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Lafayette Ronald Hubbard was an American author and the founder of Scientology. A prolific writer of pulp science fiction and fantasy novels in his early career, in 1950 he authored Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health and established organizations to promote and practice Dianetics techniques. Hubbard created Scientology in 1952 after losing the intellectual rights to his literature on Dianetics in bankruptcy. He would lead the Church of Scientology – variously described as a cult, a new religious movement, or a business – until his death in 1986.
Tantra is an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards in both Hinduism and Buddhism.
Followers of the Scientology movement maintain a wide variety of beliefs and practices. The core belief holds that a human is an immortal, spiritual being (thetan) that is resident in a physical body. The thetan has had innumerable past lives, some of which, preceding the thetan's arrival on Earth, were lived in extraterrestrial cultures. Based on case studies at advanced levels, it is predicted that any Scientologist undergoing auditing will eventually come across and recount a common series of past-life events.
In Scientology, Operating Thetan (OT) is a state of complete spiritual freedom in which one is a "willing and knowing cause over life, thought, matter, energy, space and time". The Church of Scientology offers eight "levels" of OT, each level costing thousands of US dollars. Each OT level is confidential and is not revealed to anyone beforehand. In summary, the objective of these levels is to remove "body thetans" which are "confused, disembodied souls from other planets who have attached themselves to us".
Sex magic is any type of sexual activity used in magical, ritualistic or otherwise religious and spiritual pursuits. One practice of sex magic is using sexual arousal or orgasm with visualization of a desired result. A premise posited by sex magicians is the concept that sexual energy is a potent force that can be harnessed to transcend one's normally perceived reality.
Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard routinely referred to "space opera" in his teachings, drawing from science-fiction and weaving it into his origins of human history. In his writings, wherein thetans were reincarnated periodically over quadrillions of years, retaining memories of prior lives, to which Hubbard attributed complex narratives about life throughout the universe. The most controversial of these myths is the story of Xenu, to whom Hubbard attributed responsibility for many of the world's problems.
Sylvan Muldoon was an American esotericist who promoted the concept of astral projection. According to Muldoon, astral projection is an out-of-body experience (OBE) that assumes the existence of an astral body separate from the physical body and is capable of travelling outside it. A 2012 Princeton University Press publication by Hugh Urban asserted that one of Muldoon's most popular books formed the basis for theories of the Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard which he claimed were his own.
In the 1950s and 1960s, a HASI was an organization where people would go for Scientology training, auditing, books, tapes, and e-meters. There were HASI organizations across the western world. The use of the word "HASI", pronounced "hah-zee" or "ha-zee", could refer to either a local organization or the international management corporation.
[L. Ron Hubbard] is governing director of Hubbard Association of Scientologists International, the operative company of the HASI, over which he exercises complete and autocratic control.
The Kāpālika tradition was a Tantric, non-Puranic form of Shaivism which originated in Medieval India between the 4th and 8th century CE. The word is derived from the Sanskrit term kapāla, meaning "skull", and kāpālika can be translated as the "skull-men" or "skull-bearers".
Neotantra, navatantra, or tantric sexuality is a Western new religious movement influenced by the Eastern esoteric spiritual traditions of Tantra. Rooted in elements of Hindu and Buddhist tantras, neotantra blends New Age interpretations with modern Western perspectives, often emphasizing the sexual aspects of these ancient traditions. While some proponents reference traditional texts and principles, many utilize tantra as a broader term encompassing sacred sexuality, occasionally incorporating unconventional practices. However, neotantra does not always adhere to the complete range of Indian tantric practices, particularly the reliance on a guru.
History of Dianetics and Scientology begins around 1950. During the late 1940s, L. Ron Hubbard began developing a mental therapy system which he called Dianetics. Hubbard had tried to interest the medical profession in his techniques, including the Gerontological Society, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and the American Journal of Psychiatry, but his work was rejected for not containing sufficient evidence of efficacy to be acceptable.
The Church of Scientology publicly classifies itself as a religion, but scholars and other observers regard it as a business, because the organization operates more like a for-profit business than a religious institution. Some scholars of sociology working in religious studies consider it a new religious movement. Overall, as stated by Stephen A. Kent, Scientology can be seen as a "multi-faceted transnational corporation that has religion as only one of its many components. Other components include political aspirations, business ventures, cultural productions, pseudo-medical practices, pseudo-psychiatric claims, and, an alternative family structure."
Ali's Smile: Naked Scientology is a collection of essays and a short story by American Beat writer William S. Burroughs (1914–1997). First published in 1971 as the short story "Ali's Smile", the book eventually contained a group of previously published newspaper articles as well, all of which address Scientology. Burroughs had been interested in Scientology throughout the 1960s, believing that its methods might help combat a controlling society. He joined the Church of Scientology later in the decade. However, he became disenchanted with the authoritarian nature of the organization. In 1970 Burroughs had published a "considered statement" on Scientology's methods because he felt they were significant enough to warrant commentary. These pieces were later gathered together into Ali's Smile: Naked Scientology, which religious studies scholar Hugh B. Urban describes as a "nonscholarly popular exposé of Scientology". Burroughs's texts argue that while some of Scientology's therapies are worthwhile, the dogmatic nature of the group and its secrecy are harmful.
Religion Inc. The Church of Scientology is a book about Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard, written by Stewart Lamont and published in 1986.
The Scientology cross is one of the principal symbols of Scientology. It is most often used to represent the Church of Scientology. The cross bears some resemblance to the Christian cross but differs from it with the addition of four diagonal rays between the conventional horizontal and vertical arms. The eight points of the cross represent the eight dynamics in Scientology, the eight divisions of urges towards survival:
- One's self as an individual
- Sex, procreation, family
- Groups, society, community
- Species survival (humankind)
- Life forms in general
- The physical universe: matter, energy, space & time
- Spirits
- Infinity or Supreme being
Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by the American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It is variously defined as a cult, a business, a religion, or a scam. Hubbard initially developed a set of ideas that he called Dianetics, which he represented as a form of therapy. An organization that he established in 1950 to promote it went bankrupt, and Hubbard lost the rights to his book Dianetics in 1952. He then recharacterized his ideas as a religion, likely for tax purposes, and renamed them Scientology. By 1954, he had regained the rights to Dianetics and founded the Church of Scientology, which remains the largest organization promoting Scientology. There are practitioners independent of the Church, in what is referred to as the Free Zone. Estimates put the number of Scientologists at under 40,000 worldwide.
The Church of Scientology: A History of a New Religion is a 2011 book about the history of the Church of Scientology by Hugh Urban, a professor of religious studies in the Department of Comparative Studies at Ohio State University. Urban discusses the history and teachings of the group and how they relate to broader trends in American society. Urban also writes about whether the group is a religion, and how religion is defined. In The Chronicle of Higher Education, Seth Perry states that Urban "is more concerned with the questions Scientology raises than about Scientology itself".
Scientology is in part derived from, and shares elements with, a number of esoteric or occult systems. The extent of the influence of specific occult belief systems on Scientology is a subject of debate amongst scholars.
David Gordon White is an American Indologist and author on the history of yoga and tantra. He won the CHOICE book selection in religion, and an honorable mention in the PROSE book awards, both for Sinister Yogis.
References
- ↑ "Profile: Nancy Jesser". Ohio State University .
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Profile: Hugh Urban". Ohio State University .
- 1 2 Ortega, Tony (September 15, 2011). "Hugh Urban: An Interview With the Professor Who Took on Scientology". The Village Voice . villagevoice.com. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
- ↑ Hugh Urban, OSU College of Arts and Sciences Department of Comparative Studies
- ↑ Urban, Hugh (June 2, 2006). "Fair Game: Secrecy, Security, and the Church of Scientology in Cold War America" (PDF). Journal of the American Academy of Religion . 74 (2). Oxford University Press: 356–389. doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfj084. S2CID 143313978. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 2, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
- ↑ Hugh Urban, OSU College of Arts and Sciences Department of Comparative Studies
- 1 2 Urban, Hugh (2012). Scientology A History of a New Religion. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-3943-8.
- 1 2 "Additional Reviews". Princeton University Press .
- ↑ Urban, Hugh (2012). Scientology A History of a New Religion. Google Books: Princeton University Press. p. 77. ISBN 978-1-4008-3943-8.
- ↑ Muldoon, Sylvan (1951). The Phenomena of Astral Projection. Amazon: Rider. ASIN B0000CHX60.
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