Knowing L. Ron Hubbard

Friday, 30 September 2011 23:45

by Outside the Box

It’s worth commenting here, since I did work under Hubbard, not directly (not in the same room) but close enough to get a sense of the man, for over ten years.

Hubbard, was, if anything, a man. He was not a god, and he certainly is not, was not, this image of perfection, this pure crystal which David Miscavige and his PR machine have elevated him to – within the church of Scientology.

Hubbard was brilliant. He was a genius for his scientific and philosophical work in the field of the mind and the human spirit. Was he the greatest man that ever lived? Was he a perfect personality with no character imperfections? Come on - who cares and why even push people's buttons by trying to make him look like another Jesus!

Hubbard was real. I worked under his direction for ten years. He showed real emotion. He admired people, he praised good work, and he got pissed when things went over the cliff. Like I said, he was a real man. In spite of the divine image created by the church in the past decade or two, Hubbard would have abhorred what they have done with his name. He would have said, “For Christ sake, tone it down a bit guys.” Hubbard didn’t have a perfect past. In fact, his wife, Mary Sue Hubbard, ran into a serious legal hassle back in the 1970s because of her involvement with undercover work against a US agency, which went off the rails. But, Mary Sue Hubbard was also probably the strongest anchor in L. Ron Hubbard’s camp during the 1950s and 1960s, and she was absolutely instrumental in helping him to develop the philosophical material called Scientology. Was she remembered for this? No! David Miscavige and his camp, in an effort to wipe Hubbard’s life “clean” and make sure that nothing blotted his “perfect” image, have all but wiped away Mary Sue Hubbard’s name and face from the Scientology books. Go into any Scientology organization today, where typically speaking they maintain an honorary office for Hubbard, and you will not find photos in most, of his wife. They used to be there – but no more, because Miscavige has carefully Ajaxed her out of Hubbard’s past, as if she was someone that could embarrass or taint the man’s image. There are even taped lectures, where Hubbard spoke about his wife, which have been edited by Miscavige to remove that commentary. How revolting! It’s hardly unbelievable that Hubbard was not aware of his own wife’s activities, in her work to defend him and the Scientology movement back in the 1970s when she and some of her staff stepped over the line, apparently, and broke the law. Let’s be real – he lived with her. In her defense, and Hubbard’s, what good wife wouldn’t go the distance for her husband, especially when the US government at that time was trying to blot-out Scientology? Not that breaking the law is justifiable, but the point being that Miscavige and his ilk have tried to wipe her existence away from the history books of Scientology. Sad.

The truth is that Hubbard was a great man because he spent some 50 years of his life, carefully looking into mental and spiritual phenomena, wrote books and lectured about his researches and in the end, he helped to open people’s eyes to doors which they could neither see, or previously seemed closed to them. We don’t, as a practice, unless you’ve got nothing worthwhile to do in your life, go around questioning the laws of Newton, or Einstein, or the developments brought about by Alexander Bell or other great minds, just because they had a falling out with their secretary at the time, or they had a mistress or they were Catholic. So Hubbard’s personal life means nothing to anyone, except to people who aren’t sincerely interested in pushing the envelope on their own spiritual enlightenment, but would rather waste everyone’s time by publishing garbage about a man who simply researched and did what he did, to help other people.

Was Hubbard rich? Probably – I mean, he wrote a zillion words in books and tapes. Did he start Scientology as a religion to make money? Goofy – and the only people who EVER ask that question, or perpetuate that idea, are people who have never bothered to really find out about the merits of studying the subject of Scientology. Whether Scientology should be classified as a religion or not, is really a question about protecting a philosophical movement under the blanket of religiosity – not money. Because the fact is that had they not given Scientology a “religious” spin at the time, the US government would have crapped all over it because various agencies therein, were not interested in a movement of this kind, one which opened up people’s minds, during a period when McCarthyism was busily instilling fear and prejudice into a nation in order to infuse the flames of the Cold War. It is so easy to be an armchair critic. One can easily find like-minded people, who, having nothing particularly positive to offer the rest of society, and who can sit around the campfire and complain about a man who actually DID something.

I worked under this man for a decade. He was true to his word, he did what he wrote. Whether he was the best Eagle Scout in America, or flew planes through barns in the 30’s is about as relevant as “who was on second base during the 5th inning of the baseball game between…? I mean, who cares. We don’t challenge the Law of Gravity and Newton’s theories because he had some shady personal issues. Gravity works, and the Law is true. The same goes for Hubbard.

If you want to know the truth about Hubbard, don’t listen to the Church hyperbole about this man because they’ve really gone beyond the beyond, and even Hubbard would gag at it. Go read his books, listen to a few of his recorded lectures, and try the stuff out. Then you can respect him for who he actually was and what his works offer you in terms of personal benefits.

OTB