Cold Cold Heart: Tara Mata's influence on SRF

SRF Walrus

Mt. Washington, Ca

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SRF Walrus > SRF Teachings and Ideals > Cold Cold Heart: Tara Mata's influence on SRF
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Author	Comment
NewBoy Unregistered User (2/28/02 8:55 am) Reply	Rumors SRFlongago, My previous message was not clearly written. I meant that if, as Dhirananda implied, PY and Laurie were living together in New York in 1929, the year Mona Pratt was born, then her entitled and assertive behavior later on at SRF would make sense. I'm not convinced that the Lewises or even Edith Bissett would have been clueless regarding this living arrangement if it is true. The organization was small back then, and, like now, people loved to talk. I also, however, agree with Lobo who pointed out Florina's presence at the time. After reading messages on this board yesterday, I went back and read the chapter, "Reflections on My Guru," by Sri Durga Mata. She refers to both lawsuits in this chapter, and didn't seem the least bit disillusioned with Master when she wrote her memoirs in 1958. So far what we have is rumors and circumspection. The only other clue would be this: Did Mona Pratt look Indian? Was she active in SRF as an adult? Or did she stay away? Years ago a friend of mine had copies of the East-West magazine from the 1930's. In one issue was a picture of Master, DM, and a pretty little girl sitting around a dining table. Before reading the caption, my first thought was, what a pretty Hindu girl! Then I read the caption and saw that she was Mona Pratt. I connected that name with Tara Mata, but thought nothing of it at the time. I guess we will never really know.
AumBoy Registered User (2/28/02 9:29 am) Reply	SRFlongago & Anonymity I hope you will continue to contribute here. *Quote:* Just imagine if Daya Mata came here under a anonymous user name and started making posts about how wonderful her experience has been working under Daya Ma for the past 50 years. Would it not be appropriate in that case to expose her identity? No, she should be allowed to remain anonymous, too. One of the unique features of ezboard is the ability to allow people to post and remain anonymous. One does not need an email address nor is registration required. It is up to each of us to determine the veracity of the contributor's writings. If we allow people to simply post without endeavoring to determine who they are, then by virtue of this anonymous feature we might attract more individuals similar to srflongago. Many who post here may feel that they are taking a risk in doing so. I am not averse to the idea of SRF wanting to know who some people are so they can stop them, nor do I think it is beyond SRF (or their legal eagles) to have someone post junk on the board to create discord and turn people away. I know that during the early months of this board, SRF was having a fit about information that appeared here. Let's let people remain anonymous. As has been posted elsewhere, it is up to each of us to determine whether something rings true or not. Edited by: AumBoy at: 2/28/02 4:28:01 pm
Satish Gupta Unregistered User (2/28/02 10:10 am) Reply	Rumors Did Mona Pratt have children ?
Terrie Unregistered User (2/28/02 1:05 pm) Reply	Laurie Pratt (Tara Mata) Married I've just been able to get my Edgar Cayce CD working again, and I'm doing a search on Laurie Pratt. She must have been married, at least for a time, because one of the readings refers to her as "Laurie Pratt Carmody," and she is referenced in the readings as "Carmody, Laurie P. and also as "Pratt, Laurie." Here's the Carmody reference. The sleeping Cayce had been replying to questions about the suitability of various people serving on the board of his organization. Reading 254-075 (May 21, 1934): 45. (Q) Laurie Pratt Carmody. (A) The activity and relationships of the body have been and are such that such relationships would be well for all concerned in same. Yes. ---------------------- I'll continue looking for references in the Cayce files on Laurie Pratt, and report here on what is in the files.
Ringbearer Unregistered User (2/28/02 1:11 pm) Reply	Cayce Terry, Perhaps I am missing something. Could you please tell what Tara Mata had to do with Cayce's work? The reading was from 1934 so is it safe to assume that Laurie Pratt was still involved with Cayce's work several years after first meeting Master? How was she involved with Cayce? Thanks.
Musicman Unregistered User (2/28/02 1:30 pm) Reply	Dhirananda redux With the revelations of SRFlongago, we may finally be hitting the bedrock of reality on this board. Since there is intense interest in the whole Dhirananda-Yogananda flap, I have established a new topic under SRF Teachings and Ideals entitled Dhirananda Bashes PY. I include there excerpts from Dhirananda's writings about PY and will also soon post excerpts from the LA Times articles concerning the lawsuit.
Terrie Unregistered User (2/28/02 3:38 pm) Reply	Tara and Cayce Tara (Laurie Pratt) was very interested in Cayce's psychic readings. Many thousands of his readings mentioned the planets and astrology, and Laurie was an astrologer. Laurie was often present at Cayce's psychic readings. This is public knowledge because for each of Cayce's readings on the CD there is a list of all the persons present at the reading. I expect that Laurie's natural interest in the psychic and astrology drew her to Cayce. She later withdrew from the Cayce organization to work with Yogananda (editing) in Los Angeles, but stayed in touch with the Cayce people. This is all in the Cayce files on the CD.
AumBoy Registered User (2/28/02 4:29 pm) Reply ezSupporter	Re: Tara and Cayce Terrie, what's the name of the CD?
srflongago Registered User (2/28/02 7:50 pm) Reply	Re: Laurie Pratt (Tara Mata) Married I have changed this post to correct recollections to conform to the Cayce records. I have her death certificate (LA County, 7069 155). It of course says she was divorced, butdoes not name the spouse. She lived in Atlanta in the 1930's till she was asked on Yogananda's return to be editor at SRF starting in 1937. She had advertised her astrological service in Atlanta in East-West magazine. She lived in Atlanta on her own earnings from charts. Laurie was not allowed by Yogananda to live in Mothercenter. She had a house nearby. She came to work every day. This was because Yogananda did not like the noise of children interrupting meditation. So Mona only had day visits to mothercenter. Edited by: srflongago at: 3/1/02 4:26:25 pm
Terrie Unregistered User (2/28/02 9:48 pm) Reply	The Truth About Tara (Laurie) Part 1 O.K., I think I've been able to dig out information about Laurie Pratt Carmody on the Cayce CD. (The Complete Edgar Cayce Readings available from the ARE, Virginia Beach, VA.) Expensive, $149. An antique CD, made in 1996, but all the readings and support documents are there. The CD is about as rough as they come. I think you can all forget about an imaginary love child fathered by anyone other than a legal husband. Laurie was indeed married and later divorced. I had to come by this information, and more, with some difficulty. The Cayce readings are identified only by number to preserve the privacy of those who had readings. Finally in one reading I found Laurie Pratt's address which was given to someone who wanted an astrological reading. I did an address search and came up with a flock of readings for Laurie, her husband and her daughter. Stay tuned. I'll excerpt the relevant text and post it here. I'm also going to check the U.S. vital records (If I can figure out how to do it) to be sure that Cayce's #778 is really Laurie Pratt. #778 was definitely an astrologer and Yogananda was her teacher.
Terrie Unregistered User (2/28/02 10:30 pm) Reply	Bingo!! Laurie Pratt is listed in the Social Security Register as being born on August 16, 1900 and having died in January 1971. In the Cayce readings the birth of #778 is listed as August 16, 1900. So I will get on now with Laurie's history. Nothing came up in the register for a Carmody child. Either the child died young without a SS # or she is still alive somewhere.
srflongago Registered User (3/1/02 3:43 am) Reply	Re: Bingo!! Laurie Pratt's family tree is on the Mormon geneology site, so that part of the family history need not be searched for further. No marriage or children were submitted to that site. Now for a correction. A Mona Pratt is listed on the social security register, but that one is clearly wrong due todate in the Cayce readings; a professional astrologer such as Laurie would never fudge the birthtime or birthplace of her child when the readings were used by the foremost astrologer of the time. Edited by: srflongago at: 3/1/02 6:46:24 pm
srflongago Registered User (3/1/02 6:10 am) Reply	Re: Bingo!! Search also for the alleged son of Laurie Pratt whom I saw with Mona and Laurie Pratt a couple of times. It was said that he had been adopted by a loyal SRF follower of Yogananda who manufactured and distributed Printer's Inks. I recall the adopted name of the child as Edward Pratt Dickerson. I have never investigated this. I looked at a Pennsylvania source once and thought at one time he had changed his name to Dickson, but this may be a chimera. Edited by: srflongago at: 3/2/02 6:37:48 am
srflongago Registered User (3/1/02 8:34 am) Reply	Re: Rumors I think that unless dire emergency arose (as with Dhirananda) the financial sponsors such as Lewis or Black would not have heard a thing.
webresearch Unregistered User (3/1/02 10:02 am) Reply	Pratt Cayce Readings Terry, There are several readings on the Cayce website for #778. One of these would confirm that it's Laurie Pratt, because she asks the question of Cayce: "(Q) Who is the best publishing firm to bring out my book on "Astrological World Cycles and Ages"?" There are also two readings done for the daughter of #778, who is #398. I don't have much time, or interest to delve into these readings, or to find more of them, but here are the readings for Pratt, daughter, and husband. Laurie Pratt: www.are-cayce.org/readings/0778/ Her daughter: www.are-cayce.org/readings/0398/ Her husband: www.are-cayce.org/readings/1932/
NewBoy Unregistered User (3/1/02 10:53 am) Reply	Rumors, etc. SRFlongago, You mentioned in an earlier post that you met Mona Pratt when she about 9 years old. Well, if you're comfortable saying so, did she look Hindu? Pictures I've seen of Laurie make her look blond with a fair complexion and blue eyes. No one has replied yet over whether or not Mona Pratt was a follower of Master and SRF or not. There's too much silence over the paternity of this child. Sorry to be so cynical.
Terrie Unregistered User (3/1/02 12:46 pm) Reply	Putting Rumors to Rest: Laurie's Story PUTTING RUMORS TO REST: LAURIE'S STORY The Edgar Cayce CD contains all the psychic readings Cayce gave along with supporting reports, letters and indexes. It's the reports and letters that give the clues to the identity of the people Cayce read for, since each person is identified only by a number in the readings. In Laurie Pratt's case, she frequently mentioned astrology charts in her letters, and was recommended by the Cayce people for astrology readings. That is why it is possible to identify her as #778. From the CD, we have: #778 Laurie Pratt, born August 16, 1900, 6:25 A.M. San Francisco, California. #1932 Laurie's husband born March 22, 1903, at 7:15 P. M., in Brooklyn, N.Y. #398 Their daughter born June 28, 1930 at 8:35 P. M. (C.S.T.) in Atlanta, GA. Excerpts from the CD, in chronological order: BACKGROUND OF READING 778-1 F 26 B1. 4/23/27 [778]'s letter to EC: Dear Mr. Cayce:...My birthday is August 16, 1900 - born at 6:25 a.m. in San Francisco, California Sincerely, (Miss) [778]...P.S...."How much longer will I continue to live in New York, carrying on my present work?" TEXT OF READING 778-1 F 26 (Writer, Christian Background, Student of Astrology & Eastern Lore) This Psychic Reading given by Edgar Cayce at his office...this 11th day of June, 1927, in accordance with request made by self - Miss [778]. "...Becoming, then, enigmatical to many, and oftentimes even to self,...As to that of the weakness of the entity, this is along those lines of the mis-understandings of others as respecting the entity's intent and purpose..." (!!!) R1. 12/17/32 Mother, [778]'s letter: "The reading for [398] arrived yesterday. It is really wonderful. I told you she was a little Egyptian!..." REPORTS OF READING 1932-1 M 29 R1. 12/29/32 Wife's letter to EC: Box 187, Atlanta, Ga. "...About my serving here as Regional Representative - no, I could not undertake it at present...I am always behind in my work and just cannot seem to get caught up. The baby and the house take up most of the day, and in the evenings I generally have some professional astrological work to do..." R2. 10/25/34 Wife's letter to EC: Box 187, Atlanta, Ga. "My husband is all upset at present thru not knowing whether he ought to take the Bar Examination (Law) this December..." R1. 1/12/35 Ltr. to EC from [778]: "...not having anyone to leave with the baby, while my husband is at law school nearly every night, has always made it impossible for me to make any social contacts..." R3. 6/1/36 Ltr. to EC from [778]: "First, for some news about me. I came out here to my mother's home last November and divorced my husband soon after. So now my daughter [398] and I are living here, and have no further connection with [...]. My ex-husband [1932] and myself are on the best of friendly terms..." R4. 8/10/36 Ltr. To EC from [778]: "For quite a long time I have been dissatisfied with using Astrology for a livelihood and have now discontinued it as professional work. "I have an 8-to-5 job here now, and next week I leave for Los Angeles to undertake some very arduous work, and so very reluctantly I have to say that I cannot take on the editing of your study group manual at this time... I had a letter from India recently from my Teacher, Swami Yogananda, whose magazine Inner Culture I used to send you. He has had a wonderful triumphant return to India after 14 years' work in this country, and is returning here soon..." R14. 3/19/37 [813]'s letter to EC: "I presume you know that Laurie Pratt is now in Los Angeles helping Swami Yogananda with some books he is about to publish. This is the work she likes best to do - literary work." R6. 7/14/39 Miss [813]'s letter: "[778]'s little girl, [398], is being given special training at ... under the direction of Paramhansa Yogananda." NOTE THE SPELLING OF PARAMHANSA. R7. 10/28/42 Ltr. From 778: "I am very happy in my (editorial) work here and keep constantly busy. My little girl [398] is twelve years old now and a great joy to me..." So there you have it. Laurie lived in Atlanta, GA as a housewife/mother/writer/astrologer while her husband studied law. She turns up squeaky clean, and by association, so does her Guru during those early years.....at least in relation to Laurie.
Terrie Unregistered User (3/1/02 12:52 pm) Reply	Mona Pratt Neither of the "Mona Pratts" mentioned in this thread is Laurie's daughter. The birthdates don't agree with the birth of her daughter in the Cayce readings. While living in Los Angeles, Laurie Pratt was engaged to another man after her divorce, but the marriage never went through. She was very starry eyed about that man, obvious in a letter to Cayce.
Terrie Unregistered User (3/1/02 1:04 pm) Reply	Cayce Readings on-line Thanks, Webresearch. It looks like the entire Cayce CD is on-line, which makes the readings very easy to research. No need to purchase an expensive CD!
NewBoy Unregistered User (3/1/02 1:16 pm) Reply	Mona Pratt Mystery Terrie, Thanks for all your research and legwork on this mystery. I had no idea there was any kind of Yogananda / Edgar Cayce connection. It makes sense that they would have known of each other in the 1930s as their respective fame increased. So Laurie went to EC! The New Times article listed Mona's birth year as 1929, not 1930. Everyone assumes Mona was born out of wedlock. Your information challeges that assumption. You have given me peace of mind, Terrie. You also opened up a new can of worms, however! Why was a Yogananda disciple going to a psychic? Even a great one like Cayce? If nothing else this information points out again how much MW glosses over the rich history of SRF.