Russian operations were ended by legal action and the assets seized by the government. The cult's legal status in Japan as a church has been revoked, but many of its assets are unaccounted for. Today, Aum Shinrikyo is once again soliciting donations, collecting tithes, selling materials to members, holding seminars, conducting training, and selling computers. Active recruiting is under way. These sources estimate that at least 700 members are live-in, fully committed devotees.
Mind control is still a part of the cult's package.
Cult members can be seen in Aum-owned houses wearing bizarre electric headsets, supposedly designed to synchronize their brain waves with those of the cult's leader. The objective of the Tokyo subway attack was not irrational. The cult's timetable could not permit that interruption. Aum's actions were perfectly logical within the context of their value system. They were a self-legitimized group that had rejected and, ultimately, felt obliged to confront society.