stripping the gurus - Brahma Kumaris Info

84 STRIPPING THE GURUS
down as spiritual adviser to the prime minister. That, after having
also been accused of having sex with some of his female followers
and living a lavish lifestyle. “His monastery came complete with
the latest sound equipment, elaborate furnishings and luxury cars”
(PlanetSave, 2001).
There was the deputy abbot who was recorded, in fine voice,
engaging in phone sex with women (Thompson, 2000).
There were the monks accused of selling amphetamines and of
hiring some of the country’s 700,000 prostitutes (Economist, 2000).
“Two girls for every monk.”
There was the Chivas Regal-drinking, Mercedes-driving abbot
who was disrobed for allegedly ... er, disrobing. With two women at
the same time. Two nights in a row. While impersonating an army
special forces colonel—a serious crime.
A subsequent search of the holy man’s private residence
turned up pornographic materials, lingerie and condoms. As well it
should, for a monk who was renowned among local law-enforcement
officials for going out on the town nearly every night.
There was also, by abstinent contrast, the forty-year-old Buddhist
monk who, as a protest against the sufferings of those in his
country, planned to immolate himself on the steps of the Burmese
embassy in Bangkok.
As he spoke, I discovered an astonishing thing: although he
planned to take his life to protest the great injustices he had
fought against for many years, this was not the real reason
for his decision. The true reason was that he had fallen in
love with this young girl. He had been in monk’s robes since
age fourteen and for twenty-nine years he had given his life
to the order. He had no other skills and couldn’t imagine
himself married, with a family, yet he loved her. He did not
know what to do, so burning himself for political reasons
seemed the best way out (Kornfield, 1993).
There was—speaking of burning—the Thai monk who gruesomely
roasted babies—already dead babies, thankfully—hoping to
utilize the oil collected from them in magical ceremonies. That was
done with the intention of creating a “babyish ghost,” to be employed
in the black magic manipulation of others (Ehrlich, 2000).
There was, even more horribly, the monk accused of raping an
eleven-year-old girl.