Cultists have common traits

This letter is with reference to the excellent article dated Aug. 20 by the Rev. Dr. Shawn Wasson in Southeast Missourian titled, "Are you in a cult?" Dr. Wasson's article is timely, as all cults pose a serious danger to cultists' mental health.

As cultists' beliefs are immune to absolutely verified facts, cultism is a form of delusional disorder.

Some years ago, I had the opportunity to interview some followers of two cults. One was the cult of "Baba," and the other was the cult of "Krishna," led by a charlatan called Prabhupada. The noisy cultists singing and dancing ecstatically in airports and streets of America's big cities belong to the latter cult.

The cultists I interviewed were highly educated, with advanced degrees from prestigious universities. However, they displayed the following features: 1. They vehemently denied that they were cultists. 2. They projected their insecurities on non-cultists. 3. They became verbally and/or physically abusive when their beliefs were gently challenged. 4. They displayed a loss of critical thinking, reasoning, judgment, and self-awareness. 5. They had lost all moral values and noble virtues their religious books taught them. 6. Their actions were driven by their base instincts: fear, anger, insecurity, and hatred for non-believers.

Following the death of their cult leaders, many cultists woke up from their trance-like state and wondered which planet they were in during the time they were blindly believing their cult leaders and doing their bidding. One of them wrote: "I can't believe that that was me!"

K.P.S. KAMATH, Cape Girardeau