Difference between revisions of "Aum Shinrikyo" - New World Encyclopedia

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'''Aum Shinrikyo''', now known as '''Aleph''', is a Japanese New Religious Movement|religious group founded by Japanese national Matsumoto Chizuo, later known to his followers as Master Shoko Asahara. The group gained international notoriety in 1995, when it carried out a Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in the Tokyo Rapid transit|subways. It is estimated that at its height,in 1995,the group had an estimated membership in Japan of 9,000, and as many as 40,000 worldwide. As the result of the gas attack in 1985, and additional attempts to release deadly gas into the Tokyo subway system, the group was eventually labeled as a terrorist organization. Many of its members were subsequently arrested and convicted for various criminal acts, including Asahara, who was eventually sentenced to death. The group has now dwindled in size, and as of 2004, it is divided into two seperate groups, each one opposing the other. The estimated combinated membership of the two groups at that time was 1,500 to 2,000 people. Current figures estimate 500 fulltime members.
 
  
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==Beginnings of the Movement==
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'''Aum Shinrikyo,''' also known as '''Aleph,''' is a Japanese [[New Religious Movement]] which gained international notoriety in 1995, when it carried out a lethal [[sarin]] gas attack on the [[Tokyo subway]].
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The beginnings of this movement appear to have taken place in approximately 1984. Asahara, who legal name was Matsumoto Chizuo, was born with glaucoma. He was almost completely blind at birth, having only slight vision in one eye. In his early years he attended a school for the blind, and lived in a boarding school for almost 14 years. After graduating in 1977 he moved to Tokyo. Despite his intense efforts, Asahara failed to pass the entrance exam at Tokyo University. Eventually Asahara studied acupunture and also developed an intense interest in religion. His interest in religion ultimately resulted in the starting of his own religioius movement. He started off as a Yoga and meditation class known as ''Aum-no-kai'' ("Aum club") which steadily grew in the following years. It gained the official status as a religious organization in 1989. It attracted such a considerable number of young graduates from Japan's elite universities that it was dubbed a "religion for the elite Some have called it a cult or sect. The movement's core beliefs are a combination of Buddhist teachings, such as Yoga and Tibetan Buddhism, as well as Hindu beliefs and practices, such as adopting Shiva its primary diety, the god of destruction. Asahara asserted that he had been given the divine mission of establishing the utopian buddhist kingdom of Shambhala, and he proposed in 1988 to build communal “Lotus Villages” across Japan. The goal of the religious group was for individuals to rid themselves of bad karma (Brackett 1996, pp. 69-75). Asahara Shōkō borrowed many practices from yoga, and he defined a sophisticated sequence of training and spiritual testing. From the group's earliest existence, it invoked millennialist themes, that if enough followers gathered together, their positive spiritual energy could overcome the negative forces and save the Armageddon that was to come at the end of the twentieth century.  No later than April 1990 Asahara came to believe that harnessing the spiritual energy of a large number of followers was not enough to save the world. He spoke to his disciples instead about a mass, indiscriminate death as the only basis for the salvation of humanity. Through death, the guru claimed, the soul could reincarnate at a superior spiritual level.
 
  
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The group attracted attention in the late 1980s with accusations of deception of new members,the holding members against their will and the forcing of members to donate money. A murder of a member who tried to leave the group is known to have taken place in February 1989. In October 1989, the group's negotiations with Tsutsumi Sakamoto, a lawyer threatening a lawsuit against the group failed. In December, 1989, Sakamoto, his wife and his child were reported missing from their home in Yokohama. It was not until 1995 that Sakamoto and his family were found to have been murdered. The police eventually linked the deaths to members of the Aum group.  
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Founded by [[Shoko Asahara]], Aum emerged in [[Japan]] in the mid-1980s and attracted growing numbers of young adherents from leading Japanese universities with its blend of Buddhist and Hindu teachings, [[yoga]], the promise of personal enlightenment, and a collective mission of saving humankind from destruction.
  
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At the end of 1993 the group started secretly manufacturing the nerve agent sarin and later VX (nerve agent)|VX gas. The group came to the attention of the public in 1995 when 12 people died and thousands were injured following the release of nerve gas into a Tokyo subway by members of the group. This action aroused extereme public disapproval of the group when it was eventually determined that Alph members carried out the attack.
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In the 1990s, after being branded a "[[cult]]" and unsuccessfully running several candidates for political office, the group began to turn increasingly hostile toward the outside world. Its leaders procured military weapons in [[Russia]] and engaged in assassinations of opponents. As the result of the 1995 sarin attack and additional attempts to release deadly gas into the [[Tokyo]] subway system, many Aum members were arrested and convicted for various criminal acts. Asahara was sentenced to death.
  
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Several hundred members were eventually arrested. Asahara was arrested for 23 counts of murder. In 2004, after an eight-year trial, he was convicted of masterminding the attack and was sentenced to death with several of his followers. None of them have yet to be executed. As a result of the mass convictions of many of its members, the group was virtually decimated. Much of its property was seized by the Japanese government, and eventually the group was labeled as a terrorist group by the the Japanese government, the EU, the United States, and Canada.
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In the aftermath of the sarin attacks, most members left Aum Shinrikyo, which was now considered a terrorist organization. Others, still believing in its earlier teachings, stayed and worked to change its image, apologizing for its earlier behavior, changing its name to '''Aleph,''' and establishing a fund to compensate its victims.  
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In 1995, Aum Shinrikyo was reported to have 9,000 members in Japan and as many as 40,000 worldwide. As of 2004, Aleph membership was estimated at 1,500 to 2,000 persons. In 2006, many of its remaining members, believing Aleph had not sufficiently distanced itself from Asahara and the gas attacks, left the group and formed a new organization, called '''''Hikari no Wa,''''' or Ring of Light.
  
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The structure of the group is somewhat complex, as is its teachings.
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==Background==
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Asahara, whose legal name was Matsumoto Chizuo, was born on March 2, 1955, with severe [[glaucoma]]. He was almost completely blind at birth, having only slight vision in one eye. In his early years he attended a school for the blind, and lived in a boarding school for almost 14 years. After graduating in 1977, he moved to [[Tokyo]]. Despite intense efforts, Asahara failed to pass the entrance exam at [[Tokyo University]]. He then studied [[acupuncture]] and also developed an intense interest in [[religion]].
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[[Image:Sivakempfort.jpg|thumb|Shiva in meditation]]
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Asahara's Aum movement got its start around 1984, when he initiated a [[yoga]] and [[meditation class]] known as ''Aum-no-kai'' ("Aum club"), which steadily grew in the following years. It gained the official status as a religious organization in 1989. The group attracted such a considerable number of young graduates from Japan's elite universities that it was dubbed a "religion for the elite." The movement's core beliefs represented a combination of Buddhist teachings derived from yoga and [[Tibetan Buddhism]], as well as [[Hinduism|Hindu]] beliefs and practices. It adopted the Hindu god [[Shiva]], the god of destruction, as its primary deity.
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Asahara asserted that he had been given the divine mission of establishing the utopian Buddhist kingdom of [[Shambhala]], and he proposed in 1988, to build communal “Lotus Villages” across Japan. Asahara borrowed many practices from yoga, and he developed a sophisticated sequence of training and spiritual testing, the goal of which was for individuals to rid themselves completely of bad [[karma]]. However, unlike traditional [[Buddhism]], the group also aimed to save the world. From its beginning, it invoked millennialist themes, believing that if enough followers gathered together, their positive spiritual energy could overcome the negative forces in the world and avoid the Armageddon that was to come at the end of the twentieth century.
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However, Asahara eventually came to believe that harnessing the spiritual energy of a large number of followers was not enough to save the world. He spoke about the need for mass, indiscriminate death as the only way save humanity.
  
 
==Doctrine==
 
==Doctrine==
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The core of Aum doctrine are Buddhist scriptures included in the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. Other religious texts are also used, including a number of Tibetan Buddhist sutras, Hindu yogic sutras, and Taoist scriptures. However, there is controversy as to whether Aum is a Buddhist group or other definitions are more appropriate, such as labeling it  a 'doomsday cult'. The name "Aum Shinrikyo" (Japanese language|Japanese]: オウム真理教 ''Ōmu Shinrikyō''), sometimes written "Aum Shinrikiyo," derives from the Hindu syllable ''[Aum]'' (which represents the universe), followed by ''Shinrikyo'' written in kanji, roughly meaning "religion of Truth." In 2000 the organization changed its name to "Aleph (letter)|Aleph" (the first letter of the Hebrew Alphabet|Hebrew and Arabic alphabet), changing its logo as well
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Aum's teachings are a combination of Buddhist scriptures, Hindu yogic ''sutras,'' and [[Taoist]] writings. The name "Aum Shinrikyo" ([[Japanese language|Japanese]]: オウム真理教—''Ōmu Shinrikyō'') derives from the mystical Hindu syllable ''[[Aum]],'' followed by ''Shinrikyo,'' roughly meaning "religion of truth."
  
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===Basics===
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[[Image:Aum red.svg|thumb|left|150px|Hindu symbol for ''Aum'']]
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Some scholars of the new religious movements view Aum's doctrine as a combination of various traditions, citing various reasons to justify their viewpoints. Perhaps the most widespread argument is a notion that the primary deity revered by Aum followers is Shiva, the Hindu deity symbolizing the power of destruction. The Aleph's Lord Shiva (also known as Samantabhadra, Kuntu-Zangpo, or Adi-Buddha) derives from Tibetan Vajrayana tradition and has no connection to the Hindu Shiva.
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The primary deity revered by Aum followers was [[Shiva]], traditionally identified as the Hindu deity symbolizing the power of destruction. However, some believe that Aum's version of the deity derives from Tibetan [[Vajrayana]] tradition and has little connection to the Hindu Shiva. There is also controversy as to what role [[Christianity]] plays in its doctrine. Ashahara's vision of an impending apocalyptic event, for example, seems to derive from the Christian idea of the [[Battle of Armageddon]].
  
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There is also controversy as to what role [[Christianity]] plays in Aleph's doctrine, since it was mentioned in some of Asahara|Shoko Asahara's speeches and books. Asahara himself referred to Aum's doctrine as 'truth', arguing that 'while various Buddhist and yogic schools lead to the same goal by different routes, the goal remains the same, and insisting that the world's major religions are closely related to each other. Asahara believed that the 'true religion' should not only offer a path but it should also lead to a final destination by its own specific 'route' which may differ considerably due to differences in those who follow it (what the religion terms 'Final Realization'). This way, a religion for modern Japanese or Americans will be different from a religion for ancient Indians. The more custom-tailored to the audience the religion is, the more effective it becomes, according to Asahara. His other conviction was that once a disciple chose whom to learn from, he should maintain focus with that person so as to avoid any confusion that could arise from contradictions between different 'routes' to the ultimate goal, the Enlightenment. Asahara quoted Indian and Tibetan religious figures in support of these viewpoints.
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Asahara himself referred to Aum's doctrine as "truth," arguing that while various religions lead to the same goal by different routes, the goal remains the same. However, a religion for modern Japanese will be different from a religion for ancient Indians or Medieval Europeans. The more custom-tailored to the audience the religion is, the more effective it becomes. Asahara also taught that once a disciple chooses whom to learn from, he should maintain focus with that person so as to avoid any confusion that could arise from contradictions between different routes to the ultimate goal, the state of [[Enlightenment]].
  
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===Influence of Buddhism===
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According to Aum teachings, the ultimate and final realization of life is "the state where everything is achieved and there is nothing else worth achieving." This involves a multitude of small enlightenments, each elevating the consciousness of a follower to a higher level, making him or her a more intelligent and better-developed person by coming closer to his or her "true self" (or ''[[atman]]''). Asahara believed that the Buddhist path was the most effective way to achieve this goal. He selected various traditional Buddhist sermons as the foundation for the Aum doctrine. He also added various elements from Chinese gymnastics and yogic ''[[asanas]]'' in order to maintain a proper meditative attitude and posture.  
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According to Aum, the route to Final Realization (in Shakyamuni Buddha's words, 'the state where everything is achieved and there is nothing else worth achieving') entails a multitude of small enlightenments each elevating the consciousness of a practitioner to a higher level, thus making him or her a more intelligent and 'better' developed, by getting closer to his or her 'true self' (or 'atman'). Asahara believed that the Buddhist path was the most effective, so he selected original Shakyamuni Buddha sermons as a foundation for the Aum doctrine; however, he also added various elements from other traditions, such as Chinese gymnastics (said to improve overall bodily health) or yogic asanas (to prepare for keeping a meditation posture). He also translated much of traditional Buddhist terminology into modern Japanese, and later changed the wording to make the terms less confusing and easier to memorize and understand. He defended his innovations by referring to Shakyamuni who chose Pali instead of Sanskrit in order to make sermons accessible for the ordinary population, who could not understand the language of the ancient Indian educated elite.
 
  
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In Asahara's view, Aum's doctrine encompassed all three major Buddhist schools: Theravada (aimed at personal enlightenment), Mahayana (the "great vehicle," aimed at helping others), and tantra|tantric] Vajrayana (the "diamond vehicle," which involves secret initiations, secret mantras, and advanced esotericism|esoteric meditations. In his own book ''Initiation (Aum Shinrikyo book)|Initiation'' he compares the stages of enlightenment according to the famous ''Yoga Sutra'' by Patanjali with the Buddhist Noble Eightfold Path, arguing that these two traditions discuss exactly the same experiences although in different words. Asahara has also authored a number of other books. The best known are ''Beyond Life and Death'' and ''Mahayana-Sutra.'' The books explain the process of attaining various stages of enlightenment provided in ancient scriptures and compares it with the experiences of Asahara and his followers. He also published commentaries to ancient scriptures. Asahara's sermons were dedicated to specific themes (from ways to keep the proper meditation posture to methods of raising a healthy child) and are studied by Aum followers. Some of the sermons seem simple in terms of their wording and deal with everyday matters such as unhappiness arising from problems in human relationships. Other sermons use sophisticated language and discuss matters more interesting for an educated elite. Full-time renunciates mostly study the sermons dealing with aspects considered 'advanced' while lay followers concentrate on 'wordly stuff'. Some of the sermons, considered 'pre-entry level' are not being studied (a good example of these are television interviews or recorded brief broadcasts of Aum's radio station, 'Evangelion Tes Basileias'). To maintain and improve thinking abilities, Asahara suggested that his followers refrain from consuming 'low-quality' and 'degrading' information from sources such as entertainment magazines and comic shows and advised them to read scientific literature instead. This approach which was labeled 'information intake control' and became a source of media criticism.  
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In Asahara's view, Aum's doctrine encompassed all three major Buddhist schools: [[Theravada]] (aimed at personal enlightenment), [[Mahayana]] (the "great vehicle," aimed at helping others), and [[tantra|tantric]] [[Vajrayana]] (the "diamond vehicle," which involves secret initiations, [[mantra]]s, and advanced [[esotericism|esoteric]] meditations). In his book, ''[[Initiation (Aum Shinrikyo book)|Initiation]],'' Asahara compares the stages of enlightenment, according to the famous ''[[Yoga Sutra]]'' with the Buddhist Noble [[Eightfold Path]]. He asserted that these two traditions discuss the same experiences but in different words.
  
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==Organizational structure==
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Asahara also authored a number of other books. The best known are ''Beyond Life and Death'' and ''Mahayana-Sutra.'' These books explain the process of attaining various stages of enlightenment provided in ancient scriptures, and compares it with the experiences of Asahara and his followers. Asahara also published commentaries on ancient scriptures.
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Aum applied specific methodologies and arranged the doctrine studies in accordance with a special ''kogaku'' (Japanese: learning) system. In ''kogaku'', each new stage is reached only after examinations are successfully passed, imitating the familiar Japanese entrance exam paradigm. Meditation practice is combined with and based upon theoretic studies. Theoretical studies, Asahara maintained, serve no purpose if 'practical experience' is not achieved. He therefore advised not to explain anything if it was not actually experienced and suggested reading Aum's books instead.
 
  
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Followers were divided into two groups: lay practitioners and "samana" (a Pali word for monks but also used to include "nun]s", which comprise a "sangha" (monastic order). The former live with their families; the latter lead ascetic lifestyles, usually in groups.
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Aum inherited the Indian esoteric yoga tradition of ''[[Shaktipat]],'' also mentioned in Mahayana Buddhist texts. The Shaktipat, which is believed to allow a direct transmission of spiritual energy from a teacher to a disciple, was practiced by Asahara and several of his top disciples, including [[Fumihiro Joyu]], who took over the leadership of the group in 1999.  
  
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According to Aum's classification, a follower can attain the following stages by religious practice: Raja Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Mahamudra (sometimes called Jnana Yoga), Mahayana Yoga, Astral Yoga, Causal Yoga and the ultimate stage, the Ultimate Realization. The overwhelming majority of such alleged attainers were monks, though there were some lay Raja Yoga and Kundalini Yoga attainers. For a follower to be considered an attainer, specific conditions had to be met before senior sangha members would recognize them as such. For instance, the "Kundalini Yoga" stage requires demonstration of reduction in oxygen consumption, changes in electromagnetic brain activity, and reduction of heart rate (measured by corresponding equipment). A follower who demonstrates such changes is considered to have entered the "samadhi" state and thus deserved the title and permission to teach others. Each stage has its own requirements. Advancements in theoretical studies did not give followers the right to teach others anything except the basic doctrine. According to Asahara, real meditation experience could be the only criterion for deciding the actual ability to teach others.
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Asahara stressed isolation from the "outside world" because the outside world was impure and would contaminate his followers. He convinced his followers that isolation from the outside world was for their own benefit. He also allegedly distributed drugs to some members in order to keep them docile.
  
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Aum also inherited the Indian esoteric yoga tradition of Shaktipat, also mentioned in Mahayana Buddhist texts. The Shaktipat, which is believed to allow a direct transmission of spiritual energy from a teacher to a disciple, was practiced by Asahara himself and several of his top disciples, including Fumihiro Joyu and Hisako Ishii. Fumihiro Joyu also performed a shaktipat-like ceremony at the beginning of the XXI century.
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==Organizational structure==
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[[Image:Aum-yokohamasibu.jpg|thumb|Aum branch in Yokohama]]
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Aum applied specific methodologies and arranged doctrinal studies in accordance with a specialized learning system. A new stage would be reached only after a follower successfully passed an examination. [[Meditation]] practice was combined with theoretical studies. Asahara maintained that such studies served no purpose if "practical experience" was not achieved. He advised his followers not to attempt to explain anything if it was not actually experienced.  
  
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Asahara stressed isolation from the outside world because the outside world was impure and only contaminated members. He convinced his followers isolation from the outside world was for their own welfare, and used drugs to keep them docile
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Followers were divided into two groups: Lay practitioners who lived with their families and another group that led an ascetic lifestyle, usually living in groups.
  
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Following the formal closure of Aum Shinrikyo, a number of steps were undertaken that changed some of the aspects that concerned both the society and authorities. Some of the most controversial parts of the doctrine (see below for details) were removed, while the basic, general aspects remained intact. For this reason, the information on religious doctrine provided in this article remains largely relevant to the new organization Aleph as well.
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For a follower to be considered an ''attainer,'' specific conditions had to be met before he became recognized by senior members as attaining a higher spiritual state. For instance, the "[[Kundalini]] Yoga" stage required a demonstration of being able to show a reduced consumption of oxygen, changes in electromagnetic brain activity, and reduction of heart rate (measured by corresponding equipment). A follower who demonstrated such changes was considered to have entered what was called the ''[[samadhi]]'' state, and received permission to teach others.
  
 
==Activities==
 
==Activities==
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Asahara traveled abroad on multiple occasions and met with various notable yogic and Buddhist religious teachers and figures, such as the Tenzin Gyatso|14th Dalai Lama, Kalu Rinpoche (a patriarch of the Tibetan Kagyupa school) and Khamtrul Jamyang Dondrup Rinpoche (former General Secretary of the Council for Cultural and Religious Affairs in Tibetan Government in Exile). Aum's activities aimed at the popularization of Buddhist texts were also noted by the governments of Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Central Tibetan Administration|Tibetan government-in-exile]] located in Dharamsala, India. While Aum was considered a rather controversial phenomenon in Japan, it was not yet associated with any crimes. It was during this period that Asahara received rare Buddhist scriptures and was awarded a stupa with remains of the Shakyamuni Buddha.
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Asahara traveled abroad on multiple occasions and met with various notable [[yogi]]s and Buddhist religious teachers, such as the [[Dalai Lama]], [[Kalu Rinpoche]] (a patriarch of the Tibetan Kagyupa school), and [[Khamtrul Jamyang Dondrup Rinpoche]] (former General Secretary of the Council for Cultural and Religious Affairs in Tibetan Government in Exile). Aum's activities aimed at the popularization of Buddhist texts and were recognized by the governments of [[Sri Lanka]], [[Bhutan]], and the [[Central Tibetan Administration]], the Tibetan government-in-exile.  
  
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Aum's PR activities included publishing. In Japan, where comics and animated cartoons enjoy unprecedented popularity among all ages, Aum attempted to tie religious ideas to popular anime and manga themes - space missions, extremely powerful weapons, world conspiracies and conquest for ultimate truth.  
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Intense advertising and recruitment activities included claims of being able to cure physical illnesses with [[yoga]] techniques, realizing life goals by improving intelligence and positive thinking, and helping participants to concentrate on spiritual advancement. These efforts resulted in Aum becoming one of the fastest-growing religious groups in Japan's history, also resulting in its being labeled a "[[cult]]."
  
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Followers were discouraged from consuming Aum's publications like ''Enjoy the Happiness'' and ''Vajrayana Sacca'', which were aimed primarily at the outside world; researchers later misinterpreted the ideas as being part of Aum's internal belief system. One of their most extraordinary publications about ninja traced the origins of martial arts and espionage to ancient China and linked the supernatural abilities ninja were rumored to possess with religious spiritual practices, concluding that the "true ninja" was interested in "preserving peace" in times of military conflict.  
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===Background of the gas attacks===
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The group started attracting controversy in the late 1980s, when its recruiting efforts led to accusations of deception, holding members against their will, and forcing members to donate large sums of money. A murder of a group member who tried to leave is alleged to have taken place in February 1989.
  
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Science fiction novels by Isaac Asimov were referenced "depicting as it does an elite group of spiritually evolved scientists forced to go underground during an age of barbarism so as to prepare themselves for the moment ... when they will emerge to rebuild civilization."  Also, they used Buddhist ideas to impress the well educated Japanese who were not attracted to boring, purely traditional sermons. Later, the discussions about pre-requisites of Aum appeal factor resulted in some traditional Japanese Buddhist shrines adapting the Aum 'weekend meditation seminars' format. The necessity to 'modernize' the traditional Buddhist approach towards followers also became common.
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In October 1989, the Aum's negotiations with [[Tsutsumi Sakamoto]], an anti-cult lawyer threatening a [[lawsuit]] against them which could potentially bankrupt the group, failed. The following month Sakamoto, his wife, and their child went missing from their home in [[Yokohama]]. The police were unable to solve the case at the time, but the family was later found murdered, and the killings were officially linked to Aum members in 1995.  
  
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Aum Shinrikyo had started as a quiet group of people interested in yogic meditation, but later transformed into a very different organization. According to Asahara, he needed "to demonstrate charisma" to attract the modern audience. Following his decision, Aum underwent a radical image change.  
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In 1990, Asahara and twenty-four other members stood unsuccessfully for the General Elections for the [[House of Representatives of Japan|House of Representatives]] under the banner of ''Shinri-tō'' ([[Supreme Truth Party]]). From 1992, Aum began showing an increasingly hostile attitude toward the larger society. One of Aum's senior members, [[Kiyohide Hayakawa]], published a treatise called, ''Principles of a Citizen's Utopia,'' which has been described as a "declaration of war" against Japan's constitution and civil institutions.
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[[Image:sarin.png|thumb|250px|Chemical structure of sarin gas]]
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At the same time, Hayakawa started to make frequent visits to [[Russia]] to acquire military hardware, including [[AK-47]]'s, a MIL Mi-17 military helicopter, and reportedly even components for a [[nuclear bomb]]. Aum leaders also considered the assassinations of several individuals who were critical of Aum, such as the leader of a Buddhist sect [[Soka Gakkai]], and the controversial [[cartoon]]ist [[Yoshinori Kobayashi]].
  
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The rebranded Aum looked less like an elite meditation boutique and more like an organization attractive to a broader, larger population group. Public interviews, bold controversial statements, and vicious opposition to critique were incorporated into the religion's PR style.  
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At the end of 1993, Aum started to secretly manufacture the nerve agents [[sarin]] and VX [[nerve gas]]. It also attempted to manufacture automatic rifles and allegedly tested the sarin on sheep at a remote ranch in western [[Australia]], killing 29 sheep. Both sarin and VX were then used in several assassinations and attempted assassinations between 1994-1995.
  
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In private, both Asahara and his top disciples continued their humble lifestyles, the only exception being the armored Mercedes gifted by a wealthy follower concerned over his Guru's traffic safety. In rather rare footage, Asahara is seen on the street in front of a large clown doll resembling himself, smiling happily. He never ceased repeating that personal wealth or fame were of little importance to him, but he had to be known in order to attract more people.  
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===Sarin gas attacks===
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[[Image:TokyoMetroHibiyaLine0873.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line subway train was one of those attacked.]]
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On the night of June 27, 1994, Aum carried out the world's first use of [[chemical weapons]] in a terrorist attack against civilians, in Japan, when it released sarin in the central Japanese city of Matsumoto. This incident resulted in the deaths of several people and the injury of 200 others. In February 1995, several Aum members kidnapped [[Kiyoshi Kariya]], a 69-year old brother of a member who had left the group. Kariya was taken to one of the Aum compounds at Kamikuishiki, near [[Mount Fuji]], where he was killed with a drug overdose.
  
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Intense advertising and recruitment activities, dubbed the 'Aum Salvation plan' included claims of curing physical illnesses with yoga health improvement techniques, realizing life goals by improving intelligence and positive thinking, and concentrating on what was important at the expense of leisure and spiritual advancement. This was to be accomplished by practicing the ancient teachings, accurately translated from original Pali sutras (these three were referred to as 'threefold Salvation'). Extraordinary efforts resulted in Aum becoming the fastest-growing religious group in Japan's history.
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Then, on the morning of March 20, 1995, Aum members released sarin in an attack on five trains in the Tokyo subway system, killing 12 commuters, seriously harming 54, and affecting 980 more. Some estimates claim as many as 5,000 people were injured but not all hospitalized.  
  
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With ambitious young graduates from Japan's top universities, Aum's changed the name of his 'department' system. For instance, 'medical department' became 'ministry of health', 'scientific group' became 'ministry of science' and people with martial-arts or military backgrounds were organized into a 'ministry of intelligence.' Female renunciates involved in the care of children were assigned to the 'ministry of education'.
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On March 22, in a massive raid on Aum facilities involving 2,500 officers, the police seized two tons of [[chloroform]] and [[ethane]], and fifteen bottles of [[ethylene]], the basic materials needed to produce 5.6 tons of the sarin gas, a quantity sufficient to kill 10 million people. The police also seized equipment used to manufacture the sarin, as well as sizable quantities of raw materials for producing [[dynamite]]. In Asahara's safe they found ten kilograms of gold ingots and 700 million ''[[yen]]'' in cash, the equivalent to 7 million dollars. The police also found approximately 50 emaciated individuals who had been locked up in cells, and who were suffering from malnutrition and possibly due to the use of drugs.
  
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==Leading Up To the Gas Attack In 1995==
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At the group's nearby heliport, firemen discovered an unauthorized storage facility containing more than 2,000 liters of fuel, along with a Soviet-manufactured Mi-17 helicopter. There were also stockpiles of chemicals that could be used for producing enough sarin to kill and additional 4 million people. Police also found laboratories to manufacture drugs such as [[LSD]], [[methamphetamines]], and a crude form of truth serum. During the raids, Aum issued statements claiming that the chemicals were for fertilizers. Over the next 6 weeks, over 150 group members were arrested for a variety of offenses.
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The group started attracting controversy in the late 1980s with accusations of deception of new members, and of holding members against their will and forcing members to donate money.
 
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A murder of a group member who tried to leave is known to have taken place in February 1989.
 
  
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In October 1989, the group's negotiations with Tsutsumi Sakamoto, an anti-cult lawyer threatening a lawsuit against them which could potentially bankrupt the group, failed. In the same month, Sakamoto recorded an interview for a talk show on the Japanese TV station Tokyo Broadcasting System|TBS, which was not broadcast following protests from the group. The following month Sakamoto, his wife and his child went missing from their home in Yokohama. The police were unable to resolve the case at the time, although some of his colleagues publicly voiced their suspicions of the group. It was not until 1995 that they were known to have been murdered and their bodies dumped by cult members.  
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During this time, Asahara was on the run from the authorities. He issued several statements. One claimed that the Tokyo attacks were a ploy by the U.S. military to implicate the group. Another predicted an impending disaster that "would make the Kobe earthquake seem as minor as a fly landing on one's cheek." The police took these threats seriously and declared a state of emergency. Hospitals made sure they had enough stockpiles of antidotes to the sarin gas. Chemical warfare specialists in the military were put on standby alert status.  
  
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In 1990 Asahara and 24 other members stood unsuccessfully for the General Elections for the House of Representatives of Japan|House of Representatives under the banner of ''Shinri-tō'' (Supreme Truth Party). Asahara made a couple of appearances on TV talk shows in 1991, however at this time the attitude of the groups doctrine against society started to grow in hostility. In 1992 Aum's "Construction Minister" Kiyohide Hayakawa published a treatise called ''Principles of a Citizen's Utopia'' which has been described as a "declaration of war" against Japan's constitution and civil institutions. At the same time, Hayakawa started to make frequent visits to Russia to acquire military hardware, including AK47's, a MIL Mi-17 military helicopter, and reportedly an attempt to acquire components for a nuclear bomb.
+
On March 30, [[Takaji Kunimatsu]], chief of the National Police Agency, was shot four times near his house in Tokyo, seriously wounding him. Many suspect Aum involvement in the shooting, but no one was ever prosecuted.
  
−
The group is known to have considered assassinations of several individuals critical of the group, such as the heads of Buddhist sects Soka Gakkai and Kofuku no Kagaku|The Institute for Research in Human Happiness and the controversial cartoonist Yoshinori Kobayashi in 1993.
+
On the evening of May 5, a burning paper bag was discovered at one of the busiest subway stations in Tokyo. It turned out to be a [[hydrogen cyanide]] device which could have released enough gas to kill as many as 20,000 commuters. Additional cyanide devices were found in other subway stations.  
  
−
At the end of 1993 the group started to secretly manufacturing the nerve agent sarin and later VX (nerve agent)|VX gas. They also attempted to manufacture 1000 automatic rifles but only managed to make one[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/837000.stm]. Aum tested the sarin on sheep at a remote ranch in Western Australia, killing 29 sheep. Both sarin and VX were then used in several assassinations (and attempts) over 1994-1995. Most notably on the night of 27th June 1994, the group is now known to have carried out the world's first use of chemical weapons in a terrorist attack against civilians when it released sarin in the central Japanese city of Matsumoto. This Matsumoto incident killed seven people and harmed 200 more. However, police investigations focused only on an innocent local resident and failed to implicate the cult at that time.
+
Shoko Asahara was finally found hiding within a wall in a building in Aum's Kamikuishiki complex and was arrested. On that same day, the group mailed a parcel bomb to the office of the governor of Tokyo, Yukio Aoshima, blowing the fingers off his secretary's hand.
  
−
In February 1995 several group members kidnapped Kiyoshi Kariya, a 69-year old brother of a member who had escaped, from a Tokyo street and took him to one of their compounds at Kamikuishiki, Yamanashi|Kamikuishiki near Mount Fuji, where he was killed with an overdose of some drug. His body was destroyed in a microwave-powered incinerator before being disposed of in Lake Kawaguchi. Before Kariya was abducted, he had been receiving threatening phone calls demanding to know the whereabouts of his sister. He therefore left a note saying "If I disappear, I was abducted by Aum Shinrikyo."
+
Asahara was initially charged with 23 counts of murder as well as 16 other offenses. The court found Asahara guilty of masterminding the attack on the subway system and sentenced him to death. The indictment was appealed unsuccessfully. A number of senior members of the group also received death sentences. On September 15, 2006, Shoko Asahara lost his final appeal.
  
−
==1995 Tokyo Sarin Gas Attack And Related Incidents==
+
===Since 1995===
−
{{main|Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway}}
+
On October 10, 1995, Aum Shinrikyo was stripped of its official status as a "religious legal entity" and was declared bankrupt in early 1996. However, the group continued to operate under the constitutional guarantee of [[freedom of religion]], funded by a successful [[computer]] business and donations, under strict surveillance by the police. Attempts to ban the group altogether under the 1952 Subversive Activities Prevention Law were rejected by the Public Security Examination Commission in January 1997.
−
[[Image:Sarin Wanted Poster.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A wanted poster in Japan. As of March 2006 three people are still wanted in connection with the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway: (left to right) Shin Hirata, Katsuya Takahashi, and Naoko Kikuchi.]]
 
  
−
On the morning of 20th March 1995, Aum members released sarin in a co-ordinated attack on five trains in the Tokyo subway system, killing 12 commuters, seriously harming 54 and affecting 980 more. Some estimates claim as many as 5000 people were injured by the sarin. Prosecutors allege that Asahara was tipped off about planned police raids on the group's facilities by an insider, and ordered an attack in central Tokyo to divert attention away from the group. The plan evidently backfired, and the police conducted huge simultaneous raids on the group's compounds across the country. Over the next week, the full scale of Aum's activities was revealed for the first time.  
+
After Asahara's arrest and trial, the group underwent a number of transformations. [[Fumihiro Joyu]], who had headed Aum's Russian branches during the 1995 gas attacks, was asked to return to Japan when many of Aum's senior members were arrested. However, he was eventually arrested and convicted for inciting others to make false statements, serving three years in prison. Joyu reorganized the group under the name '''Aleph,''' the first letter in the Hebrew Alphabet. Aleph accepted responsibility for the actions of several former senior members of '''Aum''' for the Tokyo Subway gas attack and other incidents. Joyu formally apologized to the victims and established a special compensation fund. Several controversial doctrines and texts were excised from the group's scriptures and displaying pictures of Shoko Asahara was officially discouraged.
  
−
At the group's headquarters in Kamikuishiki, Yamanashi|Kamikuishiki on the foot of Mount Fuji, police found explosives, chemical weapons and biological warfare agents, such as anthrax and Ebola cultures, and a Russian Mil Mi-8|MIL Mi-17 military helicopter.  The Ebola virus was delivered from Zaire in 1994
+
Joyu hoped to to re-integrate Aleph into Japanese society. However, a small but vocal group of members opposed these changes. In 2006, Joyu and his supporters decided to split from Aleph and form their own group, believing Aleph had not sufficiently distanced itself from its past and from Asahara. In March of 2007 Joyu made a formal announcement that he was forming a new group called '''Hikari no Wa,''' or '''Ring of Light,''' which was committed to uniting religion and science.
−
<ref> Alexander Kouzminov ''Biological Espionage: Special Operations of the Soviet and Russian Foreign Intelligence Services in the West'', Greenhill Books, 2006, ISBN 1-853-67646-2 [http://www.calitreview.com/Interviews/int_kouzminov_8013.htm]. Kuzminov, who is  defector from the biological weapons department of the KGB, asks for what reason Aum Shinrikyo was allowed to open an office on Flotskaya Street in Moscow, where many offices of KGB/FSK were secretly located. The group was also allowed to operate freely on Moscow TV.</ref>.  
 
  
−
On March 22, in a massive police raid involving 2500 police officers, the police seized two tons of chloroform and ethane, and fifteen bottles of ethylene, basic materials to produce 5.6 tons of sarin, a quantity sufficient to kill ten million people. The police also seized equipment used to manufacture the gas, as well as sizable quantities of raw materials for producing dynamite. In Asahara Shōkō's safe in the center of the building complex, they found ten kilograms of gold ingots and 700 million yen in cash (roughly seven million dollars; at the time, 100 yen equalled approximately one US dollar). They also found some fifty emaciated individuals whom they concluded were suffering from malnutrition or drugs, who were locked up in cells. At the sect's nearby heliport, firemen discovered an unauthorized storage facility containing more than 2,000 liters of fuel, along with a Soviet-manufactured Mi-17 helicopter that belonged to Maha-Posya, a Tokyo company whose president was Asahara ShōkōThere were stockpiles of chemicals which could be used for producing enough sarin to kill four million people. Police also found laboratories to manufacture drugs such as LSD, methamphetamines, and a crude form of truth serum, During the raids, Aum issued statements claiming that the chemicals were for fertilizers. Over the next 6 weeks, over 150 group members were arrested for a variety of offences.
+
==References==
 +
* Elwell, Walter A., ed. ''Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible''. Baker Pub Group, 1988. ISBN 0801034477
 +
* Lucas, Phillip Charles. ''The Odyssey of a New Religion: The Holy Order of Mans From New Age to Orthodoxy''. Indiana University press, 1995. ISBN 0253336120
 +
*____________. ''New Religious Movements in the Twenty-First Century: Legal, Political, and Social Challenges in Global Perspective''. Routledge, 2004. ISBN 0415965772
 +
*____________. "Social Factors in the Failure of New Religious Movements: A Case Study Using Stark's Success Model." ''SYZYGY: Journal of Alternative Religion and Culture.'' 1:1, Winter 1992:39-53.
 +
* Strozier, Charles. ''The Year 2000: Essays on the End''. New York University Press, 1997. ISBN 0814780318
 +
* Wilson, S.G. ''Leaving the Fold: Apostates and Defectors in Antiquity''. Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2004. ISBN 978-0800636753
 +
* Wright, Stuart. "Post-Involvement Attitudes of Voluntary Defectors from Controversial New Religious Movements." ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.'' 23 (1984): pp. 172-82.
  
−
On 30th March, Takaji Kunimatsu, chief of the National Police Agency, was shot four times near his house in Tokyo, seriously wounding him. Many suspect Aum involvement in the shooting, but as of September 2006, no one has been charged.
+
==External links==
−
 
+
All links retrieved August 22, 2023.  
−
Asahara, while on the run, issued statements, one claiming that the Tokyo attacks were a ploy by the US military to implicate the group, and another threatening a disaster that "would make the Kobe earthquake seem as minor as a fly landing on one's cheek." to occur on April 15. The authorities took the threat seriously, declaring a state of emergency, stocking up hospitals with antidotes to nerve gas while chemical warfare specialists of the Self-Defence Force were put on standby. However, the day came and went with no incident.
 
  
−
On April 23, Murai Hideo, the head of Aum's Ministry of Science, was stabbed to death outside the group's Tokyo headquarters amidst a crowd of about 100 reporters, in front of cameras. Although the man responsible - a Korean member of Yamaguchi-gumi - was arrested and eventually convicted of the murder, whether or not anyone was behind the assassination remains a unsolved mystery.
+
* [http://www.religionnewsblog.com/category/aum-shinrikyo/ Archive Aum Shinrikyo news tracker] ''www.religionnewsblog.com''.  
−
 
+
* [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/aum_019.htm The 'De-nationalization' of AUM Followers: Its Hidden Political Purpose' November 1999]. ''www.cesnur.org''.  
−
[[Image:Saikyo.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A train stopped at Shinjuku Station.On the evening of 5 May a burning paper bag was discovered in a toilet in Shinjuku station in Tokyo, the busiest station in the world. Upon examination it was revealed that it was a hydrogen cyanide device which, had it not been extinguished in time, would have released enough gas into the ventilation system to potentially kill 20,000 commuters. Cyanide devices were found several more times in the Tokyo subway but none detonated.
+
* [http://www.moj.go.jp/ENGLISH/PSIA/psia01-04.html PSIA] (Japan's Public Security Investigative Agency), ''www.moj.go.jp''.
−
 
+
* [http://www.midnighteye.com/reviews/a.shtml Midnight Eye: A]. A review of Tatsuya Mori's first documentary on Aleph. ''www.midnighteye.com''.  
−
During this time, 613 disciples of Aum Shinrikyō were arrested for various offences, but arrests of the most senior members on the charge of the subway gassing had not yet take place.
 
−
 
 
−
Shoko Asahara was finally found hiding within a wall of the grups building known as "The 6th Satian" in the Kamikuishiki complex on May 16th and was arrested. On the same day, the group  mailed a parcel bomb to the office of Yukio Aoshima, the governor of Tokyo, blowing the fingers off his secretary's hand.
 
−
 
 
−
Asahara was initially charged with 23 counts of murder as well as 16 other offences. The trial, labeled as "the trial of the century" by the press, found Asahara guilty of masterminding the attack and sentenced him to capital punishment|death. The indictment was appealed unsuccessfully. A number of senior members accused of participation, such as Masami Tsuchiya, also received death sentences.
 
−
 
 
−
Why a small circle of mostly senior Aum members committed several atrocities and the the person involvement by Asahara remain unclear to this day, although several theories have been offered to explain these events. In response to the prosecution's charge that Asahara ordered the subway attacks to distract the authorities' away from Aum, the defense maintained that Asahara was not aware of events, pointing to his deteriorating health condition. Shortly after his arrest, Asahara removed himself as the organization's leader and since then has maintained silence, refusing to communicate even with lawyers and family members. Many believe the trials failed to establish the real truth behind the events.
 
−
 
 
−
==After 1995==
 
−
On October 10, 1995, Aum Shinrikyo was ordered to be stripped of its official status as a "religious Juristic person|legal entity" and was declared bankrupt in early 1996. However the group continues to operate under the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion, funded by a successful computer business and donations, and is under strict surveillance by the police. Attempts to ban the group altogether under the 1952 Subversive Activities Prevention Law were rejected by the Public Security Examination Commission in January 1997.
 
−
 
 
−
The group underwent a number of transformations in the aftermath of Asahara's arrest and trial.
 
−
It re-grouped under the new name of '''Aleph''' in February 2000. It has announced a change in its doctrine: religious texts related to controversial Vajrayana Buddhist doctrines that authorities claimed were "justifying murder" were removed. The group apologized to the victims of the sarin gas attack and established a special compensation fund. Provocative publications and activities that alarmed the society during Aum times have been discarded.
 
−
 
 
−
Fumihiro Joyu, one of the few senior leaders of the group under Asahara who did not face serious charges and became official head of the organization in 1999.
 
−
 
 
−
In July 2000, Russian police arrested Dmitri Sigachev, an ex-KGB former Aum Shinrikyo member, and four more former Russian Aum members, for stockpiling weapons in preparation for attacking Japanese cities in a bid to free Asahara. In response, Aleph issued a statement saying they "do not regard Sigachev as one of its members." [http://english.aleph.to/pr/08.html]
 
−
 
 
−
In August, 2003, a woman believed to be an ex-Aum Shinrikyo member took refuge in North Korea via China.[http://www.rickross.com/reference/aum/aum352.html].
 
−
 
 
−
A June 2005 report by the National Police Agency ([http://www.npa.go.jp/kouhousi/biki2/sec03/sec03_04.htm])showed that Aleph has approximately 1650 members, of which 650 live communal facilities. The group operates 26 facilities in 17 prefectures, as well as about 120 residential facilities.
 
−
 
 
−
An article on the Mainichi Shimbun on September 11, 2002 showed that the Japanese public still distrusts Aleph, and facilities throughout Japan are usually surrounded by protest banners from local residents demanding that they leave. There have been numerous cases where local authorities have refused to accept resident registration for cult members when it is discovered that Aleph has set up a facility within their jurisdiction. (This effectively denies members social benefits such as health insurance, and a total of five cases were taken to court by group members, who won every time). Local communities have also tried to drive the group away by trying to prevent members from finding jobs, or to keep the group's children out of universities and schools. Right-wing groups also frequently conduct marches near Aum-related premises such as apartments rented by Aum followers with extremely loud music broadcast over loudspeakers installed on minivans, which add to their neighbors' displeasure.
 
−
 
 
−
===Monitoring of Aleph===
 
−
In January 2000, the group was placed under surveillance for a period of three years under an anti-Aum law, in which the group is required to submit a list of members and details of their assets to the authorities. [http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn19991117a1.htm-.html (Highlights of the bill)] In January 2003, Japan's Public Security Investigation Agency received permission to [http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20030119a8.htm extend] the surveillance for another three years, as they have found evidence which suggests that the group still reveres Asahara. According to the [http://www.t3.org/Aum.html Religious News Blog report] issued in April 2004, the authorities still consider the group "a threat to society."
 
−
 
 
−
In January 2006, the Public Security Investigation Agency was able to extend the surveillance for another three years. Despite the doctrinal changes and banning of Vajrayana texts, the PSIA advocates an increase of surveillance and increases in funding of the agency itself; periodically, the group airs concerns that texts are still in place, and that danger remains while Asahara remains leader. Aleph leaders carefully insert passages into almost everything they say or write to prevent misinterpretation, including karaoke songs.
 
−
 
 
−
==Asahara Sentenced to Death==
 
−
On September 15 2006, Shoko Asahara lost his final appeal against the death penalty imposed on him after his trial for the sarin attacks. The following day Japanese police raided the offices of Aleph in order to "prevent any illegal activities by group members in response to the confirmation of Asahara's death sentence," according to a police spokesperson. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/5351376.stm]
 
−
 
 
−
So far, 11 members have been sentenced to death, although none of the sentences have been carried out.
 
−
 
 
−
==Disagreements within Aleph==
 
−
According to the Public Security Investigation Agency, as of December 2005 the group is split over a dispute over its future; a large number of members, including senior members would like to keep the organization as close to pre-1995 structure as realistically as possible.
 
−
Previously, the group was led by six senior executives (the so-called Chorobu), who transferred the decision-making power to Joyu. Joyu and his numerically larger faction advocate a milder course aimed at re-integration to society. Matters such as whether Asahara's portraits should be retained or abandoned remain the cornerstone of disagreements. The fundamentalist faction reportedly refuses to comply with Joyu's decisions, and they are reportedly attempting to influence the sympathizers not to communicate at all with Joyu, who still remains the official leader of the group.
 
−
 
 
−
In 2006 Joyu and a number of supporters split from Aleph followers and occupied another building where they currently reside. According to Joyu, most of the higher-rank renunciates are his supporters already, while 'many others cannot announce [their agreement with Joyu's ideas] at this moment'. A number of essays by Joyu explain the basis for disagreement. The appeal to abandon the viewpoint that 'Aum people are chosen people' and the society that opposes it is 'evil' with a determination to 'hold on' and endure persecution (which Joyu considers 'fundamentalist ideas') is facing fierce opposition from more dogmatic followers while Joyu's tolerance to Aum followers who travel to India or Tibet to learn from meditation masters other than Asahara attract accusations of disloyalty. Joyu is nevertheless optimistic. 'This is a process and at the circumstances it cannot be accomplished by some order from above,' he explains. He criticizes the 'loyalty' argument saying that 'reintegrating into society' is not 'abandoning the faith' but rather elevating it to the next level and quotes Asahara's sermons where he speaks about 'egoistic desire to get separated from others by way of monkhood'.
 
−
 
 
−
==Split==
 
−
On March 8, 2007, former Joyu formally announced a long-expected split. http://www.religionnewsblog.com/17668/joyu-fumihori-group-leaves-aum-shinrikyo] Joyu's group, called Hikari no Wa (Ring of Light) is committed to uniting science and religion, thus creating the new 'science of the human mind'.
 
−
 
 
−
==Overseas presence==
 
−
Aum Shinrikyo has had several overseas branches: in Sri Lanka, in Bonn, Germany and, several small ones in New York City, United States and Moscow, Russia.
 
−
 
 
−
==International opposition==
 
−
The EU has designated Aum Shinrikyo as a terrorist organization [http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2005/l_340/l_34020051223en00640066.pdf].
 
−
 
 
−
On December 11, 2002, The Canadian government added Aum to its list of banned terrorist groups.
 
−
 
 
−
The United States also maintains Aum on its U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations|list of foreign terrorist groups.
 
−
 
 
−
==Comments on other faiths==
 
−
In several of his lectures more related to economy and politics than religion itself, Asahara also made generally positive comments about Jewish people, such as: According to Asahara's prophecies, 'the future Buddha Maitreia' (the Buddhist 'Savior' who comes  at the End of Times to save the humanking by spiritual guidance) 'will come surrounded by Asura (Buddhism)|asura]s' (while he also has said that 'Jewish people have a very strong asura factor'). It is also 'unclear yet if the Jews will ultimately come to my side'. Jewish people, in Asahara's judgement have a 'strong desire to achieve happiness not in material, but in a spiritual sense' and their ancestry is 'Deva (Buddhism)|divine' (another quotation: '[..]therefore they are demi-gods'. He also noted that the Kabbalah teaches 'the secret science' (previously kept secret) that will surface from within Jewish nation at the End of Times. (from book 'Vajrayana Sutra', which was removed from circulation by the group's leadership in 1999 as Japan's PSIA agency  criticized the book as 'justifying violence').
 
−
 
 
−
Asahara on a number of occasions criticized the more traditional religious groups for 'degrading into traditionalism and losing the essence' [i.e. evolutionary path to Enlightenment]. 'What was left are just religious ceremonies and things necessary in order to make you become a religious robot and that's all'. He spoke highly however of Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism in general. (lectures, 1990-1993)
 
−
 
 
−
Before 1995 Aum Shinrikyo has criticized the Soka Gakkai, Japan's largest new religious group tied to a series of scandals which also controls New Komeito, a fraction in Japan's Parliament. Asahara accused Soka Gakkai of malicious interference in its affairs and provocations aimed at creating difficulties to its activities.
 
−
 
 
−
 
 
−
 
 
−
==Further reading==
 
−
{{refbegin}}
 
−
*[[Shoko Asahara]], ''Supreme Initiation: An Empirical Spiritual Science for the Supreme Truth'', 1988, AUM USA Inc, ISBN 0-945638-00-0. Highlights the main stages of Yogic and Buddhist practice, comparing Yoga-sutra system by Patanjali and the Eightfold Noble Path from Buddhist tradition.
 
−
*---- ''Life and Death'', (Shizuoka: Aum, 1993). Focuses on the process of Kundalini-Yoga, one of the stages in Aum's practice.
 
−
*---- ''Disaster Approaches the Land of the Rising Sun: Shoko Asahara's Apocalyptic Predictions'', (Shizuoka: Aum, 1995). A controversial book, later removed by Aum leadership, speaks about possible destruction of Japan.
 
−
*Hall, John, "Apocalypse Observed: Religious Movements and Violence in North America, Europe, and Japan" Routledge, London, 2000 ISBN 0-415-19276-5
 
−
*Ikuo Hayashi, ''Aum to Watakushi (Aum and I)'', Tokyo: Bungei Shunju, 1998. Book about personal experiences by former Aum member.
 
−
*[[Robert Jay Lifton]], ''Destroying the World to Save It: Aum Shinrikyo, Apocalyptic Violence, and the New Global Terrorism'', Henry Holt, ISBN 0-8050-6511-3,
 
−
*[[Haruki Murakami]], ''[[Underground (stories)|Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche]]'', Vintage, ISBN 0-375-72580-6
 
−
*''Global Proliferation of [[Weapons of Mass Destruction]]: A Case Study on the Aum Shinrikyo'', [USA] Senate Government Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, October 31, 1995. [http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/1995_rpt/aum/index.html online]
 
−
*[[David Kaplan (author)|David E. Kaplan]], and [[Andrew Marshall]], ''The Cult at the End of the World: The Terrifying Story of the Aum Doomsday Cult, from the Subways of Tokyo to the Nuclear Arsenals of Russia'', 1996, Random House, ISBN 0-517-70543-5.
 
−
*Ian Reader, ''Religious Violence in Contemporary Japan: The Case of Aum Shinrikyo'', 2000, Curzon Press
 
−
 
 
−
==External links==
 
−
*[http://English.aleph.to Aleph]: the organization's official website, with an English section
 
−
*[http://www.religionnewsblog.com/category/aum-shinrikyo/ Aum Shinrikyo News Tracker/Archive] Aum Shinrikyo news tracker/news archive. Up-to-the-minute.
 
−
*[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?ff20020327a1.htm a Japan Times article] about two documentary films on Aleph. In English.
 
−
*[http://www.cesnur.org/testi/aum_019.htm The 'De-nationalization' of AUM Followers: Its Hidden Political Purpose'] ('Tsukuru', November 1999 - in English)
 
−
*[http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,779530,00.html David Kaplan] explains his theory of connection between Al Quaeda, Aum Shinrikyo and Foundation sci-fi series by Isaac Asimov
 
−
*[http://www.moj.go.jp/ENGLISH/PSIA/psia01-04.html PSIA] (Japan's Public Security Investigative Agency), report
 
−
**[http://www.midnighteye.com/reviews/a.shtml Midnight Eye: A]. A review of Tatsuya Mori's first documentary on Aleph.
 
−
*Blockbuster.com: [http://www.blockbuster.com/outlet/catalog/movieDetails/132765 A](1998) and [http://www.blockbuster.com/outlet/catalog/movie/allEditions/253569 A2] (2001)by Tatsuya Mori
 
  
  
 
[[Category:philosophy and religion]]
 
[[Category:philosophy and religion]]
 
{{Credit|151923551}}
 
{{Credit|151923551}}

Latest revision as of 17:50, 22 August 2023


Aum symbol.svg

Aum Shinrikyo, also known as Aleph, is a Japanese New Religious Movement which gained international notoriety in 1995, when it carried out a lethal sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway.

Founded by Shoko Asahara, Aum emerged in Japan in the mid-1980s and attracted growing numbers of young adherents from leading Japanese universities with its blend of Buddhist and Hindu teachings, yoga, the promise of personal enlightenment, and a collective mission of saving humankind from destruction.

In the 1990s, after being branded a "cult" and unsuccessfully running several candidates for political office, the group began to turn increasingly hostile toward the outside world. Its leaders procured military weapons in Russia and engaged in assassinations of opponents. As the result of the 1995 sarin attack and additional attempts to release deadly gas into the Tokyo subway system, many Aum members were arrested and convicted for various criminal acts. Asahara was sentenced to death.

In the aftermath of the sarin attacks, most members left Aum Shinrikyo, which was now considered a terrorist organization. Others, still believing in its earlier teachings, stayed and worked to change its image, apologizing for its earlier behavior, changing its name to Aleph, and establishing a fund to compensate its victims.

In 1995, Aum Shinrikyo was reported to have 9,000 members in Japan and as many as 40,000 worldwide. As of 2004, Aleph membership was estimated at 1,500 to 2,000 persons. In 2006, many of its remaining members, believing Aleph had not sufficiently distanced itself from Asahara and the gas attacks, left the group and formed a new organization, called Hikari no Wa, or Ring of Light.

Background

Asahara, whose legal name was Matsumoto Chizuo, was born on March 2, 1955, with severe glaucoma. He was almost completely blind at birth, having only slight vision in one eye. In his early years he attended a school for the blind, and lived in a boarding school for almost 14 years. After graduating in 1977, he moved to Tokyo. Despite intense efforts, Asahara failed to pass the entrance exam at Tokyo University. He then studied acupuncture and also developed an intense interest in religion.

Shiva in meditation

Asahara's Aum movement got its start around 1984, when he initiated a yoga and meditation class known as Aum-no-kai ("Aum club"), which steadily grew in the following years. It gained the official status as a religious organization in 1989. The group attracted such a considerable number of young graduates from Japan's elite universities that it was dubbed a "religion for the elite." The movement's core beliefs represented a combination of Buddhist teachings derived from yoga and Tibetan Buddhism, as well as Hindu beliefs and practices. It adopted the Hindu god Shiva, the god of destruction, as its primary deity.

Asahara asserted that he had been given the divine mission of establishing the utopian Buddhist kingdom of Shambhala, and he proposed in 1988, to build communal “Lotus Villages” across Japan. Asahara borrowed many practices from yoga, and he developed a sophisticated sequence of training and spiritual testing, the goal of which was for individuals to rid themselves completely of bad karma. However, unlike traditional Buddhism, the group also aimed to save the world. From its beginning, it invoked millennialist themes, believing that if enough followers gathered together, their positive spiritual energy could overcome the negative forces in the world and avoid the Armageddon that was to come at the end of the twentieth century.

However, Asahara eventually came to believe that harnessing the spiritual energy of a large number of followers was not enough to save the world. He spoke about the need for mass, indiscriminate death as the only way save humanity.

Doctrine

Aum's teachings are a combination of Buddhist scriptures, Hindu yogic sutras, and Taoist writings. The name "Aum Shinrikyo" (Japanese: オウム真理教—Ōmu Shinrikyō) derives from the mystical Hindu syllable Aum, followed by Shinrikyo, roughly meaning "religion of truth."

Hindu symbol for Aum

The primary deity revered by Aum followers was Shiva, traditionally identified as the Hindu deity symbolizing the power of destruction. However, some believe that Aum's version of the deity derives from Tibetan Vajrayana tradition and has little connection to the Hindu Shiva. There is also controversy as to what role Christianity plays in its doctrine. Ashahara's vision of an impending apocalyptic event, for example, seems to derive from the Christian idea of the Battle of Armageddon.

Asahara himself referred to Aum's doctrine as "truth," arguing that while various religions lead to the same goal by different routes, the goal remains the same. However, a religion for modern Japanese will be different from a religion for ancient Indians or Medieval Europeans. The more custom-tailored to the audience the religion is, the more effective it becomes. Asahara also taught that once a disciple chooses whom to learn from, he should maintain focus with that person so as to avoid any confusion that could arise from contradictions between different routes to the ultimate goal, the state of Enlightenment.

According to Aum teachings, the ultimate and final realization of life is "the state where everything is achieved and there is nothing else worth achieving." This involves a multitude of small enlightenments, each elevating the consciousness of a follower to a higher level, making him or her a more intelligent and better-developed person by coming closer to his or her "true self" (or atman). Asahara believed that the Buddhist path was the most effective way to achieve this goal. He selected various traditional Buddhist sermons as the foundation for the Aum doctrine. He also added various elements from Chinese gymnastics and yogic asanas in order to maintain a proper meditative attitude and posture.

In Asahara's view, Aum's doctrine encompassed all three major Buddhist schools: Theravada (aimed at personal enlightenment), Mahayana (the "great vehicle," aimed at helping others), and tantric Vajrayana (the "diamond vehicle," which involves secret initiations, mantras, and advanced esoteric meditations). In his book, Initiation, Asahara compares the stages of enlightenment, according to the famous Yoga Sutra with the Buddhist Noble Eightfold Path. He asserted that these two traditions discuss the same experiences but in different words.

Asahara also authored a number of other books. The best known are Beyond Life and Death and Mahayana-Sutra. These books explain the process of attaining various stages of enlightenment provided in ancient scriptures, and compares it with the experiences of Asahara and his followers. Asahara also published commentaries on ancient scriptures.

Aum inherited the Indian esoteric yoga tradition of Shaktipat, also mentioned in Mahayana Buddhist texts. The Shaktipat, which is believed to allow a direct transmission of spiritual energy from a teacher to a disciple, was practiced by Asahara and several of his top disciples, including Fumihiro Joyu, who took over the leadership of the group in 1999.

Asahara stressed isolation from the "outside world" because the outside world was impure and would contaminate his followers. He convinced his followers that isolation from the outside world was for their own benefit. He also allegedly distributed drugs to some members in order to keep them docile.

Organizational structure

Aum branch in Yokohama

Aum applied specific methodologies and arranged doctrinal studies in accordance with a specialized learning system. A new stage would be reached only after a follower successfully passed an examination. Meditation practice was combined with theoretical studies. Asahara maintained that such studies served no purpose if "practical experience" was not achieved. He advised his followers not to attempt to explain anything if it was not actually experienced.

Followers were divided into two groups: Lay practitioners who lived with their families and another group that led an ascetic lifestyle, usually living in groups.

For a follower to be considered an attainer, specific conditions had to be met before he became recognized by senior members as attaining a higher spiritual state. For instance, the "Kundalini Yoga" stage required a demonstration of being able to show a reduced consumption of oxygen, changes in electromagnetic brain activity, and reduction of heart rate (measured by corresponding equipment). A follower who demonstrated such changes was considered to have entered what was called the samadhi state, and received permission to teach others.

Activities

Asahara traveled abroad on multiple occasions and met with various notable yogis and Buddhist religious teachers, such as the Dalai Lama, Kalu Rinpoche (a patriarch of the Tibetan Kagyupa school), and Khamtrul Jamyang Dondrup Rinpoche (former General Secretary of the Council for Cultural and Religious Affairs in Tibetan Government in Exile). Aum's activities aimed at the popularization of Buddhist texts and were recognized by the governments of Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Central Tibetan Administration, the Tibetan government-in-exile.

Intense advertising and recruitment activities included claims of being able to cure physical illnesses with yoga techniques, realizing life goals by improving intelligence and positive thinking, and helping participants to concentrate on spiritual advancement. These efforts resulted in Aum becoming one of the fastest-growing religious groups in Japan's history, also resulting in its being labeled a "cult."

Background of the gas attacks

The group started attracting controversy in the late 1980s, when its recruiting efforts led to accusations of deception, holding members against their will, and forcing members to donate large sums of money. A murder of a group member who tried to leave is alleged to have taken place in February 1989.

In October 1989, the Aum's negotiations with Tsutsumi Sakamoto, an anti-cult lawyer threatening a lawsuit against them which could potentially bankrupt the group, failed. The following month Sakamoto, his wife, and their child went missing from their home in Yokohama. The police were unable to solve the case at the time, but the family was later found murdered, and the killings were officially linked to Aum members in 1995.

In 1990, Asahara and twenty-four other members stood unsuccessfully for the General Elections for the House of Representatives under the banner of Shinri-tō (Supreme Truth Party). From 1992, Aum began showing an increasingly hostile attitude toward the larger society. One of Aum's senior members, Kiyohide Hayakawa, published a treatise called, Principles of a Citizen's Utopia, which has been described as a "declaration of war" against Japan's constitution and civil institutions.

Chemical structure of sarin gas

At the same time, Hayakawa started to make frequent visits to Russia to acquire military hardware, including AK-47's, a MIL Mi-17 military helicopter, and reportedly even components for a nuclear bomb. Aum leaders also considered the assassinations of several individuals who were critical of Aum, such as the leader of a Buddhist sect Soka Gakkai, and the controversial cartoonist Yoshinori Kobayashi.

At the end of 1993, Aum started to secretly manufacture the nerve agents sarin and VX nerve gas. It also attempted to manufacture automatic rifles and allegedly tested the sarin on sheep at a remote ranch in western Australia, killing 29 sheep. Both sarin and VX were then used in several assassinations and attempted assassinations between 1994-1995.

Sarin gas attacks

The Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line subway train was one of those attacked.

On the night of June 27, 1994, Aum carried out the world's first use of chemical weapons in a terrorist attack against civilians, in Japan, when it released sarin in the central Japanese city of Matsumoto. This incident resulted in the deaths of several people and the injury of 200 others. In February 1995, several Aum members kidnapped Kiyoshi Kariya, a 69-year old brother of a member who had left the group. Kariya was taken to one of the Aum compounds at Kamikuishiki, near Mount Fuji, where he was killed with a drug overdose.

Then, on the morning of March 20, 1995, Aum members released sarin in an attack on five trains in the Tokyo subway system, killing 12 commuters, seriously harming 54, and affecting 980 more. Some estimates claim as many as 5,000 people were injured but not all hospitalized.

On March 22, in a massive raid on Aum facilities involving 2,500 officers, the police seized two tons of chloroform and ethane, and fifteen bottles of ethylene, the basic materials needed to produce 5.6 tons of the sarin gas, a quantity sufficient to kill 10 million people. The police also seized equipment used to manufacture the sarin, as well as sizable quantities of raw materials for producing dynamite. In Asahara's safe they found ten kilograms of gold ingots and 700 million yen in cash, the equivalent to 7 million dollars. The police also found approximately 50 emaciated individuals who had been locked up in cells, and who were suffering from malnutrition and possibly due to the use of drugs.

At the group's nearby heliport, firemen discovered an unauthorized storage facility containing more than 2,000 liters of fuel, along with a Soviet-manufactured Mi-17 helicopter. There were also stockpiles of chemicals that could be used for producing enough sarin to kill and additional 4 million people. Police also found laboratories to manufacture drugs such as LSD, methamphetamines, and a crude form of truth serum. During the raids, Aum issued statements claiming that the chemicals were for fertilizers. Over the next 6 weeks, over 150 group members were arrested for a variety of offenses.

During this time, Asahara was on the run from the authorities. He issued several statements. One claimed that the Tokyo attacks were a ploy by the U.S. military to implicate the group. Another predicted an impending disaster that "would make the Kobe earthquake seem as minor as a fly landing on one's cheek." The police took these threats seriously and declared a state of emergency. Hospitals made sure they had enough stockpiles of antidotes to the sarin gas. Chemical warfare specialists in the military were put on standby alert status.

On March 30, Takaji Kunimatsu, chief of the National Police Agency, was shot four times near his house in Tokyo, seriously wounding him. Many suspect Aum involvement in the shooting, but no one was ever prosecuted.

On the evening of May 5, a burning paper bag was discovered at one of the busiest subway stations in Tokyo. It turned out to be a hydrogen cyanide device which could have released enough gas to kill as many as 20,000 commuters. Additional cyanide devices were found in other subway stations.

Shoko Asahara was finally found hiding within a wall in a building in Aum's Kamikuishiki complex and was arrested. On that same day, the group mailed a parcel bomb to the office of the governor of Tokyo, Yukio Aoshima, blowing the fingers off his secretary's hand.

Asahara was initially charged with 23 counts of murder as well as 16 other offenses. The court found Asahara guilty of masterminding the attack on the subway system and sentenced him to death. The indictment was appealed unsuccessfully. A number of senior members of the group also received death sentences. On September 15, 2006, Shoko Asahara lost his final appeal.

Since 1995

On October 10, 1995, Aum Shinrikyo was stripped of its official status as a "religious legal entity" and was declared bankrupt in early 1996. However, the group continued to operate under the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion, funded by a successful computer business and donations, under strict surveillance by the police. Attempts to ban the group altogether under the 1952 Subversive Activities Prevention Law were rejected by the Public Security Examination Commission in January 1997.

After Asahara's arrest and trial, the group underwent a number of transformations. Fumihiro Joyu, who had headed Aum's Russian branches during the 1995 gas attacks, was asked to return to Japan when many of Aum's senior members were arrested. However, he was eventually arrested and convicted for inciting others to make false statements, serving three years in prison. Joyu reorganized the group under the name Aleph, the first letter in the Hebrew Alphabet. Aleph accepted responsibility for the actions of several former senior members of Aum for the Tokyo Subway gas attack and other incidents. Joyu formally apologized to the victims and established a special compensation fund. Several controversial doctrines and texts were excised from the group's scriptures and displaying pictures of Shoko Asahara was officially discouraged.

Joyu hoped to to re-integrate Aleph into Japanese society. However, a small but vocal group of members opposed these changes. In 2006, Joyu and his supporters decided to split from Aleph and form their own group, believing Aleph had not sufficiently distanced itself from its past and from Asahara. In March of 2007 Joyu made a formal announcement that he was forming a new group called Hikari no Wa, or Ring of Light, which was committed to uniting religion and science.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Elwell, Walter A., ed. Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible. Baker Pub Group, 1988. ISBN 0801034477
  • Lucas, Phillip Charles. The Odyssey of a New Religion: The Holy Order of Mans From New Age to Orthodoxy. Indiana University press, 1995. ISBN 0253336120
  • ____________. New Religious Movements in the Twenty-First Century: Legal, Political, and Social Challenges in Global Perspective. Routledge, 2004. ISBN 0415965772
  • ____________. "Social Factors in the Failure of New Religious Movements: A Case Study Using Stark's Success Model." SYZYGY: Journal of Alternative Religion and Culture. 1:1, Winter 1992:39-53.
  • Strozier, Charles. The Year 2000: Essays on the End. New York University Press, 1997. ISBN 0814780318
  • Wilson, S.G. Leaving the Fold: Apostates and Defectors in Antiquity. Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2004. ISBN 978-0800636753
  • Wright, Stuart. "Post-Involvement Attitudes of Voluntary Defectors from Controversial New Religious Movements." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 23 (1984): pp. 172-82.

External links

All links retrieved August 22, 2023.

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