Letter from a Kumite

I recently spoke with a member of SM who attends ceremony at the Houston, Texas Center. She and I have been having friendly conversation and debate over Mahikari and its teachings, discussing why she chooses to remain within the organization and why I chose to leave the organization. She has been a member for 10+ years and recently wrote a letter to the California dojo (there are more centers in California than in any other state) to ask honest questions about the new North American site. She, like most of us former members, noticed the discrepancies in the site and decided to write to get some answers concerning the blatant omission of certain aspects of Mahikari from the site. She agreed to let me post her letter, provided that I change her name. She wrote:

To whom it may concern,

I have a few questions. My name is Deborah and I live in Texas. I joined Mahikari in…I would rather not say at the risk of showing my age. I recently learned at monthly ceremony that the North American site had finally been put on the internet and I began reading the information. There were a couple of discrepancies on the site and I was told by Metadoshi that the Los Angeles Center would be able to handle them. I just want to point out those errors so that we might be able to rectify them.

The first was the part that states that Sukyo Mahikari does not consider itself to be the only path to God. I have always been taught that Mahikari is the only path to God and that all other religions will eventually fade out. The Goseigen states that those of us who do not receive Primary Kenshu will not survive the Baptism of Fire, therefore I was under the impression that Mahikari is the only path to God. I feel that we are projecting a false message if we state that we do not consider ourselves the only path to God and in the process undermining the importance of bringing in as many Kumite as possible. Why has the fact that Mahikari is the only true path to God been omitted from the site? Also, why is there no mention of the Baptism of Fire on the new site? That is a crucial part of our teachings and I think if people knew the gravity of the situation, perhaps membership would increase. We are talking about the end of the world as we know it, it is our mission to ensure that as many people are saved as possible and I don’t feel that the gravity of the situation is strongly expressed on the site.

The next thing I noticed was in the financial obligations section. It states: For all its activities, the organization relies on a recommended membership fee, which varies from country to country, and voluntary donations from members and non-members. It is entirely at the discretion of each person to decide whether or not to make a donation, and how much.

At the Houston Center we pay a ten percent membership fee each month, I assume it is the same for most dojos. Shouldn’t information about the amount of the fee be included in the website information? The fee is strictly enforced at the Houston Center, not simply “recommended”. Our Kanbu will ask for our donations if we fail to make them on time. It’s an important donation we make each month with a sincere sonen. If we did not make our ten percent tithe, the Houston Center would probably be shut down by now, as we have had to change locations several times, not to mention our omitamas cannot remain connected to God without material compensation. I think the importance of the donations and fees should be expressed on the site. The site seems to be laidback about this issue.

Also in the section called ‘leaving the organization’ it states: Members are free to stop practicing the Art of True Light and to leave Sukyo Mahikari at any time. This is true however; maybe something about spirit disturbance should be mentioned here. The Goseigen is clear that those who choose to leave Mahikari are throwing God’s gift in His face, are spiritually disturbed, or not spiritually purified enough. People who chose to leave are spiritually disturbed and very rarely do we, at least in the Houston Center, continue communication with these people. Spirit disturbance is a very serious issue and yet there was absolutely no mention of it in the site. Could you shed some light on this?

Lastly, in the True Light section there is text that states that The Art of True Light is not a healing practice. This is inaccurate, as we were told in Primary Kenshu and as well as in the Goseigen that Okada was told by God to lift his hand and heal people of diseases and purify the soul. They keyword is ‘heal’…not simply spiritually purify. Okiyome is a healing method, as has been proven over and over again through the people who have been healed by the light of God. Why then is the fact that this practice heals people being undermined?

I hope to hear from you soon. Sorry if these questions seem harsh, I just hate the reputation our organization has received from the media and through the internet. I think if we approach this new venture with an honest sonen and lay the truth out for everyone to see, maybe there would be less prattle about how terrible Sukyo Mahikari is, as well as eliminate the accusations that the organization is a cult and psychologically damaging. This organization has changed my life and I hate seeing people slander its name. The former members are going to have a field day tearing this site apart if it is left as is.

Your Sister in Light,
Deborah

Well…she was right about that; as I started tearing the site apart the day after I read that hooey. I can answer her questions one by one…
1. Why does Sukyo Mahikari state on their official site that they do not consider themselves the only path to God? Well, because most people don’t respond well to being told, “do what we say or you will not be saved” or “the end of the world is coming, you must offer okiyome every day until you are purified enough to go on to the next civilization” Mahikari can bring in more members if they say, “It’s alright, you can continue to practice your religion along side Mahikari.” This makes them appeal to people who practice other religions, they try Mahikari out and if they like it they continue to attend dojo, eventually trading all their old beliefs in for Mahikari doctrine. I don’t think I remember anyone who has successfully attended both dojo and church without having to abandon some, or all, of their previous beliefs.

2. As for financial obligations…no one wants to hear you have to pay up or God is going to cut you off. Instead Mahikari would have you believe that donations are optional in all forms, then after you have taken Primary Kenshu they tell you about all the money needed to maintain a relationship with God, at least then if you don’t want to pay up they have the $150 you paid for omitama.

3. As for spirit disturbance and its lack of publicity on the official site…no one wants to hear that there are evil spirits that will attack you unless you adhere to Mahikari’s very strict spiritual practices. Most people would flee from the religion right then and there, thinking it somewhat of a pagan/wiccan practice. The only time you will hear about spirit disturbance is when people A) leave the organization (all former members are under the influence of disturbed spirits), B) when you are having doubts (the thoughts are not your own, but the spirit telling you to turn away from Mahikari), or C) when you are reluctant to join the sect (you have a severe spirit disturbance, okiyome is the only way to get rid of the negative karma that has latched itself onto you).

4. Same with the departure of former members, newcomers do not want to hear “if you ever leave this organization you are taking the road to hell by yourself, you are spiritually disturbed, you are a quitter, you have thrown God’s gift in His face, etc”. Might just be me, but if an organization told me that I think I would be extremely reluctant to join. Not being able to leave when I wanted to would set off my red flag cult alarm.

5. As for the healing practice…Mahikari is just trying to cover its ass. In order to avoid legal action that could be taken against SM in the event of the death or injury of members, they have to say that they do not heal. I wonder what God thinks of them changing the divine word….I mean the Goseigen does say Okada heard, “raise your hand and heal people of diseases”, correct? Even if it means facing legal action the supposed word of God should not be altered.

Anyway, I just found it interesting that a current member of Mahikari was having the same issues with the new site that we were. Might I add that Deborah received no response to her letter, not even a refusal to comment, just nothing. Guess that's the way Mahikari chooses to handle their issues, ignore it and it will go away.