Scientology Another Science of Conning Essay Example

Scientology: Another Science of Conning Essay Since its inception, scientology is marked by controversy and allegations, though apparently it looks innocuous with its idea that it intends to promote or market. It has earned different identities in different countries; in US it is a legal organization who is free to practice its religion and enables tax exemption for the buyers of its commodities, while in Germany or Russia they are registered only as institutions. This obviously speaks about their inability to established them as an organization whose activities are accepted in the same light across the globe.There are many questions still unanswered, as to why its founder, after being named as one of the co-conspirator, had to go into hiding till he died in 1986. Mysterious deaths of the scientologists with defamations issued against them by the church of scientology, document stealing operations like Snow White etc. has definitely gone against the image of this organization, as these events have become known globally.It claims to be a stand-alone solution against billion-dollar psychiatry trade of medicine and treatment. They claim that only a proper dose of scientology would be sufficient to handle the problem, and it is because of such a simple solution threatening the conventional psychology and psychiatry fields, there is opposition against it in many form; in fact a concerted opposition from those who could lose their profession based on vague ideas. This over simplification of the affairs might have helped to spread over 25 countries with churches and around 40 countries with centers since the second half of the 20th Century; but this is 21st and people are raising pertinent questions relating to their intention.The Church of Scientology is accused of exploiting on misfortune and hypocrisy, let alone remaining indifferent with the deaths of scientologists who are thought to do so in failing to comply with the dictums of it, be it inability to pay the high fees or be it disagreement with the proceed ings. There are many instances published with proof, which can easily be accessible even through web. This made them to buy a battle with medias newest format: The World Wide Web. Paradoxically, their campaigns center around the word trust, which, going by the allegations of many people, they never tried to earn. In turn, to a many distant observer, they are seen as a money-spinning, power-mongering empire that intends to expand itself under the veil of scientific religion or humanitarian institution. This essay casts an independent look on this organization and the controversy shrouded around it, before arriving at a conclusion.What is Scientology?Going by its bottom line, scientology claims to purify a person by clearing the negative influences they assume as residents in a human mind and soul. It has stemmed from Dianetics (first appeared as a 40-page article in Campbells science fiction magazine Astounding, in May, 1950), a set of self-help theories, which brought both name and fame to its writer L. Ron Hubbard, earlier known as a science fiction writer. Hubbard addressed it as a technology, which addresses and handles the effects of the spirit on the body and can alleviate such things as unwanted sensations and emotions, accidents, injuries and psychosomatic illnesses (ones that are caused or aggravated by mental stress). Dianetics is a compound word, meaning through the soul (taken from Greek dia, through, and nous, soul). It is further defined as what the soul is doing to the body (Hubbard, 1997, pp. 130).In 1952, Hubbard introduced Scientology as a complete package of a philosophy which studies and handles the spirit in relationship to itself, universes and other life. Greek word scio (knowing in the fullest sense of the word) conjoins logos (study) to form the word scientology – aiming to mean, knowing how to know. According to Hubbard, Scientology is a route, a way, rather than a dissertation or an assertive body of knowledge. Through its dril ls and studies one may find the truth for himself. The technology is therefore not expounded as something to believe, but something to do. (Hubbard, 1997, pp 133-134).Dianetics starts from dividing human mind into two segments, naming them as analytical and reactive minds, then it goes on to   identify a persons mind as a reservoir of clutters that according to them, is accumulated by series of past events, even the events happened when the person is in womb, and they call them engrams (the etching events in ones memory, according to scientology parlance). Now dianetics aims to clear those engrams by transferring them to the analytical mind with proper indexation for future utilization. While Dianetics focuses on mind, scientology focuses on soul, naming it as thetan, which is embodied into our physical being, called body thetan. Scientology aims to clear thetan from the clutch of body thetan! The process starts with Auditing therapy, which comprises of sessions between the aspiri ng scientologist (termed as preclear) and an Auditor, who asks questions to the preclear to bring out the engrams from the reactive mind and pack them off to conscious mind.And what is there in that clear package?A Clear person will:Never have colds or accidents;Have a soaring IQ;Be able to totally recall of his/her entire life, from conception onwards;Be able to repair cancer and other physical deficiencies;Be able to compute in seconds what otherwise would take 30 minutes.Be able to leave the body at willBe able to communicate with other forms of life, and more, and more..!The Good Bad and the UglyThe theme behind Scientology   doesnt answer many pertinent questions about the evolution of thetans (souls), and itself based on the idea that resembles a science fiction story. However, in its doctrines, it encompasses a good many ideas covered by other religions, like Hinduisms rebirth concept, or purification concepts, which is also present in some other religions.There is another pertinent point lies in the fact that it goes on to claim that its ideas and practices are based on proven scientific principles, but it doesnt give explanations in any tangible manner, like explaining the chemical changes in a body or so. Similarly it failed to provide the instances of a clear person, though it produced various persons from time to time, who failed to justify their title.At best, scientology has made people curious about the ways of helping themselves without using chemical supplements and also brought the practices of the psychologists and psychiatrists   under scanner. It is a known fact that unfair practice in these professions is not uncommon, such as falsely claiming the advancement in treatment when it is not or prescribing series of treatment sessions when there is no need for that.The idea that adorns the facade of scientology is no doubt sounds good and positive to the ears of the unsuspecting people, but the complaints regarding their practice pushes th at idea behind, if the media reactions and personal experiences of people are anything to go by.Formation and establishing of a cult nevertheless goes against the principles of   maintaining a conglomerate society, and the modern media is blaming scientology on that ground too – the Church of Scientology   is now accused of forming a cult of infiltration, which is posing a threat to democracy.Overt propaganda with morphed pictures and tall claims about their success have also added fuel to the minds of their critics, and in no time they have come out with the proof of such forged photographs.These incidents obviously raise valuable questions to an independent mind – why an organization claiming itself as haven of purification would have to resort to lies for the sake of raising its image? Isnt it an antithesis of practice and preaching? This question even gets stronger with other evidences lying in its founders words, where he talks about attacking whoever pose as attacker to the philosophy of scientology, while prescribing meanest ways to counter its critics.Todays world is fast becoming a virtual community, where people have easy access to the information and knowledge. Under this state, the accountability factor looms large over any claim that is related to the benevolence of the society. Scientology also cannot escape this and here they are receiving more jolts, which cannot be managed even with the induction of the Hollywood stars like Tom Cruise, Ketty Holmes or John Travolta to its rank and file; people today are more conscious about what they can gain out of any idea, and not what is being whetted by celebrities as something good. This is corroborated by the million-dollar challenge thrown by a website, who asks any clear scientologist to prove his super power.The much-guarded secrets, however, could not be protected, as now it is in the public knowledge that scientology, after taking its students through various layers of operation, ultimately presents a peculiar and absurd science fiction to substantiate their effort for clearing the souls from the body.ControversiesThe latest controversy with scientologist has evolved out of their charity campaign against drug, named Narconon, where they are accused of promoting scientology under the cover of charity to more than 500 schools across Britain. According to the report appeared on The Sunday Times, dated January 7, 2007,   Narconon is treating the drug victims according to the methods prescribed in Hubbards works, which are not substantiated by scientific proof. As an after effect, Californias State Department of Education has advised the schools not to use the charity. Incidentally Narconons headquarter is in California.This incident is just a drop in the ocean of allegations against the Church of Scientology. They range from L. Ron Hubbards credentials to his motive behind forming the Church. It also points to the statement allegedly made by Hubbard himself th at the best way to make money is to start a religionAllegations also have a long trail of incidents, ranging from suicide or mysterious deaths to cheating and forgery, which led the Church to the court and its executives to jail time and again.The history of civilization contains numerous evidences where an individual or a group emerged with the desire to rule the greater part of land and enjoy the most of the resources. They used various formats for that – provincialism, racism or religion. As for scientology, a considerable portion of the media is citing it as its newest avatar in a newer format.In other words, the rise of scientology could perhaps be seen as the extension of the imagination of a science fiction writer, who dreamt of building an empire under the cover of scientology, and in the process, applied the layers of mystery to its origin and coined new words to stamp its identity, which hooked many people worldwide, before the bubble burst!There are various steps o f purification, and there is money involved to get promoted in each of them; then comes a stage which is closer to the top, when the aspiring scientologist gets access to the story which forms the basis of the scientology, of which s/he could not ask anything concerning logic or explanation.The story   goes like this – 75 million years ago from now there was a ruler named Xenu, who ruled altogether 76 planets including earth. The over population in the planets (178 billion people in an average) bothers Xenu and so he hatches a plan, in which he would paralyze and pack billions of people under the pretext of income tax inspections and send them to earth through planes resembling modern DC8..He does that and more, by stacking the paralyzed lot of people over the volcanoes on earth and then detonating the volcanoes with H-bombs, killing all of them, and then destroying some of their thetans (souls) with nuclear wind and capturing the rest with electronic beams. And he does eve n more. He packs those captured souls into boxes and sends them to huge movie halls to implant his ideas in them through a 3D movie a process called implanting.Consequently, the movie-struck souls considers one another as same and starts living in clusters within the few available bodies of earth. Now they are the body thetans and scientology aims to remove them to make our souls free from them. In the end of the story, bad ruler Xenu is punished in a unique wayHowever impossible or shocking it may seem to be, this is the story that is fed to the persons who reach to the secret level of scientology, known as OT III. Now there could be valid points in believing Hubbards genius for making people pay heavily to read such a story, but there is no denying the fact that there is a section of the society that is growing each day to campaign against scientology – the proof of which lies in the growing number of websites ridiculing or opposing it, labeling the process of scientology as a unique con-game – where spending a huge sum one gets to read a cock-and-bull story with a random timeline, where Christ exists even 75 million years ago, the souls (thetans) are taken to a movie or the conspirator-cum-ruler Xenu is put into a mountain-cum-jail that is powered by a forever powerful battery etc., etc. And how much one has to dish out to read this story? No less than $365,000 ! Yes,   that is the estimated amount which is collected step by step from the gullible, wannabe purified people!To make the proceedings look coveted, Hubbard had embarked heavily on a set of new parlance, like havingness or thinkingness – so that such jargons establish the myth in the minds of the innocents. It works the same way as it works in multilevel marketing which has in its parlance the words like diamond leg etc.; it makes people curious and drives their emotion to know what is there behind the veil. Scientology has so far cashed on in this human trait with a careful ly laid-out trap.It is also common in a person who paid a hefty sum for something absurd and yet emphatically   told that   he actually paid for something precious, s/he would at least try to believe that what s/he has done is right, and this has to have some value. The artistry of conning lies in the ability to convince people that they are getting real return against the value of their money; and this is done with such a clever manner that even if one realizes that one is conned, s/he would not tell it others to save the face.From this perspective, scientology is serving the society in a unique way – it is helping some people to the open their eyes as how systematic conning can work on the minds of the credulous and innocents lining up for salvation. Subsequently, scientologys approach is fairly simple; it doesnt have a manifesto of nationalism or racism to hold aloft; it only focuses on the money of the gullible, who, it is known would either run away dejected and stan d against it, or be a face saver with a sheepish smile. Thus this church in reality doesnt have any agenda other than raising money for it.CONCLUSIONThere is no scientific evidence backed Hubbards theories, nor they intend to go that line like every other scientific work would go: Assumption, Research, Finding and Inference.Altogether, this alluring invitation of a utopian journey and stay in a make-believe world is bound to throw a person into the hard ground of reality sooner or later. This is also evident from numerous ex-scientologists statements, who have managed to shrug off their prejudice and described the process of scientology as something like praising a naked emperor for his beautiful robe –   a matching metaphor indeed for those who are siphoned off   thousands of dollars to read a science fiction as the basis of their salvation program and now want to save their faces by praising scientology as the agent of ultimate freedom.