Theos-Talk Archives (March 1997 Message tl00203)

I was sad to hear about the tragic mass suicide in San Diego of members of
the Heaven's Gate cult.  This reinforces my belief in Krisnamurti's
statements regarding thinking for yourself instead of placing yourself in
the hands of an organization or a guru.  Being a part of an organization
should remain just that, and not a letting of an organization run your life
for you.  It angers me that someone would take advantage of an individual's
need to seek beyond their surroundings, the lies of a money-oriented
culture, the lies of established churches, and the lies of societal values.
It also angers me that someone used the person's loneliness and need to belong.

My philosophy in my search for truth is that whenever someone makes you lose
your center by giving you negative emotions, by disturbing you with
artificiality, or by controlling you-go far, far away from that person.
Other signs would be if there are attempts to change your life by trying to
change your personal habits or by encouraging estrangement from family and
friends.  With that in hand, I am not afraid to discover any new things
knowing that I make my own choices.

Cult incidents only hurt organizations who are really trying to allow room
for discovery of truths without limiting an individual's free will.  I
wonder, now, how a group encouraging a discussion on astrology, the
metaphysical, and the other worldliness might immediately stir up a cry of
"cult."  I read in the newspaper today a comment on how cults are springing
up all over the internet, inviting people to join them, people who are
already alienated from society, who built their life around the internet
instead of being with real people.

I was a bit offended by that since I only find the computer and the internet
to be a positive development.  I have my life outside of the computer, but
it is only within the computer that I am able to give extended, thoughtful
conversations and receive the same (okay, maybe sometimes not so
thoughtful).  Try talking about HPB's theories when you're in a social
scene.  Even I can't stand hearing someone go on and on about something.  I
would rather just read and comprehend it at my own pace. The internet
provides me with information I may not find anywhere else.  Like the world,
I see the internet as a non-judgmental containment of all that is in the
world, good and bad.

Thoa