On http://www.globalxs.nl/home/a/arfel/svf.htm Erik had amongst the introduction and an interview with a Dutch SES ex-member, also some other articles. Unfortunately that site is down but I've got permission from him to web those pages on this site. My gratitude to Anton Hein for translating this interview from Dutch to English.

On Sunday, September 22, I had conversation with Wendy Diekstra. For nearly a year she was a member of the School of Philosophy in Groningen.

Wendy got involved with the SOS when she responded to a newspaper ad offering courses in philosophy and self-awareness. Her first impression of the school was good. Says Wendy:
        "There was a fantastic atmosphere within the group, which included twelve people. I liked the tutor (an SOS teacher. These are people who have themselves completed the course) I immediately felt at ease."

The lessons Wendy got at the Herman Colleniusstreet in Groningen were standard, and little was said about the school's true purposes. Each lesson started with a round robin. Each person was asked whether in the past week he or she had experienced anything related to the lessons learned. Later it became known that the school was keeping a file on each student. Every lesson was attended by a secretary, ostensibly to rate the lesson's quality and where necessary to take measure that would improve them. Breaks were short (about 15 minutes), en students were kept under covert surveillance.
        "At first people still asked questions, but as the course progressed that changed, as asking questions was subtly discouraged. One really had to insist if you wanted to get a question answered. We did not know what was taking place in advanced classes. During the breaks there was only whispered conversation, and students were advised not to share anything about the school with outsiders, as they would not understand it. During these breaks, the wife of the leader in Groningen, Agnes Wirahadiredja and her friend, Ms. Van Gemeren, would join the groups of students in order to listen in on the conversations. Picture Ms. Wirahadiredja as a short, caustic woman. Though a local paper once printed her given name, no one dared address her by it. More than that: we didn't even know her first name."

The school considers exercising very important. Wendy was introduced to many terms from the old, Indian language of Sanskrit, but not with Transcendental Meditation (which would occur later in the course). One of the exercises went as follows:
        "We'd sit straight on our chairs, with our hands on our knees. You emptied your thoughts, and the tutor took the word. You relaxes and listened only to the voice of the tutor and to the silence that fell after his words. The exercises were very calming. Emptying your thoughts is a good exercise. Just realize how many unnecessary thought you have: a lot. Imagine how much energy is wasted that way - energy better used for other things."

During a work camp at De Oxerhof, the school's prosperous country estate, Wendy was introduced to the school's views on equality between men and women. She and her groups were not allowed to leave the grounds (that was only permitted to tutors and students of the higher classed). They stayed at the school campground.
        "One night the children wanted to start the campfire earlier than usual. That was possible, but it meant a fire master had to be appointed to watch the kids. None of the man had time for this task, so a mother volunteered to be fire master. Her offer was ignored, and one of the men was required to delay his own task so he could watch the children. That night when we asked for an explanation, we were told that being a fire master was a man's job. We laughed about that."

        "Women in the advanced classes all wore long skirts (one of the school's dressing codes), even when they had to paint the estate's main house or work in the forest. The school had a strange concept of what constituted men's work and women's work: women were not allowed to be fire masters, but were allowed to the much heavier work of trimming trees."

A statement by an ex-member of the English SES: "Men were told that women should be absolutely obedient. They were not discouraged from using physical force if women were disobedient."

When a pupil has attended the school for a number of years, he or she is told that the world outside is bad and even Satanic. Wendy had not yet been subjected to this, but she did recall this:
        "One night a few of the students went to the village to drink a few beers. They joked that they were venturing into the big, bad world. After everything I have learned about the school, I no longer know whether that was meant as a joke."

Wendy first started to doubt the school's intentions a few weeks before the end of the third trimester. Events followed each other quickly...
        "By coincidence (although I no longer believe in coincidences where the school is concerned) our tutor was out sick that week. In his place, Ms. Wirahadiredja came to tell us a story about the big festivities that were to take place a few weeks later. She said a man had flown over from England for the occasion, but her story was vague. The lesson left me with a strange feeling, but my fellow students said they saw nothing strange about Wirahadiredja's story. Our tutor returned the next week. In questioning him it became clear that we were to get our 'mantra,' a word you need to meditate. In exchange, we were to bring flowers, linen, and a 'symbolic amount' of money (which turned out to be a week's wages). Another thing became clear: we would have to kneel in front of a picture of the Shankaracharya, and promise faithfulness. Never! I am not going to make an oath of devotion to a guy from India whom I hardly know.         Completely confused I went home and at the library looked for information about the School of Philosophy. Then I ordered two books about the school. That's when I discovered what the school really stood for, and that we were to participate in a Hindu initiation ritual. A week later, after classes were finished, I took my whole group to the corner of the street from which the school building could not be seen (we look like conspirators). I told everyone what I knew, and they were amazed. Our group 'leader' then agreed to read the books. During class a week later we were asked to share what we had been doing the previous week. Our group's 'leader' plainly said he had read a book that exposed the truth. As usual, the tutor did not answer our questions. We did not finish that lesson, for after a while everyone walked out, leaving a confused tutor behind. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened to my group if I had not started to doubt..."