Quite. But there is always the argument that the world is full of evils, and there are many evils greater than Rawat's delusional personality cult. There are, I am told, worthier causes on which to expend my energies.

This is a line that premies themselves are unlikely to make -- or if they do make this argument, then they are showing themselves to be very much on the slippery slope to exiting their cult. But it is something I hear, from time to time.

For me, part of the answer is that one has to deal with the nasty aspects of the world as they thrust themselves into one's life. I live in a tough neighbourhood where bad things happen to folks all the time. I cannot wipe out the local loan shark business, for example. What I can do, is to support my local Credit Union. Likewise, I cannot alone counter the wave of anti-rationalism that has seen so much ignorance and stupidity embraced almost as conventional wisdom. But I can raise the alarm, and give some support to anti-cult activity. In a world thick with ignorance, greed and downright evil, I can only clean the ground where I wish to tread, and hope my journey is of benefit to others.

There is also something about the fight against Rawat and his methods that resonates deeply with me. Sure, all cults, even al Q'aida I guess, make an appeal to the idealism and hope for a better world of those they recruit. They don't go about saying, "We're amoral and out for ourselves, join us if you like" -- they present themselves as offering something better than conventional corporate culture.

But to appeal to idealism intending only cynically to betray it, undermines the common good, in a way that even the frankly amoral corporates do not. To exploit the idealism of others for one's own selfish ends directly assaults virtue itself, by poisoning the ground from which it springs.

That is why, Mr Rawat, disgrace and shame stare you in the face, and press on you ever more tightly.