Kevin R. D. Shepherd

Kevin R. D. Shepherd's Disappointing Personal Data

2009-12-25T09:17:00.000-08:00

Kevin R. D. Shepherd’s Disappointing Personal Data

Kevin R. D. Shepherd actually wrote the following blurb about himself in his self-published book “Pointed Observations”:

Kevin R. D. Shepherd: People often do look at the author data to be convinced of a scintillating career with due status honours. Do not buy this book, therefore, as you will be disappointed on that account. The author data can be given here instead of being placed enticingly on the opening page or back cover. In an attempt to beat the obituary, here it is:

Born a Brit in 1950. Left school at the age of fifteen. Lived in the town ghetto of Cambridge. Entered Cambridge University Library in 1981 as an unpaid and entirely unofficial researcher. Became an upholder of citizen initiative. Has written a number of minor books, none of them official, and only some of them having achieved publication (the missing books have never been seen by any publisher). Is getting old now, but still alive in 2003.

Is it any wonder why Kevin R. D. Shepherd was deemed non-notable on Wikipedia?

Kevin R. D. Shepherd castigated numerous people because of their lack of academic credentials (a well known tactic of his against various proponents of the Finhorn Foundation). Kevin R. D. Shepherd even said he would dismiss the PhD or M.D. status of anyone who holds New Age beliefs and boasted “The credential of M.D. can signify Mind Damage”! Kevin Shepherd even criticized the research and associations of MIT, Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

Kevin Shepherd is in the same boat as all those non-academics he belittles and bemoans! As a matter of fact, Kevin R. D. Shepherd emphatically stated he is not an academic!

Kevin R. D. Shepherd is therefore a self-serving and duplicitous critic.

Wikipedia Slaps Kevin R. D. Shepherd On The Face

2009-12-22T22:42:00.000-08:00

Wikipedia Slaps Kevin R. D. Shepherd On The Face

On December 22nd 2009, Wikipedia gave vanity self-publisher and pseudo-philosopher Kevin R. D. Shepherd a firm slap on the face and deemed him wholly non-notable despite the fanatic and desperate blathering of:

Alex Jamieson (an anonymous account who admitted having direct contact and affiliation with Kevin R. D. Shepherd and to whom Kevin R. D. Shepherd freely gave his picture’s copyrights).

Simon Kidd (sockpuppet “The Communicator” and a relentless Kevin R. D. Shepherd propagandizer who tag-teamed with “Alex Jamieson” on Shepherd-related Wikipedia pages, discussions and issues).

Ombudswiki (aka Brian Steel, a Sathya Sai Baba critic and vocal advocate of Kevin R. D. Shepherd). On Brian Steel’s official websites, he openly solicits, endorses and references Kevin R. D. Shepherd. Also, Kevin R. D. Shepherd cited Brian Steel as a reference in his self-published book Pointed Observations.

ProEdits (aka Robert Priddy, a Sathya Sai Baba critic and vocal advocate, associate and co-conspirator with Kevin R. D. Shepherd). On Robert Priddy’s official websites and blogs, he openly solicits, endorses and references Kevin R. D. Shepherd. Also, Kevin R. D. Shepherd cited Robert Priddy as a reference in his self-published book Investigating the Sai Baba Movement.

See: Wikipedia: Articles for deletion / Kevin R. D. Shepherd.

It is also very amusing that Simon Kidd accused Wikipedia editors of “collusion” on the AFD for the Kevin R. D. Shepherd article (Ref). Needless to say, the only people factually shown of “colluding” were Simon Kidd, Alex Jamieson, Brian Steel (aka Ombudswiki) and Robert Priddy (aka ProEdits).

DEC 23rd 2009 UPDATE: Simon Kidd (obviously sipping too much cuckoo juice) actually had the temerity to claim (like a conspiracist or a person afflicted with paranoia) that because this webpage was promply published when Kevin R. D. Shepherd’s Wikipedia article was deleted, this MUST mean that Wikipedia editors involved with the AFD were in “collusion” with Moreno (Refs: 01 – 02)! This is going to come as a surprise to Smartse, Dazedbythebell, Goethean, JN466, Atama, Polargeo, DGG, Fences&Windows, Collect, AEK and Kevin. None of these editors are known to Moreno and none of these editors had any sort of contact with Moreno when the AFD was filed. About Moreno, Simon Kidd said, “It seems to me that the horse is still whinnying!” If Wikipedia editors don’t know what “whinnying” sounds like, after reading Simon Kidd’s garrulous posts – they probably now have a good idea!

Relevant Comments About Kevin R. D. Shepherd’s Non-Notability

The entire article is based on primary sources. I can’t find any secondary sources to demonstrate that this person meets Wikipedia:ACADEMIC#Criteria. Smartse (talk) 00:25, 15 December 2009 (UTC)

All the books listed as bibliography are self-published. The publishers listed only publish books by Kevin Shepherd. Kevin_Shepherd#Bibliography Alex Jamieson appears to be Kevin Shepherd. Note he not only created and maintains the article about Kevin Shepherd but provided the self-made photo. [1] See his contribution history also: [2] There is a huge circularity going that appears to be self-promotion using Wikipedia. If not, then notability needs to be established in some neutral way. Dazedbythebell (talk) 16:34, 15 December 2009 (UTC)

This information about Kevin Shepherd found here is probelematic to say the least. I quote from it below.

Secondly, there are absolutely no online references about Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s qualifications, notability, personal information, credentials or schooling. There are also no media articles or University references to Kevin Shepherd although his books have been published as far back as 1983. The reason for this is probably because all of Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s books are self-published. Kevin Shepherd’s books were published by the publisher “Citizen Initiative” (Dorchester, Dorset, United Kingdom), which is not listed on booktrust’s UK publishers. The only books published by “Citizen Initiative” (utilizing an advanced search on Google for “citizen initiative” + “publisher(s)” / “publishing” / “publication(s)”) are those belonging to Shepherd, Kevin. No other books have been published by “Citizen Initiative”. I contacted the University of Sheffield UK (regarding “Citizen Initiative” and Kevin Shepherd) by email and Mrs. Barringer said: “Sorry – have never heard of them and can find no trace in any lists of publishers.”

Finally, if you examine the references in the Shepherd article carefully there don’t appear to be any quotes by Kevin Shepherd from any book other than books given in the Bibliography by Kevin Shepherd. This is also true of any statement about Shepherd. Not one statement about Shepherd is quoted from a non-Shepherd third party source. Numbered references appear to be sources to consult to see the the origin of concepts explained by the Wikipedia author. Dazedbythebell (talk) 17:20, 15 December 2009 (UTC) Dazedbythebell (talk) 17:20, 15 December 2009 (UTC)

Comment: The consensus when the COI was discussed at the COIN was that Simon Kidd and Alex jamieson do not have a COI. In this discussion it is not important whether or not anyone has a COI, we are trying to determine whether on not there has been enough significant independent coverage of this author to justify their presence on Wikipedia. As of yet no such sources have been provided. I’d never heard of Meher Baba or Sathya Sai Baba before this, but it doesn’t really matter - we are just here to discuss this article. It seems worth noting that recruiting people to vote elsewhere in AfDs is forbidden, please do not do so. Blog’s aren’t considered reliable so whatever it says doesn’t matter here. Alex, if you can provide sources to demonstrate notability then please do, I’ve looked myself but can’t find anything. Smartse (talk) 19:12, 15 December 2009 (UTC)

Comment: He sounds like a bit of a crank, sending letters to people and taking their lack of response as evidence that they are untrustworthy: [3] David Lorimer did not reply to the Letter of Complaint. Over sixty SMN members were named in the CC. lists, but only one of these responded. Professor Kurt Dressler of Switzerland promptly sent a courteous acknowledgement dated 13/05/06. With that sole and honourable exception, it is evident that a detailed complaint, complete with bibliography, has no chance of evoking due consideration from the Scientific and Medical Network. I am accordingly very sceptical of their agenda...The Letter of Complaint proved [via the non-response] that the SMN has marked limits in a worldview catering for in-crowd names and subscribers, a fair number of whom are said to be Grof-oriented...

(Text in brackets is in the original.) The logic is less than compelling. I may have a slight conflict of interest, having edited articles about people that he criticizes, but it seems like he criticizes a LOT of different people. — goethean ॐ 21:13, 15 December 2009 (UTC)

Above, Simon Kidd writes: *Some secondary sources have been cited - see notes 9, 10 and 11. However, it isn’t clear what these citations are suppose to be citations for. For example, the statement in the article, According to Shepherd, Meher Baba, an Iranian Liberal (1988) is a non-sectarian work. sends us to note 9 which reads, A book not recognized by the leading Meher Baba Centres in the UK and USA; however, scholars were not sectarian in outlook and the book has been cited in, for example: Chryssides, G., Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements, Scarecrow Press (2001); Srinivas, S., In the Presence of Sai Baba: Body, City, and Memory in a Global Religious Movement, Brill (2008). Which of the two books is the source and what is it a source for? What the editor seems to be saying is that the authors of these books were non-sectarian, as exemplified by their citation of Shepherd’s book. This seems to misunderstand what a citation is. Citations are meant as published sources for checking the accuracy of a fact stated in the article. What fact in the article do these two books mentioned in the note verify? Dazedbythebell (talk) 22:41, 15 December 2009 (UTC)

I agree, this does not constitute significant secondary coverage, ideally we need an article in a magazine or newspaper to show this. Smartse (talk) 22:33, 15 December 2009 (UTC)

Sorry about that, it shouldn’t take long to demonstrate notability if he is indeed notable, as I said above a link to a magazine/newspaper article that had sinifigicant coverage would suffice. Smartse (talk) 22:28, 19 December 2009 (UTC)

Since the COI thread and the GA delist, little or nothing of the material cited to Mr Shepherd’s own publications has been deleted. In terms of demonstrating notability, some citations of Mr Shepherd’s books have indeed been added to the article: [4]. However, evidence that an author is cited by other scholars, while it reflects a certain amount of acceptance in the scholarly world, is not by itself sufficient to satisfy WP:N, which asks for sources that "address the subject directly in detail". There are many quite eminent and widely cited scholars who do not have Wikipedia biographies devoted to them; even if Mr Shepherd were more widely cited, he would be in august company in not having a Wikipedia biography. In conclusion, and with regret, I have to say delete, unless multiple other sources can be found that cover this author "directly in detail". --JN 466 23:40, 19 December 2009 (UTC)

Delete - The walls o' text above seems to really turn the signal-to-noise ratio into the negative territory. I don’t much care who has a COI with what here. The article doesn’t seem to meet our inclusion guidelines, either the general guideline or for academics. My suggestion to Alex and Simon: keep it brief and to the point if you want to sway anyone in this discussion. -- Atama頭 23:35, 20 December 2009 (UTC)

Delete - Not notable. His work seems generally self published and searchs through google scholar clearly show that he has had very little impact so fails Wikipedia:Notability (academics) I admit to not having read the vast text above so I am not rating this with any COI in mind but on a straight forward assessment of the article. Polargeo (talk) 12:21, 21 December 2009 (UTC)

Notability is established by one thing only: the presence of reliably published sources out there, writing about the article subject. Everything else is a red herring. Without sources discussing the article subject, we cannot write an article that complies with Wikipedia policies and guidelines. That is the problem that is evident in the article (a problem which, it was promised well over a month ago, would be fixed). The article is still based on Shepherd’s own books and the original research of the editors who have written it. It is not based on any reliably published third-party sources discussing Shepherd. If such sources existed, they would have been produced by now. --JN 466 19:08, 21 December 2009 (UTC)

Delete with respect to WP:PROF. He has 13 books in WorldCat. There are 80 WorldCat libraries holdings Psychology in science 63 for Meaning in anthropos: anthropography as an interdisciplinary science of culture and after that 45, 36, 35, 33, 32, 37, 30, 13,... .WorldCat Identities Some of them are on quite obscure topics, where only a few holdings would be expected, but the two I mentioned and some of the others are in fields where I would expect hundreds of holdings for any important book. The very close similarity in counts for some of the books is because they are vols. of his series Intercultural research series of anthropography published by Anthropographia, a publisher that has published nothing else except Shepherd’s works. I think it would be fair to call him a self-published author. In Google Scholar I find only 6 citations of his work other than by himself. Even on the web, he seems to be known only through his own postings as a critic of Ken Wilber and, separately, of Sathya Sai Baba--there are are responses to the last part--it seems from a quick look that the discussion is so unpleasant that there can be expected to be some strong opinions here. And as far as I can see, he doesn’t meet the GNG either, or WP:CREATIVE. DGG ( talk ) 21:43, 21 December 2009 (UTC)

I would certainly expect his own books to reflect his views--especially when he is his own reviewer and editor! I don’t see how that makes for WP:N. Yes, it has happened that self-published authors have become notable, but it is so extremely rare that it'll take very good evidence from reviews and citations of them by other people. I think in the last 3 years here there have been one or two--as I recall, they were very popular fiction writers. DGG ( talk ) 22:14, 21 December 2009 (UTC)

Please note. I have raised this discussion at the admin’s noticeboard here. Fences&Windows 02:27, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

Userfy As the article currently fails to give reasonable grounds to make me believe he is notable (I am one who tries his best to find notability, by the way), in the hope that possibly the user may be able to find additional reliable sources which really establish notability beyond doubt. I also suggest that the massive discussions above do little to influence the actual discussion as to deletion. Collect (talk) 02:31, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

Delete – two issues. The first is the lack of notability, which has been discussed to death in the WP:TLDR verbiage above. The second is a lack of verifiability – even his supporters cannot supply one independent source that discusses his ideas. Either of these issues is enough to induce a vote of delete; together they would seem insurmountable. - æk Talk 02:33, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

COI etc. at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Kevin R. D. Shepherd
I just tried to close the discussion at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Kevin R. D. Shepherd, and ended up having to relist after spending an hour on it. I believe more uninvolved eyes are needed on this AfD and its participants (I don’t mean Smartse, the nominator).

Kevin R.D. Shepherd is an apparently self-taught British scholar who writes self-published books on philosophy, including criticising certain groups, gurus and sects, e.g. Sathya Sai Baba. There seem to be issues with COI on both sides: some editors supporting deletion may be associated with the sects he criticises, and some editors opposing deletion may be closely associated with Shepherd or otherwise be opposed to this sect. Note that there has been arbitration in this area before: Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Sathya Sai Baba and Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Sathya Sai Baba 2.

If this was a simple judgement of the WP:GNG, WP:PROF, or WP:CREATIVE, Shepherd would undoubtedly fail. The only coverage I can find is in a book by Marianne Warren, excerpted here. His work has been cited a handful of times over the decades, certainly not enough to say he has had an impact on his field. But it is not that simple. Editors are supporting inclusion despite the apparent failure to meet notability guidelines. The arguments to keep are lengthy but weak: appeals to OTHERSTUFF, JUSTNOTABLE, IKNOWIT, GOOGLEHITS, COMMONSENSE etc. DGG’s deletion argument is a good barometer - if he agrees with deletion, there’s usually no hope for an article. And yet, I am wary of closing as delete and having this explode in my face. Maybe I should grow a pair, but here I am.

User:Dazedbythebell has linked to a blog that is critical of Shepherd, there appear to be two or three such attack blogs against Shepherd that chronicle the activities on Wikipedia to do with him, so I am concerned about off-wiki goings on. Just Google ‘kevin shepherd wikipedia’ to get an idea of the material out there. There seems to be a vendetta between Shepherd and someone called Gerald Joe Moreno.

User:Simon Kidd and User:Alex jamieson are new SPAs that wrote this bio, though Simon Kidd says they have previously used another account (which they say has been disclosed in ArbCom). Alex wrote it and Simon gave it a Good Article Review three days after his first edit. Both deny being the subject of the article. Alex jamieson took the photo of Shepherd, so must know him. Being suspicious, I note that there are behavioural similarities between these two accounts, in particular their lengthy style of writing, and I wonder whether checkuser should be used? There’s at least some tag teaming going on with the GAR.

I was perplexed by the keep ! votes from User:Ombudswiki and User:ProEdits, but ProEdits has frequently added criticism to Sathya Sai Baba, and that article was one of the first that Ombudswiki edited in 2006, so neither are neutral in this area.

Thoughts? Advice? Fences&Windows 02:19, 22 December 2009 (UTC) (Reference)

COI etc. at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Kevin R. D. Shepherd
Resolved. AFD was closed as delete: “The result was delete. I'm deliberately closing this soon after a relist, as I see little hope of gaining a clearer consensus than already exists. The arguments for deletion are well grounded in that reliable coverage of either Shepherd or his work must have been the subject of independent, reliably published material. This has been clearly articulated, particularly by DGG, and the lack of such coverage has not been refuted. The extremely lengthy arguments to keep provide some interesting commentary, but no substantive argument that Shepherd passes any of the notability criteria. Kevin (talk) 02:38, 22 December 2009 (UTC)” --Coffee // have a cup // ark // 09:39, 22 December 2009 (UTC) (Reference)

Moreno’s Argument About Shepherd’s Non-Notability Is Vindicated

Kevin Shepherd wailed considerably about Joe Moreno’s objection on Wikipedia to the inclusion of a quote from Shepherd’s self-published book, “Investigating the Sai Baba Movement: A Clarification of Misrepresented Saints and Opportunism”.

Andries Krugers Dagneaux (an ex-devotee and critic of Sathya Sai Baba) was the only person supporting the inclusion of the Kevin Shepherd citation in the Sathya Sai Baba Wikipedia Article. Jossie, Alecmconroy (a non-involved party who answered Andries Request For Comment) and Moreno (SSS108) all disagreed with Andries Krugers Dagneaux.

Wikipedia generally does not allow self-published material to be used as sources in Biographies of Living People (Refs: Self Published Sources - Verifiable Sources - BLP - Reliable Sources). Even more so when the self-published material in question makes derogatory and highly questionable hearsay allegations that have never been referenced in reliable or reputable sources (Ref: Reliable Sources). Kevin R. D. Shepherd’s book and citation fell into this category of self-published and non-notable material.

When Andries Krugers Dagneaux realized that Kevin Shepherd’s book was self-published and the citation did not comply with Wikipedia policy, Andries Krugers Dagneaux no longer sought its inclusion (Reference). Kevin R. D. Shepherd purposely ignored these facts and deflected from the issue by resorting to spin, paranoia and “cult” & “sectarian” accusations.

Moreno’s past argument about Kevin R. D. Shepherd’s non-notability has now been vindicated by multiple & independent Wikipedia editors who neutrally investigated the matter thoroughly. Simon Kidd, Alex Jamieson, Brian Steel (aka Ombudswiki) and Robert Priddy (aka ProEdits) banded together and attempted to deceive various Wikipedia editors by resorting to circumlocution and rhetoric. Needless to say, it didn’t work.

Kevin R. D. Shepherd Wasted No Time Linking To His Wikipedia Profile

Kevin R. D. Shepherd was so enamored with the idea of having a Wikipedia profile, he actually provided a picture of himself for the page and gave permission to Alex Jamieson to write about him! Almost immediately Kevin R. D. Shepherd linked to his Wikipedia profile on three of his official domains. See for yourself:

Now that Wikipedia deleted Kevin R. D. Shepherd’s profile (due to his non-notability), there is little doubt that Kevin R. D. Shepherd will soon write a foaming-at-the-mouth diatribe against Wikipedia that will invariably (and predictably) make accusations of “sectarian polemics”. Kevin Shepherd upheld Wikipedia’s views and policies when Moreno was banned on Wikipedia for exposing Mel Etitis and his Peter J. King Sockpuppet Cover-Up. Any argument that Kevin R. D. Shepherd may make against Wikipedia will ultimately compromise his former arguments against Moreno and Wikipedia!

Kevin R. D. Shepherd’s Non-Notability - In Conclusion

In conclusion, the self-described “philosopher” Kevin R. D. Shepherd (who admitted he is not an academic) has been shown to be nothing more than a vanity self publisher. To Date: There have been no reliably sourced, third-party media references to Kevin R. D. Shepherd. This is an irrefutable fact that no amount of deflections, distortions or ad hominem attacks is going to change. It is Moreno’s personal opinion that Kevin R. D. Shepherd’s moralistic, puritanical, self-promoting, self-centered, self-serving, bigoted, narrow-minded, dogmatic and poorly researched views will keep him out of the Wikipedia spotlight for years to come.

Marianne Warren PhD Criticized Kevin RD Shepherd

2009-12-11T08:11:00.000-08:00

Marianne Warren PhD Criticized Kevin RD Shepherd

Dr. Marianne Warren Ph.D (University of Toronto, Canada) wrote a book entitled “Unravelling The Enigma - Shirdi Sai Baba In The Light Of Sufism” (1997; Sterling Paperbacks; ISBN 81-207-2147-0. ).

Kevin Shepherd (a pseudo-philosopher, pseudo-moralist and Findhorn fanatic) selectively (some would say “dishonestly”) quoted Marianne Warren as saying:

Kevin R. D. Shepherd: “Dr. Marianne Warren was obliged to acknowledge that ‘Shepherd was the first author to question this Hindu bias....most of his arguments concerning [Shirdi] Sai Baba’s Sufi connections are strong’.”

Now, let us take a look at the full text as published in Marianne Warren’s book:

Marianne Warren: A harsh critique of Narasimhaswami is found in Kevin Shepherd’s monograph entitled Gurus Rediscovered: Biographies of Sai Baba of Shirdi and Upasani Maharaj of Sakori, which introduces a new and thought-provoking perception of Sai Baba. [38] His material was first drafted in 1967, but only updated and published privately in 1985. Prior to Shepherd, the perennial question was whether Sai Baba was Hindu or Muslim, with most of the secondary writers emphasizing the Hindu interpretation. Shepherd was the first author to question this Hindu bias and to redefine the broad ‘Muslim’ category, dividing it into the orthodox Islamic law or sharia and Sufi mysticism. By definition, an Islamic mystic is a Sufi, and as Sai Baba was a Muslim mystic, he was perforce a Sufi. Shepherd observes many links between Sai Baba and the strong Sufi tradition in the Deccan. He notes that since his death, the saint has been totally embraced by the Hindus and that in the process the Muslim minority in Shirdi has been eclipsed. [39] He feels that Narasimhaswami was one of those responsible for perpetrating this process of Hinduization. While most of his arguments concerning Sai Baba’s Sufi connections are strong, he provides very little corroboration from the Sai Baba literature itself. For example, there is no evidence that he read Dabholkar’s Sri Sai Saccarita nor that he knew Marathi or the Maharashtrian Bhakti tradition. In fact, no bibliography was given with his monograph.

[38] Kevin R.D. Shepherd, Gurus Rediscovered: Biographies of Sai Baba of Shirdi and Upasani Maharaj of Sakori (Cambridge: Anthropographia Publications, 1985). Shepherd is very opinionated in this book. For example he summarily dismisses Narasimhaswami as an opportunist, whose only interest was in elevating himself through writing the biographies of holy men. (PDF Reference)

Marianne Warren referred to Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s writings as “very opinionated” and emphatically stated that Shepherd’s book had “very little corroboration from the Sai Baba literature itself” and had no supporting bibliography. Kevin Shepherd omitted Marianne Warren’s criticism about him and only snipped out those sections that suited his big ego. Marianne Warren’s views about Kevin R. D. Shepherd were critical and she rightly questioned the objectivity, credibility and integrity of Shepherd’s unsupported, unsourced and subjective claims. So much for Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s boast about following “academic rules in citing sources to a greater extent than many academic philosophers” (PhD Marianne Warren didn’t think so)!

KevinRDShepherd also cited information against Sathya Sai Baba from Marianne Warren (as published by Sai Baba critic and defamer Robert Priddy). It is amusing that Shepherd cited and eulogized the very same woman who condemned him for his subjective, unsupported and opinionated writings!

Unravelling The Enigma - Shirdi Sai Baba In The Light Of Sufism

Indiaclub.com Description:

Unravelling The Enigma-Shirdi Sai Baba in the Light of Sufism is an exciting new piece of research which examines Sai Baba of Shirdi from the standpoint of Islamic mysticism-the Deccani Sufism of 19th century Maharashtra-in order to unravel the mystery surrounding the saint. Sai Baba is consistently described by his Hindu biographers as a Muslim faqir and a mystic, which, by definition, makes him a Sufi. However, no previous researcher has examined him thoroughly in this light.

The author assumes the reader will have some familiarity with previous biographies of Shirdi Sai Baba and reviews incidents, anecdotes and sayings of he hagiography surrounding Sai Baba, in the light of the goals, practices and stories of the Sufis from the golden era of Sufism, and discovers that an amazing similarity and correspondence begins to emerge. Immediately, the more puzzling aspects of the saint’s actions and sayings fall away, and Sai Baba himself becomes more understandable, attractive and lovable.

In the book, Dr Warren brings two new pieces of scholarship to the subject. First she elucidates the English translation of part of the works of some 17th and 18th-century Maharashtrian Sufi poet-saints-their contribution having hitherto been neglected by scholars. Their lives and writings echo the life and teachings of Sai Baba. Secondly, she includes the English translation of the previously untranslated Urdu notebook, jotted down by Abdul, Sai Baba’s faqiri pupil, from teachings based on the Qur’an given to him by his pir Sai Baba. Both these contributions allow us to se into a word hitherto closed, and expand our awareness of the famous miracle-worker of Shirdi.

While Sai Baba has attained a universal appeal, transcending any one sectarian religious tradition, it is necessary to understand his Sufi origins in order to obtain a deeper and fuller appreciation of the enigmatic saint of Shirdi.

A fresh new light is thrown upon the Maharashtrian saint Sai Baba of Shirdi in this rare and fascinating book by Dr Marianne Warren. Discovering that there is a rich history of Sufism in the Deccan in the past, especially at Khuldabad, where there was a large Sufi center, and also at Pathri, Sai Baba’s reputed birthplace, she first explores these areas. Then, in the light of this knowledge, she re-examines the life and teachings of Sai Baba. The results are spectacular. Sai Baba’s previously bizarre or mystic behaviour and enigmatic saying instantly become more understandable. By comprehending the stages of the Sufi path, such facets as Sai Baba’s adherence to the vow of poverty, begging for food until the last few days of his life, fall naturally into place.

The confirmation of Sai Baba’s Sufi status is the discovery and translation of Sai Baba’s faqir servant Adbul’s notebook, written in Urdu. The document contains Abdul’s actual notes and jottings taken while reading the Quran with Sai Baba. From this, it is now possible to state authoritatively that Sai Baba a Sufi Master, and directly taught the precepts of Islam and Sufism to his servant/pupil and probably to a host of wandering faqirs throughout the Deccan in the nineteenth century.

The goal of a Sufi aspirant is to reach God realization to realize his own inner divinity. Shirdi Sai Baba attained this divine status and throughout his life he also played the traditional role of a Sufi Master guiding others along the path.

Table of Contents

FOREWORD

AUTHOR’S PREFACE

LIST OF PLATES

INTRODUCTION

PART I: SAI BABA AND MAHARASHTRIAN MYSTRICISM

- An Overview of the Life of Sai Baba
- Sufi Mysticism and Sai Baba
- The Historical Background: Sufism in Maharashtra
- Sai Baba-the Muslim Faqir
- Sai Baba and the Maharashtrian
- Bhakti Movement-Its Poet-Saints, Mystics and Deities
- Sufi Accommodation to the Hindu Milieu
- Outwardly Different-Inwardly the Same
- Nineteenth Century Sufi Contemporaries of Sai Baba

PART II: SAI BABA AND THE SUFI PATH-THE TARIQAT

- Sai Baba and the Sufi Tariqat (path
- Abdul and his Notebook
- English Translation of the Sai Baba MS
- Some Observations of the Saibaba MS

PART III: SAI BABA-A NEW PERSPECTIVE

- The Hindu Embrace of Sai Baba
- The Sathya Sai Baba Connection
- Drawing the Threads Together

APPENDICES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

Reference

Wikipedia User Alex Jamieson From The UK

2009-12-08T12:37:00.000-08:00

Wikipedia User Alex Jamieson From The UK

Kevin R. D. Shepherd is a pseudo-philosopher, fanatic and extremist who wrote a rambling and obsessive diatribe composed of 48,188 words (as of December 7th 2009) attacking Gerald Joe Moreno simply because Moreno succeeded in getting a reference to Shepherd’s self-published material removed from the Sathya Sai Baba Wikipedia Article. Kevin R. D. Shepherd called Gerald Joe Moreno an “internet hit man” and an “internet terrorist” simply because Moreno’s webpages are indexed on search engines (!!!) and because Moreno defended himself with factual information against Shepherd’s numerous misrepresentations, shabby research and outright prevarications.

Enter Alex Jamieson

On September 11th 2009, a dubious character using the name “Alex Jamieson” created a Wikipedia page for Kevin R. D. Shepherd that was exclusively and entirely sourced to Shepherd’s self-published books and self-promoting websites. Despite Alex Jamieson’s desperate attempt to cite numerous references supporting the alleged notability of Kevin R. D. Shepherd, Alex Jamieson could not cite a single reliable source referenced to reputable media in favor of Kevin R. D. Shepherd. As such, a “primary sources” tag was attached to the Kevin R. D. Shepherd article that said:

This article needs references that appear in reliable third-party publications. Primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject are generally not sufficient for a Wikipedia article. Please add more appropriate citations from reliable sources. (November 2009)

Please note that the picture of Kevin R. D. Shepherd used on Wikipedia has been released by Alex Jamieson under the Creative Commons, Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license and can be copied, saved, distributed and/or modified by internet users under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License (Ref).

The Wikipedia article for Kevin R. D. Shepherd is biased and employs clever rhetoric and relies on important omissions to mislead readers about Kevin Shepherd’s alleged notability (although Kevin Shepherd admitted he possesses no academic credentials).

Alex Jamieson Is An Associate Of Kevin R. D. Shepherd

Alex Jamieson (who claimed he is from the UK) is closely allied with Kevin R. D. Shepherd and said the following on the Wikipedia COI noticeboard:

Alex Jamieson: The author (ie, Kevin R. D. Shepherd) gave permission for me to upload his photograph and was quite happy for me to be the known as the copyright holder. The picture box was uploaded following the assessment request. Also, as a matter of courtesy, I had informed the author I was going to write an article about him for Wikipedia (he expressed no objection), and I advised him of the article’s existence shortly after I had completed that article to my satisfaction. (Ref)

The fact that Kevin R. D. Shepherd gave his picture’s copyrights over to Alex Jamieson strongly suggests behind-the-scenes scheming and subterfuge (a sentiment shared by Wikipedia admin). In the past, Kevin R. D. Shepherd pathetically whined, hissed and sniveled about the copyrights regarding his pictures. Kevin R. D. Shepherd would never give his picture’s copyrights over to any casual outsider.

It is Moreno’s opinion that Kevin R. D. Shepherd heavily influenced and dictated content on the Wikipedia article about himself through private email correspondence with his puppet and devotee “Alex Jamieson”. This suspicion is supported by the fact that the very first edit made by Alex Jamieson was a completed page with all the correct link, reference, category, title and writing codes that are specific to Wikipedia only (Ref).

Needless to say, even seasoned Wikipedia editors are not fully conversant with all the link, reference, category, title and writing codes that are used on Wikipedia. Alex Jamieson created a fully functional, fully linked and fully categorized Wikipedia page on his first edit (rightly raising the suspicion that Alex Jamieson is no newbie to Wikipedia and the name “Alex Jamieson” appears to be a pseudonym, sockpuppet and/or anonymous account). Some have suggested that “Alex Jamieson” may be the former Wikipedian Jedermann.

Kevin Shepherd Approved Alex Jamieson’s Attacks Against Moreno

Alex Jamieson (who admitted corresponding with Kevin R. D. Shepherd in private emails) apparently received permission and guidance from Kevin R. D. Shepherd to attack Gerald Joe Moreno on Wikipedia. Alex Jamieson wrote a fairly lengthy section on Kevin R. D. Shepherd’s official Wikipedia page entitled “criticism” that specifically attacked and targeted Gerald Joe Moreno. Needless to say, Alex Jamieson would not have published the potentially libelous content against Moreno on Kevin R. D. Shepherd’s official Wikipedia page had he not obtained permission to do so.

Alex Jamieson’s Potentially Libelous Attacks Deleted By Wikipedia Admin

Alex Jamieson even created a “sandbox” page where he thought he could safeguard his defamations and potentially libelous attacks against Moreno.

The entire “criticism” section created by Alex Jamieson on the Kevin R. D. Shepherd Wikipedia page was removed by Wikipedia Admin Hersfold with the comment: “Criticism: removing per WP:BLP, this section is incredibly inappropriate” (Reference - Please Note: The potentially libelous “criticism” section was completely purged from Wikipedia and no longer shows in the diffs).

As a result of Alex Jamieson’s defamatory, malicious and potentially libelous attacks against Gerald Joe Moreno, Jamieson’s sandbox page was deleted and he was given the following warning by Wikipedia Admin Vassyana

Deleted contributions and warning
I have deleted your user sandbox and some of your recent contributions to Kevin R. D. Shepherd. The sandbox and those edits were deleted as inappropriate and potentially libelous. The edits violated our principles protecting living persons, against original research, and prohibiting the use of Wikipedia for agendas and axe-grinding. Any restoration of the deleted material or further such actions will result in an immediate block. Please reconsider your approach and intentions here. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to leave a message on my talk page or utilize the “e-mail this user” link in the sidebar when viewing my page. Thank you. Vassyana (talk) 02:55, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
Reference

Click Thumbnail To Enlarge:

Alex Jamieson & Kevin R. D. Shepherd - In Conclusion

In conclusion, Alex Jamieson and Kevin R. D. Shepherd have exposed themselves to be bitter and biased extremists who rely on scheming, subterfuge and collusion to attack those who dissent with their hate-based agendas.

Alex Jamieson (a proxy defender of Kevin R. D. Shepherd) obtained permission to attack Gerald Joe Moreno on Shepherd’s official Wikipedia page and various Wikipedia admin confirmed that Alex Jamieson’s attacks against Moreno were defamatory, malicious and potentially libelous in nature. As a result, Alex Jamieson’s sandbox page and “criticism” section were deleted in their entirety from Wikipedia (with the content being purged so it could not be sourced elsewhere via diffs).

Consequently, one could argue (using Kevin Shepherd’s logic and standards) that Alex Jamieson and Kevin R. D. Shepherd are “internet hit men” and “internet terrorists”. Even independent Wikipedia administrators easily identified Shepherd and Jamieson’s potentially libelous attacks against Moreno.

Jamieson and Shepherd think they are paragons of morality and wisdom. They obviously have been sipping too much cuckoo juice. Observant readers will notice that all writings associated with pseudo-philosopher Kevin R. D. Shepherd are rich in rhetoric, poor in research and propagandistic in nature. This is not surprising considering that Kevin R. D. Shepherd is a fierce defender and promoter of Psychic Trance Medium Conny Larsson and LSD Advocate Robert Priddy.

As H. L. Mencken once said:

Philosophy consists very largely of one philosopher arguing that all others are jackasses. He usually proves it, and I should add that he also usually proves that he is one himself.

Simon Kidd Senior Research Officer at University of Western Australia

2009-12-06T09:38:00.000-08:00

Simon Kidd - Senior Research Officer at the University of Western Australia

Simon Kidd (a Senior Research Officer in Education Policy at the University of Western Australia) is an internet propagandist for Kevin R.D. Shepherd (a vanity self-publisher, Anti-Findhorn fanatic, pseudo-intellectual and Sathya Sai Baba critic).

User:Simon_Kidd uses his real name on Wikipedia and edited under the sockpuppet of User:The_Communicator. As “The_Communicator” (and under his real name), Simon Kidd pervasively and obsessively published links, content and text on numerous Wikipedia articles that exclusively promotes the name, websites and self-published books of Kevin R. D. Shepherd.

Undoubtedly, “The Communicator” (aka “Simon Kidd”) has very close ties to Kevin Shepherd. This opinion is supported by the fact that “The Communicator” mostly edited articles (view contributions) that Kevin Shepherd is deeply involved with (i.e., Stanislav Grof, Holotropic Breathwork and the Findhorn Foundation). “The Communicator” added links to Kevin Shepherd’s Citizen Initiative website (Refs: 01 -
02 - 03 - 04 - 05) and continually cited Kevin Shepherd, Stephen Castro and Kate Thomas aka Jean Shepherd (all affiliated with each other and the Citizen Initiative website) as sources on articles and on talk pages (Refs: 01 - 02 - 03 - 04 - 05 - 06 - 07 - 08 - 09 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21). Kevin Shepherd is also intimately aware of “The Communicator’s” activity on Wikipedia and even discussed him on his Citizen Initiative website (Ref). Kevin Shepherd’s references to “The Communicator” (and vice-versa) indicate some sort of collaborated scheming on Wikipedia against Stanislav Grof, Holotropic Breathwork and the Findhorn Foundation. Therefore, The Communicator’s (aka “Simon Kidd”) comments about Kevin Shepherd are inherently slanted, subjective and defensive and cannot be considered neutral or unbiased.

Simon Kidd shamelessly attempted to advance the status of the Kevin Shepherd Wikipedia article with a proposed review (Ref) and was promptly stopped by Wikipedia Admin who rightly raised valid suspicions about Simon Kidd’s conflict of interest and possible sockpuppetry in relation to the Kevin Shepherd article. See: Good Article Reassessment - Kevin Shepherd.

One day after Wikipedia admin raised valid suspicions about Simon Kidd’s conflict of interest, Simon Kidd began editing other Wikipedia articles (attempting to make it appear as if he is not a one topic editor). Nevertheless, Simon Kidd’s edit history prior to November 11th 2009 reveals his true agenda and intent. Simon Kidd (acting very much like a “devotee”) fanatically and obsessively promoted and endorsed Kevin R. D. Shepherd on Amazon (Ref) and even contributed to an Amazon forum dedicated to Kevin R. D. Shepherd. Simon Kidd is closely associated with the dubious character “Alex Jamieson” (who originally created the Kevin Shepherd Wikipedia article). “Alex Jamieson” appears to be a sockpuppet, pseudonym and/or anonymous identity.

Simon Kidd also wrote a book review for Kate Thomas’s book “The Kundalini Phenomenon” on scimednet.org (Ref). The concluding statement reads:

“Simon Kidd is working in publishing in Cambridge. He is interested in cross-cultural and interdisciplinary research, particularly in the areas of philosophy, psychology, religion and sociology.”

Kate Thomas (real name “Jean Shepherd”) is Kevin R. D. Shepherd’s mother.

Simon Kidd was apparently involved with Kevin Shepherd’s campaigns against Stanislav Grof and Holotropic Breathing (HB) as evidenced by the following quote published on Shepherd’s official citizen initiative website:

Kevin R. D. Shepherd: “The real communicator (Simon Kidd) was a researcher in Australia who possessed a master’s degree in philosophy, and who furthermore had a valid link with the HB issue due to his correspondence in 1994–5 with medical authorities (including Regius Prof. Busuttil) and the Scottish Charities Office.”

Public Domain Bebo Pictures Of Simon Kidd (aka “SimanPieman”)

About himself, Simon Kidd said on Wikipedia under his real name:

Simon Kidd: ”I studied philosophy, psychology and logic at University College Dublin, and subsequently undertook postgraduate research in philosophy, being awarded a Master degree in 1994. My postgraduate dissertation was titled 'Language and Ideology: The Significance of Hermeneutics and Semiotics for the Theory of Ideology', and it involved an analysis of major figures such as Hegel, Marx, Heidegger, Gadamer, Ricoeur, Habermas and Eco.

During my student years, I acquired a personal interest in Asian and Middle Eastern philosophies and, in 1995, I moved to Cambridge where I was accepted as an MPhil student (preparatory to PhD research) at King's College. The late John Cooper, a Persianist at the University's Centre of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, with a strong interest in Sufism, provisionally offered to supervise my research. Perceiving my interests, he recommended that I produce a survey of the secondary literature on a mid-17th century Persian text called the Dabestan. I spent the summer of 1995 in the University Library, completing this task. My application for funding from the British Council was unsuccessful, however, and I was unable to pursue my formal studies. Notwithstanding this setback, I continued privately with my reading, acquiring many books over the years.

Much as I recognise the strengths of the academic system, I have come to appreciate the benefits of private study, most notably the freedom to pursue my own interests. I retain links with the academy, and have tutored philosophy students, as well as working in the Vice-Chancellery of a major university (where I reported directly to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Education, and was the Executive Officer for several committees and working parties). Most recently I have returned to a long-held desire to teach at the upper-primary level, and to bring philosophy into the primary classroom (see Philosophy for Children). I have a particular interest in the education of the 'gifted and talented'.”

About himself, Simon Kidd said on Wikipedia under his sockpuppet “The Communicator”:

Simon Kidd (aka “The Communicator”): “I am an independent researcher with a Masters degree in philosophy. I have a strong interest in comparative and interdisciplinary approaches to the philosophy of mind, psychology, mysticism, and the sociology of religious movements. I have worked in academic bookselling and publishing, and philosophy teaching. I have worked in bookselling (for a large academic bookseller), publishing (for two companies whose clients included major commercial and university publishers), and philosophy teaching. I have neither written nor published any books of my own. Although I have been a member of the Scientific and Medical Network, and of MENSA, I no longer have any professional or religious affiliations. I live in Australia with my wife and two children. I have chosen my sobriquet because I wish to communicate information relevant to various topics, especially where that information has been neglected for one reason or another.”

About himself, Simon Kidd said on Bebo:

Simon Kidd (aka “SimanPieman”): “Me, Myself, and I
Raised on songs and stories ... Ah yes, Dublin made me. Dublin, Dublin, Dublin - the smog, the DART, the Angelus, the Late Late Show, shivering at a bus stop on a frosty morning, standing out in Irish class (Redser, for those who know), sitting in Theatre L at UCD ... Now it's all nostalgia, a memory of things past. I'm no longer there, but it's still there in me.”

Simon Kidd is so desperate to promote Kevin R. D. Shepherd as a bona-fide scholar, he relies on spam-like solicitations and spam-like propaganda to deceive others about Kevin R. D. Shepherd’s credentials. Needless to say, Simon Kidd has a difficult task considering:

Kevin R. D. Shepherd Emphatically Stated He Is NOT An Academic

Kevin R. D. Shepherd Dropped Out Of School When He Was 15

Too bad the truth is now out and there is no stopping it.

How Not To Argue Against LSD

2009-09-26T09:16:00.000-07:00

How Not To Argue Against LSD - The Amusing Case Of Kevin R.D. Shepherd And Robert Priddy

Kevin R.D. Shepherd attempted to defend LSD advocate Robert Priddy on his citizeninitiative.com domain. Needless to say, it can be thoroughly proven that Robert Priddy’s pseudo-criticism of LSD was nothing more than a shameless attempt to cover-up and blur his decades-long praise of mind-altering drugs. Kevin Shepherd said (underlined emphasis added by Moreno):

citizeninitiative.com/sathya_sai_and_wikipedia.htm
Kevin R.D. Shepherd:

That was a long time ago, though Priddy did subsequently compose three documents describing his LSD experiences, and which he placed on the web in the 1980s. These writings remained on the web while he was a devotee of Sathya Sai, though he deleted them at the end of his devotee phase.

As a critic of LSD, I questioned the relevance of these writings, though Priddy told me in 2007 that he had long outgrown the eulogies, to which he had added cautions. In The Psychedelic Experience, Priddy says that he did not become addicted and that his disillusionment with LSD led to his conclusion that "all psycho-chemicals of this nature should be avoided." He stresses instead the "gradual evolution of the psyche by controlled moral and mental discipline."

I do not myself agree with promotions of psychedelic experimentation. In fact, I can present strong arguments against that option. However, in cases where there is clear denial of the "spiritual enlightenment" syndrome, extenuating factors should be acknowledged by critics. Retrospective accounts of this nature are deemed relevant by some academic analysts, in that these accounts serve to offset the exuberant and misleading conclusions found elsewhere. It is apparent that Priddy does not believe in "LSD spirituality," unlike many other writers on the subject of psychedelic experience. The intensity of LSD experiences is not denied by critical analysts. It is the psychoactive context of these experiences that is in dispute...

One should respect the warning of Priddy in the same document abovecited that:

"The use of biochemicals like LSD-25 to alter consciousness is like reaching for 'plastic grapes.' They do not allay one's hunger. They can also create an illusion of knowledge and power, and that can be harmful."

The Priddy version of LSD is thus very different to that of Stanislav Grof and other psychedelic enthusiasts, who interpret the "illusion of knowledge and power" in terms of an LSD "therapy" amounting to a "spiritual path" of neoshamanism. Those enthusiasts have an extension in MAPS (Multidisciplinary Assn for Psychedelic Studies), the controversial American organisation influenced by Grof, and which ingeniously includes data on the "risks and benefits" of drugs, though the underlying motivation is clearly one of drug promotion converging with the Grof paradigm.

Robert Priddy’s Denial: LSD-Visions Were Not Hallucinations:

On Robert Priddy’s Anti-Baba blog, he said the following about his LSD-induced hallucinations:

Robert Priddy: On LSD-25 and alleged “drug-induced hallucinations” Moreno makes false assumptions in dismissing LSD-25 experiences merely as induced hallucinations - it is very far from being so simple. Hallucinations can occur as a result of LSD, but they did not in my case. I was a student interested in psychiatry and psychology and my dose of LSD-25 was actually provided by the Norwegian Minister of Health explicitly for experimental purposes! Only one who has experienced it can have any idea at all of what inner clarity and scope of the mind may be released, if one is well-balanced and fortunate in the circumstances. In that I was in company with many well-known writers and hands-on researchers on the subject (egs. Aldous Huxley, Gerald Heard, Professor Susan Blackmore etc.) The dangers are considerable for borderline psychotics and others, so experiments are definitely not to be recommended to the public.

In Robert Priddy’s detailed LSD articles (and in a subsequent update added by him after a Pro-Sai Activist found the LSD-related webpages), he never stated that his LSD-25 was “provided by the Norwegian Minister of Health explicitly for experimental purposes”. Robert Priddy specifically stated he first experimented with cannabis then later experimented with LSD when he was 26 years old in 1963 with his friend Eric Steadman (with whom he shared a “perfect unspoken telepathic awareness”) and the entire episode was saved on a tape-recorder he turned on.

Although Robert Priddy wrote about his LSD experiences in depth, he never mentioned anything about any University officials, volunteer testing, Karl Evang or that the LSD-25 he took was “provided by the Norwegian Minister of Health explicitly for experimental purposes”. Furthermore, Robert Priddy admitted he experimented with cannabis before he experimented with LSD in 1963, experimented with “strong bio-chemicals” and LSD years after he experimented with LSD in 1963 and even wrote about another LSD-induced hallucination in 1965. Therefore, Robert Priddy fully acknowledged he experimented with drugs prior to and after his initial LSD trip in 1963. Was Robert Priddy also using cannabis and other “strong bio-chemicals” for “experimental purposes”? Although Robert Priddy whined that his druggy years are “outdated” and “ancient”, it is amusing to note the he eulogized his “outdated” and “ancient” druggy years:

In 1988 (25 years later) in his LSD article entitled “TRUTH, BEING AND BLISS - AN AMAZING PSYCHEDELIC EXPERIENCE - Described By Robert C. Priddy - British author & ret’d researcher and teacher in philosophy and sociology, University of Oslo, Norway”: “I try here to give as truthful an account as I can of what befell me in 1963. In the intervening 25 years I have continually been returning to that experience as as source of inspiration and in the hope that the fullest possible light may be shed on it for me.” (LSD Reference).

In 1994 (31 years later) in his book “Source Of The Dream”, pg: 16-7, Chapter 2: ‘When the Soil is Ready’: “A totally mind-shattering and subsequently most wonderful and intensely ecstatic experience befell me one day, as if from out of the blue. Much could be said on the subject, as it is an almost entirely misunderstood one and thus very controversial, but I do not believe doing so would appreciably enlighten anyone who has not actually had the very same experience. I am certain that no words can capture the vital nature and truth of such an experience of transcendental consciousness. I mention it because, without its having befallen me, I cannot guess how I might otherwise have been able to realize the value of pursuing spiritual development and exerting any measure of the determination, and one-pointedness that such a course eventually requires. The experience probably did not improve me much outwardly, if at all, but inwardly it altered my life in various quite crucial ways. I could simply no longer manage to regard normal worldly experience as the be-all and end-all of life. Having been forced to see my usual self and the mind literally from outside, with merciless clarity, through knowing and temporarily becoming the sheer all-pervasiveness of a sanctified joy, peace, and unrestricted awareness that underlies everything, I later came to know how that experience both consoled me and yet set me apart. Like a two-edged sword, it strengthened my insight, yet isolated me for many years in lonliness, for I had the burden of both incommunicable experience and a certain spiritual pride.” (LSD Reference).

In 2009 (46 years later) on his Anti-Baba blog in an article entitled “Copyright Infringement By SathyaSaiBaba”.

In the referenced quote above, Robert Priddy claimed “I was a student interested in psychiatry and psychology”. Robert Priddy told a different story in his LSD article entitled “The Psychedelic Experience - On how I came to psychedelic experiences By Robert C. Priddy”. In that article, Robert Priddy said he was a student of philosophy and sociology (not “psychiatry and psychology”) and that he considered psychology “mostly irrelevant to understanding people, myself or anything remotely like the psyche”!

It is also significant to point out that the scientific community (contrary to Robert Priddy’s layman claims) unanimously agrees that LSD is a hallucinogenic drug and is commonly referred to as a “hallucinogen” (Refs: LSD 01 - LSD 02 - LSD 03 - LSD 04).

When Sai Devotees attribute extraordinary experiences, dreams or visions to Sathya Sai Baba (without the aid of drugs), Robert Priddy bashes those experiences as mere flights of fantasy, imagination, mental disorder and/or projection. However, when it comes to Robert Priddy’s LSD experiences (induced with the aid of drugs), he proudly proclaims them as genuine and bona-fide! This is the type of Anti-Guru / Pro-LSD weirdo who continually attempts to invalidate Sai devotees for their spiritual experiences! If a person claimed a spiritual experience, who would you be more inclined to believe:

A person who never used drugs?

A person tripping on LSD?

And let us not forget what exactly Robert Priddy claimed was revealed to him when he tripped on LSD. Robert Priddy claimed he saw (amidst lots of fluff and airy-fairy scenes) his wrist break with the bones sticking out of his flesh, compared the experience to what “schizophrenics may experience with intensity”, that his mind was ”deranged” and that his mind was “shattered into pieces again and again”. Gee, that doesn’t sound “hallucinatory” at all, does it? (sarcasm implied)

Finally, let us take a look at the three people that Robert Priddy cited to support and defend his views on LSD. I wonder what Kevin R.D. Shepherd would say:

Susan Blackmore: “I hope that one day soon it will be; that as a society we will prove wise enough to use LSD for its highest potential, not its worst. And for purely selfish reasons, I hope this will happen in time for me to take LSD again in my lifetime and that, like Huxley, I may be able to take it on my deathbed.” (Ref)

Aldous Huxley was a humanist and pacifist, and he was latterly interested in spiritual subjects such as parapsychology, Human Potential Movement, Vedanta and philosophical mysticism. He is also well known for advocating and taking psychedelics. Aldous Huxley took LSD on his deathbed and referred to LSD as “a mystical, religious experience”.

Gerald Heard was a historian, science writer, educator, LSD advocate, philosopher and friend of Aldous Huxley.

Therefore, Robert Priddy’s current views on LSD are based on the views of LSD advocates he considered authorities on the subject!

LSD Advocate Robert Priddy Refers Readers To A Pro-Drug Website:

Attempting to bolster the case for his experimentation with LSD, Robert Priddy posted the following link on his Anti-Baba blog:

Robert Priddy: For objective source materials and intelligent discussions of LSD-25, see this major Forum

Since “scholar” Robert Priddy (who always boasts how thorough his research is) provided a link to drugs-forum.com (and described it as being “objective” and providing “intelligent discussions of LSD-25”), he apparently researched the site thoroughly and approved of its contents.

Let us take a closer look at drugs-forum.com, a website Robert Priddy described as “objective” and providing “intelligent discussions of LSD-25”.

First and foremost, drugs-forum.com is an international Pro-Drug website where users can request and/or share information on how to take, grow, purchase, make and use all types of illegal drugs, including LSD-25 (Refs: 01 - 02 - 03 or View Entire LSD Threads). All of these LSD-related threads prove that the discussions therein are far removed from being “objective” and do not provide “intelligent discussions on LSD-25” (unless you happen to be a drug addict).

Drugs-forum.com provides numerous threads advocating for legalizing all types of drugs (Ref) and even provides threads about which drugs maximize sexual experiences (Ref). Drugs-forum.com also provides picture galleries so that users can identify hallucinogenic mushrooms, peyote, opiods, hallucinogenic cacti and hallucinogenic plants (Ref). A majority of the posts on the drugs-forum.com domain are chock full of invectives and graphic language. This is the type of Pro-Drug forum that “scholar” Robert Priddy described as being “objective” and providing “intelligent discussions on LSD-25”! Perhaps Robert Priddy posts on that Pro-Drug forum since he claims to know it so well, he actually provided a link to it on his Anti-Baba blog.

Robert Priddy revealed his drug advocacy and revealed his standards for “objectivity” and “intelligent discussion” by citing a Pro-Drug forum full of invectives that is intended for drug users! Thank you, Mr. Priddles for coming clean once again!

Robert Priddy’s defense of LSD is in severe conflict with Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s Anti-LSD / Anti-Drug position.

Robert Priddy, Kevin Shepherd, Drugs-Forum.com & Stanislav Grof:

It is also amusing to note that the drugs-forum.com webpage that Robert Priddy linked to (which he described as being “objective” and providing “intelligent discussions of LSD-25”), linked directly to another drugs-forum.com LSD webpage that strongly advocated for Stanislav Grof’s book “History Of LSD Therapy” (Ref). The drugs-forum.com website provides over 120 pro-articles on Stanislav Grof, holotropic breathwork and Pro-LSD research (Ref). The reason why this is so amusing is because Robert Priddy professes friendship and alliance with Kevin Shepherd, a staunch Anti-Drug, Anti-LSD and Anti-Grof critic! Isn’t it ironic that Kevin R.D. Shepherd professes friendship and alliance with Robert Priddy although:

Robert Priddy eulogized and promoted LSD for those who are “well-balanced and fortunate in the circumstances”?

Robert Priddy eulogized his LSD-induced experiences as bona fide revelations and not as the result of hallucinations (an absurd and dubious claim at best)?

Robert Priddy solicited the objectivity and intelligent discussions of a Pro-Drug forum intended for drug users?

Robert Priddy solicited the objectivity and intelligent discussions of a Pro-Drug forum intended for drug users that strongly advocates for Stanislav Grof, Holotropic Breathwork and the benefits of LSD?

What more can I say more about Robert Priddy and his laughable views, absurd arguments and clown-like antics about LSD? This is the guy who is attempting to “expose” Sathya Sai Baba. Well, the truth is now out about Robert Priddy (direct from his personal blog) and there is no stopping it! Expect Robert Priddy to do damage control, offer no apologies, deflect from the issue and bore everyone with his mindless prattle. Afterall, that is what he does best.

Predictable Update:

After publishing this article about Robert Priddy’s loud endorsement of drugs-forum.com, a Pro-Drug Forum intended for drug users (which he described as containing “objective source materials and intelligent discussions of LSD-25”), Robert Priddy rushed to do damage control (just as Moreno predicted he would) and removed the link to drugs-forum.com by saying:

Robert Priddy: “Please note: Having looked more closely at the web pages on LSD-25 I had first linked to here I found them partly very misleading and that there was an overall bias towards possibly dangerous viewpoints, though there was also nonetheless a good deal of accurate historical and other materials in them and/or linked to them. As a whole those pages do not represent my standpoint, therefore the link is deleted”

“Scholar” Robert Priddy (who constantly claims he conducts thorough research) argued that drugs-forum.com (a Pro-Drug Forum intended for drug users) contained “objective source materials and intelligent discussions of LSD-25”). Now, however, Robert Priddy is claiming that his initial assessement of drugs-forum.com was wrong and the website is not as “objective” or as ”intelligent” as he first assessed it to be.

Why doesn’t Robert Priddy specifically tell us which webpages on drugs-forum.com (a Pro-Drug Forum intended for drug users) contained a “good deal of accurate historical and other materials in them and/or linked to them”?

Perhaps Robert Priddy’s change of heart was prompted by an email I sent to Kevin Shepherd about Priddy’s Pro-Drug advocacy? Kevin Shepherd is a notorious critic of the Findhorn Foundation, Stanislav Grof and LSD. Kevin Shepherd has a lot of face to lose by allying himself with LSD-advocate Robert Priddy. Well, for interested Findhorn Foundation members, Stanislav Grof advocates and LSD critics, Robert Priddy still believes that there is absolutely nothing wrong with using LSD and that his LSD trips were not hallucinatory in nature (although LSD is a hallucinogen)!

Rather, Robert Priddy would have the world believe that LSD is simply a great “mind clearer” that produces out-of-body experiences that result in enlightenment and visions of broken bones sticking out of bloody flesh! What more can one do but laugh out loud at Kevin Shepherd and his LSD-advocating friend, Robert Priddy?

LSD advocate Robert Priddy is the person with whom Kevin R.D. Shepherd openly professes alliance. Consequently, Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s Anti-LSD rants are to be considered diluted, self-serving, hypocritical and selective. Kevin Shepherd’s defense of LSD advocate Robert Priddy is akin to his defense of Pyschic Trance Medium Conny Larsson.

Findhorn Foundation

2009-09-23T20:09:00.000-07:00

Findhorn Foundation

The Findhorn Foundation is a Scottish charitable trust registered in 1972, formed by the spiritual community at the Findhorn Ecovillage, one of the largest of the communes in Britain, has been home to thousands of residents from more than 40 countries. The Foundation runs various educational programmes for the Findhorn community; it also houses about 40 community businesses like the Findhorn Press, and an alternative medicine centre.

Starting as commune in 1962, from a caravan park, and founded by Eileen Caddy, Peter Caddy and Dorothy Maclean, the Findhorn Foundation and surrounding Findhorn Ecovillage community at The Park, Findhorn, a village in Moray, Scotland, and at Cluny Hill College in Forres, is a home to more than 400 people. The community has no formal doctrine or creed. It also offers a range of workshops, programmes and events in the environment of a working ecovillage. The programmes are intended to give participants practical experience of how to apply spiritual values in daily life. There are approximately 3000 residential participants from around the world taking part in programmes each year.

Findhorn Ecovillage, has been awarded UN Habitat Best Practice designation from the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (HABITAT), and regularly hold seminars of 'CIFAL Findhorn', a United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), affiliated training centre for Northern Europe.

A Growing Ecovillage
Findhorn Ecovillage is based at The Park, in Moray, Scotland near the village of Findhorn. Within the Findhorn Ecovillage at The Park, sustainable values are expressed in the built environment with 'ecological' houses, innovative use of building materials such as local stone and straw bales, and applied technology in the Living Machine sewage treatment facility and electricity-generating wind turbines.

The Findhorn Ecovillage is intended to be a tangible demonstration of the links between the spiritual, social, ecological and economic aspects of life. It is a constantly evolving model used as a teaching resource by a number of university and school groups as well as by professional organisations and municipalities worldwide. It is a founder member of the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) a non-profit organisation that links together a diverse worldwide movement of autonomous ecovillages and related projects.

The Findhorn Foundation Ecovillage Project has received Best Practice designation from the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat).

Since the 1980s numerous organisations have started up in the vicinity of Findhorn which have an affiliation of some kind with the Findhorn Foundation. These include Ekopia, Moray Steiner School, the Phoenix Community Store, Trees for Life (Scotland) & The Isle of Erraid. Collectively they now form an ecovillage which aims to demonstrate a positive model of a viable, sustainable human and planetary future. As of 2005, Findhorn Ecovillage has around 450 resident members, and its residents have the lowest recorded ecological footprint of any community in the industrialised or the developed world, and also half of the UK average.

Organisation Of The Community
The community includes an arts centre, shop, pottery, bakery, publishing company, printing company and other charitable organisations. All aim to practice the founding principles of the community and together make up the New Findhorn Association (NFA).

In 1999 a community association, the New Findhorn Association or NFA, was formed to provide a structure for all the people and organisations in the community. It includes people from within a 50-mile radius of The Park, at Findhorn. Each year a council and two listener-conveners are elected by the membership of the NFA, who organise monthly community meetings to decide upon community-wide issues.

Individulas Connected With The Findhorn Foundation
Individuals with past or present connections to the Findhorn Foundation include celtic art author Aidan Meehan, Waterboys songwriter and singer Mike Scott, sports psychologists John Syer and Chris Connolly, authors William Irwin Thompson, Caroline Myss, William Bloom, Sir George Trevelyan, Marko Pogacnik and Paul Hawken, Scottish novelist Margaret Elphinstone. motivational writer Carol A. O'Connor, activists May East and Vance Martin, Australian singer Hans Poulsen, Trees for Life (Scotland) founder Alan Watson and naturalist Richard St Barbe Baker.

The following have given lectures, workshops or presentations at the Findhorn Foundation: Eckhart Tolle, Neale Donald Walsch, Caroline Myss, E.F. Schumacher, Ervin Laszlo, Geoffrey Ashe, Paul Horn (jazz musician), James T. Hubbell, Paul Winter, Laurens Van Der Post, Jonathon Porritt, Satish Kumar, Joanna Macy, Peter Russell, Anita Roddick, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Petra Kelly, Matthew Fox (priest), Patch Adams, John and Caitlin Matthews, Robert John Stewart, Peter Dawkins (FBRT), Robert Muller, Ysaye Maria Barnwell, Danah Zohar, Machaelle Small Wright, Lynne Franks, Hazel Henderson, James Twyman, Jane Goodall, Aubrey Manning, David Bellamy, Miranda Holden, Sandra Ingerman.

Links with the United Nations
In December 1997 the Findhorn Foundation was approved for formal Association with the UN Department of Public Information as an NGO. The Findhorn Foundation is a member of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO), attends the Sustainable Development Committee meetings and is a founding member of the following NGO groups active at the UN Headquarters in New York: The Earth Values Caucus The Spiritual Caucus and the The NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns In September 2006 a new sustainable development training facility, CIFAL Findhorn was launched. This is a joint initiative between The Moray Council, the Global Ecovillage Network, the Findhorn Foundation and UNITAR.

Relevant Links:
The Findhorn Foundation's website
Ecovillage Project - overview and background
New Findhorn Association - website for the community association.
Wikipedia Reference For Findhorn Foundation

Kevin Shepherd & Psychic Medium Conny Larsson

2009-09-09T16:15:00.001-07:00

Kevin Shepherd & Psychic Medium Conny Larsson

Kevin R.D. Shepherd is a staunch Anti-New Age, Anti-Psychic, Anti-Superstition, Anti-Guru activist who believes that self-professed psychic channelers, spirit mediums, gurus and/or New Age practitioners are misled, brainwashed, fraudulent and deficient. Nevertheless, when it comes to agendas that Kevin R.D. Shepherd supports, he will cite an entire slew of New Age practitioners, self-professed psychics and/or Guru promoters to support his agendas.

This article will document Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s shameless attempt to defend and cover-up for Psychic Medium Conny Larsson. Although Kevin R.D. Shepherd gave a few tongue-in-cheek criticisms about Conny Larsson’s self-professed psychic abilities, Shepherd actually defended Larsson and claimed that since Larsson gave a talk at FECRIS, Larsson is thereby a credible and reliable reference against Sathya Sai Baba.

What Kevin Shepherd forgot to mention, however, is that Psychotherapist Conny Larsson purposely suppressed his psychic medium claims from FECRIS because FECRIS would never allow a self-professed Psychic Medium to talk at their conferences. FECRIS is extremely critical of alleged “psychic” psychotherapists (like Conny Larsson) who use their training and skills to manipulate, mislead and brainwash others. See: FECRIS: Psychotherapeutic Deviation: The Use Of Psychotherapy In The Case Of Cult Influence. Obviously, Conny Larsson’s training as a psychotherapist has enabled him to con many people, including Kevin R.D. Shepherd.

Kevin R.D. Shepherd cited the following email quote in defense of Conny Larsson:

Conny Larsson: “I could keep on interpreting the texts for hours, and in that sense people sometimes make their own opinion that I’m channelling, but in fact it is only me speaking out what is in my own intuitional knowledge.”
(Kevin R.D. Shepherd: This quote appeared in an email to myself from ex-devotee Robert Priddy dated December 2008.)

It has long been Moreno’s personal opinion that Conny Larsson is a bold-faced and pathological liar. Conny Larsson’s explicit and documented denial of being a Trance Channel & Psychic Medium is more proof of his repeated attempts to mislead through prevarication and deceit.

This article will provide verifiable information that proves that Conny Larsson solicited himself as a Trance Channel & Psychic Medium, which was even documented in a national Swedish newspaper!

It is an irrefutable fact that Conny Larsson was solicited twice on his official website at vedicmasterclass.org as being a psychic “trance channel” for the immortal sage, rishi & chiranjeevin Vyasa. After Joe Moreno (a Pro-Sai Activist) exposed Conny Larsson’s psychic claims on SaiSathyaSai.com, Conny Larsson rushed to do damage control by changing his profile and by changing the written testimony of Judith Bourque (essentially falsifying her first-hand testimony as originally published on the vedicmasterclass.org domain since mid to late 2006 - February 2009). See the ‘before’ and ‘after’ screencaps:

BEFORE (relevant text is highlighted) →

“Conny Larsson, Sweden/Cyprus - Founder of Vedic Mantra Meditation school in Europe. - Author and psychotherapist. Transchannel for ‘Vyaasa, the first Rishi’ During the Master Class Conny guided participants in the knowledge of the Vedic Mantra systems with regard to the 7 chakras of the nervous system. As Vyaasa he channeled 4000 year old knowledge for the group as a whole and at times for us as individuals. He also took us through processes to expand our levels of consciousness. conny@email.com”

AFTER (note that the relevant text was removed) →

“Conny Larsson, Sweden/Cyprus Founder of Vedic Mantra Meditation school in Europe. - Author and psychotherapist. During the Master Class Conny guided participants in the knowledge of the Vedic Mantra systems with regard to the 7 chakras of the nervous system. He took us through processes to expand our levels of consciousness. conny@email.com”

BEFORE (relevant text is highlighted) →

“Meeting for the Masters’ Class in Cypress was truly inspiring and an excellent example of how to spend a meaningful holiday. We were a group of teachers from several different countries, each bringing to the class an area of acquired knowledge and experience...Conny spoke about the seven different states of consciousness and also did some trance channeling of Vyaasa, ‘the first Rishi, or Seer’. That, for sure was an extra bonus at the seminar...I really look forward to the next event of this kind that Conny organises! Judith Bourque, Holistic Therapist and Independent Filmmaker”

AFTER (note that the relevant text was changed) →

“Meeting for the Masters’ Class in Cypress was truly inspiring and an excellent example of how to spend a meaningful holiday. We were a group of teachers from several different countries, each bringing to the class an area of acquired knowledge and experience...Conny spoke about the seven different states of consciousness and also did some interpretations from Vyaasa, ‘the first Rishi, or Seer’. That, for sure was an extra bonus at the seminar...I really look forward to the next event of this kind that Conny organises! Judith Bourque, Holistic Therapist and Independent Filmmaker”

Click Here to view the archive.org results for Judith Bourque’s original testimony as published on the vedicmasterclass.org domain (archive.org results are still available as of September 8th 2009). Archive.org has four results (from July 4th 2007 to February 13th 2008) for the webpage that contained Judith Bourque’s original testimony. It is important to note that archive.org only indexes webpages after a period of 6 - 12 months. Therefore, Judith Bourque’s testimony was published on the vedicmasterclass.org domain sometime in mid to late 2006 and remained there until February 2009 when it was altered. The following screencap shows the archive.org results for the webpage containing Judith Bourque’s first-hand testimony about Conny Larsson’s “trance channeling” of Vyasa:

Further strengthening the fact that Conny Larsson posed as a psychic healer are pictures of him giving “trance healings” that were originally released on the joga harmonia website (which were subsequently deleted at Conny Larsson’s request). If Conny gets this intimate and physical with women while in public, one can only wonder how intimate and physical he gets with women during his “private” psychic consultations. As they say, “seeing is believing” & “a picture is worth a thousand words”:

The screencap above specifically states the following about Conny Larsson:

Conny Larsson will give private consultations for psychic trance healings.

Conny Larsson will give a demonstration of his trance healing to the audience.

Conny Larsson is a trance healer.

Conny Larsson diagnoses the aura.

Conny Larsson promotes and endorses the power of Vedic mantras.

Conny Larsson will perform a séance.

Conny Larsson will sell and autograph his new book that speaks against Sathya Sai Baba.

Conny Larsson charged members 80 kroner (US $12) and non-members 120 kroner (US $17) for a talk on trance healing and aura diagnosis.

The screencap above specifically states the following about Conny Larsson (Original Reference):

Conny Larsson will solicit his book “Behind The Clown’s Mask”.

Conny Larsson will channel his spirit guide to help diagnose people’s medical problems

Conny Larsson will talk about trance healing and will demonstrate his trance healings on various members of the audience.

Conny Larsson offers private trance healing consultations

Conny Larsson is a life philosopher.

Conny Larsson is a psychotherapist.

Conny Larsson will teach the healing benefits of meditation and how it can increase life-force and well-being.

Conny Larsson is on the Swedish board for Neal Donald Walsh’s “Humanity Team”.

Conny Larsson teaches the TM method of meditation.

Conny Larsson will channel a banshee (ghost / spirit) that transfers healing energies.

In private consultations, Conny Larsson will perform aura cleansing and trance healing.

Conny Larsson will demonstrate trance channeling in front of the audience and on a few volunteers.

In private consultations and with the guidance of his spirit guides, Conny Larsson will diagnose the real causes of problems in a person’s life.

Conny Larsson will use a crystal pendulum to analyze the aura and chakras.

Apparently fearing a public exposure from critics, not everyone can book a private trance healing session with Conny Larsson. Private trance healing consultations are made exclusively at Conny Larsson’s sole discretion and he filters and chooses who he will perform his healings on in private.

Conny Larsson charged members 60 kroner (US $9) and non-members 100 kroner (US $14) for a trance healing demonstration. Charges 500 (US $72) kroner for a meditation workshop and charges 600 (US $87) kroner for a private psychic medium consultation.

The screencap above was taken from a national Swedish newspaper (Norrland Social Democrat aka Norrlandska Socialdemokraten) entitled “Medium Draws Full House”, which specifically stated the following about Conny Larsson (Original Reference):

Conny Larsson personally claimed he is a psychic trance medium.

Conny Larsson gives spirit seances.

Conny Larsson personally talked about “protective spirits” on the Astral Realms and claimed he was protected by them.

Conny Larsson went into a trance and channeled the dead dog of a woman in the audience, claiming the dog still barks and stands at her house.

Conny Larsson channeled an astral message for Gun Isaxon (a Communist party leader in Sweden) from her deceased father, warning of health problems and not to take any office.

Conny Larsson gave a demonstration of aura cleansing on an elderly woman in the audience by using a crystal pendulum.

Conny Larsson claimed that body piercings affect acupuncture and meridian points and are harmful on the “cellular level”.

Conny Larsson claimed he has 10,000 devotees / students in Sweden and around the world.

Conny Larsson attracted “large numbers” of women (judging from the picture in the article, 100% were women).

Many people remember Conny Larsson as the clown “Beppo”.

Conny Larsson claimed that “Words have power. Together we can bring peace and love.”

Conny Larsson warned his audience about “charlatans” who charge money for their services. Nevertheless, participants paid 100 kronor (US $14) as an entry fee (the article claimed over a hundred women were present, meaning that Conny Larsson grossed US $1,400+ just on admission fees). The weekend meditation fee is 400 kronor (US $58) and individual psychic healing sessions are 500 kronor (US $72). The article also claimed that over 400 people were learning meditation from Conny Larsson (meaning that he grossed US $23,200+ on his meditation classes alone).

Conny Larsson also sold books and CDs about himself at the lecture (notice the money-making trend?).

The screencap above proves that Conny Larsson is devoted to the Indian Guru Shankaracharya Swami Brahmananda Saraswati (the guru of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi) and posed in front of his pictures between 1998 (while still a Sai Devotee) to 2005 (five years after leaving Sai Baba and several years after accusing Maharishi of having sex with women).

The screencap above specifically states the following about Conny Larsson (Original Reference):

Conny Larsson conducts trance healing “séances”.

Conny Larsson can contact the dead.

Conny Larsson teaches others how to use crystal pendulums.

Conny Larsson teaches others how to “diagnose” blockages in auras.

Conny Larsson will demonstrate his trance healings on “selected individuals” in the audience and at his discretion.

Conny Larsson claims we all possess a “cosmic reality”.

Conny Larsson teaches a nine-step meditation program in which students must pass lower steps in order to advance to higher steps using the TM (Transcendental Meditation) technique.

Conny Larsson is on the Swedish board for Neal Donald Walsh’s “Humanity Team”.

Conny Larsson conducts private trance healing sessions in which Spirit Guides helps him diagnose the real problems in a person’s life.

Conny Larsson analyzes chakras for blockages.

Conny Larsson is an internationally renowned psychic trance medium.

Conny Larsson claims crystal pendulums help amplify the real causes to problems in a person’s life.

Conny Larsson charged 500 kroner (US $72) for the meditation, aura cleansing and crystal pendulum workshop.

Conny Larsson charged 600 kroner (US $87) for a private trance healing in which he channels spirit guides.

Conny Larsson charged members 60 kroner (US $9) and non-members 100 kroner (US $14) for a public demonstration of a trance medium séance.

The screencap above specifically states the following about Conny Larsson (Original Reference):

Conny Larsson is teaching a meditation class on February 6th 2009

Conny Larsson is a life philosopher.

Conny Larsson is a psychotherapist.

Conny Larsson spent a year in silence meditating in a cave.

Conny Larsson teaches meditation from the beginning phase to the most advanced techniques.

Conny Larsson is on the Swedish board for Neal Donald Walsh’s “Humanity Team”.

Conny Larsson is also known as “God’s Little Clown” (from his devotee phase).

Conny Larsson will teach the healing benefits of meditation and how it can increase life-force and well-being.

Conny Larsson teaches a nine-step meditation program in which students must pass lower steps in order to advance to higher steps using the TM (Transcendental Meditation) technique.

Conny Larsson charged 600 kroner (US $87) for the meditation classes.

The screencap above specifically states the following about Conny Larsson (Original References: 01 - 02 - 03):

Conny Larsson is one of two International Coordinators for the Heart And Soul Exposition (the other International Coordinator is Judith Bourque).

The “Heart And Soul Exposition” is a website for: “Many, Local and International workshop leaders and Inspirational speakers plus: Acupressure, Angel therapy, Aura photography, Breath Work, Clairvoyance, Crystal Healing, Crystal Bowl Therapy, Diana Cooper School of Angel Healing, Energy Biofeedback Therapy, Environmental issues, Esoteric teachings, Feldenkreis therapy, Indian Head Massage Practitioner, Life Counsellor, Meditation, Oriental Dance Teachers, Pranic Healing, Psychic Medium, Reflexology, Reiki Practitioners/Masters, Shamanism, Tai Chi, Vedic Meditation Master, Yoga Teachers.”

Conny Larsson was a former actor educated at the Royal Sate School of acting in Malmo, Sweden.

Conny Larsson became a meditation teacher under the “auspicious guidance of Maharshi Mahesh Yogi” (notice how the wording is positive although Conny Larsson is Anti-Mahesh-Yogi).

Conny Larsson teaches his own meditation class free of charge (although the February 2009 program stated he charged 600 kroner for his meditation classes).

Conny Larsson is a Vedic Mantra meditation teacher.

Conny Larsson founded the Vedic Mantra school of meditation.

Conny Larsson founded The Master Class in North Cyprus.

For many years Conny Larsson acted as Chairman for the Karnan Institute for criminal and drug abusers in Sweden.

Conny Larsson will lecture on the “Sixth Sense”.

Eileen August (an aura photographer and reader) will be present.

Kevin R.D. Shepherd & Psychic Medium Conny Larsson - In Conclusion

Despite Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s desperate and shameless justifications and cover-ups for Psychic Medium Conny Larsson, the numerous references provided in this article irrefutably prove that Conny Larsson widely solicited himself as a psychic, trance medium, spirit guide channeler, Vyasa channeler, aura reader, aura cleanser, crystal pendulum reader, chakra reader, chakra aligner, Vedic Mantra acharya, séance conductor, meditation master and spiritual healer. Conny Larsson also promotes himself in direct association with other New Age practitioners, psychics, mediums, channelers and healers on his vedicmasterclass.org and heartandsoulexpo.com domains.

When Conny Larsson purposely and knowingly lied about his well-documented Trance Channel & Psychic Medium claims, how can anyone believe anything he has to say, especially in relation to Sathya Sai Baba?

Apparently, Kevin R.D. Shepherd thinks that Conny Larsson (a person who hears voices in his head and who claims to see and converse with dead people) is a credible voice against Sathya Sai Baba! Even more disturbing is the fact that Conny Larsson self-disclosed his psychiatric diagnosis (made by a psychiatrist) of him being “psychoinfantile”, which is also known as Histrionic Personality Disorder.

If you hear voices in your head, channel Vyasa, perform trance healings, converse with dead people, channel the spirits of dead animals, hold negative views about Sathya Sai Baba and have been officially diagnosed with a psychiatric personality disorder, give Kevin R.D. Shepherd a call because you might be his next credible reference against Sai Baba.

KRD Shepherd Is NOT An Academic

2009-09-08T08:49:00.000-07:00

KRD Shepherd Is NOT An Academic

Ex-Devotees Take Note (underlined emphasis added by Moreno):

kevinrdshepherd.info/internet_terrorist_gerald_joe_moreno.html
Kevin R.D. Shepherd: “The misconstruction imposed by web harassment takes extreme liberties with basic formats. Moreno even describes me as an alleged ‘academic’ author, which is flagrantly untrue. I have never described myself as an academic, as informed readers well know, and my own basic description of my career is completely ignored by the harasser. The role of a citizen philosopher is distinct from sectarian polemic, it may here be emphasised.”

Thank you, Kevin R.D. Shepherd!

Kevin Shepherd’s statement should set to rest Ex-Devotee’s misrepresentation of him as being an academic or scholar. He is neither. Rather, Kevin R.D. Shepherd is a sectarian bigot who obsessively, unremittingly and fanatically attacks and stalks everything and everyone affiliated with the Findhorn Foundation. Kevin R.D. Shepherd even goes to the extent of vanity self-publishing because respectable and notable publishers do not wish to be affiliated with his non-academic “sectarian polemic” publications and viewpoints.

Needless to say, Moreno does not believe that Kevin R.D. Shepherd is an academic or scholar, which Moreno made abundantly clear on his webpages about Shepherd. Apparently, Ex-Devotees of Sathya Sai Baba need to take note as they constantly refer to Kevin R.D. Shepherd as a “scholar” whose writings are comparable to those of bona-fide academics.

Although Kevin R.D. Shepherd described himself as having “no academic role”, he praised his own writings as following “academic rules in citing sources to a greater extent than many academic philosophers” (a self-laudatory comment unsupported by other academic philosophers)!

Amusingly, Kevin R.D. Shepherd often points out other’s lack of academic credentials as something compromising their credibility, as he did with Craig Gibsone (a vocal member of the Findhorn Foundation) and others. If a lack of academic credentials is a negative, then Kevin R.D. Shepherd just shot himself in the foot! The only thing that trumps Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s non-academic role is his big ego.

Kate Thomas aka Jean Shepherd

2009-09-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

COPYRIGHT ISSUE:
Kate Thomas aka Jean Shepherd & Kevin R.D. Shepherd

Kevin R.D. Shepherd (a vanity self-publisher, author, Anti-Findhorn-Foundation critic and pseudo-intellectual) foamed-at-the-mouth, gnashed his teeth and raised a huge wail about Joe Moreno allegedly violating his “copyrights” for duplicating pictures of himself and his mother Jean Shepherd (aka “Kate Thomas”) on his (Moreno’s) website: (click thumbnails to enlarge):

Jean Shepherd (“Kate Thomas”) and Kevin R. D. Shepherd are public figures and caustic critics who have written and published books and extensive material against the Findhorn Foundation, Holotropic Breathwork, Stanislav Grof and New Age beliefs.

Public domain pictures of Findhorn Foundation critic and author Jean Shepherd aka “Kate Thomas” (which Kevin R. D. Shepherd even released on his website as public domain and for public distribution by attaching Jean Shepherd’s image with other copyright protected pictures of Well & Caddy: See Here):

01 - 02 - 03 - 04 - 05 - 06 - 07 - 08 - 09 - 10 - 11

Public domain pictures of Findhorn Foundation critic and author Kevin R. D. Shepherd (which Shepherd published on blogger, allowed to be published on WordPress by Sai Baba Critics and one picture of which Shepherd released on Wikipedia under the GNU Free Documentation License):

01 - 02 - 03 - 04 - 05 - 06 - 07 - 08

What is so blatantly hypocritical about Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s copyright blathering is that he published Moreno’s copyright protected picture (which was never released as public domain, unlike the pictures of Kevin & Jean Shepherd) on three different domains without obtaining Moreno’s permission to do so. Moreno emailed and requested Kevin R.D. Shepherd to remove his copyright protected picture from his websites. Kevin R.D. Shepherd refused to comply with Moreno’s request and forwarded Moreno’s email to Robert Priddy & Co so they could attack him. As a result, Moreno followed Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s ethical example (much to Shepherd’s consternation).

Therefore, it can be factually documented that Kevin R.D. Shepherd not only received Moreno’s email request, he also refused to comply with it. Consequently, any legal action taken by Kevin R.D. Shepherd against Moreno will be greeted with a swift countersuit.

Let Kevin R.D. Shepherd be informed that Moreno is ready, able and prepared to prove that his picture is copyright protected. As a matter of fact, Robert Priddy (Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s LSD advocating friend) similarly published Moreno’s picture on his Anti-Baba Wordpress blog and Priddy was forced to remove Moreno’s pictures (although Moreno was not forced to remove Priddy’s picture). Read The Full Story Here.

Kevin R.D. Shepherd is a self-serving hypocrite whose ‘holier-than-thou’ rants expose his biased and bitter mindset. Far be it for Kevin R.D. Shepherd to complain about the publication of his and his mother’s pictures when he published pictures of Robert Walter, Angus Robertson, Stanislav Grof, David Lorimer, Janice Dolley, Dr. Christopher Bache, Eileen Caddy, Alex Walker, Mary Inglis, Craig Gibsone, Judy McAllister, Dorothy Maclean, Marcel Boisard, Michael Russell, May East, Jonathan Dawson, Michael Shaw, Andrew Cohen, Ken Wilber, Frank Visser, Don Beck, Michel Bauwens, among numerous others (all without obtaining their permission).

Before Kevin R.D. Shepherd throws his childish temper tantrums on the internet, he should first put into practice what he preaches and he should abide by the standards he expects others to follow.

Consequently, using Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s standards, he is an “internet terrorist” and a “sectarian cyberstalker” who has “abused and pirated” Moreno’s picture (whose copyright he does not possess).

Kevin Shepherd And The 'SheilaWaring' Lie

2008-12-23T09:40:00.000-08:00

Kevin Shepherd And The 'SheilaWaring' Lie

About the pseudonym “sheilawaring”, Kevin Shepherd said of Moreno:

kevinrdshepherd.net/html/23___sathya_sai_baba__problems.html
“His many blogs are often registered anonymously. He has resorted to many web pseudonyms such as Equalizer, vishvarupa108, and sheilawaring.”

About the pseudonym “sheilawaring”, Psychic Medium Conny Larsson said of Moreno:

saibabaexpose.com/sheilawaring.html
“Someone using the name ‘sheilawaring’ reposted Moreno’s deleted postings on Netscape on July 9 2007- very soon after they had been banned and removed by Netscape. The identity of sheilawaring was concealed, but it is not hard to understad that this was either Moreno himself, or one of his proxies - it makes no real difference. That he must have had a hand in it is beyond doubt. The links are all to his defamatory website at saisathyasai.com Here are screenshots of the pages posted by sheilawaring on Netscape, also subsequently deleted by the netscape administration.”

About the pseudonym “sheilawaring”, Robert Priddy said of Moreno:

robertpriddy.wordpress.com/2009/04/04/sathyasaibaba-in-the-shadows/
“He has often avoided using his most known username (joe108) in favour of unidentifiable ones like Equalizer, sheilawaring, or - for most people less identifiable ones like visvarupa 108, SSS108 (on Wikipedia) GM, JM, GJM with or without the 108 suffix and so on All were gradually identified as being his. He has also used diverse IPs in his e-mails and comments, as has been documented on various occasions, though he tries to deny it, the proofs are there for any eventual further use. He denied he was equaliser until exposed definitively as such, and he denies that he posted on Netscape under the username sheilawaring - but he is exposed as having done that just after he had been banned under a previous pseudonym like JM108).”

Let it go on record that Moreno has never (ever), at any time, used the name “sheilawaring” on digg.com, netscape.com (now propeller.com) or anywhere else for that matter. Contrary to Robert Priddy’s senile claims (which he has been spewing all over his blog in recent weeks), Moreno never “denied” using the name “Equalizer” on his blogs. Once again, Robert Priddy makes unsupported, unsubstantiated and un-referenced claims against Moreno.

In an attempt to bolster their absurd claims that Moreno used the “sheilawaring” pseudonym, several screencaps were published on Conny Larsson’s website. And thank goodness they did! After seeing the screencaps, Moreno nearly fell out of his chair laughing because Ex-Devotee’s apparently confused “sheilawaring” as a Pro-Moreno Activist when in fact “sheilawaring” was an Anti-Sai Activist hiding under a fake name! “Sheilawaring” went through all of Moreno’s posts on Netscape and “sunk” all of them (meaning that “sheilawaring” casted votes against all of Moreno’s articles). This is why Moreno’s articles showed up under “sheilawaring’s” Netscape history. One can clearly see the text saying “Sunk On July 09, 2007 07:49pm” below Moreno’s posts. One can also see the text that says “This story has mostly negative ratings” on top of Moreno’s posts with the number of “sinks” made against his articles. Critics used numerous fake names on Netscape to “sink” Moreno’s articles and all of their fake names were banned, including Robert Priddy, Barry Pittard and Brian Steel’s accounts.

The screencaps provided on Psychic Medium Conny Larsson’s website (which was referenced by True Believer Robert Priddy and others) are provided below:

That’s right, Kevin Shepherd, Conny Larsson and Robert Priddy (all claiming a “scholar” or “professional” status) are too idiotic to read posts correctly (akin to their idiotic inability to read IP headers correctly, even attributing IPs generated by their own computers to Moreno).

What a bunch of pathetic and laughable stooges and loons!

Although Ex-Devotees whine and snivel about Moreno's alleged “pseudonyms”, one will not find a single complaint from any of them about the numerous incognito web identities used by Robert Priddy, Sanjay Dadlani, Tony O’Clery, UsedByBaba, Barbara Dent and R.F.J. Sandt. Ex-Devotees even attempted to pass themselves off as various individuals (including Pro-Sai Activists and Moreno himself). This type of very disturbing online behavior has been fully documented by Moreno (Refs: 01 - 02).

Expect more spin, deflection and cover-ups from Ex-Devotees, who can’t even identify their own acts of subterfuge in action. Yes, this is exactly the type of shabby “research” and laughable “exposés” that Ex-Devotees typically peddle as the “irrefutable truth” to unsuspecting readers. They do the exact same thing in relation to Sathya Sai Baba as well.

Kevin Shepherd Murder?

2008-11-06T19:24:00.000-08:00

Kevin Shepherd Murder?
Kevin R.D. Shepherd (exhibiting the symptoms of a person afflicted with paranoia) accused Joe Moreno of being part of some sort of covert internet plot and conspiracy to influence “uncritical devotees” that he was involved in some sort of “murder”, basing his argument on a wordpress tag that he erroneously accused Moreno of creating. Kevin Shepherd said:

“His more recent attempt to undermine my Google Search name listing includes tagged entries of no effective content, using my name and publishing imprints as tags calculated to draw hostile attention. One entry that has aroused strong comment is the item on my Google Search name listing which tags my name with ‘Kevin Shepherd murder.’ This refers to an actual murder which has nothing to do with me. See the very misleading ‘Kevin Shepherd murder 8/11/07 Copperton, UT... Kevin Shepherd and Robert Priddy... Find other items tagged with kevin-shepherd’ at wordpress.com/tag/kevin-shepherd/ Observers have deduced that the multiple blog and tag tactic intruding upon my Google Search name listing amounts to a form of internet harassment. Joe Moreno is clearly attempting to influence uncritical devotees via his websites and blogs and tagging system. The strong conclusion follows that he is an obsessive internet ‘hit man’ as ex-devotees have been urging.”

Obviously, Kevin Shepherd does not know how to use the internet, does not know how wordpress tags work and thinks he is the only ‘Kevin Shepherd’ on the planet (there are actually around 600,000 Google results for the name Kevin Shepherd).

Notable “Kevin Shepherd’s” not associated with Kevin R.D. Shepherd:

Kevin W. Shepherd, lawyers in Maryville, TN, Tennessee

Kevin Shepherd, Lawyer in Topeka Kansas (numerous listings)

Kevin Shepherd Comedian (numerous listings)

Kevin Shepherd - Plumbing And Tiling Services

Kevin L. Shepherd - Co-chair of the Real Estate Group of Venable LLP

Dr. Kevin P. Shepherd

Kevin Shepherd - Original Vegemite Boy

Kevin Shepherd - Radio Technical Officer Who Served In The Antartic Region

Kevin P. Shepherd - NASA Researcher

Sergeant Kevin ‘Condor’ Shepherd - “Detroit SWAT”

At the time of this article’s publication, there was only one article resolving to the "murder" listing under the wordpress tag for “Kevin Shepherd” (Ref). This wordpress tag lists an article entitled “Kevin Shepherd murder 8/11/07 Copperton, UT” (Ref). Click on the link and it resolves to this wordpress webpage. The original article is located on this ksl.com webpage. Ksl.com reported a story about a man named “Steven Lovendahl” who had an argument with a man named “Kevin Shepherd”. Lovendahl shot Shepherd in the arm and he died as a result. This incident occurred in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

Needless to say, Moreno did not write the wordpress article in question, the relevant wordpress blog does not belong to Moreno and Moreno did not create the wordpress tag that resolved to the “Kevin Shepherd Murder” article. Since Mr. Kevin Shepherd does not know how to conduct even the most elementary of research, he jumped to his extreme and irrational conclusion that Moreno was somehow involved with the wordpress tag for “Kevin Shepherd Murder”. Consequently, Mr. Shepherd’s asinine arguments against Moreno are without credible or factual basis (as are most of his arguments against Moreno and Sathya Sai Baba).

These types of conspiratorial and puerile accusations argue more that Kevin Shepherd is an “internet hit man” who assaults others with his formidable ignorance about the internet.

Kevin Shepherd Cites Anonymous Scholars

2008-11-06T19:11:00.000-08:00

Kevin R. D. Shepherd’s Comical Citations To Anonymous Scholars
Kevin Shepherd displayed amazing naiveté and gullibility when he claimed matter-of-factly that an anonymous Wikipedia editor named Jedermann was an editor with “Ph.D status”. Kevin Shepherd cannot back up this claim with any sort of verifiable sources. As a matter of fact, “Jedermann” (who is no longer a Wikipedia editor) never made any comment about himself being of “Ph.D status” on his userpage (Jedermann Reference).

Kevin Shepherd again displayed amazing naiveté and gullibility when he claimed matter-of-factly that an anonymous Wikipedia editor named The Communicator (IP 203.59.51.58) was “An academic assessor in an Australian University”. Once again, Kevin Shepherd cannot back up this claim with any sort of verifiable sources. Even on his userpage, “The Communicator” never claimed he worked at an Australian University. The quote that Kevin Shepherd cited from “The Communicator” stated:

“Shepherd’s case is unusual. He is an atypical writer, a non-academic who has researched in Cambridge University Library and published a number of scholarly books. His Mind and Sociocultures Vol. One is over 1000 pages long, has maps, appendices, notes and an index. There are 461 notes to the main text (with a further 280 notes to the introduction), and the index alone is 43 pages long. His other books are similar with respect to the quality of scholarly apparatus. It is unlikely in the extreme that any publisher would have taken on such a book, especially from a non-academic. Shepherd is realistic about his abilities, and prefers to be regarded as a scholarly amateur. He is scrupulous in his use of (citations of) specialist scholars, though he is occasionally critical of academics (and academic publishers) when they endorse what he regards as dubious persons and practices. By self-publishing, he maintains his authorial independence, although he suffers from the lack of resources provided by commercial and academic publishing houses. His books have high production values (I speak here as a professional bookseller) and are presumably expensive to produce. He does not seem to gain financially from their sale, nor in any other way as far as I can see. He does not promote any organisation or religious persuasion.” (Reference)

It is apparent that Kevin Shepherd is unaware of the Essjay Wikipedia Controversy in which a well-known Wikipedia Administrator blatantly lied about his credentials on Wikipedia. Essjay claimed he was a tenured Professor of religion at a private University with expertise in canon law. As it turned out, Essjay was really a 24-year-old college drop out named Ryan Jordan. So when Kevin Shepherd attempted to cite anonymous Wikipedia editors (“Jedermann” and “The Communicator”) on his behalf, he attempted to con the general public with anonymous and alleged “scholarly” references (whose credentials he exaggerated and embellished) that cannot be verified whatsoever. Anyone can anonymously claim to be a “scholar” under a pseudonym on a website.

It is also important to point out that “The Communicator” has very close ties to Kevin Shepherd. This opinion is supported by the fact that “The Communicator” mostly edited articles (view contributions) that Kevin Shepherd is deeply involved with (i.e., Stanislav Grof, Holotropic Breathwork and the Findhorn Foundation). “The Communicator” added links to Kevin Shepherd’s Citizen Initiative website (Refs: 01 - 02 - 03 - 04 - 05) and continually cited Kevin Shepherd, Stephen Castro and Kate Thomas (all affiliated with each other and the Citizen Initiative website) as sources on articles and on talk pages (Refs: 01 - 02 - 03 - 04 - 05 - 06 - 07 - 08 - 09 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21). Kevin Shepherd is also intimately aware of “The Communicator’s” activity on Wikipedia and even discussed him on his Citizen Initiative website (Ref). Kevin Shepherd’s references to “The Communicator” (and vice-versa) indicate some sort of collaborated scheming on Wikipedia against Stanislav Grof, Holotropic Breathwork and the Findhorn Foundation. Therefore, The Communicator’s comments about Kevin Shepherd are inherently slanted, subjective and defensive and cannot be considered neutral or unbiased.

Update: October 6th 2007: After publishing this webpage, Kevin Shepherd attempted to do damage control and had “The Communicator” update his Wikipedia page. “The Communicator” now claims (when formerly he did not) he works at an Australian University (Ref). Since “The Communicator” did not divulge this information on Wikipedia prior to October 6th 2007, one is left to wonder how Kevin Shepherd knew this information about him if they are not collaborators. Just because “The Communicator” claimed he works at an Australian University does not make his comment factual. He is still anonymous and his alleged credentials cannot be verified whatsoever.

Kevin Shepherd (who can often been seen advocating against Stanislav Grof, Holotropic Breathwork and the Findhorn Foundation) publishes the writings of Stephen J. Castro and Kate Thomas through Citizen Initiative Publishing. Stephen Castro and his ex-housemate “Kate Thomas” (real name ‘Jean Shepherd’, Kevin Shepherd’s mother) lived down the road from the Findhorn Foundation’s Cluny Hill College and were in constant conflict with the Foundation for many years. This would explain why Kevin Shepherd is involved in these controversial issues and why he constantly cites Stephen J. Castro and his mother Kate Thomas (aka “Jean Shepherd”) in his writings.

Kevin Shepherd And The Wikipedia ArbCom Bans

2008-11-06T19:02:00.000-08:00

Kevin Shepherd And The Wikipedia ArbCom Bans
In another Wikipedia related issue, Kevin Shepherd correctly stated that Joe Moreno (aka “SSS108”) and
Andries Krugers Dagneaux were banned from editing the Sathya Sai Baba-related Wikipedia articles (as were “freelanceresearcher” and “wikisunn”: Ref). Of course, Kevin Shepherd praised the arbitration committee when it came to Moreno's ban but was “disconcerted” with (and made excuses for) the same arbitration committee that banned Andries. It is also important to point out that that Andries was formerly banned on the Robert Priddy Wikipedia Article (Ref) due to violating the ArbCom ruling and two warnings from Wikipedia Administrators (Refs: 01 - 02). Moreno was never banned from editing the Robert Priddy Wikipedia Article. Enough said.

In his typically inaccurate ways, Kevin Shepherd had the audacity to say that Andries “had originally established the Sathya Sai Baba entry in Wikipedia on the basis of both pro- and contra- views being represented”. This is an absurd and total untruth. Andries included voluminous amounts of non-reputable and non-reliable sources in violation of NPOV, WP:BLP, WP:V and WP:RS and it was all removed in accordance with the First Mediation With BostonMA. For once, get your facts right, Mr. Kevin Shepherd.

Andries is a known POV pusher (Refs: 01 - 02 - 03 - 04) and other Wikipedia editors have accused him of the same bias and POV pushing that Moreno has. Andries was uncooperative and his failure to accept a second mediation attempt (Ref) pushed the issue into an ArbCom case (which he tried to escape). As a matter of fact, the First ArbCom Case fully acknowledged the problems with the Sathya Sai Baba Wikipedia Article and ruled (due to Moreno's thorough documentation about Andries Anti-Sai agenda):

“Negative information in an article or on a talk page regarding Sathya Sai Baba or organizations affiliated with him which is poorly sourced may be removed without discussion. The three revert rule shall not apply to such removal. This includes links to critical websites which contain original research or which consist of personal accounts of negative experiences with Sathya Sai Baba or organizations affiliated with him. It is inappropriate for a user to insert a link to a website maintained by the user (or in which the user plays an important role).”

Needless to say, this was a huge blow to Andries and Anti-Sai Activists (and they whined and hissed about it on their own Anti-Sai Websites). Don’t expect Kevin Shepherd to mention any any of these pertinent facts, which he lamentably failed to obtain despite his alleged in-depth research into this topic.

The Kevin Shepherd Citation On Wikipedia

2008-11-06T18:55:00.000-08:00

The Kevin Shepherd Citation On Wikipedia
In Kevin Shepherd's article against Joe Moreno, he repeatedly whined and sniveled about Moreno's objection on Wikipedia to the inclusion of a quote from his self-published book, "Investigating the Sai Baba Movement: A Clarification of Misrepresented Saints and Opportunism".

Andries Krugers Dagneaux (an ex-devotee and Anti-Sai Activist) was the only person arguing for the inclusion of the Shepherd citation in the Sathya Sai Baba Wikipedia Article. Jossie, Alecmconroy (a non-involved party who answered Andries Request For Comment) and Moreno (SSS108) all disagreed with Andries.

Wikipedia generally does not allow self-published material to be used as sources in Biographies of Living People (Refs: Self Published Sources - Verifiable Sources - BLP - Reliable Sources). Even more so when the self-published work in question makes derogatory and highly questionable hearsay allegations that have never been referenced in reliable or reputable sources (Ref: Reliable Sources). Kevin Shepherd’s book and citation fell into this category of self-published material.

After Moreno revealed the truth about Kevin Shepherd’s self-published book, Andries Krugers Dagneaux reconsidered his opinion (because he was under the impression that Shepherd’s book was not self-published) and he promptly dropped his complaint and consensus was obtained (Reference).

Although Kevin Shepherd would like to make it appear that Moreno was alone in his grievance, he was not. As a matter of fact, after Andries Krugers Dagneaux realized that Kevin Shepherd’s book was self-published and the citation did not comply with Wikipedia policy, he no longer sought its inclusion. These are the facts of the matter. Don’t expect Kevin Shepherd to accurately relate these facts without his typical spin, paranoia and “cult” accusations.

Kevin Shepherd And V.K. Narasimhan

2008-11-06T18:32:00.000-08:00

Kevin Shepherd And V.K. Narasimhan
Kevin Shepherd (registrant for the citizeninitiative.com website) displayed remedial researching abilities when he claimed that Joe Moreno gave “inadequate information” about the Sai Devotee V.K. Narasimhan on his blog.

Needless to say, Moreno wrote a detailed article about V.K. Narasimhan on his official website. Apparently Mr. K. Shepherd did not care to research Moreno's official website and failed to locate the search function clearly visible on the main-index and side-menu pages. View The Results For “V.K. Narasimhan” Using Moreno's Search Function. All Kevin Shepherd had to do was type in V.K. Narasimhan’s name into the search box and click on “Go” or “Search This Site”. The search function is so easy, even a child can use it.

Although it is true that V.K. Narasimhan was a friend to Robert Priddy when he was a Sai Devotee, there is little doubt that VKN would have severed his friendship with Robert Priddy when he became an ex-devotee. It is entirely possible that Robert Priddy fabricated or embellished information about VK Narasimhan to further his venomous campaigns against Sai Baba. This is not far-fetched considering Robert Priddy’s fully documented lies about Moreno and others. The Vishvarupa.com Webpage Profiling Robert Priddy provides concise and damning information about him that proves he is not credible and that he blatantly lies about others unapologetically. Kevin Shepherd ignores these fully documented articles (which are even recorded on Wikipedia) and instead links to Anti-Sai websites while ignoring any information that counters his Anti-Sai rhetoric.

Click Here to view an article that VK Narasimhan wrote in praise of Sathya Sai Baba in Sanathana Sarathi, Special Issue - November 1999 (about 3 months before his death) proving that VKN was devoted to Sathya Sai Baba to his death. The first paragraph reads:

“There are certain periods in the history of mankind when the mortal beings of this earth witness epoch-making divine events with their own eyes. By far the most astounding event of this century is the Advent of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.”

VKN also referred to Sathya Sai Baba throughout his article as “Bhagavan” (i.e., “God”), an “Avatar” (i.e., “Incarnation of God”) and being “divine” or possessing “divinity”. These published comments are objective and verifiable and wholly refute Robert Priddy’s highly questionable claims about V.K. Narasimhan. Robert Priddy’s attributions to V.K. Narasimhan are subjective and non-verifiable hearsay. Although Kevin Shepherd attempts to portray himself as a serious researcher in the Sai Controversy, he readily discarded objective facts with unverifiable hearsay and then had the audacity to claim that Robert Priddy’s hearsay trumped VK Narasimhan’s own words! Moreno claimed he would rather rely on V.K. Narasimhan’s verifiable words than on Robert Priddy’s unverifiable hearsay.

Kevin Shepherd also stated without proof that V.K. Narasimhan (a Sai Devotee he never knew, met or saw) was “known to have entertained extensive doubts, his habitual cynicism tempered by his dependence upon ashram amenities”. Moreno personally observed V.K. Narasimhan interact with Sathya Sai Baba (as have many thousands of other people) and VKN always exhibited great reverence and devotion to Sathya Sai Baba. V.K. Narasimhan’s reputation was such that (had he chosen) he could have easily lived in any of India’s numerous ashrams. He chose to stay with Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba for 30 years to his death. V.K. Narasimhan also had the opportunity to live with his son in Madras, but he chose to live at Puttaparthi instead. These are facts, whereas Shepherd and Priddy’s hearsay and speculations are not. Kevin Shepherd’s position about V.K. Narasimhan (a Sai Devotee he never knew, met or saw) undermines his self-professed integrity and highlights his bias and unsupported viewpoints.

Even in VK Narasimhan's Private Correspondence With Robert Priddy, VKN never said one word opposing Sathya Sai Baba. To the contrary, VKN praised and eulogized Sathya Sai Baba as "Bhagavan" (i.e., "God") and typically ended his letters with "Yours in Sai Seva".

To Date: Robert Priddy cannot produce a single hand-written or signed letter from VKN that expressed the slightest criticism of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. This is in irrefutable fact that strongly argues that Robert Priddy's attributions to VKN are fraudulent and dishonest.

Futhermore, it is amusing that despite Robert Priddy and Kevin Shepherd's constant bashing of Sai Devotees as liars, belonging to a cult, being brainwashed, etc., they constantly praise and cite VKN (an ardent Sai Devotee to his death) as a credible, intelligent and honest man on their behalf.

Pathetic!

Kevin Shepherd's Friendship With LSD Advocate

2008-11-06T18:15:00.001-08:00

Kevin Shepherd's Friendship With LSD Advocate
About Robert Priddy’s LSD-induced hallucinations, Kevin Shepherd said that Joe Moreno attempted:

“to depict Priddy unfavourably on the basis of his taking LSD in 1963 as a university student volunteer in an official investigation project...Priddy produced documents describing his LSD experiences, and which he deleted from his website at the end of his devotee phase, needing space for more pressing issues. Moreno has reproduced two of those documents without permission and has added inappropriate comments.”

Kevin Shepherd essentially repeated Robert Priddy’s comments as narrated on Alan Kazlev’s website:

“One typical example is his attempt to slur Priddy as a ‘drug user’ through his having taken LDS-25 back in 1963 when he was a student - LSD provided to a group of psychology students including Priddy by a neurologist/psychiatrist, following a request from the Norwegian Minister of Health, Karl Evang, who supplied the LSD for the purpose of volunteer testing its effects and reporting back! This was done for investigating psychotic states and other unusual mental conditions which the authorities then believed LSD-25 could induce temporarily [and well before LSD became controversial in the media]. Moreno makes much of this ancient news and other out-dated incidents...”

Needless to say, Robert Priddy never said that his LSD experimentation was part of an “official investigation project through his University”. Robert Priddy specifically stated he first experimented with cannabis then later experimented with LSD when he was 26 years old in 1963 with his friend Eric Steadman (with whom he shared a “perfect unspoken telepathic awareness”) and the entire episode was preserved on a tape-recorder that he turned on. Although Robert Priddy wrote about his experiences in depth, he never mentioned anything about any University officials, volunteer testing, Karl Evang or that he was a “university student volunteer in an official investigation project”. Furthermore, Robert Priddy admitted he experimented with “strong bio-chemicals” and LSD-25 years after his initial experimentation and even wrote about another LSD-induced hallucination in 1965. Therefore, Robert Priddy fully acknowledged he experimented with drugs prior to and after his initial LSD trip in 1963. Although Robert Priddy whined that his druggy years are “outdated” and “ancient”, it is amusing to note the he eulogized his “outdated” and “ancient” druggy years in 1994 (31 years later) in his book “Source Of The Dream”.

As a matter of fact, Robert Priddy said:

Robert Priddy (1988): “I try here to give as truthful an account as I can of what befell me in 1963. In the intervening 25 years I have continually been returning to that experience as as source of inspiration and in the hope that the fullest possible light may be shed on it for me.” (Reference)

Robert Priddy (1994): “A totally mind-shattering and subsequently most wonderful and intensely ecstatic experience befell me one day, as if from out of the blue. Much could be said on the subject, as it is an almost entirely misunderstood one and thus very controversial, but I do not believe doing so would appreciably enlighten anyone who has not actually had the very same experience. I am certain that no words can capture the vital nature and truth of such an experience of transcendental consciousness. I mention it because, without its having befallen me, I cannot guess how I might otherwise have been able to realize the value of pursuing spiritual development and exerting any measure of the determination, and one-pointedness that such a course eventually requires. The experience probably did not improve me much outwardly, if at all, but inwardly it altered my life in various quite crucial ways. I could simply no longer manage to regard normal worldly experience as the be-all and end-all of life. Having been forced to see my usual self and the mind literally from outside, with merciless clarity, through knowing and temporarily becoming the sheer all-pervasiveness of a sanctified joy, peace, and unrestricted awareness that underlies everything, I later came to know how that experience both consoled me and yet set me apart. Like a two-edged sword, it strengthened my insight, yet isolated me for many years in lonliness, for I had the burden of both incommunicable experience and a certain spiritual pride.” (“Source Of The Dream”; pg: 16-7, Chapter 2: ‘When the Soil is Ready’)

Do these positive descriptions sound like Robert Priddy considered his LSD-hallucinations to be “plastic grapes”?

Kevin Shepherd selectively cited a few lukewarm anti-drug comments made by Robert Priddy (which were added to the original LSD articles after a Pro-Sai Activist found them) and failed to cite or link to the articles in question. Kevin Shepherd wholly dismissed Priddy’s numerous three-decades-long comments praising his drug-induced hallucinations. Read Robert Priddy’s three (not two) articles for yourself (which were published for years on the internet as public domain) and my alleged “caricatured” and “inappropriate comments” about them:

Robert Priddy’s “The Psychedelic Experience” (or View Archive)

Robert Priddy’s “Truth, Being And Bliss” (or View Archive)

Robert Priddy’s “A Vision Of Cosmic Energy” (or View Archive)

Regarding Kevin Shepherd’s comment about Priddy deleting his drug articles from his website “at the end of his devotee phase, needing space for more pressing issues”, it is to be noted that Robert Priddy’s primary website contains over 400 webpages (many webpages from his “devotee phase”, including numerous articles from Sanathana Sarathi) and it is extremely difficult to believe Shepherd’s asinine comment that Priddy deleted three webpages because he needed more space on his website. Robert Priddy posts his Anti-Sai material on five different domains (plus one blog) and has plenty of webspace to include the articles in question. It is clear that Robert Priddy attempted to cover-up the fact that he praised drugs and his LSD-Induced hallucinations and foresaw that these articles would compromise the pristine persona he attempts to deceive others with. Kevin Shepherd is poorly attempting to defend Robert Priddy’s views about drug policies although his opinions about drugs severely clash with Priddy’s.

Amusingly, Kevin Shepherd said:

“A recent official report has stressed that regular cannabis use can more than double the risk of mental illness, and that a single joint of cannabis raises the risk of schizophrenia by more than forty per cent.”

Needless to say, Robert Priddy experimented with cannabis, raising his risk of schizophrenia by more than forty percent (thank you, Mr. Shepherd). Robert Priddy likened his LSD-induced experience as what “may well be what schizoprenics experience with intesity” and said “my mind was speeded, torn, ‘deranged’ and seemed to be left behind me and lost”. Although Kevin Shepherd holds a very strong anti-drug position, he is willing to compromise his anti-drug views by defending Robert Priddy’s Pro-Drug articles and three-decades-long eulogies of his LSD-induced hallucinations. Kevin Shepherd wholly ignored the bulk of Priddy’s articles and focused instead on a few equivocal and tongue-in-cheek anti-drug comments.

MAJOR UPDATE: Robert Priddy Cites Pro-Drug Forum For Drug Users!

Kevin Shepherd's 'Hit Man' and 'Terrorist' Claims

2008-11-04T22:22:00.000-08:00

Kevin Shepherd’s 'Hitman' and 'Terrorist' Claims
Fortunately, readers can assess Kevin Shepherd’s conspiracy mentality and extremist views when he alleged (several times) without proof that Sathya Sai Baba is a “strongly alleged paedophile guru who is closely associated with terrorism”. Amusingly, Kevin Shepherd said “Readers now have a clear choice: the partisan evasion of sexual molestation and allied terrorism or the Priddy-Shepherd output of sober analysis.” What a bunch of delusional rubbish! Kevin Shepherd, Robert Priddy, Basava Premananda and Indian Rationalists cannot provide a scintilla of verifiable evidence that Sathya Sai Baba is allied with terrorists. Kevin Shepherd blindly believes the claims, stories and conspiracy theories of Anti-Sai Activists (making no demand for proof and verifiable evidence from them) yet acts contrary when it comes to Pro-Sai Activists (making every conceivable demand that can never meet his expectations).

To Date: Sathya Sai Baba and the Sai Organization have never (ever) been charged with any crime, sexual or otherwise. This is an objective statement of fact and Kevin Shepherd cannot refute it with any court records or official documents. All of the allegations against Sai Baba are based on hearsay, rumor, gossip, conspiracy theories, anonymous accounts and stories from six non-anonymous and alleged victims who have never followed the rule of law (as would be required of the rest of us). Despite Kevin Shepherd’s obvious and abysmal lack of evidence, he had the audacity to claim that his terrorist accusations are “sober” and somehow well supported. They most certainly are not.

It is also interesting to note that Kevin Shepherd not only accused Moreno of being an “internet hit man”, he also accused Moreno of “internet terrorism” as well! Kevin Shepherd said “The internet terrorism is now causing outrage in British sectors, especially as Moreno is visible on Google ratings.” These comments clearly indicate that Kevin Shepherd loosely and erroneously accuses others of being “internet hit men” and being involved with “internet terrorism” like a fanatic who is anything but “sober”. Kevin Shepherd is apparently unaware of the extensive Anti-Sai propaganda that litters the internet. Readers can judge for him/her self who is truly guilty of “internet terrorism”.

Regarding Kevin Shepherd’s claim that Sathya Sai Baba is a “strongly alleged pedophile guru”, no one has been able to confirm even one single case of “pedophilia” against him (Pedophilia Reference).

When it comes to verifiable facts, Kevin Shepherd can’t provide any. He relies on assumption, blind belief and conjecture. Kevin Shepherd makes the case for Moreno that he (Shepherd) is a thoroughly biased and shabby researcher who lacks genuine critical thinking skills. He clearly has an agenda to push and readily attempts to deceive readers with Anti-Sai propaganda. These opinions are supported by the fact that Kevin R.D. Shepherd wrote a rambling diatribe (composed of 16,408 words) against Moreno (citing numerous defamations) yet never once attempted to contact him.

Kevin Shepherd And BBC Secret Swami Documentary

2008-11-04T22:17:00.000-08:00

Kevin Shepherd And BBC Secret Swami Documentary
Kevin Shepherd referenced the BBC Secret Swami program and called the stories of Mark Roche and Alaya Rahm “salient testimonies”. Kevin Shepherd also claimed that Sai proponents “evade” and “continually screen out all the contrary evidence” as related in the BBC Secret Swami program.

Kevin Shepherd (again failing to conduct basic research) is apparently unaware that Alexandra Nagel (an ex-devotee) claimed that Alaya Rahm personally told her (first-hand) that Sathya Sai Baba literally and miraculously transformed his penis into a vagina (and vice versa) on two separate occasions (Ref)! As in the case of Ullrich Zimmermann, Kevin Shepherd believes and endorses alleged victims who are so credible and honest, that they credibly and honestly attributed genital-switch miracles and paranormal phenomena to Sathya Sai Baba.

Not only does it appear that Kevin Shepherd failed to research this issue enough to discover these facts, he failed to mention one word about Alaya Rahm’s Self Dismissed Lawsuit (which has been prominently displayed on my official website since May 4th 2006) and my scathing response to critics about Alaya Rahm’s failed lawsuit.

In “Response To Form Interrogatories” in Alaya Rahm’s self-dismissed lawsuit against the Sathya Sai Baba Society (Form Interrogatory No. 6.3, Set One) Alaya Rahm fully admitted that he had been a daily user of illegal street drugs and alcohol from 1995 - 2005. Consequently, during Alaya Rahm’s “Divine Downfall” and India Today Anti-Sai interviews and during the filming of the BBC Documentary “Secret Swami” and the “Seduced By Sai Baba” Danish Documentary, Alaya Rahm was under the influence of illegal street drugs and alcohol while relating his alleged sexual encounters with Sathya Sai Baba. This crucial information wholly undermines Alaya Rahm’s credibility and irreparably compromises the integrity of his claims. Needless to say, Alaya Rahm’s alcoholism and drug addiction have been purposely suppressed from the general public by Anti-Sai Activists, the Rahm Family and the media (Ref).

Despite Kevin Shepherd’s puritanical anti-drug advocacy, he apparently believes and endorses the testimony of a then decade-long daily-user of illegal street drugs and alcohol. Kevin Shepherd also blatantly lied and distorted the truth when he erroneously claimed “the American Sathya Sai Society blocked the lawsuit of Alaya Rahm in 2006”. The Sai Society did not “block” Alaya Rahm’s lawsuit whatsoever. Alaya Rahm self-dismissed his lawsuit on the advice of his lawyer.

Andries Kruger-Dagneaux (former webmaster and “Main Representative, Supervisor and Contact” for the largest Anti-Sai Site on the internet, hetnet.nl/~exbaba) made several very disturbing claims that Michelle Goldberg (from salon.com), the Danish Radio (which produced the Seduced documentary), Tanya Datta (correspondent for the BBC in the production of the Secret Swami programme) and the BBC itself accepted and promoted the views of, and were sympathetic with, Anti-Sai Activists (Reference).

It is true that Tanya Datta wrote an article promoting the Secret Swami programme in exclusive association with Basava Premanand (an atheist and long term critic & skeptic of Sathya Sai Baba since 1968). Tanya Datta also worked in close association with Premanand prior to the making of the Secret Swami programme. Even Khushwant Singh, an Indian journalist who was interviewed in the Secret Swami programme, admitted (in the GuruBusters documentary) that he holds anti-guru and rationalist views (Reference). Mr Singh’s anti-guru and rationalist views were not divulged on the Secret Swami programme. This same type of hidden bias was discovered on Michelle Goldberg’s article, on Salon.com, entitled “Untouchable” (Reference). It is exactly this type of hidden bias that is responsible for misleading so many people. Consequently, all of the major broadcasts and articles written against Sathya Sai Baba were published by people who were biased and sympathetic with critics and ex-followers.

Consequently, the only people who “evade” and “continually screen out all the contrary evidence” are Anti-Sai Activists, including Kevin RD Shepherd. No one “evaded” the information presented in the BBC Secret Swami program (certainly not I). Why didn’t Kevin Shepherd (the self-professed “researcher” who claims he follows “academic rules in citing sources”) know about this very public and easily verifiable information?

Kevin Shepherd And PhD Timothy Conway

2008-11-01T11:13:00.000-07:00

Kevin Shepherd And PhD Timothy Conway
Although Kevin Shepherd is a staunch Anti-New Age advocate and Anti-Guru advocate, he devoted a lengthy section (on his page discussing the Sai Controversy) to Dr. Timothy Conway, citing him as a credible and intelligent reference against Sathya Sai Baba. Some relevant quotes:

“However, the counter of Dr. Timothy Conway is more convincing to non-sectarian analysts...Even the American ex-devotee Dr. Timothy Conway has been on the edged receiving end of sectarian disapproval...A relevant report comes from Dr. Timothy Conway (an American ex-devotee, not a medic but a scholar of Indian religion). He has contributed a recent lengthy webpage that substantially contradicts the sectarian evasion of alleged sexual abuse by the guru...The total list of these three categories involves ‘nearly 50 named and unnamed individuals. Dr. Conway adds that sectarian denials are contradicted by the (obvious) fact that ‘there are simply far too many allegations corroborating each other on similar crucial details.’...Dr. Conway informs that ‘numerous students have allegedly expressed fear to researchers about saying anything of Sathya Sai Baba’s sexual improprieties with them for reasons of shame and family situation (e.g., their parents and grandparents are devotees).’...Dr. Timothy Conway exited from the sect in 2001. He was subsequently asked to submit questions for Dr. Michael Goldstein as part of the BBC research preparations for their 2004 documentary The Secret Swami...”

Although strong counter-arguments have been made against Dr Timothy Conway, Kevin Shepherd blindly referenced him although Timothy Conway is a true believer and promoter of Gurus [3], Mystics [3], Enlightened Masters [3], psychics [1] [2] [4], levitation [5], bi-location [5], miracles [5], remote-viewing [4], elementals, meditation [2] [6], paranormal powers [5], aliens [4] [10], rebirth [1] [7], reincarnation [1] [7], karma [8], oracles [2], I-Ching [2], sensitives [1] [2], channelers [1] [2], astrology [2], astrologists [2], palm-reading [2], non-duality [9], etc. (the list goes on and on).

For example, if you are looking for an answer to a difficult problem, PhD Timothy Conway suggested the following solutions:

“Ask God (Spirit, the one God-Self) for guidance and for some kind of ‘omen’ or ‘sign,’ if needed, to proceed in a certain direction (i.e., making choice A, B, C or whatever). Be willing to wait several days or weeks (or, in some cases, months or even years for this guidance to manifest)...Use an oracle, such as the I Ching (Book of Changes). More simply, you can ask for Divine Guidance and then flip a coin--with heads meaning one choice, tails meaning the other choice. If you like, flip it 10 times and see if a clear pattern emerges. You might say, ‘Well, how the coin flips is simply due to chance.’ Perhaps. But one can also trust that there is a deeper Principle behind everything that happens, and you can ask this Divine Guiding Intelligence to show you an answer via the coin-tossing process. Alternatively, you can create a slightly more sophisticated oracle of your own by getting out 3 or 4 pieces of paper. Then write ‘yes’ on one, ‘no’ on another, ‘wait’ on a third piece of paper, and, if you like, ‘wrong question’ on the fourth piece of paper. Then turn them face down, scramble them up, and pick one of the 3 or 4 pieces of paper to get guidance this way...You can also consult a psychic ‘sensitive’ and/or an astrologer or a palmist (Indian jyotish astrology followed by Western astrology seem to be the most accurate astrology systems. And, curiously, palmistry and astrology seem to complement each other as different methods for getting to the same ‘karmic’ information on the soul’s mission, destiny, strengths and vulnerabilities).” (Reference)

Timothy Conway is also set to release two books praising over 40 Gurus, “Wonder-Workers”, Sages, Saints and Tantriks in 2009. What is so amusing about this is that Kevin Shepherd often attacks New Age believers and Guru promoters as being brainwashed and mentally sick. However, when it comes to Sathya Sai Baba, Kevin Shepherd discards his “scholarly”, “academic” and scientific posturing and cites New Age believers and Guru promoters as reliable and reputable references against him. Since Kevin Shepherd heavily cited Timothy Conway on his domains, he apparently researched Timothy Conway’s beliefs and approved of them.

Timothy Conway cannot take a consistent position for or against Sathya Sai Baba. For example, Timothy Conway had the following to say about Sathya Sai Baba and his alleged paranormal powers:

Timothy Conway: “ I remain convinced that there are paranormal miracles (wondrous anomalies), and ‘deep, mysterious energies,’ perhaps involving multi-dimensional physics and paranormal or supra-normal power, that are occurring around and through the personality of Sathya Sai Baba.”

Timothy Conway: “Sathya Sai could be an amazingly accomplished but fallen yogi (yogabhrashta)...”

Timothy Conway: “We should also be aware that these energies and powers could be coming from Sai Baba of Shirdi and/or the Divine Absolute...”

Timothy Conway: “Perhaps he is just a highly adept but fallen yogi or an inter-dimensionally powerful but contaminated ‘channel’ for the former Sai Baba of Shirdi (d.1918).”

Timothy Conway: “the powers of someone who has some ‘elemental spirits’ or other entities helping him from interdimensional planes? (–no joke: it’s a very old, worldwide knowledge that one can derive certain powers by contacting such entities).” Ref: Conway Email No. 8.

Timothy Conway: “Now, a purna avatar would, it seems, incarnate the totality of God, including the polarity play of light-dark, purity-mischief, unattachment-lust, and so on. This is a disturbing concept, but perhaps quite applicable to Baba’s controversial activity. Moreover, the sexual activity, which we now know to apparently involve considerable lust, might be Baba’s way of transmuting the very heavy sexual energy among humanity at this time on the planet.”

Timothy Conway: “I have sometimes thought that Sai is lustfully ‘taking on’ (on a psychic level) the lust of humanity to clear our sexual karma.”

Timothy Conway: “I grant that much or most of Baba’s spectacular mission has been about teaching and demonstrating Love.”

Timothy Conway: “I do believe that there has been an astonishing amount of genuine goodness, compassion and spiritual upliftment in and around Baba.”

Does Kevin Shepherd agree with these statements by Timothy Conway as well, or are his agreements selective and self-serving?

Timothy Conway also believed and endorsed (Ref) the alleged experiences of Shirlи Klein-Carsh, a so-called “Indigo” (an alleged extraterrestrial alien that voluntarily incarnates in human form on Earth). Shirlи Klein-Carsh claimed she was psychologically, spiritually and artistically guided by a cleverly disguised alien from Sirius (the star in the constellation of Canis Major) who worked as an electronics repairman in a second-hand shop. Timothy Conway said:

“This is a fascinating study of someone with sensitivities hardly dreamed of by most persons. Other books present the carefully presented and reasoned case for the existence of inter-dimensional aliens interacting with humans. This book goes straight into the mystery and wonder of the human-alien contact.” - Timothy Conway, PhD., author of ‘Women of Power and Grace’

Furthering his alien and UFO beliefs, Timothy Conway attempted to argue that if Sai Baba possesses paranormal powers, he could easily “warp spacetime” by creating an “insular interdimensional environment” where he could engage in abuse without easy detection. Attempting to bolster this asinine argument, Timothy Conway argued that people who are abducted by aliens and who experience the “missing time” phenomenon, have been lifted, transported and relocated to other areas without their spouses being aware of anything amiss. That’s right, Timothy Conway believes that it is possible that Sai Baba molested alleged victims on another dimension, which is why it is so difficult for them to prove their allegations and why there is an abysmal lack of witnesses supporting their claims (Ref: Conway Email No. 10).

These are the amusing beliefs held by a PhD who attempts to take a sober and rational position against Sathya Sai Baba. Timothy Conway, Ex-Devotees and Kevin Shepherd are hypocrites who immediately jump to the worse case conspiratorial view and adamantly refuse to coherently and legitimately provide factual and verifiable information to support their smear campaigns against Sathya Sai Baba.

Kevin R.D. Shepherd not only endorsed and cited Guru Advocate & New Age Promoter Timothy Conway, he also endorsed and cited Psychic Trance Medium Conny Larsson, New Age Practitioner & Reincarnator Alan Kazlev and New Age Ramtha Adherent Ullrich Zimmermann. What does this say about Kevin Shepherd? Kevin Shepherd is obviously a very gullible and naive person who is willing to give credence to New Age beliefs by claiming that New Age followers are intelligent, honest, credible and reliable individuals who are worthy of being referenced by him (an alleged “scholarly” and “academic” author not given to superstition or superstitious beliefs).

Tsk.

New Age Promoter Kevin Shepherd

2008-11-01T09:50:00.000-07:00

New Age Promoter Kevin Shepherd
Kevin R.D. Shepherd is a vanity self-publisher and author whose writings mostly revolve around (or include numerous references to) the Findhorn Foundation, Stanislav Grof and Holotropic Breathing. Kevin Shepherd typically references Kate Thomas (aka “Jean Shepherd”, his mother) and Stephen J. Castro in his writings. Kevin Shepherd is a staunch Anti-Guru, Anti-Cult and Anti-New Age advocate who has cited Conny Larsson on his personal domains as a person of credibility against Sathya Sai Baba. See: kevinrdshepherd.net/html/23___sathya_sai_baba__problems.html.

Kevin Shepherd publicly endorsed, promoted and solicited the integrity and credibility of Conny Larsson, a man who happens to be a cult-like leader and guru who claims he is a psychic trance medium for the spirit of Vyasa and boasts having over 10,000 followers.

Maharshi Vyasa (who is believed to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu) is considered an immortal sage who wrote the sacred texts to the Vedas, the Brahma Sutras, the Mahabharata, the Eighteen Puranas, the Bhagavad Gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam. For Conny Larsson to claim that he is channeling the spirit of Vyasa, he is presenting himself as a self-proclaimed prophet, guru and cult-leader whose words carry the authority of God and are to be considered on par with divinely inspired scriptures that are revered by hundreds of millions of Hindus around the globe!

However, Conny Larsson not only claims he is trance medium for the spirit of Vyasa, he also claims to be a spirit channeler, a pet psychic, a meditation guru, a yoga guru, a Vedic mantra guru, a devotee of Shankaracharya Swami Brahmananda Saraswati and a psychic therapist who can diagnose disease and illness by using a crystal pendulum (Ref)! Conny Larsson also runs the Vedic Master Website and publicly solicits himself with other psychics, mediums, spirit channelers and New Age practitioners (Ref).

It is nothing less than shameful and hypocritical that Kevin Shepherd (a staunch anti-cult and anti-guru advocate) endorses and defends Conny Larsson and vouches for his integrity and credibility although he is a self-professed prophet, an alleged “internationally renowned” psychic trance medium and a New Age guru using crystal pendulums and reading auras.

Did Anti-Sai Activists con Kevin Shepherd by purposely suppressing the fact that Conny Larsson is a psychic medium, trance channel for the spirit of Vyasa, Vedic mantra guru and meditation master? It would appear so. Conny Larsson conned the Anti-Cult expert Rigmor Robert into writing the preface to his Anti-Baba book, conned the Anti-Cult organization FECRIS into publicizing him and conned the Indian rationalist, skeptic and atheist Basava Premanand into publishing his Anti-Baba book in English. Basava Premanand happens to believe that psychics like Conny Larsson are frauds, liars and cheats and is willing to pay anyone who can demonstrate alleged psychic abilities 100,000 Rs (Ref). Why are all these Anti-Cult, Anti-Guru and Anti-Sect people and organizations endorsing, publishing and promoting Conny Larsson? Did self-professed “multi-millionaire” Conny Larsson pay for these endorsements?

Kevin R.D. Shepherd not only endorsed and cited Psychic Trance Medium Conny Larsson, he also endorsed and cited Guru Advocate & New Age Promoter Timothy Conway, New Age Practitioner & Reincarnator Alan Kazlev and New Age Ramtha Adherent Ullrich Zimmermann. What does this say about Kevin Shepherd? Kevin Shepherd is obviously a very gullible and naive person who is willing to give credence to New Age beliefs by claiming that New Age followers are intelligent, honest, credible and reliable individuals who are worthy of being referenced by him (an alleged “scholarly” and “academic” author not given to superstition or superstitious beliefs). Needless to say, these verifiable facts leave Kevin Shepherd looking rather pathetic and foolish and reeking of hypocrisy.

Reference

Kevin Shepherd And Ullrich Zimmermann

2008-10-31T20:58:00.000-07:00

Kevin Shepherd And Ullrich Zimmermann
Kevin Shepherd had the following to say about Ullrich Zimmermann (an alleged sexual abuse victim of Sathya Sai Baba):

“One of the most arresting testimonies has only recently been duly evaluated. Ullrich Zimmermann (a German now living in America) has become noted for three lengthy online video interviews (at the US portal blip.tv.com) in which he describes in detail his relationship with Sathya Sai Baba.”

Kevin Shepherd conveniently forgot to mention that Ullrich Zimmermann is a New Age follower of Ramtha (an alleged 36,000 year-old entity as channeled through the psychic medium JZ Knight). It is indeed peculiar that Kevin Shepherd (a strong Anti-New Age advocate) would be citing the testimony of a New Age follower against Sai Baba, calling his stories “most arresting testimonies”.

Kevin Shepherd also forgot to mention that Ullrich Zimmermann originally recalled his alleged experiences with Sathya Sai Baba while drunk at a Ramtha wine ceremony and after the 36,000 year-old entity commanded him to “teach Sai Baba a lesson”. Ullrich Zimmermann described his experiences with Sathya Sai Baba as “white tantra” and explicitly stated (several times) that he was not sexually abused and his experiences were an “honor” conferred upon him!

Zimmermann also claimed that Sathya Sai Baba instantaneously cured him of a long-term breathing ailment by materializing oil and applying it to his chest along the “kundalini line”. Leave it to Kevin Shepherd to leave out these wholly relevant facts and attempt to whitewash Zimmermann’s accounts by citing only self-serving information taken exclusively from Anti-Sai websites (which one would not expect from a serious researcher).

And to top it all off, Ullrich Zimmermann actually claimed that Sathya Sai Baba literally and miraculously transformed his genitals (from a penis to a vagina and vice versa) with a snap of his fingers twice! In addition, Zimmermann also claimed he saw a flash of white light fly out the Guru’s penis! These are the ludicrous (and quite frankly unbelievable) stories that Kevin Shepherd endorsed, believed and described as being “most arresting testimonies”. Nice to know that Kevin Shepherd (who attempts to portray himself as rationalistic and “sober”) is citing genital-switch miracles, paranormal phenomena and the testimony of a New Age follower against Sai Baba.

What does this say about Kevin Shepherd? Kevin Shepherd is obviously a very gullible and naive person who is willing to give credence to New Age beliefs by claiming that New Age followers are intelligent, honest, credible and reliable individuals who are worthy of being referenced by him (an alleged “scholarly” and “academic” author not given to superstition or superstitious beliefs). Again, I am sure this information is going to be very disillusioning to Kevin Shepherd’s readers and admirers (as few as they are).

Further Reading On Ullrich Zimmermann:

Barry Pittard’s First Ullrich Zimmermann Lie

Barry Pittard’s Second Ullrich Zimmermann Lie

False Hermpahrodite Claims Against Sathya Sai Baba

Kevin Shepherd And New Age Believer Alan Kazlev

2008-10-31T20:39:00.000-07:00

Kevin Shepherd And New Age Believer Alan Kazlev
It is very amusing that Kevin Shepherd (a staunch Anti-New Age advocate) heavily cited and used M. Alan Kazlev as a credible and reliable reference against Joe Moreno.

Alan Kazlev (the alleged credible and reliable reference that Kevin Shepherd cited against Moreno) is a true-believer, promoter and endorser of Integral Transformation, Integral Metaphysics, Reincarnation, Spirit Possession, Trolls, UFOs, Aliens, Alternate Realities, Cosmic Redemption, Planetary Buddhas, Avataric Gurus, Psychic Powers, Devas, Earth Spirits, Elementals, the Occult, Kundalini, Astrology, Karma, Auras, Astral Bodies, Astral Planes, Astral Beings, Geomancy, Theta Magic, Natal Charts, Samskaras, various New Age philosophies, etc.

Alan Kazlev claimed Ramana Maharshi as his “sadguru” and Sri Aurobindo and Mother Mirra are his “gurus”. Futhermore, Alan Kazlev ranted about his past lives on his website, claiming past life associations with Ancient Rome, Atlantis and Ancient Greece. Alan Kazlev claimed he lived past lives as a Polish Kabbalist, a German Soldier and a 19th Century English gentleman-scholar, philosopher theologian and naturalist raised as a British Israelite. Kazlev stated he reincarnates two to three times a century and was “exiled” to Earth (apparently from another planet) to help in the spiritual transformation of the World (Reference).

It has since come to light that Alan Kazlev is a grungy guy who loves to drool over images of a “pornographic kind” (according to Robert Priddy’s moral standards: Ref) and wrote two cyberpunk articles replete with filthy speech and sexually explicit material. See:

- syndorphin2-6-C by M. Alan Kazlev or View Syndorphin 2-6-C Blogged Post

- Hap New Year by M. Alan Kazlev or View Hap New Year Blogged Post

It is very amusing that Kevin Shepherd (a staunch Anti-New Age advocate) is citing a New Age believer as a credible, reliable, reputable and noteworthy “reference” against Moreno. What does this say about Kevin Shepherd? Kevin Shepherd is obviously a very gullible and naive person who is willing to give credence to New Age beliefs by claiming that New Age followers are intelligent, honest, credible and reliable individuals who are worthy of being referenced by him (an alleged “scholarly” and “academic” author not given to superstition or superstitious beliefs). This information is going to be very disillusioning to Kevin Shepherd’s readers and admirers (as few as they are).

It is also disturbing that Kevin Shepherd miserably failed to mention the fact that Moreno fully responded to M. Alan Kazlev on his official websites (Refs: 01 - 02). Kevin Shepherd also miserably failed to mention that M. Alan Kazlev defamed Moreno with bogus psychological profiles (areas of expertise he admitted he has no credentials in) and viciously insinuated that Moreno had a sexual oiling massage from Sathya Sai Baba (a bold-faced and gutter untruth) and that Moreno sees Sathya Sai Baba as a “much loved surrogate father figure” and “possibly a pretend homosexual lover” (more bold-faced and gutter untruths). Moreno has fully responded to Alan Kazlev’s defamations and misrepresentations in his article entitled Joe Moreno Refutes Being Sexually Abused By Sathya Sai Baba.

Strangely enough, Alan Kazlev fully admitted (several times) that he did not have the “time”, “patience” or “inclination” to research the Anti-Sai movement for himself and simply “skimmed” through information I sent him and relied on critics to better inform him. This is not surprising after reading Alan Kazlev’s Disrespectable Me bio.

This is the type of New Age true-believer, liar, pseudo-psychologist and morally debauched defamer that Kevin Shepherd blindly believed, endorsed and cited against Moreno. What does this say about Kevin Shepherd? It would appear that Kevin Shepherd is gullible, naive and is giving credence to New Age beliefs by claiming New Age followers can be intelligent, sober, honest, credible and reliable individuals.

Needless to say, Kevin Shepherd would have known all these facts had he cared to contact Moreno or had he cared to research this matter thoroughly. Kevin Shepherd did not care to contact Moreno nor did he research this matter thoroughly, thus confirming his bias, shabby research and non-serious investigation into the Sai Controversy.

Kevin Shepherd And The Guardian Article

2008-10-31T20:28:00.000-07:00

Kevin Shepherd’s Reference To ‘The Guardian’ Article
Further strengthening the case that Kevin Shepherd is a biased and shabby writer with remedial researching skills, Shepherd mentioned a poorly written article by Paul Lewis in The Guardian UK Newspaper entitled The Indian Living God, The Paedophilia Claims And The Duke Of Edinburgh Awards. Oddly enough, Kevin Shepherd made no mention to the Anti-Sai Activist Sanjay Kishore Dadlani who publicly boasted on a QuickTopic forum that The Guardian article was the direct result of collaboration between himself, Anti-Sai Activists and Paul Lewis. Paul Lewis’ biased Anti-Sai newspaper article was in planning for six months. Here are Sanjay’s comments fully acknowledging that the newspaper article against Sathya Sai Baba was a premeditated, concerted and deliberate Anti-Sai-Baba hack job:

Sanjay Dadlani: “Want to talk about blindness? I warned you fools about this months ago, but you're way too thick to pick up the hints. I even warned you months in advance about the BBC movie, and you were too thick to pick up the hints about that too. Nothing has changed even two years later. :-)” (Reference)

Indeed, on April 24th 2006, Sanjay specifically gave a warning about a coming Anti-Sai exposure in November regarding the UK Sai Youth Group traveling to Puttaparthi and sexual abuse claims. On the SSB2 Yahoo Group, Sanjay said:

Sanjay Dadlani: “Sai Baba, male-rapist extraordinaire, has been drooling for TWO YEARS expecting the entire UK Youth contingent to travel to Puttaparthi and satisfy his perverted sexual cravings. It’s all going down this November. Details to follow” (Reference).

Just as Sanjay predicted, come November (six months later), Paul Lewis published an article in The Guardian newspaper about (you guessed it) the UK Sai Youth Group traveling to Puttaparthi and sexual abuse claims. Coincidence? I think not.

More admissions from Sanjay Dadlani on QuickTopic:

Sanjay Dadlani: “What you morons fail to realise is that these things take months of planning and co-ordinated research, especially by journalists and reporters of prestigious newspapers (such as the Times, Daily Telegraph, Australian Age, etc etc) who tend to go off and do their own research in the hope of turning up something new. We already knew about this issue months before the date pf publication of course. In fact it was mooted as a front-page story, but at the last minute a development in a legal issue involving PM Tony Blair took precedence and the Sai Baba article was moved to Page 3. No matter, open the paper and it all goes BOOM! in your face...How did you like the distractions, Moreno? Sorry I couldn’t take part while I was busy participating in this development...We run the Exposé and the Exposé continues.” (Reference)

Sanjay Dadlani: “WE run the Exposé and the Exposé continues!” (Reference)

Sanjay Dadlani: “And yes, I know all about what has gone on behind the scenes. This is the stuff I am working on while you idiots are arguing endlessly over who’s a bigger pervert than who when the biggest pervert of all (Sai Baba) has just been exposed today (Saturday 4th November 2006) in a very nice Page 3 spread in a highbrow British newspaper like The Guardian. Of course, I already know which page it’s on even though I don’t have it yet. In a few hours I'll go out and purchase a hard copy. :-)” (Reference)

Perhaps the reason why Kevin Shepherd never mentioned Sanjay Dadlani is because Sanjay is a proven pervert and defamer of others. Anti-Sai Activists (including Shepherd’s friend and co-conspirator Robert Priddy) see absolutely nothing wrong with Sanjay Dadlani’s homosexual-fantasizing slurs, Jesus Sex Fetish and Boot Sex Fetish. Although Sanjay went around secretly stalking innocent women (calling them “bitches” and “sluts”, saying “they want it”, calling Mothers “MILFs”, photographing females and teenagers up their dresses and under tables and publishing these photos on his streetbitches blog), Anti-Sai Activists and Robert Priddy are right there holding hands with Sanjay Dadlani, promoting and endorsing him on their Anti-Sai blogs and websites.

Sanjay even posted on the QuickTopic Forum (using multiple fake names, including female names) and made disgusting comments under the name “Marquis de Sade”, even duplicating a post about a Priest ejaculating on the face of a little girl, as related by her brother. Sanjay even posted under the name “kick his head in” and said that someone should murder Sathya Sai Baba (of course, this is the same guy who rejoiced when a Sai Baba temple was bombed).

These are the type of people that Anti-Sai Activists utilize to further their smear and hate campaigns against Sai Baba. Don’t expect Kevin Shepherd (a staunch moralist and purist) to mention these facts.

Although Kevin Shepherd correctly cited The Guardian when it accurately reported that Sathya Sai Baba has never been charged with any crime, he attempted to whitewash the issue by claiming without proof that there is uncritical “support for the guru in India, where socially prominent devotees staunchly uphold his claims to divine status”. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Once again, alleged victims have never attempted to file a basic police complaint against Sathya Sai Baba in India, let alone a court case. Therefore, the fact that Sathya Sai Baba has never been charged with any crime is the direct result of the apathy and non-credibility of alleged victims (who refused the offer of free “world-class legal resources” to bring Sathya Sai Baba to justice).

In The Guardian article, Paul Lewis (despite researching the subject for six months) gave an incorrect age for Sathya Sai Baba and misrepresented the former US State Department warning in the exact manner as Kevin Shepherd and Anti-Sai Activists have done. See Kevin Shepherd And The US State Department.

Kevin Shepherd And The US State Department

2008-10-31T20:20:00.000-07:00

Kevin Shepherd Misrepresented Former US State Department Warning
Regarding the former US State Department warning, Kevin Shepherd said:

“The US State Department has been more sober than Indian politicians, issuing a travel warning after reports of ‘inappropriate sexual behaviour by a prominent local religious leader.’ That statement has been confirmed by officials as a reference to Sathya Sai Baba.”

Kevin Shepherd obviously does not care to update his website with current and accurate information. Since July 17th 2007, the US State Department has “soberly” removed all indirect references to Sathya Sai Baba from their official website (Refs: Truth Behind US State Department Warning - Official US State Consular Sheet).

It is very disturbing that Kevin Shepherd (like ex-devotees) misrepresented the former US State Department warning when he purposely left out the pivotal word “unconfirmed” in his quote. The former US State Department warning explicitly stated “unconfirmed reports of inappropriate sexual behavior by a prominent local religious leader”. Kevin Shepherd (wholly unconcerned with giving full and accurate citations) quoted only partial information that significantly changed the entire context to the original statement. Why would a serious researcher cite partial quotes for any other reason than personal bias and deceit?

In his July 2007 update, Kevin Shepherd said (in reference to UNESCO and the US State Department removing all indirect warnings against Sai Baba from their websites):

“This grave cessation of public warnings should arouse strong questions about official protocol, which can evidently be manipulated by an organisation whose activities have not been duly investigated.”

Actually, these “grave cessation of public warnings” should arouse strong suspicions that the former warnings were discovered to be based on inadequate or deceptive information. After all, Ex-Devotees boasted how they accomplished the Unesco Withdrawal and the US State Department Warning via an unremitting “e-bombing” campaign.

Kevin Shepherd went from calling the US State Department “sober” to implying that they were manipulated by the Sai Organization. This type of behavior is highly indicative of a conspiracy theorist that operates on the premise of paranoia and deceit when the truth does not argue in his favor.

The reason why Sathya Sai Baba and the Sai Organization have never been “investigated” is because all of the alleged victims have never followed the process of law and refuse (to this day) to file a basic police complaint against the guru in India. Therefore, the perception that Sathya Sai Baba is completely innocent of all wrongdoing is due to the apathy and non-credibility of alleged victims (who refused the offer of free “world-class legal resources” from Ex-Devotees). Don’t expect Kevin Shepherd to provide these facts, which he could have easily obtained had he contacted Joe Moreno (a Pro-Sai Activist he has written extensively against).

Introduction To Kevin RD Shepherd

2008-10-31T20:03:00.000-07:00

Introduction To Kevin RD Shepherd
Kevin Shepherd is a garrulous writer adept in writing loose, tabloid-like diatribes composed of rumor, hearsay and poorly researched claims. This blog was created to refute and respond to Kevin R. D. Shepherd’s articles against Joe Moreno located on KRD Shepherd’s citizeninitiative.com and kevinshepherd.net domains.

Although Kevin Shepherd can often be seen boasting that his research is objective, well researched, serious, etc., he never attempted to contact Moreno before publishing his rambling slop against Moreno on his websites. Judging from Kevin Shepherd’s article against Moreno, it is easy to ascertain that he is a thoroughly biased conspiracy theorist incapable of formulating a sober argument, let alone conducting any semblance of adequate or impartial research.

Kevin Shepherd is a self-publisher via:

Philosophical Press

New Media Books Ltd

Citizen Initiative

Anthropographia Publications

Kevin Shepherd self-publishes his books for various reasons he tries very hard to justify. It is Moreno’s personal opinion that Kevin Shepherd self-publishes his own material (rather than by established third-party publishers) because:

Kevin Shepherd’s material is controversial, convoluted and conspiratorial and publishers do not wish to be associated with his works. Even Routledge (a well-established and giant publisher) turned away Shepherd’s manuscript.

Kevin Shepherd has no academic credentials and his authority on the subjects he writes about is highly dubious.

Kevin Shepherd’s subject material interests a very small and exclusive reading population.

Kevin Shepherd’s books are biased and push a self-serving agenda.

Kevin Shepherd’s publications under various self-publishing names is indicative of vanity publishing.

Kevin Shepherd has no claim to any sort of academic credentials (which Moreno discussed in his original article). Even on Kevin RD Shepherd’s pesonal website (Ref), he failed to list any verifiable academic credentials he may possess. Rather, he stated he undertook a “private research project” at the Cambridge University Library (not to be confused with Cambridge University itself) “with a reference from Corpus Christi College”. He alleged that he established the Intercultural Research Centre of Anthropography in the town of Cambridge (again, not to be confused with Cambridge University) in the 1980s. Needless to say, the IRCA was short lived and no remnants of it can be found in any credible or scholarly sources or references. Kevin R.D. Shepherd refers to himself as a “serious amateur”, a term he described as:

“...a phrase in use at Cambridge and Oxford Universities that describes a writer who does not hold academic honours but who does attempt serious work with annotations.”

A search of the Oxford University website reveals that the term “serious amateur” is rarely used. The term is used exclusively in relation to astronomy and photography (Ref). A search of the Cambridge University website reveals that the term “serious amateur” is used exclusively in relation to astronomy and botony (Ref). Contrary to Kevin Shepherd’s erroneous claim, the term “serious amateur” is not a well known term relating to writers at either Cambridge or Oxford (despite their scholarly, extensive and heavily sourced websites).

Kevin Shepherd fully conceded that he has “no academic role” although he boasts that he follows “academic rules in citing sources to a greater extent than many academic philosophers” (a self-laudatory statement not backed up by any independent academic philosophers or scholars).

Kevin Shepherd is the registrant for citizeninitiative.com & kevinrdshepherd.net:

Domain name: CITIZENINITIATIVE.COM
Administrative Contact:
Shepherd, Kevin kevinrdshepherd@btinternet.com
PO Box 5757, Dorchester, Dorset DT2 7ZX GB
+44.1935826757 (Ref)

Domain name: KEVINRDSHEPHERD.NET
Administrative Contact:
Shepherd, Kevin kevinrdshepherd@btinternet.com
PO Box 5757, Dorchester, Dorset DT2 7ZX GB
+44.1935826757 (Ref)

Kevin Shepherd And Robert Priddy

2008-10-31T19:11:00.000-07:00

Anti-Sai Activists have attempted to assert Robert Priddy’s notability by citing a reference made to him in the following book:

Title: Investigating the Sai Baba Movement: A Clarification of Misrepresented Saints and Opportunism
Author: Kevin R.D. Shepherd
Publisher: Citizen Initiative, Dorchester, Dorset, United Kingdom
Book Release: 2005-10
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 0952508931

Anti-Sai Activists alleged:

“According to Kevin Shepherd, the former national leader of the Sathya Sai movement in Norway Robert Priddy expressed the opinion that Sathya Sai Baba was an accomplice to the 1993 murders, among others based on information given to him by his friend V.K. Narasimhan.”

First of all, V.K. Narasimhan was a staunch Sai Devotee to his death and exclusively referred to Sathya Sai Baba as “Bhagavan” (i.e., “God”) and “Lord”. As a matter of fact, V.K. Narasimhan wrote about Sathya Sai Baba (in Sanathana Sarathi, Special Issue, November 1999) about 3 months before he died and this is how he introduced his article:

“There are certain periods in the history of mankind when the mortal beings of this earth witness epoch-making divine events with their own eyes. By far the most astounding event of this century is the Advent of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.” (Reference)

V.K. Narasimhan wrote the following two books favorable to Sathya Sai Baba and not only referred to him as “Lord”, he also compared him with Mahatma Ghandi:

“From Bapu to Baba” V.K. Narasimhan, Kalakshetra Publications, Madras 1985. Republished by Sai Towers Publishing, Puttaparthi, 1990. ISBN-10: 8186822186 - ISBN-13: 978-8186822180

“Devoted to the Lord. Beloved of the Lord” V.K. Narasimhan, 1992, 80th birth anniversary offering to VKN, edited by his son, V.N. Narayanan. Contains a letter from the President of India, R. Venkataraman and from the Governor of Maharashtra, C. Subramaniam.

Therefore, Robert Priddy’s claims about Sri V.K.N. are highly suspect and wholly unbelievable.

Secondly, there are absolutely no online references about Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s qualifications, notability, personal information, credentials or schooling. There are also no media articles or University references to Kevin Shepherd although his books have been published as far back as 1983. The reason for this is probably because all of Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s books are self-published.

Kevin Shepherd’s books were published by the publisher “Citizen Initiative” (Dorchester, Dorset, United Kingdom), which is not listed on booktrust’s UK publishers. The only books published by “Citizen Initiative” (utilizing an advanced search on Google for “citizen initiative” + “publisher(s)” / “publishing” / “publication(s)”) are those belonging to Shepherd, Kevin. No other books have been published by “Citizen Initiative”.

I contacted the University of Sheffield UK (regarding “Citizen Initiative” and Kevin Shepherd) by email and Mrs. Barringer said:

“Sorry - have never heard of them and can find no trace in any lists of publishers.”

I also contacted booktrust.org (regarding “Citizen Initiative” and Kevin Shepherd) by email and Mr. Smith said:

“I have never heard of Citizen Initiative, but their titles – almost exclusively written by Kevin Shepherd – are listed on the Nielsen BookData database of books in print. CI also appears to act as a distributor for titles published by Anthropographia Publications (again, these books are all by Mr Shepherd), Philosophical Press and New Media Books Ltd.”

“Anthropographia” and “Philosophical” publications are other publishers that are in exclusive association with Kevin Shepherd (publishing no other books by no other authors).

Publications By “Citizen Initiative”, all by Kevin Shephard:

Some Philosophical Critiques and Appraisals

Investigating the Sai Baba Movement

Pointed Observations

Therefore, Kevin Shepherd’s books are self-published and his reference to Robert Priddy’s Anti-Sai Propaganda is highly suspect, non-credible and obviously poorly researched.