AKAIK, Manson simply could not sing but wanted to very bad.
All said he sounded absolutely horrible, even worse than
James Earl Ray could not dance (his FBI poster came from
a dance school photo) but wanted so badly to do so.
Maharishi at least never had dreams of becoming a rock singer,
and gurus of India train for years under a system geared for it.
Manson was follower convict who went to Haight, spoke the lingo
and the rubes kept buying. So gullible, it did not end till he tried
to start a race war, maybe like the Aum Shin Ryko guy's end of world.
It was a buyers market, and from a person or two who was there
at the time, the Hells Angels (who also subverted Scientology,
if subverted is the word for it, to a bikers religion) got rich
selling drugs to the stoned hippies with whatever money they
could scrounge. Between them and the ultra missionaries,
both radical Christian and Buddhist, the place was sewed
up in less than a years time. George Harrison himself complained
of the scene.
So Charlie and his merry harem trotted down to LA LA land and
sold, effectively, sexual favors to various interests (Spahn
movie ranch owner, Wilson, etc) Wilson got taken for a
100 Gs, not chump change. Maharishi maybe got more, and
incidentally was accused of trying to rape Mia Farrow
(of Rosemarys Baby fame, of whom a Manson victim was married
to the Producer or Director, I forget. Tate & Polanski). Small
world, but sort of different situation and a coincidence on the whole.
Charlie barely maintained the position he had. All his contemporaries
from previous prisons were amazed he went as far as he had, if
that is the correct warped way to put it. True, he did some interesting
stuff in Folsom, the big house, on death row and afterwards, like
making the Aryan Bros temporarily win over the Mexican Mafia by
having his girls smuggle knives by the guards in their, oh, nevermind.
Supposedly the guards loved to oogle the women, who obliged, and
could slip things by.
National Lampoon put it like this of Maharishi wisdom after his attempted
interlude of Mia Farrow. "Love is never having to say you have a
sari."" (he tried to tear her clothes off). The Beatles left him soon
afterwards, but quite a few songs were affected, and many followed
the path.
