Dear Last
Question:
You ask a very good question. I agree with your
assessment that there are two agreements -- a
signed contract and a sacred covenant. Lets
deal with the signed contract first. You state that
I seem to respect the financial agreement,
even if it is hard for anyone to imagine what now
is untold. With respect to the non-disclosure
clause in my contract, I have chosen to interpret
its meaning in the narrowest sense possible. This
means that I have not hesitated to disclose
financial and legal information that I had
discussed in open sessions with organizers all over
the world. And I would not hesitate to fully breach
the non-disclosure clause if I thought the
information I disclosed could in any way damage
Maharaji. Furthermore, I could give a rats
ass if Maharaji or any of his agents chose to sue
me for breach of the non-disclosure clause. It
would love the opportunity to depose Maharaji and
his agents under oath and ask them point blank to
deny any of the assertions I have made public on
the Ex-Premie Forum about Maharajis behavior.
The reason I chose not to breach the non-disclosure
clause is because it might create negative
consequences for my consulting business where I am
often required to include non-disclosure clauses in
my agreements. It is normal for potential and/or
actual clients to demand confidentiality, not just
for legal and financial matters, but also to
protect their proprietary inventions and trade
secrets.
Now lets talk about the sacred covenant.
You say that I had to promise from the bottom
of (my) heart, that if (I) were allowed to enter
that room, what (I) saw (I) would keep
to (my) heart in confidentiality. I presume
that you are referring to the conditions one is
asked to abide by if they agree to be x-rated. To
make sense of this agreement we must
first put the process of becoming x-rating in
context. As I explained in my earlier post on this
subject, the premies who were invited to become
x-rated had been in the ashram and, for the most
part, were already doing full-time service for
Maharaji. These people were trusted by those who
were already x-rated and quite often they were
known by Maharaji. So before anyone was x-rated,
they were already bound by the sacred covenant the
existed between Maharaji and his devotees made
manifest through the ashram. And who created this
sacred covenant? Maharaji of course, during a time
when he was unquestionably presenting himself as
the lord, despite Élan Vitals claims
to the contrary. Thats what made the covenant
sacred. We surrendered our lives to him and he
promised to take care of us, not just spiritually
but physically as well. X-rating made sense if one
subscribed to the lord devotee belief system
and it wasnt much of a stretch to accept that
the lord, as such, must not be subject to the same
rules and protocols that applied to his
devotees.
All bets are off, however, if the covenant is
broken. And who broke the covenant? Youre
right Maharaji did when he unceremoniously
disbanded the ashrams and threw most its residents
out on their asses without even an explanation.
That act was a most grievous violation of the
deeper agreement, signed at the
heart of your soul to use your words. He has
since denied that he ever presented himself as the
lord and, in his usual manner, has deflected any
and all responsibility for this tragedy onto
others. So, if hes no longer the lord, then
there is no longer any reason to exempt him from
the standards of civilized society. But no, he
wants it both ways. Well fuck him. He is a
hypocrite and that is what I have disclosed.
Finally, you claim that I have violated my
friendship with Maharaji because I even
revealed intimate details a friend in complete
trust to (me), told (me). I guess that
depends upon your definition of friendship. At one
point in my relationship with Maharaji, I believed
it was possible to know him as a friend. I vividly
remember a trip we took from Los Angeles to Miami
in August 1984. At the time, he did not have a
personal jet. The 707 had just been sold and we had
not yet secured the Lear 35 so we made the trip
together in First Class on Pan Am. At that time, he
was in the midst of his marriage difficulties and
was in a subdued and somber mood. Well into the
flight when we were both a little tipsy, he leaned
over to me and said that he hoped that we would
always remain friends even if I wasnt serving
him in any capacity. For years, I held onto that
possibility even long after we had parted company.
Im sure that is one of the main reasons I
didnt come forward with my revelations any
sooner than I did. But well over a decade passed
since I left, and I never heard a word from him.
Even his brother Raja Ji, whom I like very much,
has called me once or twice a year just to say
hello. When we were both in Berkeley a couple of
years ago we got together for lunch. To me, that is
how friends act even if they arent close
friends. Maharaji, on the other hand, is incapable
of friendship. I didnt fully appreciate it at
the time but his expression of friendship in 1984
had all the sincerity and commitment one can expect
from an alcoholic. Still I said nothing until I
became aware of the Jagdeo situation. His shameful
and cowardly behavior in this matter has superceded
any delusions of friendship I may have harbored and
I decided to come forward with my disclosures.
And if you think that the Jagdeo situation
isnt proof enough of his cowardice, let me
leave you with another disclosure to mull over this
holiday season. I dont know how many of you
are aware that Maharaji has killed a man. In the
early 80s, following a festival at the ashram
outside of New Delhi, India, Maharaji and his
motorcade were traveling from the ashram to the
airport to board the 707 for America. Maharaji was
driving the lead car and I was a passenger in the
front seat of the car directly behind his. All of a
sudden, I saw a man riding a bicycle pull out in
front of Maharajis car. Seconds later the man
went flying several yards into the ditch. He died
instantly. Randy Prouty, who was traveling as
security in Maharajis vehicle, frantically
ran to the car I was in and instructed all of us to
get out of the car and find a place in the other
vehicles that were part of the motorcade. Maharaji
and the people in his car quickly transferred to
the car I was in, and we all sped to the airport.
Sampurnanand stayed behind to deal with the
situation which he did by having his houseboy take
the rap. In the investigation that ensued, the
houseboy stated that he was the driver of the
vehicle who hit the unfortunate cyclist. That
explanation, plus a hefty cash settlement to the
victims family, enabled Maharaji to quickly
put the incident behind him so that he could get on
with the business of bringing peace, love and joy
to the rest of humanity.
Happy Holidays!!!
Michael
PS: I am leaving for a week to celebrate the
holidays with my family so I dont promise to
look in on the Forum or respond to questions in a
timely manner.
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