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Date Posted: 09:13:13 07/05/02 Fri
Author: Paul Strom
Subject: Re: the free exchange of ideas
In reply to: Ian 's message, "Re: the free exchange of ideas" on 14:07:23 07/04/02 Thu

I have to agree. Hi Tarak, this is Paul (Pratul). I haven't posted in a while. What you said is true. The anti-authoritarian reaction you got is appropriate for someone whose boundaries have been seriously violated and is sensitive to anyone speaking from a point of strength. The difference between what you said and what Ghose says is your statement empowers a person. An important lesson I learned from the Ghose experience is not to give myself away to someone just because they spoke something true. Ghose encouraged enslavement to himself by dangling truths in front of us, getting us to bite, and then deliberately reeling us in. But not everyone saying something true is trying to deliberately trap or ensnare people. It is possible to hear truth without giving yourself away to the truth speaker. In fact, I think it is really important to learn to be able to do that. There wasn't anything inherantly wrong with some of what Ghose said as much of it was lifted right from Standard Eastern Spirituality 101. What was wrong was that he used it to promote spiritual slavery. We bought into this because we didn't know any better, but he knew exactly what he was doing.

If someone speaks powerfully, and you find yourself being swayed by what they are saying, such that you doubt yourself, the problem isn't that the speaker is doing something wrong. The problem is that in hearing it, you're giving yourself away to them. When this board first went up many months ago an Yahoo, there was a strong backlash against anybody saying anything coming from a point of wisdom or truth, so much so that many people simply stopped posting anything. But just as anger, outrage, confusion and pain are appropriate offerings, so are perspective, wisdom, and subsequent experiences. We need to be able to listen to each other without feeling threatened by what another person is saying. Nobody here is trying to get disciples.

Paul


>Great to hear from you Tarak and a nicely worded piece.
>Pat is way off track. We don't want to go back to the
>time of 4 months ago when every new person who
>expressed their own thoughts was attacked. Sounds like
>the same person who used to do that has come on again.
>I found your message to be right on target and I am
>delighted to have made contact with you again. We
>worked together after one of your great runs to get
>some good media attention. Perhaps we can do the same
>thing again to make the world aware of the
>intimidation, abuse and manipulation you spoke about.
>Ian (Syandan)
>
>>One only fears the free exchange of ideas when there
>>is something to hide. One only prohibits doubt when
>>one knows one can not stand up to scrutiny. One only
>>discourages the use of the mind when one is afraid of
>>rational, intelligent thought and when one is seeking
>>automatic thoughtless acceptance of very limited,
>>narrow and irrational ideas. The refusal to look at
>>and examine other facts, ideas and opinions is nothing
>>but head in the sand, abject spiritual cowardice.
>>Besides the sexual allegations, which I find very
>>plausible to say the least, I long ago found serious
>>limitations and flaws in Chinmoy's path and philosophy
>>not to mention his style of control, coertion and
>>manipulation. When I left the centre I had no "sour
>>grapes" - I had been treated fairly well, I was one of
>>the relatively in group of disciples but I had seen
>>some serious cracks in "the golden boat" and as I
>>reflected more upon them from my new vantage point
>>outside the centre where it was easier to get clear,
>>the cracks became huge fissures. I feel very lucky to
>>have gotten out when I did. And strangely enough my
>>spiritual life did not fall apart, mainly because it
>>was never soley dependant on Chinmoy. I won't call him
>>Sri because that's a title of respect and by now I
>>have lost whatever little bit that remained. I have to
>>say I have found legitimate paths to truth to be as
>>different from his as night and day.
>> - the Colonel (Tarak)

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