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Check out Vulcan's posts about projection and identification in the Core Issues section. Those are, I think, some of the most important messages in the entire Walrus collection. See, for example:
pub78.ezboard.com/fsrfwal...D=62.topic

Here's a very, very brief and encapsulated outline of how this all might have unfolded (it's just a model I've pieced together from much within the Walrus; I could be way off base).

Most of the now senior leaders, particularly the nuns, enter the ashram as teenagers. Some we know (for example, Sister Parvati) came from less than ideal family backgrounds. They have, as it is not unreasonable to expect, some psychological shortcomings, shadows (as do we all); they are in an environment which might have prevented them from maturing in some ways.

It seems evident that a number of these senior monastics have some insecurities and fears. It's understandable that when they assumed power in the 50s that they might have been concerned with keeping control, making it work, and so on. Moreover, most of them were women having to make it in a "man's world." Out of the fears are born the desires to exert control. And what better way to do so than in a monastic mileu, with its vows of obedience and loyalty! So the already existing monastic order served that purpose well.

So, unconsciously you set out to make the monastic model the one with all the power and control. The monastics assume virtually all the power in the organization: management and teaching. And the senior monastics get to lord over the rest of the monastics. What could be better?! And to top it off, the leaders are able to say they were with Yogananda and therefore they Know.

Along come the 70s, with a huge upsurge in membership. I'm willing to bet this caught the leaders a bit off-guard; certainly all the issues those young folks brought to the table added plenty of color. Once again, and this carries on into the 80s, there's need to unconsciously exert control, so that things don't slip out of control (thanks to a friend for this insight). So, you boost up the image and role of the president and the other leaders, you emphasize even more that it's all divinely guided and in the ether, you say that your guru is the bestest guru, that your path is the bestest, fastest, and you apply the monastic model to everyone (cause you've already seen how effective it is in maintaining control).

Meanwhile, the leaders' fears are projecting out onto others: they are projecting the bad parts of themselves onto others, especially in the ashram. They don't like these parts of themselves (who does?), and so they end up treating the others (onto whom they've projected the bad parts of themselves) in very nasty ways. Keep in mind that all of this is an unconscious process.

Once again, the monastic environment allows this nasty behavior to be sanctioned under the guises of obedience, developing spiritual toughness, and so on. What could be better!

And the members who come to SRF: what are we seeking? We've found The Answer; we've found a quick and relatively easy way out of all the misery of life. How many of us came from wonderful families and backgrounds where life was ideal? Not many, I suspect. We are more than willing to surrender our wills, our ideas, our concerns, our critical analysis, our feelings, and just about anything else, because we've been promised the Highway to the Infinite. The end of suffering. Heck, it doesn't get much better than that! We've also been offered a vision of a wonderful world, and a teaching that meets (or so we think) all the needs of our bodies, minds, souls, and hearts.

And away goes the dance. It's a perfect fit. We're willing to get on our knees, put the leaders on pedestals,and the leaders are more than happy to have us in the receptive, subservient positions we've assumed because it helps them deal with their fears. We're willing to overlook the "little" inconsistencies and idiosyncrasies because, heck, what do we know? We're even willing to remain on our knees as ignorant devotees having little if any self-realization because that's the subtle message we keep hearing (remember that the leaders can't have us as equals). And when members are offered positions with some "authority," they're more than willing to step into the role of lording martinets; it's one of the only chances they'll get to think they're Making Progess. (Again, this is a very sketchy outline; all the dynamics are more complicated, I suspect. For example, the messages we get are much more mixed than I've presented them (but mixed messages lead to crazy-making behavior)).

And what is the key to all this? Unconsciousness. And what is happening now? We're waking up. We begin to notice things: the lack of friends, the abusive behavior, all the things that don't add up, etc., etc. Finally, you can't take it any more and you have to get out, dissociate yourself from the dance.

One can debate as to whether all of this was a necessary part of our spiritual development, but I think one can make the case that what has happened was almost inevitable, given the variables that were present.

What I've presented is just a bare-bones outline of some of the critical forces I believe are at play. I think we need to be willing to consider that many different factors play into all this. As One Taste has pointed out, there are cultural forces involved in how the teachings have been presented. The bottom line is that we have to consider the psychological, sociological, historical, cultural, and spiritual elements that have gone into developing the current state of affairs in SRF. To miss any of these is to miss part of the picture. If you're going to find solutions, be they on a personal or on an inter-personal and organizational level, you need to consider all the factors involved.

As Notice the Noticer said, "examining these parts of our psyches in a non-judgmental atmosphere could be cleansing." Bringing it all to conscious awareness. And in as much of a non-judgmental environment as possible, in the sense that compassion and support are necessary.

I don't mean that many, many people are wrong to be as angry or upset or hurt as hell. I don't mean to deny the incredible suffering that has gone on. But it seems compassion for oneself and others may be part of the healing/cleansing process.

I agree with both One Taste and Notice the Noticer that it's important to examine our own roles in all this so that, as the old song says, "we don't get fooled again." It's so easy to keep blaming the leaders, but we were more than willing to put up with it, some of us for many years. From what I've seen in the Walrus, many who have posted here have come to the realization that their guidance/ frame of reference/ locus of control/ guru/ or God is within. That development seems to be what was necessary for all of us.

The saddest thing for me is seeing that the SRF culture, or at least many parts of it, continues to manifest unconsciousness and is so resistant towards looking at some of this stuff, even tentatively. The leaders, of course, don't seem to want any such thing, and many of the members are, I suspect, cognitively unable or unwilling to deal with the scary things in the closet they'll have to face (and, goodness knows, it is scary). Very sad.

Karuna. Karuna.

Attention.

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