Susan Shumsky a former TM teacher wrote a delightful book in 2018 detailing her experiences in the TM movement. The subtitle of the book is “Seeking Enlightenment with the Beatles Guru”, and includes many color photos of her Rishikesh days in India.
Like many, she was also forced to leave the TM movement, and after many years she recollects her days in the TM organization, and the ousting by the leaders for something that seems trivial in retrospect. In my opinion what happened infringed on her religious liberty to a certain extent. I thought we as TM teachers were to bring transcendence to all of society including all religions and schools of philosophy, but apparently, that is not so. This is a deep discussion for another time. There are many sides to the issue. Suffice it to say that having read the book I understand Susan’s point of view better and in more detail. I enjoyed the book a lot. So how was she declared persona-non-grata in the TM movement?
Some remember this event of the late 1980s when someone from the administration went up to the microphone in the men’s dome (group meditation building on the MIU campus) and announced that Susan Shumsky was persona-non-grata from now on. Almost every day there were little announcements of this or that by Mike the guy at the microphone whose announcement station was next to the stage in the dome. Mike was a top manager in the Capital of the Age of Enlightenment organization, which was a Maharishi organization on the MIU campus.
However, on that particular day, an announcement was made by another leader (it may have been Bevan) that Susan Shumsky was ex-communicated. This was something out of the ordinary. It shocked many people, the callousness of the announcement.
It was the 1980s and the “purity of the teaching” was paramount. Bevan Morris was like a knight protecting the kingdom from invaders, although I think sometimes he went overboard, at other times he was correct in his assessments. There are other ex-communication stories out there, and it would be great if we could hear about them in more detail. Our address is: [email protected]
The book Maharishi and Me start with events in the autumn of 1966 in the San Francisco-Oakland area where she enrolled in the College of Arts and Crafts, which was one of the hotspots for the bohemian/hippie culture. She originally was from Colorado, and the whole vibe of the Bay Area was new to her. She met a man, who told her about consciousness and this was a turning point in her life. It was there that she began her spiritual journey, which eventually led her to learn TM, become a teacher, and later work for Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
What I liked about her book was the honest devotional feeling she projects to the reader. It’s as if I was there with her, experiencing her devotion to a divine master, experiencing her conflicts in the management of the organization, and the constant adjustments in her activity to fulfill the master’s wishes.
She held a high position in the movement and was responsible for the financial office, and worked directly with Maharishi for years. She saw things that seem unbelievable, but make sense in retrospect. In part 2 of this book review, I will summarize a couple of stories she wrote about. You will find them fascinating.
She was also an artist whom Maharishi tasked with painting the first version of the holy tradition picture. She worked on this for years and years and painted and repainted it according to Maharishi’s wishes. Later another artist took over the task, however, let it be known that the first version of the holy tradition painting was done by Susan Shumsky.
The book has some color pages in the middle, and it includes a painting she made in Rishikesh. I found the painting quite nice, with the moonlight, the tree, and Maharishi with the disciples.
A lot of the book is devoted to the Beatles who were there in Rishikesh at that time. She tells a few delightful stories about their stay. She also brings up the whole issue of Mia Farrow and John Lennon’s accusations against Maharishi. I feel Susan wrote in a conservative balanced manner, making sure Maharishi is not blamed for anything that hasn’t been proven. Bravo!
The book can be bought online via amazon.com, just type in Maharishi and me.
It can also be bought at many other online bookstores.
The book is published by Sky Horse Publishing, Inc. which is located in New York.
The book received the Ben Franklin Book Award and the National Indie Excellence Sponsorship Prize.
Details: Hardcover, 340 pages, color photos.
Here is a direct link to the publisher’s website:
Good read!