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Lived Through This
How I Reclaimed My Life after 10 Years in a Cult
The road back to my Self was paved with sex, love, guns, and motorcycles
I never intended to join a cult when I was younger, but I did. My original plan was to get to know my inner self through meditation, but I was intrigued by the 14-year-old Indian prodigy “Guru Maharaji,” now known as Prem Rawat, who spoke of creating world peace one person at a time.
I was inexplicably drawn to learn more about him and to become part of the growing movement of hippies, freaks, and spiritual seekers who were following him. I didn’t want to dabble on the fringe. I wanted to go all in.
Prem Rawat is the youngest son of a guru from Northern India. When his father passed on in 1966, Prem, who was eight years old at the time, began addressing crowds of hundreds of thousands in India with a core message that has remained remarkably consistent over the past 50 years: “There is peace within, and I can help you experience it.”
In the fall of 1972, my senior year in college, I learned how to practice his meditation techniques. My initial experience of meditation was low-key — peaceful and calming — but I kept at it for nine months more. My experience grew. I felt different. Something was happening within…
