As horrible as it sounds, I did not like The Source Family
when I began reading about them. They
were a bunch of hippies that did drugs in a mansion to me. What did they do different than any of the
other hippies that lived in Los Angeles at the time? Well reading further I found that I was
wrong. Father Yods life and the life of
the commune were something out of a movie.
Jim baker an ex-marine, movie star, bank robber moves on through the
teachings of a Yogi to become Father Yod.
All of this starts from a small vegetarian restaurant that is ultra-popular
at the time. They create unrehearsed psychedelic
rock music in their garage, which inspires future musicians. Father Yod creates two communes and then they
move to Hawaii. He dies tragically after
hang gliding with no experience. You can’t
make this stuff up if you tried.
I liked how the former members mostly had good things to say
about the commune after the fact. It was
a mystical time in their lives where they threw social norms out the window and
practiced the teachings of Father Yod. Members
like Isis still incorporate his teaching into their lives and hold it as a
great experience. I do feel that people
who were dissatisfied with the commune do not have their voices heard, but its
not to the extent that the Anti-cult websites would have you believe.
The aspect I liked most about this commune was the
music. I listen to a lot of music, so
the chance to listen to this obscure piece of music history was fascinating. First, I listened to the album I’m gonna take you home and was somewhat
sold. Father Yod isn’t the best singer,
but the feeling he brings to the songs makes up for lack of experience. I liked other albums like The Savage Sons of Yahowha even better. The blues rock sound in songs like Fire in the Sky were my favorite.
I’m glad I received this commune to study, as I now see it
in a better light than from surface glance.
