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KS
Registered User
(1/28/03 4:57 am)
Reply 		What is Miss Wright (Daya Mata) really?
I pulled the following quote from a thread discussing SRF as a cult. Many of the definitions involve defining what Fay is like as part of the problem. These definitions don’t give a real picture of what she is.

Quote:
My own definition of cult, to add to the confusion: 1) It's run by a single charismatic leader with extreme narcissistic needs (need for praise, adulation); 2) the leader derives his/her power by having followers with dependency and masochistic traits;


In my opinion Fay is not a powerful figure needing the adulation of the membership. She never sees the membership. She hides from the membership. She doesn’t really hide from fear just a feeling of … who cares? Speaking once a year in public is a bother to her. There is a chance she will appear as just a normal person and blow her cover! So she has some minister warm up the crowd and comes out late at night for a single 20 minute speech. She puts personal friends along the first row, holds her breath, and acts out the drama. She even hides from the monastics and employees who NEVER see her (except a hand picked group they hope are loyal).

She is also not the dynamic leader usually associated with a cult. She has no business sense and can’t read people’s character even at the most basic level. Time after time she hires or puts someone in charge over large parts of the organization only to remove them later. SRF has been cheated out of millions of dollars. The big mistakes SRF has made over the years are not her terrible ideas; she just showed no leadership and allowed them to happen. She has failed to setup an ashram environment of peace and harmony, just the opposite. The leader does need to take responsibility for shaping the organization after being in charge for 50 years.

Here is another opinion from a fellow traveler who appears to have been there:
pub78.ezboard.com/fsrfwal...ID=9.topic

SRF survives on the overwhelming respect Yogananda draws not on the God-realized leadership of the bad ladies.

crogman1
Registered User
(3/2/03 8:18 pm)
Reply 		Re: What is Miss Wright (Daya Mata) really?
Daya mata is an old old old women who has lived in a closed institution for 70 years. She has been cut off from most of the real pressures/experiences of life and cut off from the lessons we all take for granted. For the last 50 years she has been worshiped as a God-Realized yogi. Try that on for warping your view of your own abilities! She has maids to clean for her, is driven everywhere, and has only been exposed to a hand full of power hungry admiring souls for years and years. Her organization publishes pictures of her and publishes her books along side a great master's (Yogananda). Environment is stronger than will and she has been exposed to tremendously corrupting influences for 50 years. What do you think she is like as a result?

She never had any training or exposure to running a business but due to her ego and the influence of the wormtongues around her can’t admit to mistakes and is completely fearful of being found to be lacking. She doesn’t know who to trust and has made terrible errors in judging people’s character over the years. In the last 10 years she was involved in several schemes which cost SRF 10’s of millions of dollars with little to show for it. That level of mistake causes the fear level to be at a panic state. Fear they will make a mistake and ruin the work, fear they will be found lacking, fear they will lose control, etc…

Fear shows up in the rush of ever changing attempts to "fix things". The hiring of a lot of high level experienced lay members, then getting rid of them. Remember the spiritual life committee experiments? How about the three different groups of counselors and consultants to help with the fix, and their resulting termination? All these are panic reactions to problems she doesn’t understand or even want to really explore. Time after time the arrow of responsibility points back to daya mata and she and those around her kill the messengers.

Be glad you are not daya mata. She is a troubled soul who had the great fortune to know a great master and the opportunity to help his message spread in the world. She has blown that chance and (probably once again) took the wrong road paved with ego and fear. Given the same pressures, and advice of her valued assistants (wormtongues) we might all end up like her.

crogman1
Registered User
(3/2/03 8:45 pm)
Reply 		Re: What is Miss Wright (Daya Mata) really?
I should add that an amazing fact is that daya mata thinks that her actions in running SRF matter! She thinks that she is the doer in spite of her lofty talks and books. The fear they all feel only reveals what they really think about who is running things, the risks of failure, and the level attunement they all REALLY feel with God’s will. If God is really running the organization, really sponsoring it, and “nothing can harm this work” as they repeat over and over then what are they afraid of?

Very revealing isn’t it?

wholetruth
Registered User
(3/4/03 8:47 pm)
Reply 		Re: What is Miss Wright (Daya Mata) really?
But how do you explain the profound love of God that she professes in all of her talks? SRF has turned her into a mystic-yogi-saint, I know. Is there no truth to this at all? Those who have actually met her in a one-to-one situation have come away elevated and inspired with only the most glowing things to say. Those who criticize her here seem to have a big axe to grind with the organization--extremely bitter. "Wormtongues"--whoa, really!

Edited by: wholetruth at: 3/5/03 8:14:45 am
Lobo
Registered User
(3/5/03 9:27 pm)
Reply 		Re: What is Miss Wright (Daya Mata) really?
Wholetruth,

I am one who has been very outspoken in my criticism of Daya Mata, as well as the other members of the board of directors, but particularly her. I was angry with what seemed to me her elevating herself into the role of the guru, trying to eclipse him. This I felt was done through her contention that she is the successor of the guru as president of the organization; as well as the proliferation of her books and tapes.

But that all stems from my desire to hold onto the attachment of what I thought SRF should be, what in other words it was 30 plus years ago when I joined the organization. "Attachment is blinding" and causes much profound suffering. I had no right to be so critical of her in that way. Heck, she might be PY's successor, what do I really know?

I have been around her in a group at a Xmas satsang at Mt. Washington. We all were allowed the opportunity to greet her as we left the building. When it became my turn she grabbed my hands, looked into my eyes and said, "Are you alright? Are you alright?" While at the time I didn't quite understand this strange greeting (much different from those devotee's who were in line before me), it became very evident to me soon after as I went into a deep and prolonged depression; in the process losing everything, girlfriend, job, house, car etc. etc.

I have not been posting on this board for awhile. Truth be told I haven't felt right about the super-critical posts that I've written here in the past, but I didn't want to delete them as they are truthful as to what I was feeling at the time. But often when I've meditated lately I've had the strong feeling while sitting after the practice of the techniques that I should stop writing such things, that I should in fact stop visiting this site.

Then last night I had a dream about Daya Mata. I won't go into the details as it wasn't that profound but it just showed me a whole different side of her that I, in my anger and resentment, had excluded from my conscious mind.

So when I read your post (and I"ve noticed that you too haven't been posting for awhile) I just wanted to say that you have put your finger on something that needs to be said. Namely that Daya Mata is a great soul, she would have to be to have been so close to PY, and while I don't agree with how the organization has been run as of late, that doesn't detract from her yogic accomplishments in the spiritual realm.

So in deference to your forthrightness I thank you for providing me the opportunity to express my self on this subject.

Peace

KS
Registered User
(3/6/03 7:35 am)
Reply 		Re: What is Miss Wright (Daya Mata) really?
My opinion is that it is a shame that we find ourselves criticizing an individual so much on this board. That criticism comes from the fact that worshiping her and the pushed belief that she is infallible and God-Realized is at the very core of the corrupting of SRF. I wish the criticism could be more impersonal however to understand the SRF problem and our own experience with SRF it is important to understand how SRF became so corrupted.

There is probably more to your Christmas story that you didn’t give and I don’t mean to minimize your experience. I appreciate your sharing it. However, DM asking you about your health doesn’t need to be evidence of a high spiritual state. In addition to what we know of her negative qualities she may be honestly concerned about people’s health and welfare. Plenty of stories indicate that she is not concerned about monastics and employees, but a general concern for strangers and humanity as a whole is easier. If you attended a special event with her you are certainly in some select group. Possibly a large donor or friend of one or something similar?

There are people on TV who can look at a crowd and convince certain people that they are communicating with their dead loved ones or talking to their animals. And who doesn’t have a grandmother who can read a mood or tell when you are getting sick even before you realize it? Who has not seen a TV evangelist who had so much charisma that SOME people thought they had some special spiritual power or connection to God?

Regardless of her advanced state, SRF’s pushing of pictures of her, books by her, the idea of president for life, and the way she is treated at Convocation is completely unnecessary. Did Master’s words not cover it all? Why worship a president? The answer is that a powerful worshiped president is needed to establish and protect the SRF cult.

Does this mean the president doesn’t have some spiritual advancement? No. She may. Master provided us with many examples of yogis in the AY who had powers and some advanced state but still had serious problems. Story after story. What do you think Master was saying.

The bottom line is that the president role SRF created is a problem and so core to the SRF cult that it needs to be discussed.

To WholeTruth: I have met her and felt inspired myself. I feel that much of it was a projection of my love for Master and feeling that I EXPECTED to meet a saint. The actual interaction was in a controlled situation and very superficial. Have a talk with some monastics who have dealt with her day to day and see how she handles real life.

We do have a big axe to grind with the organization she runs.

"Wormtongues" refers to those corrupted individuals who cling to her to feed off her power. What ever DM really is, they make it worse. The fact that she does not recognize them for what they are is another problem close to the core.

Edited by: KS at: 3/6/03 7:40:35 am
soulcircle
Registered User
(3/7/03 1:57 am)
Reply 		KS
very true
my family has met her
thank you for your post and this thread

Guests and All,
sadly I agree
what do you all think of KS's post?
my feelings are that I couldn't have said it better myself

both at large in this country and also in sfr, the top leaders are looking for sheep

we will see what the future brings
i join you all in making a better future for our communities and families

soulcircle

Edited by: soulcircle at: 3/7/03 1:59:36 am
Lobo
Registered User
(3/7/03 9:52 pm)
Reply 		Re: What is Miss Wright (Daya Mata) really?
KS,

The meeting, such as it was, that I referred to happened at a Xmas satsang that I was told was for those that were serving at the temples. At least that is how I heard about it, from fellow devotees at Fullerton Temple. It was kinda of reward for those who serve.

While there might have been wealthy devotees there I don't know for sure. But I was a factory worker at that time in my life making a little bit more than minimum wage, so it wasn't due to any financial prowess that I ended up at that event. It occurred in 1972 or 73 if memory serves. A much different time in SRF as compared to now when Daya Mata is so much more hidden from the membership. Then she was, as my story illustrates, still available to members.

As for what she told me, it didn't have anything to do with my health, which was excellent at the time. I interpreted her remarks at being odd at the time. It wasn't until a few years later when my life was turned upside down and a load of bad karma descended upon me causing me to not only leave SRF but the entire spiritual path for about 15+ years that I thought again of her strong expressions of concern at that earlier satsang.

Now I, being one who was raised in a fundamentalist sect of Christianity have a very developed sense of "hucksterism", like the "faith healers" that you compared her remarks to me as being on my part just so much naive wish-fulfillment. The difference, as it always has and will continue to be is vibratory power, vibes. In the presence of an advanced soul one FEELS vibratory power and to me it is the ultimate source of truth when separating the merely poseurs from the real thing.

Do I think that Daya Mata is what SRF says she is? No. I base that, my own opinion not informed from actual contact, upon her allowing the changes that've occurred to SRF vis a vis her prominence in the organization with all the titles and books and videos etc. etc. as a spiritual test, i.e. pride and power, which to me she has failed. I could be very wrong but that's my opinion.

I happen to think that personal attacks on the members of the board, which I've engaged in very strongly at times, isn't productive, as you've pointed out. And I also agree that the fire that produces that personal attack was being fed by at one time believing her to be what SRF claims her to be; hence it is so much bitter to find out the truth.

You have what I believe, from your posts, as inside information and experience; either a nun or monk. I was just a devotee serving in the temple, never had any type of access to see first hand what is really going on at Mt. Washington. So I do take your posts as being very important to me as it reveals an insight that I'd never have otherwise.

But as we all know it is ultimately a waste of time really as SRF does not care what we feel is wrong. As Brother Achalananda told us at a Fullerton Temple Committe Meeting many years ago, "This isn't a democracy."

crogman1
Registered User
(3/8/03 6:42 am)
Reply 		Re: What is Miss Wright (Daya Mata) really?
Concerning your opportunity to visit Daya Mata, yes, things were certainly different back 30 to 40 years ago. In the early 70’s the president came to an event at Hollywood temple and talked to everyone. She also talked to people at Convocation back then. She was out very very little but compared to the 80’s and later it now appears like a lot!

The pressures on her from the dark side have been tremendous. I suppose in one sense that may be a measure of how advanced she is (or could have been). Someone taking over an organization started by a true saint is certainly going to be a target of Satan’s. SRF people assume she passed those tests. We don’t think she did. She and those around her spiraled down into a mindset of fear and worry. They don’t trust God to watch out after them or Yogananda’s message. They fear the membership, the monastics, the press, everything. Her personal failure, and the failure of key people around her, is at the central core of the SRF experience.

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