E-mail David Christopher Lane
directly at dlane@weber.ucsd.edu
Author: Venu Publisher: The NEURAL SURFER Publication date: June 1997
E-mail David Christopher Lane
directly at dlane@weber.ucsd.edu
I
want to go back to the home base now.
From venup@melb.convergent.com.au Wed Jun 4 16:01:57 1997
Bon Giovanni wrote:
> June 3, 1997
> BonGiovanni@delphi.com
> PO Box 6849
> Beverly Hills CA 90212 USA
>
> Hello,
> [My letter and quote from Sai Pages snipped]
> =============== -end site quote-=========================
>
> I notice that showing the parts which Venu had snipped does
> somewhat
> affect the impression he gave that all Sai devotees were officially
> ordered by Sai to be automatons-- and more importantly, the text in
> full
> shows the SOURCE of Bro. Jegan's quote. Those who then actually look
>
> to that source (which Venu had expunged), may appreciate the
> meaning with even greater insight than the excerpts shown at
> the
> webpage itself.
>
> The speech en toto not only clarifies the meaning, but also evidences
>
> that Bro. Jega applied Swami's suggestion to a quite dissimilar
> situation, in that Swami was not speaking to Center members
> at
> all. Rather Sai was addressing Seva Dals at an especial
> public
> function. (In respect of Bro Jegan, I note he, unlike Venu, did
> supply
> the SOURCE, so any interested reader could certainly check, showing
> that
> clearly Jegan was not out to deceive.) Nevertheless, I note even his
> interpretation of Swami's intent, does not match my own.
>
> The attentive reader may of course decide one's own interpretation
> directly by reading what Swami actually said, shown in full in
> context.
> To that end here are
> direct quotes by Swami, from Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 7, chapter 4.
> [NB: On key words in this matter Bon has added stress or has
> inserted
> italicised parenthetical elucidations]
>
> ==================begin quote=============
>
> [snip][snip]
> =======end full quote from Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 7, Chapter 4===
>
> The highlighted phrase Bro. Jega extracted is thus shown to be
> about
> Seva Dals, men and women who are volunteer ushers and security
> personnel
> during an especial public event at which Swami appears, or at a
> State's
> annual voluntary two-week tour of duty at the ashram, and so the
> injunction `to obey officers' applies only to those volunteer's term
> of
> duty while serving, and is *not* addressing regular membership nor
> Centers.
>
> I therefore appreciate Venu's having pointed out how the quote
> instead
> appeared to him to detail a cultic fascistic leadership
> throughout
> the entire Sai Organization. To encourage clarity I am therefore
> bringing this matter to the attention of the website owner and to the
>
> Malaysian Sai Organization, so that any chances of future
> mis-interpretations of excerpted quotes at websites might be duly
> reduced
> via full context
> hyperlinks.
>
> Again, thanks to Venu for drawing the world's attention to this
> matter.
>
>
>
> *+*
>
You are welcome Bon. Any time.
Thank you for your letter. This precisely proves my point.
When I last looked the counter on the web site owned by Naresh said it
had around 22267 visitors.
I think I can safely assume that at least two thirds of these visitors
would have seen the passage on leadership and obedience. I now venture
to guess that at least half of them would possess enough intelligence to
think about what these words mean in the context provided. After all
most of the sai devotees are well educated successful professionals.
But no, NO, I say, NOT A SINGLE individual has ever found the concept of
blind obedience objectionable. All I see in the guest pages are some
mindless meandering of how it was lovely to see the swamy on the net. (I
also note the fact that they have a habit of deleting and altering
unacceptable comments to the guest pages, but that is not relevant to
this conversation.)
I find it highly amusing. More than 10000 clever people acting ovine.
My point precisely. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
Please note the fact that I don't resort to spitting at sai baba
devotees as you at Sri Premanand et al.
Kind regards
Venu Parthiban
--------------------------
From venup@melb.convergent.com.au Thu Jun 5 18:39:06 1997
Subject: Indefensible
Dear Professor Lane & Bon Giovanni
Bon, you don't have read or respond to this letter. As I sadly note from
your last correspondence, you have decided to end our conversation. It
is your prerogative and I don't question you on that. I merely copy this
letter out of courtesy as I have mentioned your name in this. Please
note that I am still willing to continue this friendly exchange of
words.
You can press the Delete key
NOW.
Dear Professor Lane,
If I remember correctly, I never specifically asked Bon Giovanni to
answer any of my questions. In my first letter to you, I expressed my
concern about several things which may have involved sai baba. I still
believe I have the right to do so even though Bon feels that as a person
"living in the laps of luxury" I have no right to comment about the
problems in India.
I wonder how Bon got to see my bank account. May be it is a mystical
power sai baba somehow passed on to him. When I last looked it held a
very modest sum. Very modest compared to, say, a person living in
Beverly Hills, California.
Anyway a son can move out of the house to make a living elsewhere and
still have a lot of concern about the safety and well-being of his
mother. More concern than a house guest who might have lived in the
house when he found it useful.
Bon suggests that I go back to India and work there to help solve her
problems. Point taken. But, when he starts to talk about the well-known
'ascetic' making "tireless efforts" for the betterment of the Indian
downtrodden, I have to fall about laughing. How does sai baba "work
tirelessly to make his own home, neighbourhood, district, state and
nation more just, more compassionate, more honoured, more dharmic, more
Indian." Oh puhlease!
More Just? How much more just are we now?
More compassionate? Please give some examples.
More honoured? How has he elevated India's position from any viewpoint
to make it more honourable?
More dharmic? How has he made India more dharmic in the fifty or sixty
years since he realised he was God?
More Indian? What is an Indian? Do you know?
This is another example of the kind of empty words Bon uses to cover up
ideologically unpleasant matter. Bon has the knack for avoiding facing
up to or even addressing any of the issues.
A careful reading of the electronic correspondence published in the
Neural Surfer web pages would indicate that Bon's main interest in
joining these discussions is to denigrate those who attempt to raise
certain points and to use the opportunity to include voluminous quotes
from sai baba glossies. He has a right to do so and I don't deny him
that. But I don't for a minute agree that certain issues can be brushed
under various carpets by adopting an attitude of self denial. The
attitude of the many of the millions of sai baba devotees closely mirror
the attitude taken by the unfortunate followers of Rev Jim Jones or the
Heaven's Gate fools.
A cult behaviour can be typified by, among other hallmarks:
1. Failing to consider the possible validity of an adversary's point of
view.
2. Not taking a critical look at one's own position.
3. Feeling self-righteous.
I can see all three of the above qualities in many of the millions of
sai baba devotees. One such devotee even suggested that some one should
slit my throat for raising some questions.
I put forward the following questions to anyone who is willing to
discuss:
Is or is it not true that some men were murdered in the sai baba ashram
some years ago?
If it is true, who were they?
If they were shot by police why?
What was the real motive or motives behind that incident?
What really happened ?
I reiterate that I do not accuse or allege sai baba of any direct
involvement. But if this incident took place in the ashram at
Puttaparthi, I feel in a free society, people are entitled to know the
facts. There is no use playing ostrich and question my motive in asking
these questions. My motive is simply to find out the truth. I don't
expect Bon Giovanni is "duty bound" to answer these issues. I said sai
organisation is duty bound to answer them. May be Bon considers himself
to be so emotionally close to sai baba, he personally identifies himself
with the sai baba organisation. I don't know. I do that I never
"commanded Bon or anyone to answer my questions.
You will notice that Bon never once answered any of the issues. He
didn't address the questions raised either by me, or by Said or by Jed.
As I mentioned before Bon's idea of a discussion is to denigrate and
ridicule the opponent, try and drown them with irrelevant points and
quotes from sai baba, resorting to generalities such as
"Life on earth is as on the ocean, ever restless with the waves of joy
and
grief, of loss and gain, the swirling currents of desires and the
whirlpools
of passion, greed and hate......" etc., etc.
If you remember, I asked for any advice sai baba may have provided to
the devotees on the matter of hands on the scrotum ritual. Bon simply
indicated that sai baba has spoken or written about it, but failed to
produce any. Such an advice would be a great boon to the Catholic priest
who was charged with sexual molestation for similarly anointing some
young boys. This could be a way of "bettering the world and increasing
compassion"
It is no surprise to find people such as Bon in this world where there
are still some who believe that God created World (with dinosaur fossil
et al ) on September 29, 4004 B.C, at 4 pm or some such rot. There are
still people who don't believe man walked on the moon one summer day in
1969. There are still some who argue that the Holocaust never occurred.
There are still some who believe that African Americans are inherently
inferior to white people.
It takes all sorts I suppose.
Finally I want to address the assertion that I mirror Professor Lane!
What a joke! What does Bon know about me. For all he knows I may be a
schizophrenic child molester! May be then I would mirror some one he may
know. Bon unfortunately has resorted to the crime he accuses of others:
blind assumption.
Best regards
Venu Parthiban
--
E-mail The Neural Surfer directly
at dlane@weber.ucsd.edu
I want to go back to the home base now.
