Thursday, June 4, 2009

Tal Brooke Cited By Tim Conway

Tal Brooke Cited By Tim Conway

It is perplexing that Tim Conway (a true-believer in Gurus, Enlightened Masters, Mystics, Hinduism and Eastern Philosophy) cited Tal Brooke (an Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christian) as an authority and reference against Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

In Tal Brooke’s book “Riders Of The Cosmic Circuit, The Dark Side of Superconsciousness”, he attacked Hinduism, claimed that enlightenment is an evil path and that God-Men and Gurus are in a state of perfect demon-possession. Therefore, Tim Conway’s reference to Tal Brooke has amusing repercussions against him, his beliefs and his advocacy of Gurus, Enlightened Masters, Mystics, Hinduism and Eastern Philosophy.

One could similarly cite Tal Brooke as an authority and reference against Tim Conway’s promotion of “demon-possessed” God-Men and Gurus and the evil paths of enlightenment they promote through sinful Eastern Philosophies.

Since Tal Brooke heavily relied on subjective, fanatic and religiously-based arguments (which all originated from Brooke’s LSD-induced hallucinations) to draw his conclusions that Gurus are in a state of perfect demon possession and that enlightenment is an evil path leading to Satan, what does this say about the integrity and objectivity of his claims against Sathya Sai Baba?

Why does Tim Conway cite this type of person as a credible and reliable source for his disinformation campaigns against Sathya Sai Baba? Apparently, PhD Tim Conway doesn’t mind compromising his own beliefs to further his smear campaigns against his former guru.

Books By Guru & Cult Promoter and self-described “sagely author” Tim Conway:

  • Women of Power and Grace - Nine Astonishing, Inspiring Luminaries of Our Time by Timothy Conway, Ph.D. (April 1996 • 351 pg • soft • ISBN 1-882978-27-4)

  • India’s Sages: Nondual Wisdom from the Heart of Freedom by Timothy Conway, Ph.D. (Winter 2009 • 400 pg • soft • $24 • ISBN 1-882978-32-3)

  • India’s Sages Source Book: Nondual Wisdom from Hindus, Buddhists, Jainas, Tantrics, Sants, Sikhs and Sufis by Timothy Conway, Ph.D. (Winter 2009 • 700 pg • soft • $28 • ISBN 1-882978-35-8)


Furthermore, Tim Conway intends to publish:

  1. Our Religions' Future: Truths, Trends and Challenges for Old and New Spiritualities

  2. Healing Our World: Crucial Solutions for Urgent Problems (A Call for EcoWisdom, Social Justice and Spiritual Liberation)

  3. Spirit, Science and Deep Wonder: Discovering Consciousness, Cosmos, Life, Afterlife, & Other-Life.


Needless to say, all of these books would be labeled as “cultic”, “demonic”, “disinformative”, “occult” and “New Age” by fundamentalist Tal Brooke.

Nice scholarly referencing, PhD Tim Conway!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Timothy Conway & Basava Premanand

Timothy Conway & Basava Premanand

Timothy Conway said the following about Basava Premanand (an Atheist, Rationalist and Skeptic who publishes the Indian Skeptic tabloid):

Timothy Conway: “Though I disagree strongly with his atheist philosophy and rationalist-skeptic approach, the Indian former SSB devotee (1968-74) turned India’s most notorious ‘guru-buster,’ Basava Premanand, a decades-long critic of Sathya Sai in his periodical Indian Skeptic, also deserves acknowledgment here as one taking a firm and enduring stand for accountability and justice, not just in the case of SSB but with other problematic figures as well. (On the case against SSB, see Premanand’s bulky books, including Murders in Sai Baba’s Bed Room, 2004, and, most recently, Failed Sabotage by SSB through Gerald Moreno, 2007, etc., published by the author at 11/7, Chettipalayam Rd., Podanur 641 023, Tamil Nadu, India)”

First and foremost, Basava Premanand was never a Sai Devotee as erroneously claimed by PhD Timothy Conway. Click Here to view screen captures to SaiPetition.net, Robert Priddy’s Ex-Office Bearers Page and the BBC text to the Secret Swami Documentary. Basava Premanand personally made a submission to SaiPetition.net (which was subsequently replicated on Robert Priddy’s Ex-Office Bearers Page) stating that he was a follower of Sri Sathya Sai Baba from 1968 to 1974 and was the “best worker in the SSB Org., Podanur”. However, in the Secret Swami Documentary, Basava Premanand claimed he was never a follower of Sathya Sai Baba and had been trying to investigate the Guru since 1968 itself. Premanand joined the Sai Organization in an attempt to infiltrate it and expose Sai Baba.

In both the GuruBusters Documentary and the The Independent Article Premanand was said to have been exposing Gurus for nearly 50 years (since the age of 21-22). This means that in 1968 (at the age of 38, or 16 years after he was a rationalist) Premanand was not a follower of Sathya Sai Baba when he joined the Sai Organization in Podanur. Premanand lied about being a Sai Devotee (just as he lied about Moreno being sexually abused by Sai Baba, lied about an anonymous letter alleging sexual abuse being written by a Sai Student, among numerous other blatant untruths).

One will also notice how the moralist PhD Timothy Conway cited Premanand’s book against Moreno on his “biggest and best website on spirituality”. Don’t expect Timothy Conway to divulge the fact that Basava Premanand shamelessly libeled Moreno in that book and that it contains numerous unsubstantiated defamations mostly from Robert Priddy (with citations to Brian Steel, Conny Larsson, Sanjay Dadlani and Alan Kazlev). Moreno discussed this issue in his article entitled Is Basava Premanand Senile, Confused, A Liar Or All Of The Above? and on his Indian Skeptic Page.

This is the type of sleaze, slime and defamatory material that PhD Timothy Conway cites against his detractors. PhD Timothy Conway is a pseudo-moralist and pseudo-spiritualist who must reference sleaze, slime and defamatory material because there is absolutely no verifiable, credible and reliable information to support any of the criminal allegations made against Sathya Sai Baba. The fact that no one has even tried to file a basic police complaint or court case against Sathya Sai Baba in India is proof enough that the allegations against him lack substance and credibility. Neither Sathya Sai Baba nor the Sai Organization have ever been charged with any crime, sexual or otherwise (Refs: 01 - 02).

The burden of proof is on those making the allegations against Sathya Sai Baba. Those making the allegations (including Timothy Conway) have miserably failed to make any leeway against Sathya Sai Baba in a court of law in India despite their loud protests and cry-baby whining to the contrary.

Furthermore, Timothy Conway’s reference to Basava Premanand has amusing repercussions against him, his beliefs and his advocacy of Gurus, Enlightened Masters, Mystics, Hinduism and Eastern Philosophies because Basava Premanand believes that people who believe in these things are Guru promoters, blind believers, cult advocates and superstitionists with weak intellects!

Nice scholarly referencing, PhD Timothy Conway!

Timothy Conway & Guru-Ratings Sarlo

Timothy Conway & Guru-Ratings Sarlo

Timothy Conway cited Sarlo (owner of the GuruRatings WebSite And Yahoo Group) as a notable person on his behalf. Tim Conway put the following quote from Sarlo on his enlightened-spirituality.org website:
“Timothy, you have a lot of ‘engaging’ things to say and it’s been my pleasure to post some of it [e.g., the Sun magazine interview on ‘Engaged Spirituality’ at the Guru Ratings website]. It’s great to learn you have a website now--it looks excellent and broad, already well developed, lots of good news. I'll be happy to list you and link to your site. And i’ll announce it on my discussion forum. And if you don't mind, i’ll link also to your ‘Warning signs of dysfunctional cults’ and ‘Criteria for Authentic Spiritual Realization’ pages from my ‘Other Approaches to Ratings Criteria’ page at www.globalserve.net/~sarlo/Critexpo2.htm, with a few samples. Your signs and criteria would be a worthy addition. --Sarlo, creator of the much-visited ‘Guru Ratings’ website at www.globalserve.net/~sarlo/Ratings.htm.”



For starters, Sarlo (who, for some mysterious reason, does not divulge his full name) is a Rajneesh / Osho devotee (and refers to him as “my Master”), started his spiritual journey (and had a decade-long love affair) with LSD and marijuana (Reference) and refers to himself as “Swami Deva Sarlo” (claiming he is a “master”, initiate and a “god”). “Swami” means ‘master’ (a title usually conferred on initiates belonging to the Osho cult) and “deva” means ‘god’, ‘angel’ or ‘divine being’.

Like Guruphiliac Jody Radzik, Sarlo believes that he is self-realized. As a matter of fact, in an article entitled “Sarlo Declares Enlightenment”, he said:

Gururatings Sarlo: “According to Osho, one of the biggest obstacles to enlightenment is peer-group jealousy. One’s friends will simply not accept that this trippy asshole has arrived at the ultimate fulfillment while they languish in darkness. I am prepared to meet this challenge head-on. The courage to brave my friends’ scorn has been bolstered by: a) the knowledge, from Phil 101, that you don’t exist; b) end-of-millennium urgency; c) the discovery of ordinariness as a way out/cover-up; d) any or all of the above.” (Reference)

Sarlo is also a contact for an Osho-related center in Canada:

Osho Samaroha Meditation Center,
Ma Dhyan Amiyo
3676 W. 38th Ave.
Vancouver V6N 2Y2 BC
Tel.: +1-604-261-5312 (which resolves to “Gaile P. Winterton”)
E-Mail: sarlo@globalserve.net
(Reference)

One should rightly wonder why Rajneesh/Osho is listed on Sarlo’s subjective Guru-Ratings website as being one of the greatest Gurus ever to walk the Earth. I think there are many people who would take issue with such a claim. As a matter of fact, many people already have (Refs: 01 - 02 - 03 - 04 - 05 - 06 - 07).

Sarlo praised Jody’s Guruphiliac Blog as a “worthy project” and that he puts “the humourous bite on the usual guru excesses: money, sex, and power”. Ironically, Rajneesh’s excesses in money, sex and power are unparalleled in Gurudom (remember the 93 Rolls Royces?). Needless to say, Sarlo ignores the faults and failings of Osho (his “Master”) and ranks him as one of the greatest Gurus ever to walk the planet. Sarlo then has the audacity to point his self-righteous fingers at other Gurus and whine, snivel and lament about their faults and failings. Funny enough, Sarlo created a disclaimer page where he admitted that his bogus Guru-Ratings service is based on the subjective opinions of a layman (Reference).

So what did Jody Radzik have to say about Rajneesh/Osho? On his Guruphiliac Blog, Jody said:

Guruphliac Jody Radzik: “A tip of our tantric hat to Osho for his attempts to sustain such a large chakra-puja. Such wide scale transgression was certain to result in all kinds of transformation in the participants...But he had management problems and it all fell apart. We're sorry we missed the fun.” (Reference)

Jody Radzik praised Osho’s sexual excesses as a large “chakra puja” (which is a tantric ritual that involves two to ten couples who engage in ritualized sexual activities, aka “an orgy”), dismissed Osho’s many faults and failings as “management problems” and expressed regret that he missed the fun! That’s right, sexual promiscuity, power-abuse, wealth and hedonism are things that Jody Radzik and Sarlo think are laudable, praiseworthy and serve as valid criteria to give high-ranking marks to Gurus whose feet they happen to kiss and adore. It is amusing that Jody and Sarlo both profess devotion to Gurus, yet trash and bash other Gurus as if they are free from the Guru-affliction they love to point out in others.

Amusingly, Timothy Conway wrote a highly critical article about Sarlo’s Guru, Rajneesh. Timothy Conway said he was under the impression that:

“Rajneesh was another shooting star in the spiritual firmament, one of those strange but rather numerous fallen yogis who attain some glimpses or periods of a certain kind of ‘enlightened freedom,’ open up to become a channel for some unusual and palpable energies (leading mesmerized disciples to think they are in the presence of Divinity), but then sooner or later such figures become imbalanced and egocentrically full of themselves--proud, megalomaniacal, narcissistic, and/or disturbed by one or more other mental-emotional-psychic pathologies.“ (Reference)

Attempting to get some cheap publicity on the Guruphiliac Blog and on the GuruRatings Website, Timothy Conway endorses, promotes and associates himself with Jody Radzik and Sarlo. Mr Conway found Sarlo and Jody to be so respectable, he listed their names and comments on his official website beside those of Jeff Eisen, Swami Abhayananda (Stan Trout), Steve Beckow, Dr. Peter Rohr, Mike Newton and Stuart Goodnick.

Timothy Conway & Ammachi Mata Amritanandamayi Ma

Timothy Conway & Ammachi Mata Amritanandamayi Ma

Timothy Conway (who thoroughly eulogizes, promotes and worships Ammachi - Mata Amritanandamayi Ma as a bona-fide Guru) cited Guruphiliac Jody Radzik on his enlightened-spirituality.org website as a notable person who endorsed him. Timothy Conway duplicated the following comments onto his website from Jody Radzik’s blogged article entitled “Conway’s Way Is No Con”:

“Timothy [has] got a slew of good stuff up at his Enlightened-Spirituality.org, including a nice little bit about the importance of critical thinking, the precious water and commodity that’s sorely lacking in the infernal desert of ignorance known as New Age spirituality in the West.... It’s good to see someone out there upholding the legacies of Shankara and Vivekananda, especially in these days of enlightenment pyramid scams and lame-brained channelling schemes designed to separate the psychologically needy from their dollars in exchange for a boatload of false hope and occluding nonsense about the truth of the Self. So give Enlightened-Spirituality.org a go when you’ve got a minute and the desire to cleanse your palate of all the superstitious nonsense that chokes the truth right out of spiritual culture in these times. --Jody, creator of the popular and controversial Guruphiliac blog at guruphiliac.blogspot.com.”


Timothy Conway promotes Jody Radzik (a known basher and trasher of Ammachi - Mata Amritanandamayi Ma) on his “spiritual” website. Jody Radzik’s critiques on Ammachi can be found here. As a matter of fact, Jody Radzik accused Ammachi (Mata Amritanandamayi Ma) of being:

  • “Greedy”

  • Money-hungry (or as Jody puts it, a “money-grubber”)

  • A “Hindu Nazi”

  • The “Al Qaeda Of India”

  • Creator of “Goonsgate”

  • The “Mistress Of The Hindu Right”

  • A “foaming-at-the-mouth radical nationalist”

  • Being allied with “people and goals of the radical, racist, Hindu nationalist right”

  • Somehow involved with “murders” of “mysterious circumstances” at her ashram

  • Enmeshed in an “Amma ‘Sex Scandal’”

  • Involved in a “Mind-Control TV Network” through Amma TV

  • Involved with “global domination”

  • Manipulative and weakening devotees minds with her “astral breast milk”

  • A rip off who “offer mammaries full of occluding nonsense to a world rife with infantilism”
  • The slurs go on and on...


As a matter of fact, Guruphiliac Jody Radzik made the following composite image of Amma (see how it is used on his blog here), merging her face with Osama Bin Laden (the image links directy to Radzik’s atman.net website: Ref):


This is the type of hate that Timothy Conway promotes on his “biggest and best site on spirituality”. Poor Timothy Conway. His research into the notable people he cites on his behalf is as thorough as his lamentable research into the Sai Controversy. Attempting to bolster his illustrious reputation (sarcasm implied) Timothy Conway cited Jody Radzik (a promoter of raves and illegal psychedelic drugs) on his behalf. Not only does Jody Radzik bash Ammachi, he also bashes and lies about other Gurus as well. Timothy Conway promotes a man who claims he is self-realized, needs “to be stoned ALL the time”, is Kali Ma’s “sex slave” and hears the voice of Kali Ma in his head. Nice friend you got there, Timothy.

This information is going to be very disconcerting to all the Amma devotees who can often be seen citing the following quote from Timothy Conway describing Ammachi as:
“one of the most glorious lights to appear in the history of religion. Just her stamina - embracing these millions of people one by one, day after day, without a break, all over the world-is some kind of divine gift. No mere human resources could accomplish this.”

November 27th 2007 Update: Timothy Conway contacted Moreno by email and informed him that although he hesitantly posted Jody’s blurbs on his official website, he was fully aware of Jody’s attacks against Amma and her devotees. Timothy Conway defended Jody Radzik and said he is “actually very positive about her (Amma) in many contexts, and has defended her to many of his readers”. Rubbish! Timothy said he was unaware of Jody’s “Amma Bin Laden” photo (how did that escape a PhD researcher?) and removed Guruphiliac Jody Radzik’s comments from his website. Good call and nice damage-control, Timothy. Interested readers can view Timothy Conway’'s comment (expressing gratitude to Jody Radzik on his Guruphiliac blog) HERE.

Friday, May 15, 2009

The Sai Critic And PhD Timothy Conway

The Sai Critic And PhD Timothy Conway

Timothy Conway Recants:
In our previous page on Jack Hawley’s critics, we had reported comments Tim Conway had made about deceased devotees. Our comments are below:

Timothy Conway has made some unsustainable assertions in his circular letter. He refers to longtime devotees who are now dead, whom, he asserts, left Baba over this sexual impropriety.

Here are the quotes:

What Conway said:

“On this point, we should remember the numerous longtime Sai devotees like Professors Gokak and Bhagavathum and others who have left Sathya Sai, ostensibly over the inappropriate sexual activity by Baba.

These longtime close observers obviously perceived a different meaning for Baba’s behavior than the meaning Hawley attributes to this behavior. Hawley thinks Sai’s behavior is evidence of the Divine. Gokak, Bhagavathum, and others apparently thought otherwise.”

The Sai Critic commented:

“Timothy Conway is speaking ill of the dead here. He also forgoes any remaining credibility claiming that these well known names in the Sai Haiography abandoned Sai over these matters. Gokak was Vice Chancellor and lived and died a devotee. Where is the evidence for this scurrillous assertion against a dead man? What evidence, what authorities does he cite for Gokak, Bhagavathum and others? None are offered. The ‘and others’ is a tell-tale give away, it is just a device to throw some speculation in.

Bhagavathum did indeed renounce Swami, but not as a fake, rather Bhagavathum renounced Swami as one who is simply impossible to live with. Witnesses and reputable authorities cite Bhagavathum left primarily because Swami did not give the attention to Bhagavathum’s son which the doctor demanded.

Whatever the reason, it is known Bhagavathum left Swami in a huff, and later manifested Alzheimers, a disease which wasted him unto death. There is no evidence cited by Conway or any others that Dr Bhagavathum left Baba over sexual misdemeanour or any other activity. We confidently challenge Timothy Conway to evidence his unsalutary assertions about these two deceased men of good repute and character.”

What Conway has retracted:

“First, I especially thank you for clarifying that Gokak died a devotee of Swami and that Bhagavantam left Baba for reasons other than any sexual improprieties by Baba. Along this line, I want to directly issue to you and to any other readers a MAJOR APOLOGY and a RETRACTION for passing along, not just second hand hearsay, but third-hand rumor of the most insubstantial and false variety.”


Bravo, Bravo! We salute Timothy Conway. We applaud this first public recant from hearsay, gossip and misreporting in this sorry business of “The Findings”.

Tim Conway Defends:
After his recant, Conway is adamant that there are outraged persons who have departed Sathya Sai Baba. Conway goes on to describe those ex-devotees and assorted supporters of The Findings:

“These charges are simply the cry of anguished devotees attempting to protect young men and boys from behavior that can have a deeply traumatic effect upon their sensitive psyches.”


The accusations we hear are certainly not “the cry of anguished devotees attempting to protect young men”. The loathsome noise we hear is the commotion of the tittle-tattle, the “isn’t-it-awful gossips”, the rumor mongers and the hysterical naysayers who peddle the apocryphal story of Sai and a seven year old boy, for example; a story that has NEVER BEEN VERIFIED by its alleged source. A most fetid and controversial claim that is still peddled as fact. This and most of the other material circulating is NOT the “cry of the anguished devotees”.

These comprise the malignant, repetitive chants of the rumour mill (whom Conway will later label as the “Nasty Naysayers”) designed to shock, horrify and alienate existing devotees. Let Conway investigate the length and breadth of the activities of some of his companions against DEVOTEES; not against Sai Baba, but against devotees. It is part of a well prepared mail-bombing campaign against devotees. “Anguished cry...” ... who has Conway been listening to - both sides? It would appear not. Where is the Conway critique of this campaign against devotees? Has all the response tactics and strategy been truthfully revealed to Conway? Is it really the cry of the anguished devotee or an appeal to a vague non-entity as Conway has been steered away from certain facts?

Tim Conway, Chapter and Verse
Timothy Conway presents the Law in the United States of America:

“please remember that, in our law-based society (and Baba has always advocated that citizens abide by their nation’s laws), the sexual harassment and molestation of minors (and, yes, adults) is a prosecutable, criminal offense.” Conway goes on to speak of “the MANDATED REPORTING RULE, which imposes a LEGAL DUTY on any adult with knowledge that sexual molestation of minors is likely occurring TO REPORT SUCH BEHAVIOR and TRY TO PREVENT SUCH BEHAVIOR FROM RE-OCCURRING

Invitation to Prosecute:
Mr Conway, along with all anguished devotees attempting to protect young men, are all hereby invited to the Court of the Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Penukonda, Anantapur District, Andhra Pradesh, India, to lay charges against Sathya Sai Baba. This appears to be the appropriate court of Law. Laying of Charges in other countries is not likely to have any effect. The matter more rightly belongs in the Penukonda Magistrates Court.

Mighty Matters of Faith and Belief:
Conway articulates his doubts of faith and belief:

“At this point in time, I cannot agree that Baba is the ‘Purna Avatar, pure and simple.’ Anyone who tries to rationalize Baba’s behavior by appealing to his Divinity and the corollary that ‘God [Baba] can do whatever he wants’ has not sufficiently proven that Baba is, in fact, the pure expression of Divinity incarnate on this planet. It may be that the formless God or Absolute Spirit (the Infinite Atman/Brahman) is communicating something through the name/form of Sathya Sai and thus has intended that tens of millions of people connect with his mission, at least temporarily until they move beyond the form of Sathya Sai (and has not Baba himself often called for people not to get attached to his form?)”


For a person who freely admits he has been “out of the loop” and not active as a devotee of Sai Baba since he has commenced to actively follow another satguru, Mr Conway presents an unsettled frame of mind. Is he still loyal to Sai Baba? Either he says the formless absolute is engaging in revelation and a mission via the name and form of Sai, or he is not making such an admission. He appears to be presenting both sides of the coin and not settling conclusively for one opinion or the other. Conway presents uncertanty and is not clear himself where he stands.

Certainly he is good at throwing in red herrings:

“But let me remind you--I’m sure you’re aware--that great Mahatmas of the last 150 years like Ramakrishna, Ramana Maharshi, Anandamayi Ma, Mata Amritanandamayi, Anasuya Devi, Devaraha Baba, Shyama Mataji, Bhagavan Nityananda have NEVER needed to sexually molest their followers to ‘test’ them.”

Conway meanders on with his red herring of the other gurus:

“Rather, to take just one example, consider the case of the beautiful Ramana Maharshi. Dozens of reliable accounts indicate that Ramana could awaken people to the completely bodiless, ego-free, infinite, transcendental state of pure Spirit (Atman/Brahman), absolute Being-Awareness-Bliss-Love, SIMPLY BY GAZING AT THEM SILENTLY with his amazingly loving, liberating, Grace-filled look.”

Far from being a devotee who has thrown away his darshan cushion, Conway hangs onto doubt and expresses it often:

“It has to be demonstrated that Sathya Sai’s sexual predatory behavior -- apparently involving hundreds, maybe even more than a thousand young men and boys -- is ‘restoring Dharma’.”

A little further on, Conway writes:

“(Some nasty naysayers want to say that Baba is actually nothing more than an evil force on the planet, a master of occult powers who masquerades, like the legendary Lucifer, as a being of light and goodness. I don’t accept this analysis of ‘Baba -as-consummate-evil’.”

Conway wants it both ways. He wants the jury to be out, still deciding, and he wants to distance himself from the Some nasty nay-sayers. He has certainly failed to do that, as he has taken up their cause. In email, chat rooms and on the Internet, CAPITALS represent YELLING. Here is Mr Conway again:

“the MANDATED REPORTING RULE, which imposes a LEGAL DUTY on any adult with knowledge that sexual molestation of minors is likely occurring TO REPORT SUCH BEHAVIOR and TRY TO PREVENT SUCH BEHAVIOR FROM RE-OCCURRING...”

So Timothy Conway, is yelling out for all to hear where he stands. Beside the “nasty nay sayers”.

Invitation to Prosecute:
Mr Conway, along with all anguished devotees attempting to protect young men, are all hereby invited to the Court of the Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Penukonda, Anantapur District, Andhra Pradesh, India, to lay charges against Sathya Sai Baba. This appears to be the appropriate court of Law. Laying of Charges in other countries is not likely to have any effect.

The matter more rightly belongs in the Penukonda Magistrates Court. Not in any court in the United States of America. Do proceed with haste, with all anguised persons, nay sayers, gossipers and the like. ESPECIALLY do take “young men from around the world who have come forward to describe their victimization by this man masquerading as God”, do instigate and demand investigation, demand the laying of charges, demand the prosecution, with ALL HASTE.

Conway perseveres with admonition:

“The bottom line is that, REGARDLESS of who/what Baba is, we, as mature, responsible aspirants endeavoring to live the values of Satya, Dharma, Shanti, Prema and Ahimsa have A SERIOUS ETHICAL DUTY to rise up and speak out against the longstanding pattern of sexual molestation.”

Hello?

  • Are you there Mr Conway?

  • Cease acting as a middle man.

  • Assist those who report complaints with Sai Baba.

  • Provide tickets.

  • Get them on a plane.

  • Fly with them to Bangalore or Hyderabad.

  • Assist with travel to Penukonda, to the Magistrates Court.

  • Fulfill your SERIOUS ETHICAL DUTY and lay your charges.

  • Assist these traumatised others to lay charges in the proper courts.


Then you will have salvaged your conscience and fulfilled your serious ethical duty. We remind you that Sai Baba is not afraid. After all, he has said, “Why be afraid of the mistake you have not committed?”

The Sai Critic Reference

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

John Prendergast

JOHN PRENDERGAST

John Prendergast
Information About John Prendergast:
John J. Prendergast, Ph.D., is an adjunct assistant professor of psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies where he has created and taught a class on Transpersonal Counseling Skills for over a decade. He is the author of ‘The Chakras in Transpersonal Psychotherapy’ in the International Journal of Yoga Therapy (2000), and co-author (with Krystal, Sheila, Krystal, Phyllis, Fenner, Peter, and Shapiro, I. and K.) of ‘Transpersonal Psychology, Eastern Philosophy and EMDR’, in Shapiro, F. (ed) EMDR As An Integrative Psychotherapy Approach: Experts of Diverse Orientations Explore the Paradigm Prism, American Psychological Association Books (2002). He has taught a number of workshops for therapists on ‘The Energybody in Psychotherapy’ and ‘Transpersonal Dimensions in Psychotherapy: Presence, Resonance and Inquiry’, and co-organized and presented at the Conferences on Nondual Wisdom and Psychotherapy. He has been in private practice since 1985. He began Transcendental Meditation in 1970 and later taught it; traveled to India on three occasions to be with various teachers including Ammachi, and spent fifteen years with his primary teacher Jean Klein—a European sage who synthesized elements of Advaita Vedanta and Kashmiri Shaivism. He currently studies with Adyashanti (Ref). He served as the Center President for the Sri Sathya Sai Baba Center of San Francisco in the early 1980’s and is the webmaster for wisdompsy.com.

John Prendergast Email Correspondence:
Moreno’s First Email To John Prendergast:

Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2007 23:11:04 -0800 (PST)
From: “Joe”
Subject: Alleged Hislop Letters
To: johnprendergast@(snipped)

Dear John Prendergast,

I was kindly wondering if you could verify for me that you are the former president of the Sai Baba center of San Francisco who received the alleged copies of the John Hislop Letters? Were the copies you obtained originals? Were they signed with ink from John Hislop or xeroxed? Are you currently a Sai Baba devotee or have you defected?

Sincerely,

Joe

John Prendergast’s First Response:
From: “John”
To: “Joe”
Subject: Re: Alleged Hislop Letters
Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2007 10:12:46 -0800

Dear Joe,

I will be happy to respond to your email once you tell me about yourself and why this information is important.

kindly, John

Moreno’s Second Email To John Prendergast:

Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2007 16:25:52 -0800 (PST)
From: “Joe”
Subject: Re: Alleged Hislop Letters
To: “John”

Dear John,

I am the webmaster for saisathyasai.com, a website devoted to exposing the smear-campaigns of critics, skeptics and ex-devotees of Sathya Sai Baba. As you may know, there is an online controversy regarding the alleged John Hislop Letters, which Conny Larsson claimed you obtained from John Hislop himself when you were the president for the San Francisco Sai Baba Center. These letters document the complaints made by Diana Scott about her son Terry Lee Scott after he was “expelled in disgrace” from Sai Baba’s hostel.

Since your name has only recently been mentioned by Conny Larsson, I am attempting to verify that you are the person who received these alleged letters. You are the only known person who (allegedly) originally obtained these letters. Therefore, what I need to know is:

  1. Did John Hislop specifically send you a copy of the letters in question, or did you obtain them via other means?

  2. During which years did you serve as the president for the Sai Baba center of San Francisco?

  3. What is your personal opinion about the letters. Do you see them as evidence or proof of sexual impropriety?

  4. Are you a Sai Devotee or have you defected from the Sai Movement. If you defected, can you kindly tell me why?

  5. Why did you keep the letters and turn them over to the next president of the Sai Center (Timothy Conway)? Were the presidents supposed to pass these letters to their successors, or was it up to them to keep/discard them according to their desire?

  6. Are you familiar with the story of Diana Scott and her son Terry Lee Scott? Do you know why he was “expelled in disgrace” from the Sai hostel?


Thank you for any information you may provide. Since there are many speculations surrounding these alleged letters, I would like to obtain factual information.

Sincerely,

Joe

John Prendergast’s Second Response:
From: “John”
To: “Joe”
Subject: Re: Alleged Hislop Letters
Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2007 19:00:14 -0800

Dear Joe,

I have responded to your questions to the best of my knowledge and have no additional information to add. I am not interested in pursuing this matter any further. I hope this is satisfactory.

best wishes, John

Did John Hislop specifically send you a copy of the letters in question, or did you obtain them via other means?
John Prendergast: I did have the letters before passing them onto Timothy Conway. I don’t recall whether they came to me directly from Jack Hislop or via Don Heath who was a national director and resident at the SF Sai Baba Center where we both lived. They were originals signed in pen by Hislop. Don Heath died in the late 1980’s.

During which years did you serve as the president for the Sai Baba center of San Francisco?
John Prendergast: The early 1980’s.

What is your personal opinion about the letters. Do you see them as evidence or proof of sexual impropriety?
John Prendergast: I saw them as evidence of a crisis within the American Sai Organization. Terry Payne’s case was very troubling to me because I had met the family on several occasions. I took the letters as possible evidence of sexual impropriety.

Are you a Sai Devotee or have you defected from the Sai Movement. If you defected, can you kindly tell me why?
John Prendergast: I am no longer a Sai Devotee. I found myself increasingly drawn to the teachings of Advaita Vedanta and the path of self-inquiry. By the end of the 1980’s I had aligned myself with another teacher and no longer attended Sai gatherings.

Why did you keep the letters and turn them over to the next president of the Sai Center (Timothy Conway)? Were the presidents supposed to pass these letters to their successors, or was it up to them to keep/discard them according to their desire?
John Prendergast: The letters were kept in a file along with other center guidelines pertinent to the running of a local center that were passed on to each succeeding president. Since these were letters from the President of the American Organization, it seemed important to keep them.

Are you familiar with the story of Diana Scott and her son Terry Lee Scott? Do you know why he was “expelled in disgrace” from the Sai hostel?
John Prendergast: The parents and their son were occasional visitors to the SF Sai Baba Center, so I had met them before Terry lived in India. I did not see them thereafter. I was not and am not familiar with any of the details of the case. I don’t know why he was expelled.

John Prendergast And The Alleged Hislop Letters:
Moreno’s email correspondence with John Prendergast regarding the alleged Hislop Letters are important because they refute several claims attributed to Prendergast by Timothy Conway. Strangely enough, neither John Prendergast nor Timothy Conway remember exactly how they originally obtained the alleged Hislop letters in the first place. Although John Prendergast stated that he viewed the alleged Hislop Letters as “possible evidence of sexual impropriety”, he did and said absolutely nothing about them and remained in the Sai Org into the late 80’s even though he was a mental health care practitioner.

Oddly enough, Timothy Conway (Prendergast’s good friend) repeatedly asserted that anyone who knows about possible sexual abuse allegations is legally mandated to report it or he/she is an “accomplice in sexual molestation crimes” (Ref). Although Timothy Conway made this very argument against Jack Hawley, he failed and refused to apply this same argument against John Prendergast.

Using Timothy Conway’s argument and logic against Jack Hawley, John Prendergast is an “accomplice in sexual molestation crimes” because he failed in his moral and ethical duty of “mandated reporting”. If Timothy Conway can erroneously accuse Sai Devotees of criminal negligence, I see no reason why he would refuse to apply the same standards to John Prendergast whom (unlike Sai Devotees) fully acknowledged they he was in possession of “possible evidence of sexual impropriety”.

Moreno’s email correspondence with John Prendergast was not intended to be made public. Timothy Conway obtained Moreno’s email correspondence from John Prendergast, sent edited sections of their email correspondence to the Ex-Baba admin and had the Ex-Baba admin publish it on their Anti-Sai website. Timothy Conway never informed Moreno that he obtained his email correspondence from John Prendergast and that he had the Ex-Baba admin publish it. Therefore, this webpage was the direct result of Timothy Conway’s secrecy and deceit. In the spirit of full disclosure, Moreno is making his full email correspondence with John Prendergast public. It is also to be noted that Conny Larsson (an Anti-Sai Activist) was the first person to publicly reveal John Prendergast’s name despite his request for confidentiatlity.

John Prendergast First Mention