"If I imagine myself incarcerated for a long term after a life that included very tough times, and likely more than my fair share of violence, and I am locked up left to my own devices within bleak lord-of-the-flies surroundings, why would it be such a bad thing to shift the conversation and learn beginning techniques of meditation to practice? From the perspective of one sitting in prison, depressed and perhaps hopeless, trading on fear and anger, and with a ton of time on their hands, I think I kind of like the idea (meaning that that the ‘good’ created would likely outweigh the ‘bad’).

I’ll stick my neck out and say that some reflection might even clarify why one would want to learn a skill and become more educated. Having said that, I am sure there are better and more effective teachers out there along his themes. 

Teaching a way to calm down and even gain insight into what drives you (i.e. a meditation technique) can be very helpful. And I am not trying to defend Prem, which should be pretty clear from all of my posts on this Forum.

You can separate the meditation from the giver, as I did many, many years ago."