Comments on: Shower of Cults! http://blogthebog.blogsome.com/2007/06/15/shower-of-cults/ Irish political culture, criticisms, and concerns Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:46:57 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=1.5.1-alpha by: Aroon http://blogthebog.blogsome.com/2007/06/15/shower-of-cults/#comment-466 Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:30:59 +0100 http://blogthebog.blogsome.com/2007/06/15/shower-of-cults/#comment-466 I must say that, while one may claim that the group surrounding Sai Baba in his ashram is a "cult", it would be ludicrous to claim that the same is true around the world, where really, its more of a "Church" type thing with very little commitment, than conforming to the "sect" typology that Weber elucidated in his model. Its rather silly of Barry to give it that vaunted status! I must say that, while one may claim that the group surrounding Sai Baba in his ashram is a “cult”, it would be ludicrous to claim that the same is true around the world, where really, its more of a “Church” type thing with very little commitment, than conforming to the “sect” typology that Weber elucidated in his model. Its rather silly of Barry to give it that vaunted status!

]]> by: Administrator http://blogthebog.blogsome.com/2007/06/15/shower-of-cults/#comment-57 Wed, 26 Dec 2007 00:31:56 +0000 http://blogthebog.blogsome.com/2007/06/15/shower-of-cults/#comment-57 Thanks Barry for the info, links, and heads-up on that group! Thanks Barry for the info, links, and heads-up on that group!

]]> by: Barry Pittard http://blogthebog.blogsome.com/2007/06/15/shower-of-cults/#comment-55 Wed, 26 Dec 2007 00:10:56 +0000 http://blogthebog.blogsome.com/2007/06/15/shower-of-cults/#comment-55 My colleague Robert Priddy, a retired teacher in philosophy and social science at the University of Oslo, and I have worked in recent years to expose one of history's most powerful cults, the Sathya Sai Organization. Priddy had for a decade and a half been this organization's head in Norway. I had earlier been a lecturer (1978-79) in one of Sai Baba's highly prestigious colleges in India. This leader is Sathya Sai Baba, whom the BBC in its television documentary of the same name called him The Secret Swami. Billions pour from around the world into the Sathya Sai Central Trust. Huge amounts are spent on self-glorifying edifices, for all that some of them are used for good social works. He faces global allegations of serial sexual molestation of boys and young men, and implication in police killings in his bedroom on June 6, 1993, to name but a few of the ghastly scenarios. Robert Priddy and I have been active along with Sai Baba critics in getting international attention brought to this extraordinarily powerful cult. It is hardly fitting that Sai Baba succeed in passing into history based on his own self-perception as God manifest on earth, or that the rest of us think that big megalomania that can command millions of followers from many countries will leave the world at large unscathed. In the UK (not to mention elsewhere) there are attempts to get youth involved in travel to Sai Baba and other related activities. A recent example was the Organization's interface with the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, in which Sai Baba was felicitated and the head of his Youth Wing in the UK won the Award. The Award couldn't be retracted but we have private assurances from palace officialdom that they have cut off ties with the cult and required them to remove propagandist material appearing on a major, official Sathya Sai Baba ashram website. Your own country Ireland is not without its Sai Baba cult, and I am informed that the former top leader there resigned, convinced of the truth of the allegations - as has been the case with a number of leaders and many followers in other countries, whose conscience and commonsense are not blinded by faith in Sai Baba. For all Sai Baba's exalted talk about truth, right conduct, love, peace and non-violence, his foremost defenders on the Internet, including those with strong ties to his central command, can do nothing but libel, distort, threaten and attack, and in some cases stalk both on and off the Internet. All very spiritual, indeed ... See: http://robertpriddy.wordpress.com http://barrypittard.wordpress.com Barry Pittard, Australia My colleague Robert Priddy, a retired teacher in philosophy and social science at the University of Oslo, and I have worked in recent years to expose one of history’s most powerful cults, the Sathya Sai Organization. Priddy had for a decade and a half been this organization’s head in Norway. I had earlier been a lecturer (1978-79) in one of Sai Baba’s highly prestigious colleges in India. This leader is Sathya Sai Baba, whom the BBC in its television documentary of the same name called him The Secret Swami. Billions pour from around the world into the Sathya Sai Central Trust. Huge amounts are spent on self-glorifying edifices, for all that some of them are used for good social works. He faces global allegations of serial sexual molestation of boys and young men, and implication in police killings in his bedroom on June 6, 1993, to name but a few of the ghastly scenarios.

Robert Priddy and I have been active along with Sai Baba critics in getting international attention brought to this extraordinarily powerful cult. It is hardly fitting that Sai Baba succeed in passing into history based on his own self-perception as God manifest on earth, or that the rest of us think that big megalomania that can command millions of followers from many countries will leave the world at large unscathed. In the UK (not to mention elsewhere) there are attempts to get youth involved in travel to Sai Baba and other related activities. A recent example was the Organization’s interface with the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, in which Sai Baba was felicitated and the head of his Youth Wing in the UK won the Award. The Award couldn’t be retracted but we have private assurances from palace officialdom that they have cut off ties with the cult and required them to remove propagandist material appearing on a major, official Sathya Sai Baba ashram website.

Your own country Ireland is not without its Sai Baba cult, and I am informed that the former top leader there resigned, convinced of the truth of the allegations - as has been the case with a number of leaders and many followers in other countries, whose conscience and commonsense are not blinded by faith in Sai Baba.

For all Sai Baba’s exalted talk about truth, right conduct, love, peace and non-violence, his foremost defenders on the Internet, including those with strong ties to his central command, can do nothing but libel, distort, threaten and attack, and in some cases stalk both on and off the Internet. All very spiritual, indeed …

See:

http://robertpriddy.wordpress.com
http://barrypittard.wordpress.com

Barry Pittard, Australia

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