L. Ron Hubbard Hero Or Hoax?

L. Ron Hubbard- Hero or Hoax

L. Ron Hubbard is the founder of Dianetics and Scientology. His research on the spirit, the mind and life is written in the tens of millions of words which make up Dianetics and Scientology. His works cover subjects as diverse as drug rehabilitation, education, marriage and family, success at work, administration, art and many other aspects of life. In the words of Hubbard's followers he was "one of the greatest men who ever lived". He seems to have influenced many people to live by his ways and beliefs. However, there are many people, including his own son who dispute his beliefs and call him a liar and claim that he was a fraud and everything he did was for the sake of making money. This did not only apply to his corporate world, but was also true in his personal life.

Even before Hubbard gained fame as the creator of Scientology, there was much speculation as to whether or not he was of sound mind and body. His credibility was disputed as far back as 1945, when he was a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. While commanding a naval ship he was at war for three days with submarines that never existed. (USS PC-815 Action Report, 24 May 1943). Furthermore, he insisted he had severe medical conditions which left him blind and crippled. However, after numerous medical exams the only thing that could be proved was that he suffered from severe ulcers. Perhaps he was just preparing to claim a veteran's disability pension, because he wasted no time putting in his application. (L. R. Hubbard Claim 7017422, Veterans' Administration Archives). This is just one example of his greed for money.

Hubbard's integrity is also questioned in his marriages. He married his second wife, Sara Northrup, without ever divorcing his first wife and never mentioned to her that he was previously married. Sara later filed for divorce, citing "extreme cruelty, great mental anguish and physical suffering". Sara claimed he had subjected her to "systematic torture, including loss of sleep, beatings, and strangulations and scientific experiments". Hubbard's suggestion to her was "she should kill herself if she really loved him, rather than file for divorce". (Divorce complaint No. D414498, 23 April 1951, Los Angeles Superior Court). In his eyes a divorce would ruin his reputation.

Despite all the allegations against Hubbard's insanity in his early years, he later went on to become a successful author and founder of Scientology. He described his philosophy in more than 5,000 writings, including dozens of books, and 3,000 tape-recorded lectures of Dianetics and Scientology. Dianetics was a book that Hubbard wrote which was the turning point in his life. It claimed that this new system could cure mental and psychosomatic ailments by "erasing" troublesome memories from a person's mind while they were in a hypnosis-like state. The term dianetics was later changed to Scientology because of legal issues. Science fiction fans picked it up solely out of curiosity and it has sold more than twelve million copies to date. Perhaps Hubbard seemed to be the answer for people who needed help and guidance in their lives. "In 40 years no scientific evidence has been provided for these claims" (Atack, The Total Freedom Trap)

The basic goal of Hubbard's beliefs is to help people through means of clearing their memories of disturbing incidents by opening them up to a life without fear or mental problems. This is done by asking the person to submit to an E-meter reading, which operates like a lie detector, measuring levels of stress or excitement by skin response. A person known as an auditor is put in charge of administering a set of personal questions and recording the person's responses and E-meter readings. Supposedly, when a person has reached the perfect state of freedom from bad memories, he or she is a "clear," and is capable of superhuman mental skills. The process of auditing can continue for many years and cost hundreds of dollars a session.

Accusations