NEW DELHI, JULY 13 : Scientology, a religio-scientific movement based on the Vedas, is gaining popularity among the people here who are using the philosophy behind it to resolve learning problems, distress and also improve communication skills.
Six years old in India, scientology is finding more followers by the day.
From Delhi Police, which is using scientology to train its personnel in communication skills, to nurses at various hospitals in Uttar Pradesh, faculty at Lucknow University and hundreds of students in Delhi, the list of those following it is long, claims Thomas Goldenitz, a scientology expert, here.
Developed in the United States in the 1950s by L. Ron Hubbard as a religio-scientific movement, scientology is a system of beliefs. Using counselling techniques, it evolves practical solutions to various problems which people face in daily life, explains Natasha Jain, who regularly preaches on communication skills using scientology.
Jain, a school student, started learning scientology two years back and is now a regular at the Police Training College here, where she interacts with the personnel. “It has helped me become more focussed, concentrate better and excel in whatever I do.”
“According to scientology, everything is in the mind. And we need to make it more focused to achieve positive results,” says R C Garg, a retired ACP from Delhi Police, who trained in this technique when he was in service.
“It helps in developing positive thinking… You start looking at things in a different manner,” he says.
In the West it is the media hype which draws celebrities like Tom Cruise and John Travolta to it, but here it is the word of mouth which works, says Gaurav Sharma, a trainer here.
“The roots of scientology are in the Vedas. Late Ron Hubbard studied the Vedas in his early years in India, and later took a scientific education at George Washington University. He developed scientifically precise techniques from this spiritual background for practical use to improve all kinds of conditions in life,” he elaborates.
“To popularise scientology here, a team of volunteers recently set up two schooling activities in the slums of Kolkata, has been training nurses in Lucknow in techniques to speed recovery from illnesses and injuries, and even worked with those affected during tsunami, to give them emotional support,” says Sharma.