HBOs "The Young Pope" reminds me of some Indian gurus

Last night my wife, Laurel, and I watched the first episode of the HBO series, The Young Pope. It was weirdly realistic while also being strangely fantastical. The official trailer will give you a feel for the Young Pope, masterfully played by Jude Law.

Laurel, being a retired psychotherapist, didn't have any trouble diagnosing the newly elevated Pope Pius XIII: psychopath. The Young Pope is controlling, manipulative, hypocritical, and charismatic.

In other words, he is like lots of other religious leaders in both the West and East.

They prey on the misguided faith of their followers. They profit from being viewed as God, or at least Godly, despite being thoroughly worldly beneath their well-crafted persona presented to the outside world.

There are, of course, various degrees of cultish deception.

The Young Pope pushes the limit of what could be achieved by a duplicitous leader of the Catholic Church. But when I watched this clip from a future episode, I was reminded of how closely the Young Pope's speech to his cardinals echoes themes I heard from gurus who led an Indian organization I used to belong to, Radha Soami Satsang Beas.

"Fanaticism." "Total devotion." "Blind loyalty to the imperative." "Nothing outside obedience to Pius XIII."

Coming from the lips of Jude Law/the Young Pope, these words sound sinister. However, actually they are ideals promulgated by many, if not most, fundamentalist religions. 

It is only because The Young Pope shows us the inner reality of Pius XIII which belies the Catholic dogma supporting papal divinity, that we viewers are able to recognize how dangerously fake he is. 

Based on my lengthy personal experience in a guru-led form of spirituality, where the Perfect Living Master was considered to be God in human form by his millions of devotees, I can confidently say that while the The Young Pope may shock followers of a liberal form of religion, the themes in this HBO series will appear quite familiar to people knowledgeable about cults led by a leader who has almost complete control. 

It's going to be interesting to see how the Young Pope's relationships with Vatican insiders turn out in further episodes. In Episode 1 we got glimpses of rebellion. This makes for good television, but it doesn't fit with how Indian gurus typically are treated by their inner circle.

Faith in the guru usually is so strong -- in large part because the guru is considered to control the eternal salvation, or lack thereof, of disciples/initiates -- even those closest to him who are able to see his flaws are extremely unwilling to view those human frailties for what they are. 

Rather, expressions of anger, insults, vindictiveness, lack of compassion, and the like are explained away as being "lessons," "tests," "tough love," or other rationalizations. 

For example, in the Radha Soami Satsang Beas literature there is an oft-told story of a guru who ordered his disciples to dig  a large hole in a field, only to fill it with dirt again. Then the disciple was supposed to repeat the process: dig a hole; fill it back up. Eventually the guru saw that only one person was still digging, as all the others had quit this difficult, meaningless task.

In a cult, that person is viewed as possessing the greatest faith and is the most beloved of the guru. But in everyday life, that person would be properly seen as the most gullible and easily manipulated by a con artist. 

Rather surprisingly, The Young Pope is very popular in Italy and hasn't been criticized by Pope Francis.

In general, I take this as a good open-minded sign. But it also is possible that those who belong to a fundamentalist religion consider that displays of cult-like behavior just couldn't pertain to them -- only to those other false religions. 

The Young Pope

Comments

[Dungeness]

For example, in the Radha Soami Satsang Beas literature there is an oft-told story of a guru who ordered his disciples to dig a large hole in a field, only to fill it with dirt again. Then the disciple was supposed to repeat the process: dig a hole; fill it back up. Eventually the guru saw that only one person was still digging, as all the others had quit this difficult, meaningless task

Actually that story has its origins in Sikhism... just swap out the "hole digging" for "platform building":

http://www.sikhmissionarysociety.org/sms/smspublications/theteachingsofguruamardasji/chapter1/#Training%20and%20Succession%20of%20Bhai%20Jetha

Of course, I think the Sikh tradition might explain that persistence
in carrying out a "meaningless" task as a insightful realization of
its real symbolic objective. The bush leaguers throw in the towel,
er. shovel, quickly. Last saint-wannabe standing gets the gold,
or turban, or what have you...

[Dungeness]

For example, in the Radha Soami Satsang Beas literature there is an oft-told story of a guru who ordered his disciples to dig a large hole in a field, only to fill it with dirt again. Then the disciple was supposed to repeat the process: dig a hole; fill it back up. Eventually the guru saw that only one person was still digging, as all the others had quit this difficult, meaningless task

Actually that story has its origins in Sikhism... just swap out the "hole digging" for "platform building":

http://www.sikhmissionarysociety.org/sms/smspublications/theteachingsofguruamardasji/chapter1/#Training%20and%20Succession%20of%20Bhai%20Jetha

Of course, I think the Sikh tradition might explain that persistence
in carrying out a "meaningless" task as a insightful realization of
its real symbolic objective. The bush leaguers throw in the towel,
er. shovel, quickly. Last saint-wannabe standing gets the gold,
or turban, or what have you...

[John Haggerty]

Jude Law's Pius XIII is quite mad and sociopathic, and is indeed reminiscent of authoritarian gurus and religious cult leaders.
Strange then that both Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II embraced, physically and spiritually, the sociopathic guru Sri Chinmoy Ghose.
You can see the photos on the internet.
Pope Paul told the manipulative Sri Chinmoy, who demanded total and blind obedience from his brainwashed disciples, 'We will meet in heaven.'
Pope John Paul told the self-exalting cult leader, 'I bless your divine work.'
Divine?
Ghose denied the lordship of Jesus Christ, and placed himself on a god-like throne.
Last year Pope Francis blessed the Sri Chinmoy 'peace run', never asking the late guru's disciples why they were not placing all their hopes on Jesus Christ.
I am reminded of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones's remark, that 'the Catholic Church wears a thousand different faces for the world.'
When it is being persecuted the Catholic Church is like a lamb; when it obtains total power it is like a tiger; and when it enjoys a position of equality with other faiths it is like a fox.
As Leonardo De Chirico writes, 'the Catholic Church is programmatically searching outside its circle for whatever can enrich and expand it.'
See a photo online of Pope Francis sharing a platform with the 'hugging guru', Amritanandamayi Amma, otherwise known as 'the Mother'.
This is syncretism by another name.
Maybe one day the Church will turn away from the world's idols and embrace the five great Solas of Christianity.
Sola Scriptura, sola fide, sola gratia, solus Christus, soli Deo gloria.

J Haggerty, Glasgow. Scotland