Guess He Wasn't Invincible

File under: Final Satsang

The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is dead. The world is just as fucked up as it's always been.

Maharishi Mahasamadhi Watch

File under: Final Satsang, Satscams and The Siddhi of PR

Apparently, right under our noses, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi of TM™ infamy has given an exit speech and is expected to kick the bucket at any moment. Not surprisingly, he's still as nutty as a squirrel locked in a peanut factory:

One week ago, on the evening of January 8, in reviewing the progress of his global Movement and surveying the growing signs of peace in the world, Maharishi declared, "Invincibility is irreversibly established in the world. My work is done. My designated duty to Guru Dev is fulfilled." He resolved to use all his remaining time to complete his commentary on the Veda.

What does it say about a guru who goes to die as fully deluded as the Maharishi appears to be? He will leave this plane one of the most grandiose spiritual leaders of modern times, but he will certainly not be remembered as the savior of the planet he's conditioned his followers to believe he is. Sorry TM™ers, it was a quaint little dream, but it's one that had already died years ago.

What To Do After A Dead Guru

File under: Backroom Gurudom and Final Satsang

There's a nice article in the Village Voice about the sizable community of devotees that Sri Chinmoy left behind. We were especially entertained by the author's initial experience covering the guru most famous for showing off:

Two decades ago, when I was writing for USA Today, I was dispatched to the Aspiration Ground to watch Chinmoy lift a house. Instead, I saw what looked like a garden shed connected to a calf-raising machine. To add to the domestic aura, there was a flickering television inside, among other items. With his followers gleefully chanting, the guru scrunched his shoulders under the mechanism's padded arms and stood on his toes, tipping the structure slightly.

With the all-powerful guru gone, an ad-hoc committee of senior disciples is going to take over:

"There will not be a successor to Sri Chinmoy," said the spokesperson, "because no one has the same spiritual height, the same realization."

Ultimately making Sri Chinmoy an utter failure as a guru.

Strongman Guru Strokes Out

File under: Final Satsang

Famous health nut guru Sri Chinmoy often performed public feats of "strength" with a group of his devotees around him to reflect back his glory just in case the regular folks didn't get how awesome he was. He also messed with Carlos Santana back in the day. And he's been busted with his hands where they didn't belong. Now he's showing off in heaven, or wherever look-at-me-type gurus go when they die:

Chinmoy Kumar Ghose known as “Sri Chinmoy,” died this morning from a stroke at the age of 76.

Not surprisingly, he's turned a few folk off in his time. One of them happens to be famous cult-buster Rick Ross, who isn't very sentimental about the fact Sri Chinmoy is with us no more:

No doubt the guru’s dutiful devotees will want to canonize him or somehow lionize their dead leader. But the legacy that the man has left behind is dubious at best.

There is certainly a residue of sizable assets though, which Chinmoy’s loyal lieutenants will be vying over.

However, wouldn’t the best use of whatever money and property the guru left behind be setting up some sort of fund to help the many people and families he reportedly hurt?

It's all in Rick's farewell to a man he considered a manipulative cult leader. It's hard not to agree, yet we still feel we should take off the turban for a sec to honor the passing of Sri Chinup. He may have been a dirty old man who loved to show off, but he did establish a sizable movement around himself which he promoted effectively. As misguided as this effort may have been at its worst, Sri Chinmoy has surely left an indelible print (some might call it a stain) on the fabric of yoga culture in the U.S. today.