unclesophie
No posts received thumbs up, next time you see a good one, give some respect and thumb it up.
It is not causing more trouble for me at this point. I am well aware of my rights, but thanks for your concern.
I am an ex-devotee of the cult of Mata Amritanandamayi, who is
frequently referred to in the Western media as "the hugging saint". It
is common for members of this cult to malign ex-devotees for leaving
the organization. Threats and physical retaliation are also common
against those who speak up regarding the suspicious activities of the
Mata Amritanandayi Math and M.A. Center. Even the act of raising
questions is often greeted with violent and hyper-defensive
retaliation from her devotees. My case is certainly no exception.
It was on July 29th, almost a year after I had left the group, that I
was informed by a casual reader of the cults online Yahoo group that
both my partner and I were on the groups "prayer list". I made a brief
post at this time requesting that our names be removed from the prayer
list. This request was greeted with hostility from the group, and an
attempt to slander my name and reputation via character assassination.
References were made that I am an alleged drug addict. The initial
offending message can be found in the following post:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ammachi/message/24376
Both my partner and I work with at-risk youth, most of whom have life
threatening drug addictions. In most of our work (she is a clinical
therapist and I am a volunteer) we still use our "spiritual" names and
we are known within the community by these names. To be labeled a drug
addict, is an attempt to malign my and my partners' credentials as
therapists and volunteer workers with populations suffering from
addiction. I don't even know who the person who made this accusation
is, as I have never associated socially with devotees even when I was
one. You can imagine the negative impact this type of libel could have
on both of our work. I have requested that these posts be removed
immediately, but the moderator so far has refused to take action. The
moderator has chosen not to delete these posts, but to also continue
posting messages under the original topic. This behavior represents a
deliberate agenda to defame my name and threaten my credentials within
my community.I recently reported them for abuse of TOS to the Yahoo
administration, yet as of this date Yahoo has refused to take action.
I am ready to proceed with legal action against Yahoo inc. in regard
to this matter. The original poster of the defamatory material can
also be held legally responsible for the initiation of false and
libelous statements. Since I have already requested in writing for the
material to be removed, and the moderator has refused, I am now able
to proceed with legal action. I would like to proceed with this for
the protection of current and future ex-devotees who will undoubtedly
be defamed by this group should they express their dissatisfaction
with the cults activities. If you have been defamed or subject to
libel as a result of your association with the cult of Mata
Amritanandamayi, please contact me via www.cultofthehuggingsaint.com,
a website which I currently contribute articles and support. The legal
process for Internet defamation suits is a lengthy and complicated
one, and while I am in talks with an attorney, I welcome any legal
advice or counsel regarding this case
