Involvement in a New Religious Movement: From Discovery to Disenchantment

Abstract

This article discusses involvement in a new religious movement (religious cult) from a sociological perspective developed from a qualitative study of individuals' involvement in Swami Muktananda's Siddha Yoga. The study explored individuals' attractions, affiliation, and disenchantment in a new religious movement. The significance of exploring individuals' involvement was to inform an alternative discourse that challenges the conceptualization held by many helping professionals and cult awareness groups in the brainwashing thesis. Although brainwashing as an empirical concept has been discredited among most researchers of new religious movements, it continues to be used as an explanatory model for cult awareness groups and helping professionals.

Keywords:

• cults
• NRMs
• Conversion
• Siddha Yoga

INTRODUCTION

Those professionals who are influenced in their work with former members of new religious movements (NRMs; cults) by a brainwashing or mind-control model of involvement attempt to undo the impact of involvement by providing clients with information on how they had been brainwashed. In a sense they offer a brainwashing interpretation to individuals' experiences rather than allowing former members to make sense of their own experiences in their own way. Before presenting a discussion of involvement that is based on a sociological study of individuals experiences rather than an imposed model, I will first present a discussion on brainwashing and its importance toward informing what is sometimes called the “anticult movement” or “cult awareness groups.” Although these terms do not give a true representation of the diversity of helping professionals, pastoral carers, or family- or community-based movements, they are meant to refer to those that are influenced to varying extents in there work with ex-members of NRMs by a brainwashing or mind-control notion to cultic involvement.

Why people join NRMs and what they do with that experience is already the basis of many sociological studies. It is apparent from empirical studies of NRMs that this is still a fertile field (spanning 40 years or so) and not yet fully understood. However, it also seems that little of the sociological knowledge on NRMs is gaining the attention of helping professions or cult awareness groups who continue to rely on aspects of the brainwashing thesis when working with members or ex-members of NRMs. This is possibly because there is little else that is recommended for practitioners in this area. Brainwashing presents a type of “grand theory” of involvement which could be problematic when attempting to encompass individual and group difference. This article goes some way to redress this by presenting a sociological perspective on NRM involvement that attempts to inform an alternative discourse to that of brainwashing.

The next section gives a sociological definition of NRMs followed by the discussion on brainwashing. I will then give an outline of the study and the discussion of involvement in Siddha Yoga which highlights the qualitative interview materials related to individual experiences of involvement, followed by the article's conclusion. It is, of course, not possible to give the volume of qualitative material that was generated to support the discussion of involvement in this article. However, I have given short vignettes that I hope will provide useful representations of the themes developed; more substantial materials and a full methodology may be found in Healy (2010). The short vignettes used are taken from the larger study in which 32 ex-members of Siddha Yoga took part in semistructured interviews. Themes were developed and informed by a grounded theory methodology using the computer-assisted qualitative program, Nvivo.

Definition of NRMs

Melton (1999) offers a broad definition of the group of movements that has come to be known as new religions or (NRMs), often termed cults. He asserts, “New religions, groups or movements are primarily religious groups/movements that operate apart from the dominant culture (in our case, the Christian West) in which they are located and, in addition, seek adherents from their new host culture” (Melton, 1999, p. 5). A NRM, therefore, may originate from another country or develop internally; the key is that they are, at least initially, set apart from the dominant culture.

According to Barker (1997) what may constitute a NRM can vary in ideology and approach, and includes groups that are religious, political, scientific, and alien-oriented, as well as groups that emphasize personal growth, such as psychotherapeutic and human potential movements. Hume (2000, p. 27) asserts that “the diversity of new religious movements defies any easy generalizations concerning them.” The term NRM, therefore, covers a variety of unconnected groups, many of which may not necessarily appear religious and are often labeled as cults.

NRMs or cults have often been accused of using brainwashing or mind control as a way to recruit or retain members. The following section discusses the concept of brainwashing and its continuing relevance for the helping professions, cult information services, and what is loosely call the anticult movement.

BRAINWASHING

Within the discourse of brainwashing among the anticult movement it is common to view the individual as having been recruited to the movement rather than having joined of their own choice (Hassan, 1998; Lalich & Tobias, 2006; Ward, 2002; Whitsett, 2003). From this perspective, cult affiliation is not perceived to be voluntary; it is caused by the accumulation of coercive and destructive psychological processes typically conceptualized as brainwashing or mind control (Lalich & Tobias, 2006; Lalich, 2004). The brainwashing or mind-control thesis took hold in the anticult movement during the late 1960s and early 1970s in parallel with the growth of NRMs in Western societies. The predominant notion or model of brainwashing in regard to NRMs or cult involvement is influenced by the work of Lifton (1961) and his study of Communist China's thought reform program during the Korean War (Anthony, 1999). Schein (1961) too has influenced notions of coercive persuasion from his own study of China's thought reform.

Integral to the Chinese thought reform program was the use of lengthy incarceration and force. Lifton's 25 Western participants reported a common experience of being chained for weeks on end, allowed very little sleep and very little food, and being subjected to emotional and physical harassment by cellmates and officials in order to extract confessions. Many endured more than 3 years of incarceration. Lifton's analysis of this experience of thought reform has shown that those who seemed to “convert,” did so as a matter of survival (Lifton, 1961, p. 150) and points to the resilient nature of humans under difficult circumstances (Lifton, 1961, p. 238). The 25 Western individuals interviewed by Lifton undoubtedly experienced horrific treatment over many years and may not easily be compared with the voluntary and usually limited involvement of people in NRMs. However, Lifton's work has been used as the basis of a model of cultic involvement by key helping professionals such as Singer, Hassan, and Langone (Anthony, 1999; Anthony & Robbins, 2004), all highly influential in informing what Barker (2002) has termed “cult awareness groups.” The application of brainwashing or thought reform to NRM affiliation has consistently been rejected by many of those who study NRMs (Barker, 1984; Bromley, 1983, 2007; Palmer, 2008; Richardson, 2001; Richardson & Introvigne, 2001; Stark & Finke, 2000), yet has found lasting favor with health professional and cult information services (Anthony, 1999; Barker, 1997; Saroglou, Buxant, & Tilquin, 2008).

Groups such as Muktananda's Siddha Yoga have often been labeled cults by ex-members or cult-awareness groups. The popular understanding of cultic involvement has been influenced by media representations fueled by dramatic incidents involving nontraditional religious groups and allegations of brainwashing (McCloud, 2007; Olson, 2006; Richardson & van Driel, 1997). The Jonestown mass murder-suicide in 1978, the Branch Davidian siege in 1993, the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway by Aum Shinrikyo in 1995, the Heaven's Gate suicide in 1997, and the deaths of the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God in 2000 all highlighted the need for an explanation for such irrational behavior (Bromley & Melton, 2002; Lewis, 2005; Wessinger, 2009). The conceptualization of affiliation as brainwashing has been an influential theory of involvement in nontraditional religious groups or NRMs, which attempts to explain why otherwise normal individuals would change their lifestyle and beliefs in a relatively short period of time after coming into contact with one of these groups.

However, the problem with the notion of brainwashing in reference to cults or NRMs evident from previous empirical studies is that it does not appear to fully account for the variety of individuals' experience of involvement (Barker, 1984, 1997; Boeri, 2002). Although the notion of brainwashing is not well supported by scholars of religion or the legal fraternity (Anthony & Robbins, 2004; Lewis, 2005; Palmer, 2008) it continues to be influential amongst some cult awareness groups and helping professionals who assist families and ex-members of these groups (International Cultic Studies Association, 2010; Jenkinson, 2007; Lalich & Tobias, 2006). DeWitt, Richardson, and Warner (1997, p. 5) recognize that, “even though the term brainwashing has little scientific support [it] is often used as a social weapon against unpopular groups.”

Swami Muktananda's Siddha Yoga, which I will refer to throughout this article as Siddha Yoga, forms this present case study; therefore I will give a brief outline of this movement. For a more detailed account of the movement see Brooks (1997), Caldwell (2001), and Healy (2010).

SWAMI MUKTANANDA'S SIDDHA YOGA

Siddha Yoga was introduced to the West in 1970 by Swami Muktananda (1908–1982) as part of his first venture outside of India (Thursby, 1991; White, 1974). After his visit, devotees established centers and ashrams. Like other Indian-based movements, such as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness or Rajneesh/Osho, Siddha Yoga would be considered a NRM in the terms proposed by Melton (1999) because when it entered the West, it gained converts from the host country. Although guru-disciple traditions were well known and had been established in India for centuries, during the late 1960s and early 1970s these groups offered the West an alternative spirituality to the predominant Christian perspective. In his lifetime Swami Muktananda conducted three tours to the West, passing on the teachings of his own guru Bhagawan Nityananda (1888–1961) in what was considered a lineage of Siddhas, or perfect masters (Brooks, 1997; Foster, 2002). Siddha Yoga's practices include Shaktipat initiation (the awakening of the spiritual energy known in this tradition as kundalini awakening by the grace of the guru), meditation, chanting and seva or service to the guru (Melton, 1993). The charismatic presence of the guru is, however, possibly more central to the practice of Siddha Yoga than the individual spiritual practices (Thursby, 1995, p. 206). The guru-disciple relationship in Siddha Yoga is therefore central to the movement and to the potential devotee's spiritual awakening. The concept of guru Bhakti or guru worship is the major emphasis within this tradition (Wessinger, 1993). Swami Muktananda led his movement until his death in 1982, prior to which he named two siblings Nityananda and Chidvalasananda (a.k.a. Gurumayi) as co-leaders or co-gurus. The brother and sister together led Siddha yoga for 3 years until 1985 when what may be considered a leadership dispute split the co-gurus, leaving Gurumayi as sole head of Siddha Yoga and her brother Nityananda to begin his own movement, Shanti Mandir. Some of Muktananda's senior swamis such as Swami Shankarananda, now head of Shiva Yoga, and also regular devotees began their own movements or schisms of Siddha Yoga continuing in the tradition of Muktananda's Siddha Yoga Practice.

RESEARCH APPROACH

The present study was qualitative and included ethnographic, grounded theory, and phenomenological approaches. The research approach was an attempt to gain an understanding of the lived experience of the participants and their own understanding of their experience. The strength of a qualitative method is that it allows the presentation of a “rich” or “thick” description of a social setting (Bryman, 2008; Geertz, 1960; Lofland, 1971; Silverman, 2006). Considering the richness of experience I had planned to explore around the participants' experience of Siddha Yoga, a qualitative design seemed to have advantages over a quantitative design, bearing in mind the limited sample size of 32 participants. All of the participants in this study were previously devotees of Siddha Yoga. The study used a form of nonprobability sampling known as snowball sampling. Snowball sampling is a purposive sampling technique targeted at a particular group of individuals who are helpful for a particular exploration (Atkinson & Flint, 2001; Bryman, 2008). Ethics approval for this study was gained from the University of New South Wales, Australia and all information provided by participants was treated with strict confidence. Because Siddha Yoga in Australia is a relatively small community, the possibility of recognition by other past or current community members was heightened. Therefore the descriptions of the participants and their circumstances in this article are limited and have been altered as part of the ethical commitment to the participants' anonymity (National Health and Medical Research Council, 2010).

Next I present a discussion of involvement in a NRM derived from my study of Siddha Yoga which highlights the various stages from discovery to disenchantment and give some conclusions.

INVOLVEMENT IN A NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT

Seeking or Accidental-Seeking

I had always been attracted to the whole Zen thing. For me it was the aesthetic of it and all that … I was searching to find out more about the human condition and some explanation of what life is all about. (Dan)

I had no idea, absolutely no idea what any of it was; so I went along for the meal and the program. (Susan)

I have made a distinction between “seekers” and “accidental seekers.” I have considered these as two important pathways to discovery. Many of the participants in the present study were spiritually interested, especially in Eastern traditions, and were already networking within what Campbell (1972) has described as a cultic milieu of spiritually-interested individuals, and as likely to come across Siddha Yoga, or Swami Muktananda's as any other tradition. Although Campbell's (1972) concept of the cultic milieu as a pathway to affiliation seems a valid idea for those who are consciously seeking out some form of alternative spirituality, I argue that Arendt's (1998) ‘web of human relationships’ is a better concept for those who appear as accidental seekers. A cultic milieu or what would be today though of as the New Age movement is not considered a formal network of institutions but, rather, relationships between individuals connected by shared interests (Heelas, 1996; Possamai, 2001). When considering human relationships, Arendt (1998, p. 183) asserts, “this in-between is no less real than the world of things we visibly have in common.” For this study, Arendt's (1998, p. 183) metaphor of the “web of human relationships”—which she uses to conceptualize the invisible ties which are a condition of human experience—is helpful for gaining an idea of the interconnectedness of individuals' experience of seeking and discovery. A web of human relationships is a broad notion which recognizes the interconnectedness of all human relationships and action. This is important because accidental-seekers, with one simple introduction from a friend, family member, or associate, were introduced to the world of yoga and gurus. (Accidental-seekers, as noted earlier, are those who were not seeking or networking within a cultic milieu.) Further, recommendations from medical practitioners, counselors, or other mainstream or alternative health professionals have also been seen to have made individuals aware of NRMs.

Seekers appear to have an idea of what they are looking for and possibly have some experience of the type of group or process they like. The accidental seekers, on the other hand, may have never thought about becoming part of an alternative religious group. Where these two groups of seekers appear to come together is that when they do finally come into contact with the NRM, both seekers and accidental seekers may feel that they have discovered something very much in tune with themselves. Often individuals feel as if they have come home. There appears to be something familiar in the strange.

This is important, my feeling was, I felt like I came home. I felt like I had arrived home. (Robert)

I walked in the door and I knew I had come home, even though I knew nothing about it, I just knew I had come home, I felt so comfortable. (Susan)

It was good, it was like, this is it, I've found what I've been after … It just felt right. (Patricia)

DISCOVERY OF A NRM

The use of the term discovery rather than recruitment in this study came out of the individuals' usage of the word in interviews to relate to their initial contact with Siddha Yoga or Swami Muktananda. It may be a misnomer to regard becoming involved with a NRM as a discovery, given that for some there certainly seems to have been unfortunate outcomes. But for all the participants in this study there was a sense of discovery either within themselves or through engagement in the new-found community. As part of an individual's discovery of a NRM there are several dimensions to their initial encounter that I have considered important. These are: the attractions of the NRM, how the NRM may support their prior beliefs, and how the new group can give context to an individual's prior religious experience. These dimensions to the individual's experience of the new group begin to gives context to their new spiritual life. Outlined next are these dimensions.

Attractions

My first impression was, it was very different, very unusual. I liked the smell of the incense. (Nicole)

The people were nice and the food was nice. That was my hook. (Jennifer)

Individual's attraction to a NRM can involve many aspects. The novel environment of the NRM—the smells and colors—are attractive to certain sentiments. Also the foods, the lifestyle, and most often-recognized by individuals in this study, the camaraderie of the new religious community. Different environments may, therefore, appeal to different individuals. The initial attractions of a NRM religious movement would also include the religious or spiritual orientation, which I will highlight next as separate themes. In studies of NRMs, religious experience been understood as being important in the process in conversion and continued affiliation (Howell, 1997; Rambo, 1993).

Supports Prior Beliefs

I couldn't work out from what people were telling me, what was true. I mean, people were saying wacky things. And I decided, well, if half of it was true, and I had experienced something myself. I thought, well, if half of it is true, if Jesus Christ was alive on the planet now, I would want to meet him, and if this man is anything like, has anything like the power of Jesus Christ, I want to meet him. (Greg)

A NRM may support or reinforce prior beliefs, especially the individual's belief in a God or supernatural entity. It seems that the notion of God or supernatural entity is traversable across many religious orientations. Many individuals have been acculturated into a society with the notion of a God or supernatural entity and yet may not be attached to a particular faith. NRMs can support these notions and begin to give them a context.

Explains Prior Religious Experience

I crossed my legs, and it was as if my whole spine lit up and I shot out of it, at a million miles an hours and I became like a little dot of light. I traveled for I don't know how long and there were these other little dots of light and it was as if I heard a talk … Like a Baba talk … and I began to get a little worried thinking is there something wrong with me … I went to a spiritualist church, I went to church, spoke to the priest, they all looked at me as if I were a little crazy, and I thought, “Oh maybe I am.” (Angie)

For those individuals who have had what they considered to be a religious experience prior to their discovery of a NRM, the NRM can help to explain this experience. This can be particularly powerful if the group's notion of the spiritual aligns with the individuals. Although, religious experience can often be hazy and making links may be a simple process for both the group and the individual. Differing notions of a God may contain more similarities than differences, even across cultures. Individuals begin to learn about or understand their prior religious experience through the lens of the NRM. Prior religious experience could begin to be understood as the calling that eventually led the individual to the NRM.

New Group Gives Context to a Spiritual Life

Oh my God, it was like Heaven … was just like how I imagined living in a utopia would be, just the old ashram lifestyle, and it was, it is, it is just, I reckon it is the best, can't wait [to get to Heaven]. (Arjuna)

Overall, for those who have a concept of the spiritual or god which is not attached to a particular faith, the recognition of aspects of these concepts in the NRM can begin to give their spiritual orientation a context. There are two aspects to the individual initial experience of the NRM that I find are important to the developing context, that is, their new religious experience within the group and the camaraderie of the group.

New Religious Experience

I remember sitting there and we were chanting, and he looked at me and I felt like he had shot a star or something and it hit into my heart like a fire, like a beautiful feeling. It was just incredible. (Nicole)

Unlike prior religious experience, new religious experience within the context of the NRM is recognized as coming from the group or the group's practices. The new religious experiences are recognized and interpreted through the group's lens. The teachings, practices, and philosophy of the group becomes intertwined with the individual's religious experience. The NRM appears to become the catalysts for religious experience and growth. Therefore association with the group may become increasingly important for further spiritual growth. Howell (1997) found that spiritual experience is very important in fostering commitment in a group. Although religious or spiritual experience and growth are a major part of the context of a NRM, the community entered into and the friendships developed seem to be as equally important.

Camaraderie

There was a very attractive crew of people who worked the hall and there was the manager and they all looked really, they were just beautiful people that looked really attractive and young. You sort of look and think, oh they look really attractive, interesting; I would like to be like them. (Jessica)

Within a NRM friendships develop. The closeness of the group, including group activities and times of communal living, binds the new members to other new and old members. The regular tasks of the day to day running of a NRM can bring individuals together towards a common goal. The common goals, individual and group, are the foundations of the spiritual community that makes up the NRM. Helping to sustain the NRM can be seen as a spiritual practice as well as community participation and building. Researchers have noted that conversion is a process in which the individual interacts with the new belief system over time (Balch, 1980; Malinowski, 2004; Rambo, 1999; Richardson, 1985). In the present study it is certainly evident that individuals began to understand their spiritual experience, the guru and Siddha Yoga, through close contact and discussion with other members.

Spiritual Experience and Community Involvement Sustains Commitment

Participation in the community and individual spiritual experience appears to sustain commitment to the NRM. These are two aspects to the individual's experience of the NRM that appear concrete. Because of the camaraderie of the community and the perceived personal spiritual growth, individuals sustain their commitment even in the face of initial or growing doubts about the NRM.

Doubts Come and Go Supported and Denied By Various Members

I'd come across these things when I was still practicing Siddha Yoga: “Siddha Yoga, stay away from them, they are loonies, they are loonies and I've spent 20 years in there.” And we had this sort of thing where you don't listen to doubters and fault finders and all those words, a catch cry for anyone who said anything negative. Anything negative is, “You are just negative and going through your shit.” You know, the world is a mirror and it will be reflected back to you. And Baba would say, “Well if you have got doubts, well that's what you've got isn't it, doubts.” (Ben)

Doubts appear to be a part of the process of becoming part of a NRM. Individual use some kind of rationale as to why they become involved with a NRM. This rationalizing could be seen as a process of placating or eliminating doubt. Some members of the group who may be on their way out of the group will support the individuals doubt whilst those who appear to be true believers will allay their doubts. New members may also help each other to allay their shared doubts. Personal spiritual experience which appears to be facilitated by their involvement tends to ward of doubt. Therefore, individuals tend to eventually trust their own experience, usually the spiritual experience. However, doubts tend to linger. Doubts can be about the organization or the leadership. The organization can change over time; even the growth of a NRM can change the relationship between the individual, the organization, and the leadership.

Eventually Doubts Cannot Be Pushed Away

The thing that really made me deeply cynical was the rift between the brother and the sister (Gurumayi and Nityananda). It really starts to smell when a supposedly enlightened person can't even maintain relations with their own sibling. What is that about? There is something very wrong with that. Then there were these sort of rumors, which are probably true, of tire slashing and Nityananda, young Nityananda, being sort of punched up … Just the whole power thing, power and privilege and status, all of those things. It started to look like just the same old shit in secular life. (Fredrick)

If there are lingering doubts for an individual that can no longer be allayed by themselves or other group members, the individual may begin to search for alternative answers. This search could be among former members of the group, other similar groups or friendship networks prior to involvement. In other words, the individual may extend beyond the group for counsel and verification. Whether the doubts are about the organization or the leadership, the individual may begin to move away from the NRM.

Individual Moves Away From the Group

Moving away from a NRM can entail the loss of all of the valuable attributes that were initially attractive, including the friendships, community, and spiritual growth that once sustained their commitment. However, how individuals choose to move away can vary.

Throws the baby out with the bath water

I think it is sad, I think they are projecting their own anger onto the teacher, which I think happens very often, when they don't have a deep enough experience. They wanted a certain kind of experience, maybe they didn't get it, and then they became angry, and disenchanted. But I even saw some people who, I thought, threw away the baby with the bathwater. It's one thing to leave Siddha Yoga but it's another thing to hold in your heart the genuineness of the experience that Baba gave you. You'd be crazy to throw that away. (Elizabeth)

For some who become disenchanted with their experience of involvement in a NRM they may not consider any of the group's ideas or practices useful after moving away. Moving away for these may be a process disassociating from all aspects, not sifting through their experience to consider what may have been good and what may have been not so good. The experience of throwing the baby out with the bath water may be akin to a total loss of faith.

Sustains some elements of the belief system

I think I find it really hard to believe that a guru or the guru that I had was an enlightened being. And that, like, anyone can be that far more ahead spiritually than anyone. But I think lots of things have stayed. I think the belief that you are God, I think that because, I think that there is something. I don't know what it is, we are being created, not even created, that we are all one. Like that realization that I know what love is, like that is still there, and love is all, it's everything. And I think that's something that carried on from that time. And still really clean living and, yeah. (Patricia)

Moving away from a NRM for some may not be a total negation of all attributes of the group. Some individuals may move away from the organization yet sustain many of the group's practices and beliefs. These individuals have in a sense lost faith in the organization. Some may retain faith in the leader or what the leader represents if the leader has been found to be false or fallible. There may be varying degrees of what individuals wish to keep or reject from their experience in the NRM.

Most will experience varying levels of loss: Most will sustain something valuable from the experience

I am still coming out of it. I am much better than I was but I went through a period of grief and anger, the whole mourning thing. Because it had been 20 years of my life and I felt like I was free-falling and didn't know where I was going to land or what I was going to land with or into. And I am still not there really … I am finding it difficult to separate everything. I haven't really found my way … I do miss the chanting, I loved chanting and so I do feel like there is this big hole in my life that I don't know how to fill. And so I'm still finding the real who I am now, I guess. (Susan)

Sometimes I do miss it myself. All that Indian beautifulness, you know? You go, “that was kind of a nice flavor to live in for a while.” (Ben)

In one way I wish I had never gone through it and in another way I am glad, I am happy that I've done that, because a lot of people don't have any spiritual depth at all or any comprehension at all. (Jessica)

Both those who have a total loss of faith and those who sustain elements of the belief system will have varying levels of loss. Loss of friendships and community. For some this can be traumatic and take some time to develop new networks. There are also the loss of individual goals and achievements, which may have been subsumed by the group's goals and achievement. Some individuals may feel their time in the group was a waste. However, both may also share and sustain something valuable, including some friendships, found memories, and skills learnt in the group that may be transferable to a career after the group.

It was like I couldn't think of my life without Siddha Yoga. I was actually damaging myself by spending money on intensives (retreats) and just not mixing with people who are actually in my life but preferring to mix with Siddha Yoga people and do all the Siddha Yoga stuff … When I went away on my own I started feeling really angry and I was like, Oh, oh, my God, 38 and I haven't done anything with my life. I haven't studied, I've just like worked for free for this organization. Like, I don't know anything about the world. (Shannon)

In one way I wish I had never gone through it and in another way I am glad, I am happy that I've done that, because a lot of people don't have any spiritual depth at all or any comprehension at all. (Jessica)

DISCUSSION

What the present article suggests is the need to de-emphasize the mysteriousness of cult or NRM involvement which is often proposed by those who rely on a brainwashing explanation. The article highlights the everyday nature of the discovery of NRMs such as Siddha Yoga with many potential members being introduced by family, friends, and associates. It is well known that familial and friendship bonds have led individuals to become part of a group their family member or friend is part of (Howell, 1997; Lofland & Stark, 1965; Malinowski, 2004; Stark & Bainbridge, 1980). I would argue that the brainwashing thesis, when applied to cult or NRM involvement, is not adequate for addressing the variety of experiences of individuals in these movements. It is especially inadequate in addressing the issues of an individual's movement away from a group, given the effects of brainwashing are assumed to be so powerful (Hassan, 1998; Lalich & Tobias, 2006). Unassisted moving away appears antithetical to the brainwashing claims of the proponents of this perspective. Researchers have argued that individuals have a capacity for personal agency, which proponents of brainwashing tend to understate (Barker, 1997; Richardson, 1985). By understanding the pre-existing web of relationships it becomes less of a mystery as to why some people become part of a movement and how movements grow. However, there has to be something attractive about the group—which may be as simple as aesthetic appeal, a healthy lifestyle, or being surrounded by a supportive community.

It may be unhelpful to have such a fixed notion of cult or NRM involvement as proposed by the anticult movement as being inevitably harmful (Hassan, 1998; Lalich & Tobias, 2006; Langone, 1995). Fixed notions of cult or NRM involvement are problematic in at least two ways: (a) a group that may not be considered harmful may actually be harmful depending on the individual's experience; and (b) a group that is considered harmful may not be experienced as harmful by those who participate as regular visitors, distant consumers, or confirmed believers. It would be difficult to say outright that one group is harmful and that another is not. It may be more reasonable to consider possible harm occurring in any organized religious group, as has been shown by sexual and psychological abuses of children and adults in mainstream established churches (Ainsworth & Hansen, 2006; Berry, 2000; Pitman, 2008; Schoener, 2008).

For those in the helping professions, it would be important to not only gain an understanding of an individual's group's belief system but also their particular perspective of and participation in that belief system. Most important is what that religious perspective may mean for the individual and their own lives, rather than what the religious perspective is supposed to mean. This insight could be gained by helping professionals engaging with the sociological literature on NRMs rather than limiting their knowledge of movements or individuals' experiences in the perspective of brainwashing. Although some groups may appear dogmatic, fundamentalist, or to deviate from societal norms, the practical day-to-day life of a follower may not be consistent with these labels. I would stress the importance of assisting former members to make sense of their own experiences in a balanced way and to assist them in moving away from what is no longer useful while at the same time not throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

Consistent with other studies, there were some in the present study who appeared to have experienced detrimental consequences because of their involvement (Aronoff-McKibben, Lynn, & Malinoski, 2000; Boeri, 2002; Wright, 1991; Zablocki, 2007). However, helping professionals who come into contact with ex-members of NRMs seeking assistance may already have the tools to help these types of clients without overlaying a brainwashing model of involvement. It may not be necessary to perceive helping those who have moved away from NRMs as an area unrelated to other forms of assistance, such as addressing practical needs or individual and group counseling. In fact, reliance on ideas of brainwashing may unduly complicate the therapeutic helping process and may also lead some professionals to feel they may not be adequately equipped to help ex-members. However, the psychological and practical issues some individuals have reported facing after moving away from an NRM—including grief, loss, low self-esteem, the aftermath of sexual and emotional abuse, lack of social supports, financial, educational, and career difficulties (Aronoff-McKibben et al., 2000; Boeri, 2002; Wright, 1991; Zablocki, 2007)—are well within the repertoire of many in the helping professions. Durocher (1999) has found that group process (a common social work intervention) can be an effective strategy used for those who have been adversely affected by NRMs. Trauma, systemic and Gestalt therapies have also been acknowledged as helpful by therapists working with ex-members of NRMs (Jenkinson, 2007; Knapp, 2010). Within a mainstream religious context, Chicago's Walk-In Counseling Center is an example of helping professionals already addressing issues similar to those reported by some ex-member of cults or NRMs (Schoener, 2008).

There are, of course, some issues specific to theological precepts of the variety of NRMs which are not well understood by the helping professions. However, with the assistance of organizations such as Inform (2010), the helping professions can make inquiries of sociologists of religion to assist in understanding the theological precepts of specific NRMs. The gathering of resources is already an expectation of helping professionals when addressing the various needs of clients. Therefore, informing oneself of an individual's religious or spiritual perspective could be an important inclusion in this process. Practitioners and cult awareness groups need to engage with sociological literature on the new and mainstream religious movements when working with or assisting these types of individuals. However, individuals, even when involved in the same NRM, may have a very different experience of that group or church. It would therefore be important to gain an understanding of an individual's experience and not attempt to overlay what might be considered the expected or common experience, especially one that is informed by brainwashing.

CONCLUSION

It is important to note that this discussion of involvement is developed out of the experiences of individuals that eventually moved away from their NRM. There may be some individuals who have no inclination to leave their NRM. However, even for those who may never move away, the initial stages of involvement prior to movement away would still be important for understanding conversion and sustained commitment. Overall, this analysis, developed out of a study of 32 individuals' experiences, attempts to offer an alternative or more useful picture of NRM involvement to those who work with former members. However, because of the limitations presented by the purposive sample, this study does not claim to be representative of all the participants of Siddha Yoga or subsequent schisms, nor all of those who are and have affiliated with NRMs. Rather, it seeks to add to the growing knowledge and understanding of involvement in NRMs, especially for those who work with former members influenced by the brainwashing model. Although the brainwashing model of involvement continues to be used by those who work with ex-members, it is possibly because there is little else that is recommended for practitioners in this area. In this article I have presented an alternative discussion of involvement and I urge practitioners to engage with the sociological literature on NRMs and also to consider that they already have the tools to work with these clients and do not need to overlay a model of brainwashing on individuals' experiences. This, of course, leaves practitioners to find their own ways to best work with their client; however, I would argue that this approach could help join the practitioner and the ex-member in a useful journey of the client's own experience of what their involvement has meant to them and their current life situation.

The discussion has particular relevance to the substantive area of Siddha Yoga, however it is hoped that it has addressed NRM involvement in general. The importance in developing new understandings of affiliation grounded in research on NRMs is that they are bound to say more about NRM involvement than models of involvement borrowed from other areas of study such as brainwashing.