Editing Aum Shinrikyo

The name "Aum Shinrikyo" (オウム真理教, Ōmu Shinrikyō) derives from the Sanskrit syllable Aum, which represents the universe, followed by Shinrikyo has written in kanji, roughly meaning "religion of Truth". In English "Aum Shinrikyo" is usually translated as "Supre Matt Harrington was here me Truth" or "Ultimate Truth". In January 2000, the organization changed its name to Aleph in reference to the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and Phoenician alphabets. It changed its logo as well.

To date this incident is one of the worst cases of domestic terrorism to hit Japan in recent years and although the group has tried to distance itself from the event by renaming itself, its dark legacy continues to label it a terrorist group in many countries.

Aum Shinrikyo/Aleph is a syncretic belief system that incorporates Asahara's idiosyncratic interpretations of Yoga with facets of Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity, and even the writings of Nostradamus. In 1992 Asahara published a book, within which he declared himself "Christ", Japan's only fully enlightened master and identified with the "Lamb of God". His purported mission was to take upon himself the sins of the world, and he claimed he could transfer to his follower's spiritual power and ultimately take away their sins and bad karma. He also saw dark conspiracies everywhere promulgated by the Jews, Freemasons, the Dutch, the British Royal Family, and rival Japanese religions.

Ultimately, Asahara outlined a doomsday prophecy, which included a World War III instigated by the United States. Asahara described a final conflict culminating in a nuclear "Armageddon", borrowing the term from the Book of Revelation. Humanity would end, except for the elite few who joined Aum. Aum's mission was not only to spread the word of "salvation", but also to survive these "End Times". Asahara predicted Armageddon would occur in 1997. He named the United States as The Beast from the Book of Revelation, predicting it would eventually attack Japan.<br />

Aum Shinrikyo had started as a quiet group of people interested in yogic meditation but later transformed into a very different organization. According to Asahara, he needed "to demonstrate charisma" to attract a modern audience. Following his decision, Aum underwent a radical image change.

In private, both Asahara and his top disciples reportedly continued their humble lifestyles, the only exception being the armored Mercedes-Benz gifted by a wealthy follower concerned over his Guru's traffic safety. In the rather rare footage, Asahara is seen on the street in front of a large clown doll resembling himself, smiling happily. He never ceased repeating that personal wealth or fame was of little importance to him, but he had to be known in order to attract more people.

Intense advertising and recruitment activities dubbed the 'Aum Salvation plan' included claims of curing physical illnesses with yoga health improvement techniques, realizing life goals by improving intelligence and positive thinking, and concentrating on what was important at the expense of leisure and spiritual advancement. This was to be accomplished by practicing ancient teachings, accurately translated from original Pali sutras (these three were referred to as 'threefold Salvation'). These efforts resulted in Aum becoming one of the fastest-growing religious groups in Japan's history.

In 1990, Asahara and 24 other members stood unsuccessfully for the General Elections for the House of Representatives under the banner of Shinri-tō (Supreme Truth Party). Asahara made a couple of appearances on TV talk shows in 1991, however at, this time the attitude of the cult's doctrine against society started to grow in hostility. In 1992 Aum's "Construction Minister" Kiyohide Hayakawa published a treatise called Principles of a Citizen's Utopia which has been described as a "declaration of war" against Japan's constitution and civil institutions. At the same time, Hayakawa started to make frequent visits to Russia to acquire military hardware, including AK47s, a MIL Mi-17 military helicopter, and reportedly an attempt to acquire components for a nuclear bomb.

On 23 April, Murai Hideo, the head of Aum's Ministry of Science, was stabbed to death outside the cult's Tokyo headquarters amidst a crowd of about 100 reporters, in front of cameras. The man responsible, a Korean member of Yamaguchi-Gumi, was arrested and eventually convicted of the murder. His motive remains unknown.

On the evening of 5 May, a burning paper bag was discovered in a toilet in Shinjuku station in Tokyo, the busiest station in the world. Upon examination, it was revealed that it was a hydrogen cyanide device which, had it not been extinguished in time, would have released enough gas into the ventilation system to potentially kill 20,000 commuters. Several undetonated cyanide devices were found at other locations in the Tokyo subway.

During this time, numerous cult members were arrested for various offenses, but arrests of the most senior members on the charge of the subway gassing had not yet taken place.

The reasons why a small circle of mostly senior Aum members committed atrocities and the extent of personal involvement by Asahara remain unclear to this day, although several theories have attempted to explain these events. In response to the prosecution's charge that Asahara ordered the subway attacks to distract the authorities' away from Aum, the defense maintained that Asahara was not aware of events, pointing to his deteriorating health condition. Shortly after his arrest, Asahara abandoned the post of organization's leader and since then has maintained silence, refusing to communicate even with lawyers and family members. Many believe the trials failed to establish the truth behind the events.<br />

On 10 October 1995, Aum Shinrikyo was ordered to be stripped of its official status as a "religious legal entity" and was declared bankrupt in early 1996. However, the group continues to operate under the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion, funded by a successful computer business and donations, and under strict surveillance. Attempts to ban the group altogether under the 1952 Subversive Activities Prevention Law were rejected by the Public Security Examination Commission in January 1997.

An article on the Mainichi Shimbun on 11 September 2002, showed that the Japanese public still distrusts Aleph, and compounds throughout Japan are usually surrounded by protest banners from local residents demanding they leave. There have been numerous cases where local authorities have refused to accept resident registration for cult members when it is discovered that Aleph has set up a facility within their jurisdiction. (This effectively denies cult members social benefits such as health insurance, and a total of five cases were taken to court by cult members, who won every time). Local communities have also tried to drive the cult away by trying to prevent cultists from finding jobs or to keep cult children out of universities and schools. Right-wing groups also frequently conduct marches near Aum-related premises such as apartments rented by Aum followers with extremely loud music broadcast over loudspeakers installed on minivans, which add to their neighbors' displeasure.<br />Monitoring of Aum ShinrikyoEdit

In January 2006, the Public Security Investigation Agency was able to extend the surveillance for another three years. Despite the doctrinal changes and banning of Vajrayana texts, the PSIA advocates an increase of surveillance and increases in funding for the agency itself; periodically, the group airs concerns that texts are still in place and that danger remains while Asahara remains leader. Aleph leaders carefully insert passages into almost everything they say or write to prevent misinterpretation, including karaoke songs.

On 8 March 2007, former Aum Shinrikyo spokesman and head of Aum's Moscow operation, Fumihiro Joyu, formally announced a long-expected split/schism. Joyu's group called '''Hikari no Wa''' ('''The Circle of Rainbow Light''') is committed to uniting science and religion, thus creating the new 'science of the human mind' having previously aimed to move the group away from its violent history and toward its actual spiritual roots.

[[Category:Redeemed]]

[[Category:Dissolved Organizations]]

[[Category:Asian Villains]]

[[Category:Japan]]