Here I want to discuss a phenomenon which appears to occur world wide.
Purely and simply,
satsangies do not treat each other very nicely. Let's look at
a few examples:
1. The "Science of the Soul Study Center" in North Carolina put out
a call for help to do
work (for free, of course) at the center. Some satsangies from
the West Coast answered
the call and were told to come right over. So they drove all
the way to North Carolina
but when they got there someone met them at the front (gate or whatever)
and told them
they did not need any more help and that they must leave.
So here they are stranded
in a strange place where they don't know anyone and they had to turn
around and go home.
I know this story because - on the way back to the West Coast - they
stopped at our local
satsang where they related their story.
2. Again, the study center in North Carolina: I want to
quote from the information
sheet they circulated when Gurinder Singh visited there in August,
1997. These are
instructions for people attending:
"Baba Ji (Gurinder Singh) has specifically asked that satsangis treat
the hotel
and its property well...Do not take the towels...Do not misuse the
towels"
Now I can't quite figure out how you can "misuse" a towel. Let's
just think
for a moment. This is supposed to be a path for mature adults
who, additionally,
are studying spiritual matters - and you have to make a point to tell
them not to
steal towels from the hotel. Think - have you ever received an
instruction sheet
for a convention in the business world where they tell you stuff like
"abusing a
towel". It would be different if this was for school kids going
on a field trip or
something but this is ridiculous. They just can't resist taking
little "jabs" at you.
3. In England they have also built a center which is called "Hayne Park"
(I am not
sure of the spelling). At any rate one of my friends in England
reports this story:
They put out a call for help to do stuff at the center. He volunteered
but soon found
that everyone was fighting with each other and trying to "boss people
around".
Typically one satsangi will say "they have orders from the master"
and then start
ordering other satsangies to obey them. At any rate, it go so
bad that he had
had enough and told them he was leaving. At this point he was
stopped and
told he "was not allowed to leave" - that when he said he would volunteer
(for free,
of course) he had "made a contract with them" and so must stay.
He agreed to
stay and "fulfill his contract". After he left, he had a heart
attack and later his
business dealings went downhill. When I got his e-mail saying
"The Master decided
I needed a heart attack" I remembered the threats that were made by
the "official
speaker" which I have discussed elsewhere (Evolution of Satsang) where
he said
anyone who was disobedient would suffer disease and financial ruin.
Even though
my friend submitted and did his slave labor, apparently just the attempt
he made
to disobey was enough to punish him.
4. Again to the center in England. They put out a call for help.
Another friend
and his wife (both satsangies) wanted to help. My friend was
told that he
"had permission to volunteer" (to work for free) but that his wife
was "tainted
with sin" because she worked at a fish and chips and therefore would
not be
allowed on the grounds of the center. Now in the real world if
you insulted
someone's wife like that you would probably find yourself knocked out
cold
on the ground, but once brainwashed with RS propaganda apparently you
just
accept things like this. At any rate, he volunteered and one
of his jobs was
to guard the locked door which leads to the secret room where a computer
is installed which is used by Gurinder Singh when he visits.
The room is
apparently guarded around the clock.