zizlz said:
"James said something similar at the seminar I attended. Something like: you should listen to me and dismiss any critical thoughts arising in you. This opens students up to being programmed, if indeed they dismiss their own critical thinking."
I'm pretty sure I remember Swartz telling me to dismiss thoughts as well...
When I first met James Swartz at a party for dancers and hippie friends in SF, I didn't know what I was walking into. I didn't even know that Marlene and James were into spiritual things; I had no clue what the Hindu religion was, eastern mysticism or anything about Vedanta.
Back then they didn't call it Vedanta. They didn't call it anything.
At the party, I opened the door to the back room (of the flat on California Street) and saw Swartz sitting on a high pillow talking to a room full of people. Everyone was silent, listening. Rama (we called him back then) gestured for me to sit in front of him. I did. As soon as our eyes locked I was instantly hypnotized. The words coming out of his mouth made no sense to me, I had no previous knowledge of the subject matter. He had instant control over my mind. I was a sponge and I soaked in every word, nuance, and gesture. I was a perfect victim for Swartz. I was a young 14 year old with family problems and, though I didn't know it, I was looking for a father figure.
Later in the evening James and Marlene had me in their kitchen. We were all by ourselves, everyone from the party had left. James love bombed me. He had me sit on his lap and told me it was the best love I'd ever have. I drank the tea they made me, and answered many, many questions about my life. They knew everything about my family within an hour. After that I blacked out.
In the early stages of my time in their cult I didn't know they were into the sex entertainment industry. I had no clue. I went to their flat every morning for the spiritual talks (now called Satsangs). We started by sitting silently with our eyes fixed on Rama. He emitted "energy" and we felt waves of love and power. I remember seeing white light everywhere, and a blue aura around Rama. Then we sang spiritual chants--songs praising Shiva, Rama, Krishna...etc. Our chants would get faster and more intense until I felt I would pass out. After that Rama spoke. He read verses from the bhagavad gita and integrated the lessons into our life lessons. He told us how stupid and selfish we were and in the next breath told us we were the Self (capital S) not the small self (lower case s). We were of this world but not of it.
As I recall he said enlightenment would come if we worked hard at Karma yoga (service to him of course) but that it wouldn't come immediately and we should be patient. He said we were run by our vasanas, and likes and dislikes. He enjoyed publicly humiliating some members so they could be an example for the rest. He often would use sarcastic humor to make a point.
No one questioned his authority. He was the authority. We had no critical thought whatsoever.
For me, I had no critical thought for several reasons. I was desperate to distance myself from my own family and wanted to have James, Marlene, Jessica, and Joseph as my family. From the moment I laid eyes on Swartz--he had my mind. On the first day I met him, he drugged my tea and I blacked out. What ever he did to me when I was blacked out...it was very traumatizing. When I woke up and they sent me home, I felt elated, I felt I had met God Himself...in fact I was certain I had. He mesmerized me every time I sat in front of him. I quickly became a member of the family. I was the youngest, so they called me the "baby". I felt I finally had the family I always wanted. We had something so special that no one else could comprehend.
There was no room for critical thought in my world.
My world was his. My mind was his.
"James said something similar at the seminar I attended. Something like: you should listen to me and dismiss any critical thoughts arising in you. This opens students up to being programmed, if indeed they dismiss their own critical thinking."
I'm pretty sure I remember Swartz telling me to dismiss thoughts as well...
When I first met James Swartz at a party for dancers and hippie friends in SF, I didn't know what I was walking into. I didn't even know that Marlene and James were into spiritual things; I had no clue what the Hindu religion was, eastern mysticism or anything about Vedanta.
Back then they didn't call it Vedanta. They didn't call it anything.
At the party, I opened the door to the back room (of the flat on California Street) and saw Swartz sitting on a high pillow talking to a room full of people. Everyone was silent, listening. Rama (we called him back then) gestured for me to sit in front of him. I did. As soon as our eyes locked I was instantly hypnotized. The words coming out of his mouth made no sense to me, I had no previous knowledge of the subject matter. He had instant control over my mind. I was a sponge and I soaked in every word, nuance, and gesture. I was a perfect victim for Swartz. I was a young 14 year old with family problems and, though I didn't know it, I was looking for a father figure.
Later in the evening James and Marlene had me in their kitchen. We were all by ourselves, everyone from the party had left. James love bombed me. He had me sit on his lap and told me it was the best love I'd ever have. I drank the tea they made me, and answered many, many questions about my life. They knew everything about my family within an hour. After that I blacked out.
In the early stages of my time in their cult I didn't know they were into the sex entertainment industry. I had no clue. I went to their flat every morning for the spiritual talks (now called Satsangs). We started by sitting silently with our eyes fixed on Rama. He emitted "energy" and we felt waves of love and power. I remember seeing white light everywhere, and a blue aura around Rama. Then we sang spiritual chants--songs praising Shiva, Rama, Krishna...etc. Our chants would get faster and more intense until I felt I would pass out. After that Rama spoke. He read verses from the bhagavad gita and integrated the lessons into our life lessons. He told us how stupid and selfish we were and in the next breath told us we were the Self (capital S) not the small self (lower case s). We were of this world but not of it.
As I recall he said enlightenment would come if we worked hard at Karma yoga (service to him of course) but that it wouldn't come immediately and we should be patient. He said we were run by our vasanas, and likes and dislikes. He enjoyed publicly humiliating some members so they could be an example for the rest. He often would use sarcastic humor to make a point.
No one questioned his authority. He was the authority. We had no critical thought whatsoever.
For me, I had no critical thought for several reasons. I was desperate to distance myself from my own family and wanted to have James, Marlene, Jessica, and Joseph as my family. From the moment I laid eyes on Swartz--he had my mind. On the first day I met him, he drugged my tea and I blacked out. What ever he did to me when I was blacked out...it was very traumatizing. When I woke up and they sent me home, I felt elated, I felt I had met God Himself...in fact I was certain I had. He mesmerized me every time I sat in front of him. I quickly became a member of the family. I was the youngest, so they called me the "baby". I felt I finally had the family I always wanted. We had something so special that no one else could comprehend.
There was no room for critical thought in my world.
My world was his. My mind was his.