Death Cults 2: Aum Shinrikyo & The Mad Guru Shoko Asahara

In this week’s show we continue our series on Death Cults to discuss the rise and fall of the Japanese doomsday cult, Aum Shinrikyo led by its mad, blind-prophet Shoko Asahara. In the free section of the show we discuss the Tokyo Subway Sarin Gas attack for which the cult is famous before taking a closer look at the troubled childhood of its charismatic leader, his early spiritual misadventures and his rise to power creating one of the deadliest cults to ever exist. We also discuss their living arrangements and failed foray into mainstream politics. In contrast to most content on this topic we then dive into the Buddhist and Hindu religious concepts which Shoko Asahara abused and twisted to manipulate his loyal followers into mindless murderers who carried out their orders without question or hesitation. In the extended episode we look at the gruesome murders perpetrated by the cult, their obsession with anime, the rituals the cultists participated in, the hilarious money making schemes they perpetrated on the public, their recruitment methods, the role of its prominent members, sex within the cult, the mind-blowing access to and production of weapons of mass destruction and finally the demise of the organization and Shoko Asahara himself. Thank you and enjoy the show!In this week’s show we discuss:-The Tokyo Subway Sarin Attacks-The Sarin Song-What is sarin anyway??-Shoko Asahara’s childhood-How Shoko became a cult leader-The Circle of Mountain Wizards-Abusing Hindu and Buddhist religious ideology-Poa / Phowa-The cult’s living arrangements-Aum Shinrikyo’s political career-Killing for the guruIn the extended show available at www.patreon.com/TheWholeRabbit we discuss:-The first murder of the cult-Mahamudra-Preparing for Armageddon-Rituals of Om Shinrikyo-Money making schemes-Lead scientist / second in command, Hideo Murai-Sakamoto Family Murders-Buying a helicopter and other weapons!-Recruitment methods-Weird sex in the cult-Drug and chemical manufacturing-Terrorist attacks AFTER the Tokyo Subway-Shoko Asahara’s downfall and trialEach host is responsible for writing and creating the content they present!Where to find The Whole Rabbit:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0AnJZhmPzaby04afmEWOAVInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_whole_rabbitTwitter: https://twitter.com/1WholeRabbitMusic By Spirit Travel Plaza:https://open.spotify.com/artist/30dW3WB1sYofnow7y3V0YoSources:Destroying the World to Save it:https://a.co/d/2ySNYVdSong of Sarinhttps://irp.fas.org/congress/1995_rpt/aum/part04.htmLSD production:https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1995/oct/13/cult-reportedly-made-lsd-to-use-as-weapon/The Culthttps://www.nonproliferation.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/aum_chrn.pdf Support the show