To cult or not to cult

A lot of speculation eddies around the question as to whether or not certain “spiritual-philosophic” organizations are cults. People are deathly afraid of cults, and rightly so, in my opinion, for a cult requires a complete conscription unto a way of thinking and a lifestyle of which posthumous escape is difficult.

The word itself does not inherently imply, in its most basic definition, something negative. A cult merely refers to a group of people that all subscribe to a specific set of beliefs and subsequent practices, unique enough to be set apart from a more widely accepted culture or religion. Obviously, most people don’t consider cults to be so innocuous. We think of Jim Jones, the Hare Krishnas, and the Moonies.

These days, it is becoming fashionable to be a member of a cult, especially if you live in Hollywood. Join a cult = possibly become movie star and earn millions. Tom Cruise has made it so. You could even go so far as to convert to a sect like Madonna did in embracing Kabbalism. Just whatever you do, don’t admit to being Christian. How fanatical. (See the irony here anywhere?)

I have to confess, I once belonged to a cult. Granted, I took a lot of cream with that coffee, and all things considered, it wasn’t too hard core, but it still had me spouting dogma, and I’m sure for the few months I was involved, my friends found me particularly irritating. Luckily, this organization, called Landmark Education, didn’t require me to wear odd toga-like garments or surrender all worldly possession. (Although I did spend several hundred dollars in tuition to take their classes). Glad that phase passed.

My mom has been practicing a variation of Buddhism for over twenty years that falls under a similar umbrella as does Landmark Education, kind of a soft-core cult that certainly doesn’t require her to forfeit life in the status quo, but it does shape her thinking about things. The organization she participates in is called Soka Gakkai, or SGI, and its followers include Tina Turner and Marianne Pearl (wife of Daniel Pearl).

In truth, I think it has been good for her to be involved in this; it seems to keep her focused and positive, and she made many friends through its various activities and functions. She chants at a Buddhist alter every day, and often attends chanting sessions with other members. I can find little fault in Soka Gakkai as it applies to my mother. Or Tina Turner for that matter.

From time to time, my mother will encourage me to give SGI a shot. She has sent me brochures, magazines, and booklets of the chants. I must admit, the chanting is meditative. However, I felt chained to the mandatory twice-daily chanting rituals, and felt my time was better spent with a short prayer to the god I am familiar with and some exercise. I mean if I’m going to force myself to do something that errs on the side of being tedious, I might as well try to work off some of that cellulite.

As an isolated activity, the chanting itself is benign, not derivative of what I consider to be cult-like practices (i.e. shaving one’s head, being one of eight wives, collecting chicken heads). So what really cemented my aversion to the organization and its practices were the experiences I had at group meetings and rallies and the people I met while there. I had seen it before, at Landmark, the perceived ubiquitousness of their philosophies, a pompous, dismissive regard of alternative viewpoints and practices, based on the assumption that anyone not subscribed to those believes are indelibly lost in this world and the next. I noticed that many of the people I met there were either semi-mentally imbalanced, or super uptight and hostile (another version of semi-mentally imbalanced) as if their anger was staving off some sort of nervous breakdown or gun rampage. I concede I only met a handful of its members. I should mention that the Japanese people (of which there are many since SGI originated in Japan) I met there seemed normal.

Anyway, Marianne Pearl wrote a book called A Mighty Heart about her husband’s murder, and she mentions her Buddhist practices and her chanting often throughout the book. Kidnappers that later described Daniel’s behavior during his kidnapping say he frequently chanted SGI’s mantra, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, during his captivity. The book is now being made into a movie of the same title, with filming in India, starring Angelina Jolie as Marianne Pearl. I wouldn’t be surprised if some scenes depict Marianne’s practice of SGI Buddhism. Incidentally, I’ve seen snippets of interviews with Marianne Pearl and she seems a bit uptight and hostile. But I guess I would be too if my husband were murdered.

Anyway, what my point in all this? I guess to highlight the hypocracy in a gradual but growing acceptance in this country of soft-core cults, but simultaneously, a widening disdain for Protestantism and Catholicism. I mean, Christianity can be definatively dogmatic, and has its own soft-core cult sensibilities, especially in more evangelical offshoots. However, commonplace denominations of Christianity, like the Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians and even loosey-goosey affiliations like the Science of Mind and the Unitarians, don’t seem to require from its practitioners a unilateral steel clad adaptation and promotion of its ideals, to the point of alienating those who adhere to other sets of beliefs. Mind you, I’m not saying certain Christian organization don’t do that, I am just saying I think Protestantism has had copious practice in being politically correct, for better or for worse, simply by virtue of being around several hundred years.

Well, food for thought, at any rate.