Cults - Character Map

By: Nate Linder

 Shoko Asahara <- In the image to the right, Shoko
Asahara practices meditation. Staying
calm and collected through meditation
Leader of the cult “Aum Shinrikyo” and other exercises was at the core of
Aum’s beliefs. Oftentimes, Asahara
would invite members of the cult to
Background: Shoko Asahara was born into a large, meditate with him. Here he would
poor family in 1955. He was born with infantile glaucoma, answer the questions they had for him
which caused him to lose all sight in his left eye and most and convince them to move up higher
sight in his right eye. When growing up, he went to a school in the cult by devoting their lives to
for blind students, where he eventually graduated. Although him.
his parents planned for him to go into the field of herbal
medicine (a common career choice for the blind in Japan at
the time), Asahara turned instead to religion, founding
doctrine of “Aum Shinrikyo.” Beliefs: Although the Aum cult started with
Buddhist ideas, including meditation and karma, as it
progressed it implemented aspects of Hinduism and
Personality: When in school, Shoko Christianity. The cult believed that Asahara was a re-
Asahara’s classmates described him as a incarnation of Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction,
bully who extorted fellow students for and that an end time was coming. They believed that
money. Members of the Aum cult only those in the cult, or killed by them, would be
revealed that Asahara would often become angry when doubted, and saved from hell. Asahara also began to see spies and
some say that he forced them to have sex with him, despite sex being conspiracies everywhere, sent by the Freemasons
against the Aum’s guidelines. However, Asahara was smart and and Jews. As a result they set in motion a deadly
charismatic, and would appear nice to newcomers of the cult. Many recall subway attack on Tokyo subway that killed 12 people
thinking of him as a genuine leader when they first joined. and injured over 500.
 Events of the Attack: On March 20th, 1955 Nishimura had
Sumio Nishimura his shift on the Tokyo subway as usual when a concerned passenger
told him that two people were lying unconscious in a Subway car.
Nishimura calmly traveled to the carriage and found two people, a
Subway worker on the day of man and a woman, unconscious. They was a packet of sweet smelling
the sarin gas attack. liquid leaking on the floor between them. At first Nishimura thought
that it was a double suicide, he would not find out it was a
coordinated terrorist attack until
Background: Sumio Nishimura was born several hours later. He quickly
into a poor family. However, at the time of the decided to take the packet out of the
Tokyo subway attacks he head a steady income and car, and his actions could have
a respected job. He is somewhat quiet, but not afraid saved many people. The sarin gas
to talk to people when it is needed. caused him to be hospitalized for a
week, but he was released
later with no side effects. Nishimura was lucky to be downwind
<- Nishimura’s job tasks
from the sarin while carrying it, saving him from the potentially
him with a lot of
lethal fumes. Graphic - (Murakami, 80).
responsibilities. He has
to answer any questions
for commuters, and
Perspective: When Nishimura was told that he was a hero, he
said that he believes it was just part of his job, and someone else
check Subway cars for
would have if it wasn’t him. When he was in the hospital Nishimura
anything dangerous said that he didn’t feel much disdain for the attacker, stating that
before they depart. If when someone hits you, it doesn’t matter who, just that you got hit.
there is any problem on However, after the trial Nishimura thinks that the attackers should
the subway, he recieve the death penalty, “To launch an indiscriminate attack on
oftentimes takes extra innocent people, it’s unforgivable.” Although Nishimura doesn’t like
jobs if the subway is to discuss the attacks, he oftentimes gives details to honor the
short staffed. subway workers who died because of senseless violence.
 Cult encounters: While in Liberia, Dr. Junge wrote about
Werner Junge
six encounters that he hid with ritual murders or murder attempts.
One of these was a victim of the leopard society, a murderous cult
who dressed as leopards and believed that eating their victims
Doctor in a would grant them powers and immortality. One day in the village
Werner saw that on a mat in a house was horribly mutated fifteen
Liberian jungle year old girl. Several of the girls intestines were ripped out and
her pelvis was shattered. She also had one of her thighs ripped
off. At first, Werner thought that it must have been a wild animal.
Who had killed the young girl, but upon further examination his
Background: Werner Junge was a German doctor experience as a doctor allowed him to note
who moved to Liberia for thirty-five years to treat local several irregularities. The cuts were all
villages for smallpox. Because he was very accepting for strangely regular, the thigh was removed
his time, he was able to witness African culture that no using a classic technique of fracture by
other European at the time could ever witness. In his over bending. When he told the other villagers
thirty years he treated an estimated 18,000 patients and about his encounter, they told him about
witnessed the elusive leopard society cult, among other men who dressed as leopards and murdered
aspects of life in Liberia during the early 1900’s. their prey with razor sharp claws.


Perspective: Werner Junge witnessed the leopard societies brutality and the villagers fear of them from an outsider’s
perspective. He was saddened by the fact that the villages members and the Liberian government seemed to be unable to stop
the murders by the cultists. Eventually, help came through the intervention of a nearby Gola chief, several of the perpetrators
were caught. When they were taken in, they were much higher profile members of the community than Junge would have
thought. Two of those arrested was a head of a mission school and a Christian missionary. While in Liberia, Junge also
witnessed what he saw as an unreliable justice system. A man claiming to practice witchcraft came into the village and fed doses
of a liquid to several suspects standing in a line. When two of them collapsed, the witchdoctor told the chief, that those were his
men. Junge saw this method as unscientific and unjust.
 Founding the Church: In 1952, Ron Hubbard
Ron Hubbard founded the church of Scientology, just two years after
writing his book, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental
Health. Scientology would catch on very quickly in the U.S,
Founder of Scientology but not without controversy. Mental health experts,
scientists, and doctors all criticized Scientology’s
beliefs about the science of the human mind, and use of lie detectors
Background: Ron Hubbard which supposedly “measures the strength of a small electrical current that
was born in 1911 into a moderately runs through the body after giving an answer.” Scientology’s status as a
wealthy family. He grew up as a tax exempt religion has also been questioned due to the frequent
writer, and became successful extravagant donations it receives and the frequent legal battles that it
writing fantasy and science fiction fights against coverage it sees as slanderous. Today, Scientology claims
books. He would go on to found to have 11,000 churches in 184 nations.
scientology in 1954.
Perspective: In his early life, Ron Hubbard thought of himself as
incredibly skilled and talented. When he visited other countries, such as
Personality: The modern day Church of Scientology Japan and China, he remarked that its residents were lazy, and used slurs.
portrays Ron Hubbard as a pioneering explorer who Hubbard was removed from several military positions for his attitude.
wasn’t afraid to question the norm. The church states When he at first founded the cult of Scientology, he enjoyed the attention
that Hubbard is a nuclear physicist, photographer, artist,
that it brought him, but began to grow weary of it when controversy after
philosopher, and poet. However, critics note that
controversy hit the church. Less than ten years into the churches founding,
Hubbard’s achievements are vastly overstated. Many of
Hubbard began to take a less active public leadership role, instead
his achievements were proven to be overstated by the
church, and when he was in the military he was twice spending time on boats with other Scientologists. Twenty years after the
sent off of ships due to being unreliable and frequently cults founding Hubbard stepped down from the cult and out of public eye.
overestimating himself. One officer stated that, “He is He died six years later in complete privacy, a contrast to his attention
garrulous and tries to give impressions of his importance. seeking younger self. Although his perspective in his later years isn’t
He also seems to think he has unusual ability in most known for sure, he likely felt less inclined to be in the public spotlight, and
lines.” preferred to stay out of controversy.