Quote
cuz
initiate,
How long have you been out? If you are thinking of writing book does that mean you are not afraid of retalaliation? When did you leave and for what reasons. What made you realize it was a cult? What are the misconceptions and what is true in the posts? Do you still have contact with cult members?
Tell us everything you know. If you are thinking of writing a book you must know plenty.
I will have to answer your questions and respond to the many posts in installments for lack of time. There's a lot to say. I have no fear whatsoever of retaliation from this group.
I left in stages from 1984 to 1990. Technically, I left in 1984, when I no longer worked for or received any direct instructions from Jagad Guru (Chris Butler). I simply packed up my things in Honolulu and moved back to the mainland. I continued to get communiques, but that eventually stopped, when I no longer responded. I can only speak of the time period from 1971 - 1990. I was in touch with many members and ex-members up until the mid 1990's. I lost touch the same way we lose touch with old friends -- moving and losing addresses.
I left for many reasons; some simple and some complex. The short answer is that I no longer believed that he was a pure devotee or God's representative on earth and got tired of working for little or nothing. I wanted to finish my education. Jagad Guru was changing and I was changing. Sorry to disappoint alarmists on this website, but I did not leave due to some trauma or nefarious goings on nor do I know anyone else who left for any reason that would be aired on 60 minutes. The only resistance I felt about leaving was from a couple of lower echelon, busy-body followers looking for gossip. They came by to ask why and if I had permission from Jagad Guru to leave. I just told them that it was none of their business.
My assessment of this group is not black and white. When I looked over the "10 signs of a [i:3ec140c711][b:3ec140c711]safe [/b:3ec140c711][/i:3ec140c711]group/ leader" on this web site, Jagad Guru had 6. When I read the "10 signs of a potentially [b:3ec140c711][i:3ec140c711]unsafe[/i:3ec140c711][/b:3ec140c711] group/ leader", I found 4. In the "10 warning signs of people involved in a potentially unsafe group/leader", I saw 2. Realize that this is not neccessarily a valid assessment instrument, but it is reflective of the grey areas and nature of this group. If I put the same test to the US military or Donald Rumsfeld, they have more signs of a "potentially [b:3ec140c711][i:3ec140c711]unsafe [/i:3ec140c711][/b:3ec140c711]group/leader"!
In future posts I will talk about the reasons behind the secrecy and homophobia, as well as involvement in politics. I'll also address other issues of cultdom.