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I am thirty-five
years old and my significant other introduced me to
Maharaji. For the two years I've known her, she's
been talking about Maharaji and knowledge. She
received knowledge three years ago in Katmandu, in
her country of origin, Nepal. We've been living
together for one year. She is extremely into
Maharaji, so last weekend (Dec. 8-9, 2001) we went
to Miami Beach for an event. I didn't want to go,
but the local rep was over at my house and she and
my girlfriend were imploring me do it, so I
thought, what the heck, and we booked our
tickets.
On Monday, I decided to look into Maharaji on
the internet. Not that I was ever all that
attracted to his teachings. But I've been to some
broadcasts and watched some videos over the past
two years. But the event left me very dazed and
confused. That's when I discovered this ex-premie
site. It's wonderful how it encapsulates everything
my 'doubt-maker' was thinking all along about
Maharaji. I am Jewish, and it's sad how many Jews
fall into these cults. But really I'm a
particularly bad candidate for any cult other than
the one I might start myself one day. Well, don't
hold your breath.
Anyway, the event was held in the Miami
Convention Center. It looked like maybe four
thousand people were there. The people running the
show were quite nice: the event price was $120, but
we only paid thirty dollars for the both of us
since e're kinda poor these days and we had to buy
airline tickets. Saturday, M talked the usual
baloney, basically 'pratice whether you want to or
not.' The rest was just commentary like jokes about
Clint Eastwood and maniacal drivers. Sunday he
rambled some more and then sang a raga-type song to
a dance beat. Also, his daughter performed some
short, albeit beautiful, songs to start each
program. Also, on Sunday two old-timers publicly
praised M. First a British man, then a Black woman
engineer from Washington DC.
Afterwards, there were so many people crying. A
teenager in front of us stayed in her chair and
cried and cried. My girlfriend cried. Even I shed a
little tear. Why is that? Since then, I've had a
low-grade headache. Must be M's screechy, high
voice. But I have no doubt that I walked right into
a cult with a very corrupt leader as the
figurehead.
Now I really want to confront my girlfriend
about this whole thing. Last night I subtly
mentioned M's riches. She scoffed at that, saying
it didn't matter to her. I also mentioned his wife
Marolyn sleeping around. The fact that their
marriage was on the rocks didn't bother her. My
girlfriend always tells me to listen to my heart
and not my brain. I described the palatial Malibu
home, the $40 million dollar Challenger jet,
Amaroo, etc etc, but she didn't care. I mentioned
how donations from followers paid for everything,
how M's mother fought against M having exclusive
rights to teach K, etc. Nothing jolted her.
Does anyone have advice on how to handle this
situation? My girlfriend has a framed picture of M
with his gibberish writing on our dresser in our
bedroom. She also wears a small locket with his
face on one side and his toes on the other. She
loves to watch videos and broadcasts. Most of all,
she devoutly practices every single day. Would I be
stupid for even trying to talk to her about the
facts? Is there hope for our relationship? The good
news is that I've been going to my Temple for
Friday night services more and more. I think her
belief in M has bothered me enough to do that,
which is good, I think.
She tells me that accepting K doesn't preclude
my belief in Judaism. But, from what I've read, one
has to publicly declare an unbinding affection for
M. I now think it is my religious background that
prevents me from accepting K. So be it. But I'm
wondering about the future of our relationship. I
already told her when we first started dating that
if we were to consider marriage, I wanted a Jewish
home and Jewish kids. I also asked her to consider
converting to Judaism. How can I feel comfortable
in my own home with videos, broadcasts, and that
puffy face? She agreed to all my requests. But she
did tell me it would be hard for her to
convert.
In conclusion, I would appreciate any help from
people who convinced others of the falsehood that M
represents. Or, if people have advice for those who
live or lived with believers. Or just advice for
people like me who contemplated receiving K, but
were reluctant, and then found this website, which
bolstered an ability to say enough is enough.
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