Wild Wild People - Part 2

Chandra Mohain Jain was a philosophy student, he meant to make a name for himself in the times of free India. After finishing his studies, he took a position of a teacher and began speaking in public at the annual Sarva Dharma Sammelan (Meeting of all faiths). He gave critical of socialism, Gandhi and institutional religions. He criticized orthodox Indian religions as dead, filled with empty ritual, oppressing their followers with fears of damnation and the promise of blessings. Such statements made him controversial, but also gained him a loyal following that included a number of wealthy merchants and businessmen. This is how it all began and turned into a following soon in India. This was the time Counterculture of 1960's which unfolded into new cultural forms and a dynamic subculture which celebrated experimentation, modern incarnations of Bohemianism, and the rise of the hippie and other alternative lifestyles. Chandra Mohain now known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, assimilated these into his own teachings and developed methodologies of dynamic meditation and group therapies.

The man may have had some lofty ideals in the start but to call himself Bhagwan or to even allow his disciples to call him so, is a far cry from the humility and humble behavior one would expect from a teacher of love and oneness. He would not be the first Indian Guru to amass a fortune in teaching people the art of living and he would not be the last. India for one a poor country, with a rudimentary and orthodox mentality was an easy target to showcase the way out of their misery by professing the bond of community and sharing. Involving freedom of using drugs and sex as a tool to open oneself to others attracted people from other parts of the world as well.  

A good example of current times when another Guru "Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh", was convicted for raping two of his followers. His Facebook profile describes him as "Saint Dr. MSG", while his Twitter bio presents him as: Spiritual Saint/Philanthropist/Versatile Singer/Allrounder Sportsperson/Film Director/Actor/Art Director/Music Director/ Writer/Lyricist/Autobiographer/DOP. He heads a commune of nearly 50 branches across the country and claims 60 million followers, mainly from Haryana, Punjab and New Delhi. Its headquarters boasts a cinema, hotel, sports stadium and schools. His penchant for bright outfits and jewelry has earned him the name the "guru of bling". After his indictment, his house, more or less a mansion was revealed in the media with lavish furnishings and expensive vehicles.

"He can't do any wrong ... He works to rid the world of all its troubles," Rajkumar, a shopkeeper from Haryana, told the AFP news agency.

Sounds all too familiar when you compare this with Osho, with his expensive watches, fleet of Rolls Royce and an army of followers ready to defend him to death. So why do people flock to such Gurus? 

In Punjab, where one-third of the population are Dalits, the most disadvantaged caste, whose members often face daily discrimination, there are more than 10,000 deras.

"People go to the new deras because they find them offering a vital space for recognition and identity," Panjab University Professor Ronki Ram told Scroll.in news site.

The Sannyasins/Followers are simple people who just want a sense of belonging. To live in a society where they feel wanted and loved and could offer the same to others, free of greed and corruption. There are always varying socio-economic reasons that lead people into such places where they seek refuge from their life troubles. 

According to cult expert and psychologist Michael Langone, this is an intense desire to belong to a group of people, and is rooted in poor self-confidence.

Everyone in life goes through existential crises and that is one point in life, people tend to latch on to different ideologies to feel content with the course of their life. After all humans are curious by nature, we want to find answers to many questions in life but want the easiest path to these answers. A lot of the time the answers are too hard for us to digest or are simply not agreeable with our experiences or lifestyle. 

A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naivete, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. By the definition of a con, the naivete of people is taken advantage of by these charlatans. A sense of trust and righteousness is created by mirroring the ideas that people would yearn for. In most cases the discourse/sermons provided by these leaders are pleasant to listen to, entailing stories and examples of what a Utopian society should be like, how people ought to act in life to feel fulfilled. 

Sometimes people feel like they are passing through life without really accomplishing anything and are unsure of the path they have chosen in life. Joining a commune like these gives them a sense of purpose and structure in life. The leadership is what a lot of the people seek and they find it in their Gurus. These organizations follow a flat structure instead of a traditional hierarchy. This gives people affirmation that they are following their Guru and no one else and it gives them confidence in the classless society where everyone is equal in their eyes. However, there is always some people part of the higher echelon pulling all the strings in the name of organizational management. 

A majority of cult experts tend to agree on the factors that subject certain people to the manipulation of cults. People who may join cults tend to subscribe to one or more of these mindsets: Idealists, Dependent, gullible, Disillusioned, Unassertive or people Impatiently wanting solid answers.

Then we have the motive, money. A great deal of money was flowing into the commune of Osho in various forms of fees, service charge and donations. One of the sources were the many courses offered at the ranch, which ranged from the “Rajneesh Fresh Beginning Course” ($2,500) and “Rajneesh Movement Therapy” ($2,100) to the “Rajneesh DeHypnotherapy Basic Course” ($5,500) and “Rajneesh Rebalancing Course” ($7,500). And finally, a huge amount of money flowed in during the annual World Festival, which began in the summer of 1982. 

“Bhagwan said that in the new commune we would grow money on trees… Bhagwan was quite open about the fact that the primary object was to make money.” - Hugh Milne

During the 1984 festival, the 15,000 people attending spent over $10 million. Overall, between 1981 and 1985, an estimated $130 million poured into the ranch. As The Oregonian reported, the ownership of the cars was transferred from the Rajneesh Foundation International to the tax-exempt Rajneesh Modern Car Collection Trust in 1982. The trust served as a tax-exempt conduit for donations from wealthy sannyasins who “leased” the cars for as much as $6,000 a month; in 1982 alone, $498,784 flowed into the Rajneesh Investment Corporation through this convenient conduit. 

Another chink in the armor is when we see these leaders trying to preserve all the wealth and power, the extremes they go to. In case of the Rajneeshpuram, the raising of a militia, assassination attempts, secret wire taps, immigration fraud and bio terrorism were the many ways, they tried to shield their opulence. 

Final question to us is do these cults, groups or leaders, really provide people with direction to a better life? Do they comfort their minds? From the perspective of a follower, i would assume it does but is a lie worth it ? Is it OK to just give up when life gets tough? Is it wrong to take the easier path? I say to each their own. It would be wrong of us to judge others who have only good in their heart, the followers are the only real sufferers in the end. People who were promised a land of love and devotion only to be stripped away of their dreams and riches by a few greedy people. 

The preachings of religion make a person dependent on priests, temples, idols, blind faith, and dogma, and dependence is a habit of the lower mind. Such crutches may be useful at a certain stage for some people, but they do not lead one to Ultimate Truth. A dependent mind is not free, and without freedom, enlightenment is impossible. Religious dogmas are full of beliefs and myths that do not satisfy the human intellect and that bind believers to a narrow view of life and human potential. Such preachings instill more fear than love in the hearts of the masses. Religion either promises salvation or threatens the tortures of hell, but it does not provide sound solutions to the hellish problems and situations that plague human beings here and now. - Swami Raja, Enlightenment Without God

Let knowledge be your light to enlightenment. We do not always need others to lead us but we need them to support us in our search of answers to life and its purpose. It is not an easy road but that is what makes it fun.

Sources

http://www.thedrive.com/vintage/1737/militia-madness-in-oregon, https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/08/gurmeet-ram-rahim-singh-170827103334735.html, https://psychologenie.com/why-did-they-join-cult, https://medium.com/s/how-to-cult/why-do-people-join-cults-ecdf5c6af848, https://thewire.in/books/rajneesh-the-guru-who-loved-his-rolls-royces, http://adishakti.org/_/preachings_of_religion_make_a_person_dependent_on_priests_temples_idols_blind_faith_and_dogma.htm