Introduction
Based on the definition from Encyclopedia Britannica, a cult can be defined as a group of people who usually follow a charismatic leader that enforces an excessive devotion to their persona or a certain belief system that they developed. Both religious and non-religious cults exist, with many of them being connected to demonstrations and sinister practices. According to Goetz, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh became one of the most significant figures in the field of cult-related discussions due to his strong efforts aimed at the development of the Rajneesh cult (50). The commune that went by Rajneesh’s name was located in north-central Oregon, with more than several thousand individuals joining the movement. The current paper is going to discuss how the Rajneesh cult utilized language to attract and retain followers while remaining a sinister organization that easily masked drugs and lust under the shape of enlightenment and universal peace.
Using Language to Convince People
One of the essential ideas that have to be covered when dwelling on Rajneesh being able to convince people to join is that his brainwashing was perceived as something comforting. Almost none of the local residents who began siding with the Rajneesh cult realized they were supporting disturbing ideas aimed at self-destruction (Goetz 53). Thus, Rajneesh’s cultist talks only appealed to the people who wanted to believe in his persona. As the leader of the cult, Rajneesh had to complete the difficult task of raising confidence inside his followers’ heads and avert them from blaming him for their own mistakes. Over time, it allowed Rajneesh to exploit locals and push them into new extremes over and over again while maximizing his profits (Abbott 428). Consequently, Rajneesh used language to cultivate lower self-esteem in his followers and get them to believe in his ideas by enforcing confirmation bias and other fallacies. With almost no resilience from the locals, Rajneesh had the opportunity to say whatever he needed his followers to believe.
As for the process of having to convince people to stay, Rajneesh mostly operated emotionally charged slogans that helped him grasp the communal attention. According to Abbott, Rajneesh did not have any problem with instilling his ideology because he used mantras and chants that eventually left people believing they could blend spirituality with materialism (419). On the other hand, the Rajneesh cult was positive about justifying questionable behaviors. Rajneesh convinced numerous individuals to keep up with the cult by gaslighting his followers into believing there was something wrong with their own reality. Through his motivating speeches, Rajneesh achieved excessive power and gained enough influence to drive locals into unexpected behaviors.
Leaving a Cult
When thinking about leaving the Rajneesh cult, many people were preoccupied with the thoughts of losing their sense of self upon being released from the cult. Some of the most susceptible individuals were affected to an extent where they could not leave the cult even after years of working on building up their consciousness (Goetz 57). It can be safe to say that Rajneesh was truly indoctrinated, so it was exceptionally hard for his followers to talk their way out of the cult. Rajneesh’s speeches left numerous individuals broken down and asking for assistance while not being to apply the confidence to quit the cult voluntarily (Abbott 431). The outside world was not welcoming toward the Rajneesh cultists, making it even harder to avoid psychological breakdowns when being engaged in the cult. Despite being accurate with his words, Rajneesh could not prevent his followers from exposure to particular traumatic experiences that made them question quitting the cult after some time.
Despite some of the cult members being able to leave the sinister organization, many of them were exposed to incredible degrees of pressure coming from the external environment. The Rajneesh cult, despite having a somewhat positive image, was exceptionally destructive. When a person wanted to leave the cult, they had to be disowned by Rajneesh (Goetz 53). Many people were afraid to contact their relatives and close ones in order not to expose them to suffering or injuries. The Rajneesh cult was not planning on maintaining total control over its members, so none of the people leaving the cult actually feared for their lives when trying to leave it.
Conclusion
The concepts of universal peace and enlightenment were successfully utilized by Rajneesh to attract followers to his commune in north-central Oregon through the interface of powerful messages that deceived the most easily influenced civilians. Rajneesh engaged in a prolonged criminal act that allowed him to gain an exceptional following and manipulate others into engaging in unexpected behaviors. Even without a certain political aim, Rajneesh was able to generate enough power to intimidate some of the cult members and cause intense psychological and social disruptions among the local population. The impact of the Rajneesh cult cannot be ignored because his use of slogans and persuasion turned a simple Oregon commune into a land of drug-dealing and substance abuse rather quickly.
Works Cited
Abbott, Carl. “Revisiting Rajneeshpuram: Oregon’s Largest Utopian Community as Western History.” Oregon Historical Quarterly, vol. 116, no. 4, 2015, pp. 414-447.
Encyclopedia Britannica. “Cult Definition & Meaning”. Britannica.com, 2022.
Goetz, Bill. ““With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility”: A Perspective on Wild Wild Country and Television News Footage Citation in the Epic Documentary.” The Moving Image: The Journal of the Association of Moving Image Archivists, vol. 19, no. 2, 2019, pp. 50-62.