Dr. Devra West's Financial Support of Sacred Arts Institute

The truth is in black and white. Contrary to John Watson’s accusations and deliberate orchestration of malicious gossip and slander, Dr. West funded SAI and it’s programs with over $12M from her teaching revenue during her 10-year tenure. She resigned from the non-profit in January of 2003 with $6.5M being owned to her in unpaid wages, loans and reimbursements. This amount has been acknowledged by Board of Directors to be correct and valid.

Ratio of Donations to Program Costs
*Includes Scholarship Awards from Dr. West

This chart tracks overhead costs of the SAI/DU programs, in relation to donations ear-marked for specific programs and those given for general use. Earmarked donations were minimal, with program overhead far exceeding the donations. Overhead was in every instance offset by not paying Dr. West’s agreed upon salary or by her personally subsidizing the programs through loans, pro-bono and donations from herself and her family members to the nonprofit.

On a positive note, the overhead costs fell well below typical standards for non-profits and at no time exceeded federal regulations for nonprofit operations.

Additionally, as a householder with three children, Dr. West supplied and outfitted the Montana Retreat Center with an estimated $800,000.00 in personal furnishing, fixtures and office equipment on a pro-bono basis.

Allegations that Dr. West misappropriated SAI/DU funds and diverted them to her personal use are totally false and are a deliberate ploy of character assassination as leverage for Watson’s financial extortion scam.

SAI Teaching Revenue vs. Dr. West’s Salary

This chart shows that the entirety of revenues generated for SAI/DU came directly from Dr. West’s teaching activities. Dr. West was directly and primarily instrumental in the generation of all donations. The agreed upon salary of $120,000 per year to be paid to Dr. West was minimal in ratio to her actual earnings, and often was not paid at all. Additionally sales from Dr. West’s books, cassettes and CDs went in full to the non-profit and at no time did she receive remuneration for her intellectual material during her entire tenure.

At no time did the non-profit generate income from self-generated projects, programs or enterprises or in any way engage operation of the Montana Retreat Center to achieve fiscal solvency. To expect Dr. West’s teaching proceeds to finance the entirety of the non-profits projects was short-sighted and implausible.

Dr. West gave over 80% of her income and prolific earning ability directly to the non-profit. Both she and her family members donated large sums, in addition to often forfeiting her salary and loaning the non-profit in excess of $1.3M to meet shortfalls. All accusations to the contrary made by John Watson or any one else are false, mean spirited and criminal in intent.

Summary:
Devra Surya Ma’s incredible generosity and purity of altruism is a noble example to us all. That there are those here in America that saw her only as a cash cow to be drained and manipulated at whim, is a sad testament to the poverty consciousness prevalent in the West and else where in the world. John Watson and Pat Cole have done a gross disservice to the reputation and higher purpose of all women healers and master teachers by disparaging, attacking and discrediting the Master Teacher Devra West - Surya Ma. Watson’s perverse use of the Internet as a stage for his profanity of greed and self-aggrandizement are also a great abuse of power and will stand forever as an unconscionable disservice to humanity at large.