International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation Volume 9 2026 124
members. This harsh moral voice, combined with
cult beliefs, harmed members in several ways. They
developed a hyperactive, monitoring, strict, black-
and-white conscience fueled by judgment of self
and others. Members became anxiously focused on
avoiding trouble and creating bad karma. Striving for
the impossible goal of enlightenment, they shifted
their focus outward, away from self-awareness, critical
thinking, and self-acceptance. Parents felt pressure to
teach their children to conform to cult rules. According
to David, this attitude also caused children to judge
themselves harshly and project this judgmental
thinking onto others.
The Cult’s Harsh Mandates Undermined Followers’
Agency
According to Anika and David, members anxiously
self-monitored to adhere to the strict rules, suppress
emotions, and maintain the prescribed modest
appearance this exacerbated the loss of agency. Cult
members became outer-directed they learned to
disconnect from their inner voice, impulses, desires,
and morals. In addition to the suppression of emotions,
cults particularly do not tolerate the expression of anger
or grief. This results in children having little experience
in self-regulating emotions and affect (Goldberg, 2006).
Anika grew up immersed in her parents’ loss of agency,
and she followed their example. The abandonment
of their goals and desires to the leader led to a zeal to
devote themselves to the leader to justify this sacrifice.
Anika’s mother was taught that the cult leader was
infallible and perfect. She believed her relationship
with the leader was the most important one and that
she must follow all his directives. Anika’s father initially
resented the cult leader. Much of this resentment may
have stemmed from his wife’s primary focus on the
leader and her compliance with so-called spiritual
practices, including renouncing sex to attain spiritual
goals. However, over time, he became increasingly
invested in cult practices and teachings, focusing his
energy and resources on them.
Anika’s mother built her life around the cult’s rules and
invested herself in devotion to the cult and advancing
in its hierarchy. She relinquished her successful career
as an artist and gave many of her family heirlooms to
the leader. Anika’s mother, father, and brother each
chose to start using a “spiritual” name given by the cult
leader and stopped using their birth name this was
another step in negating their previous identity. Anika
eventually followed and gave up her birth name and
identity to take on a name and identity chosen by the
cult leader. Anika observed that her parents could not
make their own decisions. They would seek an answer
to any difficult question by asking the leader, dowsing
with a pendulum, or throwing the I-Ching. Anika
saw her parents’ lack of autonomy and modeled those
behaviors and thought patterns.
Anika’s mother sent Anika to live away from her family
at 15, placing her in the care of the cult and the leader in
the hope that it would provide both herself and Anika
divine blessings and status within the cult. Anika’s
mother thought everything that happened was meant
to be, which led her to abdicate personal responsibility,
reinforcing her dissociation, denial, and alienation
from Anika.
Anika, like her parents, gave up agency and surrendered
to cult control processes.6
1
Throughout her life in the
cult, Anika was told what to eat, drink, wear, do, like,
dislike, whom to relate to, and whom to shun. The cult
prescribed each aspect of her life. As a result, when
she left the cult, Anika struggled to recognize her
predilections and preferences. She struggled to make
her own decisions. She was so accustomed to taking
direction that she had to start learning to act on her
own behalf.
The Cult’s Moral Voice Promoted Harsh Judgment of
Self and Others
Members needed to be “perfect,” “special,” and
“unimpeachable.” Thus, they anxiously attempted
to display this behavior to avoid feelings of badness
or shame. This created an anxious nervous system
that interferes with self-soothing and soothing their
children. Members, including children, needed
to conform, which fostered a harsh internalized
conscience, severely judgmental of themselves
and others, including children. They developed a
hyperactive, monitoring, strict, black-and-white
conscience fueled by judgmental thinking.
6 Witnessing such parental behaviors, children typically struggle
to develop their unique identity and, instead, feel pressure to conform to
inappropriate and harmful external expectations (Goldberg, 2006).

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Lorna Goldberg |Intergenerational Transmission of Cult Trauma
Members were anxious about avoiding trouble and
creating bad karma to avoid judgment from others. This
kept members centered on attaining the impossible
goal of enlightenment, shifting their focus outward
away from self-awareness, critical thinking, and self-
acceptance. The cult’s black-and-white thinking was
delivered in a judgmental manner, and parents felt
pressured to teach their children to conform to cult
rules. This attitude led children to harsh self-judgment
and to externalize judgmental thinking towards others.
The Cult’s Harsh Moral Code Induced Anika’s and
David’s Hyperactive Monitoring of Voice and Anxiety
The need to conform to the strict rules of the cult created
intense anxiety for both Anika and David, becoming
the default setting of their nervous systems. The need
for adherence to the cult’s strict code caused them to
self-monitor each thought and action. This monitoring
was pragmatic because members were constantly
under observation and evaluation, and there was
always a concern about being reported to the leader.
Even during the inward-facing practices of meditation
and chanting, Anika’s hypervigilance caused her to
remain aware of how she appeared outwardly, knowing
that the leader might be watching via a closed-circuit
camera to see how still she sat and how attentively she
performed the practice.
Members also worried about creating bad karma by not
adhering to the rules. They feared being reincarnated
with a less fortunate human birth or even as a lower,
non-human life form. Anika and David were, therefore,
outwardly focused and would be ashamed to be seen as
deficient. Anika worried about so many things: Was she
in trouble? Who were her friends? Did she please the
leader? Was she adequately demonstrating her yearning
for the cult’s goals? Was she showing self-discipline in
her practices? Did she do her service well? As a result,
she became chronically stressed. Similarly, as a child,
David was concerned about reincarnation and worried
he would be reincarnated as a worm if he did not follow
the rules. He was flooded with guilt and emotional pain
if he was not being “productive.” When anxiety became
intense, Anika and David might chant or meditate to
dissociate. By doing so, they tricked themselves into
thinking they were “above” emotions, or they would
rationalize that there were no problematic emotions to
deal with in the first place.
Cult Control: A Hierarchical System
Cult followers believed the leader was a perfect human
being who could awaken the kundalini. They felt
special and superior compared to those outside the
cult because they served a “perfect master” and had an
awakened kundalini. They believed they were uniquely
blessed, mystically endowed, and stood apart from
the rest of humanity. They believed the leader had
bestowed upon them “divine grace,” which would make
their lives easier, happier, and wealthier than those of
those “out in the world” who lacked this grace.
The cult had a potent hierarchy within which followers
strove to advance by attempting to present themselves
as devoted followers. Proximity to the leader led to a
higher status and was energetically pursued by many.
Achieving a higher status led to prized rewards and
the perception of advancing towards “Enlightenment.”
These rewards included
• More attention from and time with the leader
• Gifts from the leader, including expensive jewelry
and other luxury items
• Invitations to private meetings with the leader
• Receiving “blessed” leftover food from the leader’s
meal
• Receiving an item of the leader’s unwanted clothing
• Being hosted by those close to the leader
• Assignment to a nicer room, closer to the leader’s
suite of rooms
• Invitations to eat in a private dining area
• Access to a nicer car from the carpool shared by
members
Although never explicitly acknowledged, status was
granted to long-term resident members based on
complete submission to the leader, skill in an area
needed by the cult or that could make the cult money,
tireless work without complaint, decades of selfless
service, conforming completely to cult rules, significant
monetary donations to the cult, female gender, or
physical attractiveness. For visitors, a higher status
was granted based on wealth, fame, or social status.
Hollywood types were particularly honored.
According to Anika, members anxiously concentrated
on enhancing their status within the hierarchy to avoid
feelings of failure and self-loathing. They prioritized