OPEN LETTER TO ANY ADULT WHO WAS RAISED IN THE CULT- LIFE IS A GAME OF INCHESBefre you read this post watch this scene from one of the best football movies ever made:
AL PACINO IN ANY GIVEN SUNDAYIf you are getting death threats and other forms of aversive coersion so you won't come forward with the truth,
your best security is to go public and report threats to local authorities.
Shyam Dodge stated in his interview that Butler himself stopped the death threats when his mother intervened. That was because his family are among the “elites” in the cult. Your best bet is to go to the police and report on this forum publicly so there is a record.
SCROLL DOWN FOR SHYAM DODGE'S INTERVIEWIt's complicated. It's convoluted. It's fucked up. There are innocents tangled in the warp and woof of the cult threads. But there is no excuse to justify separating families or even imagining killing someone because they don't hold your same beliefs. You were born into it. You did not choose it. If you don't like this forum or how people are "outing" this cult here, then come up with a creative way that suits you. You have writers among you, and artists, and all your stories need to be told. Inch by inch.
All your stories are important and relevant.
Many exers just ran away and hid out for years till they found this forum. Why did Shyam hide so much of the real story in inuendo and euphemism?
The answer to that question is the real story behind the cult.You say if I push too hard, it will just make them grab on to the cult more tightly. You say that they are sheep and can't help themselves. You say that that some are too far gone. But this is not completely true. There are exceptions.
There's a story of a young woman who was making plans to join "Siddha" in Hawaii. [She had been told how cool and pure and magical he was]. While hanging out at the University of Berkeley campus, a kind graduate student sat down to listen to her whole devotee rap. He let her empty it completely out. Afterwards he threw in a few arguments but they were vehemently parried with her complete convictions. Then he began to talk to her with real care and compassion. She doesn't remember much of what he said only that he told her that her justifications will not hold. He predicted that she would not last more than 10 years in the cult. When he looked in her eyes he imparted a look like, "Somewhere inside of you, you know this is wrong, you know it is not who you really are. Find out what is real and give up this fantasy." The fact is that he was right. He had succeeded to chip away an inch. She wished she had written down his name to thank him. At the time, she just thought he was full of shit and was upset that she was unable to convince him of a thing. But she never forgot him.
Zelig tells the story of his family mercilessly mocking and teasing him when he would visit. They would make up funny mantras and put on skits. His Dad and brother made up their own cult which they called the "Octavians". His Dad was the leader and would put on a sheet like a robe. Hid Dad made up loud and fake chants and danced by Z's car with all the neighbors watching while he drove away after a visit. They told him straight up they thought he was a lunatic. But it was done with love and not harshness. It was the love that sustained Z and helped him to escape. Z now refers to his Dad as the original Kumare. Apparently embarrassment was capable of making a one inch dent. This was quite different than the humiliations suffered under Butler.
Another exer almost died on a project in a third world country and found themselves abandoned. That woke him up an inch. Another got yelled at one too many times...two inches. Others lost a husband or a wife to another cult member...three inches. Someone simply fell in love with a nice person who had no interest in the cult....four inches.
None of these exits were instantaneous. Most were gradual ~ some taking years. Some went from the fire to the frying pan into another type of cult, while others became "rubber band" members ~ going in and out or just wrapping around the exterior. There are lots of stories told and untold. Shyam knows all too well the common denominator here. It's love. It's humanity.
Hate is not the opposite of love, fear is... The thing to really look at is the FEAR. What is it? Why is it there? Who put it there? It’s built into every aspect of Butler’s group to keep them chained without needing a chain.
But as you read this you are also hearing all the old programming playing inside your head that “doubts are like demons... these people are karmis in maya... we will be chased down like animals until Lord Kalki rescues us...aparadha.....the wise lament neither for the living or the dead...mad elephant offence... spiritual death....”
If you can get others to look in the face of those fears that come up... if you can for a moment pull away the curtain to reveal that aging, pathetic, misanthrope called Jagad Guru, it will be enough. Will there be a back lash. Of course. There always is...but wait....give it time. You won't always know who or when or just what made the difference...
I have yet to meet one exer who regrets leaving the cult. In every case their lives are better for it.
Here's something else to consider. All it takes is one brave person to empower and encourage others to do something great and right.
I leave you again with this, probably the best coaching speech ever written...Love it...
AL PACINO IN ANY GIVEN SUNDAYReply and rebuttal from this post:
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dabcult
As far Vera invitation to ex members of going more public.....remember that Shyam Dodge just had death treaths ...from the cult
IF ANYONE GETS DEATH THREATS THEY SHOULD IMMEDIATELY REPORT THIS TO THE AUTHORITIES!
A record and a pattern can then be established. Going public also affords more protection.
Unfortunately, cult members are programed to distrust the authorities and this makes it more difficult.
Parents imparted a prejudice against the police from their drug use days, which was perpetuated by the cult.
Police and other "karmis" are all characterized as grotesque meat heads. Psychologists, or other advisers are also not trusted.
This programing makes it difficult to actually get help from the very people who can stop and prevent your civil liberties from being violated. No matter what you think of this country, we still have the Rule of Law. Use it.
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dabcult
uncles love their young nefiews that are in the cult and are near of becoming adult
they cannot rock the boat without being ostrazise for LIFE
It is better to be ostracised for life than be enslaved in the cult for life!
The benefits of "rocking the boat" far outweigh standing silently by and watching abuse continue.
And how can anyone with an ounce of ethics stand by and not do something if they are able? Or at least try.
Shyam did DO SOMETHING. But he is only one story and it is not enough. Figure out your own way to expose the lies.
Isn't a person who withholds evidence of a crime complicit in the crime as well?
While forgivable, people throughout history have always stood silently by watching genocide to save their own skins,
but are not the real heroes those who stand up to injustice while risking their own life for the sake of others?
And Butler's cult is not Nazi Germany or Rowanda, so the risk of certain arrest and shooting squad is nill.
But the programming is as powerful. The tendency to stand aloof and chalk up another man's misfortune to karma is pure Butler philosophy.
If you are standing by doing nothing while holding information, evidence, stories of abuse in the Butler cult, it is only because you have been programmed this way. You are still following the secrecy and silence practiced by your cult. No blame. Just recognize it for what it is.... a way for guru to still hold sway over your life and the lives of those you love… long after you have left the cult.
Are you willing to stand by a watch your nephew have years of his life stolen because you are afraid to "rock the boat"?
Looking back, don't you wish your parents had left the cult and taken better care of things?
Wouldn't you have liked to have someone come along and free you at a younger age? And maybe if you couldn’t leave because you were too young, you at least knew you could when you grew up. You could make plans and have dreams outside of the prison cult.
Shyam describes the years when his father was shunned and away from the cult as his most happy, full of hope and creativity.
Or are you feeling not wholly whole enough to reveal the scandals for fear of more scrutiny and criticism from family and friends still in the cult? Do you have a tendency to be silent and secretive regarding your upbringing in the cult? If so, no blame. You were programmed from birth to be secretive and uphold the cult secrets because outsiders "would not understand". You were programmed to feel insecure and “less than” by Butler. It was just a tactic (albeit a long and traditional one) to control the group.
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dabcult
As far as the $$ that the gurukulis got ....its ridiculous
$5,000 if you have been sodomise a few times ....maybe $50,000 if you have been sexually abuse 50 times .
No settlement can make up for the crimes, but there was some justice with the lawsuits. Abusers went to jail. People got counseling and their story heard. A lot of healing did come of it, in spite of some of the irreparable damages. ISKCON in the USA was forced to reform in many ways. Their recruitment capabilities were greatly lessened. Was it worth it? YES! Was it enough? No. It also created a precedent (as did the Catholic priest lawsuits). The adult Butler kult kids can learn a lot of lessons from these lawsuits. The cloak of immunity from prosecution against a priest or guru has been shattered. But the court needs evidence and data. Adult kids from Butler’s cult hold the information. Recognize what is programming and what is fear and what is truth. Then make your choice.