------------------------------------------------------------------- F.A.C.T.Net, Inc. (Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network, Incorporated) a non-profit computer bulletin board and electronic library 601 16th St. #C-217 Golden, Colorado 80401 USA BBS 303 530-1942 FAX 303 530-2950 Office 303 473-0111 This document is part of an electronic lending library and preservational electronic archive. F.A.C.T.Net does not sell documents, it only lends them according to the terms of your library cardholder agreement with F.A.C.T.Net, Inc. ===================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 TM's Deceptions -- 2 From "Maharishi Ayur-Veda: Guru's Marketing Scheme Promises the World Eternal 'Perfect Health,'" Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Oct. 2, 1991, pp. 1741-45, 1749-50. (In "TM Decptions -- 1", the commentator described how representatives of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Transcendental Meditation organization systematically failed to reveal to the public, and academic institutions where they made presentations about the virtues of TM's trademarked Ayur-Veda medicine, that they were also deeply invovled in marketing and profiting from a host of questionable TM medical products and services.) Submission to JAMA of "Letter from Delhi" was not the first time that writers to the journal failed to inform the editor of their intimate connections to TM. An earlier letter writer was found to be medical director of the Maharishi Ayur-Veda Medical Center in Pacific Palisades, CA. Similarly, the author of a favorable review of a book by a TM practitioner in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine failed to disclose that he also had an intimate professional relationship with TM. Yet again, Harvard Magazine published a glowing account of Maharishi Ayur-Veda medicine in 1989 without knowing that the associate editor, who authored the article, practices TM yogic "flying." Indeed, TM has made many incorrect or distorted public announcements to advance its programs. Leading TM spokesman Deepak Chopra, M.D., claimed publicly that the Massachusetts Board of Education had virtually decided to accredit the Maharishi Vedic University's graduate degree programs. The state said it had merely received an application for such accreditation. In another instance, TM held a press conference in Tucson earlier this year to say that it would soon meet with state officials to discuss setting up a program to teach prisoners TM. The state said no preliminary conversations had been held; an official felt the media event was a stratagem to pressure the Department of Corrections to respond to the TM proposal. (Negative reports of the program from other states convinced them that they should not consider it for Arizona.) TM also has a recorded message at its facility in Maryland saying a seminar on Ayur-Veda is being offered at the National Institutes of Health, in Washington; in fact, an NIH staffer has permission to use a conference room after hours for the TM seminars. Moreover, TM put out a news release in 1985 saying the NIH deputy director had chaired an NIH conference on Maharishi Ayur-Veda. The deputy director says he did no such thing, adding that quotes like those attributed to him by TM, about TM, have been twisted and "exploit scientists who are willing to listen to their claims." Chopra has impressed some scientists with the claim that there is a connection between the mysticism behind Ayur-Veda and the discoveries of quantum physics. The eminent physicist to whom Chopra refers this inference, Heinz R. Pagels, said that this is "nonsense. . . There is no known connection between meditation states and states of matter in physics. . . To see the beautiful and profound ideas of modern physics. . . so willfully perverted," Pagels has written, "provokes a feeling of compassion for those who might be taken in by these distortions." Not Cost Effective TM health care and treatment are not nearly so cost effective as the promoters claim. Chopra says TM-linked treatments cost "a lot less than a single day at a hospital or hotel," but the cost of just one of the products he recommends is approximately $1,000 for a 1-year personal supply (the total cost for health care in the U.S. was $2500 per person in 1989). TM health maintenance courses cost $3400. Seven days of cleansing programs cost $2700, and should be repeated three times a year. In case of actual illness, costs can rise steeply, to thousands of dollars. For example, ex-members claim a prescribed ceremony invoking a Hindu deity to treat endometriosis was priced at $11,500, although the simply "recommended" cere-mony for the condition was only $8,500, and one that would "suffice" was $3,500. Two physicians promoting TM in Britain were recently charged with serious misconduct by the British Medical Council for promoting and selling worthless herbal remedies to AIDs patients. Ayur-Veda promoters in the U.S. say that their herbal product Amrit Kalash can alleviate many AIDs-related symptoms and protect against opportunistic infections. Style of Deception Ex-members say that the TM movement trains them in the kinds of deception noted here. "I was taught to lie and to get around the petty rules of the 'unenlightened' in order to get favorable reports into the media, " said one. "We were taught how to exploit the reporters' gullibility and fascination with the exotic, especially that [which] comes from the East. We thought we weren't doing anything wrong because we were told it was often necessary to deceive the unenlightened to advance our guru's plan to save the world." 2 Scientology Can Appeal Deductibility Decision The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta has ruled that a member of the Church of Scientology has standing to challenge Internal Revenue Service rules that disallow tax deductions on contributions to the church made for its auditing (counseling) and training sessions. The Supreme Court ruled in 1989 that such payments were "quid-pro-quo" exchanges, in which church members receive an identifiable benefit for their money, and not deductible. The Supreme Court also acknowledged at the time that the church might try to make a case that the IRS was discriminating against it, a position in fact taken by Justices Scalia and O'Connor. (From "Scientology church gets OK to challenge IRS tax ruling," Arizona Republic, 11/2/91.) 3 Krishnas Ask Reconsideration of Award The Hare Krishna organization has asked a California state appeals court to reconsider a $6 million damage award against it in light of a recent Supreme court ruling setting new requirements governing punitive damages. In response to their 1977 lawsuit, a jury awarded the money to Robin George and her mother, who said the group brainwashed and conspired to hide the then 15-year-old girl as her parents searched for her. The Krishnas lawyers say the award would devastate the religion. (From "Hare Krishnas seek reversal of judgment," Riverside [CA] Press, 8/7/91.) 4 Religious Organization Accountability Litigation during the last few years - especially a review of three key cases: Molko v. Holy Spirit Association (Unification Church), George v. International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Hare Krishnas), and Wollersheim v. Church of Scientology - suggests that religious organizations are heading towards a time of greater accountability. Juries tend to be sympathetic toward plaintiffs against these groups, though courts seem unwilling to enforce judgments so large they threaten a group's existence. The cases presented all represent ex-members and their families pursuing remedies in tort [civil litigation] for damages in California during the last two years. (From "Cults in Court," by Sara Van Hoey, Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 8, No. 1, 1991, 61-79. [The Cultic Studies Journal is published by the American Family Foundation, publisher of the Cult Observer.] 5 Scientologists Join the Picnic at Grassroots Our picnic meeting was quite interesting as three members of the Scientology group showed up. They were very cordial and even brought food to share. They did spend all of their time trying to convince us of the criminality of CAN [the Cult Awareness Network] and the error of belonging to it. Unfortunately for them, they did not make any headway and left with more questions than answers. We have information that one of the Scientologists is a highly trained PR person and that she was using the "Good Roads/Good Weather" approach to us while she gave out positive PR and looked for "Black PR" on us. We are upgrading our screening process of accepting members to avoid infiltration problems. (From Free Minds Newsletter, Minneapolis, 9/91,1.) 6 Better Business Bureau Warns About Sterling The California Better Business Bureau reports consumer complaints alleging general dissatisfaction with the services offered by Sterling Management Systems, a Glendale consulting firm inspired by the teachings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. The complaints also allege misrepresentation by the firm in purporting to sell management training and consultation services to various medical professionals when in fact using high pressure tactics to sell clients Scientology counseling and courses at prices beyond those in the original contract. The sales personnel also allegedly deny affiliation with the Church of Scientology. (Cult Observer Report, 11/15/91.) 7 Ex-Cult Members' Newsletter [FOCUS] FOCUS, the 700-strong association of former cult members associated with the Chicago-based Cult Awareness Network, has launched a newsletter, FOCUS, that will include articles on recovery as well as reports on conferences and other FOCUS activities. (Cult Observer Report, 10/25/91.) 8 3HO [Happy, Healthy, Holy] The 3HO (Happy, Healthy, and Holy Organization), about which there has been little reporting in the popular press in recent years, is the subject of a feature article in the Health and Healing section of the September/October issue of Body Mind & Spirit magazine. Treatment methods in the "natural, holistic approach to the treatment of addiction" include Kundalini yoga, meditation, a vegetarian diet, message, exercise, vitamin and herbal therapies, and individual and group counseling. "We treat the whole person," says executive director Mukta Kaur Khalsa. 9 Deprogrammers "Vigilantes" Virtually no church is safe from being labeled a "cult" according to Dr. George Robertson, a Baptist minister and executive vice president of Friends of Freedom, a Maryland organization promoting public awareness of "vigilante attacks" on individuals and religious groups. Speaking on the eve of a conference in Seattle, Robertson said almost every church - including the Roman Catholic, the Unification Church, the Presbyterian Church, and the Church of Scientology, as well as hundreds of small, fundamentalist and evangelical churches - has had "deprogrammers" try to change members' minds. (From " 'Vigilantes' termed worrisome," by Carol M. Ostrom, Seattle Times, 8/24/91, C8.) 10 Moon Paper Ranked First [Washington Times] For the third consecutive year, the Washington Times has won first place for general excellence in the National Better Newspaper contest, sponsored by the 5,000-member National Newspaper Association. The judges' comments included "solid news content, well displayed. Headlines crisp and accurate." (From "Better Newspaper Contest gives The Times 1st Place," Washington Times, 10/4/91, A4.) [The Washington Times is owned by the Unification Church.] 11 People's Temple Attorney [Charles R. Garry, died] Charles R. Garry, legal counsel to the Rev. Jim Jones and the People's Temple, died in October of a stroke at the age of 82. The representative at one time of the Black Panthers and anti-Vietnam protesters, he visited Jonestown in 1978 and barely escaped the killing and suicide of more than 900 temple members. (From "Charles R. Garry, escaped mass suicide," by Katherine Bishop, St. Petersburg Times, 8/18/91, 7B.) ================================================================= If this is a copyrighted work, you are acknowledging by receipt of this document from FACTNet that on the basis of reasonable investigation, you have not been to obtain a copy elsewhere at a fair price, and that you are and will abide by the following copyright warning. WARNING CONCERNING COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS: The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photo copies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. 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F.A.C.T.Net does not sell documents, it only lends them according to the terms of your library cardholder agreement with F.A.C.T.Net, Inc. ------------------------------------------------------------------- CARD CATALOG ENTRY DOS FILENAME OF TEXT FILE: CO1091.TXT DOS FILENAME OF IMAGE FILES: none ADMINISTRATIVE CODE: OK SECURITY CODE: SCO DISTRIBUTION CODE: RO DESCRIPTION FOR BBS FILE LISTING: The Cult Observer Vol. 8 No. 10 SORT TO: AFF CONTRIBUTOR: American Family Foundation (AFF) LOCATION OF ORIGINAL: American Family Foundation (AFF) NOTES: Back issues and selected reprints of the Cultic Studies Journal are available from the American Family Foundation, P.O. Box 2265, Bonita Springs, FL 33959-2265. U.S.A. STORIES: | 1 TM's Deceptions -- 2 | 2 Scientology Can Appeal | Deductibility Decision | 3 Krishnas Ask Reconsideration | of Award | 4 Religious Organization | Accountability | 5 Scientologists Join the Picnic | at Grassroots | 6 Better Business Bureau Warns | About Sterling | 7 Ex-Cult Members' Newsletter [FOCUS] | 8 3HO [Happy, Healthy, Holy] | 9 Deprogrammers "Vigilantes" | 10 Moon Paper Ranked First | [Washington Times] | 11 People's Temple Attorney | [Charles R. Garry, died] For additional verification see the contributor of the document. UPDATED ON: 8/30/94 UPDATED BY: FrJMc =================================================================