On a quest for spiritual enlightenment, Alan Scherr quit the workaday world 12 years ago and moved with his wife and infant daughter to a woodland monastery in the Virginia Blue Ridge, where they settled into quiet meditation at the feet of a swami.
The former college professor became the monastery's president, and his daughter, Naomi, passed her early childhood on the oak-shaded, 450-acre spread in rural Nelson County. Scherr also became chief spokesman for the community's spiritual leader, a New York native named Master Charles Cannon.
But Scherr's search for truth, awareness and meditative bliss ended tragically this week: A monastery spokesman and State Department officials said that father and daughter were among those slain by gunmen in the terror attacks in Mumbai, India.
Scherr, 58, and Naomi, 13, were sitting in a cafe at the Oberoi Hotel when gunmen burst into the room Wednesday night, said Bobbie Garvey, business manager of the Synchronicity Foundation, a nonprofit umbrella for the monastery and a retreat center and recording studio that share the property, known to members as "The Sanctuary."
Scherr was shot in the head, Garvey said.
The pair were among more than two dozen Master Charles disciples from Australia, Canada and the United States on an Indian pilgrimage when terrorists launched a wave of attacks on Mumbai hotels and other tourist targets that have so far claimed more than 150 lives.
At least four other Synchronicity members were wounded, Garvey said in a news conference held at The Sanctuary on Friday afternoon. Master Charles was in the hotel but apparently was uninjured.
"We thought this was the trip of a lifetime for all of them," the spokeswoman said. Scherr's wife, Kia, remained in the United States while her family was overseas and was reported to be arranging for the return of their remains.
A former faculty member at the University of Maryland, Scherr had practiced and taught Transcendental Meditation for 25 years when, in the early 1990s, he heard about a line of cassette tapes that purportedly offered shortcuts to achieving a meditative state. He was skeptical: "I put the thing on, bemused, thinking, 'What can this offer me?' " Scherr recalled in a 2003 interview. "And in one minute, I was totally astonished."
The tapes, and later CDs, were the work of Master Charles, who had moved to Nelson County in 1983 after spending several years in the Siddha Yoga Dham movement, including a few as personal
secretary to its founder.
The recordings incorporated natural sounds, vocal chants and glacial orchestral arrangements that seemed as unobtrusive as wallpaper - but which, when played over headphones, were said to provoke profound change in their listeners.
That was certainly true in his case, Scherr said.
"Without it," he explained, "it's like riding to California on a horse: You can do it, and people have done it, but it's a hell of a ride. Why not take a jet?"
For years, Synchronicity's logo depicted Buddha wearing headphones.
Scherr's enthusiasm for the tapes prompted him to visit The Sanctuary in April 1994, when Kia was five months pregnant with Naomi.
"Suffice to say, I was blown away," he later said of meeting Master Charles. "I was so blissed." He and Kia visited The Sanctuary several times together before deciding to devote themselves full time to the master.
The Scherrs lived in a house just off The Sanctuary but embraced the austere habits of the property's monks. They ate vegetarian meals in communal silence. They exercised with brisk hikes over the property's rolling terrain. They meditated for nearly two hours per day, plugged into headphones in a building dubbed "The Environment," and put in long hours at work, seven days a week.
"This is not the Camera Club," Scherr acknowledged in 2003. "About 5 or 10 percent of humanity, at any one time, is going to be open to something like this."
Naomi Scherr was home-schooled through the eighth grade and planned to apply to a Troy, N.Y., boarding school; she was working on an essay to accompany the application while on the trip, which began Nov. 14 and was due to end Monday. She'd had her nose pierced during her time in India, had acquired native shawls and other attire, and was enjoying her stay, Garvey said.
A tribute on Synchronicity's Web site Friday said that Scherr "committed most of his adult life to meditation, spirituality and conscious living," and was a "teacher who inspired many people to begin a journey of self awareness and meditation. He was committed to making a positive difference in the world and devoted himself to the community he lived in.
"Naomi was a bright and lively young woman who loved spending time with people and living life to the fullest," the tribute read. "She was passionate, if not a little mischievous, and will be fondly remembered by many of us for colorful hair styles and radiant energy."
As president of Synchronicity, Scherr oversaw the foundation's periodic retreats and workshops, which drew adherents from all over the world, along with a recording studio and a mailroom at which orders for Master Charles' tapes and CDs were filled. The company earned just more than
$2 million last year and had net assets of a little more than $5 million.
From behind a desk crowded with paperwork, incense and a miniature Zen garden, he also fielded sometimes exasperating queries about the master's past: Charles has long declined any discussion of his first 21 years, though old newspaper stories quote him saying he briefly portrayed Ernie on TV's "My Three Sons" and a doctor on the soap opera "Love is a Many Splendored Thing " and performed on Broadway in "Jesus Christ, Superstar."
He has also declined to reveal his birth name, although school officials in Palm Beach, Fla., told The Pilot that a photo in his autobiography matches a student they remember as Chuck Ceravolo.
Scherr was listed as the foundation's president in tax records through 2005, after which his title changed to vice president and director. In an essay he wrote in 2000, he praised his "simple life, free from distractions and highly focused."
"My family and friends sometimes ask about the seeming sacrifice of 'personal freedom,' " he wrote. "I answer that personal freedom is merely a mental construct. In practical terms, the freedom to do whatever one pleases does not deliver any significant experience of real freedom. People remain unhappy regardless of wealth, leisure time, any attainment of skill or knowledge, or any other conditional state.
"For me, real freedom means living life in each moment, as it unfolds, without concepts or conditions. It is a life very few choose because it requires an orientation and re-prioritization of life that is, in many ways, antithetical to our modern Western culture. And yet, it is always available whenever one is truly focused upon self-mastery.
"The miracle of this life," he concluded, "continues to unfold for me " on a daily basis.
This report contains information from CNN and the Nelson County Times.
Earl Swift, (757) 446-2352, earl.swift@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
We're dealing with a 7th century mentality...
We Westerners are in a war with a 7th Century religion that creates legions of fanatics willing to commit suicide to drag us back into the 7th century with them. Negotiations and appeasement only convince them of our weakness and the righteousness of their cause, and embolden them even more. By refusing to develop our own oil resources, we continue to finance the engine of our own destruction. OPEC has extorted trillions of dollars from us for oil resources that the West developed for them in the last century. Without this transfer of wealth, Muslims would still be herding camels for a living. Instead they have the ability to purchase weapons they are using against us and are moving us towards an Armageddon unless we acquiesce. Moreover,Islam's followers are actually encouraged to die by their own holy 'scriptures'. They do not fear death! The West has seen the wussification of its commitment to fight for freedom caused by too much political correctness, the Left’s ability to mask criticism of its agenda as “intolerance”, and the apathy of a spoiled public.
Mark
I made these points:
1) be aware when overseas.
2) terrorism will come here again someday.
3) if we pay attention, we might be able to minimize the damage next time (we had no idea what was going on for quite a while when the first plane hit the Twin Towers, as the Youtube video of that attests).
How did you get "run and hide" out of that? My own husband was in Britain not long ago and his entire family remains there. We will never retreat in the face of terrorism, but we do need to pay attention to people acting out in weird ways.
VP Isamic supporters
Ever notice how the VP always takes the side of Islamic terorist? They do it by omitting staements such as mine.
Marym
Then maybe you can clarify what sort of a point you were trying to make with what you said, because it certainly sounds like a retreating philosophy to me. And you're the only 'mary' that has posted on this subject so there shouldn't have been any confusion for you that way.
Another point: attacks in India by people of the different religions haven't just been against one person but many and many people, not just one per incident, have been killed in those attacks. India, in being such a mix of religions, has had a problem with religious attacks even during British rule. In the attacks in Mumbai, spiritualists, Jews, Americans, British, and other westerners were targeted. It wasn't just Hindus this time, which makes this series of attacks different. Again, this attack caught everyone there by surprise: American and British intelligence didn't pick up on it either. As the India media is saying: this is India's 9-11.
Right Wing and Left Wing???
Maybe I don't know Eastern history very well. However, I do know that the first time I was sent to the East those extremist, who many blame on the last 8 years, hated the west long before I got there and that was in the early 80s. So searching, in that area, for peace and love or whatever was and is a very naive endeavor. The actual nut job is believing that the extremist attitude just started under Bush and that hugging them will make things all better. Remember they hate both the right and left wing nuts too, and everyone in the middle.
hmmmmmm
Maybe if we can convince them that it is a misprint and they will actually be receiving a '72 Vega instead of 72 virgins...
hmmm...
...the planet Earth needs a do over. When does the next astroid hit?
Master Charles CannonMr.
Mr. Cannon (MASTER) employed Mr. Scherr the professor at a higher salary than he was making at the college teaching the Quest for Spiritial Enlightement to work for him so he could make more millions operating the Cult. A Cult is a Cult is a Cult. I'm sorry to see anyone harmed especially the young daughter. The father and mother knew what they were involved in and had brainwashed the poor girl into their beliefs. Anyone who hears spiritial voices by listening to tapes and disk must think God is playing games with us. This may turn into another Jim Jones event if things happen to go wrong for them. Many people are searching for something that is not there but it's their right as long as no one is injured. My God is the right one and everyone else is worshiping the wrong God. Many people think this way. Respect others and their beliefs and this will be a better world.
truthjustice and the way of unintended consequences
The threat of nuclear terrorism will solve nothing. Considering the lack of strategic targets would you slaughter innocent civilians in the name of security? Such threats of genocide are the product of paranoia and impotence.
More ignorance
A lot of ignorance on display here. Blaming this man for being the victim of terrorism? How weird is that? He chose to study meditation and take his daughter on a trip to see the world. What is wrong with you people?
Pursuit of Peace
Is it wrong to wish for peace, and pursue it in your own life? No. Is it dangerous for a westerner to travel nowadays? Yes. Is radical Islam bent on the destruction of Western Culture? Yes. Did we bring it on ourselves? I don't know. Can it be solved with diplomacy? I don't think so. Its difficult to talk to someone who is more interested in killing you than talking. kind of throws a damper on the relationship.
go back to your Chomsky readings didn't mean to disturb U
sorry to awaken the Leftists out of their Mocha grande cappucinos and Chomsky meditations. I understand you get angry because Its frustrating when you can't absolutely silence the thoughts of a opposing viewpoint so lets call them "nut jobs" , "trailer park" and other deragoatory terms that help prop up your supposed intellectual superiority.
Resorting to name calling,bigoted statements about poor people its not only mean its unneccsary. Why do the leftists beccome unable to speak intelligently and without resorting to second grade name calling when they hear an opposing view or statement?
The fact is this poor man and his daughter were slaughtered by Islamist thugs. Please say something intelligent that can oppose this statement without resorting to name calling and other second grade statements.
truthjustice is correct
truthjustice said, "it's either us or them".
Though your words are harsh, your theme is correct. We are at war with those that would annihilate us. In war, it really is "us", or "them", as we saw during World War II. Societies die when they become complacent, and then become "tolerant". Once they start tolerating people who do intolerable things, societies become subjugated, and eventually disappear.
Grieve the dead and carry a Glock.
We have always had, and always will have, small groups of crazies around the world, who are bent on wreaking havoc on innocent people for whatever political agenda they have. Unfortunately for the citizens in India, draconian gun control laws allowed them to be slaughtered like sheep. In a more enlightened country, like Israel, or in the South in our own Country, these 11 goons would have been exterminated very quickly, and most probably with very little loss of innocent life.
Remember, the fanatics that perpetrated the 9/11 massacre only had box cutters as weapons. Had the pilots and several other trained crew members been armed, the catastrophe would most probably have never happened. Grieve the dead, America, and carry a Glock. I am grateful that Virginia allows its people to choose not to be sheep, if they so desire. Perhaps India will give the subject of gun freedom a second thought. Obviously, the liberal media is silent on the subject.....as usual.
Mark K.
Pls reread my note. I didn't say "run and hide." You're creating a strawman, naming it "Mary," then knocking it down. Half our family lives overseas so you will never hear those words from me.
What makes our political and religious fanatics any better?
This man and his daughter were trying to find peace and make the world a better place - an idea far beyond a right wingnut's ability to understand. They should be admired and mourned, not attacked because they couldn't accept a bitter, racist and paranoid view of the world.
It’s certainly true that the world is growing more dangerous every day. But the bigger picture always eludes our homegrown zealots because their extremist philosophy is so narrow.
The world includes America, where our right wing extremists have used a lack of gun laws to slaughter innocents. Where does the domestic terrorism of the religious right and people like Timothy McVeigh fit into your world view?
Meanwhile, our far right government of the last eight years tried to force its brand of Democracy on the Middle East while arrogantly ignoring the world's protests. Our homegrown terrorists misused 9/11 to start their own jihad and our actions inflamed and increased terrorists ranks.
You nut jobs helped create "their" nut jobs. There's a special place in Hell for all of you.
Fletcher keep your blinders
Fletcher keep your blinders on and ignore the truth. There is a common element at work here that seems to be attacking all countries but you choose to ignore that fact.
keep living in a dream
Sounding pretty moronic today
Nice technique you have there, UnTruthAndInjustice, trading on a tragedy on the other side of the world to prop up your homegrown xenophobia and hate-fueled isolationism. We'd be better off nuking all the trailer parks and sports bars or exiling American hate mongers on NASCAR island. This attack does not seem to be about Americans. This attack, it seems, had more to do with conficts between India and Pakistan. You fail at interpretation.
Feeling very direct today
Islamist fanatics hell bent on the destruction of the infidels and anyone who does not capitulate will not stop as Western society is an open society that does not restrict movement and allows many opportunities for these thugs to blend in and then choose the place to attack.
Many peacekniks on this blog will scoff and say oh we should just hold talks with the terrorists. If you want to hold talks with them let me know I will buy you a ticket to Afghanistan and Pakistan and let you use your good will dialogue to unravel centuries of evil, cruel teaching and religious practices.
One quick way to take many of these thugs out is to place a couple of tactical nukes in the Tribal area of Pakistan and remove teh whole breeding nest of the next wave of attackers and killers. Yes, their will be lots of collateral damage. Prepare for this but it's either us or them.
Our Western civilization faces collaspe from within when we give in on any concessions of our liberty in exchange for " peace".
Wayne and Mary
So I guess we're now supposed to run scared, hide and not go where we please? That has never been the American way of doing things. Mumbai, until now, was known as very peaceful and safe city to go to. India has long been known as a place of spirituality, for meditation and peaceful studies. And people who believe in such are stupid or ignorant? That's like saying that tourists who flocked to the twin towers in New York were stupid and ignorant. That's like saying those who go to New York for Broadway shows are the same way.
Wayne, Americans have been targets oversease much longer than just since 2001. I remember only too well being kept in my hotel room in Rome in the summer of 1979 one night because of ongoing attacks by the Red Brigade - and hearing gunfire and explosions. Americans were targeted then too. Did we hide after that? Did we return home? NO! We took more precautions is all - and we went about our business. By not going abroad we allow the terrorists to control us.