I arrived in Australia in 1975 in time for the program at the opera house and it was going then and I don't know how long it had been going before but there was another place, Riley St maybe? before it.
so Wentworth Ave was late early days for me. I remember lots of activity round the nursery and lots of interest in health food, alternative medicine and education, all that stuff.
And I remember the edict coming to close the nursery - too noisy and distracting for the great and glorious satsang going on in the next room.
and not to bring children to events, goodness knows at least Jesus said suffer little children to come unto me, or was that someone else who wrote it but anyway why should children be excluded from the presence of the living lord?
so I think largely the premies brushed it off as falling into that huge laundry basket of stuff labelled 'done by the honchos who get in the way of Maharaji but if he knew what was happening he'd change it'
Closing the nursery caused a lot of disappointment, particularly for those who had worked hard to make good facilities, disgruntlement on behalf of tired overworked parents and it took a while to happen.
It was also probably a good thing - no cult children slave gangs at least.
