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terrenaut

Purushottam das was a good man, very well known, and most people will know the above is not true. By saying these things, it puts all your other 'facts' in jeopardy also.

terre

Yo, Terre, you are right ... I stand corrected! This forum should not be a place for gossip... could be a case of typing before thinking! :oops:

Hopefully, Purusottam has moved on to a better place and does not care what we type here, though... :wink:

Yes, Purushottam das was a good man, and I do not mean to disrepect the dead. I really did not mean anything malicious in those comments.

Some of what I said indeed was conjecture:

* That his show flopped: I am guessing that this had happened, because I did not see the show over the television airways (The rumor was that he was going to act a double role - twin brothers!) ... I do not mean this as an attack on his character... lots of TV shows flop!

* Dumped his wife: yes, this was a mean thing to say, I'll admit... I don't know the circumstances that led to the marriage breakdown. I think my intention was to point out the high rate of divorce within the cult. (I would like to further discuss this phenomenon in future posts.)

* Fell into disfavor with Sid: I do remember the comment about his heart being as hard as stone. (My long-term memory does work okay at times!) ... however, I'm sure Sid has said things like this about all his followers... ! However, hearing what Quotesman said about that strange episode with Kat, there may be some truth to this?

* Dressing up as a woman: yes, I did see this -- he was simply ACTING the part of a transsexual person to perform on the "JG Speaks" video lecture. (BTW - My intention was not imply that he is a transexual or a transvestite!)

---------------

Thanks, Quotesman, for the Wikipedia explanation of "gossip" ...

:D

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terrenaut
I agree that the order not to 'gossip' is a huge red flag. I have seen an innocent query "oh, where is so-and-so these days?" get blown up into a huge 'offense', when all people are doing is inquiring how their friends are doing.

"Not allowed to have friends ... having friends is so, well, materialistic! After all, Krishna is our only friend."[/color:52e16c7024]

The hyper-religious state of mind can produce all kinds of weird scenarios, in my opinion!

:(

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Dassi
Anyone remember the Phil Donohue Show?
Sidd tried to imitate his style in the first video attempts.
It was absolutely hilarious.
Sidd running around a crowd with a microphone.
Trouble is that the format was too egalitarian
and pluralistic for a Dominatrix Guru.

Yeh, I remember that. :lol:

When that didn't work, he tried to follow Oprah Winfrey's format - except most of the underlings had to sit on the floor. (Sometimes we had to sit on that floor for 3 hours or more, waiting for Sid to show up! - he was probably busy surfing???)

It is my impression that Sid was influenced by Oprah quite a lot, and the whole 'big money' scene. (Oprah also acquired a large tract of land in Hawaii, I believe) ... But can you imagine Oprah getting people to act phoney parts to ask questions, instead of interviewing the real people?

______________

I hear through the grapevine that Sid is working on another "How-to" book:

[b:92ce76c844]How to use other people's money to get your oceanfront dream homes[/b:92ce76c844]

:D

Since my hope is that people in SIF or even JG himself is reading some of this, I would like to discuss the homophobia running rampant. From my viewpoint, it seems to be contrary to the basic teachings of 'respect for the struggling spirit soul' and the 'all respects to you, spirit soul' that we all toss about casually. (namaste).

Anyway, I find the constant references to homosexuality really disturbing. On every lecture tape it seems to come up, in graphic and disturbing detail, for what purpose? to shock and offend? why is homosexuality singled out as the prime offense in the material world? Are there no other problems out there? Why are young kids being encouraged to think in terms of hate, in the instance of homosexuality in particular?

It also occurred to me, as I listened, that NO WAY could i share any of these tapes with a non-devotee, and in fact, I was ashamed of them. I cannot defend my spiritual master when he spews hate speak like this.

Comments?

terre

Its nice to see so much activity from you posters of late!

I think a lot of the recent posts are good-natured humor combined with some venting.

After all, when we were in the cult, we could not poke fun at the spiritual master. We were not supposed to engage in any activity that was not pleasing to Krishna and really only JG knew was was pleasing to Krishna.

Hence, guilt trips and repression. Go to a movie - feel guilty. Wanna read a certain book, wait, that is not on the "approved reading list". CANNOT speak about the project I'm working on.

It is a real relief for many of us to be free from this repression. Does this mean we are running wild and going crazy? No, we are listening to our hearts and doing what we feel is right.

To merely pass us off as demoniac is being dangerously judgemental. You simply do NOT know what is in my heart. Only God knows. Its between me and him.

Hoax108 said:

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Hence, guilt trips and repression. Go to a movie - feel guilty. Wanna read a certain book, wait, that is not on the "approved reading list". CANNOT speak about the project I'm working on.

yeah, what's up with that? Why not know what others are doing for 'the cause' ? shouldnt we be happy we are all working on stuff that is bringing people to Krishna? I do not understand the need for secrecy, and all that does is make a person suspicious.

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It is a real relief for many of us to be free from this repression. Does this mean we are running wild and going crazy? No, we are listening to our hearts and doing what we feel is right.

What is your spiritual life like now?

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To merely pass us off as demoniac is being dangerously judgemental. You simply do NOT know what is in my heart. Only God knows. Its between me and him.

We are told not to judge others, but always feel judged. So who is doing the judging?

:?

I do not believe anyone is demoniac when engaged in sincere questioning, and trying to make sense of strange events. After all, we wouldnt be doing it at all, if we hadn't been trying to have a spiritual life in the first place.

i agree that most of the posters here have engaged in good-natured fun-poking (or whatever you call it). Obviously I am uncomfortable, since i am still 'in', and dont want to cross any lines. Oh hell, I probably already have.

Hey Terrenaut,

Thanks for reading my post. The secrecy and everyone watching each other etc. is all characteristic behaviour in a cult.

Follow this link and do your own analysis:

[www.culteducation.com]

Regarding my spiritual lfe now. I am embracing Christianity as I have always had a real attraction to Christ. I feel relieved at having left the cult but I don't think I've made any real spiritual progress. But I am aware of the things I would like to work on, the sins and temptations that I would like to put behind me.

I do have hope and willingness to pray and work on myself. But why do I want to engage in spiritual life? I just want to feel good about myself, that I am trying to serve others. I want to feel a sense of purpose, of belonging. I no longer wish to feel anxiety, doubt, regret, impatient, and often angry.

I want to feel peaceful and joyful and be a good example for others. I realized that I didn't think I was going to achieve this through following JG.

I could talk a bit about why I choose to try to follow Christ but I am NOT here to preach.

Regarding judging: the cult has a very judgemental attitude. Look at the homophobia.

Regarding questioning: you are not supposed to question anyone, especially not JG. Just do as you're told. Typical cult behaviour - look at the warning signs from the link above.

Listen to and follow your heart.

"I listen to the wind
To the wind of my soul.
Where it takes me well I think
Only God really knows."
-Cat Stevens

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terrenaut
It also occurred to me, as I listened, that NO WAY could i share any of these tapes with a non-devotee, and in fact, I was ashamed of them. I cannot defend my spiritual master when he spews hate speak like this.

Comments?

A lot of us who were "initiated" were asked to put on programs
in our neck of the woods.
This meant that we serve cookies,
play a few chords on the guitar, give a talk,
get people to chant.
No videos when I did this - only audio tapes.
Awful audio tapes...
...Sidd putting down old people, Christians, Bhuddhists.
This predates the homo-phobo-robot stuff.
People would walk out of my classes after hearing a tape.
Happened a few times.
I thought it was my singing and guitar playing
or gritty, healthy cookies!
Nope. It was Sidd's nasty world view.

So what made us comply?
What made us continue to believe he was so holy
when clearly he was not?

From any angle you look, he's off.
Something for everyone!

Krishna bros find severe deviations from the original traditions and philosophy.
Atheists find unethical and criminal meddling in politics.
Gay folks find unadulterated bigotry.
Christians and other religious folk find all kinds of theological perversions.
Spiritual people find Universal Laws broken.
Psychologists find a disturbing and destructive cult.
Regular Joe's just roll their eyes and shake their heads....

[b:f9a5c4bcfe]SO WHY DID WE COMPLY!?[/b:f9a5c4bcfe][/color:f9a5c4bcfe][/size:f9a5c4bcfe]

Wow it it really great to see the new posters. Welcome all!!! I do not have time to respond in full now to the different posts as I am preparing for a day trip with friends. But I just wanted say quickly. For myself I really have no regrets that once upon a time I complied. I learned much from my compliance. It has helped me to help others NOT comply with things that are so diametrically opposed to anything spiritual. If I had not been there I would not have the perspective I have today. I got a lemon and now it is time to make lemonaide. I will talk later. Gotta go now.