
Image by Jan Alexander from Pixabay
Okawa’s books, of which he has published around 2,000 so far, are an important source of revenue, but like Scientology, Happy Science supposedly has a “tiered, pay-to-progress system of membership” and also offers some controversial paid products as well. Which leads us to this religion’s answer to the Covid-19 pandemic – virus-related blessings priced at several hundreds of dollars. It all started in January with Ryuho Okawa’s claim to receive messages from a trio of extraterrestrials, as well as the spirits of Chinese leaders like Xi Jinping, and the guardian angels of Boris Johnson, John Lennon and Angela Merkel, about the origin of the novel coronavirus… Apparently, the highly contagious virus was created as a bioweapon by the Chinese government in Wuhan, but ended up being unleashed by a U.F.O. to punish the communists, and then spread to other godless countries where it continues to wreak havoc. But on the plus side, Happy Science had the cure for the Covid-19 disease – its leader was a supreme being after all – and would share it with the world, for a fee. First, Ryuho Okawa quickly published three booklets entitled Spiritual Reading of Novel Coronavirus Infection Originated in China which have since been translated in several languages and are available online. Then, DVDs and CDs of the spiritual leader lecturing on the topic of Covid-19 were put on sale (they say Okawa’s voice alone is able to boost the listeners’ immune system).
Finally, for an even greater protective and curative effect, Okawa introduced special blessings designed specifically for Covid-19. They were originally conducted in private at Happy Science locations, in exchange for donations between $100 and $400. “It’s amazing, we’re seeing people being cured,” Yushi Hagimoto, a Happy Science minister in New York, told The New York Times. Sadly, the temple had to close down due to the increasing number of cases in the Big Apple, but the church is still offering to perform the spiritual blessings remotely…
Interestingly, one of the greatest critics of Happy Science is Ryuho Okawa’s own son, Hiroshi, once hailed as his successor. “He claimed to have received the ‘messages of God,’ he relentlessly lied to his followers,” Okawa’s son said. “I believe what my father does is complete nonsense.”
Both Hiroshi and his mother left Happy Science years ago. In turn, Ryuho Okawa has denounced his family as demonic. He has since remarried.