Bhagavad Gita Study Notes
Since the Hare Krishna movement (often referred to as ISKCON - the International Society for Krishna Consciousness) began to grow in the west there have been concerns about it being a strange form of indoctrination and even accusations of "brainwashing". So what is a cult? And are the Hare Krishnas following a bona fide religion or is it just a man-made concoction?
Definition of Cult
The word cult can be used to refer to a religious system, intense devotion and the followers. However there are negative assumptions that are made about cults including the following:
- Cults exploit members financially and may be secretive about their finances.
- There is a strong and persuasive leader, who claims to know what God wants and indoctrinates their members.
- Limiting the freedom of members by cutting them off from the outside world, and do not allow questioning of their practices.
- Criminal behavior, such as rape, suicide, murder and abduction.
- Cults use scare tactics and focus on the imminent end of the world.
- Cults punish those who leave with excommunication, physical harm, or taking legal action against them.
Cults (like many religions) claim to be the only path to salvation. One way to separate the genuine spiritual organizations could be to see where the ideals come from, and whether the philosophy is based on authoritative scriptures.
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