Forget Robert's hysterical comparison of Vaj to Hitler and the enemies of Socrates. Forget EmptyBill's EmptyRhetoric and EmptyGrudge and EmptySoul. Forget Judy's attempt to "prove" Vaj a "liar," as she attempts for pretty much everyone she doesn't like. Forget Off and Nabby altogether. :-)
What's *really* going on with the "pile on Vaj" thang, eh? I mean, it's a real phenomenon. SURE Vaj pisses people off and pushes their buttons. And SURE he does it intentionally. But the HYSTERIA with which Robert and others react *when* he pushes their buttons is what intrigues me. It seems to me -- whether you like him or hate him -- that Vaj just fuckin' OWNS these people. He has an intuitive feel for what their samskaric "hot buttons" are, and how to push them. In a Buddhist monastery, where seekers actually want to *get rid of* their samskaras, he would actually be appreciated. If your spiritual goal is to elim- inate your hot button overreactions, the person who can push those buttons is your *friend*. He or she reveals to you the things you still need to work on. But here he's not only not perceived as a friend, he's perceived as evil, an enemy, Hitler, the kind of person who tormented Socrates. I think that by going as over the top as they have been going when Vaj successfully pushes their buttons and demonstrates how completely he OWNS them, the folks who have been trying their damnedest to demonize Vaj have been revealing more about themselves and their "spiritual slacker" mentality than his. Clearly these people do *NOT* want to eliminate or control their own "hot button" issues. Instead, they *celebrate* them, they wear their oh-so-easily- pushable hot buttons on their sleeves, and trot them out as if their anger and their outrage and yes, their hysteria should actually be viewed as a Good Thing. And I'm sure that there are people here who are a few cans short of a spiritual six-pack who actually do see it that way. I'm not one of them. What I see is a guy who has a serious 'tude about Maharishi, TM, and the TM movement who is OWNING the lazy, slacker TMers whose buttons he can push without even break- ing a sweat. There are people on this forum who love Maharishi and love TM and even (although I'm not sure how) love the TM movement, and who DO NOT spend all their time being OWNED by Vaj and overreacting to the things he says. They don't play "pile on" when the spiritual slackers start ragging on him. They don't seem upset at all. Them I respect. They may despise the guy too for all I know, BUT THEY KEEP IT IN THEIR PANTS. The spiritual slackers CAN'T keep it in their pants. Push their buttons and they just *have* to react hysterically, or angrily, or mean-spiritedly, spring a hot-button-boner and start waving it all around. And they actually seem to believe that doing so makes them look good. I don't think so. This is *NOT* an attempt to demonize them in "retaliation" or as any kind of "defense" of Vaj. This is what I honestly, truly, and completely think of all these "pile on" folks. "Spiritual slacker" is the term I used, and "spiritual slacker" is the term I meant. They're committed to *indulging* their own hot button issues rather than dealing with them and eventually eliminating them. I think that's sad, because it enables someone like Vaj to completely run their lives.
