Page 80 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

A-Kushner.qxd 29-10-02 3:20 PM Page 53

Asahara, Shoko (1955– )———53

but ambitious child, he spoke to his classmates of his Japanese Parliament. Their resounding defeat was a
determination to become prime minister of Japan. bitter surprise to Asahara, and his message began to
In the early 1980s, Asahara became deeply inter- change; instead of purifying themselves for the rest of
ested in spirituality. He devoted himself to both the humanity; it would now become the duty of the cult
Hindu-style yoga and the daily meditation of members to help destroy the impure and the sinful,
Buddhism, and dabbled in other religions. He was starting with those who opposed Aum. By mid-1993
particularly intrigued by the Christian concept of Aum had constructed an automatic weapons assembly
Armageddon, a final battle between good and evil that plant and a chemical and biological weapons facility.
will end the world as we know it. This mélange of Asahara became increasingly paranoid, believing
Buddhist, Hindu, and Christian practices would the CIA, the Japanese National Police Force, and the
-
become the primary ingredients of the Aum Shinrikyo United States government were attempting to kill him.
cult’s beliefs. In 1994, he ordered an assassination attempt on three
In 1984, Asahara and his wife set up a small store- judges whom he feared would decide a pending case
front in Tokyo to teach yoga and hold religious against the cult. Cult members released poison gas in
seminars. In 1987, after a
trip to India, Asahara began
to claim he had attained
Enlightenment—the first
person to do so since the
Buddha—and refer to him-
self as the “Venerable
Master.” He also claimed
that through following his
teachings true believers
could acquire the ability to
levitate, read minds, and
teleport. Intrigued by these
claims, Asahara’s seminars
began to attract adherents,
-
and the Aum Shinrikyo,
or “Supreme Truth,” cult
was born.
Asahara preached that
the world would soon come
to an end, but by purifying
themselves, cult members
could save humanity from
the coming horror. This
message, coupled with
Asahara’s personal mag-
netism, proved an extre-
mely potent attraction to
many young Japanese;
graduates of Japan’s top
universities became mem-
bers of the cult.
In 1990, Asahara and
-
other cult leaders ran Shoko Asahara, guru of the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo
for seats in the Diet, or Source: AFP. © Corbis.