National News

"Fill 'er up"

If you think energy is running out, look inside. Premies in both Columbus, Ohio and Boston, Mass. are running gas stations.

The Ohio station is "Rainbow Texaco", opened over two years ago by former WPC co-ordinator Gordon Petty. From Columbus, they report: "The gas station is a beautiful example of this Knowledge working in the world. We are forever finding new and subtle ways to incorporate satsang on the job and in our advertisements. After Gordon was called to Denver in the end of '73, the station manager changed a few times, settling down in the summer of '74. As a result of this we have seen that any changes in management that have occurred are at the lowest level of managers. The real manager, the biggest manager has always been Guru Maharaj Ji."

The story is similar in Boston. They report: "In the year and a half Rainbow Mobil has been open, we have come a long way from bookkeeping systems consisting of receipts thrown in a box and repair jobs never scheduled or finished on time, to a point where we have a pretty together operation on all fronts."

The station originally belonged to Divine Light Mission but was taken over by Tom Bergman and Jack Murphy, former dance ensemble mechanics, in December. "Nestled in an upper-middle class suburb of Boston, Newtonville, we are developing a steady patronage, good community relations and a healthy amount of satsang with customers. We even wear uniforms."

"Next to Guru Maharaj Ji, probably the most prominent figure at Rainbow Mobil is our dog, King, the Darshan hound, so named because of his tendency to be in the right place at the right time. When Guru Maharaj Ji was given his Maserati last year, he drove into the station for a fill-up, staying just long enough to blow our minds, melt our hearts and pat King on the head, confirming him forever as our official Darshan hound. You may have seen him at Amherst Guru Puja lying on his back in the front row staring up at our Lord".

A Dog's Life

Snoopy, a.k.a. Buffy Black, Flagstaff, Arizona information center resident, mentioned in a previous National news column, is still at it, doing social service dressed head to toe as Schultz's cartoon dog. Her appearances are a welcome and familiar sight in Flagstaff, often noted on the front page of the local newspaper. This time, she has been helping the city introduce rapid transit bus service to senior citizens by acting as a personal guide in full costume on bus tours of the transit routes. In Denver, the public transit system has been divinely infiltrated in a more permanent way. Five premies and one aspirant are full time bus drivers.

A Good Night's Sleep

A premie in graduate school in Chicago is conducting an experiment on the effects of meditation on sleep. The Divine Times correspondent there went and had his "head wired up," spending two nights in the sleep lab. In a few weeks the premie researcher will have tested 10 premies and 10 non-premies, Her professors are anxious to see if the "kid Guru has anything to offer." So for them the proof will be on the charts she prepares. More on this and other research on Knowledge in coming issues.

That's Who!

Norwood Winters, 54, former alcoholic and street person is celebrating his first spiritual birthday this month. It all began one cold January night at the beginning of 1974 when he wandered, quite by accident, into the lobby of the Kittredge Building. He was drunk, destitute and almost suicidal. The concern of the premies scared him. In almost thirty years the only other attention he had known was the professional concern of his caseworker. He kept coming back. He sensed that premies had a real reason for living and they really cared about him. After much satsang, he received Knowledge from Mahatma Rajeshwar. Every day he comes and does service with the housemothers in National Headquarters, cleaning up and washing dishes. When I asked him what it was that really made him decide to receive Knowledge, he answered with his renowned remark, "Who? Guru Maharaj Ji, that's who!"

Rennie on the Road, Again

Rennie Davis, WWA president and former anti-war figure, will begin a professionally booked tour of American college campuses this spring. He has been signed for this tour by W. Colston Leigh, Inc., the same firm that is handling the lecture tour of John W. Dean III, one of the Watergate co-conspirators. Unlike his 1973 pre-Millennium tour, where he declared that "the Lord is on the planet" and "the Astrodome would be the place where America would come to the feet of the Perfect Master", he is now speaking on more subdued topics like "The World Crisis: What is the Solution?" and "Is America Becoming a Nation of Mystics?"

Ed. note: Students who would like to see Rennie come to their campus this spring should contact their student government offices and make their interest known.

Meditation Sono Boni

An Italian government film crew doing a documentary on the growth of the 60's generation is tying up a 7 year project by filming Divine Light Mission and premies in Boston and Denver.

The 5 person crew began filming in 1968 with the massive civil disobedience, anti-war demonstrations in Washington, D.C. From there they followed the large trends and changes in the peace movement eventually ending up here at Guru Maharaj Ji's door.

The entire film is four hours long with thirty minutes devoted to DLM. It will be shown on television throughout Europe.

Sober Grace in Tallahassee

It has been almost two months since the tragic violence in the Tallahassee premie center. Three sisters were shot; one died almost immediately and the two others, Lorraine and Dee-Dee, were seriously injured. By the grace of our Lord, both women have been recovering. Dee-Dee is out of the hospital, but in six months will have to have surgery to insert a metal plate in her skull. Lorraine is not doing as well. One bullet is still lodged in her brain. She has lost a good deal of her ability to express herself, either through speaking, writing or sign language. She is also partially paralyzed in her legs.

The premies in Tallahassee have really manifested themselves as a family to take care of these two sisters. They have set up a trust fund and are trying to cover the medical expenses as they arise. Susan Corbin is organizing a committee to raise more money. She says, "It is clear to us that if funds were available, Lorraine could be getting the help of a really good neurologist and through delicate surgery and by his grace, she might be able to retain the use of some of the parts of her brain that have left her aphasic and paralyzed." If you want to help … write to Susan, 402 E. Harrison St. in Tallahassee, Florida, 32303. (Since this writing, Lorraine has been able to move her paralyzed leg.)

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Divine Light Noodle Night

Around the country last month one of the main premie community activities has been fund-raising. New York has held dances, Kansas City has had raffles, Seattle has shown videos and among other things, Denver had "Divine Light Noodle Night" featuring a gigantic spaghetti dinner cooked by none other than chef extraordinaire, Tiny, former captain of Starship Prachar and now head of National research in Denver. After dinner there was a complete cabaret event with tap dancing, gospel preaching, zany skits, The Four Techniques, chamber music and many other gala performances. Joe Anctil, Maharaj Ji's press secretary, hosted the entire event, relaxing in the brief interlude between calls from reporters asking about Premlata's birth and the current calls inquiring about the alleged DLM - CIA link.

WWA Prisons

"I knew instinctively that there had to be more to life than mortgages and bologna sandwiches, and my life had been one continuous series of mostly bad experiences. These experiences came about as a result of searching for that unknown thing which would satisfy me. I tried drugs, alcohol, crime, work, education, bumming around, laying around and pretty well anything else that there was to try. The results were always the same: disappointment, dissatisfaction with myself, frustration, and the feeling that I was never going to find real peace of mind and some real happiness.

Then I stumbled into the Divine Light meeting, and an hour later, I knew that I had found something real. The outside people were talking my kind of talk. Peace, love, brotherhood of man, inner peace and beauty, all these phrases were right in line with what I had been searching for. The people were real; the love that they radiated could actually be felt. I started attending every meeting, and finally I understood enough to receive Knowledge.

Since then my life has taken on a completely new look. I have a definite purpose to my life. I'm very happy most of the time. I am calm and peaceful, and I am starting to understand what it means to love others as my brothers. The Divine Light Mission is much more than a 'group'. It is a way of life."

R. G. Burrows,
inmate Matsqui Prison
Vancouver, Canada

Right now, there are 300,000 people in prisons, 75,000 awaiting trial, 900,000 on probation and 300,000 on parole. Billions and billions of dollars are spent each year catching, trying, and confining these people; yet no solution has been found. Crime continues to rise at an alarming rate. In the last ten years the FBI reports that serious crime, murder, larceny and rape have increased 175%. Last year in New York City, 1 out of 15 persons were victims of some form of crime. Estimates say between 30-35 cents out of every buying dollar in America is spent paying for loss due to merchandise theft.

Government officials admit they have no answer. The governor of Pennsylvania stated bluntly, "The present criminal justice system has failed." There are few who disagree, even the chairman of the U.S. Parole Board said, "The fact is, it is time, long past time for change in corrections … we know that no matter how hard we have worked at it, our programs are not always what we claim them to be and we are not doing the job of rehabilitation that the times demand and the public expects."

Taking all of this into account, it makes sense that some of the World Welfare Association's most powerful and graceful work has been done inside prison walls. "People in prison are very open to Knowledge," said Jim Crozier of the World Welfare Association. "A man on the street doesn't carry an idea around with him that there is a block of time that he is dwelling in and that he should make use of it, but in prison a person becomes aware of 'doing time'. When premies come and give satsang about making use of time, making use of life and the ultimate purpose of life, it is something that a prisoner already knows. We're saying, 'While you are in prison, why don't you realize God?' "

Premies have been visiting prisons ever since Guru Maharaj Ji first came to the United States, but it was only a year and a half ago that these efforts began with some national organization and direction. Volunteers of World Welfare Association are now working in 16 states, in 40 institutions. One of the main things they are doing is organizing "self-knowledge" classes. "When we first started visiting prisons, sometimes the vibration would become too social," Jim began. "People would attend our programs not for the satsang but because they liked the premies, particularly the sisters. This made the premies self-conscious and it put a damper on sat-sang. The context of the class has really changed this." In Colorado, a self-awareness class has been going on for half a year in the Canon City peniten-tary. Recently eight inmates and one guard received Knowledge. The story of how the guard received Knowledge has the delightful scent of God's grace. Satsang came to him quite by accident. He was assigned to supervise the newly formed Divine Light self-knowledge class. At first he brought a book and read while the premies spoke. As the months passed the sat-sang began to strike him. "Was it possible," he wondered, "that what these premies were saying could be true?" Then when Mahatma Jagdeo came in late February, he received Knowledge with the others.

In almost every part of the country where premies are working, the prison staff notices them. In a letter from a Georgia facility, five members of the staff joined in writing World Welfare Association a letter.

Dear Friends,

It is very difficult to express the gratitude our staff and residents have for the time and energy you have spent here recently. You have helped to bring about a perceptible attitude of hope and anticipation among the residents you visit each week. They really look forward to a group of people who will come on a consistent basis and who will share so unselfishly. We hope you will continue to make these contacts with our residents, and perhaps through efforts like yours rehabilitation will become a reality.

Premies are also organizing less direct satsang classes, teaching everything from crafts and guitar to hatha yoga. On Riker's Island, in New York City, the sisters are teaching a course called "Beauty and Make-up" in the women's prison. "It doesn't make much difference what we teach, once we're inside the prison, satsang becomes the whole lesson," said one New York premie sister.

Where visitation programs are not possible, letter writing has been a wonderful success. In Phoenix, Arizona, premies are corresponding with 117 brothers in prison there.

For premie-inmates - there are now over 100 - prison becomes like a big ashram. In Canon City, the incarcerated brothers begin each day with arti and meditation, then on to service at the prison-assigned jobs and satsang together at 7:30 rounded out by arti and meditation at night.

"Our first interest is getting satsang into the prison and helping prisoners receive Knowledge," Jim explained. "Yet, I see our real role in doing follow-up work after a person has Knowledge and after he leaves the institution."

Just A Seed …

In Albuquerque, New Mexico the premies are planting for the second year, tilling a community garden on a five acre plot of farmland available to them. Similar projects are in the works in many other premie communities. Inspired by this effort, Burpee Seed Co. has just donated 4,000 lbs. of seed to Divine Light Mission. Will Reishman of Shri Hans Foods says that any premies who need some of this seed for community gardens or farms can have it just for the price of shipping. Write to him for further details, P.O. Box 532, Denver, Colorado.

Rainbows in the Snow - Chicago Rainbow Grocery Opens

An eyewitness account from Chicago: "Two days before opening, the storefront was still a mess, the cooler had just been fixed, the floor was still all dirty and we still needed barrels, but most of all, we needed to get centered. While we worked we wanted to really be in meditation so that store would really shine, with a little bit of Guru Maharaj Ji's love polyurethaned into floors, hammered into shelves and painted on the walls.

"So that morning we sat down together and dug in to the Holy Name, a few of us felt we had somehow thrown it out the day before with all the junk from the back room. Soon that soothing feeling crept over us and sat-sang just filled up all the empty space in the store.

"After that it started to click - a clean-up party Tuesday night and Wednesday brought everything together. When the doors opened at 10:30 a.m., we looked around us and couldn't believe it - green, leafy plants hanging in the windows, on shelves, on top of the coolers baskets of fruit and wood chips nested in the display windows … shiny eggplants sitting between rows of nice red, ripe tomatoes, broccoli dripping with moisture amid oranges, lemons, apples, carrots, radishes - all the colors of the Rainbow Grocery.

"There were little old ladies, Spanish speaking, Chinese speaking, all asking 'how much are your onions.' Blacks, doctors from the hospital and young marrieds … all mixed in with a few devotees of the Perfect Master."