Ep306: Marketing Tactics of Religions & Cults - Prof. Mara Einstein
Professor Mara Einstein is a digital marketing critic; author and public speaker on cult brands and influencer scams; and tenured professor of media studies at Queens College (CUNY).
Available on Youtube, iTunes, SoundCloud & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
Mara discusses her latest book “Hoodwinked: How Marketers Use the Same Tactics as Cults”, warns about manipulative marketing techniques used in media and religions, details the 9 steps of cult recruitment, and shares case studies of religious marketing models.
Mara recalls her own life journey from an early interest in religions and cults, her path through academia studying religion and marketing, and her own discipleship under and subsequent disillusionment with spiritual teacher and political activist Marianne Williamson.
Mara also considers religion as a product, analyses stealth Buddhism and prosperity gospel preachers, and offers her own thoughts on how religious groups can market themselves more ethically.
00:00 - Intro
01:04 - Crumbs from the Parrot’s Beak
02:43 - The spiritual journey and the phases of life
04:24 - Is the world becoming more turbulent?
05:56 - The effects of ageing on spiritual practice
07:53 - How to relate to physical limitations
09:56 - Ambition for enlightenment
12:26 - This is more fundamental than Bodhicitta
13:23 - Reality of impermanence
15:20 - The unique challenges of intensive practice and retreat
18:39 - Distinguishing appearance from substance
19:41 - The title “lama” is not a guarantee of quality
21:12 - The best proof of progress
23:17 - The role of a demanding retreat schedule
26:24 - Mature practice
28:03 - Tulkus must conduct extensive retreat but sometimes don’t
30:28 - Prognosis for high lamas who don’t do extensive retreat
32:30 - Hopes for corrections in the tulku system
34:58 - The Tibetan Buddhist tradition is unique and precious
35:41 - Signs of a successful retreat
38:01 - Completing a 3 year retreat is not a guarantee of quality
38:56 - Substandard Western 3 year retreats
40:49 - Pre-1950s Tibet and the renunciate yogi system
46:11 - Today’s economic challenges when practicing the dharma
49:47 - Mind training is superior to glimpses of the nature of mind
55:45 - The best test of success in practice
57:00 - Does practice ever get easier?
01:01:28 - The 4 payoffs: pleasure, profit, praise, popularity
01:06:49 - Guru devotion and the guru relationship
01:12:31 - A story about Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
01:14:41- Peace Prayer Gathering in June 2025
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Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James