Class Action case: Scientology

The BKs are nowhere near the most exploitative of groups, which of course does not exclude them from analysis or being held to account . But to give an idea of the practicalities of such actions, a similar case is happening in Australia. Slater & Gordon are a company of lawyers known for taking class actions.

Scientology are a cult that had employees sign 1,000,000,000 year contracts (!) and extracted 14+ hour days, 7 days a week for years on end, paying wages of only $10 or $20 a week, no superannuation (providence fund), no holiday pay, no sick leave pay ... BKs may be cleverer though, unlike Scientology, they don't get their "surrendered" people to sign written contracts (as far as I know), which has left Scientology in a difficult position legalistically.

Class Action

Slater & Gordon Lawyers is investigating a possible class action against the Church of Scientology in Australia for the recovery of unpaid or underpaid wages and statutory entitlements such as superannuation and holiday pay for former and current members who worked for the organisation.

If you performed work for the organisation since 2005 on a part time or full time basis you are invited to contact Slater & Gordon on a strictly confidential basis. You may have been employed as Staff (as that term is used by the organisation), a member of the “Sea Org” or performed other work. Our investigations extend to two other entities: Narconon and “Get Off Drugs Naturally.”

The organisation is bound by the Fair Work Act 2009. As such it is required by law to pay current and former workers in accordance with the relevant award.

There is a statutory time limit of 6 years in which to bring a claim.

To register, please telephone 1800 555 777 or click here to send us an online enquiry - Slater & Gordon Lawyers, Class Action

Short report - a few minutes


Main story - 45 minutes in depth - Scientology: The ex-Files

The BKs are nowhere near the most exploitative of groups ...

Personally, I put the Brahma Kumaris up there with Scientology ... I see the Brahma Kumaris as the 'feminine' (subtle) to Scientology's 'masculine' (aggressive) but I think they are pretty equal.

I suppose you could make a triumvirate of Scientology - Brahma Kumaris - Jehovah Witnesses as the BKs are also like India's Jehovah Witnesses.

I found the interview with the very polished Tommy Davis, the Scientology spokesman, very interesting. He makes it all sound so liberal/reasonable/normal. I could imagine Jayanti, Hodgkinson or some other BK putting on an equivalent performance.

I suppose the question is as an individual who was sucked into a cult when you see such a performance do you accept it or see through it?

It would be a good thing if the BK would face such investigations but I suspect that the law in India would not be able to deal with it. There have been examples which could be used as cases but the BKs small numbers are too scattered over too many nations and would make it fairly impossible to do.

The BKs are centralized whereas ex-adherents are scattered but if anyone feels they have a good case, contact us and we will see if there is anyone else in your region who has suffered. The BKs have developed to be more clever and by taking less, e.g. no charging for courses, they have avoid such criticisms as other cults ... and by now they appear to have changed their nature again and have far more vaguely defined borders of who is a BK and who is not, who and what is 'in' and what is 'out'.

The Brahma Kumaris introduces itself as a UNIVERSITY, while Scientology introduces itself as a CHURCH ..!!

In fact, neither of them relate to the given name and its description ... What message would that convey to you . .??

They are both ridiculously dishonest ... and their open dishonesty is a kind of filter to filter out the gullible, naive or egotistic people who they can hook.

That is to say, if you can believe that, there is a good chance you will believe anything and they will be able to mentally enslave you, and then milk you for money and free labor.

I do not know the technical term for this but I am sure that in the study of fraud and confidence tricks there is a term for it. I kind of think the BKs' 5,000 year Cycle is another example, i.e. if you believe that you *really* will believe anything and they can suck you in even deeper. Every false belief you accept the deeper into their world you go.

I do not know the technical term for this but I am sure that in the study of fraud and confidence tricks there is a term for it. ... if you believe that you *really* will believe anything and they can suck you in even deeper. Every false belief you accept the deeper into their world you go.

"Suspension of disbelief" - "poetic faith"?

Samuel Taylor Coleridge "... that willing suspension of disbelief for the moment which constitutes poetic faith,"

or Tolkein's thoughts on that, he prefers "secondary belief".

J. R. R. Tolkien challenges this concept [suspension of disbelief] in his essay "On Fairy-Stories", choosing instead the paradigm of secondary belief based on inner consistency of reality.

Tolkien says that, in order for the narrative to work, the reader must believe that what he reads is true within the secondary reality of the fictional world.

By focusing on creating an internally consistent fictional world, the author makes secondary belief possible. Tolkien argues that suspension of disbelief is only necessary when the work has failed to create secondary belief.

From that point, the spell is broken and the reader ceases to be immersed in the story and must make a conscious effort to suspend disbelief or else give up on it entirely.

I'll think about that and reply later ... the idea of a fairy story with consistent alternative reality works with the BKs. People often say it is the simplicity and symmetry of the philosophy that holds them.

However, I was thinking of something blunter such as looking at the indoctrination of an individual into a cult as a kind of confidence trick. Reading the following description, I can see how a version of it, especially with all the various characters, might fit the BKs when the goal of the cult is to capture an individual, their lifetime wealth, free labor and property.

The Long Con

The long con refers to any of a variety of confidence tricks which require more planning, preparation, a longer window of interaction with the con's target and a longer period of time to execute. The long con may also require a large number of people to pull off the deception needed to relieve the mark (the victim) of their cash or other valuables. Unlike a short confidence trick, the long con requires time to slowly draw the victims into the con, but often results in very large pay-outs. Because of the difficulty in organization and execution, long cons are considered to be for experts.

Traditionally, the term "long con" has referred to an elaborate con of one or more marks which ends with the payout, when the marks surrender their money or valuables. Long cons play on one or both basic human frailties: greed and desperation. The line between a genuine long con and garden variety fraud may be a fine one.

The Actors in the Con Trick

There are three key players in any long con: a victim, a con artist, and one or more associates.

The Mark: The intended victim of the con.
The Grifter: A practitioner of confidence tricks, or more informally, a con artist. A grifter may play many roles, and often creates multiple personas over their career.
The Shill: An accomplice to the grifter, who has no apparent connection to the con. Shills are put in place to encourage the mark to act in the desired way.

A long con is executed in one or two settings: a real world setting. For a long con to work, it requires a team of grifters, which plays a variety of roles. Some players may be experts at one role, others can change them up as the con demands.

The Roper: The member of the crew who identifies the mark, and lures the mark in. The roper usually begins by finding a way to get close to the mark, insinuating himself into the mark's life. Slowly, he or she makes the con sound enticing by offering the mark what he seems to want, leading up to an introduction to the inside man. From there, the roper's job is to keep the mark interested. He or she may create the illusion they are a participant in whatever opportunity the con offers the mark. The roper is often an enticing woman, who embodies what the mark aspires to.
The Inside Man: The crew member in charge, who executes the con.
The Fixer: Often works near to The Inside Man, as back-up and coordinate resources as the con unfolds. This is probably the most versatile role in the con, and the person has to have a combination of skills, from Grifting to Hitting.
The Face: A shill, generally an attractive female used to distract or encourage the mark.
The Outside Man: This could be a potential threat (as a fake Law Enforcement Official) or a potential fake target for the Mark to exploit, to gain the Mark's confidence.
The Floater: A secondary Inside Man, who can work in conjunction on The Mark, or work a secondary angle on the same con.

Other Specialized Roles

Specialized players may be hired on an as needed basis, but are not part of a regular crew. These may also be secondary roles regular crew members play if they have the appropriate skills.
The Forger: Some cons require forgeries to fool the Mark.
The Hacker: As cons become more and more highly technical, a crew might need an expert in internet & cyber-security.
The Wheelman: Some cons require a good person behind the wheel of a car.
The Bagman: Some cons require someone to handle the money.

I understand that, but from my experience, the BKs do not consciously 'conspire' long term confidence tricks to con people, no more than any ideologue sincerely believes their way is for the best, but leads to patchwork and panicked responses when things go wrong.

I think as a whole, the BKs sincerely if deludedly believe they are doing the right thing at all times (hence their inability to apologise for anything and their willingness to cover stuff up). That is, the confidence is in themselves (pardon tautology) and the trick is played on themselves and inadvertently draws in more and more others, to maintain the self-con.

I'll grant that on the micro level of specific events there's a lot of conscious deception, hiding of events, spinning of truths and disingenuous behaviour occuring by individuals implicitly given permission by the culture they are part of, but collectively, the 'morphous' whole is "sincere" - if delusional (and in a way, aren't we all up to a point?).

I liked the alternative reality thesis as it covers a wide gamut of social behaviour, why people buy into different sub-groups in society so enthusiastically.

Originally, an enthusiast was a person possessed ...

Enthusiasm originally meant inspiration or possession by a divine afflatus or by the presence of a god. Johnson's Dictionary, the first comprehensive dictionary of the English language, defines enthusiasm as "a vain belief of private revelation; a vain confidence of divine favour or communication." In current English vernacular the word simply means intense enjoyment, interest, or approval.

The Enthusiast also refers to the "Type Seven" personality type. Some who fall into this modern definition of "enthusiasts" are adventurous, constantly busy with many activities with all the energy and enthusiasm of the Puer Aeternus (Peter Pan Complex). At their best they grab life for its different joys and wonders and truly live in the moment but, at their worst, they dash trepidatiously from one new endeavor to another, too scared of disappointment to actually enjoy themselves. Enthusiasts fear being incapable to provide for themselves or to experience life fully.

Interesting etymology.

I understand that, but from my experience, the BKs do not consciously 'conspire' long term confidence tricks to con people ... I think as a whole, the BKs sincerely if deludedly believe they are doing the right thing at all times (hence their inability to apologise for anything and their willingness to cover stuff up) ...

Yes, I can accept what you say regarding the following but I am not so sure regarding the highest leadership, e.g. Dadi Jankis of the BK world ...

I am thinking of how when she came to the UK the BKWSU were teaching "Destruction" in 1976 and yet they went ahead and bought a Freehold property. Why buy a Freehold property when Destruction is going to happen imminently?

Destruction in 1976 blew over and did not happen ... a load of BKs left disaffected ... but the BKWSU kept all the properties and donations it had received.

Now, at the time, no one in the BK community knew about the failure of Destruction in 1950 or WWII ... we only do now. Dadi Janki would have known but she kept silent about it. She carried on encouraging people in Destruction ... Destruction ... Destruction and to give money and properties. Is that a confidence trick or what?

It's clearly "undue influence" which is kind of fraud ... but it is a civil offence, not a criminal offence. Janki was exploiting her privileged position and the spiritual status followers had created in other people's mind, e.g. that Janki was "One of the 8" top souls in the world. Agreed, the follower were not doing so out of a deliberate intention to con others ... but it's clear they were seriously deluded. Janki, however, had seen this all happen before and so she knew.

Not disputing the facts, nor your main points, merely that the motive was singular, clear and concise.

I'd say Dadi Janki's behaviour - including pronouncements - is a prime example of the Cognitive Dissonance that is rampant within such groups.

A shining example for all BKs. (Is Cognitive Dissonance the psycho-jargon term for Tolkein's "secondary belief based on inner consistency of reality"?)

You'd think it was impossible to be a realist AND spiritual the way these groups carry on.