They freed their minds. But some wound up trapped.
By Jayanti Tamm | Sunday, August 9, 2009 | The Washington Post
“…At my local bookstore on the eve of the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, 1960s nostalgia is in high gear. A display table is stacked high with pricey coffee table books, each with its own variation on psychedelic rainbow lettering, each claiming to reveal the untold story of the ‘peace and music’ festival. I understand the lucrative business of selling those hazy memories — the Woodstock museum, Cherry Garcia ice cream, even the new movie ‘Taking Woodstock‘. I just can’t buy into it….”…BS
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/07/AR2009080702048_pf.html
This entry was posted on Sunday, August 9th, 2009 at 7:35 AM and filed under History, Media, Spirituality, Youth. Follow comments here with the RSS 2.0 feed. Skip to the end and leave a response. Trackbacks are closed.
One Response to “They freed their minds. But some wound up trapped.”
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This is such a bunch of hooey! The author clearly has an axe to grind – and he is grinding it as sharply as he can.
The Hare Krishnas were founded in 1966, long before Woodstock. Their philosophy is Hindu and yoga-centered, and their structure is fairly open. There is no coercion: if you become a disciple there are rules to follow; if not, you can still participate.
The Unification Church was founded in 1954, and although Moon came to the U.S. in 1971, the church was not widely known until 1973 – LONG after the mud at Woodstock had dried.
Re Sri Chinmoy, there are NO “requirements” here: he does ask that his followers be vegetarian, abstain from alcohol and drugs, and lead a celibate life. But there is no requirement that they turn over “all their financial resources” to him, and one can follow his teachings and attend his seminars and meetings at any time. My guess is that the author’s parents CHOSE to follow Chinmoy to the degree they did, VOLUNTARILY handing over their financial resources as an act of devotion.
Re Maharishi and the Beatles, don’t forget that they eventually (and pretty quickly) rejected him when he turned out to be a hypocrite.
Ultimately, the author was clearly wounded by his personal experience, and is now lashing out at spirituality and religion without having done any real research.
That said, I also abhor the annoying commercialization of Woodstock, but for strictly philosophical and anti-consumerist reasons.
Peace.
Posted on 09-Aug-09 at 8:13 am | Permalink