Clarification & Response to a post in thread 'american yogi' -USA yogis post Walter and DC council

Link to the original post, 02/05/2013
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/usayogis/haritha%7Csort:date/usayogis/lxlnPaE66Pk/5bbni_gvY3IJ

me (Prasad change)

2/5/13

I tried to refrain from replying but I had to answer and clarify Walter’s post on Feb 3^rd

-          - because he keeps on sending us insulting emails in personal and local DC groups. 

- -     -   Need to address some yogis personal emails in related to walter’s post on feb 3^rd

Walter, I am only talking about the 1^st night public program,

and in your 4^th point (“ It is true that few people came for the first night” ) you agreed that only few people came. That 2010 Sahaja Meditation PP was much hyped and many yogis from other collective also came to support. That time due to low-turnout, Haritha had emailed council and you replied to clarifying Sahaja meditation approach.  Even one of the DC council members had a dream that no one came for this program. We all worked very hard for that PP and we all felt very bad with the low-turnout of seekers on 1^st night.

Walter question from his email - Just recently you were sending an email saying how many people you gave realization in DC using Sahajayoga Meditation. Did anybody stop you from doing that? There are several others in our collective conduction Sahaja Yoga meditations. Were they stopped from doing them?

The answer for this is YES, I am facing hindrance in doing Sahajayoga events from DC council. But with help of few dedicated sahajayogis/yogini we achieved this great accomplishment.

They never supported Public programs on weekends, and our request to change Friday bhajan/dinner nights to a different day (which goes past late night) went unheard. But whenever Council organized any event on Saturday they have been cancelling the Friday bajan/dinner nights.

Anything related to collective, they don’t want to discuss with the whole collective on our weekly Saturday meetings but instead they try to make it as my personal interest by cornering me. Here are the few examples: Getting central storage for DC collective, and use of sahajayoga name in DC PP and etc.

On Jan 26^th Sahaja discussion in your presence, VND officer Mr. Steven Marchitelli openly condemns me, that I am insulting and confusing people by using Sahajayoga meditation name for adopt a highway sign. And he also said that “SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION “is a new name.

DC council openly cornered me in the whole collective, they blamed me that I am using DC event name and mislabeling my volunteer work as DC event coordinator and rejecting the same.

Even after the 26 open discussion, again on 28 jan, DC council (Pratima, Ranjan & Roger) has emailed me, to come to our house along with local VND officer (Steven & Angela), they chose the date & time to come to my house without asking my availability. They threatened me, by using words like imperative.

Some Sahaja meditation follower openly insults me and accuses me of dividing the collective. Some say I am brain-washed for using Sahajayoga (and not Sahaja Meditation) name on PP flyers. Me and my wife have been subtly bullied many a times by council and their supporters group.

By the way as per Walters request to Council we have been blocked in local DC emails.

Walter, last night, I agreed to use Sahaja yoga words as separate words instead of regular one-word “Sahajayoga”, as you mention in your email that it irritates you. But now I cannot help it.

Moreover your reply to Shankar’s email was very harsh, which is not right.

Now we do not have much support from those who supported us in PP last year, as they are afraid to be outcast & being bullied like us.

United we stand, Divided we fall. 

Jai Shri Mataji.

Walter Lerchner

Post reply Feb 3

Re: USAYogis: 7786 Re: a story to share

Dear Prasad, 

This is about as great as a distortion of actual events as I have seen.

I clearly remember the public program you are talking about in DC because I was asked to help with the programs (there were 4 programs advertised on consecutive days).

1) The programs were advertised at short notice at a new location were few yogis lived

2) The reason for the late advertising was a big discussion because the Sahaja Meditation cards did not have Shri Mataji's picture and the organizing team threatened to cancel it. As a compromise, we reprinted the cards with Shri Mataji's photograph on the back. Also the posters were printed with Shri Mataji's photograph. 

3) The meeting had an altar type picture in front on a table in addition to a large projected chart with Shri Mataji's photo

4) It is true that few people came for the first night, but the second night had many more and we had around a hundred people signed in total the for the 4 programs. 

5) At the end of the 4 day programs people were given a meditation kit with a guided meditation and a photocard containing a photograph of Shri Mataji to meditate on. 

6) We had around 15-20 people attending the follow ups for months, including one or two advance 1 day seminar where we did footsoak and played Shri Matjais lecture. These seminars were attended by people after the follow ups had closed. Some came back a year later for a 1 day seminar in the same area. 

7) The followup meetings were closed after a few months because of lack of attendance of yogis and we could not keep the hall. 

8) I was in contact with some of the people attending for years and they came to meditations in our house. We also had some of our regular NIH people attending who settled after these program. 

So I don't believe that it was the worst program in DC history, nor was it following the Sahaja Meditation instructions to the book. 

Just recently you were sending an email saying how many people you gave realization in DC using Sahajayoga Meditation. Did anybody stop you from doing that? There are several others in our collective conduction Sahaja Yoga meditations. Were they stopped from doing them?

I feel with you regarding your desire to have more focus on Sahaja Yoga Meditation, but to distort facts like this will not help anybody. 

I want to apologize if I offended anyone with my emails. Maybe expressed unsuccessfully so, but I do strongly desire that we can act together as one collective. I fully agree with Brennan' suggestion for a meeting at Adi Shakti puja to find a solution which helps us yogis and the American public, which Shri Mataji has blessed with so much attention. 

Love, Walter

--------------------------------------------

Walter Lerchner

Phone: (301) 761-4052  Fax: 323-988-9862 | skype: WL1001         | lerc...@gmail.com

Enjoy the journey - but look out for the goal 

Walter Lerchner

2/6/13

Re: USAYogis: 7847 Clarification & Response to a post in thread 'american yogi'

Dear Prasad,

I do ask for your forgiveness. It is true that I was angry at you. As I was telling you earlier, anger is often stronger if you love a person and care about them. 

We are both working hard for Sahaja Yoga and are both passionate. I felt that your fight with the council and against Sahaja Meditation was and still is threatening our collective coming together. I had issues with the council myself. For me the situation in DC was a sign that yogis can work together even though they disagree. Also the program that you were talking about was a sign that it can work - because it was a compromise. That's why I was so upset when you gave it as a negative example. We got some very nice yogis from this program. Two of them are not coming to the collective, but they are both scientists and they both started to meditate. This is success for me. Do you know how many scientists start to meditate? Others from our NIH program, who are still in the collective, were settling down after this program and attending pujas. Others came from Frederick to attend our follow ups. This is success. Why do you have to put this down - just because you disagree with Sahaja Meditation?

So please forgive me. I forgive you too. 

Jai Shri Mataji!

Walter

PS: You are not blocked from the DC group - and I only asked the council for permission to remove your email from our local MDwest group, which you are not part of as you live in VA - because some newer yogis had to wonder what your emails are about - The council disagreed and I did not remove you from this group either ... 

- show quoted text -

- show quoted text -

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USAYogis" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usayogis+u...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to usay...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/usayogis?hl=en.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.

Ranjan

2/6/13

Re: USAYogis: 7847 Clarification & Response to a post in thread 'american yogi'

Dear All,

DC Collective is very energetic, resourceful, and cohesive. We have over 20 different public outreach programs running across  DC Metro region in a week. Difference of opinion exists and the approach varies from location to location based on the demographic. Sahaja Yoga is voluntary, which has been the underlying principle within DC Collective. 

If any one has any questions please feel free to reach out to either the council(sydcc...@gmail.com), or your friends and family in DC to get response. 

Dear Prasad,

It is rather unfortunate that you felt the need to bring this conversation tree to USAyogis, without them having any background information, putting them and us all in DC in a very embarrassing state.  

All and any differences can be resolved by getting together in a meeting and that is what we have been trying to get in with you. 

This meeting cannot be our Saturday collective meeting as new people, who have been coming to public meetings, join in each week and we need to be discrete about what discussions we get into in front of them. All the hard work put into the public meeting work would go in vain, if new people come in and we are trying to have discussions around approaches, name of our organisation, etc.

So may be as a collective we can all get together soon to clear out the air. 

Another thing.

Prasad, you are a part of DC Family. We can have differences in how we approach things, but we still are a family. 

With love and respect to all,

from DC council members

(Prathima, Ranjan and Roger)

- show quoted text -

- show quoted text -