Tulsi Gabbard Had a Very Strange Childhood
A profile of the long-shot presidential candidate.
Guru
Unlimited Power
A yearlong investigation by BuzzFeed News, based on leaked recordings, internal documents, and dozens of interviews with fans and insiders, reveals how Robbins has berated abuse victims and subjected his followers to unorthodox and potentially dangerous techniques. And former female fans and staffers have accused him of inappropriate sexual advances.
The ‘Sex Cult’ That Preached Empowerment
Inside Nxivm.
Lost in the Valley of Death
Justin Alexander went searching for higher meaning. No one expected the quest to end in a search for his body.
The Unified Theory Of Ram Dass
“You just stay with the moment.”
The Death Dealer
In 2009, three followers of an Oprah-endorsed motivational speaker named James Arthur Ray died in an Arizona sweat lodge. Now, after serving two years in prison for negligent homicide, Ray is trying to get back on the self-help circuit.
The Fugitive Guru of Barsana Dham
Before the guru, Prakashanand Saraswati, vanished in March—before a jury convicted him of sexual abuse; before he slipped across the border into Mexico overnight—he led the premier Hindu temple in Texas and, perhaps, the whole United States.
Best Article Crime World Religion
Rajneeshees in Oregon: The Untold Story
Twenty-five years ago, a guru from India showed up in rural Oregon with 2,000 followers. Here’s what happened next: they legally turned their multi-million dollar ranch into an incorporated city, imported homeless people to swing local votes, poisoned hundreds and attempted to assassinate the state’s U.S. attorney.
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Part 1: 25 Years After Rajneeshee Commune Collapsed, Truth Spills Out
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Part 2: Thwarted Rajneeshee Leaders Attack Enemies, Neighbors with Poison
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Part 3: Rajneeshee Leaders Take Revenge on The Dalles’ with Poison, Homeless
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Part 4: Rajneeshee Leaders See Enemies Everywhere as Questions Compound
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Part 5: Rajneeshees’ Utopian Dreams Collapse as Talks Turn to Murder
The Overheated, Oversexed Cult of Bikram Choudhury
The man who brought together heat, yoga, monthly fees to use his methods, and raw sexuality, on allegations that he has slept with scores of his followers: “Only when they give me no choice! If they say to me, ‘Boss, you must fuck me or I will kill myself,’ then I do it! Think if I don’t! The karma!”
