Maharishi & Me

by Susan Shumsky

Spirit wants us to expand beyond our ego box. So we’re given demanding challenges that dismantle previous boundaries. As we take leaps of faith, we realize either God will catch us … or we have to learn how to fly—really fast! The leap becomes easier every time, and we’re lifted higher. By listening to our “still small Voice,” trusting its guidance, and following it with faith, miracles become commonplace.

  My publisher was having problems—cutbacks in staff and budget. Advertising and promotion planned for Divine Revelation were canceled. There was only one solution. I had to promote the book myself. As the book neared publication, I was recovering from a serious leg injury. I felt more than a little anxiety and apprehension. I wanted to travel to promote my book, but didn’t have confidence or courage.

  Another small detail—I was broke.

  Spirit guided me to plan an extensive book tour—bookstore signings, conference lectures, expo booths, and media interviews. This tour would cost tens of thousands of dollars.

  I sold my trailer and pickup, bought a used Ford cargo van with borrowed money, and set out on the road, where I found uncanny support and assistance everywhere. Little miracles occurred daily. Synchronous coincidences that weren’t really coincidental placed me in the right place at the right time doing the right thing when the right people showed up.

  Whenever I asked Spirit for guidance, I received messages to invest in more promotional endeavors. I told Spirit, “Okay, God. I don’t know how to make this happen. If you really want it, then please Show Me The Money!”

  This simple prayer worked.

  I started with no money. Yet I traveled worldwide and taught thousands of people, just by trusting and following inner guidance. Whenever I needed money, the right amount appeared through following Spirit’s suggestions—even seemingly crazy ones, such as holding spiritual retreats that I didn’t know would succeed. I was blessed and supported more than I could have imagined. I felt such gratitude to God for blessings I received.

  1990, New York City: I am teaching Divine Revelation and demonstrating “Brain Gym” at The Learning Annex.

  Madly dashing about the country to lecture several times a week was both exhausting and thrilling. Whenever I arrived at my destination, I closed my eyes, took deep breaths, and spoke a healing prayer. I asked Spirit to fill me with divine love and light, which lifted all stress and depletion. Light filled my body and love vibrated through my mind. Waves of peace and relaxation coursed through me. Within five minutes, I was entirely refreshed and invigorated, simply by opening my heart to Spirit.

  That’s the magic of prayer. That’s the miracle of Divine Revelation.

  I attempted to present a well-dressed, professional persona, like I was staying in hotels and jet-setting in airplanes. But I slept in a van, showered at truck stops, strained to use a small mirror while applying makeup, and contorted into a medley of pretzel positions to change clothes. The gypsy-free-spirit-wandering-on-the-road prophet was occasionally invited to stay in someone’s home. That was always a relief.

  When I arrived in south Florida, I drove to the only truck stop near Miami—the worst I’d ever encountered, in a rundown neighborhood. The filthy showers trickled streams of lukewarm water. I wasn’t looking forward to sleeping there after my appearance at a Borders bookstore in Aventura.

  As I was signing books after my lecture, an unexpected friend appeared. “Please sign a book for me.” It was the jewelry manufacturer Sam Ziefer, my former jewelry design client.

  “Where did you hear about my lecture?” I asked.

  “I didn’t,” Sam replied.

  “Do you come to this Borders bookstore often?”

  “Never. I’ve never been here before!” he said.

  “But how—”

  “I was at home,” he said. “Suddenly I got an irresistible urge to buy a particular CD for my daughter for Hanukkah. I went to the mall to buy the CD, but the store was already closed. So I decided to stop by Borders and buy the CD here.”

  “That’s amazing. What a coincidence,” I said.

  “Where are you staying?” Sam asked.

  “At the truck stop. I sleep in my van.”

  “No, you won’t. You’ll come and stay with my family. This seems to be more than synchronicity. It’s miraculous,” Sam said.

  “Miracles, miracles. Everyday miracles,” I said. “God provides. Thank you!”

  I ended up staying in Sam’s luxurious gated home on a beautiful pond with his lovely wife and children.

  Since 1969, when I first set foot in India, I dreamed about Maha Kumbh Mela (“great festival of the pot of immortal nectar”), a Hindu religious festival in Allahabad that recurs every twelve years. At the holiest bathing spot in India, where the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati rivers meet, adepts and aspirants, saints and seekers, holy men and women, seers, sages, and swamis assemble for ritual bathing at the auspicious moment.

  But this one was special. A powerful planetary alignment would occur in January 2001—a nexus of cosmic energy converging every 144 years, bringing dramatic changes to human destiny. Spirit guided me to bring a tour group to the fair. Yet how? I knew nothing about arranging overseas tours, let alone to India.

  With blind faith, following inner guidance, I found an Indian travel partner on the Internet. My inner Voice said I could trust Amit Sharma, he would not steal my money, and everything would go splendidly. I advertised the tour, booked participants, and sent bank wire transfers for thousands of dollars to a stranger on the other side of the world.

  A staggering 100 million people attended the 2001 Kumbh—the “greatest recorded number of human beings assembled with a common purpose,” according to Guinness Book of Records. In a profound act of faith, pilgrims converged from every corner of India. The mélange of pilgrims, holy people, half-beggars, half-bandits, and ash-smeared dreadlocked naked sadhus exhibited an exotic display, unique in the world.

  We sampled a spiritual smorgasbord, wandering among thirty square miles of giant tents sponsored by religious organizations, topped with colorful flags and cloth towers. At night tents lit up like carnival rides, while competing drones of Sanskrit chants and religious musicals blared from thousands of loudspeakers. A dreamlike, surrealistic quality imbued the atmosphere.

  Incredibly, when I met Amit, I discovered he’d arranged several group tours for a TM meditator/ Vedic astrologer I knew. What were the odds? Plus, ever the saint magnet, during the event I gained unusually close access to great saints that never granted audiences to anyone from the West.

  Since this first tour to Kumbh Mela, Spirit has guided me to a joyous livelihood as a tour organizer to sacred destinations, spiritual retreats, and conferences on land and cruise ships. My travel website is www.divinetravels.com.

  Thank you, wonderful God!

  These miraculous incidents are just samples of thousands I’ve enjoyed since starting to trust and follow the inner Voice of Spirit decades ago. Indeed, I live a charmed life. I’m grateful for every precious moment and every spiritual blessing. Always and ever, God is here whenever I call. The essence of Divine Revelation is summarized in one statement: “Ask, and it shall be given you.”266

  27

  HOW TO SPOT AN ENLIGHTENED MASTER

  When a calf approaches its mother, the milk begins to flow from her udder, ready for the calf to drink without effort. Such is the glory of devotion and faith in a disciple. He surrenders at the feet of the Master and cuts short the long path of evolution.

  —MAHARISHI MAHESH YOGI

  A man searched the world for his perfect guru. But he only found selfish, mean, deceiving fools and madmen. After years of seeking, he found one who fulfilled all his expectations. A friend asked, “What made you decide he was perfect?”

  He replied, “After talking to him, I came to that conclusion.”

  “What did he say?” his friend asked.

  “Well, he told me I was the most perfect, highly evolved disciple in the world!”

  Kabir was a
famed Indian fifteenth-century poet and saint. His devotees asked him who was a true disciple. Kabir called his son and foremost disciple, Kamal, and said, “I have dropped my spindle while weaving. Bring me a lamp so I can find it.” Though it was broad daylight, Kamal brought the lamp without hesitation.

  Kabir said, “Kamal, today many devotees will be coming for lunch. Please prepare some sweets and add a handful of salt to them.” Kamal complied unwaveringly.

  Then Kabir turned to his devotees and said, “Don’t you think Kamal knew my commands were ridiculous? But the moment you obey the guru’s commands without question, that moment meditation comes to you spontaneously and the Lord grants His darshan.”

  The great female saint Anandamayi Ma said, “Follow the guru’s instructions without arguing. As long as the reason of the individual is in power, how can the knots be undone?”267 “Carry out conscientiously the guru’s orders, which vary according to the temperament and predisposition of the aspirant. The average person can have no knowledge of the factors necessary to bring to completion the hitherto neglected facets of his being. Try to follow closely the path indicated by the guru, and see how everything just happens spontaneously.”268

  In 1990, David and Earl Kaplan founded the most profitable business in Fairfield, Books Are Fun, then sold it to Readers Digest for $380 million, and finally bought it back for $17.5 million in 2009. TM devotees for twenty-five years, the twin brothers donated over $150 million to the TM Movement.

  In 1993, the Kaplans purchased and developed “Heavenly Mountain” in Boone, North Carolina to house the “Spiritual Center of America” and Maharishi’s 350 Purusha and three hundred Mother Divine course participants. They spent $40 million erecting roads and buildings on 1261 acres. On the adjacent fifty-six hundred acres they founded a TM community. Many families moved there.

  David Kaplan had joined the Purusha course, so he lived on the property. In January and February 1999 he became ill and nearly died. Maharishi announced in April that anyone not “one-pointed” should leave Purusha. David claimed he quit Purusha because he’d been in love with Linda for a year, and when he got married, he was “kicked-out of the movement.”269 Though it was widely believed David was blacklisted for impregnating Linda while on Purusha, she claimed she got pregnant right after David left Purusha. They were married that September and divorced six years later.270

  David’s ousting (plus the TM Movement’s failure to make mortgage payments and pay property taxes) prompted the brothers to investigate Maharishi.

  The twins traveled to India and dug up rankling Swamis and Shankaracharyas who, since 1953, repeatedly fought bitter lawsuits in their bid to seize the coveted title Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math (Guru Dev’s office). Those Swamis recycled the same fantastic accusations churning for decades: Maharishi poisoning Guru Dev and stealing his shri yantra, a ruby-studded wealth-bestowing religious object.

  And hiding it … where? In his loincloth?

  In 2004, Earl Kaplan wrote: “Due to our findings I can no longer support or be associated with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, his ideas, his knowledge, or any of his organizations.”271 In 2005, the Kaplans evicted Purusha and Mother Divine from Heavenly Mountain. Homeowners filed lawsuits against the brothers for reneging on the promised TM community.

  In 2011, Heavenly Mountain’s west campus of 381 acres was auctioned off, with a reserve price of $2.48 million, to the highest bidder—Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of Art of Living Foundation. Coincidentally, in the 1980s, Ravi had served on Maharishi’s Staff as Sama Veda pundit, chanting Sanskrit verses in the ancient oral tradition.

  Ravi made some stunning claims: that he was Maharishi’s favorite disciple, that Maharishi predicted he would generate the new millennium’s spiritual revolution, that Maharishi wanted him to be a Shankaracharya, that all TM meditators will join his Art of Living organization, and that Ravi is none other than (drumroll) the reincarnation of Guru Dev!

  Ravi hijacked the Holy Tradition painting I designed and Frances Knight completed. Ravi substituted himself for Maharishi’s image and hung it in his Art of Living centers. Stunning! See www.divinerevelation.org/HolyTradition.html.

  Ravi ascribed himself “His Holiness Sri Sri” and claimed to hold an advanced science degree. Reality is he learned TM in Melkote, Karnataka, and attended an advanced course in Rishikesh. When Maharishi invited Ravi to Switzerland, he dropped out of school at age seventeen.

  Ravi helped Maharishi build his ashram in Noida, near Delhi, and in 1980 organized a celebration with six thousand pundits. But Ravi became ill, and his father brought him home to Bangalore (now Bengaluru). In 1985, Maharishi asked Ravi to gather students and teach Vedic chanting. Ravi’s father recruited 150 boys. When Maharishi asked Ravi to transfer the students to Noida, he refused. Maharishi never spoke with him again.

  Ravi claimed to be a “close disciple of Maharishi,” yet never became a TM teacher. He appeared at Maharishi’s cremation and placed himself prominently before the cameras on the global Internet feed.

  Maharishi’s comment about Ravi: “He is dangerous. Sugar-coated poison.”272

  After investigating Maharishi, the Kaplans hurled vicious verbal attacks. The ego will attack anything seeking to destroy it. Destroying the ego so the higher self can surface is what spiritual masters do. It’s Point 1 on their resume. Point 2 is driving disciples “out of their minds” so God can enter and truth can dawn.

  Amritananda Mayi (Ammachi), the female “hugging saint,” once said to a close disciple, “You have to get mad at me. I’m the ego-killer.”

  The night before Paramahansa Yogananda was initiated into Kriya Yoga, his guru Swami Yukteswar asked, “Will you love me unconditionally no matter what I do?” Yogananda replied, “Sir, what if I should ever find you less than a Christ-like master? Could I still love you the same way?” Yukteswar glared at him sternly and said, “I don’t want your love. It stinks.”273

  “Sri Yukteswar’s training cannot be described as other than drastic,” Yogananda wrote.274 He described his guru as a hypercritical perfectionist with no tolerance for shallowness or inconsistency. Though his blunt, sharp “flattening-to-the-ego treatment” was rough, Yogananda resolved to endure “the weight of his disciplinary hammer.”275

  Yukteswar said, “If you don’t like my words, you are at liberty to leave at any time.” “I want nothing from you but your own improvement.” “I am hard on those who come for my training. That is my way. Take it or leave it; I never compromise.” “I try to purify only in the fires of severity, searing beyond the average toleration.”276

  Maharishi was never this forthcoming about his methods, but he treated those of us who needed his cure with no less callousness. Still, many of Maharishi’s close devotees received no harsh treatment whatsoever.

  Yogananada wrote of his guru, “I am immeasurably grateful for the humbling blows he dealt my vanity. The hard core of egotism is difficult to dislodge except rudely. With its departure, the Divine finds at last an unobstructed channel.”277

  One day, upon entering Ramakrishna Paramahansa’s room, his disciple Narendra (who later became Swami Vivekananda) was ignored. Subsequent visits received the same icy treatment—for an entire month. When Ramakrishna declared, “I have not exchanged a single word with you all this time, and still you come,” Narendra replied, “I come to Dakshineswar because I love you and want to see you. I do not come here to hear your words.” Ramakrishna embraced his disciple and admitted he was testing him to see if he would stay, despite the outward indifference.”278

  Irina Tweedie, author of Chasm of Fire, said her teacher forced her to face the darkness within herself, “by using violent reproof, even aggression.” Her mind was kept in a state of continual confusion, unable to function. “I was beaten down in every sense,” she said.279 Her guru Radha Mohan Lal declared, “My harsh words help you, my sweetness never will.”280

  Bhagawan Nityananda of Ganeshpuri said, “There are various tests to which a devotee is subjected:
they could be of the mind or the intellect, of the body, and so on. In fact, God is conducting tests all the time; every occurrence in life is a test.”281

  I believe a spiritual master is a precious treasure. When we’re lucky to discover one, it’s wise to make the most of it. Without enlightened beings lifting humanity to higher consciousness, souls would be lost in suffering forever. That’s why in India gurus are revered as God.

  To perceive a true spiritual master, we must rise above our conditioning and see through eyes of unconditional love. Once we establish a link of divine love with faith and open heart, we don’t need convincing the guru is real. The flow of energy from guru to disciple begins, and we see reality through the master’s eyes.

  The Western ego, highly fearful and skeptical, dismisses spiritual masters as charlatans. We believe we shouldn’t give away our “power.” But unless we give away our so-called “power,” we’ll never become empowered. We hold on tightly to “power,” until we realize our life isn’t working. Then we’re ready to surrender to real power—a higher power. A guru’s job is to bring us to that point.

  Our purpose on earth is to realize the Godhead, our inner divinity. A genuine spiritual master will break down our ego structure to unearth our cosmic identity. This is a huge accomplishment. Labor pains of this birth continue for lifetimes.

  We appreciate the necessity of mentors to master any skill. So why do we abhor gurus? Maybe it’s because “ego death” isn’t something we’d readily order off the lunch menu. Few of us want spiritual enlightenment—even while we claim to. We generally run far and fast from gurus and from God.

  When their egos were threatened, the Kaplans accused Maharishi of a long list of sins, including being a “very dark and evil being” and pulling off “the biggest spiritual scam in modern history.”282