Leon MacLaren

Leon MacLaren (1910-1994) is a well known follower of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Shantanand Saraswati, Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff and P. D. Ouspensky, and a leader of a sect prescribing many aspects of an School of Economic Science (SES) member's life, from the diet and musical taste to sexual behavior. His School of Economic Science does not regard itself as a religion, but gained much negative publicity from the publication of the book "Secret Cult" by Peter Hounam. [George D. Chryssides [http://books.google.ie/books?id=vyX1sL8-0gMC&pg=PA374&dq=SES+%5Bthe+School+of+Economic+Science%5D&ei=A3tZSN7ONqOQtAPfuYy_DQ&client=firefox-a&sig=6cd_nW7rZfZjT6MA4TltyGzQb8Y Exploring new religions - p. 374] ]

Others view SES as a religion, and Family Action Information Resource Review conducted a survey in 1993-1994 with a numbers of inquiries they received concerning New Religious Movements, at that time MacLaren's group SES was seventh on the list. [cite book |author=Arweck, Elisabeth |title=Researching new religious movements: responses and redefinitions |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |year=2006 |pages=p. 137 |isbn=0-415-27755-8 |url=http://books.google.ie/books?id=b7Yxva_VHm0C] Leon MacLaren's group was referred in the Synod Report, confirming that the Church considers dual membership impossible, even when NRMs present themselves as philosophies. [cite book |author=Arweck, Elisabeth |title=Researching new religious movements: responses and redefinitions |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |year=2006 |pages=p. 222 |isbn=0-415-27755-8 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=b7Yxva_VHm0C]

Philosophy

According to the groups literature, MacLaren presents the notion of Advaita, a Sanskrit word meaning "not two, not many". It is in essence a philosophy of unity, and involves the claim that there is an identity between the individual self (the Atman) and the universal self (the Brahman). [cite web
url=http://www.philosophers.co.uk/current/cult.htm
title=Course of Cult?
publisher=www.philosophers.co.uk
accessdate=2008-06-18
last=
first=] In his school the existence of the Absolute is not debatable. Given that the existence of God has been such a hotly debated topic in philosophy for several hundred years, it seems curious to some that such a central philosophical topic is not, in fact, open for debate. [cite web
url=http://secretcult.tripod.com/
title=The School of Philosophy
publisher=secretcult.tripod.com
accessdate=2008-06-18
last=
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candal

According to MacLaren, the rules covering diet and sexual behavior for the members correspond to the natural laws governing the universe. This became clear in 1983 when a scandal erupted over the management of the children's schools, that instilled in children the beliefs of MacLaren.

The scandal was prompted by a series of articles published in the London Evening Standard during 1982 and then reported by other papers quoting parents complaining of savage punishments and bizarre homework. On investigation the pressure on members of the school tends to isolate them from other relationships with family and friends. In serious cases, MacLaren himself has been known to give rebels a talking-to - something considered to be far more alarming than any punishment.

The first concern however is undoubtedly the area of transparency. Whereas it is difficult to obtain the syllabus taught by his School of Economic Science.cite book
author=Cresswell, Jamie; Wilson, Bryan
title=New religious movements: challenge and response
publisher=Routledge
location=New York
year=1999
pages=170-176
isbn=0-415-20050-4
oclc=
doi=
accessdate=]

Worship

MacLaren is worshiped in the theosophical pantheon along more prominent personalities such as Gautama Buddha, Moses, Jesus, Socrates and Lao Tzu, but is know to be a less familiar deity, similar to the likes of Francis Roles.

Personality

One of those who became caught up in the school in the 50s and 60s describes MacLaren as a man who habitually wore a black coat and pinstripe trousers. [cite web
url=http://www.esatclear.ie/~dialogueireland/a2z/schoolphil/ses2.htm
title=Dialogue Ireland - World religions
publisher=www.esatclear.ie
accessdate=2008-06-17
last=
first=]

History

The School of Economic Science was founded in 1937 by Andrew MacLaren, the Labour Member of Parliament for Burslem, to study the economic theories of the American economist Henry George, an advocate of land value taxation. The leadership later passed to his son Leon. [George D. Chryssides, "Exploring New Religions", Continuum International Publishing (1999), page 374.]

During the I950s he took over Study Society.cite book
author=Washington, Peter
title=Madame Blavatsky's Baboon: A History of the Mystics, Mediums, and Misfits Who Brought Spiritualism to America
publisher=Schocken
location=New York
year=1996
pages=371-374
isbn=0-8052-1024-5] MacLaren introduced and developed courses in philosophy, which subject became and has remained the School's principal area of study. Also during the 50s he became for a time a member of the Society for the Study of Normal Psychology (now known as the Study Society) [http://www.studysociety.com/] , a spiritual organization influenced by the teachings of Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff and P. D. Ouspensky. After meeting the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (later to find fame as the Beatles' guru) in London, MacLaren and the Study Society founded the School of Meditation [http://www.schoolofmeditation.org/] in 1961, to promote the practice of Transcendental Meditation.

In the 1960s the SES's philosophy courses became grounded in Advaita Vedanta following a meeting between Leon MacLaren and Shantanand Saraswati, the 'Shankaracharya of the North', one of the heads of the tradition in India. The Shankaracharya's successor Vasudevananda Saraswati is the head of SES sects Indian branch today.

Leon MacLaren was succeeded upon his death in 1994 by Donald Lambie, the current leader of the School of Economic Science.

References

External links

* [http://www.whyaretheydead.net/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=7&sid=5758e2ead67a606bae506a63cdfaa721 Discussion board dealing with issues concerning the SES]
* [http://www.stjamesinquiry.org/docs/24-10-89caningprobe.pdf Public school faces canning - article on corporate punishment in SES lead schools]
* [http://www.stjamesinquiry.org/SES/SES_page.html St James Inquiry SES page]
* [http://kaiwalya.hyperboards.com/ At The Crossroads - unofficial SES members' discussion board]
* [http://informserve.co.uk/INFORM/Inform_Leaflet_SES_2007.pdf Latest INFORM leaflet on the SES]
* [http://www.philosophers.co.uk/current/cult.htm "Course or Cult" 1990s article in The Philosophers' Magazine]
* [http://www.maclarenfoundation.net/ Personal information]
* [http://www.andypryke.com/pub/SchoolOfEconomicScienceACult Summary of Criticisms of SES]
* [http://www.whyaretheydead.net/misc/SES/ Criticisms and excerpts from Belgium Parliamentary report and the book "Secret Cult" by Peter Hounan and Andrew Hogg, Lion Publishing, (1984)]
* cite web
url=http://images.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=http://www.stjamesinquiry.org/images/debenhamfilm.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.stjamesinquiry.org/LINKS_page/links_page.html&h=240&w=320&sz=14&hl=en&start=1&sig2=gxNZjbPCpKB9sB3Cs-FMYQ&um=1&tbnid=M7xNypFAbKuCnM:&tbnh=89&tbnw=118&ei=YohZSInFG5mE7gXH1-GCAg&prev=/images%3Fq%3DVasudevananda%2BSaraswati%2BSES%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN
title=Default links related to SES and media publications
publisher=
accessdate=2008-06-18
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