Here's their website: If you look at the code of ethics for spiritual teachers and the guidelines for students they've compiled, you'll see that just about all of the problems with spiritual teachers (and their students) that have been discussed here are covered. It would be very helpful if spiritual teachers have a look at the code of ethics and declare if they agree with i
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I tried to watch that movie but I couldn't bear the cringe :) I think it's an important movie though; it exposes human's eagerness to elevate someone to a "holy" status and subsequently subject themselves to him/her. It seems to me that most of the times, the guru isn't a 100% impostor, but started out with interesting spiritual experiences/insights and an inclin
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi George x, it sounds to me like you suffer from depersonalization. It may be that Tolle's Eckhart material triggered it for you. Depersonalization is a dissociative disorder. I have had depersonalization myself, also combined with generalized anxiety disorder. I didn't really understand what happened to me until I went into therapy. My therapist and I looked at what it was that caused
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

True, there are no perfect teachers. But there are teachers that don't use manipulative techniques to make and keep you dependent on them, fortunately. Quotegaruna Since 2015 I have met or talked to more than ten people who have been under the influence of Shunyamurti and have left him. They all describe the same manipulation tactics : being flattered in the beginning, making them feel un
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thanks for sharing this, Hans. I didn't know the prophet-business is so profitable..
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Sahara71 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > A good Youtube clip which I found helpful in > understanding the pitfalls of Advaita was this one > (which I've shared before): > > Yes, that video is priceless :-) I think I've been in that trap also, and still getting out of it. The thing about it that's so hard to talk about, is t
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I'm happy that you're at peace, Sahara :) Regarding my previous post: I regret writing so definitively about stuff I have no business writing about. Today I already disagree again with some of what I wrote yesterday. I won't expand on that because tomorrow I'd probably regret it. It would be great if someone could give an insightful analysis of Mooji's teachings; I sur
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteSahara71 So: if you can perceive the Pure Self, then it isn't you. The very thing you are supposed to be 'aware' of in Satsung is not you, otherwise you would not be perceiving it. You're so right, Sahara71! That teaching ("Neti neti", see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neti_neti) should be considered only as a tool, and definitely not as truth, although unfo
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

It was nice of you Sahara71 to leave out the part where he calls Mooji's feet hairy monkey paws.. That sounds racist to me. He also compares Mooji to Bob Marley (because he's also a Jamaican with dreadlocks?). Reminds me of the "coreism" guy who said in his video that Mooji should stop the guru-thing and do his reggae-thing or something (because he's a Jamaican with dread
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Tha last sentence of what I quoted from the book makes me think: Quote It creates a feedback-proof system where the guru always needs to be right and cannot be open to being shown wrong—which is where learning comes from. Maybe that's a function of this forum: to blast holes in the feedback-proof systems of gurus. Mooji looks better lately, let's take credit for that. ;-)
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I watched some of the videos on the "Voices from Satsang" page. I don't know if they put that page up in response to the criticism but either way it's nice to see that the people in those interviews seem to have positive experiences with Mooji. I finally got a copy of "The Guru Papers" by Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad. The chapter "The Traps of Being a Gur
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quotefacet Definitely there are ways not to meditate, I think there can be some confusion between dissociate and meditate sometimes. Yes very well said! That's exactly what I meant — improper meditation can quickly become a form of dissociation. The state that person seemed to be in during meditation was a sort of dissociative bliss. Someone else I know who tries to learn meditation has a
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quotefacet When something isn’t working in some way, and there is a stress response that is overridden in order to adapt, is it not that there is a resurgence of the same thing? Causes not dealt with, signals to change something increasing? When the prefrontal cortex is more involved and the amygdala is less involved in the response to a situation, I think that doesn't mean that you'
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

One more article quote and then I'll shut up about this. According to this article, prayer has the same effect as meditation, i.e. reduced amygdala response and increased prefrontal cortex response. So Corboy's comparison of Western and Asian culture, linking the differences to meditation, needs more evidence, since prayer has the same effects and has historically been widely practiced
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Here's an article that discusses exactly what we're talking about: Quote Frequent social media use may have seemingly innocuous consequences like the fear of missing out or comparing yourself to others, but the stress and anxiety caused by those feelings (and our responses to them) have much broader implications. Diana Winston, Director of Mindfulness Education at UCLA’s Mindfulnes
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quotefacet Hi Zizsls, hope that you are well :-) I am sorry to hear what you have been through. It’s like a big brain invasion isn’t it! I am well, thank you! A big brain invasion, yes that's how it felt! Regarding the enduring effects of meditation: I think it's just the non-functional thought that decreases, the "filler-thought", so to speak. Meditation can be like
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

One more thing I'd like to add: the abuse of meditation seems to go hand in hand with presenting meditation as some kind of panacea for the psyche. Psychoanalysis helped me become aware of serious emotional issues I had repressed since childhood. Before going into psychoanalysis, I had already done years of daily meditation, but none of that helped me see my psychological blind spots. I thin
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

In my experience, an effect of regular meditation that endures when not meditating, is an increased ability to recognize that you are thinking when you are thinking. This increased awareness of thought also increases the awareness of the option to drop a train of thought when it's useless. The result is an overall decrease of mind-wandering (a link between regular meditation and a decrease i
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

It's usually better to look at what the study actually says, instead of what a journalist makes of it, the latter often being a misrepresentation. This is the study's abstract: QuoteThe amygdala has been repeatedly implicated in emotional processing of both positive and negative-valence stimuli. Previous studies suggest that the amygdala response to emotional stimuli is lower
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi Heather, There's a lot of similarity between your cult experience with James and mine (in another cult-group 25 years ago). Fortunately in my group there was no drugging and sexually abusing people in the time I was there (later I found out that the leader did sexually abuse his own daughter (who was part of the group) when she was around 15 years old, before I joined). I was also som
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quotegaruna He is using : fear, guilt and shame. These are the main tools of Shunyamurti to play with the threads of his puppet followers using his very deep psychological understanding. It's a shame that he abuses his skillset for psychological manipulation. Come to think of it, his skillset is an ideal one for a cult leader: years of first-hand experience of Brahma Kumaris's mind c
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

From a recent e-satsang by JS: QuoteGary: Hi, James. You said, “Okay. You are in charge of your sadhana. But you need to know that you can’t read or practice your way to moksa if that’s your goal, because of the mind’s tendency to self-deception.” And I agree. There is the tendency of the likes and dislikes of the mind to interpret the scriptural teachings, and thus hinder the enquiry
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteHans Mueller He speaks as someone who is German and is speaking English as a foreign language. Sounds to me like a native English speaker putting on some fantasy (not German) accent.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thinking about James's sense of humor a bit more: it always seems to involve putting other people down. It can be directly targeted at other teachers, or more generally at people who have different opinions than him or doubt his teachings. This creates the in-group/out-group dichotomy, which is typical for cultish manipulation. As much as I appreciate jokes about "Fuck Your Feelings
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteTraveller99 To the question, "How could anyone even consider such a person as a teacher?" the only possibility can be terrible stupidity or blind ignorance. That, or a masochistic nature. That's a little harsh. I may be terribly stupid and blindly ignorant, but in my defense, to someone like me who doesn't have a solid knowledge of Vedanta, James' teachings were v
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteSahara71 Really ????? Does anyone else find this response a tad inappropriate to a student from a teacher? I do. Yes, highly inappropriate. JS clearly showing his true colors as the abusive narcissist he is. Jane's reply to his insults ("I love you, James!") is another example of very unhealthy cult dynamics at work. BTW, your link goes to a different satsang. The sit
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quotegaruna Shunya is very skilled to put his followers on a pedestal individually and then keep some psychological pressure on them so that they "behave". This includes no questioning him, his authority, his spiritual superiority, etc... When they fail to "behave" he puts them down and they will strive to be brought back on the pedestal. This is a classic narcissistic control
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thanks a lot, Garuna, for letting us know what goes on behind the scenes at the Sat Yoga ashram. It's much worse than I thought! Kudos for sharing your experience; this is what people need to know if they consider joining Shunya. Many of the things you mention, like the far-reaching control over students' lives and the pressure to cut family ties, I've also heard about Brahma
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thank you for your excellent explanation (again), Earthquake! It's so good to read some valid information about Vedanta, untangling the sense from the nonsense in what James says. QuoteEarthquake I don't know what the big deal is claiming it anyhow. The enlightened person is humble. And they are certainly nor special. Nor above anyone else. That corresponds to my experience. I
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi namey123, your post is very worrying. If I may ask, what are the indicators that she is a risk to herself and others? Are there any support networks for family of cult members in your country? Is there a way to get her to go into therapy? Preferably a therapist who has some expertise in this area. In my country, when someone poses a threat to the safety of their family members, the fa
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"