Generally, in the US "hippie" is an insult. Yes, Rajeswar was a judge, supposedly. That impressed the heck out of my pliable 19 year old mind. I liked him a lot more than Squeaky. But let's face it: they all conned us. And it was for the oldest reason on record--money.
Being autocratic, it was inevitable that the ashrams became abusive and exploitative. I was expecting a more democratic communal experience, not self created dictators puffed up on their own importance.
But it wasn't all bad, just most of it. But the ashram was supposed to be THE PLACE if you were serious about "realizing knowledge." When it became obvious to me that wasn't going to happen and that I was just seen as a money producing "asset" I struck out on my own. I didn't last long as a premie in the big, bad world after that, but I did have some great times with some very sweet premies in the laid back counter culture world of California. Those are memories I will always cherish and hold close.
