I've thought a lot about dismissiveness lately and landed on the notion of not letting my guard down just yet.

I doubt that anyone can ever know the full extent of the "collateral damage" Prem Rawat left in his greedy, hypocritical and deceptive wake. It's a gut wrenching list that includes children of premies raised in that environment, parents and spouses abandoned by premies and countless others. (How hollow must my father have felt when I suddently abandoned him for a decade?) None of them did anything to bring that kind of pain and confusion upon themselves.

It's easy to dismiss a shrinking, aging "has been" cult or movement as something that will likely vanish into obscurity. But I still get worked-up over cult initiatives like PEP, the Global Peace Education Network and others because to the casual observer, they appear to be legitimate, well orchestrated and even attractive. PEP seems to have evaded scrutiny and GPEC has pulled in a lot of organizations and people with stellar credentials who are definitely not premies.

I did, however, make a tiny little mistake. As Prembio pointed out, it's a virtual seminar and not the big multi-day in-person conference I envisioned. (Sorry... I was born in a different yuga and I haven't caught-up to the wonders of modern technology!) Then there was that silly little detail about miniscule views he pointed out.

Consequently, I completely understand dismissing the cult as a bunch of aging loyalists with little reach. Then it occurred to me that maybe I was confusing growth potential with... quality. I'm impressed with its polished appearance, gutsy determination and apparent ability to collaborate seamlessly with other legitimate organizations and highly accomplished individuals. Not that it will necessarily amount to much, but I have to give credit where credit is due. They've gotten their act together on a very different level and they're adept at using social media.

Premies who rise to those circles are often highly intelligent people who leverage their successful careers, businesses, titles and networks for legitimacy when making connections. Moreover, few people are as motivated (service to their master, the cause trumps ethics, etc.) to do what they do with such impeccable quality. They infiltrate in an orchestrated attempt to connect with people they perceive to be influencers and then they leverage their connections use them to climb further up the ladder.

Surely Prem's well-documented history is deterring countless people, but apparently not everyone. Moreover, when push comes to shove, it's too easily dismissed: 

However large or small the scale may be and as done as I am with the cult, it's clear to me that the cult is not done. It appears that the premies doing their cult thing are just as shameless as they've always been, especially in terms of their insideous ability to cover-up Prem's past, put up a polished and legitimate front and deceive people about the true nature of their involvement with him.

I know this doesn't really address your concerns but I thought I'd offer it anyway. Thank you so much for caring and for all the research you've accumulated!