Proselytism Targeting Vulnerable People

F: Proselytism targeting vulnerable people.

There is a specific group of people who find their way to Mahikari. The first group of people are those who are ill, terminally or otherwise. These people come to Mahikari normally because they read the information on the website or hear about Mahikari through members, who present a testimony of people who have been “cured” by true light. This gives the ill person hope and they begin attending the dojo in order to cure their illness, if for some reason the illness goes into remission, the members automatically attribute it to the light. Mahikari members always assume that A caused B because B followed A.

This group of people are extremely vulnerable, because they just want to get well. They will try anything to cure themselves. I have diabetes, but when I was younger I had juvenile diabetes which is much more severe. I was told by the doctor that my kidneys could never go through the strain of having children, but I had wanted kids my whole life. When I joined Mahikari and my friend told me that okiyome might be able to make me strong enough to have children, I was sceptical, but I would have tried anything. I have a son now, but the strain was tremendous and I won’t be able to have anymore children. The doctor feels that one more might kill me.

The second group of people are the environmentalists and humanitarians. Mahikari appeals to the side of them that wants to save the world from its current state of chaos. The Mahikari philosophy of connecting everyone and creating a peaceful society appeals to these ideological people. Mahikari constantly pushes the environment issue; it is one of the main discussions that take place during monthly ceremony.

These people are vulnerable because of their bleeding hearts. They are kind, wonderful, compassionate people, who see how nasty this world has become and want to make a difference. They want to prevent war and live peacefully. Mahikari teaches that through the divine teachings we will all be connected (races and religions) and peace will eventually ensue. After the building of Suza the world will start reverting back to the Garden of Eden. These people want to believe this lie so badly that they remain in Mahikari. Eden hasn’t come back yet, and I bet those people are still waiting for Keishu’s lie to come true.

The third group of people is the ones who want an easy way out when it comes to God. These people normally work a tremendous amount of time and struggle to accept a God that is jealous, vengeful, and destructive if not obeyed. The Bible says that you are judged by your faith alone, not by your works. This is hard for some people to deal with because in order to be faithful they would first have to love God and obey His will. Mahikari appeals to these people because they like the idea of paying for forgiveness and spending an hour a day giving light in order to erase sins, rather than putting out the effort of actually getting to know God. Now…that’s not saying that Mahikari doesn’t preach about a vengeful God, they do, the Goseigen also states that not even kumite are safe from the Baptism of Fire, however, there seems to be a common belief amongst kumite that they are all saved despite the Goseigen’s warning. I remember so many people who would come only on monthly ceremonies, pay their membership fee, and leave immediately after. It was as though they thought God only judged them by the amount of money they paid.

These people are not vulnerable at all, just lazy.

The fourth group is children. When I say children I mean people from the ages of 0-25…I don’t think I was fully an adult until I was in my mid-twenties. Mahikari has always taught that it is important to have as many children as possible in order to raise them as kumite. As soon as you are married you are encouraged to begin a family, trust me, I know. I was pressured to start a family as soon as I got married at 20.

Once the child is born they are raised in Mahikari, naturally they adopt the same beliefs their parents practice; they learn what they see. It’s all fun and games until their tenth birthday. As soon as that child turns ten they begin being harassed by members of Kanbu to join Mahikari. As if that isn’t bad enough the child begins being harassed by their parents because not only is Kanbu harassing the child, but also the parent to encourage the child to become a member.

I remember one man I spoke with recently, he’s now 22 but he spoke with me about his experience, he said, “My mom, dad, and older brother were all members…I felt obligated to join when I turned ten and everyone started asking me about Kenshu. Almost like it was a birthright I had to accept. I took the class against my better judgment and before I knew it I was in Mahikari Tai and a Tai-Cho. Now I have left the organization and I don’t think I would have joined if the pressure hadn’t been present. Giving light didn’t appeal to me, even at that age.”

If your parents are members everyone assumes that you will be too and most children don’t have the courage to say how they feel. They feel like they will be disappointing everyone if they don’t take Kenshu. They are by far the most vulnerable because they won’t speak for themselves.

And last we have the religiously conflicted person. These people have a problem with traditional religion and seem to go from religion to religion until they find one that fits their own theories about life and the after-life. Reincarnation appeals to most people because they like the idea of second chances. Most people fear the harsh Christian philosophy of, “Follow the Bible or you’ll go to hell.” Mahikari suggests a much lighter sentence which states that if you are bad you will not go to heaven, but rather a place where you will be purified and then reincarnated into a new life until you chose Mahikari as your religion and then you will graduate to the next level. To the religiously conflicted person, this sounds pretty good, most people like second chances. You can screw up as much as you want and get away with it forever.