When most hear the word cult, they imagine mass murder and warn their children to “not drink the kool-aid. However, a cult is defined only as “a religion or religious sect generally considered extremist or false, whose followers often live unconventionally under the leadership of an authoritarian and charismatic leader.” These systems or communities are based on worship and rituals. There is no mention of violence or bloodshed in this definition. However, “destructive cults” are a different story and are often the ones that make the news. These destructive cults use unethical means as a way to control and manipulate to bring about thought reform (defined as the systematic alteration of a person's way of thinking). Ironically, these destructive cults give their members the illusion of self-control and freedom. It is estimated that five to seven million Americans have been members of cults or cult groups according to the Cult Hotline, obviously this is a difficult number to calculate correctly. Very few are lucky enough to break free from this vicious grip. On October 25, 2013, three women (a 69-year-old Malaysian, a 57-year-old Irish woman and a 30-year-old British woman) were about to flee from 73-year-old Aravindan Balakrishnan and the wrath of his wife Chanda, 67, after 30 years. They were described as “deeply traumatised” after suffering the ordeal of abuse and isolation. What few freedoms they had led one of the victims to watch a film about forced violence, which distributed the number of the non-profit Freedom Charity, a non-profit organization that pledged to contact the police after gaining the trust of the women. Later details of the story report that the three women had separated from a left wing... in the center of the card... to be involved in something so terrible. It also shows how easily people can be manipulated into the masses because of a man's charisma and choice with words (may I remind you of another charismatic leader: Hitler). After this article, I doubt much will change. The minds of cult followers are often those of easily manipulated and quite ignorant people, people who will not mind if things like freedom of thought and choice are discouraged. I'm sure these women will live better lives now that they are free. However, they are just a few of the hundreds of thousands of people lost to the evil grip of sectarian culture, almost unaware that they have fallen to this cruel fate from the beginning. From previous studies one can only assume that in place of the old cult a new one will form and the history of the cult is destined to repeat itself until people are educated and warned otherwise..