Major Goals
Aum Shinrikyo's major goals, in terms of the daily lives of its most devoted members, had to do with rejecting as much of ones connections to the outside world as possible and immersing themselves in the teachings of Aum's revered religious texts and of the enlightened leader Asahara. Through yoga/meditation exercises and an ascetic lifestyle, the devout members of the group strived to attain enlightenment as well. Several teachings are fixated on concepts of self-purification and self-discipline, along with karmic energy, virtuous living, and the seven chakras(Aleph). Asahara's inner circle also focused on a common goal of not only attracting new members who were seeking religious outlets, but also of extracting funds via donations from these members or payments for trainings required for members to move up the ranks of the organization. When individuals reached certain levels of participation, they were greatly encouraged to sign over all their assets to the organization(Jackson). Amassing large sums of money provided Aum with the ability to pursue objectives of a grander and more destructive scale.
Aum Shinrikyo's ultimate goal was to encourage or create, through nuclear war between the United States and Japan, a global Armageddon that would be necessary to cleanse the world. The cult wanted to take control of the Japanese government and defense forces by means of military coup. Aum Shinrikyo wanted to create an army of devoted cult members and ex-military converts that could be used to commandeer the Japanese government and keep other nations at bay(Jenkins). The sect planned to use nuclear weapons pre-empt a third world war, or nuclear Armageddon, by bringing about nuclear conflict between Japan and the U.S. - only after the Armageddon, the "final struggle between good and evil," and the death of nine tenths of the population did the cult believe that, through its leader's teachings, it's members could achieve salvation(Daly).
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