or on desert trips. But as far as I know there were no video cameras present, so I really don't know whether they would record what I and others saw. Of course we know how he spiraled out of here. Sad. The guy had so much potential, and pissed it away. Yeah, glad his main squeeze didn't go with him. Ending your life seems to be more prevalent in the tantric Buddhist traditions, though TM has those who sacrificed themselves in that way. By now you may have read my followup post. One of the reasons I am considered a bit of a heretic by Rama TBs is that I attribute his suicide not only to hubris but to a drug called Valium. As far as I can tell, both from personal observation and from first-hand accounts from people who were closer to him than I was, he was pre- scribed the drug as a muscle relaxant to help him get over a sports injury. But he seemed to like its effects, and got heavily addicted. I certainly saw its debilitating effects in the last years I was around him. Anyway, on the label of every jar of Valium, in BIG LETTERS, are words to the effect of DO NOT ATTEMPT TO STOP TAKING THIS DRUG QUICKLY, BY GOING 'COLD TURKEY.' ONE OF THE BIGGEST RISKS IN DOING THIS IS THE DANGER OF SUICIDAL THOUGHTS OR ACTUAL SUICIDE. So what does Mr. I-can-handle-it do? He tried to stop taking it overnight, cold turkey. Four days later he was dead, a suicide. Just sayin'. You probably knew of my friend, I won't mention her name here. Rama used to tell certain groups that she was his best student. Her initials may have been LL. If so, she is one of the TB Rama students who would probably cross the street rather than encounter me. :-) And, of course, that's another thing we loved so much about being with M, how much and how warmly he and we all laughed together. In the early years. I left when laughter started to be actually frowned upon. laughter stopped in M's presence? When was that? Not so much in his presence. It was still permitted to laugh at his joke and plays on words. But it began to be frowned upon at TM centers, and at National, where I worked for the last year or so of my TM period.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: The Double-Edged Sword
Thank you, Turq, for your kind words and thoughtful reply. I appreciate it. In order to have seen M's darshan at it's finest, one had to spend years in close proximity. Though often sublime, there were certain, rare times, when it ascended to astonishing heights. My guess would be that, at those times, he did surpass Rama's similar times, but, perhaps, many other times, Rama surpassed him. But who's counting and, of course, it doesn't really matter. Like I said, I'm sorry I missed him, but it wasn't meant to be. And thanks for the job advice. The folks at my old job, though, aren't kindly disposed. I was fired for cause. (Yes, folks, I colluded with my subconscious, for a complex variety of reasons, to so hijack myself.) So this puts a rather large wrinkle in my securing a new position and, of course, disqualifies me from unemployment benefits. (I am, as yet, undecided about appealing.) m On Jul 27, 2011, at 12:57 PM, turquoiseb wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Mark Landau m@... wrote: Is there anyone here who spent long and equal time with M and Rama? Besides me, you mean. 14 years each. I have one friend who felt that Rama's darshan blew M's away. I would have to agree. Mark, I was rushing somewhere earlier, thus the brevity of my reply. I'll try to do more justice to a reply in this post, since you have brought up the guy's name a couple of times and seem honestly curious. To put my view in some perspective, I never spent any- where near the time you did in close proximity to MMY, but I did get to meet and work with him close up many times during the period when I was a TM State Coordinator and was Stan Crowe's second-in-command in the Western Regional Office. I usually don't talk all that much about Rama here, but it's been on my mind lately because I find myself part of a new online forum among 90+ former Rama students, pretty much the most contact I've had with any of them since 1996. So it's been on my mind. Pretty much everything I have to say about him is in a book I wrote about my time with him called Road Trip Mind. The price is right, if you're curious -- it's online, free, at: http://www.ramalila.net/RoadTripMind/index.html If you choose to peruse it, please bear in mind that I am held in pretty much the same regard by Rama True Believers as you might be by TM True Believers. I bailed from his study a couple of years before he offed himself, and even though I carried through on my promise to him to write a book about my time with him, it is far from the Party Line. I struggled long and hard trying to come up with some way that I could write about him and yet remain true to myself. If it has any value in the canon of books about spiritual teachers, that value is probably that it's a seeker's tale, not another tale about another perfect teacher. I tried my best to be honest in it, and tell the story *as I saw it*. You can find books about him by more...uh... serious students at this link: http://www.ramalila.net/LetDrLenzsStudentsBooksTeach/index.html One of the reasons I'm replying is to second the comments of many on this forum. I love the stories you tell, and the way you tell them. There is a refreshing honesty there that is sadly missing from many attempts to tell the story of that most confusing of beings, a Supposedly Enlightened Teacher. One of the things Rama once said was that in his opinion there could never be any such thing as *the* definitive book about any spiritual teacher. He felt that the only thing that could do any of them justice was 20 to 30 books, all written by different people and told from their per- spective, and all of them mutually contradictory. I feel the same way about any attempt to tell Maharishi's story. I'd love to see your attempt added to the canon. If not for publication, in posts here or on a blog of some sort. I think you have a unique voice, and that your view of what it was like to spend time with him would do much to fill in the gaps of the story of a complex individual. On the job front, I second the advice here to NOT put your photo on your resume. In Europe that is standard, but that is Europe. I've been an HR person in the past, and I know that many US companies have a rule that if they receive a resume containing a photo it goes straight into the trash, unread. The reason is that they cannot take the chance of being accused of racial profiling in their hiring practices. I also second the notion of networking, and talking to people you worked with in your former company, and any contacts you developed outside the company as part of doing your job. Good luck, on all fronts. Turq (Barry Wright)
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: The Double-Edged Sword
On Jul 27, 2011, at 1:12 PM, turquoiseb wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Mark Landau m@... wrote: On Jul 27, 2011, at 12:16 PM, turquoiseb wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Mark Landau m@... wrote: But she didn't spend nearly as much time with M as with R. And, of course, two others who saw him fly and disappear. You can find thousands of people who saw that. And do you hold it was actual seeing of physical events or images he was able to fill people's minds with? I honestly can't say. I know that I experienced these things, not just once or twice but on a weekly or monthly basis for 14 years. So did hundreds of people in the same room or on desert trips. But as far as I know there were no video cameras present, so I really don't know whether they would record what I and others saw. Thank you for your honesty. Of course we know how he spiraled out of here. Sad. The guy had so much potential, and pissed it away. Yeah, glad his main squeeze didn't go with him. Ending your life seems to be more prevalent in the tantric Buddhist traditions, though TM has those who sacrificed themselves in that way. By now you may have read my followup post. One of the reasons I am considered a bit of a heretic by Rama TBs is that I attribute his suicide not only to hubris but to a drug called Valium. As far as I can tell, both from personal observation and from first-hand accounts from people who were closer to him than I was, he was pre- scribed the drug as a muscle relaxant to help him get over a sports injury. But he seemed to like its effects, and got heavily addicted. I certainly saw its debilitating effects in the last years I was around him. Anyway, on the label of every jar of Valium, in BIG LETTERS, are words to the effect of DO NOT ATTEMPT TO STOP TAKING THIS DRUG QUICKLY, BY GOING 'COLD TURKEY.' ONE OF THE BIGGEST RISKS IN DOING THIS IS THE DANGER OF SUICIDAL THOUGHTS OR ACTUAL SUICIDE. So what does Mr. I-can-handle-it do? He tried to stop taking it overnight, cold turkey. Four days later he was dead, a suicide. Just sayin'. And thanks for this info, I didn't know. You probably knew of my friend, I won't mention her name here. Rama used to tell certain groups that she was his best student. Her initials may have been LL. If so, she is one of the TB Rama students who would probably cross the street rather than encounter me. :-) And, of course, that's another thing we loved so much about being with M, how much and how warmly he and we all laughed together. In the early years. I left when laughter started to be actually frowned upon. laughter stopped in M's presence? When was that? Not so much in his presence. It was still permitted to laugh at his joke and plays on words. But it began to be frowned upon at TM centers, and at National, where I worked for the last year or so of my TM period. Yes, that's what I would have thought. m
