In the Shadow of Enlightenment w/Sarito Carroll

IndoctriNation

Religion & Spirituality

4.8 • 566 Ratings

🗓️ 5 March 2025

⏱️ 80 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this captivating episode, Rachel welcomes Sarito Carroll, a former member of the Rajneesh movement, to share her deeply personal journey from childhood within a cult to finding her voice and healing in the outside world. Sarito recounts her experiences growing up in the ashram of Bhagwan Shri Rajneesh, detailing the complexities of being a second-generation member and the challenges she faced as a young girl navigating a world filled with both spiritual celebration and dark secrets.

As Sarito reflects on her upbringing, she discusses the impact of her strained relationship with her mother, the normalization of sexual exploitation within the commune, and the struggle to reclaim her identity after the community's collapse. Rachel and Sarito delve into the themes of trauma, the quest for connection, and the importance of recognizing and validating one’s emotions in the aftermath of cultic experiences.

Sarito's story is a testament to resilience, exploring how she transformed her pain into purpose as a writer. She emphasizes the healing power of art and creativity while also advocating for awareness around the hidden traumas faced by children raised in cults.

Sarito's gripping memoir, In the Shadow of Enlightenment: A Girl's Journey through the Osho Rajneesh Cult, is now available:

https://www.saritocarroll.com/

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to indoctrination, a weekly conversation series about protecting yourself from systems of control.
0:11.2	I'm your host, Rachel Bernstein.
0:13.7	Hello, everyone. Today on the show, I'm very happy to have Cerrito Carol with me.
0:21.6	She was born in 1968, and she spent her formative years constantly on the move with her
0:28.2	mother, a young hippie, in search of spiritual meaning.
0:33.6	At just nine years old, what was intended to be a brief summer trip to India took a very
0:40.7	unexpected turn. Sarito and her mother joined the ashram of Bhagwan Sri Rajneesh, transforming that
0:50.7	fleeting visit into a seven-year journey within the commune,
0:57.3	first in Pune, India, and later in the notorious city of Rajneeshpuram in central Oregon.
1:07.6	After the fall of Rajneeshpuram in 1985, 16-year-old Sarito was abruptly thrust into the quote-unquote real world.
1:19.0	Driven by sheer determination, she navigated her way to university, ultimately graduating, from the University of Colorado, with a degree in humanities
1:29.9	and comparative literature. Following a successful career as a technical writer, she returned to
1:37.9	academia to earn a master's of science in oriental medicine, now a successful alternative health practitioner and writer,
1:47.4	with a deep passion for truth and knowledge. Sarito finds solace in nature and engages in
1:54.6	creative endeavors, whether through appreciating the arts or expressing herself artistically.
2:03.4	She is dedicated to raising awareness about the hidden traumas experienced by children of cults and embraces the healing
2:10.9	powers of art and creativity. Sarito currently resides in Boulder, Colorado.
2:20.3	And today, she is with us.
2:24.9	Here's Sarito now. It is so nice to have you on the show.
2:40.5	So Cerito Carol is a really interesting woman who has a really interesting story.
2:46.6	And I'm so glad that the listeners are going to be able to hear from you and hear about your perspective.
2:55.4	When I ask people what kind of cultic group they've been in, I also let people know that I'm not going to assume, and the reason I'm asking about each person's experience, I'm not going to assume that one person's experience is the same as
	...

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