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[edit] Durga Ji

  • The cracks within the "divine family" became impossible to weld after Balyogeshwar issued directives to that the photographs of his mother were to be removed from all of the centres since she was no longer divine, and in their place were to be put the photographs of his wife who was "the incarnation of the goddess Durga."
    • The World of Gurus by Vishal Mangalwadi - Page 194
  • Mataji ... disapproved of his lifestyle and of his marriage to his secretary, Marolyn Johnson, whom he declared to be the incarnation of the goddess Durga.
    • Cults: A Reference Handbook by James R. Lewis - Page 122
  • He pronounced her the incarnation of the ten-armed, tiger-riding goddess, Durga. Whenthe new bride refused her mother-in-law access to their Malibu estate, that was the last straw.
    • Larson's Book of World Religions and Alternative Spirituality By Bob Larson - page 150
  • Maharaj Ji had claimed that she was the incarnation of the Hindu goddess Durga.
    • A Brief Guide to Beliefs: Ideas, Theologies, Mysteries, And Movements by Linda Edwards - Page 278

[edit] "Championing celibacy"

  • Also, the guru married his Caucasian secretary in 1974 when he was 17, shocking many of his followers (he had championed celibacy until his marriage) and leading to many defections.
    • Richardson, James T., in Encyclopedia of Religion and Society, William H. Swatos, ed., Rowman Altamira 1998 p.141 ISBN 0761989560
  • The movement split after Guru Maharaj Ji married his American secretary and broke his vow of celibacy.
    • Olson, Carl. The Many Colors of Hinduism: A Thematic-Historical Introduction. 2007 Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0813540682 p. 345
  • Since Ji had earlier advocated strict celibacy for his followers, his marriage obviously came as a shock to them. Thomas Pilarzyk estimates that between 40 and 80 percent of the ashram premies (the core of the movement) defected over this issue. p. 45
  • When Guru Maharaj Ji married his secretary, after admonishing his followers to lead a life of abstinence, half or more of the core member of the Divine Light Mission defected, hardly suggesting total control by the guru. p143
    • Bromly and Supe, Strange Gods 1981,
  • The youthful teacher's strong mother and mentor objected to this marriage (holding that her son had broken one of his spiritual disciplines - celibacy).
    • "Whatever Happened to Guru Maharaj Ji? " Hinduism Today' October 1983 [1]
  • To get the most out of being a premie, a follower is encouraged to practice vegetarianism and celibacy as well as abstention from the use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs. p. 9
  • Celibacy, abstention from the use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs, and the mission's highly touted vegetarian diet are stepping stones on the divinely lit path of enlightenment. And in true Hindu fashion, the Mission acts, not as a lawgiver, but as a dispenser of advice. The disciplines are recommended, not commanded. p.40
    • Stoner and Parke, All Gods Children, 1977
  • Similarly, in the Divine Light Mission, members are expected to turn over all material possessions and earnings to the religion and abstain from alcohol, tobacco, meat, and sex.
    • Levine, Saul V., "Cults and New Religious Movements: A Report of the American Psychiatric Association", Marc Galanter, editor. 1989 ISBN 0890422125 p. 100


[edit] Customs

  • A 14-year-old guru hailed by his American devotees as lord of the universe and castigated by his critics as a smuggler, has become the center of a controversy which reportedly has interested en Prime Minister Indira Ghandhi. Customs officials have yet to decide whether to prosecute the pudgy teenage guru, Maharaj Ji, on allegations that he tried to bring in about $80,000 worth of ondeclared currency, precious stones and watches. Maharaj Ji arrived in India from the United States on Nov. 7. Government officials no longer will talk on the record about his case. According to some press reports, Mrs. Gandhi has taken personal interest in the case, The controversy swirls around a briefcase Maharaj Ji brought with him on his return. His critics say it contained the undeclared valuables. His followers maintain the contents of the controversial briefcase, seized at the airport, were part of his divine bank and belonged to his devotees, not him. "Why should Maharaj Ji smuggle anything?" said Arthur Brigam, 22, the guru's public relations man from Denver. "He is a saint who needs nothing." Before leaving for Hardwar, headquarters of the guru's Divine Light Mission, Brigham claimed customs officials had cleared Maharaj Ji, but the officials still have not announced the results of their investigation of the case.
    • "Pudgy Guru, 14, Controversy Center in India", UPI. BRIDGEPORT TELEGRAM, November 24, 1972
  • When Maharaj Ji stepped off a jumbo jet in' New Delhi before his cheering Premies, he looked for all the world a kid with the world in a jug and the stopper in his hand. But there was trouble on the horizon. A few hours later customs officials leaked the still unproved allegation that he had attempted to bring into the country almost $80,000 in undeclared American currency, precious stones and watches. THE Premies said he was being falsely persecuted, just as Jesus Christ had been. They said the alleged countraband was part of the assets of the mission's divine bank and was being held in safekeeping for the owners, all devotees. Customs officials, presumably, are still meditating over the case. The holy mother is bitter. "My son is cursing me for having persuaded him to come to India to attend the Hans Jayanti (Maharaj Ji's late father) Festival," she told a newsman here. She charged that customs officials had humiliated Maharaj Ji and his entourage and that the Indian press had given his visit the worst possible coverage. The holy mother said Indians did not appreciate what Maharaj Ji has done for the country. "Isn't it a matter of pride for India that Englishmen who ruled over this country for two centuries now bow their heads in reverence before the young guru Maharaj Ji?" she asked.
    • "Some feel the youth is fraud" Long Beach, Calif., Sun., Dec. 19, 1972 INDEPENDENT, PRESS-TELEGRAM A-27
  • The airport arrival of the religious, leader — who reportedly gets his kicks from squirting water pistols, eating mounds of ice cream, watching triple-feature horror movies and wearing Frankenstein masks — was marred when Indian customs officials discovered and impounded a suitcase containing $65,000 in cash, jewelry and watches. According to the guru's disciples, the stash was a Divine Bank that had been put together to support the pilgrims during their month-long sojourn in India. Refusing to buy that story, the Indian government ordered an investigation into the movement's finances and seized the passport of the "prince of peace."
    • "The Mini Guru" By J. KING CRUGER staff writer, February 3, 1973 THE STARS AND STRIPES Page 9
  • There has been a spot of trouble with Customs. On the guru's return from a world tour last November, accompanied by 400 foreign devotees, U.S. currency and goods with a total value of $27,000 were seized from his entourage. ... ""Will you be going abroad again?" I relaize I have committed a faux pas; the police have impunded his passport.
    • "The Guru Business", Khushwant Singh, The New York Times, April 8, 1973
  • When Maharaj Ji returned to India last October from a tour of the U.S.—accompanied by several planeloads of American followers — Indian authorities confiscated more than $50,000 in cash and jewelry from him.
    • "Slapstick Test Of Guru's Mortality" UPI, Lebanon Daily News, Wednesday, August 8, 1973
  • A teenaged guru touring the United States had to post bond of $13,300 before being allowed to leave India to spread his "Perfect Knowledge," the government says. Minister of State for Finance K. R. Ganesh told Parliament yesterday that the guru liad to post the bond because he is under investigation and may be charged with smuggling. He did not say whether the government plans to prosecute Guru Maharaj Ji, the 15-year-old leader of the Divine Light Mission. .. Customs officers seized $35,000 worth of jewelry, watches and foreign currency when the guru and some of his disciples returned to India last November from his visit to the United Status. Spokesmen for the movement say money was collected to finance the stay of 3,000 Western devotees, mostly from the United States, who flew here last November. They, came in seven chartered jumbo jets to meditate for a month and to observe the birthday anniversary of the guru's late father. The jewelry and watches, the spokesman said, were gifts for the guru's family and the mahawmas, the movement's priests. Customs authorities said the guru and a few close disciples who were responsible for the items had not properly declared them on arrival in New Delhi and were suspected of trying to smuggle the things into the country. Six members of the India Parliament, including some from the ruling Congress party, attacked the government for letting the guru leave India in June, after taking his passport earlier in the investigation. "This so-called bhagwam (Hindi for god) has been disgraced even in America," shouted Jyotirmoy Basu, a Marxist member. He referred to an incident in Detroit, two weeks ago, when the guru was struck by a cream pie at a public function. Ganesh said the government had permitted the guru to leave India on the advice of the Law Ministry.
    • "Boy Guru Suspected of Smuggling" AP, Oakland Tribune Aug. 25, 1973
  • The allusions were to his encounter with a pie-tossing youth in Detroit and the confiscation in India last November of $35,000 in undeclared jewelry and cash, which the mission has said was forgotten by a disciple. The case has not been settled and the guru had to post $13,300 bond before leaving for his latest world tour.
    • "15-year-old guru uses computer to keep track of disciples" AP. October 21, 1973 Kokomo Tribune
  • Maharaj Ji was accused by customs officials of trying to smuggle eighty thousand dollars of jewels into his native land.
    • Larson's Book of World Religions and Alternative Spirituality By Bob Larson, 2004
  • A few days later, however, Maharaj Ji made headlines not to his liking. From New Delhi Aug. 25, 1973 the Associated Press repotred that before he was allowed to leave India he had to post a #13,300 bond becuase he was under investigation on a charge of smuggling. A year earlier, it was revealed, customs officers had seized $35,000 worth of jewelry, watches, and foreign currency he and his disciples ad with them when they returnd from an American trip. The movement insited the riches were used to support 3,000 Western devotees who came to India to meditiate for a month. Chicago newspapers carried the story.
    • Superstition and the Press, Curtis D. MacDougall, Prometheus Books 1983 p.437


  • The top level investigation, in which Premier Mrs Indira Gandhi, as head of India's intelligence services, is taking a personal interest, began last November when Customs men at Delhi Airport had a tip from America that one of the divine bags was stuffed with jewels for the guru's mother plus sterling, dollars and travellers' cheques. The boy said they were nothing to do with him. Top executives in his mission team claimed that the money was to feed and house 350 American converts-in-the-making, who had flown in with him in the chartered jumbo jet he called his silver steed and were going on a three-week course at the imposing training academy on the banks of the Ganges. Special investigators from the revenue department have been trying to find out just how much he is worth and how much wealth the mission has accumulated in other countries. It is an offence in Indian law to have a bank account abroad without permission from the Treasury, but the guru set up in Britain as a charitable trust which banks all the income. Now the Indian Government will decide whether or not a charity abroad benefiting Indian nationals is contravening the law. The Indian Special Branch has its own interest in the guru. It fears that with or without the knowledge of the mission's hierarchy, spies or CIA agents might use the security of the mission as a cover. The Indian Home Office is also watching the boy.
    • "The 'boy god' with a taste for ice cream...and the good things of life" Richard Herd Daily Mail, Thursday, July 12, 1973 - Page 21
  • One senior member of the government said Indian diplomatic missions in countries where the guru's Divine Light Misson operates—including the United States and Britain —have been asked to investigate financial aspects of the movement. The government, he said, wants to determine whether the mission is violating Indian law, particularly regarding restrictions on Indian nationals having bank accounts and capital assets abroad.
    • "Gifts for a Guru" AP, printed in Stars and Stripes November 15, 1972.