Faithless: After Mahikari

It seems like Mahikari not only causes psychological damage, but also spiritual damage. Since departing Mahikari I have spoken with many former kumite; and what I have found through talking with them is that after Mahikari, for many of them, spirituality, faith, and God are things of the past. So many have left Mahikari since it first began in the late 60’s and the number of former members continues to rise. The constant devotion and donations to Mahikari is no longer an acceptable way of life for many people. Leaving Mahikari is a traumatic experience, if you were unfortunate enough to get sucked into believing all the teachings. It is probably one of the hardest things, many Kumite will ever do. ZT talked about this in one of his recent posts…he talked about what hurts; and leaving Mahikari causes a lot of hurt when someone has devoted themselves so completely, entirely, and selflessly to the cause. You wake up one morning and realize that everything you thought was essential to life…seems so asinine and stupid. You find yourself wondering around incoherently, wondering what to do next. There is a void in your life, a space…you start thinking…

What am I going to do instead of going to dojo? What are my friends going to think? What will my family say? Am I spiritually disturbed and that is why I am thinking these things? Should I still care for omitama…Goshintai? Maybe I am just overreacting and there is a perfectly good explanation for these terrible findings? Did I really waste (X) amount of years on Mahikari? Would God allow me to be lead astray like this for so long?

It is those very questions and doubts that keep so many people locked in the Mahikari spell all their life. Can you imagine what someone like Dr. Tebecis would do if the truth about Mahikari suddenly registered in his mind, if all of a sudden it just clicked and he realized all the lies that he had been told and all the lies he had spread to others? What would Dr. Tebecis’ life be like without Mahikari? It’s his bread and butter, his everything, if he was suddenly without it the entire foundation upon which he has built his life would come tumbling down. I know so many people who live and breathe the dojo; they schedule everything around whether or not they will be able to get to dojo.

Some quit their jobs and devote every waking moment to Mahikari and the dojo. Could you imagine what their lives would be like without it? It would virtually stop.

They might still have their families, but then again if their families are kumite…they might not. That is what it is like to leave Mahikari for those of you who don’t know and are thinking about joining. In the end you are so dependant on Mahikari, the Kanbu, okiyome, and the dojo that you don’t know what to do without those elements in your life. You lose so much, especially if you were unfortunate enough (like myself) to pull your family and friends into it.

When you’re ready to leave, doesn’t mean the people you love will be ready to leave.

It isn’t as easy as Kumite make it out to be. Kumite say you can leave whenever you want, but when you do, you are shunned. Mahikari and its members won’t talk to you anymore because you’re disturbed, and to associate with you would be like holding themselves back spiritually. But that isn’t the worst part.

As I said, for many, after Mahikari is a life without spirituality and God. I would be willing to say that 75% of ex-members I have talked to have either become agnostic or atheist since leaving Mahikari. Their faith in God is completely shaken because they believed whole-heartedly in the Mahikari cause…only to find that it was lies.

When I ask them why they don’t believe they will say, “If God exists, why did He point me in this direction? Why did He allow me to become victimized by this cult?”

My answer to them is always the same, whether they want to hear it or not. God didn’t point you in this direction; YOU went in that direction because you wanted to. God didn’t allow you to become victimized by a cult, YOU allowed yourself to be victimized by a cult.

Some of them have lost 20 or more years because of Mahikari. I have read comment after comment on former member sites that say, “Mahikari has ruined spirituality for me for the rest of my life.” That is how much this cult is hurting people. It turns everyone involved into a mindless lemming, following the crowd, being obedient, and paying, paying, paying.

Many will not leave Mahikari (like Dr.Tebecis)…why?

Not because they’re weak people, but because of the embarrassment of having to admit they were wrong and because of the fear of what is beyond the dojo walls. They start thinking…what next? What can I do with my life now? Where do I direct my focus? Where do I use this energy and desire to improve the world? What will I do instead of Mahikari?

That is was keeps people involved in Mahikari long after giving light has lost its reward. If you are lucky enough to get out, some come out stronger and ready to take on the world, others become reclusive and faithless. It is a tragedy that Mahikari has the ability to turn once vibrant and spiritual people into half of what they were before.

It’s like a leech that sucks the life from you and then discards you. I have been lucky, but if you’re reading this and are truly considering Mahikari as a spiritual path, remember this…you might not be as lucky.