New Age Cults and Religions

by Texe Marrs

  “On 6/6/66 someone was born here—here; I mean someone who lives here in the Ashram… In this atmosphere and especially on this date for conscious development. It is a date chosen by him. Yes, he has chosen it. We shall see what he will do. We must follow his development. It is good: he has many possibilities. It is interesting—how these dates which have an occult significance influence physical domains also. We shall see in this child.”

  Anyone who knows Bible prophecy can understand the darkness of what The Mother of Auroville is suggesting. The beast of Revelation 13 is the man with the number 666. In proclaiming that in her community of Auroville a man was born on the sixth day, the sixth month, of the year sixty-six, that he himself “chose” this date before he was incarnated, and that this has “occult significance,” is extremely revealing.

  The Mother and the Enneagram

  The Mother and her followers are also into occult symbols. One of the most popular being promoted by this group is the Enneagram, an ancient Hindu occultic symbol which consists of a unique pattern of a circle enclosing a nine-pointed triangular configuration with a dot and a smaller circle in the middle. The Enneagram currently is an item of keen fascination in the New Age. Sri Aurobindo connected the Enneagram not only to the Mother Goddess of the Hindus but also to the goddesses of Greece and Rome.

  Also tying the Enneagram in with occult astrology, Aurobindo maintained that the secrets of the Enneagram are so important that he who unravels its secrets “will enjoy riches and wealth and be sexually fertile.”

  Regrettably, the Enneagram is also in vogue and gaining popularity amongst a number of Christian groups, with both Protestant and Catholic, whose leaders evidently are ever on the lookout for something new to give their audiences. It is especially popular in Catholic circles, with both priests and nuns promoting the use of the Enneagram to determine basic personality types, compulsions, and obsessions. One Catholic priest has even attempted to relate each of the nine points of the Enneagram with nine personality traits of Jesus! But it is not only used in the Catholic Church. Though its ancient occultic origins are undebatable, I have also received reports that the teaching of the Enneagram is being popularized at Southern Baptist retreats and in Methodist, Episcopal, and Charismatic circles.

  Chapter 11: BAHA’I

  “One God, one religion, one mankind, one planet.” This is the goal and the essential doctrine of the Baha’i, a major New Age religious group which boasts of over five million members worldwide, some 100,000 of whom reside in the United States of America. The Baha’i faith is proud to call itself a religion; but its aim is to become the world religion. Its founder, Baha’u’llah (1817-1892), is regarded by the Baha’i as the most recent in a long line of Messengers of God that stretches back beyond recorded time, including Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus, and Muhammad.

  The Baha’i religion was begun in Persia (now Iran) by a young man known as The Bab (which means in Persian, “the Gate”). The Bab announced the imminent appearance of the Messenger of God awaited by all the peoples of the world. He further declared that his purpose was to prepare mankind for the glorious advent of this coming, renewed “Christ.”

  However, the dominant Muslim clergy did not take too kindly to the message of The Bab. Swift and cruel persecution followed his announcement. He was arrested, beaten, imprisoned; finally, on July 9, 1850, The Bab was executed in the public square of the city of Tibri. Some 20,000 of his followers likewise perished in a series of massacres throughout Persia. Today, overlooking the bay in Haifa, Israel, the Baha’i have on public display a majestic building with a superb golden dome. Set among beautiful gardens, its striking architecture is no doubt a wonder and a puzzlement to the Jews who live nearby. This is the shrine where it is claimed The Bab’s earthly remains are entombed. The Baha’i consider it a great holy place.

  A believer in the message of The Bab was the man Baha’u’llah (1817-1892), who is officially credited as being the founder of the Baha’i faith. A rich young man of royal blood whose family traced its lineage all the way back to the ruling dynasties of Persia’s imperial past. Baha’u’llah became engulfed in the wave of violence unleashed at the time of The Bab’s execution. The Muslim overlords of Persia stripped him of his wealth and vast estate and set him packing to Baghdad where, in 1863, he announced himself as the One promised by The Bab, the great Messenger of God.

  In prison, Baha’u’llah addressed a series of letters which, today, the Baha’i treat as holy writ. These papers, now distributed in book form throughout the world, proclaim the coming unification of humanity and the emergence of a World Order, World Civilization, and the uniting into One of the world’s religion and faiths.

  A Perfect New Age Religion?

  Baha’i is almost the perfect New Age religion. Indeed, Baha’u’llah is called by his modern-day disciples the “Herald of the New Age.” The current leader of the Baha’i faith, who oversees an administrative body known as the Universal House of Justice, has declared, “The human race, as a distinct, organic unit, has passed through evolutionary stages and the stages of infancy and childhood in the lives of its individual members, and is now in a culminating period of its turbulent adolescence approaching its long awaited coming of age.”

  According to a Baha’i Statement on Peace promulgated by the group’s Universal House of Justice, the Baha’i faith is destined to correct “the record of the substitute faiths that the worldly wise of our age have created.” The statement boasted that Baha’u’llah, the new “Messenger of God,” is more perfect than all of the other Christs and Messiahs who came before him. The same statement also calls for the banning of nuclear weapons and the inauguration of a massive global disarmament. It declares that the time has come for a One World Order and the “recognition of the oneness of mankind”:

  Unbridled nationalism... must give way to a wider loyalty, to the love of humanity as a whole. Baha’u’llah’s statement is:‘The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens.’

  The Baha’i also call for the emancipation of women and for universal education, world peace, and common spiritual principles to be accepted by all of humanity.

  But perhaps the central thesis of the Baha’i faith is its call for a World Order, a World Order which its leaders say can be founded “only on an unshakable consciousness of the oneness of mankind, a spiritual truth which all the human scientists confirm.” They say also that “A recognition of the oneness of mankind is the first fundamental prerequisite for a reorganization and administration of the world as one country, the whole of humankind.”

  Finally, in the Statement of Peace declaration, we read: “In the Baha’i view, recognition of the oneness of mankind calls for no less that the reconstruction and the demilitarization of the whole civilized world—a world organically unified in all the essential aspects of its life, its political machinery, its spiritual aspiration, its trade and finance, its script and language, and yet infinite in the diversity in the national characteristics of its federated units.”

  Baha’i, therefore, states precisely the goal of the New Age: Total unity of mankind under a god other than Jesus Christ.

  Evangelizing the World

  Believers in the Baha’i faith go all-out to promote their religion. In their monthly newspaper, The American Baha’I we see constant reminders of their furious activities. For example, we read encouraging reports of steady growth of enrollment in the Baha’i assemblies in greater Atlanta, Phoenix, Portland, San Jose, and other American cities. Also, already there are more than 400 community-based Baha’i schools in America. Meanwhile, a major fund-raising drive is being conducted to raise $300 million to complete an impressive building complex on Mount Carmel in Israel, which is to be called “The Ark.” It is claimed that The Ark will be the spiritual shelter of mankind. It will be “the seat of God’s throne on planet earth.”

  That the Baha’i are influential throughout the world and even in America—despite their small numbers in the U.S.A—is
indisputable. Baha’i believers are building new churches in America, and their architecture is often stunning and beautiful. In The American Baha’I newspaper we see a panorama of world leaders gravitating toward the Baha’i faith. For example, in a December 1989 issue is a picture of His Royal Highness, Prince Philip, Great Britain’s Duke of Edinburgh, and United Nations Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar. The caption reports that the Prince is introducing to the United Nations Secretary-General the “Sacred Literature Trust,” a project which translates and publishes collections of the sacred texts of the various world religions. The Baha’i is one of eight major world religions affiliated with this Sacred Literature Trust.

  In Atlanta, Georgia, the Baha’i have established and are nurturing a growing relationship with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Non-violent Social Change and with other black groups such as the NAACP. They also work hand-in-hand with radical feminist groups such as the National Committee on Women and the National Organization for Women (NOW). Across America Baha’i spokesmen have been invited to make presentations on their favorite subjects, unity and peace, to such varied groups as the Kiwanis Clubs, the Sojourners, Lion’s International, and the Rotary Clubs. Mayor Tom Bradley of Los Angeles and a score of other American political leaders have praised the efforts of the Baha’i.

  It could well be that because of their unity doctrine and their vast numbers and growing influence the Baha’i religion will become a focal point for the New Age Movement in the coming years. Its teachings and goals are certainly impeccable in terms of the New Age worldview. The Baha’i teach not only of spiritual principles but are active in the political realm as well. Baha’i followers are involved in all arenas of society—in education, in establishing the quality of the sexes, in uniting various religious groups, and in the parliaments and in congresses of many nations.

  The World Religion of the Future?

  Historian Arnold Toynbee once predicted that Baha’i will become “the world religion of the future.” Writer Leo Tolstoy described it as the “highest and purest form of religious teaching.” Of course, we must realize that men like Tolstoy were not Christians. For if they were, they would realize how far off the mark from the teachings of Jesus Christ are those of Baha’u’llah and his modern-day Baha’i worshippers.

  It is significant that the Baha’i have made their headquarters—consisting of spacious and lavish buildings and facilities—on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Clearly, this group intends to become a major factor in the race for men’s souls as we speed toward the 21st century.

  Chapter 12: BLUE MOUNTAIN CENTER OF MEDITATION

  Amidst the beauty of nature in Petaluma, California is found the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation, a religious study group founded by Eknath Easwaran, a man who came to the Blue Mountains of this part of California from southern India, the Hindu region of India that Eknath Easwaran once called home. His followers say that Easwaran came to the United States on the Fullbright Scholarship Exchange Program following a successful career in India as a writer, lecturer, and professor of English literature. In 1961, the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation was established in Berkeley, California where, at the University of California, Easwaran taught the first accredited college Course in meditation.

  The teachings of Easwaran are an energetic combination of Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and other transcendental concepts. An author of many books, the eclectic Easwaran does not hesitate to proclaim the spiritual genius of Saint Francis, Saint Paul, and Saint Augustine, and he has demonstrated great admiration for the Catholic Church’s Mother Theresa in his book, Love Never Faileth. On one hand Easwaran speaks of Mahatma Gandhi as if he were a deity. Then, he is able to quickly transition into a positive-sounding sermonette about Jesus, as goggle-eyed, admiring followers rapturously sit at his feet.

  According to Easwaran and his followers, in every man lies the spark of divinity; it is the birthright of every one of us. It is through studying the insights of the Buddha, the Hindu pantheon of deities, and yes, even Christ, that man can travel the path to his own union with the Godhead.

  In addition to his books, which are sold nationally under the imprint of the Nilgiri Press, the Blue Mountain Meditation Center holds monthly workshops taught personally by Easwaran. There are also retreats at least twice a year; and according to their most recent Blue Mountain Center News newsletter, each Tuesday night Easwaran personally gives a talk on meditation at the United Church of Christ in Petaluma, California.

  The retreats of the Center are conducted at the Santa Sabina Retreat Center, originally a Catholic convent. These retreats emphasize meditation but also include such subjects as the “healing of the earth” and other environmental issues. They are normally attended by small groups because Easwaran has not yet gained the wide following of other guru types who have come to America. His following is scattered and dispersed, mainly consisting of those who read his books on the subject of meditation and spiritual growth.

  Chapter 13: BOULDER GRADUATE SCHOOL

  The Boulder Graduate School, in Boulder, Colorado, claims to “combine academic excellence with experiential learning in an atmosphere that integrates body, mind, and spirit.” Actually, to put it bluntly, what the Boulder Graduate School does is provide its students a series of jolts from the outer perimeter of the New Age movement.

  Offering Master of Arts degrees in Health and Wellness and in Psychology and Counseling, Boulder Graduate School includes in its classes instruction in almost every facet of the New Age. A recent catalog of courses listed “Native American Healing; Shamanism; Gnosticism; Goddessism; Oriental Religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism; Music, Sound and Healing; and Wilderness Rites of Passage.” There were also courses in “Western Herbology” and “The Art and Science of Touch, or Movement.”

  Considering its wacky range of , the credentials of the staff of the Boulder Graduate School seem to be impressive; many have a PhD and some are medical doctors. Its nursing are evidently approved by the Colorado Nurses Association and on an informal basis by the American Nurses Associations Board on Accreditation.

  The school, whose motto is “The Next Generation of Knowledge,” is truly a New Age university. It offers classes at night and weekends and allows the individual to tailor his curriculum to whatever occultic path or New Age lifestyle to which he is addicted or in which he finds an interest. This institution is a prototype for all the universities and colleges of the future. In fact, as we examine the college catalogs and bulletins of such premier and vaunted learning institutions as Yale, Princeton, Southern California, the University of Texas, University of Michigan, and others, we find New Ageism creeping into many of their as well. But at the Boulder Graduate School, it can correctly be stated that New Age instruction is not simply a part of the curriculum. It is the curriculum.

  Chapter 14: BUDDHISM

  Known as the religion of enlightenment, Buddhism was founded by Gautama Buddha. He was born with the name Siddhartha Gautama in what is today Nepal about 560 B.C. and died at the age of 80 in the following century. He fostered the religious teachings which came to be known as Buddhism as a violent protest against Hinduism, the religion then and now prevailing in his homeland. Especially despicable, according to the Buddha, was the Hindu doctrine of caste systems.

  In the succeeding centuries, Buddhism spread to Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and on into China, Korea, and Japan. In Japan a different form of Buddhism known as Mahayana (the Greater Vehicle) came into vogue.

  There are literally thousands of different sects and schools of thought in Buddhism. Some have said that this is more a family of religion than a single religion. Yet, there are certain constants in the teachings of the Buddha which all Buddhists hold in common and which make it a false religion for those who are traditional Christian believers.

  Recently, the Associated Press carried a story with the headline “Buddhism Takes Hold in the United States.” Religion writer Ira Rifkin reporte
d that Buddhism is sweeping across America and has now emerged as a major religion. According to Rifkin, about 150 leaders of Buddhist groups met in Los Angeles in 1987 to create a national organization designed to enhance the spread of the faith in this country. The occasion was the first convocation of the American Buddhist Congress which was held at the Qwan Urn Sa Korean Buddhist Temple. It was called “an historic occasion and a great step forward in propagating and preserving the teachings of the Lord Buddha.”

  Rifkin also noted that some 30 Japanese Buddhist sects exist in the United States, while a statement issued by Buddhist leaders in 1986 in Boulder, Colorado indicated that North America holds the greatest variety of Buddhist traditions of any country in the world today.

  1.5 Million Buddhists in America

  There may be as many as one and one-half million Buddhists in America. Large numbers live in California, Colorado, Hawaii, and other West Coast states. But sizeable pockets of Buddhists can even be found in the Northeast and Midwest. However, Southern California takes the cake as far as the spiraling growth of Buddhism is concerned. An estimated 500,000 Buddhists live in Orange County in Greater Los Angeles, according to religious statistics cited by Havan Pola Ratanasara, president of the Buddhist Sangha Council of Southern California.

  Buddhism and the New Age

  It appears that Buddhism is also a central feature of such New Age groups as Benjamin Creme’s Tara Center and the Lucis Trust, founded by the late Alice Bailey. Both organizations greatly venerate and honor the Buddha, and Creme maintains that people everywhere should meditate and visualize the Buddha as a point of light.