Spartacus - One of the parts I enjoyed the most was about the "ideal" cultist Soka Gakkai leader screaming at you for no good reason other than he could (i.e, "the breakdown"). I've had the "fortune" of being on the receiving end of that many times in nsa/sgi-usa. Perfect description and analysis - spot on. The "power hungry cult leader" was commonplace, especially in the YMD, during my time in. Would love to meet up with one of those fellows today and have a "talk."

I had forgotten, but reading your story reminded me: I, too, have added my name to more than a few of those scam gakkai "time capsules." Never wanted to, to be honest. FORCED is more like it. I thought it was a stupid scam then, and KNOW it all is now. Another one of the cult's favorite tactics/games - meaningless feel good crap, all so you can say that you done something for Cousin Rufus.

Good messages hear this morn! I can relate or have had personal experience to all of it.
Hitch mentioned spagetti, spagetti,spagetti...words long forgotten which brought memories forward. Remember being told to go to Santa Monica & listen to Senior leaders who didn't speak English as a benifit because u would understand it "with your whoolllee life!"
Fri nite I had dreams of a person telling me not to give up, I could still do what i wanted...on & on. I was exhausted when I Woke up next morning & po'd because I also knew that someone was chanting for me to do their bidding. Sure enough I got a text from the person I had been dreaming about & another yesterday! Really obnoxious!
So, they never give up. I happen to have the gift of dreaming which in this case is guaranteed to manifest. Thats why its so hard to leave. They even intrude when you are sleeping!

I went to Seattle with my youngest this weekend & she was furious with me because she said she told me about SGI being a cult & feels I disrespected her feelings. I tried to explain what I don't understand myself, I left & then came back to take another bite of the poisonous apple! And, as luck would have it, shes rhe one I "forgot" & left at a meeting in Mission Viejo & drove back to Fullerton before i relized i was missing the 3rd kid! It was awful! Of course i had someone who dropped her off at the same time but she has NEVER forgotten that & is still mad!

Happy Mother's Day!
Lynne

Spartacus, keep on writing, want more of your blog!

Here's why in 2005 I decided to check the internet and see what happened to NSA. I had starting working a new job in downtown Chicago, and not long after who do I see in the lobby of the building but the same violent group leader I wrote about in one of my earlier posts! I kid you not, this is true and I was shocked. I have yet to say a word to the man, because if you can't say something nice, say nothing my grandma used to say. Thank goodness we do not work for the same organization! So, I go to the internet and find out about this SGI, destruction of the shohondo, split with the temple, all of it. And people are still chanting. I would see an occassional prayer book and living buddhism magazine on the train and want to tell the person to run for the hills. It is so ironic that I see this man from my past, but not his wife who was my dear friend. They also has a son that I used to babysit, and I wonder what became of him. But I continue to act like I don't see the man, he was so despicable and now that I am 56 and not 16 without a doubt he would get told off if I open my mouth. I think he recognizes me but thankfully has not approached me, I guess my vibes are not welcoming. I see him talking to folks around the building, he always had a friendlly veneer, and I wonder if he is still selling the poison.

Truth is stranger than fiction.

I think seeing the violent former group leader at my workplace triggered dreams about the org, people who don't understand how insidious cults are once they get inside your mind really should understand the dangerous power of cult indoctrination. It is almost like PTSD...you don't think about it for years, and then BOOM, you are having an emotional reaction to something that happened decades ago.

What has been really helpful about this site is all the information about the riches of SGI International and Ikea personally. I could just feel any nostalgia I may have had about this period in my life drain away as it was proven that SGI and Ikea are billionnaires. I had been deceived, hoodwinked, lied to! Why are members cleaning toilets for free, or performing any unpaid labor for free, for that matter? Poor teen members like myself could have used the income from a part time job but no, NSA could have cared less about our financial situation. Total exploitation, that's all it was and that's all it is. Americans must seem like real sheep to the Japanese, buying off on all this bull. I now see the militaristic structure, rallys, adulation of Ikea, all of it is frighteningly similar to how Hitler worked Germany into a frenzy. Scary, when people become non-thinking fanatics for whatever reason, such people are dangerous.

And Ikea on the same level as Ghandhi or ML King? Downright offensive. Back in my time in NSA we were told nothing about SGI in Japan and their political influence, very little except this was true buddhism. Why was it true, because they told us so. We also told potential members that they could continue to practice their current religion and chant, although we knew that was false advertising.

A long time ago I decided that a piece of paper can have no supernatural power in and of itself, and to consider otherwise was engaging in idol worship. The gohonzon as God model was used to snare Christians, actually there were many aspects of the traditional Christian model used (pray and didn't work? it's your fault for not praying hard enough and/or having enough faith. some christians run guilt trips using this same language). Although I am Christian now, I reject all of that unloving mind-control garbage.

Sorry for the long post, this has been pent up inside for a long time. Folks like Linda Johnson and other so-called senior leaders should be ashamed, they are leading alright, right into drinking the kool-aid. Read about Jonestown people, it didn't start as worship of Jim Jones, but became more and more fanatical as time went on. I hope this forum helps more and more people escape SGI now before they waste another moment of their precious life enriching Ikea and his descendants.

"Bharat Soka Gakkai (BSG) is the Indian affiliate of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI). It’s making presence among the upper and upper middle class Indian homes. A large number of Indians have joined BSG but they are unaware of the dark and hidden sides of this cult. Most of these people either those who were brainwashed from the beginning to worship Daisaku Ikeda, the members of the so-called Ikeda Sect, or those too unfortunate to have an opportunity to learn the truth about Ikeda’s Soka Gakkai."

[sokagakkailies.wordpress.com]

"Is SGI a cult? Does it matter?"

The article gives an interesting "discussion." Lots of familiar themes (from this mb) and a devastating characterization of the soka gakka international cult.

Quote
Hitch
"Bharat Soka Gakkai (BSG) is the Indian affiliate of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI). It’s making presence among the upper and upper middle class Indian homes. A large number of Indians have joined BSG but they are unaware of the dark and hidden sides of this cult. Most of these people either those who were brainwashed from the beginning to worship Daisaku Ikeda, the members of the so-called Ikeda Sect, or those too unfortunate to have an opportunity to learn the truth about Ikeda’s Soka Gakkai."

[sokagakkailies.wordpress.com]

"Is SGI a cult? Does it matter?"

The article gives an interesting "discussion." Lots of familiar themes (from this mb) and a devastating characterization of the soka gakka international cult.

Fantastic. Who researched and collated these articles? A couple are mine. I don't need attribution because the Dharma is free. I just want to thank the person.

Nichijew

For those that may not be familiar with the history of the cult in Japan, here's a performance for the dear leader (who can be seen at the very end of the clip):

[www.youtube.com]

Could very well be mistaken for a North Korea brainwashed mass performance.

That's why they call it CULTure festival....Cult of the Dear Leader.....

[www.youtube.com]

Nichijew

You gotta love how the SGI constantly tries to convince its followers that Ikeda pays for things from his own pockets out of the kindness of his heart. In the latest World Tribune, there's an article about new renovations to the FNCC (as if it wasn't opulent enough to begin with). FNCC Director, James Littlefield, states that the facility is "a treasured gift from our mentor, SGI President Ikeda, to all the members." The WT proudly writes that FNCC has "the look and feel of a high-end hotel," citing all-new granite countertops for the rooms and several in-ground spas. Also among the upgrades: solar-powered shuttles that seat 14 passengers who can "enjoy Soka Gakkai music piped through the speakers while en route." It's Disneyland for Ikeda-bots! What's next, Mr. Toda's Wild Ride? Hey, SGI can spend their money however they want, but when I see how much money they pump into superficial things compared to the paltry pocket change they gave to the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear plant disaster, I can't help but be disgusted.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2012 03:00PM by SGBye.