at one time
attended a number of my seminars in meditation
and self-development. In the Buddhist philosophy
we strongly counsel persons against taking their
own lives because of a negative karma that can
be generated by this action. I was touched by
the fact that Donald said good-bye to me in the
note he left before he died, and I was deeply
saddened to hear of his suicide. I did not
know Donald and I never spoke to him personally,
except in passing to say hello.

Anne said to me, "Donald did not just attend a number of seminars. He
was a student. He saw Rama on a weekly basis. He came to Rama's house
and ate dinner with us. He came to parties. He went on desert trips.
He came to movies with us on Friday nights. Rama is trying to make it
seem as if Donald had been some kind of stranger."

I replied, "Mr. Kohl called me after Donald's death. I spoke with him
for more than an hour. I figured Rama would not want me talking with
him, but I did anyway."

Anne said, "I was at the Centre when Rama found out that Donald had
taken his life. At first he looked very sad. But the first thing he
said was regarding protecting himself from blame. He told us not to
speak with Donald's parents except to say we were sorry."

Rama writes:

I can understand Donald's parents' grief
over the tragedy of their son's death.
In their pain they are understandably
inclined to search for events and individuals
they can use to explain or rationalize
Donald's death. However, to attempt to
attribute his death to his interest in
meditation or to his attendance at some
seminars I conducted on meditation and
self-development is far-fetched at the very
least.

When examined individually the charges
that these six persons have made against
me have little validity or impact. But when
all of these people walk into a newspaper
office together and tell their stories, an
avalanche effect occurs. I can well understand
how all of these allegations, when presented
at the same time, could raise questions in
someone's mind regarding my conduct and
character. And until Jennifer Jacobs told me
the story of her kidnapping,