As events unfold in Mumbai, India, there are already murmurings among Scientology front groups about how best to take advantage of the tragedy.
The Way To Happiness, a booklet written by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, has the honour of an organisation (the innocuous-sounding Association for Better Living and Education) dedicated solely to its distribution. The British branch of ABLE just sent out an email to members, asking for money to print copies of The Way To Happiness to be sent to Mumbai. Thanks to an ex-Scientologist, we have acquired the leaked email.
This is not the first time that Scientology front groups have taken advantage of tragic events: after the September 11 attacks in New York City in 2001, a group called the “Volunteer Ministers” appeared at Ground Zero along with other “charitable” organisations. But the Volunteer Ministers were sent solely to keep people away from trained mental health professionals, and to use their own form of mental therapy - dianetics - to console the bereaved. The same thing occurred after the Beslan massacre in Russia in 2004, in London on July 7, and in Blacksburg, Virginia after the mass shooting at Virginia Technical Institute. And now, while the gunfire and explosions continue in Mumbai, Scientology is wasting no time in spreading the word.
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25 responses
Just like the scientologist ‘volunteer ministers’ ran around and claimed to have helped the 9/11 victims, only to cash in the PR…
considering that they probably only target the victims of this tragedy in order to recruit vulnerable minds to milk them of cash - bad Co$, BAD!
Yeah I’m sure those way to happyness books will really help “calm things down”. The last thing people need right now is a smarmy book full of bits of wisdom stolen from several major religions and repackaged as supposed “inventions” of L Ron Hubbard. This is nothing more than a shallow attempt by Scientology to cash in on this tragedy. And what is worse, they act like terrorists themselves when ever anyone opposes them. Look at how they have attacked protestors as well as slashed the tires or reporters and critics and had a woman in Cincinnati beaten up on the street because she is talking to that FBI about them. India, don’t let the Scientology play it’s games with you! All their leader David Miscaivage wants is a foothold in your country so he can exploit your people!
Scientology front groups have already done promotion campaigns in India before. Here is an example of that: http://www.scientologytoday.org/press/703131241261_scn-vm.html
Thanks for that. Time I added another page to my Volunteer Ministers section!
http://www.newsfrombree.co.uk/stolgy_28.htm
Disgusting. Shame shame shame.
This evening, the following message was sent to Cardinal Oswaldo Gracias, Archbishop of Mumbai and Vice-President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, by a member of Anonymous:
Your Grace,
I send my condolences and prayers to you and the people of Mumbai and India in the aftermath of this terrible massacre which has taken the lives of some many innocent people of many faiths and nations.
I also write asking you to immediately pass on a warning to the government officials in charge of post-disaster operations in Mumbai.
The Church of Scientology has announced that it is dispatching its Volunteer Ministers (VM’s) to disaster sites in Mumbai. The Volunteer ministers must be prevented from participating in disaster relief and trauma counseling efforts at all costs.
They appeared at Ground Zero after our own terrorist tragedy on 9/11, and behaved disgracefully. Head of the Church of Scientology David Miscavige has proclaimed the Global Obliteration of psychiatry, psychology, and religious pastoral counseling to be Scientology’s number one priority. The VM’s therefore interfered with, harassed, and blocked the efforts of legitimate, professional mental health and pastoral care counselors.
Damian Thompson of the UK Telegraph has confirmed a report from Counterknowledge that the Church of Scientology is dispatching VM’s to Mumbai. Counterknowledge is the first to publish this information based on intelligence gathered by the anti-Scientology human rights protest group Anonymous.
Many of us Catholic and Christian critics of Scientology’s human rights abuses are deeply concerned about Scientology’s infiltration of India and its co-opting government, municipal, civic, and religious organisations, particularly the Catholic church in India.
The VM’s routinely deceive the Indian public that they are a secular organization disseminating the humanitarian wisdom of LRHubbard which is compatible with all religions. If fact, all of its practices are inseparable from the rest of Scientology which includes such things as the belief that Jesus Christ was a pedophile, and the practice of universal coerced abortion for its female staff members.
No decent group secular or religious should have anything to do with this organization, especially the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, the VM’s have already deceived the Bishop of Ooty into endorsing them by permitting them to teach Hubbard educational technology to students at St. Joseph’s College. This is a scandal waiting to be exposed.
So I urge you to pass this information on to the authorities in Mumbai and to alert the Catholic and secular press in India.
Spare, Your Grace, the traumatised people of Mumbai the unholy ministrations of these vultures and their global obliteration of psychiatry programme.
In the compassion of Jesus,
[name removed]
San Francisco
Thank you Mr. Wagner for taking the time to write your letter to inform of the dangers of the “vulture ministers” of $cientology. I hope none of them are allowed near the area. It`s obvious that education has ruined their recruitment efforts in the USA and UK, so they are attempting to make recruits in other countries.
Latest email leak:
http://i36.tinypic.com/wgxoap.png
UPDATE: Scientologists have already pounced. One Australian Scientologists has started using Scientology pseudo-therapy on a man in a coma-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Nagpur/Father_suffers_stroke_as_son_fights_Mumbai_fires_on_TV/articleshow/3799293.cms
For perpetual deniers, here is solid proof. Watch this video to see how Pakistan was definitely involved in the mumbai attacks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or8FnLE7XTA
SOS! My auto as broken on road. Should I callo to repairs or police?
wonderful post))
Good night, bloggers =)
what a ic story..
Well - India is not new to cults or religious groups. Based on what I have read about Scientology, it looks like some of their best practices come from some groups that run out of India.
The good news is that this cult will not work in India because it required one to have wealth. If you have wealth in India you will already part of religious group and you will be well entrenched.
Second, India has its own filters. Some “godmen” survive, some don’t. Godmen who do survive end up paying a high social premium in the form of schools, colleges, hospitals, and other development programs. So the society does get (marginal) benefit.
scientology cant be worse than islam
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