The Maharishi

[poliphilo]

Can a saint have friends?

I ask because I've been googling the Maharishi and all I'm getting is received wisdom- an outline biography- heavy on his relationship with the Beatles- and an assessment of his achievement which always comes out the same- 50% of this and 50% of the other.  There's nothing personal. Deepak Chopra comes closest- he says the man could be grouchy and childlike but great souls are unknowable because their personalities are all but wiped out by the divine presence within. But I don't trust Chopra- he's in the same line of business and it's in his interests to big up a fellow guru.

You chose this way of life and- on the principle that no man is a hero to his valet- you can't allow anyone too close. The Beatles lost it with Maharishi when they were told he'd been cuddling up to Mia Farrow in a cave- but did that really happen? The story was put about by Beatles courtier "Magic" Alex Mardas- a man not noted for reliability-  and has never been confirmed by Farrow herself. Maybe she- ahem- got hold of the wrong end of the stick. As with that other incident in a cave in Forster's Passage To India it seems like we'll never know the truth.

What we do know is that Maharishi made a lot of money.  Jiddhu Krishnamurti, travelling on the same plane as the him, grumbled to his companion that he'd like to see "that chap's bank balance". Which was rather rich seeing how Krishnamurti ran a parallel operation and was similarly dependent on "the parish of rich women".  Maybe the Maharishi spent his money on world peace and stuff like that and lived in monkish austerity himself. Maybe.

Todays most famous TMers are David Lynch and Clint Eastwood. What does that tell us? That the technique appeals to rich, powerful, self-willed Californians- and a better class of rich, powerful, self-willed Californians than the ones that fall for Scientology.  Meditation is a good thing in itself- no problems there- but the Maharishi's special little add-ons- like yogic flying (bouncing up and down on a bed in the lotus position)- are just silly and deluded, right?

These people happen. Maybe it's because I was brought up as a Christian, but I feel instinctively that they ought to wind up on a cross instead of at the head of a business empire. Get close and you usually find there's stuff going on that's hard to equate with the image of sanctity. Krishnamurti, for instance- while preaching chastity- was actually conducting a long and arguably abusive relationship with his best friend's wife. Like I said at the beginning, saints are better off without friends. 

A jolly, little man, charismatic (obviously), giggly, authoritarian, fond of the limelight- who was he really? 

God knows.

Comments

[arielstarshadow.livejournal.com]

I think saints can have friends - and I even think they can have money. It's when you can't see where the money is going, and when you hear about the fee for learning TM was $2,000+ that I start to get angry. Surely, if TM really was so life-changing, and so good for people, you would teach it for free, and ask those you taught that if they wanted to make a donation for x reason or y cause, that would be wonderful?

There are people who say real psychics and tarot readers shouldn't charge for their readings and such, because it's not "right." I don't see anything wrong with someone being paid for their time when they are providing a service. It's when being paid a fair wage turns into bilking people that I get mad.

[halfmoon-mollie.livejournal.com]

I was always taught that especially when it comes to tarot reading and psychic stuff, being paid insulted the place from where your talent came. But you know, a minister may not get paid a huge salary but a minister DOES get a salary. And that is supposedly a Divine Gift as well, being able to 'minister'.

I think the problem here is exactly as you say - the human part of it. A fair wage turned to bilking, indeed.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Here's my experience for what it's worth.

We were really hard up and we turned to Tarot reading to make a bit of spare cash. Our situation improved and as soon as that happened our ability to read the cards with any confidence evaporated and we had to give it up....

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

"A labourer is worthy of his hire." That's St. Paul (I think).

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

Can a saint have friends?

But also, are your friends first in the queue to give soundbites about you after your death?

[msjann65.livejournal.com]

I remember when the Maharishi first made news in the USA. I said then, "Hmm a new 'Yogi-of-the-year'," because there were so many of them from the 1950's and on! The 60's was the decade of cults, and his was only one of many, albeit different in that instead of self denial he preached joy, and so attracted an enormous following.

[senordildo.livejournal.com]

He seems to have been a big-time starfucker: after the Beatles gave up the Maharishi he teamed up with the Beach Boys (at the behest of the odious Mike Love), who even wrote a song called "Transcendental Meditation" (one of the worst ever written). This would confirm your "rich, powerful, self-willed Californians" thesis.
There's also John Lennon's anecdote about leaving India: "I was the spokesman, as usual, and said: 'We're leaving!' He asked why and I said, 'Well, if you're so cosmic, you'll know why.' He and his right-hand men were always intimating that he did miracles. The Maharishi gave me a look that said, 'I'll kill you, you bastard!'"

[zoe-1418.livejournal.com]

My friend Geoff Gilpin has written a book (it's been out for more than a year now) about the Maharishi, called "The Maharishi Effect." Geoff was a follower back in the 70s, and a few years ago he revisited the school/institute/whatever it's called now and got in touch with a lot of the folks he'd known back then... and wrote a powerful account of it.... he's being interviewed on NPR today (I'm fuzzy on the details, but they're probably googlable).

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

That's a very good point.

One of the few celebs to weigh in with a personal tribute is dear old Ringo- who apparently came home early from the Beatles' Indian trip because he "missed the egg and chips".

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Which may be why Lennon's attack on the Maharishi- Sexy Sadie- is written in code. I read somewhere that he was afraid the old boy would hoodoo him.

Come to think of it, perhaps he did.....

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'll follow this up. I'd like to know more.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Krishnamurti was the one who appealed to me. I now think he was a bit of a psychopath.

You can listen to the show here...

[zoe-1418.livejournal.com]

...later today (they say "by 3:30 p.m. ET" -- they're in boston):

http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2008/02/20080207_b_main.asp

[algabal.livejournal.com]

There's a book on a number of such saintly-types (including Krishnamurti), entitled "Madame Blavatsky's Baboon," that is really quite devastating. I was heavily into Gurdjieff for a while, and that book at least partially cured me of it. There is certainly a common strain of greed and abusiveness in all of these spiritual "leaders."

[msjann65.livejournal.com]

We studied Krishnamurti in college - a philosopher, wasnt he? Not really a guru...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

He hated to be called a guru, but he set up a foundation and expected people to sit at his feet and didn't exactly discourage those who wanted to see him as a divine avatar- all of which sounds very much like the behaviour of a guru to me.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, I've read it. Brilliant and very funny. I lent my copy to my son and never got it back.

Re: You can listen to the show here...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

That's a very interesting and informative programme.

I liked the idea of TM being the MacDonalds of spirituality.

[(Anonymous)]

As far as I'm aware, Krishnamurti never publicly preached chastity, and never claimed to be celibate. One would be hard pressed to show he ever preached anything. He wasn't an evangelist.

It is true that Krishnamurti and the Maharishi were on the same flight on November 7, 1974, but I cannot find a reliable source for your claim that Krishnamurti said he would like to see the Maharishi's bank account.
According to biographer Mary Lutyens, they did have a few words, but the conversation ended quickly, since Krishnamurti rejected all systems of meditation and had no use for gurus.

Krishnamurti did have a lengthy affair with his closest friend's wife, but it was not abusive and only began after her husband said he would have nothing further to do with her sexually after the birth of their only child.

Ken

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

You're right, I was writing loosely. K wasn't a preacher (exactly). And no, I don't suppose he ever claimed to be celibate- though I think most of his followers assumed he was.

What I know about the affair is third hand. I remember the writer saying that K insisted on his mistress having abortions to protect his standing and reputation- which seems rather iffy to me. Of course the two first hand winesses to the affair- and the only people who really knew what was going on- are both dead.

I can't say where that story about K and the Maharishi came from. I thought it was from Lutyens. I've certainly read it somewhere.