In fact rather than wait here s my complaint To whom it may concern Hi My name s Jim Heller and I m currently and for some time now caught up in a series of edit wars with Jossi Fresco The background is this I am a former follower of Prem Rawat a k a Maharaji a person I believe is a nefarious cult leader Fresco on the other hand is a current follower and needless to say of a different mind altogether For some years now ever since the advent of the internet Rawat and his followers have engaged in a long standing campaign to whitewash Rawat s past and somehow protect him from the harsh light of history The latest flashpoint arose just today when I tried to edit a Wikipedia article of another of Rawat s current followers a religious studies professor in fact Ron Geaves who by the way just shot to flashpan infamy as the English academic who opined that the July 7th bombers were demonstrators not terrorists Please excuse the fact that to explain the problem in any meaningful way I have to flesh out the context somewhat My edit concerned an academic not Wikipedia article Geaves had written where discussing a program Rawat held in 1973 he wrote that In November 1973 Divine Light Mission had booked the Houston Astrodome a large sports stadium with a capacity of 90 000 The event had taken on millenial expectations in the U S with devotees announcing and advertising Maharaji s appearance at the stadium as a second coming complete with angelic and alien visitors Only 20 000 attended the event and Maharaji did not appear to have any knowledge of his American followers expectations He spoke as he usually does at such gatherings with no hint of messianic promises My emphasis here and below In fact a widely disseminated invitation to that same 1973 program Maharaji himself not only demonstrated knowledge of the millenial expectations but fanned the flames substantially Thus he declared the program the most Holy and significant event in human history and even hinted that it might have intergalactic significance A LETTER FROM GURU MAHARAJ JI Bonn Germany September 31 1973 Dear premies First of all I would like to tell you about something of great importance to all of us Because we have realized this beautiful Knowledge which is of great bliss to us all it is our duty to propagate it to the human race For it is something they really need In the world there is suffering hatred and dissatisfaction That fact does not need proof It is understood by all that the world is passing through a great moment No one has satisfaction of mind nor can they find the solution to this The world is looking for the Perfect Master to come and reveal the Perfect Knowledge of God There is a supreme energy constantly vibrating in everything making it survive and all the Perfect Masters coem to reveal this Knowledge to people We can attain all materialistic things and still not have peace for peace lies inside not outside in materialism As you all know Millenium 73 is being prepared for now This festival has been organized by Divine Light Mission each year since 1967 in the memory of the late Satgurudev Shri Hans Ji Maharaji on His birthday This year the most Holy and significant event in human history will take place in America I think that Millenium 73 is a point where we can really get together and enjoy the bliss bliss with all of our borthers and sisters who are premies and also tell the world that we have received and realized the permanent service of Truth Consciousness and Bliss which all the world is looking for in one way or manner To do this I really need your help I really need the help of all the premies in all respects physically financially and all other ways to make Millenium 73 come off This is a festival not for you or me It is for the whole world and maybe the whole universe I hereby invite you to this Divine Festival of Peace Millenium 73 and request all premies to help me financially physically and spiritually to make the program manifest for all seekers of Truth Isn t it about time you all get together and help me bring peace to this Earth Blessings to you all Sant Ji Maharaj It is clear when you contrast Geaves claim with the documentary evidence that Geaves bless his heart is playing the role of the typical cult apologist lying about his leader and blaming the followers the press anyone at all for the inexcusable laughable excesses of the cult What s particularly worrying about Geaves I m sure you can appreciate is that as a religious studies professor he s imbued with a certain authority that