Exploitation can come about through indoctrination. You had the ability to choose in the beginning. But you have lost that ability. You are a slave, because:
A closed ashram environment makes double binds fast and effective. Double binds were first observed as prolonged mixed messages from parents that led to schizophrenia in children. Double binds in ashrams, on the other hand, have a specific goal.
A double bind contains four basic features:
1.You must do A.
2.You must do B.
3.B is the opposite of A.
4.You cannot discuss this contradiction.
For example:
1. You must come out of your egoic mind and surrender to God in order to be happy.
2. You must accept that your mind will never willingly surrender.
3. You must do what you can never do.
4. If you don't understand, it's because you haven't surrendered. I'm not interested in explaining it to your egoic mind.
The more willingly you embrace the task of resolving this, the faster the result. And the result is a psychological collapse which, compared to the anxiety-producing double bind, feels frickin' awesome.
If you resist, it means you're in your mind.The mind is the problem (i.e. you are the problem) and so the mind (you) will be pressured and treated with increasing contempt until you either surrender, run away, or go insane.
If you've never experienced this surrender state, it's unimaginable. You are so grateful. You are free! Hey presto, thank you guru. Sign me up.
The question is: what do you do with the individual in this, now vulnerable, state?
The recruit is now in a state of helplessness, and the double bind anxiety can be called back at any time in order to solidify control. Any suggestion that you have fallen back into your ego's grasp induces a phobia response. This becomes second nature with reinforcement.
And now two interesting quotes:
The first from Bhagwan's Devious Trap shows how genuine concerns can no longer be sustained:
"“Rajneesh presents himself as a perfect master,”’ Zeitlin explains. “Therefore, if you see contradictions, if something doesn’t make sense to you, it is evidence that there is something wrong with you and that you need to go to a higher spiritual level. This puts people in a double bind, and the only way for them to resolve it—besides going mad—is to surrender to Rajneesh’s authority.” Floether has alleged that many disciples in Pune were driven to madness by their Rajneesh experiences, and that some were even driven to suicide."
And then the second from Ian Haworth of the Cult Information Center:
"Q: Do you believe intelligent, educated people are more likely to be recruited than people in turmoil or who may be considered unstable?
A: This idea of troubled people is the eternal myth. People want to imagine this is the case because they don't want to consider themselves as "vulnerable". I don't use the word vulnerable very often, but I'd argue that we're all vulnerable to the techniques used by these groups. The late Dr John G Clark, who I quote a lot, said the safest people are the mentally ill. The easiest people to recruit are ones with alert, questioning minds who want to debate issues with other people. You take a strong-willed, strong-minded person and put them into a cult environment and the techniques used will break a person down very, very quickly. The smarter, the healthier the mind, the quicker and easier you are to control. It's just one of these tragic realities."
[www.vice.com]
[newrepublic.com]
A closed ashram environment makes double binds fast and effective. Double binds were first observed as prolonged mixed messages from parents that led to schizophrenia in children. Double binds in ashrams, on the other hand, have a specific goal.
A double bind contains four basic features:
1.You must do A.
2.You must do B.
3.B is the opposite of A.
4.You cannot discuss this contradiction.
For example:
1. You must come out of your egoic mind and surrender to God in order to be happy.
2. You must accept that your mind will never willingly surrender.
3. You must do what you can never do.
4. If you don't understand, it's because you haven't surrendered. I'm not interested in explaining it to your egoic mind.
The more willingly you embrace the task of resolving this, the faster the result. And the result is a psychological collapse which, compared to the anxiety-producing double bind, feels frickin' awesome.
If you resist, it means you're in your mind.The mind is the problem (i.e. you are the problem) and so the mind (you) will be pressured and treated with increasing contempt until you either surrender, run away, or go insane.
If you've never experienced this surrender state, it's unimaginable. You are so grateful. You are free! Hey presto, thank you guru. Sign me up.
The question is: what do you do with the individual in this, now vulnerable, state?
The recruit is now in a state of helplessness, and the double bind anxiety can be called back at any time in order to solidify control. Any suggestion that you have fallen back into your ego's grasp induces a phobia response. This becomes second nature with reinforcement.
And now two interesting quotes:
The first from Bhagwan's Devious Trap shows how genuine concerns can no longer be sustained:
"“Rajneesh presents himself as a perfect master,”’ Zeitlin explains. “Therefore, if you see contradictions, if something doesn’t make sense to you, it is evidence that there is something wrong with you and that you need to go to a higher spiritual level. This puts people in a double bind, and the only way for them to resolve it—besides going mad—is to surrender to Rajneesh’s authority.” Floether has alleged that many disciples in Pune were driven to madness by their Rajneesh experiences, and that some were even driven to suicide."
And then the second from Ian Haworth of the Cult Information Center:
"Q: Do you believe intelligent, educated people are more likely to be recruited than people in turmoil or who may be considered unstable?
A: This idea of troubled people is the eternal myth. People want to imagine this is the case because they don't want to consider themselves as "vulnerable". I don't use the word vulnerable very often, but I'd argue that we're all vulnerable to the techniques used by these groups. The late Dr John G Clark, who I quote a lot, said the safest people are the mentally ill. The easiest people to recruit are ones with alert, questioning minds who want to debate issues with other people. You take a strong-willed, strong-minded person and put them into a cult environment and the techniques used will break a person down very, very quickly. The smarter, the healthier the mind, the quicker and easier you are to control. It's just one of these tragic realities."
[www.vice.com]
[newrepublic.com]