Original subtitles

[upbeat music playing]

[narrator] The human mind.

Such a clever machine.

On the plus side,

it's what allows you to follow this playbook

and chart your course to cult leader glory.

But then there's independent thought,

which if left unchecked amongst your flock,

can cause all you've built to come crashing down.

If what you want is to control your followers,

you need them to not be thinking for themselves

'cause they may question why you kept that woman locked in a room,

why you're having people do sexual favors for you.

[narrator] Cynics might call it brainwashing,

but a good cult leader knows the value of a sturdy education.

It's an indoctrination process

that's molding you into being the person the cult wants you to be.

[narrator] Take a lesson from this strapping fellow.

Jaime Gomez, leader of the 1980's sexiest cult,

The Buddhafield.

The Buddhafield was this New Age group

filled with actors, dancers, models,

these very artistic, beautiful people.

[narrator] For over two decades,

Jaime dominated his followers' hearts, minds, and bodies,

molding them to serve his every whim.

If you can stand naked in front of your master,

you can stand naked in front of your God.

[narrator] Follow Jaime's moves,

and you too can open your flock's consciousness

to your divine presence,

and close them off to everything else.

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[light music playing]

[narrator] To his more than 100 acolytes in the Buddhafield cult,

Jaime Gomez, also known as Andreas,

was the ultimate truth.

It sounds gross to me now, but I'd have given my life for him.

He convinced us this is the only thing worth anything.

[Radhia] I loved him.

And I did, I loved him all the way to the end.

[narrator] But before you learn about Jaime's mastery of mental manipulation,

let's get up to speed

on his first pirouettes down the guru path.

[Radhia] He was born in Venezuela.

He came to Hollywood to be an actor and a dancer and all of that,

and he was impressed with himself.

Hollywood, apparently, wasn't impressed with him.

[Christopher] He failed in being a professional dancer,

failed at being an actor.

Got into porn for a while, failed at that.

By the way, how bad do you have to be to fail at porn?

[narrator] As they say, "If you can't do, teach."

He became an acting teacher eventually,

in Florida.

[Vera] That's how he started gathering people.

His acting classes wound up being more spiritual.

[Radhia] We were right in the heart of West Hollywood.

People were living the life, a superficial life,

not caring about anything higher than who your next suitor's gonna be

or what your next job is gonna be.

He capitalized on the superficiality of everyday American life.

He said things that really spoke to me.

If you think of the past, you can become miserable.

It felt like being a part of something that was bigger than just myself.

"What we're doing is good

and we're in it to support the upliftment of consciousness in the world."

Jaime told us that he came across this guru,

and he was spontaneously enlightened...

and then realized he needed to become this leader

of other people to raise their consciousness

and bring them to enlightenment.

[narrator] But Jaime may have already been dipping into the playbook

in these early days.

He never had a master.

He had a bag at his chair with a whole bunch of books,

and he'd pull them out and pull out these exercises.

He definitely was looking at other people doing the cult leader thing

to figure out how he was gonna pull it off.

[narrator] Still, by the mid-'90s,

Jaime would have total dominion over a growing legion of followers

whose only desire was to serve their master's increasingly bizarre whims.

How can you follow this chiseled charlatan

and perfect this key chapter of the playbook?

Here's the first step.

[narrator] Your path to total control

starts by understanding your target's desires.

[Diane] We want to know what the truth is in the world.

You're not joining a cult,

you're transforming yourself into a happier person,

one more like what you envision you could be.

[narrator] But to fully take advantage of that promise,

you need to lean in to your calling without reservation.

Most cult leaders have something about them that seems really special

that you are given this very exclusive access to.

If it were available anywhere else, I mean, why would you join?

[narrator] For members of the Buddhafield,

what Jaime offered was a direct path to the divine through meditation.

[Will] He was very ethereal.

He felt like he knew everything.

He talked like he knew everything, and I was just a sponge.

He was saying that he was "enveloped in God consciousness,"

and that through meditation, we could become like him.

[narrator] But some people aren't going to believe in your exclusive offer

until they see it in action.

When Chris Johnston first joins the Buddhafield at age 19,

he struggles to fit in.

[Christopher] Everybody said, "I've seen the light. I got lost in it."

I felt like, "Something's wrong with me. I'm not getting it."

[narrator] Jaime knows just the fix.

He invites his disciple to receive a direct transference of energy

from the master,

a process he calls "Shakti."

He was sitting on his throne and said, "Close your eyes."

[Christopher] Then he just jams his thumb into your forehead as hard as he can,

and he's touching my forehead and I'm seeing light.

I saw light.

I saw light.

And I was like, "Oh my God."

[Christopher] "Holy shit. This is like the real deal."

Then I was all in.

[narrator] Much later,

Chris learned what divine power

Jaime used to conjure his miraculous light.

He had a little tiny flashlight that he was blinking on and off

in front of my eyes like this.

[Christopher] Months of hearing about the light and Jaime's enlightenment,

you're primed to believe it 'cause everyone else's talking about it.

[narrator] Shakti was just the appetizer.

The main course was called, "The Knowing."

So who wants to ask for The Knowing today?

[Christopher] The Knowing.

The Knowing was the direct experience of God,

the Big G, and jeez, who doesn't want that?

The Knowing consisted of four particular meditation techniques.

[Vera] It's the light and the music.

It's inner sound and the holy word,

and a transference of energy.

[Vera] I did receive it.

To me, it was very potent.

It blew me away.

[narrator] The real power of The Knowing was its exclusivity.

There were people there for years that never received it.

If you didn't get The Knowing this time, it's like, "Okay, I wasn't ready."

It's like a triathlon. "I wasn't ready, I couldn't compete."

"Gotta get more ready."

We kept preparing for this experience to go deeper.

You could only comprehend

what it means to finally have God be revealed to you in its purest form.

Finally.

[Janja] When you think you're getting a bit of something,

you want more of that,

so you keep investing.

So it's part of the game, in a sense, that the cult leader plays.

[narrator] Offering a rare and elusive promise

is a surefire method for hooking people in.

Ready to get them even deeper under your sway?

The playbook's next step has some serious perks.

To keep your flock in line, you can offer them a good time,

a meaningful time,

but never too much free time.

If you wanna hire a good worker, hire a former cult member,

because they're used to working long hours and very hard.

[narrator] That's because on the path to controlling your follower's minds,

you must also control their actions.

[roars]

It is a psychological truth about humans

that the more time and effort we put into something,

we become more invested emotionally.

It becomes harder to extricate ourselves.

[narrator] When you can position

catering to your whims as key to your follower's spiritual growth,

life can get pretty sweet.

In the Buddhafield, they called this "service."

Service was a multitude of things.

There was service in a general way, and there was service for the master,

and that was the highest you could do.

It was like a gift to have service for him,

like "I'm doing something special for God."

Part of it was sort of jockeying for position.

And the closer you could be to the master,

the more you were revered because you were in the presence of him.

So it started out taking his shoes off and carrying his books,

next thing you know,

we're carrying his chair and we're making new chairs.

He didn't lift a finger.

[narrator] Thanks to his followers' tireless efforts,

Jaime's life is an endless series of pleasures.

It starts with his early morning routine,

including private time for meditation or anything else he desires.

Followed by Jaime's first massage of the day.

I learned how to do massage so that I could do that service for him,

as did many other people.

[narrator] Late morning would be spent strolling through his gardens,

lovingly tended by his followers,

who also make him an all-organic lunch.

After several hours giving private therapy sessions,

he'd get some exercise...

another massage,

and a farm-to-table organic dinner.

And when it came time to turn in,

Jaime's followers took care of that too,

reading him bedtime stories for up to three hours straight.

He was like an emperor.

[Radhia] We were constantly consumed with activity,

which was part of his control.

[narrator] And then there was the financial side.

[Christopher] If he wanted a new car, we would see who could donate for that.

If he needed some landscaping for his garden,

well, there would be a special collection for that.

That was called "service money." You're doing service for the guru.

[narrator] And that service can even take some more unusual forms.

Jaime moved his group from Hollywood to Austin, Texas,

and there,

the guru set his sights on a new ambition...

the construction of a sacred space

for his favorite form of spiritual practice.

He had been a founding dancer, apparently, in the Oakland City Ballet.

[Christopher] That was his art form. He wanted his own little ballet theater.

[narrator] So his followers start planning construction,

and footing the bill.

They break ground on a lot in West Austin and build the theater from the ground up.

Jaime isn't shy about sharing his opinions or ordering wholesale changes.

'Cause when it comes to fulfilling the master's vision,

his followers' money is no object,

and no service is too great.

With his theater complete,

Jaime demanded even greater acts of theatrical devotion.

Do the dance again and do it right.

I wasn't really a fan of ballets,

but he was,

so we all learned ballet.

It was a full-on production.

The only one allowed to make mistakes is me.

We would take years. Like, years.

Top quality in terms of lighting,

the music, the costumes, the sets.

[narrator] Finally, the show went on,

but it was a limited engagement.

We'd do the performance once, just once.

And we'd only perform

for an audience of people that were in or affiliated with the group.

[cheering]

[narrator] What a shame.

Now that you're dominating your followers' time

and tapping in to their bank accounts, you're probably feeling pretty good,

but your thought control operation's still vulnerable.

How do you make sure the wrong ideas don't seep in?

As a cult leader,

sometimes it's not enough just getting people to think alike.

You need to take things even further.

Cults crush people's individuality through visual appearance.

If everyone has to wear the same kind of dress,

if everyone has to shave their head or wear their hair the same way,

it truly is just another way to turn off critical thinking

and to make us not question anything.

[narrator] And if any follower sticks out,

hammer them into submission like these masters of manipulation.

[screaming]

[narrator] Members of the Manson family were so conditioned

to following Charlie's example and orders

that when he carved an X in his head in prison, they did the same.

Devotees of Charles Dederich's drug rehab program turned cult, Synanon,

had such a distinctively uniform look,

George Lucas cast some group members as extras in the first film he directed,

THX 1138.

While Heaven's Gate leader Marshall Applewhite and his followers

wore monk-like robes before trading them for matching jumpsuits

and sneakers when they committed mass suicide.

When it came to getting his followers on the same page,

Jaime started in the kitchen.

The biggest form of conformity was our diet.

We weren't allowed to have dairy, wheat, pork, beef.

No caffeine, no alcohol, no gluten even.

[Vera] Course no sugar or honey.

And you would be ostracized

if you were caught eating chocolate, God forbid.

And I would be appalled if someone got parmesan cheese on their salad.

[narrator] Jaime was even stricter

when it came to controlling his group's look.

Only one standard of beauty would suffice.

[Vera] He would try to make people into his own image.

The boys had to shave their chest.

[Vera] He didn't like hair on the boys' chest.

If he didn't like what you wore,

you either change it or face public ridicule.

If he didn't like your hair,

"Your hair looks bad like that, grow it longer."

[narrator] What's wrong with expecting perfection?

Jaime himself set an outstanding example.

That was part of his teaching. "Think like me, be like me."

[Will] He was super into himself,

his body, his health, nutrition.

He did everything like a robot.

He was very ritualistic with his habits.

[narrator] When hard work didn't do the trick,

there was always plan B.

He was definitely into plastic surgery.

[Radhia] He started having a lot of Botox,

and a lot of silicone implants, and things like that.

[narrator] And naturally, he expects his disciples to keep up,

encouraging them to eliminate any imperfections, no matter how small.

[Vera] People got chin implants,

cheek implants,

stuff you put in your lips.

[narrator] When it came to the master's procedures,

he didn't wanna take any aesthetic risks,

so he reportedly asked select followers to help him achieve his ideal look.

[Radhia] He would have people try out certain things to see

what the procedure was, what did it look like after you were done.

And I did see, actually,

a lot of beautiful people go through these procedures.

[narrator] What greater show of loyalty

then when someone's willing to go the extra mile to help you look your best?

Of course, conformity's rewards are more than skin deep.

[Asha] Conformity and group behavior are very powerful.

When everyone is going along with the group,

it's very hard to be the one to speak out.

You lose your sense of self,

you lose your self-esteem, self-confidence,

and you take on this new identity,

which is the cult and the cult leader.

[narrator] By reshaping your people into your own image,

you've made great strides towards reforming their entire existence.

But there's still a force that can break your hold.

How do you keep this threat at bay?

There's only room for one star in your followers' galaxy.

If you wanna last in this game,

make sure it's you.

It's important in a cult to completely break down

someone's sense of identity and reconstruct it from the ground up,

and that means destroying any previously held bonds that they have

with anyone outside the cult.

[narrator] As all the greats know,

if you're looking to burn emotional bridges,

a little isolation goes a long way.

When Peoples Temple members arrived in Guyana,

Jim Jones cut them off from the outside world

by confiscating passports

and restricting communication with friends and family back home.

Unification Church leader Sun Myung Moon allegedly coaxed new recruits

into attending remote indoctrination camps.

Many claim they were later forced to call

family members and renounce their former lives.

While members of Warren Jeff's Mormon Fundamentalist Sect

had to shun any relatives who chose to leave the group

and swear to never speak to them again.

Jaime made sure his followers

had good reason to separate themselves from the outside world,

including from loved ones.

We would refer to ourselves as "holy company."

It was either holy company or the world of the dead. Choose.

[Will] He not only encouraged us to separate from our families,

but he actively helped us separate.

Most of us weren't allowed to tell parents anything or friends

because he said they wouldn't understand.

[narrator] But if that's not enough to convince people to break ties,

there's always this technique.

[Christopher] He would often publicly shame people.

"Maybe you're not serious about enlightenment."

"Maybe you're not serious about being a devotee."

[narrator] To succeed with this tactic,

you need to be merciless.

That means no exceptions.

He wouldn't let me be at my father's deathbed.

He said that I would create karma if I went to see him

because I was so attached to him.

My relatives called, "You're gonna regret this."

I go, "No, I won't. I know what I'm doing."

I mean, I was that sure.

[narrator] It's not just existing family Jaime's worried about.

[crying]

None of us that were there for a while have any children.

[Vera] He said, "This is not what you're here to do."

"You're here to find out who you are. That's why you came."

He didn't want children there 'cause it would take attention from him.

[Radhia] Everything was a distraction to your enlightenment.

That was his excuse.

[narrator] After cutting people off from their most treasured connections,

obstacles to your total control will fall one by one.

But beware,

a new problem may be brewing under your nose

that will require you to unleash one of the playbook's greatest hits.

Followers can be such needy creatures.

Once cut off from the world,

they could start seeking comfort in each other,

and that can be bad news.

Although a cult provides community,

even within that community,

it's very important to keep people divided.

The allegiance must be to the cult leader

and not to other members or groups that form within the group.

[narrator] Jaime had his own trademark method

for keeping his people off balance.

He'd been perfecting it for years.

[Radhia] Back in Florida, he made his living out of hypnotherapy.

[narrator] That's when he was known as Michel Rostand,

one of his first aliases.

[Christopher] Jaime played everybody's therapist.

He started seeing me in private therapy sessions

we called "cleansing," short for "karma cleansing."

The cleansing sessions were very much the one-on-one bond.

[Will] It was special for people. He could tell them anything he wanted.

He controlled most everything from behind that door.

[narrator] Like everything with Jaime Gomez,

cleansing came with great ceremony.

[Radhia] You'd be sitting in a chair and he'd be sitting in his chair,

which is his custom-made chair.

The lights are low.

They're on, but they're very low.

[narrator] Jaime would begin with relaxation exercises.

[Radhia] "Go down the long flight of stairs."

"Ten, nine," etcetera, etcetera.

[narrator] Once followers drop their guard,

Jaime begins probing with questions...

and records the answers.

Jaime identifies all his disciples' weak spots,

from past traumas to present day insecurities.

Whatever was bothering you, you always took everything to him.

[narrator] As the members clear their minds,

Jaime gathers intelligence,

plus up to $100 per session per person.

But the true reward is in holding all the cards.

Everybody was afraid to be honest with each other

because you knew that that person would go back to him.

You knew it.

Everybody was ratting each other out for the guru's approval.

[narrator] That's a lot of drama,

but it's all for a greater purpose.

People have to be divided in order to be controlled.

[narrator] By following this chapter,

your disciples should now be unmoored, isolated, and entirely under your thumb.

But if you're not careful,

even the best systems can still break down.

How do you fortify your mind control program before it's too late?

[slow tempo music playing]

[narrator] As you go deeper into your cult leader career,

some things do get easier.

Once you've reached a point where your followers' minds

are basically mush,

then they're prime grounds

for feeding them whatever you want to tell them.

[narrator] But to maintain your power, you can't let your guard down.

It just takes one person to plant an idea that spreads.

Once people talk to each other, that's when the truth starts to come out.

[narrator] To snuff out this problem,

Jaime made sure all information flowed through him.

Jaime was really good at triangulating

and giving certain pieces of information to some people and not to others.

He was good at keeping things hidden.

[Will] Nobody knew what was going on behind his closed door.

He even put in two doors for his privacy and his protection.

And nobody asked because we never assumed anything bad was going on.

[narrator] But then one day in 2006,

a shocking email arrives in every member's inbox.

It's from one of Buddhafield's former high-ranking members

who recently left without explanation.

It contains a long list of damning accusations against the guru,

claiming he lied about his past

and his metaphysical training.

It accuses him of tax evasion

and extreme emotional manipulation,

and being a serial sexual predator.

The group thought he was celibate because that's how he portrayed himself.

[narrator] The letter's accusations send the Buddhafield into a tailspin.

Secrets that have been hidden for years begin to be shared.

I was involved in a sexual relationship with him.

For 20-some odd years this was going on and we didn't know about this.

When I suggested I didn't want to have sex with him anymore,

his answer was, "Maybe you don't need to be here anymore."

"Maybe you've outgrown this."

[Christopher] Like being threatened with excommunication.

I didn't wanna pay that price, 'cause what would I do, where would I go?

This is my path.

[narrator] Others would soon come forward as well.

He'd planned sex with me years before he had it. He told me later.

[Will] It was not a healthy relationship,

it was him pleasing himself and that was my service.

I was told to promise I'd never tell.

[narrator] Days after the bombshell email,

Jaime summons his followers and denies any wrongdoing.

But now that the floodgates have opened,

Jaime's hold begins to break.

Once we realized the depth of it,

it allowed us to talk about things we weren't talking about before.

[Radhia] That was my line in the sand.

It was about manipulating everybody around him,

and I said, "I'm done."

"I'm done."

[narrator] After more than 20 years

of using the playbook to control minds and fulfill his every desire,

Jaime's information firewall crumbled,

allowing followers to realize he was playing them all along.

[Radhia] Nobody ever became enlightened.

Nobody ever graduated except for him.

We had about 120 members,

and within a six-month period,

the group just kind of fell apart.

[narrator] If you're worried your disciples will just move on

and forget you,

fear not.

They leave scars on you.

How do I trust myself after believing him 100%?

[narrator] A successful mind control campaign

can earn you a long run as a cult leader.

But if you ultimately want to notch more than just moral victories,

you need to promise something greater than even your own divine wisdom

and show that you can deliver the goods.

I know the perfect teacher.

We are now so programmed to so easily accept death,

but there are alternatives.

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