Listen free for 30 days
-
Robes of Silk Feet of Clay
- The True Story of a Love Affair with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the TM Guru Followed by the Beatles, Deepak Chopra, David Lynch, and Millions More
- Narrated by: Judith Bourque
- Length: 4 hrs and 46 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Robes of Silk Feet of Clay
Buy Now for $15.10
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was the charismatic leader of the Transcendental Meditation movement and known internationally as the Beatles' guru. After John Lennon and George Harrison suddenly left Maharishi's India ashram retreat in 1968, rumors have persisted that the spiritual leader made advances toward young women which overstepped the boundaries expected of a celibate Hindu monk. In disillusionment, Lennon concluded his stay at the ashram by writing "Sexy Sadie". He wanted to use Maharishi's name but changed the title of the song at George Harrison's request.
Robes of Silk Feet of Clay reveals the true story of a young woman's love affair with the powerful guru. Just out of college, Judith Bourque went to India to become a teacher of Transcendental Meditation (TM).
"I expected to have a deeply profound spiritual experience with a living prophet...what I got was a decidedly human one!"
Maharishi told her not to tell anyone about their relationship, and she didn't...not until he died in 2008. Judith first came out of the closet in David Sieveking's David Wants to Fly, a full-length film documenting the German filmmaker's experiences in learning TM.
"After that interview I felt I needed to share the whole story of my relationship with Maharishi in my own way, and finally decided to write my book."
More from the same
What listeners say about Robes of Silk Feet of Clay
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Hermes
- 2019-01-23
Rings true
I drank it all in in two sittings.
As an ex-TMer I would rate it higher, but for general audiences I think it deserves my three star rating.
My background, or why does my opinion of this book matter anyway?...
I was on the periphery of the TM movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I was in Fairfield for the 10,000 course. When I saw the tall fence being built around a pod to become Maharishi's temporary residence I observed the bizarre concern he had for security. At another occasion when a a rebel TM teacher Robyn Carlsen was dropping leaflets by helicopter I observed Maharishi's strictness about rival teachings, especially branch offs from his own. When Bop Pepper, Ricky Weberg and Douglas Walker opened their trunk of course sign-up payments I saw the boxes of certified cheques and cash. Maharishi in my estimation may have started out to be a humanitarian but he became a politician and businessman.
I was never a 'true believer', and this meant I was never permitted to become a TM teacher -- I even had difficulty being accepted on residential courses because I questioned. I wasn't 'one-pointed'. Curiously, the only true taboos in the TM movement then were... 1) not being regular in doing one's program; or worse 2) following other teachers; closely followed by the worst offence of 3) questioning Maharishi's decisions. Every thing else (diet, sexuality, and certainly ethics) were flexible. Loyalty was everything. Although at 15 I had signed up just for a non-religious meditation technique over the next eight to ten years I became sucked into a Brahminical yogic sect! The TM movement didn't publish its beliefs and practices, and I certainly didn't get a 'here's what we expect' terms and conditions of membership. Instead a simple 20 minutes twice a day routine gradually (both in the sense of added on commitments and in the development of Maharishi's World Plan) became more and more us being guinea pigs for his conservative and esoteric brand of Hinduism. He tested it on so many naive westerners who it appeared had nothing else better to do. I didn't and actually I don't regret becoming vegetarian, not experimenting with drugs, and living a wholesome life.
So, it's not a bad brand, just a disingenuously presented one. And a lot of people invested their fortunes and especially their irreplaceable time of their relative youth by ignoring their careers. I know I spent a lot of time as a successful commission salesman just so I could go on courses such as the TM--Sidhi course which proved a huge disappointment and embarrassment. In my assessment it was a fraud.
When MMY visited Vancouver for the Ideal Society campaign I waited in a sprinkle to hold my umbrella over him as he got into his fancy car. My impression when he looked into my eyes briefly wasn't cosmic (unlike my first initiated meditation which was mystical). When I saw 'the wheels turning' in the little man in his white silk robes it seemed like he was assessing me as a security risk. Maharishi was a cautious methodical man with grand plans. And his lectures were amazingly boring.
But no one ever used my reluctant respect for control by the smiling local leader and his priestly class etc to take advantage of me sexually though. However the 'support of nature' theory was flawed. Bob's wife was hit by a car and her brother Ricky would much later die from throat cancer. So much for protective devas and ayurvedic cures. Instead of grand building projects and networking with monarchs like the King of Nepal, Maharishi should have stuck to giggling and saving hippies from themselves.
But I made good friends in a positive community that was tolerant, peaceful and strove to be healthy. I had a definite sense of purpose. But TM teachings did not help me grow up. I think the passive meditation enforced a totally unrealistic sense of life. And today the refrain 'Maharishi says...' sounds so childishly imbecilic.
Weaknesses of book: I think it could have been briefer and just as good a book.. It seemed a bit padded at the end. I don't relate much to 'new age' (arty, liberal, 'spiritual', universalist) thinking and it struck me that the author is in that mode. Of course this is just a personal taste and doesn't mean the author is anything except different than myself.
Strengths of book: real-life experience, non-judgmental, appealing voice.
Neutral: I wanted some nitty-gritty details and didn't get any. Perhaps just as well -- this book is about a sexual *relationship*.
A good companion book to this is the book by Gursant Singh who left 3HO
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Pamela
- 2024-02-17
Excellent presentation, skillfully written
I highly recommend listening to this well written and skillfully narrated true story!
Judith's voice is pitch perfect and very soothing. I would like to hear more from this author.
In hopes that another book is forthcoming.
And, I am not at all surprised that she won the 2019 Voice Arts Award, in Hollywood, for 'Best Narration by an Author' for this work! Bravo!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!