A friend relates that
a premie lady he knows was disturbed by something
she heard Maharaji say.
Maharaji was apparently discussing the Monica
Lewinsky / Clinton debacle with a few people in
private.
Maharaji apparently said words to the effect
that 'the people who were upset with Clinton were
just jealous that he was having so much fun.' I
understood that he said this in front of Marolyn
and that although the latter was apparenty
unflustered, this other premie lady took it badly -
ie as a rather too macho comment for her tastes! It
blew her 'concepts' and she has now had felt
compelled to re-assess things a bit, according to
my friend.
I would guess that Maharaji would also say that
disgruntled premies (such as those whom he forbade
the indulgence of 'wordly pleasures' whilst he
clearly was enjoying them fully) are similarly
'just jealous'.
I agree with him but would say that it is not
'just' jealousy alone that makes people question
their relationships with him. 'Rightly jealous'
would perhaps be a better description!
One difference with him and Clinton is that
Maharaji advocated that committed premies should
'renounce the world'. I don't think Clinton made
moral demands on anyone. (of course he was quick to
pretend to be all repentant and moral, when he was
caught out with Monica.)
Political power structures of all-sorts
(including the Pop World for instance ) seem to
give their 'stars' plenty of opportunity for such
indulgences, but there the performers are most
often admired for their excesses! Of course the
'stars' are unashamed role models for many people
who aspire to be as them. It is given that these
are ordinary people who, through luck or talent
have earned an envied position. We could be like
them! No premie need waste their time aspiring to
share Maharaji's indulgences in his autocratic
world though.
I think that modern western political systems,
certainly in the USA and UK, have to some extent
evolved built-in safeguards that permit leaders to
exercise their position to indulge themselves
privately if they wish, but prevent them from
letting this effect their job. Certainly the
conditions are that they don't get caught doing
controversial things.
In a way the nature of politics is that it needs
people who are rather unscrupulous to fight equally
unscrupulous opponents.
There is some comparison to draw with Maharaji I
feel.
We can see from Hilary Clinton's recent
electorial success, for instance, that responsible
and 'moral' people are perfectly willing to vote
someone into a responsible job who may be 'deeply
flawed as an individual' (This is a quote from a TV
program about the Clintons, who were both
described, amongst other things, as being
absolutely inured to lying whenever it suited their
ambitions- not something that people seem too
bothered about)
It is the leaders commitment to certain
political goals which is the main consideration for
voters The fact that they demonstrate ruthless
ambition may be may bolster the impression that the
he or she has the stomache to fight hard to achieve
political ends. Even moderate alcoholism or drug
abuse may be acceptible to the inner teams that
support powerful leaders. Of course Kennedy's inner
circle did not consider his habits innappropriate,
but understood the public would not see it this way
and so sought to cover up his activities.
Is this not exactly what we see with Maharaji??
Is not the comparison with Clinton even more
uncanny considering the resemblance of his one of
his alleged mistresses' name to Monica Lewinsky?
Are we not looking at a political phenomenon here -
in short- a political leader. Something Elan Vital
is keen to deny.
Premies attitude to Maharaji is very like a
voter's attitude to a President.
I say this because I spoke with a premie (once a UK
co-ordinator) the other day who expressed that it
was a shame that people allowed their feelings
about Maharaji as a person to put them off being
his 'pupil'. In short he implied that people who
judge Knowledge by Maharaji's behaviour were making
a big mistake -totally missing out and denying
themselves that wonderful experience. Of course he
as much admitted that Maharaji, as a person, was
surely not everyone's 'cup of tea' although he
loved and admired Maharaji deeply. But he could not
see how Maharaji's private behaviour should rightly
reflect on his role as a Master.
It seems to me that Premies could be said to
have, albeit silently, 'elected' Maharaji as the
figurehead of their experiences and beliefs, and
that they, like those who elect these presidents
etc. do not consider that it matters a jot whether
their Master is a nice person or corrupted by his
position etc. What is important is that he in some
way acts as a catalyst for their experience. Or put
another way -fulfills their needs. Most actually
like him the more for his human weaknesses.
Am I right that premies accept that Maharaji is
the 'man for the job' despite his character flaws,
much in the same way that a country tolerates a
leader who seems to be going roughly in the right
direction? In other words with hope rather than
certainty?
I suppose my feeling is that if God were to
exist and seek to influence us via any particular
chosen man, it would be most unlikely that he would
also inspire this 'chosen man' to feel that he
needs to cover-up for his human weaknesses (as
Maharaji seems to have done -' a la Presidente' -
by encouraging his inner circle to do so for him).
Rather one would have thought that he may , like
Clinton at the very least, have the foresight to
see that to admit to his human frailness and
acknowledge mistakes with appropriate accountabilty
and integrity, would serve him well.
There is one last comparison that comes to mind
bearing in mind that Dettmer's writings paint a
picture of a man who apparently really does seem to
have some disdain for those who believe in him.
Hilary Clinton is said to have commented to her
driver after speaking to a hall of honest-to-good
country folks - ' get me outta here as fast as you
can'.
She allegedly then likened the crowd, that she had
just been so keen to woo, to people 'straight out
of the film Deliverance' !
Finally, I have been truly wondering whether it
is I who am long imprisoned in this restricting
belief that I should be honest, integral and
well-behaved!
I was in the late seventies (naively) shocked to
learn that Mahatma GuruCharanand, a supposed
celibate celebrity I think you'll agree, had indeed
had marvelous sex, and when he was instructor too!
- with my best friends girlfriend! (At least that's
what she told him and he told me ~ all malicious
lies of course!)
Anyway, since all these 'once denied' things are
generally now being furtively whispered as being
true, even by premies, I wonder if I was the
stupid, tight-arsed one (thank you Mark) who could
justly be derided for obediently having been
celibate in the ashram, when Maharaji had simply
supposed (judging us naturally by his own
standards) that we would know that we didn't really
have to take his instructions literally>
!
Silly me!
Maybe if more of us had followed the example
of the much favoured Mr 'Loose' GuruCharanand then
we would not now be 'eaten up with regrets' after
all. I mean it's our fault for being so stupid as
to have taken Maharaji's Agya (order) so seriously
isn't it?
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