Enlightenment

During the early 1970s Montreal was much abuzz about a 14-year old Guru, who was about to liberate the world.  His name was Guru Maharaji and I was about to become intrigued about his organization - Divine Light Mission - for many years to come.  The Hari Krishna movement paled compared to the charisma this whole movement offered its followers.  Vegetarian restaurants and meditators went hand in hand.  I attended a free information session at a Hari Krishna ashram one Sunday afternoon, but I never attended a DLM Satsang in Montreal, where one would share their meditation experiences.

When I moved to Prince Edward Island in 1975, Premies (followers of Guru Maharaji), were in abundance, along with the back-to-the-earth hippies.  I chose instead to link up with a Transcendental Meditation facilitator in a group setting and received a personal mantra (for a fee).  I still remember the pronunciation of the mantra, but I did not practise TM.

In the late 1970s I moved to London, Ontario for personal reasons.  As a single parent, I felt even more isolated than I did in P.E.I.  I got in touch with a group of Premies from Divine Light Mission and I was welcomed into the fold.  I moved directly across the street from the Premies' male and female separate ashrams. I attended Satsang almost every night and weekends were highlighted by a potluck dinner at the guys' ashram.  

I longed to receive Knowledge (four techniques of meditation), so I became an Aspirant.  In order to receive Knowledge, one had to be 'ready' and open for this experience.  I tried to prepare myself as much as possible by going to as many Festivals as I could afford.  This entailed selling at auction a very beautiful gold ring I had custom made in Montreal.  (I still remember the ring - it had a wide V-shaped band, antiqued black with inset pinkish opals.)  I attended Festivals in Miami on several occasions, Philadelphia, Tucson and Cleveland.  My young daughter came to all the Satsang sessions with me, as well as to all the Festivals.  I finally received Knowledge from an Initiator in the Laurentians in Quebec.

Premies were told to ignore their minds while meditating.  I couldn't.  My common sense told me that my daughter did not want to be bundled up every night to be taken to Satsang.  Things came to a head when we were called upon to attend an emergency Satsang one Sunday afternoon, because Guru Maharaji had some important news to share.  We gathered around a TV, outfitted with a Beta VCR, and watched Guru Maharaji give an urgent Satsang about his need to have Premies outfit his new jet with a shower and other customized perks.  Premies saw this as Service and so anyone with plumbing or carpentry experience applied for the job.  And yes, he was also asking for large cash donations to make this all happen.

I began to ask questions.  Premies were 'blissed out' that Maharaji had called upon them for Service and I saw it as blatant manipulation for money.  I remember asking Premies how they could afford to go to all these festivals (even though we shared rides in vans).  They simply said 'Maharaji will provide'. The truth of the matter was that they would borrow money from their parents or friends and never pay them back.  Everytime a Festival would be announced, they'd up and quit their jobs.  I eventually became ostracized in this community of 40 or so Premies and no more so than when I bought meat in our local supermarket alongside the vegetarian Premies. 

I got in touch with InfoCult in Montreal about brainwashing deprograming.  I received an invitation to be interviewed for a film to be made by the National Film Board.  The NFB paid for my train ticket to Toronto and I was interviewed at the Royal York Hotel.  As part of my 'coming out' session, I remember being 'royally' served tea in a silver teapot on a silver tray and being in the presence of 'real' people.  Gone were the words like Darshan and phrases like Bolo shri satguru dev Maharaj qu Sha. The interviewer said that I did very well in the interview, revealing the four secret techniques of meditation called Knowledge.  He also stated that they were interviewing ex-members of the Children of God and the Moonies. Somewhere in the archives in the NFB lies this 1981 film on ex-cult members, but I have yet to find it.

In 1982 Guru Maharaji ordered all the ashrams closed because he did not want to be stuck with the medical costs of aging Premies.  The Initiators were let go.  These people had dedicated their lives to Guru Maharaji. Everything to do with Divine Light Mission was dissolved as if it had never existed in the first place.  Only the stories remain on the web.

It was around this time that I first heard about housing co-operatives.  The local co-op sector office was in Old South London, very near to where I lived.  A co-op staff member whose daughter also went to same daycare centre, asked me if I wanted to move into the housing co-op where she lived.  The renovated apartment building was nice enough, but I declined, choosing to stay put in a shoddily built addition to an old brick house.  I did not want to get involved in any organization.
 
I moved to Ottawa in 1982 and the concept of co-operative living once again became a factor in my life. 

More to come ...