Shoko Asahara Sings (MP3s)

Many people will still remember Shoko Asahara, the founder and leader of Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, whose doctrine apparently was a wild mixture of Buddhism, Hinduism, Nostradamus, and the Book of Revelations. Asahara claimed to be the reincarnation of Hindu god Shiva, and somehow that must have led him to believe that it would be a good idea to stockpile nerve gas and use it to kill random people. The details and motives are a bit sketchy, and the official theory of the prosecution that the attacks on the Tokyo subway were intended to "divert police attention" from Aum Shinrikyo can only be considered a cruel joke. Not surprisingly, the whole incident immediately catapulted Asahara to the status of an international celebrity, his popularity ranking somewhere between Charles Manson and Idi Amin.

And just like those two guys, Asahara was a musician on the side. He didn't have a mentor like Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys, and his recorded output pales compared to Charlie's, consisting of only two songs, but who knows what he could have accomplished if he hadn't put so much energy in being a homicidal messiah. Anyway, here are the two songs, released a while ago on a vinyl 7" on Faithways International, the label that also brought us the amazing sounds of Elizabeth Clare Prophet and the Church Universal Triumphant.

Sounds of Japanese Doomsday Cults - Music by Aum Shinrikyo leader Shoko Asahara
MP3s: Lord Death's Counting Song | Sonshi's March

Comments

[bartleby]

Sold a copy of this guys book a few months back. It features photos of him "levitating."
The picture does not appear doctored, rather, it looks like he was able to jump while in the lotus position or jump or be thrown somehow and assume the lotus position before hitting the ground.

Also in the book there was a photo of Shoko Asahara with the Dalai Lama, or it could have been Phil Silvers I am not sure. In any case it went with a disclaimer.

Fortunately sarin is not the kind of thing a person can mix up in the basement sink and the sarin aum shinrikyo used was not very potent in a comparative sense. Also I've heard that sarin, and most other nerve gases, smell quite nice. This may or may not be the case either with the home made variety or any variety in sufficient quatity to kill people.

[Sophia]

Will You Lead a Better Life If You Put Asahara to Death?
http://directspeech.wordpress.com/