So: this never was a religion, nor was it an anti-religion. It was meant to be a cult from the beginning (his father "Shri Hans" being "the Satguru of his time" ).

This man had found a way to make a business of what he thought was "his vocation" .... and getting older and nearer to his death, realized that it can easily be turned into a family business given the Indian structure of all the belief systems playing into his hands.

And Shri Hans's best marketing idea ever was, to make his YOUNGEST son his successor, and not the oldest which would have been "normal" by Indian standards. (So that was very remarkable even for India, the land of 100s of beliefs and 10.000s of mahatmas.)

So, all the father's mahatmas of that time busied themselves in grooming this little boy into his leadership role from an early age on. Prem learned the business from just being his father's son, (meaning: learning by imitation) and then playing the role they had cut out for him to a T.

What an ego trip to be sent on for such a little child! 

What do children with huge egos do? They test their boundaries, trying to cross red line after red line ... and getting away with it. Even in school - and much easier: with his fathers followers.

A family business if there ever was one!