User:PatW
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My name is Patrick Wilson. I am a family man and keen music composer from England.
My initial motive for editing on Wikipedia was to help provide balance within an article on Prem Rawat. For 32 years I've enjoyed practicing the meditation he taught and continue to do so. However I still have some criticisms and unanswered questions. Current students tend to characterise criticism as cynical - I maintain that mine is sincere and constructive.
Reading the article I was disturbed to see that critical long-time students were all lumped altogether without fair distinction and dismissed as a "hate group." I felt this description was misleading and unfair to moderate critics. My initial observation on the article about Prem Rawat was that it was used by over-zealous students (sometimes called 'premies') to subtley demonise critics whilst heavily promoting Prem Rawat. I felt enough conscientious objection to this to devote some time to edit the article, to give it a more neutral tone. I felt that as critic who actually embraces some aspects of Rawat's teachings, I would possibly be a different voice amongst editors of more polarised views, who tend to be the ones, in practice, motivated to fight these editorial battles. Also, I aspire to fairness and neutrality and this seems a pretty good place to exercise those virtues. I will probably extend my editing to other articles as and when time permits.
At this time I want to help convey somewhere here that the former student critics of Rawat are not so much a 'hate group' but more a 'hurt group' (I think this is actually a view shared by quite a few 'moderate' current students of Prem Rawat). I feel that if Prem Rawat were to engage in dialogue with these people, especially those who in some cases dedicated their lives to him and his work, they could could gain closure[1] and Rawat himself would be showing character. I am aware that there are indeed some people who harbour hatred towards Prem Rawat but my impression is that even they are mostly former 'devotees' of Prem Rawat who felt 'jilted' or disillusioned. Their more extreme anger and frustration may be considerably reduced if they were shown empathy. I have been very inspired by Desmond Tutu's Truth and Reconciliation Commission and it's healing principle of having a neutral 'area' to communicate where forgiveness can occur. If only more religions and organisations would open themselves to this ideal the world would be a better place.
Patrick Wilson (April 2006)
