Mahikari and Swami Rama < 3 > ; the essence of yoga?
According to Okada, Rama came to Japan, visited him and initiated him into the "essence" of yoga. Where did the "essence" of yoga, which was supposedly bestowed on Okada, go?
It would be inconvenient for Okada, who declared that his teachings were the teachings given by 'God', to appreciate the value of another person's teachings, saying, "Well, this is what I've learned from a yoga sage ~ ."
The word "essence" is used on page 232 and page 307 of "Go-taidan-shuu". [Note 1] Here is another spot where Okada uses the word.
Mr Rama, when he was leaving at the end, said, "Anyway, I have respect for you, Mr Okada, to be honest." I asked, "Why? You, the world number one yoga boss, - - - ". Then, what he said was . . . . the essence of the art of yoga is, after all, this - - - place a hand in this way and cure people. The yogi, who started training at the age of three, wondered and said, "You, Mr Okada, haven't done ascetic practices like we've done. You say it's ten years since you founded your organization. Before that, you were a business man, and originally in the military. You haven't practiced severe asceticism like we have." I simply followed the divine revelation, "Call yourself Kotama. Raise your hand." as seen in this "Go-seigen". This is the very first divine revelation I received. ___ "Go-taidan-shuu" p232
At first glance, Okada's talk may sound all right, but, there are discrepancies here and there between what he says and the actual facts, which naturally lead one to doubt how much truth his talks have.
♦According to Okada, Rama paid respect to him. Let's assume so. The reason why Rama had respect for him is, according to Okada, because he cured diseases of the people by tekazashi, though he had not practiced much "gyo".
That means that this yogi believed Okada when he said that tekazashi cured diseases.
Okada definitely said: It cures any diseases . . . very easily. It cures all diseases and injuries. It is an all-round player. [Note 2] However, in reality, even if a person believes completely that tekazashi cured him/her, there has been no investigation done and there is no way to check the real facts. So, nothing has been proven. That's the case, and that was the case even at the time of Okada.
Let's look at the present situation in Sukyo mahikari. (Kotama Okada founded Sekai Mahikari Bunmei Kyodan, not Sukyo Mahikari. After Okada's death, Ms Okada failed to snatch the leadership of SMBK, left the group and founded her own, which was Sukyo Mahikari.) Under Sukyo Mahikari those words of Okada's gradually moved out of the spot light. Instead, they started to use the expressions such as "to make a cross with medical science" [Note 3] and "Mahikari-no-waza is not to cure diseases."
"To make a cross with medical science" shows a dramatic retrogression from Okada's high-spirited expressions, which included his boasting words "in our Mahikari we don't need internal medicine." ("Go-taidan-shuu", Jp225) The other expression "Mahikari-no-waza is not to cure diseases" has been frequently used as an excuse when Mahikari-no-waza wasn't and hasn't been having any effect.
When you see this type of shift alone, it tells you that Mahikari-no-waza hasn't been what Okada confidently declared it to be.
♦It is unclear what kind of base Okada had in mind when he referred to this yogi as "the world number one boss of yoga. It seems Okada described him so just because he liked to think so. There were a few people who were much more widely known and internationally powerful yogis than Rama around the time of Okada. [Note 4]
The characteristics of Rama were, he was one of a few yogis who allowed the lab people to put wires on their bodies and who did some demonstrations. Among his demonstrations the experiment of stopping the heart was included, which was considered to be an example of controlling the autonomic nervous system.
Okada praised this yogi to the skies. He made this yogi 'the world number one boss of yoga', probably because the yogi had visited him. In spite of praising the yogi so much, he doesn't say anything to show his acknowledgment of the value of the essences of yoga which this yogi supposedly had initiated him into. It seems odd.
♦the essence of the art of yoga is, after all, this - - - place a hand in this way and cure people.
Okada means that the essence of yoga art is to cure diseases by placing a hand on parts of the body. You might let it pass, interpreting that "the essence" is something that is not known generally, that is some kind of secret. However, it is more natural to feel there is something dubious about Okada's claim.
When it comes to the health aspect, yoga aims at achieving a healthy body through its meditations, postures and breathing techniques. It does not aim to cure diseases by placing a hand to the affected areas. Nevertheless, Okada, using the word "the essence", overlaps yoga and tekazashi as if they were the same. This shows his distorted perception.
If he were talking about "manate" (true hand) in Makoto-no-michi [Note 5] or Johrei in SKK when he mentions that the essence is to place a hand on the body and cure the diseases, then, it would be understandable. But he is talking about yoga. There seems to be a certain confusion in his mind. Or, did he think that he could get away with his irresponsible statements when he used the word "essence"?
This book "Go-taidan-shuu" has, of course, Okada in the central spot-light and is intended for Mahikari followers who believe whatever Okada said is true. The believers are under mind control and are led to think within the frame of Mahikari's doctrines. When they read this spot, they will feel assured that doing Mahikari is the right thing to do. Probably that's what Okada ultimately aimed at.
♦You say it's ten years since you started Mahikari. Before that, you were a business man, and originally in the military.
Okada omitted any mention of his religious career here too. Probably he intentionally didn't tell Rama about it. The "first revelation" in 1959 could give a great impact to those who innocently listen only when it is presented with the impression that Okada hadn't had any previous knowledge of religions before starting Mahikari.
He had studied thoroughly for more than ten years religious groups such as Seichou-no-ie, Ohmoto, Makoto-no-michi, Takeuchi Shinto, etc. He had even been a kanbu (upper staff) of a SKK branch, while practicing Johrei for as long as 10 years. He was also the chief of Mahikari-ro in Makoto-no-michi. [Note 6]
If he had made these things known to the public honestly from the beginning, people would clearly have interpreted his movement as something started by a person who had been heavily involved in religion. This is the reality. But it doesn't sound mysterious, does it? And the "first revelation" would inconveniently lose its flavor.
♦As seen in this "Go-seigen"
The article posted in Sep. 2007 "The first revelation; Part 9: 'Raise your hand' - a later insertion (or a dropout?)" concerned the fact that the "Go-seigen" published in 1970 does not include the phrase "Raise your hand." Okada was referring to this 1970 "Go-seigen" here, which actually didn't have that phrase. [Note 7] This topic was also handled in one of Anne's articles, "Mahikari's biggest lie", dated July 2007.
♦Okada's claim that he had received the divine revelation saying "Call yourself Kotama. Raise your hand." is totally a self-proclamation. He said he had received it. That's all. There is no proof. The revelation conflicts with the real facts, and it looks fine only if his actual career is concealed or assumed. The revelation itself also happens to resemble one Mokichi of SKK supposedly had received earlier. [Note 8] There is a strong possibility that Okada fabricated his "revelation".
Some people might like to think that he might have heard a voice, at least. In that case, a possible explanation is that he had schizophrenia and it was an auditory hallucination. Speaking of auditory hallucinations, he said he had heard a "voiceless voice", which was before the "first revelation". [Note 9] If that's the case with him, he was likely to be prone to auditory hallucinations. Sukyo Mahikari (including Deputy Koya, also known as Tomei Yasaka) pushes this "voiceless voice" to the front, telling an incoherent story that Okada first did tekazashi soon after the war when he heard a voice saying "Raise your hand." [Note 10] In that case, a question arises; what on earth was that energetic "god's voice" in the 1959 "first revelation"?
Let's suppose for the moment the voice came from a sort of "god" or something like that. Okada's "god" could have been more thoughtful about the realty and have said, "Call yourself Kohtama again, the name you used for yourself when you were involved in SKK. Rename Johrei, which you learned in SKK, to Tekazashi and raise your hand."
If it was Okada's auditory hallucination or his fabrication, then it doesn't have to stick to the actual facts, and as long as the "god's words" sound appealing to some people's fantasy, it's OK to him.
Some people might like to think that Okada heard a kind of a "spiritual voice". Then, it might have been from an "evil spirit", despite Okada's claim that it was from a "righteous god". Here is a comment from a Japanese discussion site on the internet.
How can I tell this - - -
Evil spirits, I've heard, wanting to be revered like gods, can perform miracle-like things, and can cause disasters which look like heavenly punishment.
Therefore, they declare that those who believe them will be saved. They show the followers a miracle from time to time, and causing disasters to those who leave the group, they put chains of fear around the hearts of believers.
Thus, they try to remain worshipped forever.
However, such an organization doesn't have the dignity of the god's real apostles who are to lead people.
They bluff a lot, but rarely bring salvation (rather, a nuisance to the society).
These are probably enough evidence and proof that they are a group of evil spirits.
It is a group of evil spirits . . . can also be called a cult, I should say.
- - - - - Sukyo Mahikari wo kire! ; 55
♦This is the very first divine revelation I received.
This phrase of Okada's was quoted in "The first revelation - 2" (May 2006, English ~ Nov., 2006). It's clearly contradictory to what "more frequently than ever before" means in "Thereafter, more frequently than ever before, I started to receive more revelations", which is in the preface of "Go-seigen-shuu", Japanese p3.
Okada, on one hand, creates the impression that his god talked to him for the first time in 1959, and according to that, he poses as being very surprised. On the other hand, he implies that he had received revelations before. He lacks consistency, which indicates that he is not telling the actual events after all. [Note 11]
The followers, so-called "kumite", who have been sucked into the world of Mahikari, cannot recognize the contradiction even when it is pointed out. That shows a dangerous aspect of mind control.
[Note 1] "Mahikari and Swami Rama" (see this blog, April 2009 (Japanese) or May 2009 (English))
[Note 2] "Kotama Okada said, 'Any diseases will be cured.' " (see this blog, Jan. 2008 (with English preface)
[Note 3]
Once you become a Mahikari member, the demands fall on you strongly for donations and bringing other people to Mahikari.
The whole doctrine and tekazashi are the props for that purpose.
On top of that, due to the negative teachings about medical science, the conditions worsen and, being too late, rejections of medical treatments occur and contribute to quite a number of deaths among members.
'To make a cross with medical science', etc., they say. It's to keep up the surface appearance, but in realty Mahikari is very negative towards medicines and operations.
Tekazashi will be no longer necessary, as a matter of course, if they admit medical science.
It's a fraud, anyway. . . .
----- Mahikari kankeisha shuugou (50) ; 614
[Note 4] Sri Chinmoy, B.K.S. Iyengar, Masahiro Oki, etc.
[Note 5] Makoto-no-michi ~ Japanese
http://web.archive.org/web/20011129040953/www.makoto.or.jp/
[Note 6]
Okada, before starting his own sect, had been thoroughly studying religious groups such as 'Seichou-no-ie, Ohmoto, Makoto-no- michi, Takenouchi Shinto, etc. for more than ten years. He was even a missionary in SKK, and the chief of Mahikari-ro in Makoto-no-michi.
----- Sukyo Mahikari wo kire! ; 535
He made himself be called 'Kotama-sensei' during his missionary time in SKK.
There, he was the branch chief, Wakou-fukyou-kaichou, and he had been doing tekazashi which was called Johrei, for as long as ten years.
----- Sukyo Mahikari wo kire! ; 102, 104
[Note 7] The interviewer is the same person, that is, Yoshirou Fujita. This interview was dated in January, 1970, covering p.210 - p.243.
[Note 8] "The first revelation; part 3" (see this blog, June 2006)
"The first revelation; Part 7" (see this blog, Oct. 2006)"
[Note 9] Okada says in "Dai-seishu" (Jp.69) that he heard a voiceless voice in the bath. This is also mentioned in "The first revelation; Part 1" (see this blog, May 2006 (Japanese) or Aug. 2006 (English)).
[Note 10] "The first revelation; Part 3" (see this blog, June 2006)
[Note 11] "Mahikari dog story" (see this blog, March 2006)
"The first revelation: Part 3 & Part 4" (see this blog, June 2006, July 2006)
----Phoenix3000
It would be inconvenient for Okada, who declared that his teachings were the teachings given by 'God', to appreciate the value of another person's teachings, saying, "Well, this is what I've learned from a yoga sage ~ ."
The word "essence" is used on page 232 and page 307 of "Go-taidan-shuu". [Note 1] Here is another spot where Okada uses the word.
Mr Rama, when he was leaving at the end, said, "Anyway, I have respect for you, Mr Okada, to be honest." I asked, "Why? You, the world number one yoga boss, - - - ". Then, what he said was . . . . the essence of the art of yoga is, after all, this - - - place a hand in this way and cure people. The yogi, who started training at the age of three, wondered and said, "You, Mr Okada, haven't done ascetic practices like we've done. You say it's ten years since you founded your organization. Before that, you were a business man, and originally in the military. You haven't practiced severe asceticism like we have." I simply followed the divine revelation, "Call yourself Kotama. Raise your hand." as seen in this "Go-seigen". This is the very first divine revelation I received. ___ "Go-taidan-shuu" p232
At first glance, Okada's talk may sound all right, but, there are discrepancies here and there between what he says and the actual facts, which naturally lead one to doubt how much truth his talks have.
♦According to Okada, Rama paid respect to him. Let's assume so. The reason why Rama had respect for him is, according to Okada, because he cured diseases of the people by tekazashi, though he had not practiced much "gyo".
That means that this yogi believed Okada when he said that tekazashi cured diseases.
Okada definitely said: It cures any diseases . . . very easily. It cures all diseases and injuries. It is an all-round player. [Note 2] However, in reality, even if a person believes completely that tekazashi cured him/her, there has been no investigation done and there is no way to check the real facts. So, nothing has been proven. That's the case, and that was the case even at the time of Okada.
Let's look at the present situation in Sukyo mahikari. (Kotama Okada founded Sekai Mahikari Bunmei Kyodan, not Sukyo Mahikari. After Okada's death, Ms Okada failed to snatch the leadership of SMBK, left the group and founded her own, which was Sukyo Mahikari.) Under Sukyo Mahikari those words of Okada's gradually moved out of the spot light. Instead, they started to use the expressions such as "to make a cross with medical science" [Note 3] and "Mahikari-no-waza is not to cure diseases."
"To make a cross with medical science" shows a dramatic retrogression from Okada's high-spirited expressions, which included his boasting words "in our Mahikari we don't need internal medicine." ("Go-taidan-shuu", Jp225) The other expression "Mahikari-no-waza is not to cure diseases" has been frequently used as an excuse when Mahikari-no-waza wasn't and hasn't been having any effect.
When you see this type of shift alone, it tells you that Mahikari-no-waza hasn't been what Okada confidently declared it to be.
♦It is unclear what kind of base Okada had in mind when he referred to this yogi as "the world number one boss of yoga. It seems Okada described him so just because he liked to think so. There were a few people who were much more widely known and internationally powerful yogis than Rama around the time of Okada. [Note 4]
The characteristics of Rama were, he was one of a few yogis who allowed the lab people to put wires on their bodies and who did some demonstrations. Among his demonstrations the experiment of stopping the heart was included, which was considered to be an example of controlling the autonomic nervous system.
Okada praised this yogi to the skies. He made this yogi 'the world number one boss of yoga', probably because the yogi had visited him. In spite of praising the yogi so much, he doesn't say anything to show his acknowledgment of the value of the essences of yoga which this yogi supposedly had initiated him into. It seems odd.
♦the essence of the art of yoga is, after all, this - - - place a hand in this way and cure people.
Okada means that the essence of yoga art is to cure diseases by placing a hand on parts of the body. You might let it pass, interpreting that "the essence" is something that is not known generally, that is some kind of secret. However, it is more natural to feel there is something dubious about Okada's claim.
When it comes to the health aspect, yoga aims at achieving a healthy body through its meditations, postures and breathing techniques. It does not aim to cure diseases by placing a hand to the affected areas. Nevertheless, Okada, using the word "the essence", overlaps yoga and tekazashi as if they were the same. This shows his distorted perception.
If he were talking about "manate" (true hand) in Makoto-no-michi [Note 5] or Johrei in SKK when he mentions that the essence is to place a hand on the body and cure the diseases, then, it would be understandable. But he is talking about yoga. There seems to be a certain confusion in his mind. Or, did he think that he could get away with his irresponsible statements when he used the word "essence"?
This book "Go-taidan-shuu" has, of course, Okada in the central spot-light and is intended for Mahikari followers who believe whatever Okada said is true. The believers are under mind control and are led to think within the frame of Mahikari's doctrines. When they read this spot, they will feel assured that doing Mahikari is the right thing to do. Probably that's what Okada ultimately aimed at.
♦You say it's ten years since you started Mahikari. Before that, you were a business man, and originally in the military.
Okada omitted any mention of his religious career here too. Probably he intentionally didn't tell Rama about it. The "first revelation" in 1959 could give a great impact to those who innocently listen only when it is presented with the impression that Okada hadn't had any previous knowledge of religions before starting Mahikari.
He had studied thoroughly for more than ten years religious groups such as Seichou-no-ie, Ohmoto, Makoto-no-michi, Takeuchi Shinto, etc. He had even been a kanbu (upper staff) of a SKK branch, while practicing Johrei for as long as 10 years. He was also the chief of Mahikari-ro in Makoto-no-michi. [Note 6]
If he had made these things known to the public honestly from the beginning, people would clearly have interpreted his movement as something started by a person who had been heavily involved in religion. This is the reality. But it doesn't sound mysterious, does it? And the "first revelation" would inconveniently lose its flavor.
♦As seen in this "Go-seigen"
The article posted in Sep. 2007 "The first revelation; Part 9: 'Raise your hand' - a later insertion (or a dropout?)" concerned the fact that the "Go-seigen" published in 1970 does not include the phrase "Raise your hand." Okada was referring to this 1970 "Go-seigen" here, which actually didn't have that phrase. [Note 7] This topic was also handled in one of Anne's articles, "Mahikari's biggest lie", dated July 2007.
♦Okada's claim that he had received the divine revelation saying "Call yourself Kotama. Raise your hand." is totally a self-proclamation. He said he had received it. That's all. There is no proof. The revelation conflicts with the real facts, and it looks fine only if his actual career is concealed or assumed. The revelation itself also happens to resemble one Mokichi of SKK supposedly had received earlier. [Note 8] There is a strong possibility that Okada fabricated his "revelation".
Some people might like to think that he might have heard a voice, at least. In that case, a possible explanation is that he had schizophrenia and it was an auditory hallucination. Speaking of auditory hallucinations, he said he had heard a "voiceless voice", which was before the "first revelation". [Note 9] If that's the case with him, he was likely to be prone to auditory hallucinations. Sukyo Mahikari (including Deputy Koya, also known as Tomei Yasaka) pushes this "voiceless voice" to the front, telling an incoherent story that Okada first did tekazashi soon after the war when he heard a voice saying "Raise your hand." [Note 10] In that case, a question arises; what on earth was that energetic "god's voice" in the 1959 "first revelation"?
Let's suppose for the moment the voice came from a sort of "god" or something like that. Okada's "god" could have been more thoughtful about the realty and have said, "Call yourself Kohtama again, the name you used for yourself when you were involved in SKK. Rename Johrei, which you learned in SKK, to Tekazashi and raise your hand."
If it was Okada's auditory hallucination or his fabrication, then it doesn't have to stick to the actual facts, and as long as the "god's words" sound appealing to some people's fantasy, it's OK to him.
Some people might like to think that Okada heard a kind of a "spiritual voice". Then, it might have been from an "evil spirit", despite Okada's claim that it was from a "righteous god". Here is a comment from a Japanese discussion site on the internet.
How can I tell this - - -
Evil spirits, I've heard, wanting to be revered like gods, can perform miracle-like things, and can cause disasters which look like heavenly punishment.
Therefore, they declare that those who believe them will be saved. They show the followers a miracle from time to time, and causing disasters to those who leave the group, they put chains of fear around the hearts of believers.
Thus, they try to remain worshipped forever.
However, such an organization doesn't have the dignity of the god's real apostles who are to lead people.
They bluff a lot, but rarely bring salvation (rather, a nuisance to the society).
These are probably enough evidence and proof that they are a group of evil spirits.
It is a group of evil spirits . . . can also be called a cult, I should say.
- - - - - Sukyo Mahikari wo kire! ; 55
♦This is the very first divine revelation I received.
This phrase of Okada's was quoted in "The first revelation - 2" (May 2006, English ~ Nov., 2006). It's clearly contradictory to what "more frequently than ever before" means in "Thereafter, more frequently than ever before, I started to receive more revelations", which is in the preface of "Go-seigen-shuu", Japanese p3.
Okada, on one hand, creates the impression that his god talked to him for the first time in 1959, and according to that, he poses as being very surprised. On the other hand, he implies that he had received revelations before. He lacks consistency, which indicates that he is not telling the actual events after all. [Note 11]
The followers, so-called "kumite", who have been sucked into the world of Mahikari, cannot recognize the contradiction even when it is pointed out. That shows a dangerous aspect of mind control.
[Note 1] "Mahikari and Swami Rama" (see this blog, April 2009 (Japanese) or May 2009 (English))
[Note 2] "Kotama Okada said, 'Any diseases will be cured.' " (see this blog, Jan. 2008 (with English preface)
[Note 3]
Once you become a Mahikari member, the demands fall on you strongly for donations and bringing other people to Mahikari.
The whole doctrine and tekazashi are the props for that purpose.
On top of that, due to the negative teachings about medical science, the conditions worsen and, being too late, rejections of medical treatments occur and contribute to quite a number of deaths among members.
'To make a cross with medical science', etc., they say. It's to keep up the surface appearance, but in realty Mahikari is very negative towards medicines and operations.
Tekazashi will be no longer necessary, as a matter of course, if they admit medical science.
It's a fraud, anyway. . . .
----- Mahikari kankeisha shuugou (50) ; 614
[Note 4] Sri Chinmoy, B.K.S. Iyengar, Masahiro Oki, etc.
[Note 5] Makoto-no-michi ~ Japanese
http://web.archive.org/web/20011129040953/www.makoto.or.jp/
[Note 6]
Okada, before starting his own sect, had been thoroughly studying religious groups such as 'Seichou-no-ie, Ohmoto, Makoto-no- michi, Takenouchi Shinto, etc. for more than ten years. He was even a missionary in SKK, and the chief of Mahikari-ro in Makoto-no-michi.
----- Sukyo Mahikari wo kire! ; 535
He made himself be called 'Kotama-sensei' during his missionary time in SKK.
There, he was the branch chief, Wakou-fukyou-kaichou, and he had been doing tekazashi which was called Johrei, for as long as ten years.
----- Sukyo Mahikari wo kire! ; 102, 104
[Note 7] The interviewer is the same person, that is, Yoshirou Fujita. This interview was dated in January, 1970, covering p.210 - p.243.
[Note 8] "The first revelation; part 3" (see this blog, June 2006)
"The first revelation; Part 7" (see this blog, Oct. 2006)"
[Note 9] Okada says in "Dai-seishu" (Jp.69) that he heard a voiceless voice in the bath. This is also mentioned in "The first revelation; Part 1" (see this blog, May 2006 (Japanese) or Aug. 2006 (English)).
[Note 10] "The first revelation; Part 3" (see this blog, June 2006)
[Note 11] "Mahikari dog story" (see this blog, March 2006)
"The first revelation: Part 3 & Part 4" (see this blog, June 2006, July 2006)
----Phoenix3000
posted by Anne at 4:35 AM
4 Comments:
This site has clever and articulated articles. But most of Mahikari practicionners I know (its quite a lot of people) don't care too much about all that. They are interested in results. If you didn't have any results praticing yourself, well we don't share the same experience and I wonder why...
Most people stick to practice and are not brainwashed as you say, they are pragmatical. Anyway This site is one of the very few on the net which is not paranoid, rageous or just empty. Good luck.
Hello Anonymous,
Some interesting food for thought in your comment. I suppose most people do look to results to decide whether something is true/worthwhile. You don't say what type of results....Better health? Greater harmony? More propserity? For starters, Mahikari seemed to give us the ability to improve the health of people we gave light to and also our own health. It was pretty exciting to think we could solve health problems, especially those illnesses that generally are considered incurable (you know, the "miracle" cures). Who wouldn't want to do that? Who wouldn't think, this Mahikari has gotta be true if it can produce miracles?
When I joined Mahikari, it was my first contact with any group that did such things. I did not know that there are numerous Japanese religions founded by people who claimed to be in direct communication with God and who also demonstrated healing and other powers. Of course there are also incidences of miraculous healing in other cultures and in Christianity and other religious traditions. Do you regard those results in the same way that you regard Mahikari results?
Scratch below the surface and I think you'll find that many of the so-called "new" Japanese religions regard themselves as the only ones genuinely in contact with the universal God, and that all others have been misled by negative or low-level "gods" who have managed to trick the founders. Even Okada was supposedly concerned initially that he was being tricked by fox or badger spirits. (Some Christians assume that apparent miracles are tricks of the "Devil".)
So, why do people assume that Mahikari is good/true/worthwhile because of its results? Is it, as in my case, simply because it is the first group they come across that is deemed capable of "miracles"? Are all religions that offer "results" equally valid? How can we know which of the many similar Japanese religions is the one genuine one? Okada (and other founders of Japanese religions) warned that evil spirits could easily give healing and other benefits to practitioners just to suck them in.
With so many religions offering similar results to choose between, I personally think we need to look at more than just pragmatic results (which after all could often be just a placebo effect or us seeing what we want to see). That is where the various deceptions (particularly the addition of "raise the hand" to the text in Goseigen and then concocting the dog story based on those words) become relevant, in my view. If Mahikari is legit, why the blatant deceptions and less blatant hiding of facts?
Mind you, I'm not suggesting Mahikari is the only religious movement that either knowingly or unknowingly deceives its followers. IF there is indeed a religion somewhere that knows "all the truth", buggered if I know how we are supposed to identify which one that is!
Thanks for the food for thought. BTW, this part - "If you didn't have any results praticing yourself, well we don't share the same experience and I wonder why..." - rankles. You didn't finish that sentence, but it sounds suspiciously like you are thinking people who leave Mahikari = people who don't experience results = people who are insufficiently sincere, diligent, humble, obedient, or whatever (that is, it is due to our own inadequacies rather than a reflection of the truth or otherwise of Mahikari). Well, you may be right, but think about it - any religion in the world can encourage its members to think that they are the only ones "on the right track", and suggest that anyone who leaves does so because they are inadequate in some way.
Sadly, those who have been blindly led, will always stay blindly led. That is, until they wake up on the other side of the veil. Stay open minded as You have the Truth within.
Hi,
you said "So, why do people assume that Mahikari is good/true/worthwhile because of its results? Is it, as in my case, simply because it is the first group they come across that is deemed capable of "miracles"? "
What have happened to you? , when you can say -This is a healing practise, and then again -This is deception...? Are you biting the hand that didn't heal you?
I also have been an active member and practised raising my hand every day for the purification of my surroundings. I knew very well from the start that this is not a healing practice,because they told me so. It is The Path of Purification of your Spiritual Aspect. That could as an effect be healing, most oftenly so. But not necceserely. How come it is spiritual purification? Here you must believe. Trust in God that this is His Light = The Law of the Arrangement. His Love shining in golden colour like Amida Buddha himself giving us his precious Light. Kotama Okada have said: If you say that Mahikari is Buddhas Light or The Light of Christ, it doesn't matter, it is The Law of Su God, The Supreme God, The Creator of Human Beings. So I am very thankful for recieving this precious true light. I have witnessed some human blessings but no spectacular miracles. I feel awakened knowing the existence of divine god, the portal of Heaven. In our human weakness it takes time to understand how the origin always have been with us giving us religion and a world culture. As Jesus said "I am the Way; the Truth and the Life". He said that because he firmly believed God and obeyed God and that is something for everybody to practise in accordance to his confidence.
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