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Joe said:
Maybe the cult puts so little demand on
people nowadays, that the cost of being in the cult
is very low, or they are not as visible. Therefore,
the need to scare people into staying is also less,
because the misery of being a premie is less. I
know for me, at the time I left, I was so miserable
being a premie that I didn't care if I was going to
hell. It had to get pretty bad for me to abandon
something I had put so much time, energy and soul
into. Maybe if I wasn't so miserable, if being a
premie didn't cost me that much, I might not have
left.
Yes Joe. Demands aren't put on most people. M.
has said in video's about 'participation', that if
you don't want to participate, not only should you
not do so, but, please DON'T, because you'll just
get in the way of people who do. At the Longbeach
event, he encouraged participation, but said he
realized not everyone could be generals in his
army, or even footsoldiers. That if some people
felt they just wanted to practice knowledge and get
on with their lives, that was ok, too. Keep in
mind, many of those premies who don't want to be
generals or footsoldiers feel GUILTY, and send a
monthly check as a way of participating. I know I
did. So if the ju-ju only accomplished that much,
it did something. But people aren't openly coerced.
They are openly 'encouraged to participate'.
No more talk about handing over the 'reigns of
your life'. Checks, and even monthly automatic
deposits from your credit card, will do nicely,
thank you. And a nice little $10.00 gift
certificate with your next elan vital merchandise
catalog, to say 'Thank You' for your participation.
And of course, you get your tax deduction.
Once M. made his fortune on the backs of the
ashram premies, he only needed the rest to make
donations to keep it going. And if the donors were
just fringe premies, that was fine, their money was
as good as anyones. Elan Vital certainly hasn't
wanted to scare them off. There was hardly even any
waiting in line at the last programs I attended.
It's all smooth and easy.
Joe said:
Maharaji is, of course, lying. I personally
heard him say both the 'going to hell' and the
'rotting vegetables' and also the 'smashing into a
thousand pieces' threats about what would happen if
you left.
That's interesting, because I have heard him say
MANY times, that he NEVER said anyone would go to
hell if they stopped practicing special K.
Joe said:
Frankly, I find it hard to believe people would
think it was okay for Maharaji to 'change his mind'
about something like that. I mean, you used to go
to hell if you stopped practicing knowledge, but
not anymore. Or, Maharaji used to be the Lord of
the Universe, but he decided not to be anymore.
That's bad enough.
But what I think is harder for premies to
accept is that Maharaji is now lying. Changing your
mind is one thing, but lying is another, especially
about something as important as that. So, now
Maharaji is lying about never having claimed to be
God, and he's lying about never having made threats
about going to hell if you stop practicing
knowledge, among other things.
How do premies reconcile that?
When the Church Lady told me about her
relization that M. was allowed to change his mind,
it was obviously a big realization for her. In so
far as people just accept that, it gives M. a lot
of wiggle room. Perhaps she was relieved that she
didn't have to reconcile contradictions, she could
now just say he changed his mind. Very
convenient.
Yet, I'm sure many premies are bothered about
lies, when they see things being lied about. I know
lies bother me. I can forgive mistakes, but lies
are terrible. It makes you start to wonder what you
can believe, it eats away at M's credibility.
Many premies had no other sources of
information, so they would just ignore some things
and live with others, because what could they do?
But now websites like EPO are providing new
information, and people are rethinking their
involvement. But precisely because they did have it
'easier' than the ashram premies (at least the
fringe premies had it easier), they aren't as
angry. They may have had some good experiences,
too, all mixed in with things they didn't like, but
tolerated. But now they may be re-thinking it, and
wondering if they can separate the good from the
bad. Did you read what Roy said in his post, about
Psycologist William James, regarding people hanging
on to religion because of an initial experience,
even after the religion no longer serves them? I
think that is where many of the premies are at.
Many of the premies formed an emotional bond
with M. They hang on out of habit, and because they
have yet to see another way. They may remember the
old satsangs subconciously, but their concious
minds say look, it's better now. They are used to
making excuses and accepting contradictions. But
when they start questioning, and learn there are
other sources of information, many come here.
That's why I've been feeling that it's not
necessarily good to focus on telling people they
must stop meditation, that insisting or implying
that they should renounce everything they ever
experienced that was positive while with M could
cause more confusion for some people. For other
people, stoping meditation might be good, or even
essential. But I think people need to decide that
for themselves. There are no one-size-fits-all
solutions. The solutions are as diverse as the
experiences of everyone here.
Lots of the positive things people may have
experienced actually came from themselves, not M.
Even the good things M. may have said, that I
liked, have been said by other people too, without
baggage like 'Think of ME when you die'. One of the
best pieces of advice I've had from M. was 'Listen
to your heart'. I did, and it said I didn't need a
third party to interpret.
I think the best thing we can do for new people
here is help them sort themselves out. They have
already been told for too long what they should do.
They can find their own answers here, by talking to
us. There is a very diverse spectrum of the premie
experience here, and I think there is help here
from many different perpectives. A story for
everyone.
That's why I post here. What I have to say won't
appeal to everyone, but it will appeal to some. I
think that is true for most of us. Talking about my
experience leaving is my way of holding the door
open, for anyone who might think ''hey, THAT exit
looks good...''
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