Rawatism is an unhealthy cult.  One thing that makes this so obvious is this idea that an aspirant has to be "dedicated enough" in order to receive the "free gift" of the precious Knowledge.  How can this be possible?  How does a person become dedicated to something he has not experienced?  A belief system is drummed into the aspirant, including the belief that Knowledge requires no beliefs and the belief that this meditation is not meditation but something better somehow.  The Keys will spell out in detail everything that a person has to accept on faith in order to be shown the supposedly unique way of going within.  This uniqueness is another lie that aspirants are "brainwashed" into believing. 

What is the actual outcome?:  When a person does receive Knowledge and starts to practice it, he knows that the anticipated result is supposed to be a feeling of peace every day and hour, and if a peaceful feeling is experienced, Rawat gets the credit, and if the student fails to feel peaceful, he himself gets the blame.  The student never advances beyond the stage of aspirant and a life-long attachment to Rawat is cultivated even while being officially denied. 

If this isn't a cult, what is?  This is the very essence of a cult and all that is wrong with cults.  The big lie is the Master and the need for the Master.  The little lies are the philosophies surrounding meditation and the experiences that people naturally have in heart and mind.   There are literally thousands of cults today, and there always have been.  But society is becoming more knowledgeable about them, and they have shorter lifetimes than previously.  Rawatism is a dying cult.