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        > Post by Borg108 on 1/30/03: is SRF Intrusive?		 New Topic    Add Reply

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(1/31/03 6:17 am)
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Post by Borg108 on 1/30/03: is SRF Intrusive?
There is a thread on the board discussing how intrusive SRF is in the lives of the SRF members and monastics. Some people participatingin the discussion are on both sides of the issue. Here is a message by someone posting as Borg108 who appears to have worked or lived inside for a while.
pub78.ezboard.com/fsrfwal...27&stop=28
Borg108 1/30/03

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Well, of course SRF appears non intrusive if you have little or no contact with them. I have spent almost all my adult life serving in an SRF temple or center, or in their monastic environment. (I'm reluctant to call them ashrams since I've come to learn what Indian ashrams are really like. SRF monastic life is very different from that. Yoganandaji himself never referred to SRF monks, nuns or ashrams. They were men, women, and children living in colonies.) Here are just a few examples of many things I have personally witnessed that I believe are inconsistent with your views of the organization:

a) A member serving in a temple bookroom was told he could no longer serve there when SRF found out he had a non-traditional sexual orientation. He vowed to never have anything to do with SRF after this.

b) A new student in one of the Centers was told it was official policy that he could not sit cross legged on a chair to meditate. He also never returned to that Center.

c) During temple satsangs, an SRF minister lambasted members for having the darshan of a saint who was visiting from India. This is contrary to sanatana dharma . In India, no matter what path one is on, if a saint comes to town, everyone receives the blessings of that saint. If you read the SRF magazine articles of the 1950s and 1960s, you'll notice that on Daya Ma's trips to India, nearly half the time there, she and her party were visiting saints. Now we are considered disloyal if we do the same.

d) During the Vietnam war, I had studied the situation of our involvement there and was convinced beyond a doubt that the war was wrong and that I would not participate in it. An SRF minister told me that I must do my duty and serve in the military. A second monastic confirmed that I should join the army. Some years later, a senior monastic told me SRF was supportive of the Vietnam war because they were afraid their monks might otherwise get drafted! This same monk now says in private that SRF should be dismantled and started up all over again.

e) If you were actively involved at a temple of large Center, I'm sure you would eventually notice that communication flows in only one direction. When has there ever been a two way discussion at an SRF temple or Center, or a flow of suggestions or ideas upward that has ever been taken seriously? At Hidden Valley, a resident once put a question in the satsang box asking if there could be a suggestion box. The monk in charge answered by saying, "What do you need a suggestion box for? We're never going to listen to anything you suggest."

The monastic setting is even more oppressive to some of us, as has already been pointed out all over this board. For example, I was shocked when memos fell into my basket by mistake one day detailing personal and sensitive information about those who were serving there, information that was given in confidence and that should have been kept confidential. I could go on with many more examples, but I think you get the picture. If your experiences from a distance are different, then that is wonderful for you. I hope you continue to keep focused on your goal. For others who have been deeper within the organization, the organization itself has become an obstacle, so some distancing is required. I hope you can understand and respect that. Most everyone on this board has probably in the past felt just as you do now. Our experiences have led us to where we are now. God is simple - everything else is complex. Just love Him anyway you can.

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