I thought it might be useful to begin a thread where we can examine the ways humor can take a bad turn and corrupt our boundaries. Laughter in itself does not prove that we are amused, does not prove that we agree, and it does not prove that we consent. Laughter is often triggered by: Fear Disgust Shock Surprise Confusion Insecurity There's nothing like a shared joke to pro
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

The Indian government is failing millions of people. So they look to those who can provide advocacy, a social safety net, political clout. Enter the gurus. QuoteYou literally can't talk about dera sachha sauda violence without discussing why deras were created in punjab and how their role and warped and changed over time. There's no point to being 'horrified'.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi does anyone have any information about Mooji? There are few things on here but nothing recent. There doesn't seem to be much online. At first I thought I was getting a lot of benefit from watching his videos online. But more and more I'm starting to feel it's more of a trance effect. But all the content is free so I can't really see what the point is? Unless it's fe
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Modern cult leaders like Derek O'Neill poses extra idolatry capacities to manipulate the energy in the way to bring enormous amount of negativity. It's like you don't live under God, different conditions and no human rights. They project into you the negative energy of TV show you are watching, any surrounding negative thoughts. Derek often travels to India and brings the horrors o
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Derek O'Neill is a hypocrite, a lier. He does a lot of mean things to people and still cover it with his "teachings". He started his Master healer work with a statement that he is PsyD, Doctor of psychology. Now it turns out he didn't have a school education and he got a certificate. DErek is passionate against education on his workshops because he is jealous he can't
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quote City Day Date Time Program Seattle, WA Friday February 21 11 am - 5 pm Individual Blessings/ Saraswati Diksha* (425) 337-2940 Saturday February 22 8 am - 6 pm One Day Meditation Retreat Seattle@Karunamayi.org Sunday February 23 9 am - 1 pm Homa - Sacred Fire Ceremony
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

This topic may be worth a thread in its own right. Readers, please feel free to add your own information.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Amma Amritanandamayi - Patron Saint of Amritapuri Rapists Holy Hell is another book exposing cult mafia leader Amma Amritanandamayi and directly gives evidence of raping , stealing, beatings and murder by Amma and her henchmen who pretend to be celibate Hindu swamis. India's top gurus are exposed for corruption pimping, money laundering, pedophilia and drug taking. Amma's
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thought I would get this thread going again since it disappeared with the crash.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

An overview here by people who live there. QuoteIndia Syndrome? A Mental disorder? | The Debater's Den | Forum Tamasha the Choto Rani Post edited 9:09 pm – October 18, 2012 by Tamasha the Choto Rani ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Manny, You do realize I'm NOT a psychiatrist? I'm in OB/GYN, the other end of t
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

In a vain attempt to artificially distance the "Hugging Saint" Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi from an awful sex scandal, the Amma organization has tried to erase all references to Amma authorized IAM meditation teacher and official PR contact, Rishi Taavi Kassila from their Finnish website: www.amma.fi Google's cache still archives 34 pages of original information which has been
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Taavi Kassila claims that she, Amma, is a holy celibate whilst Amma calls him, Kassila, a "rishi" (or "seer"). But one thing which Amma, who followers believe is an incarnation of God, seems to not care about is that her holy man Kassila is a sex fiend. Amma (Sri Mata Amritanandamayi) tour organizer and promoter, Taavi Kassila, has been publicly accused of secretly seducin
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Here's a thread to research the fraud, scams, tricks and worse from the global cult of Sai Baba. There are a zillion links, videos, and exposes online already. Here is one to start, which has many links in it. Sai Baba - The Skeptic's Dictionary - Skepdic.com There are many mentions of Sai Baba in this forum as well, about how Sai Baba uses images in his persuasion of his
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I apologize. This was previously posted in the wrong thread. Those connected to the religious group which follows Amma, also known as "the hugging saint", recently launched a website attacking her critics and ex-devotees. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 26, 2009 – The new website compiles information on the businesses, websites, and personal lives of critics and ex-devotees. The i
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

A friend exhibits his photography at a gallery here in New York. While exploring this gallery's website, I noticed that they also exhibit the work of a fairly prominent female digital artist who's name I was familiar with. One of the shows she had was called "The Vibhuti Series", which consists of large polaroid prints of "vibhuti", the ash that the notorious India
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hello everyone! I've been dealing with health issues for some time now and whilst consulting with regular MDs (who were of no help) and a naturopath (the most helpful, so far), I've also been reading the works of people such as Louise Hay, Doreen Virtue and Wayne Dyer... (And yes, I also read The Secret and started A Course in Miracles, but couldn't get past the first few exerc
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I am an ex-devotee of the cult of Mata Amritanandamayi, who is frequently referred to in the Western media as “the hugging saint”. It is common for members of this cult to malign ex-devotees for leaving the organization. Threats and physical retaliation are also common against those who speak up regarding the suspicious activities of the Mata Amritanandayi Math and M.A. Center. Even the act of ra
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Has anyone ever heard of this group called "Isha Foundation" lead by a fellow named Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev? They are a Yoga group that charges for sessions and two years ago a friend of mine has moved away from the US and into India to be a Yoga instructor. Having since educated myself somewhat in groups like this I am concerned.... there isn't much on Isha on the internet - there
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

From 1998 to 1999, I was a member of a Sufi order that has gone by various names. Some of the group's names are: Shadhiliyya, Shadhuliyya, Shadhuli, Shaduli, University of Spiritual Healing & Sufism, Jaffe Institute. School of Energy Mastery I definitely find this group to be a cult. It has taken me nearly a decade to come forth and say something about it. There is only one oth
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

The Oneness Movement headed by the man who calls himself "Kalki Bhagawan" is the latest New Age rage in San Francisco & Los Angeles. According to the Vishnu Purana, "Kalki" is the name of the LAST incarnation (or Avatar) of Lord Vishnu. Bhagawan (Bhagavan or Bhagwan) is synonymous with God and is used as a title of veneration for a spiritual teacher. The woman
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Popularly known throughout the media as the "Hugging Saint", this dangerous cult operates under the guise of charity and "compassion". This cult thrives on emotional manipulation and absolute obedience to their guru "Amma." Amma is proclaimed and deified as a living God, and followers are encouraged to pray to her and count on her for all of their material and spirit
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

anyone know about her ? she visits la and mt shasta
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

David R. Hawkins is a former psychiatrist who now apparently believes he is God. He claims applied kinesiology is an absolute way of determining the truth or falsehood of any statement, and that it can calibrate anyone and everything's level of consciousness. One of his books calibrated .2 away from Jesus Christ, Buddha and Krishna (who are "1000" in his system). He received his
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

In searching the web for the above two mystics, there only seem to be glowing accounts. I was exposed to the philosophies of these two through my experience with Unity. In particular, I find Byron Katie dubious in that she charges enormous amounts for her seminars. Eckhart Tolle also seems to be cashing in with all his books (Power of Now was his first book), seminars, even "Power of Now&
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Two former Cohen disciples, Andre van der Braak and Luna Tarlo have written memoirs, both of which have been reviewed on Amazon.com--both the US websites and the UK website. Based on his mother's memoir, (The Mother of God, Luna Tarlo) a new memoir by Andre Van Der Braak (Enlightenment Blues), reader reviews for both books on Amazon.com, and a profile on Cohen's community at . A po
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"