ABSTRACT
Religious movements and charismatic leaders can only be effective if they can attract followers who help implement their goals through offering devotion and support. The purpose of this chapter is to examine the people who fulfilled this role in Aum by joining the movement, giving support to Asahara Shōkō and venerating him to the extent that they sought to transform their minds by cloning his mind to theirs. These were Asahara’s ‘true victors’, his sacred warriors who were to aid him in his salvation plan and to fight with him in the cosmic battle to come. Their commitment to their guru and religion was such that they were prepared to renounce the world, families, wealth and careers and even, in some cases, to risk their lives in performing extreme acts of asceticism ordered by Asahara. Some of these disciples were also prepared to accept, accommodate and actively support violence or commit murders, manufacture biological and chemical weapons and try to use them against the general public. It was through such people that Asahara was able to build Aum Shinrikyō into a religious movement that was dedicated, hierarchic, closed, focused on extreme asceticism and committed to the concept of struggle.
