I know the feeling.  I first heard of Guru Maharaj Ji and thought "what a waste of time."  I was convinced by the thought of ending war and making the world the garden of Eden.  Rennie Davis was a big part of convincing me.  Then I was also convinced by the messianic idea that Maharaji was the current incarnation of God, and how would I feel to have missed hanging around and serving Jesus Christ if I had had the chance.  Well, now was my chance.

There was no projection of God going on.  Prem Rawat openly claimed to be the incarnation of God, and then openly played Krishna, well into the 80s.  There wasn't any "projection" going on there.  It was blatant, and it was coming from Rawat.

And "Indian Customs" really played a small part in all of this.  In Glen Whittaker's story he says it was the "sari brigade" that kept the interested people away, but I think that's hogwash.  It wasn't clothing that kept people away, Glen.  How about prostration, arti, the altars with the big pictures that people pranamed to.  Those probably had more to do with it, that and that the premies seemed frenetic, zombies, who spoke in code.