Interesting title for my post announcing the newest
Book of THoTH podcast, isn't it? Well, this one has turned out to be more than a little different, and I think you're all going to want to find out what the interviewee has to say in this episode.
So, who's being interviewed by Jeremy Vaeni this time? Maitreya Friend, the founder of a religious movement.
His site bills it as "God's Eternal Universal Religion" and his site calls it the path to God. Lofty statements, and ones which he thoroughly believes in.
You may
download it directly here, or use the first link in the post to stream it.
I don't want to make this post a "what do I believe in in terms of religion" post. I think that's nothing that anyone cares about, and I don't want to start any kind of religious argument. I can't stand those, and I think they're completely and totally pointless. More or less, I think that organized religions are far more of a problem than they are a solution, and in terms of spirituality, I think that all rivers lead to the ocean. There's no "correct" way, and anyone who tells you that theirs in the only way should be looked at warily.
Now, first off, Maitreya tells a very compelling story, and one which I thoroughly believe. He had an accident at age eight which he believes set into motion a series of events leading him to where he is today. He had a near death experience, coupled with another one later, in which he saw images, "heard" his mandate, and has fulfilled his part of the deal which he made.
I find that very "paranormal" and well within the limits of my beliefs. I believe he had these experiences, and I believe he is only doing what he sees as what he needs to do to save everyone's souls. A worthy mandate, for certain, and I congratulate him for taking it up and standing up for what he believes in.
As I stated for the Book of THoTH front page:
In this episode Maitreya Friend gives a rare, inside look at the mind of a religious figurehead. Through his in-depth interview with Jeremy Vaeni, he takes the listener through his near death experience at 8 years old, his spiritual awakening, and then relates how the two are actually intertwined.
He explores his belief in God, his understanding of the universe, what he believes happens to souls, and how he believes he can change the world through his spiritual mandate. Maitreya says that he has made a sacrifice for the souls of the people on earth, listen and find out what he means.
Interviews like this don't come around everyday, and Jeremy needs to be congratulated for stepping outside of the box and asking Maitreya to do it. If you go to Maitreya's website, the title is "God's Eternal Universal Religion" and this interview gives a fascinating look at what makes him tick, why he's starting his own religion, and really gets to the heart of his beliefs.
There was absolutely nothing about the man that struck me as anything more than he claimed to be. He's a man who is trying to make sense of the world, the universe, and the great beyond just like the rest of us. Only difference is that he believes he has found some important answers, and he's dealt with that by starting his own religion and proclaimed himself as the head of that religion. Seeing as how I believe that all paths are equally good, and he wasn't clear on whether you're only moving on if you're blessed by him or not, I probably won't be signing up anytime soon, but I bear no ill will toward his beliefs. As I said to him in an e-mail, anyone searching for the voice in spirituality that speaks to them should give his a listen along the path of finding the right one for them.
So, I was surprised to receive a very negative e-mail from one of his followers within 12 hours of the podcast being put up. Particularly seeing as how I believe he got a very favorable interview, the likes of which he probably wouldn't get in almost any other venue.
Basically, he felt that Jeremy's use of the term "cult" in the opening minute of the podcast(even though it was not specifically used to identify their movement, and was clearly used in the meaning of any new religion) offended their beliefs. Not only that, but he opened up the discussion with multiple thinly veiled threats such as:
You are bordering on SLANDER, if not outright being slanderous
...
If you don't edit out that slanderous part, I'm not sure what he (and especially other members) will do.
...
They might threaten legal action, I don't know yet.
Unfortunately, I seem to be a magnet for this kind of thing. Am I really that offensive? I'm fairly used to threats, the outright kind and the thinly veiled kind, so I responded as I usually do(which, I know that I probably shouldn't).
Let me start by saying that I'm offended by your threats. I don't deal with them well, and running a site that deals with so many touchy issues I've had plenty of them over the years. I'm tempted to just dismiss you out of hand and let you do whatever you feel like doing due to the fact that you don't seem able to deal with issues like an adult. Please, lets not go down that back and forth road.
That said, I'll have a talk with Jeremy and the owner of the site to decide what we feel is best.
...
if you walk up to me on the street and say, "If you look at me I don't know what I'll do," I'll get the hint.
...
I'm sensitive to your issue, and even though you throughly turned me off to your cause, I'll look into it and see what we are going to do about your complaint.
Unfortunately, this was followed up by many backs and forths, which probably shouldn't have ever happened. I simply don't deal well with threats or bullying. Every time I get one on a subject, I scream and yell about it even more. Just my way of dealing with people who I feel want to destroy information, I guess. He claimed that he wasn't threatening anything, and I continued to show that I saw it as a threat.
In the end, we've settled on an agreement, which I will adhere to here. I will add Jeremy's disclaimer to the podcast which I have linked to in this post:
I just want to make it clear that in the intro, when I refer to this as a "cult" I mean that in the sense of a new religious movement, not in the nefarious evil cult sense. I don't think Maitreya has secret evil intentions. I think I made that clear but one never knows.
Jeremy
I harbor no ill will toward Maitreya nor any of his followers. As I've said before, all pure spiritual paths are good as far as I'm concerned, and I've seen nothing to make me believe that this one is not good in anyway. I hope that we've found some common ground in the end, after a rocky start. I actually look forward to dealing with them again in the future.
Labels: Book of THoTH, Jeremy Vaeni, Maitreya Friend, podcast, religion, spirituality
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