Although Serge Benhayon was found to be a ‘leader of a socially harmful cult’ by a Supreme Court jury, the self-proclaimed spiritual leader continues to practice the disturbing ideas he preaches. The wealthy founder of Universal Medicine, who believes he is the reincarnate of Leonardo da Vinci, suffered a crushing blow in his defamation case against blogger Esther Mary Rockett last year.
A four person jury found defences were upheld to all the publications complained of. That included a resounding win on the defence of truth with 37 serious imputations proven true. Rockett, who was successfully represented by Senior Lawyer Stewart O’Connell from O’Brien Criminal and Civil Solicitors, was backed by the jury verdict that Serge was a ‘charlatan who made fraudulent healing claims,’ who led a ‘socially harmful cult’ and ‘intentionally indecently touched clients.’
O’Connell, who has worked as a criminal defence and defamation lawyer for over twenty years, said the jury’s decision was ‘a comprehensive victory against a Goliath organisation by a woman who refused to be bullied.’ With this successful defeat, we can hope this cult will stop operating as soon as possible.
The Ugly Truth of Universal Medicine
Serge Benhayon created Universal Medicine in 1999 after receiving an ‘awakening’ while sitting on the toilet. With a following of 2000 people in Australia, the organisation aims to provide a holistic approach towards medicine and healing. The former tennis coach, known as the ‘ascended master’ and ‘a member of the Hierarchy’ by his congregation, has been able to further broaden the reach of his organisation, with followers in the UK, North America and Europe.
With no medical qualifications, Benhayon has invented a number of signature quasi-medical treatments. These include:
- chakra-massage,
- esoteric breast massage,
- and ‘Deeper Femaleness’ ovarian readings.
Among his controversial teachings, Benhayon claims children with disabilities are the reincarnation of evil authoritarian figures from the past and terminally ill patients are possessed with evil spirits.
Other ideas spouted by Benhayon include: a reincarnation belief that each human has at least 2,300 lives; alien-like creatures that can smell humans at all times; and women should not play sports as it strongly impacts their fertility. But, this ‘ageless wisdom’ comes with a big price.
The Rich Reincarnate of Leonardo da Vinci
The followers of Universal Medicine have spent large sums of money to receive the services and treatments of Serge Benhayon. Judith McIntyre, who was a breast cancer patient, desperately gave 1.4 million dollars to the cult organisation to assist with her health and wellbeing. After two years of health treatments from Universal Medicine, Judith passed away.
Although Serge claims Universal Medicine ‘inspire[s] more self-caring and self-loving choices in daily life,’ many critics like Esther have revealed the organisation is only just a money-making machine with a persuasive and manipulative con-artist as a leader. And with that, a cult of such power, interfering with the economic and financial aspects of people’s lives, must be stopped completely.
