My significant other specifically requested that I not go to another event, especially this one in Miami Beach, April 18-20, 2003.  But, I wanted to go Miami, not for the "wit and wisdom," but to bask on a sunlit beach while she stews inside a dimly lit hall. When I expressed my desire to go to the beach, not the event, she bought me an event ticket and registered me against my will.

The weekend before the event, the phone rang.  Apparently, my name is on a list of questionables.  After giving some references and discussing my situation, the security people decided I did not pose a threat to a tightly-organized event. I agreed that I was an aspirant actively seeking Knowledge. It seemed like a small price to pay for not ruining our vacation plan.

Upon driving 800 miles and arriving at the Miami Convention Center's registration room, we could not register: in the print-out books, both our names had "Do Not Admit-MAR" next to them.  If a refund was forthcoming, I would not object to being refused admission, but, for my partner, that would be a travesty. She is extremely devout in practicing, defending, and enjoying her Knowledge, as long as me or cats don't disturb her. For me, it would have been a blessing, but, for her, cruelty to not admit her.

The security people verified she had knowledge, and assessed that I wasn't a threat. Our arms were banded and tickets handed to us.

Having registered early, our seats were somewhat enviable.  The stage was perhaps half a city block away.  As we waited, a woman appeared in the aisle and motioned to sit next to me. Obliging her, as she past, it was noticeable how many coats she had. She explained she took a bus from Minneapolis. I asked her where she was staying. She answered she had not arranged anything. She had no front teeth, and she was eating an apple.  This person seemed very messed up, but I didn't want to harm her with my skepticism. As we sat waiting, she spilled her life story that she began in the 1970's at an event.  She named her kids after Maharaji.  This stranger asked me for help during the lecture, but moreover, kind of cozied up to me in a way that made me wonder if I had time warped back to a Blue Oyster Cult concert. Just as I was about to inquire if she had lived in an ashram, Maharaji appeared. As everybody stood in ovation, this unfortunate woman momentarily sat and wept before standing up and applauding raucously with the 7000 other attendees.

During the first half of the initial lecture, she kept on jabbing me, wanting to communicate.  In retrospect, I wish I had attempted to help her more. I felt sorry for her.  But, instead, we, along with everyone around us, pretended to ignore her. I squeezed closer to my partner to give this somewhat deranged woman more space. Midway through the lecture, she poked me and, with an urgent expression, said she needed to move. We let her out. When she proceeded to dance in the aisles to music only she heard, she was grabbed and summarily whisked away by non-uniformed Security personnel.

There were so many images like the one described above at the event. But, my reason for writing about it stems from the dialogue that occurred afterward between me and my partner, who rejected outright my contention that this stranger was the result of the Divine Light Mission's ashram days.  In fact, my partner completely divorced Maharaji from any accountability, and lumped me in with the disturbed woman as "crazy." True, the sixties and early seventies depicted many Americans' lives as disrupted.  But, my contention that Maharaji had some implication in ruining this person's life really disturbed my partner, and led to a very heated debate.

In re-reading some of the aspects that make a cult, one is the belief that the leader can do no wrong. By attacking my credibility and discounting me as crazy, my partner's conscious belief about Maharaji remains unscathed. We didn't see the woman from Minneapolis again, but her presence remained within me throughout the event.  In her, I could see the reason for why it is so crucial to tell the truth about Maharaji, as exemplified on ex-premie.org.