[Buddha-l] As Swami goes, so goes the nation? (Dan Lusthaus and Richard P. Hayes)

[JKirkpatrick]

Joanna wrote...
> Sorry, Dan, but you are really talking about *Religion* in
world 
> history, not just about Buddhism. Christianity, Judaism, and
Islam 
> behaved the same way over the centuries, with the same eye out
for 
> profit, money-making, and domination; and if domination wasn't 
> possible--sucking up to rulers and capitalists.

A couple of years back, I watched a Lonely Planet travel program
on TV where the host visited Pune and the ashram of Maharishi
Yogi. The in-charge from the ashram told the host, "all other
religions in the world take care of the poor; only our religion
specializes in taking care of the needs of the rich and famous."

W.F. Wong
_____________________

Not having any experience of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's
institutions, I couldn't say if I agree that only the rich and
famous turn up there. Reminds me of the old saying (wasn't Jesus
alleged to have said this?)  that "the poor we shall always have
with us"--could be said even more of the rich, eh wot?

Unfortunately, seems to me that the greater the progress in
technology, the greater the domination of the rich, right across
the world. 

The Indian religious institutions that actually try to help the
poor are those that maintain langars, the Sikhs and the Sufi
orders, where anyone can go any time to get some food.

Joanna