In various threads below the issue has arisen of how much damage being in Rawat's cult has caused. The answer is clearly different for everyone. For Paddy, although he has no respect for the cult, he sees little damage being done to current cult members. Others, who know people who have committed suicide as a consequence of being in the cult, it is clear the cult has caused great harm. For the majority of premies, and former premies, the damage is clearly somewhere in between these extremes.For myself, it is hard to say what the damage was. Had I not become a premie, I would almost certainly have found some other Indian guru, or perhaps have suffered a worse fate in the search. It is possible that the stability of the Rawat belief system helped me find some stability in my life when I needed it. It's impossible to say how my life would have turned out had I not found premies and Rawat.
What is certain is that having accepted the belief system, the value I placed on all other aspects of my life was diminished. This includes my family, my marriage, my career, my interests, my friends, my colleagues. All relationships were damaged as a result of the beliefs Rawat inculcated in me.
But the clear fact that there was varying degrees of damage caused by being in Rawat's cult is not what I wanted to say.
What I want to say is that the truth is the truth, regardless of the level of damage. We have a right to speak the truth about our lives, and it seems that those who want to deny us that right, and even deny that the truth is the truth, have taken a very dark turn in their lives, where their desire to protect their master has made them abandon respect for the truth.
John.
