Here is the description of this documentary from the YouTube page:
A documentary about filmmaker Vikram Gandhi who impersonates a wise Indian Guru and builds a following in Arizona. At the height of his popularity, the Guru Kumare must reveal his true identity to his disciples and unveil his greatest teaching of all.
I sometimes get accused of picking on Christianity. But in fact it is the people who seem so determined to allow themselves to be fooled and manipulated, that I find myself so frustrated with. Though I have to admit I also feel kind of bad for these people.
I understand the desire to feel as if you are part of something bigger than just you alone, or to experience a connection to a certain spirituality, but the truth is that there are just so many people ready to take advantage of those who do not retain a healthy skepticism about the things they are asked to accept based solely on trust and faith. Once we surrender our logic and reality based worldview we are suddenly bobbing in a sea of uncertainty, easy prey for false prophets, con artists, and faith healers who can smell our vulnerability, and desperate need to believe, like sharks attracted to the smell of blood and fear.
@¶3 Line 7: should be "easy prey for false prophets" . Unless you are alluding to ill gotten gains....
ReplyDeleteRead up about Antelope, Oregon. It was flooded with followers of a guru. They all registered to vote there- it's okay, they were citizens- and they all voted the straight ticket. They changed the town's name to Rajneeshpuram. They canceled all the environmental protection and zoning ordinances. They took over the schools.
ReplyDeleteAnd all the local Christians were really pissed off. They're the only ones who are supposed to do that, seemingly. But it always struck me as, well, kind of funny (in a horrific way) that they did exactly what Christians do, and got away with it- for a while, at least, and how angry people were with them. Apparently they were completely unable to see the resemblance between the guru and an evangelical preacher.
Ivyfree
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/05/us/tbn-fight-offers-glimpse-inside-lavish-tv-ministry.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
ReplyDeleteI have two words: Janice Crouch and Tammy Faye.
S'aint Sarah is aiming to be the next in line.
Ugh. I did TM when I was younger. 1970s/early 1980s.
ReplyDeleteI liked the meditation aspect, which I could now learn easily (and for free) elsewhere through many other sources.
At least I dropped TM before I took flying lessons (their levitation courses) and spent a lot of time wasted time trying to fly and a lot of money on being conned by a scam.
And TM isn't even the worst of any religious scams. At least it was easy to leave and no one bothered me about leaving nor prevented me from doing so.
The Guru Business is big business in the USA
ReplyDelete"Religion was born when the first con-man met the first fool."
ReplyDelete-- Mark Twain
Obviously there are a lot of fools in this country. Don't forget about the 900 Americans who followed Jim Jones to Jonestown, Guyana, only to end up drinking the cyanide laced koolaid (literally). There is a reason people were born with a brain but too many of them never figured out how to use it.
ReplyDeleteI agree it is unhealthy to obsess on an idol, whether you love or hate that idol. It makes you seem two-dimensional.
ReplyDeleteThere's a sucker born every minute. PT Barnam was so right.
ReplyDeleteThis little "experiment" shows the "lemming" mentality that many human beings fall for. If a business does it (Costco) it's fine, because people get real products for their "belonging to something bigger than themselves", but this is messing with people's lives.
The "faith healers" really bother me, they are leading people away from science and medicine, where at least you have SOME odds of making wise decisions.