Selling Spirituality

Author, this piece is well-intentioned and the writing is fair but it makes numerous generalized statements throughout. It appears to change its focus from the “run of the mill” palm-reader variety to bigger game like the Branch Davidians. Specific examples (from more than one case in the public domain) would have enhanced its value – your attempt to provide a couple at the end are half-hearted at best. (Note: Rajneesh’s followers called him at various times acharya, bhagwan, or osho but they never called him a guru. however, some outside people did refer to him (derogatively) as the “sex guru”. He did return to India in 1987.) Because cults reflect the personality of the founder, they can assume many different colors and characteristics. David Koresh’s cult was very different from Jim Jones’ and so forth. But all cults share the common characteristic of secrecy which distinguishes them from mainstream organizations which in other respects promise similar benefits to outsiders. A comparison of such “sellers” with other power mongers – e.g., unscrupulous politicians and dictatorial demagogues, is also warranted. Some practical advice on how to avoid getting entrapped – and how to help family members and acquaintances in similar situations would have helped, too.

#91

tahmed:

what happened closet mullah? reality hit you really hard on the face?

regarding the article, i have already pointed some quesitons to the author, which he has not replied to.

author should have included all the prophets/gods and sons of god of medieval/dark era as all of them would fall in this category of pseudo-mystics had they tried to sell their wares today. no religion or religious books should be spared.

#89 and i am not wasting more time with you. this is a well-written article on an important subject. it was of ocurse only a matter of time before you hindu nuts showed up with your single-theme issue: venting your hatred at muslims. bye bye.

#89 of course i know you dont mean that to be a joke. i am well aware that you hindu fanatics seriously think the rest of the world will join you in demonizing muslims.

Re: # 88

tahmed:

it was a bad one though....

also,

one gullible human + al-koran = a jihadi. :)

p.s.this is not a joke

netizen/krishna: and btw, that response to arstoo was meant as to be something called a joke. Spelled j-o-k-e. A joke being a concept alien to smoldering hindu men. So look up the meaning of the word in the dictionary - there will be a test tomorrow. ;-)

Netizen/Krishna:

2 hindu men + 1 mention of Islam = Smoke. :-)

Re: # 70

takhmed:

``arstoo: that problem was solved 1400 years ago, with mohammed being the last of the prophets. ``

and why is he the last ``prophet`` .................. because he said so!!!!

you are genius takhmad.......

hey takhmad i have a car which runs on air.

Re: # 74
Dear Dana-e-raz

thank you reminding the readers that the `discussion here is about pseudomystics and how

they manipulate people and not about comparitive analysis of religions`

I like your pseudonym....dana-e-raz.....danai is wisdom and is hard to find these days

A wise man knows what to say and also what not to say as he respects words as well as

silences

sincerely sohail

Re: #83 by Mantolives

Yes, as I mentioned before, you are a liar.

Here`s what you said:

[``Freedom at Midnight`` - Chapter 4 ``A Last Tatoo for the Dying Raj``

The first two pages evade the issue by being poetic about Gandhi`s greatness and how he was like a mother to ``Manu``... and then explaining Gandhi`s antics which had created ``a drama whose dimensions would scandalize some of his oldest associates, alarm millions of historians who would have one day attempt to comprehend all the facets of Mohandas Gandhi`s complex character.`` (Page 64) ...they quote GANDHI: `` A perfect Brahmachari in Gandhi`s mind was man who could ``lie by the side even of a venus in all her naked beauty without being physically or mentally aroused``. (Page 66)


And then ... the authors wax eloquent trying to defend the indefensible.. finally conclude the chapter :

``Finally it was Manu herself, perhaps prodded by one of those emissaries, who gently suggested to the elderly Mahatma that they suspend their practice.`` (Page 69) ]


None of this says what Gandhi did.

Don`t you have any shame at all?

I mean, you are such a transparent liar, and you are exposed EVERY time - why do you expect anyone but Tahmed or Hamidm or other Pakis to believe ytou?

Dear Krishna_abcd,

Given that you don`t have an honest bone in your body, I did not expect you to come clean...

I quoted the exact page numbers and books on several occasions... here is one more ... please see post 151 , where I quote Lapierre and Collin`s famous pro-Indian work ``Freedom at Midnight`` :

http://www.chowk.com/show_article.cgi?aid=00006685&channel=leafyglade%20inn&threshold=1&layout=0&order=0&start=90&end=99&page=1

-YLH

``Azaab-i Daanish-i Haazir sey baa-khabar hooN meiN
Kay meiN iss aag meiN dala gaya hooN misl-i khaleel``..........Allama Iqbal

tr:
Thoroughly am I a privy to the machinations of the modern intellect
For I myself, Abraham like, been thrown into this flaming pyre.

Those who have already been in the pit of the rattle-snakes & returned unscathed because of their unflinching submission have this to say

---

Licensed Dabba-Peers ( Psychilics) exposed & debunked by insiders
#4 by echoboom on
May 18, 2006 1:44pm PT
However, there are outspoken critics who insist it`s a fraud perpetrated by the psychiatric and pharmaceutical industries on families anxious to understand ...

from PBS--the most respected TV channel

Why Psychiatry Should Be Abolished as a Medical Specialty
Read what even the insiders say.

The Antipsychiatry Coalition is a nonprofit volunteer group consisting of people who feel we have been harmed by psychiatry - and of our supporters. We created this website to warn you of the harm routinely inflicted on those who receive psychiatric ``treatment`` and to promote the democratic ideal of liberty for all law-abiding people that has been abandoned in the U.S.A., Canada, and other supposedly democratic nations

#70 by tahmed32

[arstoo: that problem was solved 1400 years ago, with mohammed being the last of the prophets.]

You mean, last of the witchdoctors - right?

#57 by Mantolives


[I am trying not to get involved in bashing Gandhi but your claim that I never produced any credible sources is merely a figment of your imagination.

I must have produced a 100 references from Gandhi`s close confidantes... but for the eternally blind... what can I say. In any event, my objections to Gandhi have little to do with his personal deviant behavior... You may read the book My days with Gandhi by Nirmal Kumar Bose in which he mentions this same habit which forced Bose to quit Gandhi`s company. ]


You are a shameless liar of the first order. You never produced one credible reference.


We have been down this road before. When I asked you for a direct quote, you produced a quote from an article by some Westerner, which by the way does not give any references for the source of the information. You also mentioned the Nirmal Bose book before. When challenged, YOU COULD NOT PRODUCE ANY QUOTE FROM THAT BOOK TO BACK UP YOUR CLAIMS.

Produce a quote for me (or any objective person) to take you seriously.

#55 by VRV


[This Saibaba is a fraud. There are millions of followers of this guy. He started off as a magician and trapped the gullible Indians and whites into his fold.

The only good thing he does is that he spend crores of his mony on education, water supply, free hospitals etc etc...

He claim to be the incarnation of not just Hindu gods but incarnation of all gods of all religions. If Ahmediya sect is banned in Pak bcoz of the surreal claims of the Baba, Saibaba peddle in lies bcoz he`s in safer, libearal India. ]


From all first hand accounts I have read, from foreigners as well as Indians, he seems to me to be a pedophile, on top of being a monumental fraud and a trickster. I think all the charity work he does is as a cover for his unspeakable acts.

No amount of good deeds can undo his absymally bad qualities and actions. This holds true for Muhammad, or Hitler, or any other person who has done some good things, along with horribly bad deeds.

The good and the bad do not cancel out.

#56 by arstoo

[From my knowledge of Gandhi`s life history ]

I am not saying that your knowledge of his life history is necessarily wrong. I am merely asking you to provide some credible sources where you gleaned this knowledge from.

Give me some credible references. Because without that, any number of accusations becomes merely unsupported hearsay.

Thanks.