And revisionism.  Big time revisionism there, Liv.  This isn't a question of what came first, the chicken or the egg.  The cult leader came first and then the followers were made by him.  I don't care how old the little sociopath was because it still is his fault.  Why?  Because it's his cult.  Little Prem managed to manipulate the smartest people around him to get what he wanted, and he's been doing that for decades now.  Mind control works.

You've forgotten (or do you try to understand?) the basics of Cult-101.  You also disagree with the major cult awareness experts on the subject, Livia.   The fact of the matter is that there were mixed messages for the sole purpose of using seduction, coercive persuasion, and lots and lots of mental manipulation and mind control.  I don't know what happened prior to 1975, but by then, the messages were mixed up well enough to rationalize involvement.  Suspending disbelief is what happened all of the time.  Aspirant coordinators consistently had explanations for the questions that came up in the aspirant programs and those "answers" were repeated until an aspirant "understood," then received K, or walked away.  It's about mind-control, not responsibility once recruited into a cult.

When Rawat said anyone could "realize Knowledge" outside of the ashram, there was a huge amount of winking going on between the Mahatmas/Instructors and the ashram residents, and between us ashram residents to each other.  I'm referring to the mid-to-late 70s. We ashrams residents were led down the garden path to think we were doing it just right, per Rawat, (we were in intensive care, being "treated") and the married folks were just there, in their "married situation."  We were also in the hotseat, too, because as ashram residents, we were virtually owned by him and we were his playthings for him to experiment upon.  And boy, did he experiment with the ashram premies in the U.S. once DECA came along.  I don't know what happened elsewhere in the world -- I have no direct knowledge of that.

During the mid-70s, married people wouldn't have been approached to join the ashram, but I'll tell you, when it came for Maharaji to get his first jet, he didn't blink an eye when the talented married premies were needed for a particular skill to get that jet done at DECA.  Marriages were split up in DLM offices.  And it had nothing to do with "realizing K," it was about fulfilling his own wants and whims.  He had no ridicule for the married premies he wanted to split up so his jet could be completed, because he's all about his own self-interests and no one else's.  And I disagree with Eileen.  Making money always has been cold and calculated in Maharaji's world.  He was 22 years old, an adult with kids, and fully responsible for himself, and was he on a roll. We were responsible to him and him alone as ashram premies and not to our personal needs and wants.  And the ashram premies that didn't make it to Miami were back home slaving in the communities to fund DECA.  That is how it was. 

So we have to admit that those of us who did receive K must have been susceptible in some way.  We must have been able and willing to suspend disbelief and scepticism, and submit ourselves to a process.

More cult 101 stuff, Livia. I have always fully admitted that I had a receptive personality and was easily persuaded, besides having a boatload of other problems that made me susceptible and gullible.  That's a basic of how people join cults, Liv.  When it comes to responsibility, it always lies in the lap of the cult leader whose mission in life is to gain adoring followers and their money.  That's the purpose of life for a cult leader.  It's always the fault of the abuser, Livia.  The abuser here is Prem Rawat.  He ruined countless lives for his own self-interests.  And not only that, now that we've left and want to talk to each other about it, he's even tried to ruin our lives post-cult.  It's typical cult leader behavior, although "typical" is a word that trivializes what Rawat has done and continues to do.  So far, Rawat hasn't taken one iota of responsibility towards the people who gave up their lives for him.  He's never ever mustered a small thank you or I'm sorry.  I don't expect him to.  Why?  Because he's a cult leader.

The responsibility comes in after a premie snaps out of the cult control and for many, especially those who post on this board, that means unraveling decades of involvement, and that's not done overnight.  It couldn't be more clear to me.