Andrew Cohen

[Guest guest]

Hello Everybody:

 

I hope that everyone is having a nice summer.

 

A friend has asked me to go to a workshop given by Andrew Cohen in

Boston during July. I have read a couple of his books and have an

interest in what he has to say. Has anybody on the list ever gone to

any of his talks? If so, what was your impression?

 

Thanks.

 

Namaste,

Linda

[Guest guest]

-

LC <jyotish

 

Wednesday, June 14, 2000 10:44 AM

Re: Andrew Cohen

 

 

Hello Everybody:

 

I hope that everyone is having a nice summer.

 

A friend has asked me to go to a workshop given by Andrew Cohen in Boston during

July. I have read a couple of his books and have an interest in what he has to

say.

Has anybody on the list ever gone to any of his talks? If so, what was your

impression?

 

Thanks.

 

Namaste,

Linda

 

 

Hi Linda,

 

Well, you have read more than I have, as I just have read some articles from his

magazine. It is hard to tell much from his interviews of other people because

their

content tends to come to the fore. It occurred to me to pass on the url, the

current

issue doesn't give many articles, but once they get old.. more and more of the

magazine seems to be given thru the website.

 

http://www.wie.org/index.html

 

I would say that if you have an interest and he's known to be relatively

harmless,

why care much what anyone else thinks? Perhaps he has something to say that is

just

what you need to hear?

 

Love,

Gloria

[Guest guest]

-

LC

Wednesday, June 14, 2000 7:44 AM

Re: Andrew Cohen

Hello Everybody:

I hope that everyone is having a nice summer.

A friend has asked me to go to a workshop given by Andrew Cohen in

Boston during July. I have read a couple of his books and have an

interest in what he has to say. Has anybody on the list ever gone to

any of his talks? If so, what was your impression?

Thanks.

Namaste,

Linda

Dear Linda,

Initially after reading your post, I felt reluctant to respond but now

6 hours later, here i am typing away. I suggest referencing

http://www.poonja.com/ . Scroll down and click on Stories, then

scroll down to the last paragraph, wherein something is written

referring to Andrew Cohen.

I have not seen Andrew Cohen in person, but awareness of him was

first brought to my attention through the book, Autobiography of An

Awakening. I chose not to read this book in it's entirety, but only

after reading enough to prompt me to return it to the person who gave

it to me.

In that book, Andrew's statements concerning HIMSELF and his obvious

need to debunk Papaji was extremely apparrent. In it are both claims

about his own enlightenment and accusations about Papaji. At that

time, I felt that if Andrew were indeed Self-Realized, knowing the

nature of that which appears to be going on in the dream, the writing

of this kind of "stuff" would not be happening as well as the knowing

of and abiding in Forgiveness would be - if indeed there was any

truth to what he was saying.

Also, about a year and a half ago, an article about Andrew appeared

in the Los Angeles Times, wherein his Mother, (who had also been with

Papaji, and whose love for her son was quite apparent) )was

interviewed and made the statement that her son was a megalomaniac.

Please understand that in sharing this with you, i in no way wish to

influence you or anyone for or against, nor to sit in judgement of

Andrew.. Only because you asked and Gloria posted her response, i

replied.

P.S. Once, while i was in the presence of a self- realized Master, he

said, we are here for two reasons; to learn to love and to tolerate.

All my love and best wishes,

Jessica

Namaste.

// All paths go

somewhere. No path goes nowhere. Paths, places, sights, perceptions,

and indeed all experiences arise from and exist in and subside back

into the Space of Awareness. Like waves rising are not different than

the ocean, all things arising from Awareness are of the nature of

Awareness. Awareness does not come and go but is always Present. It

is Home. Home is where the Heart Is. Jnanis know the Heart to be the

Finality of Eternal Being. A true devotee relishes in the Truth of

Self-Knowledge, spontaneously arising from within into It Self.

Welcome all to a.To from this list, go to

the ONElist web site, at www., and

select the User Center link from the menu bar on

the left. This menu will also let you change your subscription

between digest and normal mode.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 6/14/00 5:33:58 PM Pacific Daylight Time,

ellam-ondre writes:

 

<< I have not seen Andrew Cohen in person, but awareness of him was first

brought to my attention through the book, Autobiography of An Awakening. I

chose not to read this book in it's entirety, but only after reading enough

to prompt me to return it to the person who gave it to me.

In that book, Andrew's statements concerning HIMSELF and his obvious need

to debunk Papaji was extremely apparrent. In it are both claims about his

own enlightenment and accusations about Papaji. At that time, I felt that if

Andrew were indeed Self-Realized, knowing the nature of that which appears to

be going on in the dream, the writing of this kind of "stuff" would not be

happening as well as the knowing of and abiding in Forgiveness would be -

if indeed there was any truth to what he was saying. >>

 

l read a good portion of Cohen's book (referred to above) myself, then

put it down before finishing, not because of his statements against Poonja

but more because l lost interest. Cohen states that he left Poonja because he

felt that his conduct was inconsistent with that of a realized master, but l

don't recall that he ever said what that conduct was, at least not in this

book, is that so? lt seemed to me that his statements about his teacher were

limited and restrained. Please feel free to fill me in here if l'm wrong.

 

l don't have any

feelings or opinions about Cohen (or Poonja) one way or the other -- he

always seemed harmless enough to me, altho his mother calling him a

megalomaniac isn't exactly reassuring, ha ha -- but if he had evidence his

teacher was being false then he had a perfect right to acknowledge it. Such

an acknowledgment is not necessarily inconsistent with forgiveness. On the

other hand, whitewashing misdeeds of teachers under the pretext of lofty

spiritual principles can indeed be harmful.

 

Anyway, Linda l'm glad you're going -- let us

know what you think.

 

jerry

[Guest guest]

Hi Gloria,

Thanks for the response. I've decided to go...I find his magazine

provocative and the price for the workshop is more than reasonable.

I'll be going with the woman whom I 'teacher-trained' with down in FL

and that alone will make the trip worthwhile.

Love,

Linda

>Hi Linda,>Well, you have read more than I have, as I just have read

some articles >from his>magazine. It is hard to tell much from his

interviews of other people >because their>content tends to come to

the fore. It occurred to me to pass on the url, >the current>issue

doesn't give many articles, but once they get old.. more and more >of

the>magazine seems to be given thru the

website.>http://www.wie.org/index.html>I would say that if you have

an interest and he's known to be relatively >harmless,>why care much

what anyone else thinks? Perhaps he has something to say >that is

just>what you need to hear?>Love,>Gloria

// All paths go

somewhere. No path goes nowhere. Paths, places, sights, perceptions,

and indeed all experiences arise from and exist in and subside back

into the Space of Awareness. Like waves rising are not different than

the ocean, all things arising from Awareness are of the nature of

Awareness. Awareness does not come and go but is always Present. It

is Home. Home is where the Heart Is. Jnanis know the Heart to be the

Finality of Eternal Being. A true devotee relishes in the Truth of

Self-Knowledge, spontaneously arising from within into It Self.

Welcome all to a.To from this list, go to

the ONElist web site, at www., and

select the User Center link from the menu bar on

the left. This menu will also let you change your subscription

between digest and normal mode.

[Guest guest]

Dear Jessica:

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply at length to my post.

Fortunately, I am not looking for a 'teacher' to affiliate

with....I've been there, done that and have the t-shirt to prove it.

I am looking to spend some time with a good friend at an interesting

and light workshop.

Like yourself, I do not want to judge anyone...it takes courage and

determination to even attempt to explore the world of spiritual

liberation. Perhaps, as the old scriptures state, we are in the dark

age of the Kali Yuga and false teachers will abound. I've been

involved in the work of yoga and transcendence for many years and one

of the most notable issues to me are the huge egos that seem to

accompany the teachers and followers both in the East and West. To

this mind it is simply part of the terrain but not the whole show.

Once again, thank you for input and certainly if I were looking for

someone to lead me or to whom I was going to have to trust on a day

to day basis I would have to look at the red flags....but even in

that situation......my mother I am sure thinks I am a total nut case

with delusions of being God...and the man who taught me actually once

gave a good friend a mantra to protect herself from me....two years

later she is no longer in what is now called 'teacher screaming at

student yoga' but still a good friend to me...who knows karma, ego

lessons, pure nuttiness...in the end it's love and self that's the

key.

Namaste,

Linda

>Dear Linda,

>Initially after reading your post, I felt reluctant to respond but

now 6 hours later, here i >am typing away. I suggest referencing

http://www.poonja.com/ . Scroll down and click >on Stories, then

scroll down to the last paragraph, wherein something is written

>referring to Andrew Cohen.

>I have not seen Andrew Cohen in person, but awareness of him was

first brought to >my attention through the book, Autobiography of An

Awakening. I chose not to read >this book in it's entirety, but only

after reading enough to prompt me to return it to the >person who

gave it to me.

>In that book, Andrew's statements concerning HIMSELF and his obvious

need to >debunk Papaji was extremely apparrent. In it are both claims

about his own >enlightenment and accusations about Papaji. At that

time, I felt that if Andrew were >indeed Self-Realized, knowing the

nature of that which appears to be going on in the >dream, the

writing of this kind of "stuff" would not be happening as well as

the knowing >of and abiding in Forgiveness would be - if indeed

there was any truth to what he was >saying.

>Also, about a year and a half ago, an article about Andrew appeared

in the Los >Angeles Times, wherein his Mother, (who had also been

with Papaji, and whose love >for her son was quite apparent) )was

interviewed and made the statement that her son >was a megalomaniac.

Please understand that in sharing this with you, i in no way wish t>o

influence you or anyone for or against, nor to sit in judgement of

Andrew.. Only >because you asked and Gloria posted her response, i

replied.

>P.S. Once, while i was in the presence of a self- realized Master,

he said, we are here >for two reasons; to learn to love and to

tolerate.

>All my love and best wishes,

>Jessica

Namaste.

// All paths go

somewhere. No path goes nowhere. Paths, places, sights, perceptions,

and indeed all experiences arise from and exist in and subside back

into the Space of Awareness. Like waves rising are not different than

the ocean, all things arising from Awareness are of the nature of

Awareness. Awareness does not come and go but is always Present. It

is Home. Home is where the Heart Is. Jnanis know the Heart to be the

Finality of Eternal Being. A true devotee relishes in the Truth of

Self-Knowledge, spontaneously arising from within into It Self.

Welcome all to a.To from this list, go to

the ONElist web site, at www., and

select the User Center link from the menu bar on

the left. This menu will also let you change your subscription

between digest and normal mode.

// All paths go

somewhere. No path goes nowhere. Paths, places, sights, perceptions,

and indeed all experiences arise from and exist in and subside back

into the Space of Awareness. Like waves rising are not different than

the ocean, all things arising from Awareness are of the nature of

Awareness. Awareness does not come and go but is always Present. It

is Home. Home is where the Heart Is. Jnanis know the Heart to be the

Finality of Eternal Being. A true devotee relishes in the Truth of

Self-Knowledge, spontaneously arising from within into It Self.

Welcome all to a.To from this list, go to

the ONElist web site, at www., and

select the User Center link from the menu bar on

the left. This menu will also let you change your subscription

between digest and normal mode.

[Guest guest]

> LC wrote:

>

> Dear Jessica:

>

> Thank you so much for taking the time to reply at length to my post.

>

> Fortunately, I am not looking for a 'teacher' to affiliate with....I've been

there,

> done that and have the t-shirt to prove it. I am looking to spend some time

with a

> good friend at an interesting and light workshop.

>

> Like yourself, I do not want to judge anyone...it takes courage and

determination to

> even attempt to explore the world of spiritual liberation. Perhaps, as the

old

> scriptures state, we are in the dark age of the Kali Yuga and false teachers

will

> abound. I've been involved in the work of yoga and transcendence for many

years and

> one of the most notable issues to me are the huge egos that seem to accompany

the

> teachers and followers both in the East and West. To this mind it is simply

part of

> the terrain but not the whole show.

>

> Once again, thank you for input and certainly if I were looking for someone to

lead

> me or to whom I was going to have to trust on a day to day basis I would have

to

> look at the red flags....but even in that situation......my mother I am sure

thinks

> I am a total nut case with delusions of being God...and the man who taught me

> actually once gave a good friend a mantra to protect herself from me....two

years

> later she is no longer in what is now called 'teacher screaming at student

yoga' but

> still a good friend to me...who knows karma, ego lessons, pure nuttiness...in

the

> end it's love and self that's the key.

>

> Namaste,

> Linda

>

 

Who knows Linda, maybe you're just the teacher Andrew Cohen needs.

 

love,

 

andrew (not cohen

[Guest guest]

-

<GCWein1111

 

Thursday, June 15, 2000 6:50 AM

Re: Re: Andrew Cohen

>

 

l read a good portion of Cohen's book (referred to above) myself, then

> put it down before finishing, not because of his statements against Poonja

> but more because l lost interest. Cohen states that he left Poonja because

he

> felt that his conduct was inconsistent with that of a realized master, but

l

> don't recall that he ever said what that conduct was, at least not in this

> book, is that so?

 

Snip>

> lt seemed to me that his statements about his teacher were

> limited and restrained. Please feel free to fill me in here if l'm wrong.

>

Hello Jerry,

Again reluctance on my part, but rather than me saying anything further on

the subject, a response to your question would be to suggest that if you

really have the interest, to take another look at the book for yourself.

It's been a long time for me and i just can't muster the energy to say one

more thing about it, except that my recollection is different than yours. At

the time, i was not interested in Poonja's conduct, because i had no

affiliation with him and indeed the article and interview with his mother in

the LA Times just confirmed (for me) what i felt at that time of reading his

Autobiography.

i didn't express in the previous email that my experience in

reading that book was just One Big Turn-off! That's all ( but then, Who Am

i?). Awareness has shown that all of these movies are going on inside of

me -and- i appear to choose to not enter -or- to leave some theatres -or-

to just watch and abide in the Self.

 

Much love to you Jerry, and to all,

jessica

>

> l don't have

any

> feelings or opinions about Cohen (or Poonja) one way or the other -- he

> always seemed harmless enough to me, altho his mother calling him a

> megalomaniac isn't exactly reassuring, ha ha -- but if he had evidence his

> teacher was being false then he had a perfect right to acknowledge it.

Such

> an acknowledgment is not necessarily inconsistent with forgiveness. On the

> other hand, whitewashing misdeeds of teachers under the pretext of lofty

> spiritual principles can indeed be harmful.

>

> Anyway, Linda l'm glad you're going -- let

us

> know what you think.

>

> jerry

>

> ------

> Missing old school friends? Find them here:

> http://click./1/5534/7/_/520931/_/961077022/

> ------

>

> //

>

> All paths go somewhere. No path goes nowhere. Paths, places, sights,

perceptions, and indeed all experiences arise from and exist in and subside

back into the Space of Awareness. Like waves rising are not different than

the ocean, all things arising from Awareness are of the nature of Awareness.

Awareness does not come and go but is always Present. It is Home. Home is

where the Heart Is. Jnanis know the Heart to be the Finality of Eternal

Being. A true devotee relishes in the Truth of Self-Knowledge, spontaneously

arising from within into It Self. Welcome all to a.

>

> To from this list, go to the ONElist web site, at

> www., and select the User Center link from

the menu bar

> on the left. This menu will also let you change your

subscription

> between digest and normal mode.

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

>Who knows Linda, maybe you're just the teacher Andrew Cohen

needs.>love, >andrew (not cohen

Hi Andrew (not cohen:-))

Luckily, life does a really good job of teaching us all.

Love,

Linda

// All paths go

somewhere. No path goes nowhere. Paths, places, sights, perceptions,

and indeed all experiences arise from and exist in and subside back

into the Space of Awareness. Like waves rising are not different than

the ocean, all things arising from Awareness are of the nature of

Awareness. Awareness does not come and go but is always Present. It

is Home. Home is where the Heart Is. Jnanis know the Heart to be the

Finality of Eternal Being. A true devotee relishes in the Truth of

Self-Knowledge, spontaneously arising from within into It Self.

Welcome all to a.To from this list, go to

the ONElist web site, at www., and

select the User Center link from the menu bar on

the left. This menu will also let you change your subscription

between digest and normal mode.

[Guest guest]

>l read a good portion of Cohen's book (referred to above) myself,

then >put it down before finishing, not because of his statements

against >Poonja >but more because l lost interest. Cohen states that

he left Poonja >because he >felt that his conduct was inconsistent

with that of a realized master, >but l >don't recall that he ever

said what that conduct was, at least not in >this >book, is that so?

lt seemed to me that his statements about his teacher >were >limited

and restrained. Please feel free to fill me in here if l'm >wrong.

>

l don't have >any >feelings or opinions about Cohen (or Poonja) one

way or the other -- he >always seemed harmless enough to me, altho

his mother calling him a >megalomaniac isn't exactly reassuring, ha

ha -- but if he had evidence >his >teacher was being false then he

had a perfect right to acknowledge it. >Such >an acknowledgment is

not necessarily inconsistent with forgiveness. On >the >other hand,

whitewashing misdeeds of teachers under the pretext of lofty

>spiritual principles can indeed be >harmful.

> Anyway, Linda l'm

glad you're going -- >let us >know what you >think.

>jerry

Hi Jerry:

Your comments are always appreciated as they come from a reasonable and balanced perspective.

I read the above book and felt that is was a bit mis-titled as it

appeared to be a 'working out' of sorts the relationshp with his

teacher. Like yourself, I felt his comments were a bit restrained and

limited but did take note of the fact that he included letters

addressed to his teacher whereby he tried to gain clarity and open up

communication. It was his teacher that would not open that door. I

have learned that 'non-closure' is a tool used by many spiritual

teachers to end relationships with students that no longer serve the

needs of the teacher. As for his mother's comments this is the same

mother that moved a continent away and left him in the care of

doctors when he was a boy. However,since I was not a direct witness

to any of this it is impossible to come to any conclusions I can only

leave my mind open.

Other than that, I like his magazine I think it is intelligent and

provocative and am glad I made the decision to go....it will be

wonderful to spend some time with a like-minded buddy going to a

class together again. I will let you know any

impressions....megalomanic or crazy adept....which ever I know I'll

have a good time with a good friend.

Love,

Linda

// All paths go

somewhere. No path goes nowhere. Paths, places, sights, perceptions,

and indeed all experiences arise from and exist in and subside back

into the Space of Awareness. Like waves rising are not different than

the ocean, all things arising from Awareness are of the nature of

Awareness. Awareness does not come and go but is always Present. It

is Home. Home is where the Heart Is. Jnanis know the Heart to be the

Finality of Eternal Being. A true devotee relishes in the Truth of

Self-Knowledge, spontaneously arising from within into It Self.

Welcome all to a.To from this list, go to

the ONElist web site, at www., and

select the User Center link from the menu bar on

the left. This menu will also let you change your subscription

between digest and normal mode.