When myself went through the "ex-rating" process I did ask another ex-rated who had been close to prem from day one and definitely knew "too much" (I found out later that he did know even more and worst...) and his reply was exactly that: "The closer you get to the fire the more it burns" 

It's a classical trip a malignant narcissist puts people in: to get "tested" for the devotion by accepting more and more malignant crazy stuff without questioning ever the "guru" and stay "loyal".

I was praised for my loyalty and did get a "high" from being the "guru" s devotee, and since we are talking about Religion, the "high" was given a "spiritual" meaning: the "fire" is the "divine fire" and the devotee's goal is to manage to totally burn the "selfish self" the "mortal self", "ego" or the "mind" (in other words your critical judgement and beliefs about what is good and what is bad) 

Good and bad according to Prem's wordview do not exist, it's "the minds" construct, and once freed from all this "concepts" and stops jusding the "master" then the "premie" can enjoy "Knowledge"

it's a belief system set-up to create a criminal organization basically where "good and bad" are defined only by the "master" and no-one else is allowed to pass any judgement, instead the followers have to blindly obey the directions of their master, and if they don't like it it's because they are not 'realised" enough to stay in the fire whilst they get burned... it's a hindu origines worldview and concepts such as "lila" (divine play) are still in play in the premie world... Prem disguises his disgusting acts as "lilas" to the old premies who are still covering up for him, to prove their Loyalty and pass the test to go deeper inside the fire...

I hope there is time for some of them to get out of the fire before they totally burn !