Some Links and Info for Researching Religious Cults
(The Guru Trip is Over)
Wikipedia Article - Cult
Long, serious article addressing the many aspects of this complicated issue.
PLEASE READ above article if interested in this subject.
Wikipedia Article - Cult Checklist
Here are three more webpages which seriously discuss "what is a cult":
Key Cult Features (from SOS Europe website) www.orange-papers.org/orange-cult-sos.html
Totalism in Today's Cults - Jan Goenveld www.orange-papers.org/orange-totalism.html
The above 3 links are to pages on a large website critical of Alchohics
Anonymous (AA). These pages refer to characteristics of cults in general,
not necesarily to AA. I have no particular beef with AA myself, but I do think
it interesting to analyze them. AA seems to have helped many people, though I know
recovered alchoholics who did not seem to like or need AA. Here is a link to
a page at that site discussing AA as a cult:
Alcholics Anonymous as a Cult by A. Orange www.orange-papers.org/orange-cult.html
How to Become a Cult Guru - Phil Milstein - www.songpoemmusic.com/cults/guru.htm
ICSA - International Cultic Studies Association - www.icsahome.com
Publishers of Cultic Studies Review
Rick Ross - www.rickross.com
Rick Ross Links Page - www.rickross.com/links.html
Rick Ross is a "cult interventionist", his extensive site has a large list
of groups with many articles and links.
CultNews.net - thorough daily news roundup (from Rick Ross)
From the Age of the Guru to the Age of the Friend - Dr. Greg Goode - www.heartofnow.com/files/other.writings.html
Very thoughtful discussion of the guru concept, including "enlightenment by transmission".
Sarlo's Guru Rating Service www.globalserve.net/~sarlo/Ratings.htm
Very interesting website. Extensive listings of gurus.
Guruphiliac.Blogspot.com
"Revealing Self-Aggrandizement and Superstition in Self-Realization Since 2005"
Very fun and interesting site - keeps up-to-date with wacky guru stories.
Steven Alan Hassan - www.freedomofmind.com
Ex-Cult Resource Center www.ex-cult.org
Allen Tate Wood - www.allentwood.com
Walter Martin - www.waltermartin.com
Late Christian cult researcher - lots of videos available (I have not yet seen
any of these), including 10-part series on Mormons and a video about
Transcendental Meditation.
Stripping The Gurus - Geoffrey Faulk - www.strippingthegurus.com
Subtitled: Sex, Violence, Abuse and Enlightenment.
An online book - no one is spared here - maybe even goes a bit too far.
Highly recommended reading though. Includes links and a large
bibliography of books about cults.
Cult Information Centre - www.cultinformation.org.uk
List of groups with links, list of books, some good general articles.
Cult Awareness Information Centre - www.culhelp.info
Cult Apologist FAQ - home.snafu.de/tilman/faq-you/cult.apologists.txt
RelInfo.ch - a Swiss site, in German
My funny story on "Yogic Flying" and Transcendental Meditation.
www.suggestibility.org
Falling Down the TM Rabbithole - How Transcendental Meditation Really Works, A Critical Opinion - Joe Kellett
Wikipedia Article - Scientology
Note - this is the main article at Wikipedia. Click "show" on the yellow
bar at the bottom of the page to see all the Scientology-related articles at
Wikipedia - there are over 80 different articles.
xenu.net - Operation Clambake
"Undressing the Church of Scientology since 1996."
WhyAreTheyDead.net
This website details many of the deaths associated with Scientology.
www.enturbulation.org
Anti-Scientology information and activism site.
Cult Awareness Network - CAN - www.cultawarenessnetwork.org
This appears to be about "religious tolerance", but is actually run by
Scientology. Its covert purpose appears to be define Scientology
as a religion and not a cult. This site was once a "cultwatch" site which
had many complaints about Scientology. So they bought it and worked it over.
newkadampa.com Critical of NKT
The New Kadampa Tradition (NKT) is a fast-growing Buddhist cult.
There are many sects and variations within Buddhism. They all seem to
respect each other, but most seem to be suspicious of the NKT. They
emphasize following the teachings of "the guru", and teach that you can
become enlightened only by direct contact with the guru. And their leader
just happens to be not only enlightened, but actually the "third Buddha".
Main official website: (they have many more) kadampa.org
Wikipedia Article on NKT
This Wikipedia article seems to have recently been purged (early 2008) of
lots of critical info, such as their beef with the Dalai Lama.
My page on Oneness Movement / Oneness Blessing / Sri Kalki Bhagavan
www.cultofthehuggingsaint.comCritical of Amma (not to be confused with Sri Amma of the OM)
Note - I'm not dissing Amma, she might actually be a saint or a realized
being or whatever. The group that has formed around her though, may be getting
a bit cultish. This site is just an alternative point of view.
www.leavingyoga.netCritical of Siddha Yoga - SYDA (the late Swami Muktananda)
The Wacky World of Yogi Bhajan - forums.delphiforums.com/KamallaRose
indiakids.blogspot.com
"Live Your Life - Memoirs and Accounts from a Second Generation Adult Raised in 3HO Sikh Dharma"
Recently started (04/08) blog relating experiences with 3HO/Yogi Bhajan
Kundalini Yoga/3HO/Yogi Bhajan www.rickross.com/groups/3ho/html
Collections of articles from Rick Ross's page for 3HO. This cult bugs me more
than most, as I find yoga in general to be a serious and powerful method of
healing, and this group continues to perpetuate the image of yoga as
weird, wacky and cultish.
www.lifeincut.com One woman's experience
with Elizabeth Clare Prophet and The Summit Lighthouse aka Church Universal and Triumphant
www.diamond-cutter.org Critical of Geshe Michael Roach
www.freecatherine.com An experience with Satchidananda's Yogaville.
www.delightenment.comCheck out these funny T-Shirts
Some Videos
Jonestown - The Life and Death of People's Temple 2006, 90min, dir - Stanley Nelson
PBS / Paramount / American Experience / WBGH Boston / BBC
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000MTFFUO
Webpage at PBS.org: www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/jonestown/
Excellent, serious documentary covering Jim Jones and Jonestown, a classic
example of a cult and the tragedy that can result (the largest mass-suicide
in history).
Transformation - The Life and Legacy of Werner Erhard 2006, 77min, dir - Robyn Symon
(released on DVD in 2008) Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B0013LRKQ2
Official site: www.transformationfilm.com
Very interesting, wellmade film on a very interesting man. est was a big
deal in America in the 70's. After Erhard left in 1991, the organization
was renamed Landmark Education.
This film leans toward showing the good side of Werner and est. Here is a
website critical of est, Landmark and other LGATs (Large Group Awareness
Trainings): lgattruth.blogspot.com.
One very interesting revelation is that Werner claims the reason he left
the country was due to harrassment from Scientologists, having been declared
an SP (suppressive person) and "fair game" by L. Ron Hubbard. This is detailed
in an article at Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_and_Werner_Erhard
A 1998, 136min, dir - Tatsuya Mori (Japanese with English subtitles)
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000EWBKXK
A2 2001, 131min, dir - Tatsuya Mori (Japanese with English subtitles)
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000FMGTT4
The film A and its sequel, A2, (both released on DVD in 2006) give a close
inside look at a community of members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, which
became famous in 1995 when poison sarin gas was released into the Tokyo subway
by members of the cult. Shoko Asahara, the group's leader, carried out this
attack to divert attention from the group, which he had learned, was about
to be raided by police in connection with another crime. These films deal more
with the day to day lives of some of the members after this incident occurred.
The poison gas incident or the general history of the group are not explained
in the films. I found them interesting, many people would find them long
and slow. For more info on Aum Shinrikyo, see the Wikipedia article:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aum_Shinrikyo
Cults - An Educational Volume Rick Ross
www.rickross.com
Comes across as an advertisement for his services,
but does clearly discuss basic issues of cults.
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This page revised 09/15/08. First posted 04/05/08. Links checked/fixed 05/24/08.