In this letter, Wolff admonishes the head of the Chicago chapter of the Rama Sangha group against making statements or taking actions that have not been approved by him or his wife:
You must realize that Sheila [Wolff’s first wife, later known as “Sherifa”] and I incur karmic responsibility for anything that is said or done in the name of the Rama Sangha in view of the fact that we stand back of it and brought it into outer form. If any student in the name of the Sangha does or says that which is not wise or true than we incur the consequent responsibility as well as the given student. It, therefore, is absolutely necessary that any statement that goes to the public, especially in printed form, shall pass our approval.
Wolff details “three important points of criticism” and in a postscript explains the difference between “inner work” and “esoteric work.”
This letter is of interest for a number of reasons: First, we see that Wolff and his wife now consider themselves to be heads of an organization that is independent of the work of Yogi Hari Rama and the Benares League, so that their break with this group is now complete. Second, the reference to the “Masters” and the insistence of secrecy regarding esoteric work surely hearkens back to the time they spent as members of the Temple of the People (later in his life, Wolff would revise his opinion on the importance of this latter constraint). Finally, it is apparent that Wolff is writing under the influence of his wife, who was much more oriented to group work and to a specific formalism that should attend such work. (2 pages)
