The Mother of God by Luna Tarlo

by Luna Tarlo

This is a mother's account of her experience as a disciple of her own son - Andrew Cohen, a well-known American guru - and of her struggle to free herself from his control. What had been a close, affectionate relationship slowly becomes a nightmare of domination. The story begins quiely in India and unfolds with growing intensity as Andrew, his mother, and a few people who have gathered around him, travel to England, Holland, Israel, and finally the United States, but which time Andrew has attracted hundreds of devotees to his "meetings." The abuse of power, incessant fear, and the pyschology of obsession are all explored here from an intimate perspective. Since brainwashing cults and their grandiose gurus are proliferating - in this country and all over the world - this book is not only a mother's lament, but also a finger pointing to the growing appeal everywhere of authoritarianism and absolutism.

Genres: Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

If her book is anything to go by, Luna Tarlo has never met a person she liked. She has a mean word for virtually every human being she encounters in the entire book. It's kind of impressive, in an off-putting sort of way. Her son seems like kind of an asshole, too. Reading this, it's pretty obvious where he got it. They deserve each other.

Overall, book was short of laughs and long on moralizing. Boo.

[Annika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Luna Tarlo has led an unusual life as a disciple of her own son's neo-Advaita cult; her experience is interesting but her account of it is anything but. Tarlo is, to her credit, upfront and unflinching in the brief moments when she describes the subversion of the mother-son dynamic and her distress at her loss of parental power over her guru son. Unfortunately these detours are infrequent, with Tarlo instead choosing to spend the bulk of this book rattling off every possible complaint that has ever crossed her mind in some of the most boring prose I have ever read.

[Cynde Moya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luna wrote this painful memoir in part to illustrate the archetypical aspects of mixing guru/disciple and mother/son relationship. A companion to the last book I read, Enlightenment Blues, this too exposes the dynamics of uncritically following a claimant to enlightenment who also claims infallibility.