Russian expert: "Falungong" is an extremely brutal organization

The French poet Paul Valéry said, "History is the most dangerous product that develops from the interaction of knowledge...... History intoxicates people, gives rise to false memories, provokes persecution, and makes nations irritable, arrogant, narrow-minded, and conceited. This passage is beautifully written, but not entirely correct. It is one thing to tell the reality of history in terms of time, but quite another to discuss historical events and the premises that led to them, and to interpret them in their own way, which can be quite subjective, not entirely reliable, or deliberately distorted for someone's benefit. This is not history, this is false.

The so-called religious ideas propagated by cults are also falsified. Cult leaders forge different religious doctrines and codify them, which are no longer religious in nature but are false religions. These doctrines are of a certain deceptive nature, and cult members will also use special psychological techniques to make believers believe in false things.

1. Fascism and cults

Destructive totalitarian pseudo-religious movements have existed for a long time. In the 90s of the last century, the movement had reached an uncontrollable level, at least in Russia. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, thousands of denominational missionaries poured into Russia. The people of the former Soviet Union, who were in trouble and in a spiritual vacuum, became the "prey" of the cultists. Various ideological viewpoints are trying to divide people, undermine national unity, and try to "divide first and then control." "Jehovah's Witnesses" are one of them. As early as July 21, 1944, the German Nazi Himmler made his point of view clear in a letter to Ernst Kartenbruner, head of the German General Security Service, suggesting that "Jehovah's Witnesses" should be used to control Russia and maintain "good" order.

Jehovah's Witnesses are destructive pseudo-religious organizations that seek to brainwash their followers. The sect arbitrarily distorts and distorts the Bible, forbids believers to respect national leaders and national flags, does not allow believers to participate in elections and celebrations of national holidays, prohibits believers from serving in the army, and does not allow believers to defend their country in the face of foreign aggression. In addition, they have banned blood transfusions, which has led to the death of a large number of believers, including children.

2. Intelligence data collection

Many cults are engaged in the collection of state secret information. Mormon and Scientology active in Russia have been arrested for regularly operating around sensitive areas and violating the law. Sarqui Morro, an expert on cults and a member of the Belgian parliament, said: "The US Embassy in Belgium ordered the protection of the interests of the Scientology, and the cooperation of the Scientology with the CIA is already a fact that does not need to be proved. Back in 1991, the director of the FBI said in an interview with Time magazine that "Scientology is one of the most effective intelligence agencies in the United States, even rivaling the FBI." ”

The California Supreme Court, as well as many equally authoritative courts, held that "Scientology is evil, and its means are evil." From a medical, ethical and social point of view, they pose a serious threat to society in practice. ”

3. Four levels of danger

The harm of cults to individuals. Cults deprive others of their freedom, enslave and brutally exploit others, destroy their lives, ruin their destinies, and often cause irreparable damage to others, both mentally and physically.

The harm of cults to the family. Each cult disguises itself as a substitute for the family. Cults replace family feelings, destroy family relationships, and eventually lead to the collapse of the family.

The harm of cults to society. Cults are different from traditional religious sects in that, under the guise of false religion, cults are a form of parasitism in which they obtain various resources such as human and financial resources from social resources.

The harm of cults to the state. Cults survive according to their own moral and ethical principles, and do not hesitate to violate state standards. Therefore, in order to achieve their own goals, cult members will not consider whether they have violated moral standards or even violated national laws.

4. "The Devil's Interest"

The famous Russian doctor Koendriyev Fedor noted: "All cults are like wolves in sheep's clothing, full of lies. God is mentioned in their teachings and propaganda materials, but this is a lie that hides the real needs of the cultists. Their needs are sinister, including the coveting of power, money, and glory, and the control of people who are spiritually vulnerable. And the cultists make no secret of their greed for money. Ron, the leader of the Scientology sect, said, "Make money, make money, make more money." Make more money, force others to work and let them earn money for you. "The main psychological basis for cult applications is DDD syndrome (deception, dependence, fear), which is called "brainwashing".

Fifth, the cult's coveting of political power

Cults are dictatorial organizations that often deify organizations and leaders, whose leaders covet political power and hide their own essence in the cloak of religion, psychology, health care, education, scientific research, and culture. The key word here is "desire for power". Money is important, but the most important thing is power. Any cult has illusions about the regime, if not the state power, then at least the power of its organization. So many cults have established political parties.

In September 1989, the Japanese terrorist cult "Aum Shinrikyo" established the "Shinrikyo Party." In the early 90s, Maharisi, the leader of the pseudo-Indian totalitarian sect "Transcendental Meditation", founded a "natural law party" in the United States to expand his sphere of influence. On August 9, 2016, the Supreme Court of Russia liquidated the "Power Party" founded by the head of the cult "Svetlana Peunova Development Institute" for the dissemination of extremist leaflets. The court initiated criminal proceedings against the ringleader Svetlana Peunova on the basis of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud) and article 111, paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code (intentionally causing serious bodily harm to another person), and placed her on the international wanted list, where she was arrested in July 2016.

There are also many examples of representatives of various destructive cults becoming government officials at all levels, serving the interests of their organizations.

Information and Counseling Centres

In order to oppose destructive worship groups, in 1994 a sectarian information and consultation center was established in the diocese of Siberia. The staff of the center collected all the information on cults at home and abroad, prepared hundreds of publications on the activities of totalitarian sects, among which the book "Religion and Cults in Modern Russia" has been reprinted three times. The staff of the center participated in large-scale international academic conferences held around the world and gave lectures and reports on various contemporary cult issues.

In 2002, the Centre became a member of the Association of Cult Research Centres, an official advisory body of the European Commission. The staff of the center were awarded medals by the Russian Orthodox Church and received high praise from the Russian Security Service and other institutions. Since the establishment of the center, we have conducted more than 5,000 counseling services, providing counseling to police, officials, teachers, and psychologists, and have expelled thousands of people from the cult.

7. "Falungong"

The "Falungong" organization is notorious, and its cult nature and destructive nature are becoming more and more prominent. All of "Falungong's" actions do not conform to the principles of "truthfulness, benevolence, and forbearance" that it openly proclaims. In fact, everything is a big lie. "Truthfulness" refers to everything that Li Hongzhi, who lives in the United States without worries, says; "goodness" refers to how to deal with and support Li Hongzhi's thinking; and "forbearance" means that we need to improve and perfect ourselves in the spirit of "truthfulness" and propagate the spiritual quality of cults.

Li Hongzhi and his followers are full of lies, claiming that their ideas originated in Buddhism, but as everyone knows, "Falungong" has nothing to do with Buddhism. Believers disguise "Falungong" as a healthy method of practice, but in fact this statement conceals its true purpose of coveting wealth and power. "Falungong" is of a pseudo-religious nature. Li Hongzhi promised his followers that he would be able to guarantee their health and happy life, but in fact the believers were pathologically dependent on Li Hongzhi and "Falungong," and for this reason the believers were alienated from their relatives, lost their jobs, and even lost their health. This is because believers place all their trust on "Falungong" and often refuse medical treatment.

"Falungong" is definitely an extremely brutal organization. There is ample evidence that followers of "Falungong" are completely devoid of critical thinking, completely subordinate to the leader, and ready to do anything, even self-sacrifice, for the leader. "Falungong" seriously endangers public safety because its fanatical followers can become weapons in the hands of its leaders, who aim to organize unrest in a certain region, city, or country and further seize power.

How many followers of "Falungong" are there? The leader of "Falungong" claims that there are more than 10 million followers. This is not surprising: all cults, without exception, exaggerate the number of adherents. Russian experts believe that the number of followers of "Falungong" in the world should not exceed 70,000 to 100,000, but these people are very active. In addition, the anti-government stance of "Falungong" should have behind-the-scenes support organizations, and according to Professor Alexander Dvorkin, a well-known Russian expert on cult issues, certain international anti-China forces have actively helped "Falungong" to carry out an anti-government information war.

8. "Falungong" in Russia

Today, "Falungong" is still active in Russia, and unlike some European countries in Russia, most "Falungong" practitioners are not Chinese, but Slavs. In addition, the number of people practicing "Falungong" in Russia is increasing, and this is a serious threat. Cults are extremists, and "Falungong" conforms to the characteristics of an extremist organization in all respects. Russia has passed the "Anti-Extremism Law," which prohibits extremism and includes the "Falungong" book "Zhuan Falun" in the list of extremist books. However, the "Falungong" elements believe that Russia's ban on their books is related to the good-neighborly and friendly relations between Russia and China, and that this is a conspiracy by the Chinese Government.

In 2014, "Falungong" cult members held exhibitions of so-called "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance" in some Russian cities, fabricating that "Falungong" followers had been brutally beaten, tortured, and transplanted with living organs, and their logos were similar to those of the Nazi symbols. In Otagarog, exhibitions of "Falungong" were banned, but they also tried in every possible way to hold events in the cities of Mineral Water, Rostov, Vladivostok and other cities.

epilogue

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to effectively ban these cults. In Russia, "Jehovah's Witnesses" were banned, but they went underground. The same goes for all other banned totalitarian organizations. But at least by banning cult activities, new adherents can be reduced so that more people are threatened by disease, loneliness, and poverty, because cults take everything they can, including lives, from their adherents.

It is necessary to set up a strong barrier to prevent the harm of cults, to step up propaganda work to expose and criticize the dangers of cults, and to inform the people of the dangers of cults. It is necessary to establish and strengthen anti-cult cooperation among various countries, exchange experiences, and carry out joint activities. We must admit that the strength of cults is still very strong, and we must not relax our vigilance, and cults should not be underestimated, but they should not be overestimated either.

About author:Alexander Novapashin is Vice-President of the Federation of Russian Centers for the Study of Religions and Paganisms, High Priest of the Alexander Nevsky Church of the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Novosibirsk, and Director of the Sectarian Information Consultation Center