But first I've got to tell both of you, Joe and la-ex, that imaging Maharaji having sex with probably the cream of the crop of premie women is just grossing me out.

I think the Amaroo phase starting in the early to mid 90's was an attempt at a jump start.  Certainly, many premies spent small fortune going to Australia once or even twice a year to spend a week in Shangri-La.  And Amaroo has quickly turned into a white elephant money pit.

Another phase in the 90s was the community video hall era.  While on occassion prior to videos the only satsang given was by instructors or instructor candidates and a small group of elite premies.  At least that was the deal in my last community.

The videos ended all premie satsang, but created Service opportunities that resulted in the over-controlled video event where you'd have 2 to 4 premies acting as ushers, a finance and info table person, the video technician, the manager, and the security person.  Meanwhile, there would only be about 6 people in the audience.

The community videos also required a financial commitment at the local level to provide for an Elan Vital approved hall that had to meet a stringent set of criteria.  This was in addition to the push for Direct Debit to fund the national organization.  I was easily spending $100 per month on both.  The leased facility in my community cost about $1600 per month or more.

I should note that the rare event in that particular community is held at a public facility.  I don't know what the one-time rental fee is.  It might even be free.

There's also another phase that I believe is happening now and that is the Dish TV broadcasts.  I'm not entirely certain since I'm no longer involved, but my guess is that the communities are dead and gone.  And that's a good thing when it comes to relieving local premies from having to pay for local events that provide little or no bang for the buck.  Thus, more money can go directly to Maharaji to allow him to fund the projects he desires.