Periodically, both on and off of the forum, the question comes up; What will happen to Mr Butler's kingdom upon giving up his mortal coil? We have the stories of A.C.Bhaktivedanta's passing and subsequent conspiracy theories and jockying for position and access to resources. This group will probably have it's own infighting and ugliness. Then there is the question of who will be the next guru or guru-ette for worshipers to fawn over. Is old Chris grooming a successor? Will he pass the torch? Or will a follower be bold enough to follow guru's example by self appointing him/herself as "Jagad Guru"?

Here is an interesting essay that basically asks one question, "Why do some people revere ethically questionable figures that have been elevated as spiritual guides after their death?" He uses Rajneesh/OSHO as an example but could have used Chris Butler just as easily. More interestingly are the comments, mostly from cult apologists who are still in thrall of their dead guru and choose not to believe his failings. Of course the author is attacked personally. If you want to study minds "under the influence" just read the comments.

Any one have an answer to Derek's question?

Cult Leaders & Psychopaths: Power Beyond the Grave

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Derek Beres
An estimated two million American adults are involved in cults. While the definition of what a cult is ranges—some claim all religions to be one—it usually involves a charismatic leader who serves as an intermediary between divine knowledge and those willing to follow him or her. Unlike the traditional teacher-student relationship in which the student is eventually on the same ground (or even surpasses) the teacher, cult leaders allow no one beyond them.

Instead of focusing on what makes a cult leader, however, I've found another question intriguing:
why do some people revere ethically questionable figures that have been elevated as spiritual guides after their death?

Playing around with Google and looking to see if Cult Ed forum comes up when you look for Cult + Jagad Guru and Siddhaswarupananda. Here are some interesting links to share:

Scroll down to see conversation about Butler Cult

Quote
from forum post:
Trust me, Gabbard comes to Congress with a ton of her own baggage. She did a complete 180 flip-flop on marriage equality only this year, right after she announced her candidacy for Congress. Prior to that, her own expressed opinions on the subject of GLBT civil rights were much more in line with truly odious views of her father, State Sen. Mike Gabbard.

Further, at least until this year, Ms. Gabbard publicly subscribed to a particularly conservative and fundamentalist version of Hinduism, as expressed by Science of Identity Foundation founder and director Chris Butler, aka Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa.

Even today, Tulsi continued to dodge our questions about her relationship to the Science of Identity Foundation, and still insisted on referring to Butler only as her "yoga instructor," as though he were the equivalent of an employee at Gold's Gym or 24-Hour Fitness Clubs, rather than someone whom a lot of us regard as the head of a pretty nasty and vicious Vedic cult.

So, please do not pay attention to what mainland pundits on the east coast are saying about Tulsi Gabbard. Most of that is gleened from her campaign's own press releases, and they don't know what they're talking about. And again, speaking for myself only, the jury is still very much out on her.

While young people quite obviously have tremendous capacity to develop, modify or change their own personal views on GLBT issues relative to those held by their parents, only time will tell in determining whether Ms. Gabbard's transformation onthe subject of marriage equality was truly heartfelt, or simply waved as a flag of convenience to get her successfully through the 2012 Democratic congressional primary against the heavily favored Mr. Hannemann.

Aloha.

Parent

Old Civil Beat article that also connects the Gabbards with Butler

Here's a discussion about the cult on a Christian forum

Another oldie but goodie: Australian School of Meditation and Yoga (ASMY): Local Governments Fund Cult Recruitment Indymedia Sydney July 29th, 2008

Here's a good site you can also post on regarding Butler:
SKEPTIC

The following link SOI in Ireland

Quote
From the article:
Chaitanya School Of Meditation


Chaitanya School of Meditation founded by Balakhilya Das. Also known as the Science of Identity Foundation (or Institute) and the Chaitanya Mission, this movement was started by a number of former members of ISKCON who severed their connections with that organization in the 1970s. The Chaitanya School is headed by Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa, aka Chris Butler. He and some other members of this group, including Balakhilya Das, had been personally initiated by ISKCON's founder, Swami Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada. The Chaitanya School's philosophy and practice are virtually identical with that of ISKCON. However, it is less monastic and its members wear western dress.

Louis Hughes op

A widely-publicized "Balakhilya Das World Tour 2001" reached Ireland in late October 2001. Classes on reincarnation and hands-on meditation were given in Galway, Limerick, Cork and Athlone, as well as Dublin. I attended the final session which took place in Cassidy's Hotel, Cavendish Row, Dublin on Saturday, November 3, 2001. An attendance of about 35 people, mainly lively, with-it youngsters in their 20s turned up. They would have been perfectly in place with the anti-war protesters I had seen in O'Connell Street earlier in the day.

This website also provides a link to the Cult Education website as a resource. DIALOGUE IRELAND

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About Dialogue Ireland from their website:
Introducing Dialogue Ireland Trust

Explanatory note: Whenever we use the words ‘cult’, ‘cultism’ or ‘cultist’ we are referring solely to the phenomenon where troubling levels of undue psychological influence may exist. This phenomenon can occur in almost any group or organisation.

Motivated by the inalienable right to religious freedom, Dialogue Ireland is an independent Trust that seeks to promote people’s freedom to make informed choices about religious, spiritual and philosophical beliefs. Though Dialogue Ireland has its origins as a Christian organisation it is now open to all belief systems and none. All we require is that those working with us share a common understanding of cultism*.

We fully accept the CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION as giving expression to our work:

Fundamental Rights Platform

*We acknowledge that “cultist” tendencies can creep into any organisation, including even mainstream movements. We do receive calls from people who perceive themselves or a family member as being victims of “cultist” activity on the part of a wide variety of sources. These people turn to Dialogue Ireland for guidance and support. Such situations can be very painful for the people involved. Some have compared it to the death of a loved one without the funeral. Fortunately, the experiences of most people joining movements/groups are much less dramatic than this.

The goals of Dialogue Ireland

To work for contact and dialogue among people with different beliefs and philosophies; recognising the vast differences that exist among New Religious Movements, mainstream groups and other organisations active in Ireland.

To promote the study and understanding of cultism. To provide pastoral support to members and former members who have experienced cultism and their families according to their needs. To provide advice and information on cultism to those affected and to the media.

To promote the study and understanding of World Religions when it is required as a context for understanding cultist and non-cultist New Religious Movements (NRMs). We hold conferences and seminars on some aspect of Cultism to further this aim.

To provide information and educational services to schools, vocational groups and other establishments. We cooperate with governmental and police bodies using intelligence collected from our international partners, and our own research, related to cultism. Rather than warn or raise fears, our strategy is to inform and empower people that are making enquiries

To compile and assess current documentation and news reports on the topics we study and, by way of our web site and Blog, to provide the public access to up-to-date information as well as links to significant sites within the field.

The following is from an interesting site that rates gurus from "worse than bogus, no redeeming value" to "the greats, helping many" and everything between. Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda AKA Chris Butler is rated as "bogus, may have some value, who knows" --- except we KNOW...

GURU RATINGS

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From the Guru Ratings Main Page:
Most ratings, it will be perceived, are in the low range. This in many cases reflects an unfamiliarity with the figure in question (along with an uninformative web site), the willingness to give them a little slack but unwillingness to rate them too high until they establish themselves, especially considering the harm that a phony can do. Okay? The soundest rule in commercial transactions also applies here: Caveat emptor.

Actually, I think his rating of Jagad Guru is too high, but that's just me... =)

Just tooling around Google again. Butler's followers are clearly carpet bombing Google with cult shrapnel.

Here's another link for today. You can offer your own reviews and comments at this link.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler & Friends – Mantra Electric Review

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From Cult Ed Forum in the Article:
According to a post on the Cult Education Forum, this was Butler’s second release, and a bit more upbeat than the first (titled Gentle Force), described as follows:

The operative words are GENTLE (deceptive) and FORCE (coercion). But to look at and listen to Siddha’s album you would just see it as new agey music made by this nice spiritual guy. At the time, Jagad Guru Chris Butler Siddhaswarupananda Paramahansa, founder of the Science of Identity cult, did not refer to himself as a pure devotee or messiah of nations – at least publicly yet. He had his senior followers spread that rumor for him very well. ACB was still “on the planet”

When the album came out Siddha ordered all of his followers to call the radio stations to request a song. This was to increase the air time and popularity of the music. Problem is that it wasn’t that popular of a style of music. The D.J. got really pissed one night and yelled at one of the girls calling saying he was sick of how Siddha got all these young girls to call for him and he flat refused to play anything because of that. Decades later Chris Butler still employs his followers in the same way to donate money to political campaigns or write letters to newspaper editors in attempts to change public policy.

Needless to say the album was a flop. It cost him more money to make than it ever made. The weirdest thing is that followers were not allowed to “enjoy” it’s music either. His own followers were told not to listen to it, but were allowed to play it for “new” people. Followers listened to it any way and there were a lot of bootleg copies. It was nice music, though Siddha’s voice was a bit thin and weak. He used good studio musicians in L.A. on a lot of tracks that were not followers.

Just tooling around Google again. Butler's followers are clearly carpet bombing Google with cult shrapnel.

Here's another link for today. You can offer your own reviews and comments at this link.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler & Friends – Mantra Electric Review

Quote
From Cult Ed Forum in the Article:
According to a post on the Cult Education Forum, this was Butler’s second release, and a bit more upbeat than the first (titled Gentle Force), described as follows:

The operative words are GENTLE (deceptive) and FORCE (coercion). But to look at and listen to Siddha’s album you would just see it as new agey music made by this nice spiritual guy. At the time, Jagad Guru Chris Butler Siddhaswarupananda Paramahansa, founder of the Science of Identity cult, did not refer to himself as a pure devotee or messiah of nations – at least publicly yet. He had his senior followers spread that rumor for him very well. ACB was still “on the planet”

When the album came out Siddha ordered all of his followers to call the radio stations to request a song. This was to increase the air time and popularity of the music. Problem is that it wasn’t that popular of a style of music. The D.J. got really pissed one night and yelled at one of the girls calling saying he was sick of how Siddha got all these young girls to call for him and he flat refused to play anything because of that. Decades later Chris Butler still employs his followers in the same way to donate money to political campaigns or write letters to newspaper editors in attempts to change public policy.

Needless to say the album was a flop. It cost him more money to make than it ever made. The weirdest thing is that followers were not allowed to “enjoy” it’s music either. His own followers were told not to listen to it, but were allowed to play it for “new” people. Followers listened to it any way and there were a lot of bootleg copies. It was nice music, though Siddha’s voice was a bit thin and weak. He used good studio musicians in L.A. on a lot of tracks that were not followers.

A lot of complaints and testimonies have been archived regarding the Cult of Chris Butler or Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda's cult.

Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda's cult, and his Science of Identity Foundation are actively trying to dominate Google searches and prevent people from finding anything critical online. No one can make an informed choice about this group and their legitimacy. New adherents are discouraged from doing any research into the religion or traditions that Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Chris Butler has leveraged. If they dug a little deeper they may find that their guru has used ancient traditions coupled with a magician's parlor tricks to serve his own interests at their expense.

Just see what happens when you GOOGLE "jagad guru siddhaswarupananda critics". You will get pages of thought stopping phrases and fear tripping admonishments -

1) If you are critical of the guru it is because of your "false ego" and not because you have a legitimate complaint or question. This is not tolerated by Jagad Guru and his followers. Here's a thought stopper; He writes, "The false ego uses criticism of others to build itself up. It revolts when criticized. It blooms when flattered."and "Proud people lack tolerance for people whom they consider lower." This is the height of hypocrisy as Butler is the king of "ranking" (putting down any person or group with whom he disagrees). He has a history of putting down his peers, other religions and practices, and even his own followers. There are over 400 pages of testimony, critiques, and information about him on this Cult Education Institute forum.

These quotes are also a cheap way to prevent people from questioning jagad guru siddhaswarupananda's own veracity. G0d forbid being accused of having a false ego! Unfortunately, you are encouraged to disavow your own critical thinking and surrender totally to the guru's version of reality.

2) If you are critical of jagad guru siddhaswarupananda you are warned that their diety will not tolerate your offenses and you will be doomed to spiritual hell. You will not be deemed worthy of divine grace. So the fear factor plays a heavy hand.

The riff goes like this: "When one sits in the presence of a Vaisnava for some time, one feels Krsna's potency exuding from his person. This potency enters the heart of a faithful person and impregnates it with bhakti." So some magical and sexually charged experience awaits any one who dares not question the guru. If you didn't get "impregnated" then you were either offensive, unfaithful, or unworthy. Never mind that it is all a sham set up to motivate you to tithe 25% of your income and devote years of free slave labor to his "projects".

New recruits from around the world have no idea about the history of the cult or Chris Butler himself. They have never met him and don't realize that most of the quotes and videos on the internet are 30 years old! Senior disciples have taken over the business of recruitment and direct instruction. Believe me, it is a BIG business!


archived posts from this forum - oldies but goodies

In my opinion, it seems to be as I have written and sourced through primary historical documents and based on the testimonies of former, initiated followers and critics of jagad guru siddhaswarupananda Chris Butler.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/14/2014 12:27AM by Vera City.

It is no wonder that the review in anonymous. Exers are afraid of the cult. Of course Butler claims that those who are critical of the guru are "envious", "spiritually dead", have fallen into "maya", or are being led by their so called "false egos" rather than take responsibility for the harm done to those followers lucky to have escaped. These are easy thought stopping phrases and excuses.

See: Excellent Review of the Science of Identity Foundation

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From the review:
I would really advise anyone to approach free meditation classes with caution and to pay attention to the danger signs of being encouraged to cut off family and friends, an elitist and perfect leader (which from what I found out about Chris Butler is very exaggerated), not being allowed to ask questions, punishments being inflicted, giving excessive money or labour and keeping secrets

Reviews » Religion »
Science of Identity Foundation

I really felt that I had seen a lot in my life before I got involved with the schools of meditation when I was twenty five, but this experience was not even comparable with anything I had ever seen apart from some dimly remembered snippets of coverage of the Branch Davidians in Waco on the evening news.

I would really advise anyone to approach free meditation classes with caution and to pay attention to the danger signs of being encouraged to cut off family and friends, an elitist and perfect leader (which from what I found out about Chris Butler is very exaggerated), not being allowed to ask questions, punishments being inflicted, giving excessive money or labour and keeping secrets

As a religion the Science of Identity Foundation has managed to maintain obscurity since being founded in 1977.

I really felt that I had seen a lot in my life before I got involved with the schools of meditation when I was twenty five, but this experience was not even comparable with anything I had ever seen apart from some dimly remembered snippets of coverage of the Branch Davidians in Waco on the evening news.

After six months of living among the followers of Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa (Chris Butler) and being continually drip fed more information about him, his many business interests, how he treats his followers and what he teaches I was genuinely afraid for myself and those who I had become friends with.

Whenever I talk to people about my experiences their initial reaction is invariably how on earth did you ever become involved in that? If I had known in the beginning what I emerged with the knowledge of I certainly would never have considered it. I find it very difficult to imagine who would. I was constantly cautioned about talking to outsiders who would not understand and for never explained reasons persecute and attack me if they knew that I knew that the “absolute truth” comes from Chris Butler. His followers refer to him as ‘Srila Prabhupad’ - meaning he who is in the position of God.

Although many of the followers I met had never met Chris Butler they had become devoted to him through his books, Who Are You - The Science of Identity and Reincarnation Explained, his many recorded lectures and through their contact with older followers who are known as disciples and take on initiated names, like Radha Krishna das.

On the surface the beliefs seemed very simple, harmless and appealing in the sense that they directed spiritual, peaceful and clean living, with a lot of emphasis on meditation, which was what caught my initial interest.

As soon as I was accepted among the very reclusive and secretive followers I was taught that meditation is secondary to bhakti yoga, which is devotional service. Basically devotional service is whatever Chris Butler tells you to do, whether it is recruiting others or working in one of the factories which are owned by other followers.

There were regulations to be followed from everything to not wearing shoes in the house, to offerring all food and drink, altar worship, chanting for a few hours each day, listening to at least one lecture per day etc etc. Charity or preaching was not encouraged at all. I was taught that women have the place of keeping the home, serving the husband and having babies. Women who did not have husbands were told that this was due to their bad karma and that they needed to chant more. It was never acceptable to ask questions or express any sort of doubt. The result of being disagreeable or independent about anything ranged from being fined to being publically humilated in front of the other followers or ostracised by those who are the only people that you are suppossed to be in contact with.

I feel very fortunate that I realised quickly what I was involved in and got away from there. It took me about a year to really get over the daily experience of being a ‘devotee’ and the abuse that I received for choosing to leave. Although it was difficult to find a counsellor that was aware of cult issues I was very lucky to meet former followers and access a lot of information through the internet. Mostly I felt intially as if there must be something wrong with me, then very disillussioned about my own spirituality, and depressed about the way that people who I had felt that I was close to became my enemies and abusive towards me.

I would really advise anyone to approach free meditation classes with caution and to pay attention to the danger signs of being encouraged to cut off family and friends, an elitist and perfect leader (which from what I found out about Chris Butler is very exaggerated), not being allowed to ask questions, punishments being inflicted, giving excessive money or labour and keeping secrets. Based on my experience I really cannot see any good coming out of being in these circumstances, or why any sincere religion would adhere to them.

Another oldie but goodie.

Homophobia: a truly interfaith phenomenon

Homophobia: a truly interfaith phenomenon
4 08 2008

A homophobic yogic cult, claiming to be able to “cure” homosexuality through chanting, has infiltrated the Gold Coast City Council, according to Religion News Blog. Through its front organisation the Australian School of Meditation and Yoga, the Science of Identity movement is running yoga and meditation courses in collaboration with the Gold Coast council (as part of the latter’s “Active and Healthy” program). The leader, one Chris Butler a.k.a. Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa Jagad Guru, claims to be a “living yoga master” as well as (according to a critical site) “teacher of the entire world, a direct link to God and the only true follower of Jesus Christ.” Ex-members have some interesting stories to tell:

Former member, “Justin”, 30, told SX he was “born into” the cult because his parents had been members since the 1970s. When he came out to his parents at the age of 16, he was disowned.

“They kicked me out and told me the house would need to be sterilised because being gay was dirty, and my father said he hoped I died in hospital of AIDS,” Justin said.

“They have interesting ‘facts’ they put out about homosexuality. I was told that AIDS can live on warm surfaces for 48 hours, so that you can pick it up from toilet seats, and that kids can pick it up by putting fingers in their mouths.

“They tell stories that gays eat faeces and have up to 2,000 sexual partners a year.”

The faeces libel against gay people is not unique to Butler’s group: for example, a Polish Catholic group in 2004 issued a pamphlet to thousands of school principals making claims about homosexuals “crawling in faeces” and being “blood-suckers.” The notion that there exists a “gay agenda” is also not unique to Science of Identity:

Another former cult member, Cara James, told SX Guru Chris Butler was convinced there is a “gay agenda”.

“Once, he started talking about Jesus at Christmas and went into a complete tirade against gay people, claiming that gays were trying to get rid of Christmas,” James said.

She said the cult was “very guarded” about who they allow to hear Butler’s lectures because “they are very much aware of the fact that they would breach vilification laws” if the speeches were made public.

In a pamphlet, Homosexuality: The Identity Crisis, Butler wrote: “The homosexuals are trying to convince themselves and others that their perverted sexual dealings are very satisfying, that’s why they call themselves gay, as if they are in perpetual bliss and are free”. (Religion News Blog)

Others claim that Science of Identity advocates polygamy and arranged marriages, and (like many other cults) the group appears to be in sync with Luke 14:26 on how members should dispose themselves towards their families.

The Gold Coast Council is currently investigating the matter.

For all you believers and for the wise non-believers, need you hear any more about Butler? Then kindly peruse this essay on how to spot a fake guru--if its sounds familiar- it must be a fake guru.


By Paul Lenda

Quote: "Yes, it seems there are those within the spiritual arena who are looking at the qualitative aspects of self-growth and seeing a marvellous money-making opportunity or a way to have incredible power over others; a pyramid scheme is sometimes then created and established. This is very dangerous in that it can negatively affect the perception of legitimacy on the entire spiritual community and all that it encompasses. As a result, genuine spiritual teachers and self-growth coaches are often disregarded as being ‘false gurus’ giving out spiritual-sounding nonsense that lacks substance and is unhelpful for a person’s spiritual growth.
Being aware that there are such enlightenment pyramid schemes can help us steer away from the false gurus and find the genuine teachers that truly wish to help people and the global consciousness of humanity. It is admittedly difficult at times to see through the spiritual façade that some create as a front to hide their true nature and intentions, even more so with teachers who were once very enlightening but the money and the fame got the best of them.

False Gurus and Spiritual Teachers

1. Charging Large Amounts of Money
Actions speak infinitely louder than words. Anyone can proclaim magnificent and wonderful things. But do these words live up to how the person lives and expresses themselves in his or her daily lives?
Perhaps the biggest problem that I have found is the issue of money. I have seen self-appointed gurus, spiritual teachers, and whatever other title they go under charging unbelievably large amounts of money for information, knowledge, or so-called ‘higher wisdom’ that is available to everyone — by looking to sages who charge little or nothing, and also by looking within for the answers via meditation and other self-induced spiritual practices. I have also seen several money embezzlement cases. If you’re paying someone $295 for a spiritual ’12 strand DNA activation’ then you’ve probably just been conned.

2. Giving Themselves Fancy Titles
While on the subject of empty words, when looking to a potential spiritual teacher for guidance, notice if that individual proclaims such magnificent titles referring to themselves as being enlightened masters, self-realized yogis, or being a saint – one of the ultimate delusions of grandeur following the narcissistic Christ Complex. An enlightened person finds no need for ego masturbation.
Those who have experienced the Ultimate/Absolute Reality don’t continuously boast about how they have achieved enlightenment and are better than others. They are in fact, quite humble, perhaps sometimes too humble, but humble they are. They understand that there is no benefit to themselves or their students to make such declarations based on the realizations they’ve had about Reality. There is no need to establish a hierarchical framework within teachers and students work as we are all passengers on the same train, separated only slightly in that we sometimes sit in different train cars. We are all going the same direction, ultimately.

3. Inability to Take Criticism
Another sign of a con-man in guru’s clothing is whether the person is able to take criticism or not. Those who are not genuine spiritual teachers will get offended and defensive over criticisms made towards them instead of looking inward and taking into consideration what those criticisms are. How dare an unenlightened mortal criticize them! Nobody is perfect, after all. But I have even seen the sad situation of lawsuits being made by these so-called enlightened masters against people who had the ‘nerve’ to point out something they feel was incorrect, deceptive, harmful, etc.

4. Overly Focused on the End Goal
If you notice a spiritual teacher or guru having an almost-bizarre love affair with enlightenment this and enlightenment that, be cautious. Many of these enlightenment gurus focus on enlightenment itself instead of actually teaching others how exactly to attain that state. They do not teach about all the baby-steps leading up to the enlightening of one’s awareness in the most authentic of ways. Even the revered Buddha did not reach enlightenment overnight. Unless a spiritual teacher shows you a realistic way to reach enlightenment, such as through a particular meditation or awareness expanding technique, then you will be better off without their help… and you will keep your hard-earned money as well.

5. Behaving Hypocritically
Beware of hypocrites! This is perhaps one of the simplest methods of weeding out spiritual “snake-oil salesmen”. Look if they practice what they preach. If they teach about how you should meditate daily to promote your spiritual growth, do they meditate daily? Are they leading by example? When they talk about radiating love and light and all that is beautiful, are they doing so themselves? Nobody likes a hypocrite, especially if that hypocrite is promising spiritual enlightenment.

6. Focusing on Fulfilling Egocentric Desires
One especially important aspect of a guru or spiritual teacher that we should look into is their investment in the material aspects of life. Are they displaying behavior that is indicative of being a neophyte on the spiritual path? Do they overly focus on (or constantly speak of) money, sex, and power? A dynamic Taostistic-like balance is a necessity for a balanced life, but when dependence and abuse of the material starts to emerge and creep into the mind then there is a problem.

7. Displaying Spiritual Materialism
Spiritual materialism is something that’s especially become more of an issue in recent years and is worth becoming more aware about for anyone on the path to self-realization and enlightenment. In Psychology Today, Michael J. Formica defines: “Spiritual materialism is that process by which the ego grasps at the accomplishments and progress of the self upon the spiritual path; an act by which its very nature denies the Self.”
The increased focus on spiritual materialism is problematic. All the courses, teachings, books, and workshops that focus on using the Law of Attraction to bring us riches and worldly abundance hold materialist desires at their core, and do not reflect actual spiritual growth messages.
Although spiritual growth and self-actualization can lead to ‘like attracting like’, because of the immense positivity we project outward, attracting riches is not the purpose of attaining these mind states. These messages that use the dynamics of attraction are not bad in and of themselves, but when they are misrepresented as being a path towards higher spirituality, then that is when we should be cautious of proceeding further. Do not become lost in the illusion that faux spirituality creates.

8. Behaving Selfishly
Selflessness should be the dominant quality in the spiritually-advanced soul, not selfishness. Spirituality has no place for superstars and glamour. It is not the spiritual teacher themselves that should be the focus, but rather the spiritual messages and teachings. How can we attain our own Self-realization if our position of awareness is focused externally on the teacher, rather than internally on the Self?

9. Promising a Fast Path to Self-Realization
There is nothing directly bad with spiritual workshops themselves, but when you see a spiritual teacher giving a spiritual course that’s several hundred or thousand dollars and lasts several days or even weeks do not expect to reach enlightenment just by completing such a workshop. Yes, we all live busy lives and feel as if we do not have enough time to dedicate towards our spiritual growth, but let’s be realistic: it is highly unlikely you will become self-realized in 3 weeks.
The processes of spiritual growth, self-actualization, self-realization, and enlightenment can take years or an entire lifetime – some even say multiple lifetimes. It’s said that there is only one person in recorded history that attained enlightenment in one lifetime (Milerapa) and the way he attained the enlightened state was highly unorthodox, to put it lightly. We would all like to believe that there is a fast lane to these things, but this is not the case. Of course, there are always exceptions and some reach the mountain’s summit faster than others. But as a whole, it is a process that includes much dedication and time.

In closing…
These are several ways in which you can spot a false guru, spiritual teacher, or other peddler of faux spirituality. In this day and age where there are thousands of so-called gurus, we have to be careful who we choose to listen, to because if we make the mistake of following someone who is ego-centered in their true intentions, then we will lose time, money, and opportunity costs (among other things).
It is my hope that this article can help others discern between the genuine teacher that wishes nothing more than to help others become self-realized and experience spiritual bliss, and those who proclaim they will do these things for you but in reality are just emptying your bank account. Be mindful of who you decide to listen to, and you will be thankful you spent some time to discern between those who are looking out for others and those who are looking out for themselves."

End quote.

Now, dear readers, how many categories did Chris - Jagat Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahansa- Butler
fall into--let us count the ways.....