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Hi Nik, thanks for this encouraging perspective.
I guess, underneath it all, the Rawat foundation consider Rawat himself and his work the most deserving charity of all. This is hard to impress on other people. These donations seem to be there merely to try to prove a point.
It seems, to my perspective, that Rawat and his teaching coincided in time with a window of opportunity.
The window opened, initially with the opening of minds and heightened expectations of the 60's and 70's. This has been slowly in decline. The world has moved on.
The open window relied upon a lack of communication to be effective for maharaji's message. Now, with the web, that window is closing with accelerating finality.
This TPRF approach is an attempt to turn the information explosion to advantage, but information is not so easy to manipulate as ignorance.
The window is closing inexorably, we won't get fooled again in such numbers. These small token bags of rice look like props that have been jammed in the window frame to stop or slow the closing of the window of opportunity.
But no! The bags will burst, the rice will go everywhere and the window will close. The old followers, even if in secret they harbour doubts, probably have no where else to go.
Lp
Modified by LP at Tue, Jun 27, 2006, 11:23:46
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Last night on Charlie Rose, the Gates's and warren Buffett talked about their activities, and also how they empower other existing groups doing humanitarian work... Bill Gates mentioned quickly Patty Stonesiefer as being superb.... I believe she's a well connected premie, and amazon board member.... I would not put it past rawat at all, to attempt to elevate the tprf to higher levels by making a pitch to the Gates Foundation through Patty S., and get more funds to seed his current paltry efforts.....you don't think he'd love to schmooze with the Gates' and swap hi-tech stories with Bill?...maybe impress Bill and Warren with his piloting abilities...? I can't believe that people as smart as the Gates' would fall for rawats con game, and I think they would be horrified at what a google searech on rawat would bring up, but I certainly think rawat is not above trying...
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Is this possible? Patty Stonesifer ... Seatle ... Burt Wolf ... Video ... Rawat? Another possibility? Rawat ... Clarity ... Book ... Amazon ... Patty Stonesifer? Nah, scrub that speculation. It is beyond bizarre. T
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But then I think you are being sarcastic, T. Burt Wolf never responded to my letter, but I think it's clear that his interview of Rawat has made all the difference in how wildly successful propagation has been since then. Don't you think so? And of course, "Clarity." That has brought in loads of "potentially interested persons who are interested in hearing more but who have not yet received the techniques of self knowledge, nor signed away all their civil, legal, metaphysical and emotional rights in order to participate more and more in the Keys."
Modified by Joe at Tue, Jun 27, 2006, 21:29:41
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Oh Joe! Don't get so excited! According to 13's post below, entitled "Not another bloody propagation meeting!", the UK premie writer states that there have been 400 aspirants this year. But only 23 have received the big K. Those statistics say everything. Thank heavens for the internet!
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More than that have probably exed or just drifted away.
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I am not in contact with many premies these days, but out of those I do know, one has just exed, another in the last year or two, and another has just taken an interest in reading EPO.
I bet you are right LP - there are more leaving than joining. That is pretty clear by the diminishing numbers at 'events'. I bet they couldn't even get up a decent chant of 'Bhole Shri Satgurudev Maharaj Ki Jai!' now.
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Right 13, and if the posts of I.S.o.T. are any indication, they don't seem to have much of a premie social life any more either. That was a bonus m never intended us to enjoy anyway.
So that's how it's spelt, I wondered how a jay made of ghee could fly. Or why?
I hope all is well with you,
Lp
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That wonderous clarified marvel! For cooking at higher temps without burning, for non-refrigerated use (like when backpacking) and for soaking a cottonball for emergency lighting..... GHEE!Works great for lobster, crab and fantastic garlic bread, too! Well, at least I learned ONE decent thing from all those years as a premie!
Modified by NAR at Wed, Jun 28, 2006, 17:59:18
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Ah you're back, it's been a long day
But what about the jay?
Hmm.. I'll have to get some Ghee, sounds good for camping.
Modified by LP at Wed, Jun 28, 2006, 18:09:06
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The Moosewood Collective advises against buying ghee in a store because it's very expensive and may not be absolutely fresh. Apparently there's also something called vanaspati ghee, which is a form of vegetable shortening and not "usli" ("real" or "pure" ghee), so they warn to be careful not to get the two mixed up or you may be disappointed. There is a simple recipe for pure ghee in "Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant" - here it is:
Start with 1 pound unsalted butter. Cut the butter into large cubes and heat it in a heavy 2- to 3-quart saucepan on low head until completely melted. Increase the heat to medium. As the butter begins to boil, a white frothy foam will cover its surface, and the butter will begin to make sizzling or crackling noises. These sounds are caused by the evaporation of the moisture in the butter. Continue to cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the crackling sounds have stopped and the foam on top has subsided. At this point, the butter must be carefully watched and stirred constantly. Foam will again cover its surface and the mil solids on the bottom of the pan will begin to brown. This can happen very quickly, so close attention msut be paid at this point. When the solids have turned a medium golden brown, remove the pan from the heat. Allow the ghee to cool slightly, then pour it through a fine sieve or several layers of cheesecloth into tha glass jar. Avoid getting any of the brown sediment into the jar, because it can cause the ghee to spoil. You will have a clear, golden liquid which solidifies as it cools. If the milk solids have become overly brown (as happens sometimes), the ghee will still be useable. It will just be a darker color and somewhat stronger in flavor than is ideal. Ghee will keep for about six weeks at room temperature, for four months refrigerated, or indefinitely in the freezer. Variation: For flavored ghee, add 2 teaspoons cumin seeds or peppercorns or 3 slices fresh ginger root to the melted butter at the beginning of the process.
I don't think it can get much easier to make your own fresh ghee. Sundays at the Moosewood also has great recipes for making your own chenna and paneer, yogurt sauces, dal.. yum. I recommend it very highly.
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That is exactly correct and I only make my own. I use ghee for cooking, mostly, becasue it can handle the high temps that are required in cajun cooking (blackening) And, of course, camp cooking. Either way, it's delightful stuff.BTW, if you take cajun spices and just blacken them alone in ghee, you get a marvelous material that you can spread-on anything. If it is too think, you can remelt it in a pan at low temp and "pour" it on a food that you want to have the cajun flavor. OUTSTANDING! Just make sure you blacken the spices OUTSIDE! Don't even try to do it indoors or you will receive the pleasure of homegrown "pepper spray." You won't believe how irritating this stuff is til you get a lung full of it 
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Bhole shri Maharaj ghee jay! Kabir
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What a cunning little bleeder he is.
I can't believe that people as smart as the Gates' would fall for
rawats con game, and I think they would be horrified at what a google
searech on rawat would bring up, but I certainly think rawat is not
above trying...
Of course they wouldn't fall for it, but if they rate Patty Stonesiefer as A1, no doubt for good reason, would they care what she believed, & of course there's no reason to assume that funds would be shovelled to Rawat personally, although when there's more money available than the GDP of many countries, what level of incidental expenses are allowable.
$300,000 for a fact finding tour of India by the man himself, maybe?
No, of course it couldn't be as crude as that, could it?
As far as I can gather Buffet is merely retiring, & is solving the knotty problem of what to do with an ocean of money, by handing the responsibility over to Gates. I think he's made the right decision for an old man, as Gates has only resigned from making the stuff, & is now concerning himself with the best way to use it, & still has plenty of puff left.
Only time will tell if he's as effective a philanthropist as he is a businessman, but working with people who have hidden agendas will be only one of the problems he comes up against.
Warren has outsmarted Bill, just as he outsmarted everyone during his career, in the eye of the needle stakes, if you want to look at it like that.
Here we have the rank outsider Rawat trying to gallop up on the inside.
Good Luck Bill.
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Even if Stonesifer is a premie - and even if she were so unwise as to be inclined to give Rawat an 'in' with the Gates Foundation, there's no way Rawat and Co could measure up - from: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2c42dd20-0642-11db-9dde-0000779e2340.html Mr Buffett's donation is important in a third way. It suggests an endorsement of an alternative approach taken by the Gates Foundation towards what some have dubbed "venture" or "strategic" philanthropy. The practice is designed to bring some of the skills of business - or specifically venture capital - to charitable giving. Venture philanthropists actively seek out - and even create - organisations to receive funding in areas they judge useful, instead of passively processing requests for donations. They place large "bets" on those projects regarded as effective, introduce performance measurement techniques to assess their success, work with project managers to help them achieve their aims, and stop funding when failure or even long-term success results. Can anyone imagine TPRF or EV or anything else related to Rawat standing up to even the most cursory performance measurement ? Nik
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