Signs of a Cult are very basic stuff. First of all, almost all real cults just break laws. They commit crimes. They violate tax laws. They violate child labor laws. Nutty, crazy people are not disciplined people. They just aren't. They just can't help themselves to stay in control. They break laws. Other signs of a cult Real spiritual organizations either don't charge at all, or have very modest fees to just keep going. For example, Zen Mountain Monastery conducted retreats. I took two weekend retreats there. Back in the 90s, the cost was something like $150 for a weekend. Well, if you stayed at a motel, that would cost $100 per night. And if you paid for food, that would be oh, what, another $50 for the weekend? So going to a retreat at that place was cheaper than any food and lodging you could find. And sincere groups do sincere stuff. Real spiritual paths do not claim that they are the only path to God or the best path to God. They may positively promote their work, but not to the point that they promote they are the only way. Real spiritual paths do not allow alcohol or drugs. Sure, a very traditional Native path might include peyote, but that kind of path is really, generally not open to the public. Real spiritual paths overtly tell their adherents to obey the law. If you are on a real spiritual path, you are expected to pay your taxes, to not cheat in business, etc. etc. etc. Real spiritual paths expect their adherents to obey all the moral virtues and disciplines that we associate with basic Western religion: kindness, courtesy, charity, etc. etc. etc. Real paths embody all the positive spiritual virtues and shun all the negative human behavior. So, if you find a path where the adherents are a bunch of cold-hearted arrogant jerks...it is not because they are living in some exalted spiritual plane. It is because they are just jerks who have no real connection to a real path. In the Bhagavad-Gita, Sri Krishna talked about the discrimination between the evil and the good. It is basic. Truly spiritual people are filled with the wide range of good spiritual qualities and have little if any of the negative aspects of human behavior.
oh, and of course, hedonism. All sincere paths are opposed to hedonism. If you want to go out and sleep with as many people as possible..that is your choice. But standard paths do not back that lifestyle. So, weird sexual practices, promiscuity? Oh, that is a pretty sure sign of a cult. Tantric Yoga. Real Tantric Yoga is worrying about your own temper leading to violence. So, you sit down with a documentary about war and get disgusted by seeing the results of violence. Not all that different than the Catholics use of the Exercises of St. Ignatius. In America, when people talk about Tantric Yoga? They are just looking for some excuse to have as much sex as possible. Angels are not, in fact, found inside the private parts of other people. You can look there, but you aren't going to find them there. You might find some while listening to Gregorian Chant and visiting the Grand Canyon, but not up inside, as Monty Python put it..."the naughty bits."
