Not surprisingly, considering the inherent degeneration, having set in an early stage already, the New Age movement became an easy prey of businesses of all kinds. First of all, the guru's themselves turned to making money. They sold their soul in exchange for - in their eyes - fabulous incomes. "Re-integration" businesses, the ones who's effort it is to "guide" people back to their (slave) jobs, shooted up as mushrooms. These "facilitators" (nowadays "coaches") became very skillful at applying all kinds of "spiritual techniques". In the mean time the consumer-economy used all the New Age slogans to push people deeper into their addictions with ads like: "be your self", "just for yourself only", "be happy", "spoil yourself", "you are the most important one" et.etc. The sad highlight were (are) the Zen teachers - coming from such an honorable spiritual tradition - who started to offer "Zen for managers ("leadership")" sesshins. From one of their brochures: "Zen is an excellent instrument to improve your flexibility, your innovative talents and the effectiveness on the work floor". Or from another brochure. Zen helps you to find a balance between work stress and personal needs. Some of the effects: more energy, better concentration, increasing clarity of thinking, more patience (sic) and more stress resistance.

For the second time in recent history "Zen" proves to be supporter of warmongers. Seventy years ago it was Japanese Imperialism in WW II, now it is the Great Capitalist War against the earth. "Zen" has learned nothing, whatsoever

These nice words have only a (terrible) truth to hide: spirituality as a means to serve the Mammon. To this aim "spirituality" is disconnected from its ultimate goal. It is portrayed as something "value-free". No word about transformation of business into a more humane enterprise*. At least that could give it some justification. By separating Zen from its ultimate effect, the teachers - among whom renowned priests and monks, nothing really surprises one anymore nowadays - are keeping their "honorable" status as "spiritual leaders", as ones who represent "higher" levels of "ethics" and "morality". No one talks about the true aim of the businesses they serve. To ignore the fact, that "more energy, better concentration" etc." ultimately serves profit maximalization, which leads to more effectiveness, more competition, more growth.... and that in its turn to more exploitation, more injustice, more poverty, more violence and more destruction of nature.... these insights are not very welcome in those circles. To think that "Zen" somehow could change all this - of course this is sometimes used as a self-justification, in reality however is nothing but self-deception, an illness (delusion) that Zen pretends to cure (...) - is at best (very) naive. It has to hide its true aim. "Business spirituality" gratifies both teachers and students. Both are part of the same rat race for more profits, influence, status, power.... It is the ultimate decay of a spirituality that started in innocence some 50 years ago. Indeed, capitalism is a monster (former German Bundespräsident H.Köhler) that eats everything that comes in its way. It has fully corrupted the souls (conscience!) of those involved. A tear tickles down my cheek.

However, there are some who even go further. Like the Dutch priest...... who founded a "business spirituality" faculty at a MBA school. He (knowingly?) spreads the illusion of humanizing big business by bringing "more spirituality" into it. While it should be UTTERLY clear, that no company on earth will voluntarily abandon the principle of profit maximalization, putting humanistic values in the first place. Always will "spirituality" have to serve the ultimate goal - profit - if she wants it or not. To fight this anomaly we are still in the beginning. However, as is the case with every suicidal system, the current crisis is doing its work by itself, already......

Read also: J.Carrette "Selling Spirituality, the silent take-over of  Religion", 2004 Routledge