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Musicman
Unregistered User
(10/16/01 12:07 pm)
Reply 		Is Master Responsible?
This was listed under Nuns Run Things, but I only now figured out how to list it as a new topic! Sorry for the repetition, but I would like it to get more response than it otherwise might being buried in another thread:

I recall reading in one of the SRF publications the following quote from Emerson: "An institution is but the lengthened shadow of one man." Now, that may or may not be true (just because Emerson said it doesn't make it true), but it's a good premise for posing a very heretical question. Can (should) we lay at Master's feet not only the fresh-cut flowers of our devotion but also some of the responsibility for the current state of affairs at Mother Center?

Reading Durga Ma's posthumously published Trilogy of Divine Love reminds one that not all was sweetness and light at MC even during Master's lifetime. There were rivalries, dissension, and no small amount of arrogance and egotism, even on the part of Rajarsi. Master himself was hardly infallible when it came to business and financial matters. We criticize an overly and unnecessarily lavish accounting system now, but Master built a gorgeous temple on an unstable bluff, only to watch them both slide slowly into the sea. How much prescience did that display? Of course, he said it was an act of God to keep him from being content with that temple only, to spur him on to establishing others elsewhere. Okay, but if a Master is by definition one with God, how can God hide such motives and intentions from Himself? Sounds more like a split personality. And he could be, as we all know, very abusive, verbally and even physically. For example, pouring water on Daya Ma's head from the upper story of MC was a cute practical joke (to get her to lighten up), but if I were to try that with one of my students today, I could easily be sued. Humiliating her in front of others, harshly and repeatedly, was also a tactic none of the rest of us would lightly adopt.

Now, I know he was not one of us. He tempered these outbursts with love, and he was only giving people what he knew they could handle, and only as part of their training, not out of personal animus. But at the end of the day, we must confront the fact that the past and current leadership was handpicked and trained by him. He claimed he could tell everything about a person just by peering into their eyes. Why didn't he see that J. Donald Walters was hopelessly afflicted with satyriasis (the male equivalent of nymphomania) and narcissism? Why didn't he see Faye Wright's potential love affair with dictatorial power and control? Why did he put such people in positions of real authority? And where is he now? Is he so powerless or out of touch that he can't intervene and do something about the steady degradation of the work he established at God's behest?

These are disturbing and troubling questions for people whose final refuge, whose last ditch in this fight, is an unshakable faith in Master and his teachings.

One other point should be made regarding SRF's notorious and inhumane litigiousness. This, too, is not entirely with precedent in the days of Master, and SRF was as feckless then as now in courts of law. We have all heard the story about the monk Master brought over from India to help with the growing work, and how this monk betrayed Master and basically cleaned out MC while Master was away on a speaking tour. This, at least, is the sanitized version of events. Here is what really happened (my source for this is a 1964 UCLA dissertation by Carl Jackson about the Ramakrishna movement in the US, which includes a discussion of Yogananda and SRF). In the 1920s, Master did indeed invite Swami Dhirananda, his chief assistant in India, to come to the US and manage the LA center while he, Master, was on tour. There was eventually a falling-out between the two men, however, exacerabated by the Depression starting in 1929. According to Jackson (p. 448, n50), "the split was very damaging. Dhirananda carried off about half the membership of the Los Angeles center to set up a counter movement, the Raja-Yoga Satsanga. He also brought a suit against Yogananda and won $8000, which caused the movement bad publicity. For news of the suit, see the Los Angeles Times, May 12, August 22 and 23, 1935. Also see Dhirananda's article, written under his true name, B.K. Bagchi, 'Adventues of Indian Philosophy in America,' Modern Review, Vol. LIX (February, 1936), pp. 165-69, which, though not explicit, suggests the causes of his split with Yogananda." True, Master did not bring this suit. But he must have done something that persuaded a presumably impartial jury to award $8000 to Dhirananda. Shades of Kriyananda and Ananda? You bet, but over a half century earlier.

Such experiences were no doubt traumatic for the young disciples with Master at that time, including a very naive and impressionable Faye Wright. Everything we read and discuss on this board--the secretiveness, paranoia, vindictiveness, and insistence on absolute, unquestioning obedience to every caprice emanating from the BOD--has a context and a history going way back before any of us was even born. It's crucial to bear that in mind when assessing the prospects for future change. And it is also crucial to look at the entire situation unmasked and without illusions. Nothing is sacrosanct, not even Master.

If all the cards aren't on the table as we consider these issues, we will continue to miss the mark. You simply cannot rectify a problem until you have correctly analyzed its cause. And that analysis will be incomplete and inaccurate as long as there is an imaginary cordon sanitaire around some areas/ideas/issues/people/topics. We would be making the same mistake the BOD makes in listening only to the messages we want to hear and tuning out all others (and killing those messengers).

I thank God for this board. For years I have hidden my apostasy from others because of the reaction it provoked. Non-SRFers are bewildered and confused and have no idea what I'm talking about, while SRFers (including my wife) cannot and will not consider these possibilities or confront them. They continue to live in a fairy-tale realm where the witches are all good, or all bad. Nothing in between. It's not reality, but it's so comforting. Like all of you, I came on this path for truth, not comfort, at least not the kind afforded by the world or by self-deception. I know that meditation works and that the spirit lives in me and everyone else. But I never cease to be amazed that at the place I work, with colleagues of every religious stripe and persuasion, there is a spirit of cooperation and friendship, of openness and organizational self-criticism, that obviously surpasses anything at MC. How in the world is that possible? If the most dedicated and "evolved" SRFers cannot work together in this way, what hope is there for a New Age, at least with Master's work in the vanguard? I remember the words of the famous art historian Kenneth Clark: "One may be hopeful about the future, but one cannot be optimistic." Say it ain't so, Joe! I'm afraid it is.

SRFdevotee
Unregistered User
(10/16/01 6:00 pm)
Reply 		Hear, hear!
What a glorious post! This, indeed, is the "dead horse on the table;" the "crazy aunt in the attic;" the "emperor with no clothes."

I insist on going past the individual abuse: one can always claim it is divine training, and that can't be denied, since everything does come from God. But "by their works shall ye know them." Kids in Little League know how to behave better than those who run SRF. It is a horrible place to work, even a bad place to spend much time. There is not the slightest inclination to introspection or improvement. The proof of the pudding...

But why stop with Master? Isn't it God's fault? Couldn't he have sent a better avatar? I think the reality is that no matter Who or What acts in this world, it is an imperfect world and always subject to delusion, ego, and evil. Why wasn't the Catholic church a perfect instrument of Jesus teachings? He hand picked his disciples--but one betrayed him.

KS
Unregistered User
(10/16/01 6:35 pm)
Reply 		Who is at fault?
The question of a great avatar making mistakes is certainly an interesting one. And what can be claimed to be a mistake? Was the Temple sliding off into the sea a mistake? One thing I have learned at SRF is that with all things SRF I don’t have the full story. Things have been spun and manipulated and stretched. Even his signature has been altered! The more I look into things the more weird stuff I find. I fell down the same hole Alice fell down years ago and it is a strange journey of discovery.

The big guys have their own reasons for doing things, I still believe that. I almost understand God, but honestly not quite completely yet.

But we do still have free will. To blame the acts of the bad ladies on Master or on God is ignoring free will. They have not learned to behave and have chosen to act without honor and moral courage. They have made the choice. It is their fault. The weird stuff they do is not a direct reflection on faults of Master’s or Gods. One of the problems is the behavior of the bad ladies DOES reflect on Master in many people’s eyes. That is a shame.

Raja Begum
Unregistered User
(10/17/01 4:01 am)
Reply 		Hi folks
Maybe this universe is the final project of some collosal causal being, his final self-integration project. His last desire was to be worshipped by everyone. But the joke on him is that nobody does. If so, he must have been quite narcissitic when embodied. :)

Even "God" gets tested. Beyond God? .... Bliss

Hey MusicMan. Great post. That thought's been kicking around in my mind too. Everyone who has ever lived on this planet has had to deal with weirdness.

I always liked the way Master explained the cross. The long vertical line represents the absolute uncreated infinite. The short horizontal line represents the manifested world.

It once occured to me that at the intersection of both lines is the place where man resides. Each day, each of us must endure the paradox of a dual existence: we are infinite, and we are these little clowns called humans. The very mystery of our existence is tied to this paradox. To be human is to be nailed at the intersection of two worlds. And God says, "Deal with it."

But on my human side, I still intend to smoke out the rats. Care to join me anyone?

Raja Begum
Unregistered User
(10/17/01 4:06 am)
Reply 		p.s.
MusicMan. I wonder if you might read my post and comment on it.

How the SRF experience holds our thinking hostage
pub78.ezboard.com/fsrfwal...ID=6.topic

Crog
Unregistered User
(11/7/01 9:24 pm)
Reply 		simplest explanation
I appreciated your post Musicman. I too have worked in many places where there was a wonderful spirit of cooperation in most people. These places had goals most people knew and operated fairly well.

SRF, with all its high ideals, is a total mess. Most are depressed and discouraged and the whole atmosphere is oppressive and demoralizing. Even people like Bro. Paramananda are just a shell of their former self. It is interesting to see his depression showing through his forced smiles and health problems. I am sorry to see such a basically nice man suffer so much.

For a long time I kept wondering how it was possible that the place could be in such a sorry state, ignoring the obvious. Was it just my perception? Some people think it is just a lot of training going on. What delusion.

As another post here says, “sometimes the simplest explanation really is the right one!”. The obvious explanation is that something is very seriously is wrong. The Board really has drifted off course and a disappointing cult is all that remains. Daya has taken the organization her Guru started and run it into the ground.

I disagree that it was like this when Master was alive. Master did not treat those around him with contempt and the atmosphere was not filled with sickness and such morale disease.

Musicman
Unregistered User
(11/8/01 2:00 pm)
Reply 		MC Malaise
Yes, Crog, it does hardly seem possible. For those of us who started on the path outside California and gradually made our way out to S. Cal., like Dorothy on the way to Oz, it's pretty disillusioning, although now that I'm back in Munchkinland it's easy enough to be evenminded about it. It's funny you mention Paramananda, someone who was always bubbling with joy and mirth. It's not just a tragedy that he has been beaten down, it's a crime. I do remember, though, teasing him in friendly way at the Lake one day about how he had passed up his big chance to be a movie star. I thought he would laugh it off, but he was actually miffed and a bit of anger flashed through, if only briefly. I wondered if it was possible I had actually hit a nerve. Surely he can't be wondering if he made the right move? I thought. Little did I know. That same day I told Tiagananda, one of my favorite monks, that I didn't hold anything against monks who left but I was glad he was never going to leave (which I thought must certainly be the case). He said, rather enigmatically, "I never say never anymore." He explained that there can come a time when a monastic wakes up one morning and asks him/herself, "What am I doing here?" I thought he was just being very understanding, but sure enough, a couple of months later, he was gone, gone, gone. Now, finally, I understand what's going on. How long can that attrition continue before the whole operation grinds to a halt? What a mess, indeed! I agree that in Master's lifetime, things must have been different. Still, this mess is part of his legacy, sadly enough.

KS
Unregistered User
(11/8/01 6:15 pm)
Reply 		Halt
From where I sit, things have ground to a halt. What project, what great thing, what outreach is still moving forward? What improvements are being made, changes being implemented?

The place is a shell. The 30 monastics who have left in the last year were the good thoughtful ones. The rest are a beaten down fearful group. The employees are waiting to be laid off. It is pathetic.

Dakota
Unregistered User
(11/19/01 4:09 am)
Reply 		Responsibility
A good post Musicman, I would like your permission to post your message to my site where I intent to respond to it in depth. (yogananda-dif.org) (No I am not associated to Ananda in any way, only SRF)

My response is going to be about the Myth and Tragedy of perfectionism. It will be about freewill, and cycles. Not only is SRF off, but our Cultural story that all of us have been raised with is off. Right now we are living in a society that is so disconnected not only from ourselves and our own empowerment, but also from the earth, universe and the cycles with which it runs. IE. In our heated and air conditioned homes we have forgotten that there are season and a purpose forever season. Our cultural story assumes an onward and upward perfection-progression. That is not reality!

Nature is seasonal. There is a spring, summer, fall and winter. The whole universe is run in cycles. There is no spring or rebirth without a winter. There must be a breakdown before there is a breakthrough. As the caterpillar’s body fights to the deaths the metamorphous of the butterfly, so the old order will fight to the death to prevent the empowering of the individual. Empower individual’s mean disempowered leader.

These Bad Ladies are the ones, which are forcing you to take a new stand. A new declaration of who you are. A Stand of self-empowerment. So do not cures the darkness, but be a light (as you all are doing now doing) unto the darkness.

Did you really think there would be no battles to fight to become a butterfly? Are we so naive to believe that reclaiming our own power and being controlled and manipulated could co-exist without clashes? Winter is coming. It is just that, winter. It is how it should be, and we are as we should be. We will bring the spring. Someone has to play winter.

I am not saying it is easy, or not difficult to reclaim our own power, or that it won't be painful or hurt. But reclaim we must. For spring must come!

I for one am very grateful I do not have to play winter this time around.

srfwalrus
ezOP
(11/19/01 8:14 am)
Reply 		Dakota
I have read most of your website and believe you are providing a valuable service. If you think it appropriate could you put a link to our discussion board in your links section? After people have read your stuff they may want to talk.

You can mention, if you like, that it is not you and you may not agree with everything on the bulletin board.

Sid
Unregistered User
(11/19/01 6:26 pm)
Reply 		Reply to Musicman
Yes, Yogananda does bear a portion of direct responsibility for the sorry state of affairs at MC. Does it not bother you that people who have supposedly spent a lifetime in kriya practice exhibit such poor judgement and psychologically abuse their subordinates? I am sorry most of you are so organization centric. Your spiritual life is only between God and yourself. Organizations will not give anyone enlightenment. There are reasons Lahiri never permitted an organization to start up around him. SRF is a key example of the horrors that sprout with institutionalization.

Your insight into Yogananda the human being is limited. You have done some homework, but much remains hidden as to Yogananda's completely human side. SRF has, as you know, only shared the spiritual side of him. There are distinct reasons that two of his closest Indian associates that joined him in the work, left him. These men were not traitors. The reasons they left were very reasonable. The hidden truth is now slowly coming out.

Yes, Yogananda built the temple on the unstable bluff. Yes, he was told in no uncertain terms by a civil engineer that the bluff was an unstable foundation.

Yogananda erred many times in his life by making sub optimal decisions.

There are reasons the top management of SRF show symptoms of abuse and are abusive to others. The history repeats.

Do not believe for a moment just because one may drop into samadhi spontaneously and at will, that that person is omniscient or prescient. They are still human with human foibles.

Place no organization or man on a pedestal, even an enlightened one. You will be sorely disappointed if you do not learn this lesson.

Have faith not in man, but only in God. You are correct, the problems with MC and BOD go back to the very, very beginning.

As the world is light and shadow, so are the characteristics within of all people. Yogananda had his shadows. If you swallow the SRF propaganda hook, line and sinker, reality and truth if your eyes are open to it will someday sting you to your core.

Many of your intuitions are correct.

Focus on the practice, kriya was meant to be a solitary practice. Do not waste your time on organizations or politics. Practice, Practice, Practice. That is the key thing of importance in a spiritual life.

Blessings to you and all souls of this board.





Dakota
Unregistered User
(11/20/01 4:14 am)
Reply 		Thank you
Thank you for mentioning it. I will be glad to link this site to my site. I can't believe I've been so out of focus to not have thought of that before.

Raja Begum
Unregistered User
(11/20/01 12:14 pm)
Reply 		to Sid
This topic needs to be the subject of sound research. Anyone care to start a section on evaluating the guru?

Yes..I understand it's taboo to subject the guru to scrutiny, but I had a revelation that I ought to examine everything and everyone who has a major influence on my life.

Musicman
Unregistered User
(12/10/01 9:39 am)
Reply 		Belated response
First, to Raja, in another place you said something nice about my writing and expressed the hope that we might meet someday. I haven't been keeping up with the board much these days because of work, but allow me to reciprocate the your feelings by saying how much I get out of your posts and would enjoy meeting you. It would be great if we could all get together and have a big bull session. Truth is, we probably know one another, at least many of us. To Dakota, use anything I have said, as you like. To Sid, thanks for backing me up on the need to put the guru himself in the docket (especially in the light of recent revelations in New Times LA). His handpicked disciples are running things, and he bears some responsibility. You are absolutely right that these problems didn't begin with the BOD, and he wasn't perfect. I have excerpts from the LA Times about the Dhirananda lawsuit and also something from Dhirananda's writings re Yogananda. So, I belatedly but strongly support Raja's suggestion of starting a new thread dealing with evaluating Yogananda (if someone hasn't already done it). I'll do it myself now. I will post these items there as soon as I have more time.

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