MAHARISHI MAHEST YOGI: Reflections on a Cult Leader Transmuting inconsistency into shibboleth this man trademarked "enlightenment" and sold mantras like hamburgers in market-efficient ways Seated on a deer-skin throne surrounded by white silken sheets he learned how really wonderful it was to market "reality" Twisting Shiva's dance into pseudo-science he saw spiritual aspirants as business clients While videos rolled and cameras clicked this guru mesmerized audiences into paying big bucks for bliss An-Yi: Was Maharishi an awakened sage or skilled charlatan? Chariya: I am not in a position to evaluate who is enlightened or ignorant. In fact, I'm not sure any human is. Bhäraté: Must this be an "either-or" scenario? Isn't it possible to be enlightened in some ways, yet foolish in others? Daiki: Actually, the issue is not enlightenment, but marketing. If you want money or fame, it is necessary to market some sort of fiction. That's what politicians and gurus and preachers do: sell fictions. An-Yi: Agreed. Naked truth is seldom a good-selling product. There are too many unpleasant things about existence most people would prefer to ignore. Chariya: Yep! And perhaps we need fictions to live because truth itself is incomprehensible. Often it seems as if human brain is designed to handle small fictions, not cosmic truths. Those claiming 'cosmic truths' are too often arrogant and deluded. ===================================================================================== from _Pan-Asian Pulses: Poetry, Art, and Dialogs about Asia_ by T Newfields SUMMARY: A poem about an Indian guru and dialog about cult leadership and sincerity. KEYWORDS: 1918 births, Mahesh Yogi, Indian gurus, 2008 deaths, fictionalization Author: T Newfields [Nitta Hirou / Huáng Yuèwǔ] (b. 1955) Begun: 1980 in Port Angeles, WA, USA ≜ Finished: 2018 in Yokohama, Japan Creative Commons License: Attribution. {{CC-BY-4.0}} Granted < LAST https://www.tnewfields.info/BambooGroves/cult.htm TOC https://www.tnewfields.info/BambooGroves/index.html NEXT > https://www.tnewfields.info/BambooGroves/shiva.htm TRANSLATIONS ESPAÑOL: https://www.tnewfields.info/es/yogui.htm FRANÇAIS: https://www.tnewfields.info/fr/mmy.htm NIHONGO: https://www.tnewfields.info/jp/yogi.htm ZHŌNGWÉN: https://www.tnewfields.info/zh/yujiashi.htm