perm filename GURU.2[1,LMM] blob
sn#158529 filedate 1975-05-09 generic text, type T, neo UTF8
n012 0911 07 May 75
COUPLE (FAMILY-STYLE)
By ROY REED
c.1975 N.Y. Times News Service
HARBORSIDE, Me. - Life proceeds quietly and firmly at
Forest Farm. Helen and Scott Nearing are in good health,
which is hardly news. Neither has been to a doctor in several
decades.
Nearing, who is 92, tells of a physician who dropped in
recently to look at their garden and asked who their family
doctor was. He laughed as he remembered the conversation.
''We haven't had a family doctor for 40 years,'' he said.
Actually, it may be longer than that. It has been 43 years
since they moved to the country to discover ''how to live
sanely and simply in a troubled world,'' as they put it in
the subtitle of their most famous book.
They wrote the book ''Living the Good Life'' after 20 years
on a Vermont farm, proving that life can be lived sanely even
in the age of the television and the telephone, not to
mention social and economic insecurity and what Nearing sees
as the dying, deserved agonies of the capitalist system.
The Nearings are gratified now to see a growing stream of
North American young people abandoning the cities and
homesteading on small subsistence farms, as they did in 1932.
The couple have become what one Maine man calls the ''senior
gurus'' of the back-to-the-land movement because of their
books, lectures and on-the-farm teaching.
Nearing said the new migration reminded him of an earlier
back-to-the-land movement he had witnessed, the one that
began about 1903 during the administration of President
Theodore Roosevelt and of another during the 1920s and 1930s.
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n113 1855 07 May 75
NOTE TO NYT PICTURE SUBSCRIBERS
The following art is en route by mail:
Couple - harborside, Me. - a012, a013 - Life proceeds
quietly and firmly at the farm of Helen and Scott
Nearing, the senior gurus of the back-to-the-land
movement. We have a photo of the couple on their farm.
Mr. Rogers - Pittsburgh - (will move later) - Fred
Rogers, television's ''neighbor'' to millions of
American children, is taking his first respite in
20 years to ponder future projects. To illustrate
the story is a photo of Rogers.
Lagerfeld-analysis - New York - (will move later)
- Bernadine Morris looks at the contributions to
clothing design of Karl Lagerfeld of Chloe, who is
pictured.
g-jn 5-7
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n528 0157 08 May 75
Attention: music, entertainment editors.
For weekend release
(Transmitted May 6)
By AL RUDIS
(c) 1975 Chicago Sun-Times
(Undated) - ''To be inspired is my ideal,'' says Mahavishnu
John McLaughlin. ''That's all I want. Inspiration transcends the
ordinary level of consciousness. It's like trying to cage a
beautiful bird, an incredibly beautiful bird that flies really
high. To capture it is a very difficult process. I don't always
catch it, but sometimes I do, and they're the times that things
really happen.''
Mahavishnu, as he likes to be called, lives for those special
moments. The 32-year-old Yorkshire native, who is currently
leading his Mahavishnu Orchestra on a major American tour,
is one of the world's great guitar technicians. Many musicians
go a step further and say he is without peer in guitar expertise.
The aspect of his accomplishment most noticeable to the average
listener is speed. If stopwatches were applied to guitarists,
McLaughlin would probably turn out to be quicker on the draw than
any other. Yet he dismisses these physical achievements with
disdain.
A devoutly religious man who tries to avoid acrimony or even
mild criticism in his discussion of others, he nevertheless
lets an ever-so-slight note of disgust creep into his voice
when discussing a recent interview in Guitar Player magazine.
''There's no mention made of inner,'' he says. ''It's just like,
what pick do you use and what guage are your strings. This is
just data, information. It's mechanical. Some people are
interested in it, but all it's going to do is satisfy curiosity.
It's not going to really give them anything that's the real in
me, the real in them, which is what I want to do.''
For Mahavishnu, there is no separation between religion and
work. His concerts are a ceremony of worship and spiritual
communication. Even sitting in his hotel room the morning after
a performance, methodically cleaning some cameras and
lenses, he appears to be more concerned with the
eternal than the temporal.
Pictures of Sri Chinmoy, his Indian guru who lives in
Switzerland, have been set up, and together with
prayer book and other religious objects, they convert part
of the room into something resembling a shrine. Mahavishnu
himself is dressed in his usual virginal white, sports an
extremely short haircut (a request of Chinmoy) and speaks in a
soft, almost-whispery, voice.
Yet talk to some veteran British rock musicians and they'll
tell you of a different John McLaughlin, one who was almost a
stereotype of the doped-out rock and blues guitarist, who played
with the legendary Graham Bond Organisation (which also included
Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, who became two-thirds of
another legendary band, Cream) and with bands led by Brian
Auger and Georgie Fame when he wasn't wasting himself on
various chemicals.
The change came somewhere around 1968, when McLaughlin
became interested in the teachings of Sri Chinmoy, gave up drugs
and started a new phase of his musical career. It was actually
a return to his musical roots, for as a child he had been
deeply influenced by both classical music and jazz. His mother
was a violinist, and he took lessons in both violin and piano.
When he was 11, one of his three brothers brought home a
guitar. And with the gutarcame all sorts of new musical
discoveries: folk music and the blues of Big Bill
Broonzy, Muddy Waters, Sonny Terry and Leadbelly, Spanish
flamenco music, and later the jazz guitar of Django Reinhardt,
Tal Farlow and Jim Hall.
But as important as any guitarist was the influence of
saxophonist John Coltrane, whom Mahavishnu first heard on the
Miles D 1/8AVIS ALBUM ''Milestones.'' The Davis-Coltrane style of
hard-bop jazz made a deep impression on him, as did Coltrane's
earlier and later work, especially the spiritually oriented
recordings Coltrane made before his death, which coincided with
Mahavishnu's own religious awakening and allied interest in
Oriental culture and music.
Meanwhile, his love of classical Western music had kept pace with
his other interests in progressive music, and he began to dig the
music of Bartok, Stravinsky and Webern.
In November, 1968, bassist Dave Holland, who at the time was
playing with Miles Davis, played a tape of Mahavishnu for Tony
Williams, Mile's ex-drummer who was forming his own band.
Williams was impressed, called McLaughlin in London and invited
him to join the Tony williams Lifetime in New York. After
working with Williams, McLaughlin played with Miles himself for a
while, figuring strongly in Davis's rock dabblings on the
''Bitches Brew'''' albums and also on
''In a Silent Way'' and ''Jack Johnson.''
At last it came time for him to attempt his own music, and
his spiritual orientation was immediately apparent from the titles
of his first two solo albums, ''Devotion'' and ''My Goal's
Beyond.'' His big breakthrough came in the summer of 1971, when
he formed the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
This first Mahavishnu Orchestra was a supergroup of
sensational individual musicians from the four corners of the
world. It included violinist Jerry Goodman from Chicago;
keyboardist Jan Hammer of Prague, Czechoslovakia; bassist Rick
Laird, a Dublin native who had begun his career in Australia and
New Zealand, and drummer Billy Cobham, who was born in Panama
but grew up in New York. All had previous experience in
successful rock or jazz bands.
With this band, Mahavishnu recorded two studio albums,
''The Inner Mounting Flame'' and ''Birds of Fire,'' and one live
album, ''Between Nothingness and Eternity.'' But with the
group at the peak of its popularity last year, inner mounting
tensions tore it apart, and Mahavishnu recruited a new orchestra
from scratch. There was apparently a lot of bitterness at the
end, but Mahavishnu's speak-no-ill-of-anyone attitude prevents
him from making any strong recriminations.
''The old band had reached a point where it was
crystalized, where it stopped being fluid and open and loose,
and open to new influences,'' he says. ''There was a lot of
opposition to breaking the old band up, apart from the fact
that the musicians actually didn't want to break up. The (booking)
agency didn't want us to break up, you know. We were riding on the
crest of a wave. This year we could have made a lot of money, a
lot of money. This was the year where we could do it, but at
the cost of what. And for me the cost would have been too great.
''I mean, I'll never forget the old group. And like there
are things that I have I'd like to release one day. There's
a studio album made in the middle of a lot of conflicting
tension within the group, which the band vetoed. They said the
album was bad, and they didn't want it to come out, which is a
pity because, for me, it's a tremendous album, a tremendous album.
And the sound on it is the best we've ever had in a studio.
''And I have live recordings where the band just surpassed
itself. I have one from Tokyo which is just amazing.'' He
shakes his head. ''The playing all around is just
phenomenal.''
Later, Mahavishnu offers a clue t5na mre deep-seated
reason behind the breakup. ''We were together almost three years,
that first group, and it's not a criticism, but if the people
had been spiritually aspiring, we could easily still have been
together now, and the music would have been evolutionary.
That's not a critic...
(End missing.)
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a201 0913 09 May 75
AP NEWS DIGEST
Saturday AMs
Here are the top stories in sight at this hour. The General Desk
supervisor is Ed Dennehy. He can be reached at 212 262-6093 if you
have an urgent question about the spot news report.
INDOCHINA
VIENTIANE - Five Laotian ministers aligned with U.S. policies are
reported to have resigned follolwing student and labor demonstrations
at the U.S. Embassy. Developing. Wirephoto BK1.
WASHINGTON - Despite the government's refugee airlift, the U.S.
Immigration Service is continuing to press for prosecution of
commercial airlines that brought South Vietnamese to the United States
without permission. New. Will Stand.
With Agana, Guam - More refugees arrive.
UNDATED - Saigon military commanders call on all foreigners in the
capital to register and obey the law. the commanders said they may go
about their business, broadcasts report. Indochina Roundup.
Wirephotos NY2,6.
ECONOMIC-CONSUMERISM
HOT SPRINGS, Va. - Treasury Secretary William E. Simon indicates the
administration is softening its position on the size of the deficits
in the House and Senate versions of the federal budget. New Material.
Developing.
WASHINGTON - Business inventories fell by a record $1.9 billion
during March, signifying that productiion of goods may be stepped up.
New Material. Developing.
UNDATED - The housewife's love affair with the supermarket has
turned sour. Store owners are trying to revive the romance by learning
more about consumers desires and how to deal with them. New. Will
Stand. Consumer Scorecard by Louise Cook.
WASHINGTON - The Consumer Product Safety Commission meets with
aerosol industry leaders to determine how to prevent the 125 deaths
each year from aerosol abuse. New Material. Developing.
WASHINGTON
WASHINGTON - The Senate Armed Services Committee proposes a $5.5
billion cut in the Pentagon's weapons development request, including
$1.3 billion no longer needed for South Vietnam. New Material.
Developing.
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is telling Americn arms makers they must
frequently use bribes of foreign officials to sell their goods in the
Middle East, Defense Department documents show. New Material. Will
Stand. By Brooks Jackson of the AP Special Assignment Team.
NATIONAL
SAN FRANCISCO - The nine-day medical malpractice crisis deepens in
California with hundreds of anesthesiologists off the job, surgery
drastically curtailed and patient admissions down. New Material.
PHILADELPHIA - Thirty years ago, Arnold Shay, at 23 a 5-foot-6,
59-pound walking skeleton, was among the gaunt survivors of the Dachau
prison camp liberated by American troops. But hating is not the style
of Shay, now a prosperous tailor. New. Will Stand. Wirephoto PX5.
INTERNATIONAL
LISBON - Fresh from an election victory, Portugal's socialists have
begun an offensive to roll back the widespread influence of the
Communist party. An AP News Analysis by Stephens Broening. New. Will
Stand.
NEW DELHI - Caught in a legal and religious conflict with his
family, Guru Maharaj Ji is barred from leaving India. New. Will Stand.
STRAIGHT FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH
LONDON - A Briton says horses speak to him so clearly he has
compiled what he calls world's first dictionary of equine language.
New. Will Stand. Wirephoto LON4.
1216pED 05-09
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a216 1041 09 May 75
Guru Bjt 450
By MYRON L. BELKIND
Associated Press Writer
NEW DELHI, India (AP) - Guru Majaraj Ji, caught up in a family
conflict that erupted while he was in the United States, was barred
Friday from leaving India.
A Delhi judge ordered the 17-year-old Indian religious leader to
remain in the country until a contempt of court suit brought by his
eldest brother is settled. The first hearing was set for May 23.
The legal action marked the latest skirmish between the rival
brother gurus, each of whom claims the leadership of the Divine Light
Mission, an international movement founded by their late father in
1961.
The mother renounced Maharaj Ji last month, claiming he had become a
playboy after moving to United States in 1973. She proclaimed her
eldest son, 24-year-old Bal Bhagwan Ji, to be the new guru of the
movement.
Stung by his mother's accusations that he had strayed from the
spiritual path by indulging in sex, alcohol and eating meat instead of
remaining a vegetarian, Maharaj Ji returned to India in mid-April in
a bid to regain control of the Indian chapter of the movement.
A show of force between the two factions was expected but it did not
develop after authorities at Lucknow City barred the younger guru
from addressing an April 15 festival.
Since then, Maharaj Ji has quietly moved around India, often staying
in luxury hotels with his retinue of about 10 devotees from the
United States, including his 26-year-old American wife and 2-month-old
daughter.
The young guru has also stayed for some time in a temple, where a
spokesman said he exchanged fresh marriage vows with his American
bride, this time according to Hindu rites. She is the former Marolyn
Johnson of San Diego and used to be Maharaj Ji's secretary.
The Divine Light Mission has its U.S. headquarters in Denver, Colo.
The struggle for power became a legal confrontation two weeks ago
after the mother's supporters succeeded in having a photo published in
an Indian newspaper showing Maharaj Ji kissing and embracing an
American devotee - something Indian holy men do not normally do.
According to a suit filed last week by the older brother, Maharaj Ji
tried to retaliate by distributing photos allegedly showing the newly
proclaimed guru being hugged by an American girl.
''The judge issued an injunction barring publication of the photos
until he could determine whether they are genuine or merely two
pictures superimposed on each other, as claimed by Bal Bhagwan Ji.
When court officials tried to serve a copy of the injunction on
Maharaj Ji in a Delhi hotel this week, he and his disciples allegedly
attacked the process servers, the contempt suit filed Friday said.
When the judge read the new charges, he ordered Maharaj Ji to stay
in India until the matter is settled.
Court officials said the order was being sent to Jaipur, 150 miles
south of Delhi, where Maharaj Ji was reported staying.
1344pED 05-09
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a005 2136 09 May 75
People in the News 300, 2 takes 650
LONDON (AP) - Henry Blake says horses speak to him so clearly that
he has compiled what he calls the world's first dictionary of equine
language.
''I am a true Centaur, half man, half horse,'' says the 49-year-old
British farmer who claims he has the gift of communicating with man's
four-footed friends.
Blake says, of course, that horse talk comes across in signs and
sounds and he merely translated them into English.
---
WASHINGTON (AP) - Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas is
expected to remain in a New York hospital for an addtional 3 to 4
weeks.
Douglas, 76, was admitted to the Institute for Rehabilitation
Medicine of New York University on April 22 to continue his recovery
from a stroke suffered Dec. 31.
A spokesman said Friday that a preliminary evaluation of Douglas'
condition had been completed and further hrspitalization is needed.
The court resumes sessions on Monday.
---
NEW DELHI, India (AP) - Guru Majaraj Ji, caught up in a family
conflict that erupted while he was in the United States, has been
barred from leaving India.
A judge ordered the 17-year-old Indian religious leader to remain in
the country until a contempt of court suit brought by his eldest
brother is settled. A hearing is set for May 23.
The legal action marked the latest skirmish between the rival
brother gurus, each of whom claims leadership of the Divine Light
Mission, an international movement founded by their late father in
1961.
The Divine Light Mission has its U.S. headquarters in Denver, Colo.
---
MORE
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