Bulgarian Church warns of the danger of "spiritual teachers"

Bulgarian Patriarchate. Photo: UOJ in Bulgaria

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has issued a serious warning about the danger of self-proclaimed "spiritual teachers" and their communities, reports the UOJ in Bulgaria. The Synod of the BOC has appealed to the Orthodox flock in Bulgaria and worldwide, as well as to the media, cultural and educational institutions, and the public, urging greater vigilance regarding touring gurus and the communities drawn to them.

These groups engage in preaching and religious activities, intertwining their pagan beliefs with improperly used elements of Christianity. The main goal of such "spiritual leaders" is to lead as many people as possible into spiritual delusion and increase the number of their followers.

Initiatives of neo-Hindu "spiritual leaders" such as Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Sri Chinmoy, Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, Osho Rajneesh, Sai Baba, Shibendu Lahiri, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and many others are often advertised in the country and abroad.

Most communities deifying these leaders claim to aim at improving individuals and society through "self-realization" and "harmony"ю The cults assert that their work focuses on educational, cultural, and sports programs, self-improvement seminars, stress relief, and health enhancement. Through such positive messages, they infiltrate the calendars of various cultural and educational institutions, misleading mayors, directors, teachers, parents, and children.

The Church categorically rejects attempts to present the Lord Jesus Christ as one of many "spiritual teachers" or as an "incarnation" of the Hindu deity Krishna. The BOC considers any attempt to belittle the redemption granted by the Savior on the cross and replace His work with the false teaching of karma and reincarnation as unworthy.

The Church rejects any encroachment on the millennia-old Christian morality of the Bulgarian people and its replacement with the false freedom of Eastern false teachings, according to which "there is no good and evil," life is a cycle, and the human personality is a "rag doll" without any significance.

Based on many years of pastoral experience, the Church emphasizes that such pagan cults in many cases pose a threat to the physical and mental health of people, their property, the strength of families, professional realization, and social integration.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that thousands of Bulgarians took to the streets in support of the subject "Virtues and Religions."

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