THE SCOURGE OF THE RUSSIAN LAND

Nataliya Vorotinskaya

A strange situation has taken shape in the public life here over a few recent years. All kind of the sects, movements and representations of "untraditional religions" have flooded this country with its thousand-year-long history of the Orthodox Church. They are not put under any control. Up to the present time, there is no law, regulating the activity of this kind of organizations. In big cities, the centers have already been set up to deal with the problems, faced by those who have come under the influence of the totalitarian sects. However, in the provinces, which are generally more conservative, people have not yet realized the danger of the spread of these teachings, potentially capable of destroying the human life. The central newspapers often describe such cases, but the material is presented as something sensational and is hence alienated from the reader.
The phenomenon of "untraditional religions" can be considered in different contexts: the cultural-historical, philosophical, psychological or juridical-legal. Modern people think that the Orthodox religion is not sufficiently delicate or scientific, and that it mortifies "man's dignity". Meanwhile, they gladly shift to worshipping the Absolute Almighty, in the naive hope that all their problems will be resolved through a minimum of efforts. What is really surprising is that the ideas, underlying this kind of doctrines, are even penetrating into the academic system, as a result of which the search of the Truth is replaced with the study and the justification of the occult and mystical phenomenology.
In Western countries (such as France, Denmark and Finland) the criterion in assessing a sect is not its religious dogma but its ways of exerting an impact upon man, of infringing upon his freedom and identity.
The specific feature of this impact is the use of diverse means for controlling man's consciousness, his mentality, behaviour, his circle of communication, the way of obtaining information, etc. Among the means of the impact you may rather often see certain elements of an Oriental psychophysical training. Radically "digested" by the West, they vastly differ from their primary form, rooted in the culture, of which they were born. The goals of applying these techniques are not clearly cut either. For instance, the "meditative technique" may be applied both to improve the personality and to destroy it. In the latter case, man sheds, as it were, all his shackles and fetters, becomes weakly-relaxed and complacent; he cannot think critically any more but passively accepts the "other reality". This state of euphoria is proclaimed to be the "state of the perfect health", making it possible to "effectively reveal the inner capabilities", which is the guarantee of success in the commerce. The only thing, not taken into account, is that the state of euphoria is usually followed by depression. The set of such exercizes serves to substantially warp the personality, turning man into a controlled biorobot. These conclusions are the result of the analytical work, carried out by the Moscow and St. Petersburg psychiatrists, psychologists and Orthodox priests, who saw it as their duty to fathom the delusions of the human mind in its search of God and of the Truth.*
The American statistics, presented in Sharon S. Rose's book, confirms that both the teachers and the pupils of occultism are equally given to a mental and emotional disbalance, to the suicide, life attempts and obsession.
The means for the impact on the human psyche have also been studied by Prof. Todor Dichev of Bulgaria. He has arrived at the conclusion that the application of unproved and inadequate (incongruous with the goals) psychotechniques may produce highly unpredictable effects, especially if the initial result is spectacular. He has supplied the following example: one day, they decided to teach foreign languages to a group of young people in Bulgaria, using a psychologically thrust impact. At first, the method seemed to be highly promising: there was an upsurge of the psychical activity and the young people actually began to speak in foreign tongues. But after some time, all of them died. Prof. Dichev mentioned this fact in connection with the scandalous seances of Kashpirovsky.
To take a serious approach to the above-said, we must assume the need for creating a structure, which would protect the healthy part of society against such kinds of impacts. In Moscow and in St. Petersburg, parents' committees began to be organized to help the relatives of the sectarians' victims in opposing them. For their work to produce an effect, they must cooperate with medical psychiatrists, psychologists, teachers, lawyers and journalists. The illegitimate and the socially destructive nature of the totalitarian sects must put on the alert the governmental and the public organizations, as well as private persons, still inadequately informed about the tragic consequences, which the spread of such teachings may entail.

"With each passing year, the financial resources of the AUM Synrike are being built up, for material donations are listed among the greatest merits of the movement adherent. In this connection, there arises and is strictly observed the dependence of the kinds of encouragement on the size of the donation. During his last visit to Moscow, Seko Asakhara called on the many-thousand-strong audience, right from the rostrum of the Olympiisky Sports Complex: "Make donations! Do donate all you can! Donate to the ultimate limit! Go hungry, but make donations for your Guru!" ("Semya", No. 11, 1996)

"Our children have been drawn into the malicious sect of Aum Synrike, headed by the Japanese Asakhara. Our children, aged 18 to 27, have been living in the sect from a few months to several years. They are undergoing a monstrous experiment, which suppresses their appetite and sexual desire with mantras and meditations, and they all look awful with their deadly pale faces. They have no right to visit their homes and are allowed to read only Asakhara's writings. There is no radio or television there, no books or newspapers. Some of the Believers have already given to Asakhara and to his attendants their flats and cars, and now permanently live in the sect. They sleep on the concrete floor, men and women side by side in a row. They sleep 5 or 6 hours a day (the luminiscent lamps are on even at night). Everything is being done to drive them mad. Living closely together there are the drug addicts, alcoholics and hard smokers, and those who have never drunk or smoked, have never used drugs and have never been put on the cards in the psychoneurological center. They are not let out into the street (not permitted to go outdoors). In our opinion, this is a flagrant violation of the human rights, for they are not allowed to develop intellectually, to live and to eat like normal people. Asakhara does not allow them to study or to work. That is, they do work for Asakhara in the sect 15 hours a day for no wages, for they have been made to think that they are monks and so are obliged to work for Asakhara without any pay. The parents' legal rights are also violated: some of them have become invalids, while others, who have raised their children without any assistance, now have the right to their moral and material support. Do help us, please!" The despaired parents. ("Za rubezhom", No.4 1995)

"It is no secret that in present-day Russia religious sects are being actively introduced, with a certain support, at the schools and in the secondary and the higher educational establishments. Particularly active are the Church of Unification, the Moscow Church of Christ, the Univer and the Habbard Humanitarian Center. Surprisingly, the sects are also flourishing in the MGU, the country's leading educational establishment. Many of these sects dispose of huge financial resources, some of which come from the forcible extortions, made under the pretext of religious donations. Many sects are engaged in a vigorous commercial activity and in the private business, making use of the adherents of their dogma as cheap labour." (Pravda, 28.02. 1996)

"I've been struck by misfortune: my daughter has joined a religious sect and was taken to another city. She was begging for alms there-asked the passers-by for money in the name of Christ. I know she was cruelly beaten up-I came to visit her in the hospital, but she doesn't want to talk to me. I've turned to the militia and they told me I must drive her back home by force myself, but that they can't do anything to help me, because she's come of age...("Komsomolskaya pravda", 27.02.1994)


*The studies on the cutt system's impactupon the personalitiy were summed up at the scientific and practical conference "The Totalitarian Sects and the Human Right", held in January 1996. Recognized as the most widely spread in Russia and as the most dangerouswere the following sects: the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Muns Church of Unifiation, International Church of Christ - the Boston Movement, the Church of Sceintology, the Krishna Consciousness Society, the AUM Synrike, the Great White Brotherhood , the Uniform Vissarion's Belief Community and The Holy Virgin Center".


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