Being a gakkai cult member requires that one submit to shackling ritual, a superstitious mindset, magical thinking, and Dear Leader Hero worship. The gakkai cult-org. has outright post-hoc admitted (directly from the horse's mouth) that they manifested "cult characteristics" in the "past." In the case of the gakkai, once a cult, always a cult.

The more the gakkai tries to change their image/ways to suit the times, the more it becomes apparent that they are merely ad-libbing (in an arrogantly reckless manner, I might add) for survival as they go along and have no genuine compass-navigation values. Many of the "values" being touted today have been re-invented from past polar opposite positions. Propaganda always adapts to the times, doesn't it. This may not be readily apparent to new converts, but for those long familiar with the gakkai cult (myself included, having grew up in it), it is painfully obvious.

Regarding emulated behavior: survival within the gakkai, especially in order to climb up its hierarchical ladder, requires obedient, without question or independent thought, slavish submission to all above you and mandates that everyone below you do the same to you in return. This is how the cult-org. ultimately functions, with mindless automatons, by definition, operating without morals or conscience.

The gakkai (on the inside) is exactly the opposite of everything they claim to stand for (on the outside).


- Hitch

Hitch wrote
>
> "Phil, a dedicated a devoted pioneering member,
> had his chapter chief position taken away as
> retribution for his involvement with, and staunch
> support of, a grass-roots member's committee
> named, People's Representative Committee. We can't
> help but wonder how many times unreported similar
> scenarios have been repeated throughout the
> decades. But one thing is absolutely certain -
> despite all the attractive sounding rhetoric, the
> SGI regime will NEVER allow its members to
> participate or share in either running or
> improving the organization. Cult.orgs don't go
> there - EVER."
>
>
> "No rational argument will have a rational effect
> on a man who does not want to adopt a rational
> attitude.”
> ? Karl Popper
>
> “But the secret of intellectual excellence is
> the spirit of criticism ; it is intellectual
> independence. And this leads to difficulties which
> must prove insurmountable for any kind of
> authoritarianism.
>
> The authoritarian will in general select those who
> obey, who believe, who respond to his influence.
> But in doing so, he is bound to select
> mediocrities. For he excludes those who revolt,
> who doubt, who dare to resist his influence. Never
> can an authority admit that the intellectually
> courageous, i.e. those who dare to defy his
> authority, may be the most valuable type. Of
> course, the authorities will always remain
> convinced of their ability to detect initiative.
> But what they mean by this is only a quick grasp
> of their intentions, and they will remain for ever
> incapable of seeing the difference.”
>
> ? Karl Popper, The Open Society and Its Enemies,
> Volume 1 : The Spell of Plato
>
> [www.goodreads.com]
> opper
>
> "· "If in this book harsh words are spoken about
> some of the greatest among the intellectual
> leaders of mankind, my motive is not, I hope, the
> wish to belittle them. It springs rather from my
> conviction that, if our civilization is to
> survive, we must break with the habit of deference
> to great men. Great men may make great mistakes;
> and as the book tries to show, some of the
> greatest leaders of the past supported the
> perennial attack on freedom and reason. Their
> influence, too rarely challenged, continues to
> mislead those on whose defence civilization
> depends, and to divide them.
>
> The responsibility of this tragic and possibly
> fatal division becomes ours if we hesitate to be
> outspoken in our criticism of what admittedly is a
> part of our intellectual heritage. By reluctance
> to criticize some of it, we may help to destroy it
> all."
> o
>
> Karl Popper Preface to the First Edition to The
> Open Society and Its Enemies
>
> Karl Popper fled from the Nazis. He was offered an
> academic position
> in the United Kingdom but intead chose to teach
> during the war in New Zealand
> knowing that soon more refugees would arrive and
> desiring to leave a place
> in England for one of them.
>
> (Unlike a closed society, members of an open
> society are capable of examining it
> critiquing it, identifying malfunctions and
> correcting them.)
>
> Karl Popper fled from the Nazis. He was offered an
> academic position
> in the United Kingdom but intead chose to teach
> during the war in New Zealand
> knowing that soon more refugees would arrive and
> desiring to leave a place
> in England for one of them.
> "

Recently I was thinking of how I progressed through many phases and stages in my 3 decade long journey of entanglement with the SGI cult.org. The following list is not the result of a science based study, but it is based upon my personal observations, experiences, thoughts, and ideas on the subject of cult stages which are included but not limited to the ones I've listed here.

Nine Progressive Stages Encountered By Cult Members

STAGE ONE – The Introduction: Setting Up The Potential Victim

Having shocked the psyche of the guest into a state of heightened suggestibility during the course of a formal introduction meeting, the courtship of the member by the cult begins with an intense amount of love-bombing and attention.

People don't intentionally join a cult group or organization. They are fooled and taken in by con artists that understand how to effectively employ psychological manipulation. Seekers and guests usually have no awareness of the hidden nature of the group they are interested in, as related by ex-SGI cult member, BlancheFromage:

“We joined with the purest of intentions (for the most part), and we sincerely, honestly felt that we were part of a noble, virtuous group, whose high ideals could only motivate people for the better.”

Notice that she says, “we”. She is speaking of the hived group, from the standpoint of her emerged group identity. A cult succeeds by replacing their member's original self-identity with a new “cult based identity”, one that is increasingly dependent on the cult group for guidance, security, and acceptance.

Continuing on the subject of establishing a cult-identity, here's a revealing quote from ex-cult member, Trisha Ready:

“I tried, but the exercise (cult's prescribed practice) isolated me from classmates and friends. As my boyfriend and the quirky cult people became a shrinking circle of safety, I felt a split occur—like a fast-paced canyon forming—in my mind. On one side was my emerging cult-shaped identity; on the other side was my old identity with my history, family, and friends.”

“It's hard to keep hold of one's own mind in the midst of intense social and internal pressures.”

STAGE TWO – The Honeymoon: A Complete Buy-into (acceptance) of the Con

The enthusiastic new member unquestioningly accepts a cult's particular brand of con (a tempting offer of magically attaining true happiness, enlightenment, etc., by following the direction of an exalted central figure or leader.)

The newly introduced person falls in love with the cult, can't see any negative aspects, and enjoys their new-found (delusional) state of bliss.

As the newly minted cult group's inductee experiences a strong feeling of euphoria and security at being accepted into the cult group, the new member also becomes more indoctrinated by, and committed to, the group. Consequently, the newbie spends an increasing amount of time engaging in ritualized practice and group activities, at the expense of spending time being an individual and developing one's own independent and unique potential and spirituality.

STAGE THREE – Introducing God: Meet Your New Father (Boss, Guru, Master, Mentor, Only-Authority-You-Should-Listen-To)

Once the new member is has committed to learning the cult's prescribed practices, an emphasis upon instilling a sense of respect, dedication, and duty to a special guru/master/mentor figure begins to intensify dramatically. Fully indoctrinated members fawn endlessly over their cult's leader, and persistently pressure newbies to do likewise. Group think and group speak serve to reinforce a fabricated bond to the saintly leader. Having a relationship (not a healthy relationship with a real person, but a fabricated relationship to someone you as a member are likely to never have a one on one interaction with) is an unspoken requirement for any practitioner's advancement in the cult prescribed practices.

STAGE FOUR - Accelerating Control: Asking For/Receiving Guidance

Members are “encouraged” (pressured) to seek guidance from cult leaders. This is a crucial step in steering the new member into surrendering self-autonomy and control, and establishing obedience to the cult group.

Cult leaders are not trained in counseling. Their primary purpose is to disseminate indoctrination and dependance. Members discuss their most personal issues with cult leaders, who in turn use the information they have gleaned to create an advantage over the member. Any expectation of privacy by the member will most likely be violated when leaders share everything they learn about members with other leaders.

STAGE FIVE – Regressive Advancement: Becoming A Fully Indoctrinated Leader

Low level leadership positions within the cult group/org are assigned for the purpose of establishing control over the member by further involving and securing a member's commitment to, and dependance upon, the group.

Accepting any leadership position in a cult expands and solidifies an individual's transformation into a cult-based identity. The higher the leadership position accepted, the more controlled and indoctrinated a cult member becomes.

Regarding cult leadership positions, Hitch on CEI observes, “...survival within the gakkai, especially in order to climb up its hierarchical ladder, requires (being) obedient, without question or independent thought, slavish submission to all above you and mandates that everyone below you do the same to you in return. This is how the cult-org. ultimately functions, with mindless automatons, by definition, operating without morals or conscience.”

STAGE SIX - Spiritual Enslavement: You Literally Belong To The Cult

Cult involvement and attachment deepens to the point that everything one does somehow becomes related to, or, for the benefit of the cult organization and one's cult-based identity. Having been hijacked by the cult, your daily life, important decisions, and ultimate purpose no longer belong to you. Having willfully given your time, energy, and money in support of the cult, you become enslaved to the will of the cult.

STAGE SEVEN - A Lifetime Practice: You Can Never Quit

Cult members are repeatedly told that they must continue practicing for life. “Never give up” is more than a slogan. Quitting the practice is not an option, and is viewed as absolutely unacceptable. The cult instills an intense fear of leaving into members, while denigrating and demonizing those who have left the cult.

After an episode in which I was tracked down and returned to the cult after an unsuccessfully attempt to run away from my SGIcult controlled lifestyle, my senior leader told me, “You were given a senior leadership appointment by Mr. Williams, and it is for LIFE, you can never give it up!”

STAGE EIGHT - Switch and Bait: Finding Misery Instead of Blissful Enlightenment

After a number of years of dedicated practice, a slow realization begins to emerge. Instead of being happier, more energetic, having a higher life condition, zeroing in on Enlightenment, etc. you actually feel less happy, less energetic, suffer from a lower life condition, enlightenment is nowhere in sight yet, etc. But you have been conditioned to reject anything "negative". You become conflicted knowing that other members are doing wonderful, while you are floundering. Guidance you receive from your leaders insists that you are not doing enough practice, activities, monetary contribution, seeking mind, etc. Filled with frustration and confusion, your reaction is to blame yourself, to fault yourself for not receiving all the benefit that you should be. A guilt trip ensues as you keep telling yourself that if the practice is not working, then the problem must lie with you, not the practice. You are caught in a trap, a downward spiral with no exit possible.

STAGE NINE - Waking Up: Reclaiming Your Identity & Life

The process of waking up can take place over various amounts of time. It could take decades, or it could take just a single day. Although triggers may vary greatly, awakening usually begins when a member can longer maintain cognitive dissonance, and begins to question or become aware of inconsistencies, doubts, feelings of guilt and shame, and depression that indicate something major is amiss or wrong.

Some members will vacillate back and forth, leaving and re-joining the cult many times before achieving a permanent departure. For others, the decision to leave instantly becomes complete and final.

Only the most fortunate and wise cult victims successfully experience this final phase to completion. The rest, unfortunately, remain unhappily stuck inside their manufactured cult-based identity for life, forever chasing an impossible dream.

I was in a situation different from SGI but it had some
similarities.

Spartacus wrote"

"awakening usually begins when a member can longer
maintain cognitive dissonance, and begins to question
or become aware of inconsistencies, doubts, feelings
of guilt and shame, and depression that indicate some-
thing major is amiss or wrong."

Corboy: I began to feel ashamed of how long I had been
entangled with this person.

Two, I noticed many of his other clients had been with him
for years.

Slowly, like a slow IV drip, I began to fear I could become
an inmate, too.

The real tip off was I felt ashamed to tell anyone else
how many years I'd been seeing this person.

Must mention this person had a doe eyed expression and smiled,
smiled smiled all the time. Thought this was genuine.

But after many years, something in me gradually woke up
and realized that smile was like a billboard that had
little of real substance behind it.

X held that same smile and dewy eyed expression even when it
was two days after 9-11. He and his group must have been
chanting their asses into exhaustion.

I drew attention to how exhausted he looked, and he waved this
away, still with the eyes and smile in place.

Didnt realize how off kilter all this was.

Watch out for luminous 'beautiful' facial expressions
that stay in place, all places, all circumstances, all the time.

Its as fake as the pancake makeup the dying Liberace used
during his final public performances.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/04/2014 08:06PM by corboy.

In the gakkai, the plastic personality/faces are much more common in the YWD (Young Women's Division), mainly because they are specifically "trained" to be that way. That said, you can definitely see it in all of the "divisions." Ian McIlraith (any long time member knows or has heard of his name) has always struck me as such. I instinctively never liked, nor could trust that guy.

In the YMD (Young Men's Division), the look that I remember the most was the Helter Skelter eyes of many of the nut cases running around.

I also remember seeing many of the glazed eye expressions during Tozan (main temple pilgrimage), where we were literally driven to utter exhaustion thru activities, practices, chanting, and countless other constant-never-ending behind-the-scenes support mandatory jobs/roles. The higher up you were on the "leader" ladder, the more you had to do, too.


- Hitch



corboy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> Must mention this person had a doe eyed expression
> and smiled,
> smiled smiled all the time.
>
> X held that same smile and dewy eyed expression
> even when it
> was two days after 9-11. He and his group must
> have been
> chanting their asses into exhaustion.
>
> I drew attention to how exhausted he looked, and
> he waved this
> away, still with the eyes and smile in place.
>
> Didnt realize how off kilter all this was.
>
> Watch out for luminous 'beautiful' facial
> expressions
> that stay in place, all places, all circumstances,
> all the time.
>

In keeping with Spartacus' 9 stages post above, I'd like to see something like this [www.youtube.com],

"Dedicated to everyone who has left and had the courage to speak out against the abuses of the cult of the $oka Gakkai (International)."

Although the clip pertains to scientology, it pretty much covers all of the bases as it pertains to the gakkai cult.

It also aptly demonstrates Spartacus' 9 stages journey.

"Hitch: I left the gakkai cult many, many years ago. I was born into it. I grew up in it. Critical thinking allowed me to find my own way out - A personal journey from ignorance, to knowledge."

A tip of my virtual hat to all here and elsewhere, who spread the word.


- Hitch

Here is where I was misinformed.

I thought I could easily ID 'plastic face' syndrome.

Some groups do inculcate a distinctive facial expression,
one that sets the subject apart from non indoctrinated persons.

But sometimes one cannot see how false the smile and lovely
eyes are until or unless one is present when the subject's
cult persona is stressed to breaking point.

Some cult personae are so very well defended and have such
a sophisticated repertoire of rationalizaton/deflective responses
that almost any insult or skepticism can be smilingly deflected.

I woke up only when I just happened to challenge doe eyed X and
in such a way that without my realizing it, I breached his
defenses.

At the beginning of the conversation, which I knew was going to be
serious, I was amazed that X had that same doe eyed expression
and smilely smile.

I realized with a shock that if he wasnt prepared to take my complaints
seriously enough to remove that smile, his earlier pattern of
smiling was now questionable.

Then, when he failed to joke and jolly me into distraction, I kept
challenging him.

To my amazement, defensive sarcasm and a childish inability to
understand nuance revealed themselves.

All that and much more squalor came out when I refused
to go along with the smiles and gooey eyes.

Got the fuck out of there.

So, the lesson is, be very careful when dealing with people who
look doe eyed and smile all the time, even when standing knee -
deep in the mire of their leader's endless demands, their leader
endless desires for more, more more.

The leader's demands for more commitments
More donations
More enthusiasm
More attendance at yet more events and classes and rehearsals for
said events
A bigger, more opulent building.

If you insist on a real relationship and get behind the defensive
smiles and bright eyed enthusiasm, you could find yourself
facing an explosion of sarcasm, rage, or depression.

Or, you may never get that reaction at all, if the
person you are dealing with is taking sedative drugs.

If the person makes an ugly scene, you are very lucky, in a way.

"A true friend is someone who can see behind the fake smiles
to the pain."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/04/2014 09:02PM by corboy.

I've encountered 4 types of responses within the gakkai cult when confronting "leaders" with hard questions (calling them out on the nonsense) or outright not kowtowing to them:

1. Cliched superficial gibberish (default) response without substance or practically unrelated to the issue at hand (i.e., non-sequitur). This kind of response sometimes made me feel pity for the automaton caught in this indoctrinated circular mind loop.
2. Punishment by exclusion (i.e., threats to adverse consequences). I was thankful whenever this happened, because it gave me a legitimate excuse avoid cult-org. commitments.
3. More "advanced" cliched (non)-answers (i.e., special pleading). Short, curt, and followed-up by being ignored (and hence excluded again). This type was from very "seniored" "leaders" (to use gakkai cult-speak), too.
4. Outright physical violence (I was once actually struck by a Women's Div. member). This one, of course, speaks for itself.

In ALL cases above, I NEVER got "real" answers to my sincere questions / challenges. Never deep engagement, sincere compassion / understanding, or genuine "dialogue." Only manipulated, stonewalled, and abused. In every case - avoidance. And in every case, advancing another (significant) rung up the learning curve ladder.


- Hitch

Thanks for that very good list, Hitch. I took the liberty of reproducing your comment over on the sub-Reddit, SGIwhistleblowers

and I added this:

A note regarding #4: Short of using physical violence, SGI leaders are quick to use verbal violence (assaults), along with intimidation, character assassination, and other forms of psychological attacks and manipulation. All these repressive and controlling tactics serve the same purpose for cult leaders - to deflect questions and avoid answers.

Very much agreed, Spartacus. Verbal violence/assaults & verbal intimidation were quite commonplace when I was in the YMD. I'll also add that anytime a "leader" was out of line, it was always turned around to make the victim believe that it was somehow their own fault and responsibility (i.e., in need of more "human revolution," an "opportunity" to "grow" or "polish" one's faith, to "challenge" more for the "correct attitude" in faith, or a "golden opportunity" to later "breakthrough" and "shine" when one finally overcomes the "fortunate" "obstacle" in faith).

Your "misfortune" is actually future "fortune" for you to thank the abusive manipulating power-hungry "leader" for later.

(Every parenthesis used is actually real gakkai cult-speak nonsense.)

Yet more classic cult doublespeak/doublethink.

And speaking of nonsense, here's a clip of how manic the gakkai cult-org can be: [www.youtube.com]

For the uninitiated, the song is a 100 mph version of the gakkai cult classic - Ningen Kakumei - (The Dear Leader's) Song of Human Revolution (from his drivel novel) and they are (dangerously) waving flags of the three tri-colors of the gakkai.

Notice the standing ovation at the end by some in the audience.

Believe it or not, this kind of behavior was routine (if not more so) back when I was a YMD. Nothing has really changed inside the gakkai cult.

Mindless indoctrination (another form of abuse, too).


- Hitch



Spartacus Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A note regarding #4: Short of using physical
> violence, SGI leaders are quick to use verbal
> violence (assaults), along with intimidation,
> character assassination, and other forms of
> psychological attacks and manipulation. All these
> repressive and controlling tactics serve the same
> purpose for cult leaders - to deflect questions
> and avoid answers.