126. Recent photos of the Fountain of the World

http://www.imageposter.com/uploads/get/630856

http://www.imageposter.com/uploads/get/630858

http://www.imageposter.com/uploads/get/630859

http://www.imageposter.com/uploads/get/630860

http://www.imageposter.com/uploads/get/630861

http://www.imageposter.com/uploads/get/630862

Regarding photo 630859, if you look, you'll notice that the door is carved to resemble the Fountain's insignia!

I forwarded the above weblinks to a former member of the Fountain of the World. Regarding the Fountain's current state of disrepair and rot, their comment was, "These photos could just make a person cry. Isn't this so sad!"

125. Book wanted

In the mid-1940s, one of the Fountain's future members published what has apparently gone on to become the most obscure book on the planet. (Not to mention boring!) Details on it are as follows:

AUTHOR: Wilbur Foster Yates (sometimes spelled "Wilber")

TITLE: Master Passion - One Man's Search for Destiny

PUBLISHER: The William Frederick Press of New York

YEAR: 1945 or 1946

If anyone has a complete copy of this book, please contact me care of this blog. Thanks!

124. Skyhorse and Mohawk (still more)

In an earlier blog entry regarding the Skyhorse and Mohawk case (see http://krishnaventa.blogspot.com/2009/01/61-skyhorse-and-mohawk.html), I note, "The Fountain members with whom I've spoken recall there being two separate groups of Native Americans living on the Fountain's property: (1) the group of good guys to whom they initially leased the property; and (2) a group of (obviously) not so good guys, including Skyhorse and Mohawk, who replaced the first group over time."

This contention is supported by Johanna Brand and Warren Allmand who, in their book The Life and Death of Anna Mae Aquash, state that by the time cab driver George Aird was murdered, "...whatever its original purpose, the camp [AIM Camp 13 based at the Fountain of the World] had become a crash pad where drugs and alcohol were often used heavily." (p. 108)

123. Skyhorse and Mohawk (more)

This weekend, I uncovered some additional details regarding the Fountain of the World in regard to the American Indian Movement's use of its property in the early 1970s.

In Peter Matthiessen's book, In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, the Fountain is (laughably) described as having been used an "AIM rest camp in a secluded corner of Box Canyon...notorious as the site of the dynamite murder of a swami and his flock in the late 1950s." (p. 112)

Interesting piece of trivia: during the American Indian Movement's tenure at the Fountain, their name for the place was "AIM Camp 13." (See http://ishgooda.org/peltier/skyhorse.htm)

Just more secondary source references regarding the Fountain...

122. Interesting synchronicity - March 29, 1971

On March 29, 1971 (what would have been Krishna Venta's 60th birthday), the Manson jury handed down guilty verdicts against Charles Manson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten.

Talk about coincidence!

121. 1973 "Manson" documentary (more)

In the 1973 documentary "Manson," Paul Watkins offers the following:

Well, Charlie was trying to take over this religious organization called the Fountain of the World. And Shorty had lived at the Fountain of the World. And, so, he [Shorty] knew what Charlie was doing at the Fountain. Charlie wanted to use the Fountain as a base of headquarters to go out and kidnap kids, bring them there [to the Fountain], tune them in or program them, or take them out to the desert.

Again, this echoes what's said in both 5 to Die and My Life with Charles Manson.

For the record, although it's reported that he frequently attended the Fountain's Saturday night talent shows, Shorty Shea never lived at the Fountain.

For additional information on the Saturday night shows, see: http://krishnaventa.blogspot.com/2009/02/74-keith-green-and-fountain-of-world.html

120. 1973 "Manson" documentary

I recently heard that the 1973 documentary "Manson" (now available on DVD via http://www.exclusivefilms.com/) contains interviews with at least one former Family member who mentions the Fountain of the World.

From what I hear, what's said about the Fountain in this movie largely mirrors what's written in the books My Life with Charles Manson and 5 to Die.

(See http://krishnaventa.blogspot.com/2008/11/25-5-to-die-by-jerry-le-blanc-and-ivor.html and http://krishnaventa.blogspot.com/2008/12/47-paul-watkins-deceased-member-of.html)

It's literally been twenty years since I've seen this documentary, but I have a copy of it on order. So, I'll be able to report more on its references to the Fountain in the coming days.

119. Krishna Venta in shades...

This photo taken on the last day of Krishna Venta's life.

118. This is the city...

Just a cool drawing of Los Angeles' City Hall circa Krishna Venta's tenure in the city.

117. Fountain philosphy regarding animals

"One of the teachings of the Fountain is: 'In nature is the answer to the Infinite; take the time to study it well.' We must learn to live with and control insects, rodents, or animals considered by man as nuisances, rather than taking the destructive method of taking their lives."

116. Did you know there was a Krishna Venta Conservation Area in Alaska?

http://www.kachemaklandtrust.org/at_a_glance.htm

http://homernews.com/stories/110806/arts_2b_3b001.shtml

115. Eleven Rules of the Fountain

1. To forget the outside world.

2. To become familiar with the inside workings of one’s self.

3. To become unified with one another – spiritually, mentally, and physically.

4. To forget self.

5. To create a desire within one’s self toward higher spiritual equality.

6. To obtain wisdom.

7. To search for understanding in all things.

8. To face problems without thought of escape.

9. To become absorbed in love toward all things seen and unseen, and so fulfill the Laws of God

10. To let the Spirit descend upon you.

11. To become teachers, not in the world, but in the Fountain, so that all men who come out of the world shall find comfort in our midst.