Ohhh, Snap! Writer Takes Big Time Gurus To Task

File under: Satscams and The Siddhi of PR

This morning we found an essay criticizing big time gurudom and the commercialization of spirituality for profit and self-aggrandizement, written by psychotherapist/writer Khalid Sohail of Ontario, Canada. While he didn't name many names, we think you'll know who he's talking about:

Most pseudo-mystics whether from the East or the West have cultish personalities. They use their charm and charisma to hypnotize people and paralyze their independent thinking and critical judgment. Their victims become vulnerable to the irrational demands of these gurus and following them blindly. Such pseudo-mystics discourage rational, logical, objective and analytical thinking, instead using reference material that cannot be objectively tested by scientific methods.

Hmmm.... do you think he could be talking about JUST ABOUT EVERYONE MENTIONED IN THIS BLOG!?

Try and guess which baba employs this sort of nonsense in his pursuit of money, name and fame:

Some of them perform “miracles” to amaze their followers and consolidate their power. They claim to be able to influence the weather, promise children to infertile women or say that they can magically intervene in disasters. Although the disciples are temporarily reassured, the problems remain, as they require realistic solutions rather than illusions. Rather than encouraging disciples to be independent, these pseudo-mystics create and foster emotional dependency. Rather than being good role models and source of inspiration their goal is to convert, control and exploit.

If you didn't guess the avatard Sai Baba, don't fret. There's probably 16 other flimflamming nutjobs out there who fit the same bill, including and especially the Kracki Bhagocon.

Sohail's essay seems a wee bit naive in places, especially when he dips into some of the same hagiographic ideas the big time scammers exploit, but he generally gets the idea. Too bad most of the folk who fall for satscamming godfolk aren't going to.