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Having left in the
last few years, I am still privy to a lot of the
premie undercurrents in the community.
My friends who are still in the cult will tell me
things, especially complaints, that they won't
voice in other places in the cult.
My take on things is this:
There are of course the church ladies, the true
believers, although even some of them are getting a
little impatient and wary of some of the new,
everchanging 'agya'.
But they are still regular church goers, attend
guru worship servies somewhat regularly, and tithe
to soothe the little voice which says 'But just
suppose he really is who he says he is in India
& amaroo? A few bucks a week keeps me covered
just in case he is the lord'.
And of course, every community has it's
'Industrial Strength Church Ladies' who will go to
the grave pranaming while singing arti and hunting
and pecking for scraps of 'bog prasad' and a quick
glimpse of the lotus toes.
Ira Woods once said that the faith a premie needs
to have is something like this: If maharaji makes a
public announcement that he's not the perfect
master, and is a total fraud, you would still have
the faith and experience to keep on practicing.
Oh well, Ira will have his plot next to the
captains on the sacred burial site with the
kangaroos and wallabees and billibongs...
So, we have 'ISCL's' who will be there until the
end. A few in each community, almost always tied
into some 'special connection' to either the
physical or personal scene around the captain, with
hopes of some personal time with 'you know who',
and experiencing 'you know what'.
Down from that,regular old church ladies. There is
an increasing, although respectfully quiet
undercurrent amongst many of the church gals that
things are getting a bit ridiculous at this point,
and that perhaps something is not all it once was
in premieville, usa.
I think the 'Little boy who cried wolf' syndrome is
setting in on them, although it is only talked
about in hushed whispers or after a few beers.
Money is still donated, but the eyebrows are
raising and shoulders shrugging. Some complaints
have been heard about the captains singing and
filmmaking skills and more than one church lady has
remarked that m should stay with the day job, and
also get his family out of the way. It's really
starting to look like the Osmond family meets Jim
and Tammy at the glass cathedral with Dr. Schuller
on acid or something like that.
(What should be noted here is that the blame for
anything weird or just plain wrong,ie.unethical, is
still ALWAYS laid at the feet of EV, and not the
feet of 'you know who'.)
M is clever, but unfortunately for him, the epo
site is more subtle and more clever. Too many
people have seen and heard too much of the same old
song, and the internet is quite a tool. I guess
that the guru who lives by technology, dies by
technology.
Elsewhere in the community the 'regulars' attend
once every week or two, throw in a few bucks, and
wait for the next 'announcement', although I sense
that the spirit is definitely cooling off on going
all over the globe to listen to new age fluff for
45 minutes with videos of flowers and clouds....
even catching a flight to another city is also
being weighed against more practical realities.
The final stage has arrived: the onset of the
paralysis has set in, manifesting as some sort of
vapid digital new age feel good religion.
Nothing is said, beyone 'have a nice spiritual
day'...no great claims, except for once in awhile
when m still admonishes and reminds the faithful
about who he 'probably is, or at least could be',
of course masked behind some silly statement that
allows him a plausible escape hatch to squirm out
of.
Quoting Kabir about devotion is a perfect example.
Of course m is telling the faithful what they
should be doing and feeling, while at the same time
he can always make it look like he's just quoting
some Indian saint to the new person. He can also
say that HE never said that stuff, that Kabir did.
Of course, he didn't mean it entirely literally
(while performing the 5th technique-tongue in
cheek).
Playing the instrumental version of arti or some
old tear jerker from one foundation is another
perfect example. To the new premie or aspirant,it
just sounds like new age elevator music, but to the
old time premie it's a subtle, yet very powerful
reminder that he 'is who he is', just between you
and him though.
It all gets sillier and sillier.
A 30 year old paradigm is dissolving before our
eyes.
It is a fine time to be on the lifeboats with dry
land firmly in sight, as the captain and the
orchestra play on, the good ship maharaji going
down, and the church ladies are rearranging the
deck chairs to get the best view of a sinking ship
that still vows to go on.
Thank god for the internet and the human
conscience.
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