“Self-help guru James Arthur Ray says it was all a tragic accident when his followers began collapsing one by one in a sweat lodge at his retreat, with three of them dying. As unfortunate as the ordeal was, he says the participants knew about the risks the ceremony presented.
Prosecutors say it’s a blatant case of manslaughter by a man who recklessly crammed dozens of people in a 400-square-foot sweat lodge and chided them for wanting to leave, even as people were vomiting, getting burned by hot rocks and lying lifeless on the ground.
The ceremony was intended to be almost a religious awakening and the highlight of Ray’s “Spiritual Warrior” retreat. About halfway through the ceremony, people began feeling ill, vomiting and collapsing. Three people who never regained consciousness died at hospitals — Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, N.Y.; James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee; and Liz Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake, Minn. Eighteen others were hospitalized.
The sweat lodge was built in 2008 specifically for Ray’s event and used numerous other times without incident. What happened inside of the pitch-black structure last October depends on who you ask.
Some participants said Ray highly encouraged them to stay inside, scolded them for leaving and ignored repeated pleas for help. His attorneys say participants were free to leave as they pleased and Ray was unaware of any problems until after the two-hour ceremony ended.”
Read more at The Guardian (Thanks Tammy)
You always have to wonder why ’self-help’ gurus are keen on telling people what to do. How is that ’self-help’?
Thanks, Oprah, for bringing us so many dangerous people. (Is Jenny McCarthy still getting her own show?)
http://www.thegoodatheist.net/2010/02/the-chasers-war-on-everything-tackles-the-secret/
And the whole nanny state health and safety nazis will be picking on this and demanding that spiritually advanced persons have to take acount of such things as their punters surviving. Hey, he was helping these people, he just didn’t notice they were dead.
It sounds like the Black Hole of Calcutta! Surely any fool, feable minded enough to participate in such an enterprise deserves his or her demise!
Reminds me of an episode of Dollhouse.
“Surely any fool, feable minded enough to participate in such an enterprise deserves his or her demise!”
People who are really desperate for help will willingly put their trust in those they see as authorities. It is the reason gurus thrive. Many very intelligent people find themselves “feeble-minded,” as you call it. The Beatles, JD Salinger, Van Morrison, and many other “intellectually-searching” people have found themselves under the guru spell. Nobody deserves to die. It’s time to “break the spell.”
I’m sure I’m very sorry if I find it difficult to sympathise with “intellectually-searching” souls who cram themselves into ovens only to emerge fully-baked!
Its too easy to just dismiss all endeavours where people offer opportunities for other people to develop themselves otherwise the human consciousness would not have developed in the way it is and you cannot argue that we are not genetically and neurscientifically programmmed to need to teach/pass on a message in order to survive as a species. There are always going to be people who misuse and misguide , that is also the nature of humanity. The issue as anon said is about vulnerability, ignorance and a lack of self awareness and that is where my frustration would lie. Why aren’t social intelligence and emotional intelligence a formal part of the education system for young people.
I also think blanket criticism is also based on ignorance and a lack of empathy and understanding.
I agree I was flippant. But I think ultimately people must take responsibility for their actions. I was reminded of a TED lecture I saw recently given by an ex-Moonie who is now a militant anti-brainwashing educator and I must admit to being astonished that human beings would allow themselves to be subjugated in such a way. Perhaps more research should be undertaken in this area do determine whether legislation should be adopted to protect such people from themselves, but where does one draw the line?
As long as society has this default view that religion is basically “Good” and that religious authorities are authorities, we can’t fairly criticise those who put their trust in such people. We are partly to blame for such tragedies, for allowing the idea that religion is anything other than morally neutral.