Hi Premie Response,

I consider that time spent ‘bagging one’s former partner/activity’ is a natural, cathartic, healthy and necessary way human beings deal with such emotional upset. You’ve probably done it yourself as have most people at some time. No shame there. Your questioning why people should give intense past relationships ‘another moment’s thought’ demonstrates some wishful-thinking from you about the ‘problem’ of ex-premies.

Regarding your suggestion that ‘there is a limit to dwelling on old injuries and a real risk of hypochondria’.
Despite your probable perception of this forum as being mainly the domain of obsessive hypochondriacs, you might consider that in the real world it is good for injured people to nurse their injuries. I think you'll agree that the risk that one will turn into a hypochondriac from doing so is so minimal as to really not be worth mentioning. So I would say that the risk of people obsessing here to the risk of their sanity is outweighed by the possibility that they might actually get over their grievances by having somewhere to air them.

Many people’s involvement and commitment to Maharaji was intense, sincere and prolonged enough to ensure that they will always have opinions about their past and Maharaji’s part in it. Certainly they can learn from it and ‘move on’ but hopefully they won’t ever forget it. Someone who buries and forgets their past is in denial.

If someone, or a group of like-minded people, feels that it is a worthy cause to maybe write a book about their experiences or to start a web site or whatever, so as to warn others about the pitfalls of an institution, cult, religion or political system they were once involved in, it surely cannot be considered a bad thing. That doesn’t necessarily mean the authors are obsessed in a negative way with the past. Our society currently tolerates some degree of freedom of speech and is evolving ways of dealing with abuse of that system and to protect against the propagation of lies. So let them do it and correct them if they are wrong.

It seems possible that that your suggestion that critics of Maharaji should essentially shut up for their own good, is to draw attention away from a more pressing reason. That is, that their shutting-up would actually suit you and Maharaji quite well in your current (and in my opinion rather narrow-minded) modus-operandi. Maybe in the future premies and Maharaji will learn to welcome criticism rather than avoid it as it seems is now the policy.