Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2002, Page 72
$30,000 on slot machines in a single night." He alleges that "She took everybody for a ride,
and most of the people in the ashram don't have a clue. In fact, she was making so much
money they didn't know how to hide it, so they had to form a new corporation for it."
Rosenkranz, meanwhile, said that his mother invested $1 million in a trust fund for his
daughter that cannot be accessed until the teenager turns 40. "She [his mother] was
concerned that he [the grandson] would give it all to Ma."
Physical violence
In a 1997 autobiography called It's Here Now (Are You?), spiritual chanter Bhagavan Das
writes that he was confronted by Bhagavati's followers when he tried to leave Kashi. "I was
beaten until I was bruised and bleeding. Fortunately, they didn't break any bones. I ...
thought, 'We have given (Bhagavati) the power of God. It's time to leave."
Paul Rousseau, now 36, who grew up in the Ashram, says: "It was an insular environment,
and I didn‘t want to leave. I realize now, looking back, just how clever Joyce (Bhagavati)
really was, how well she manipulated us. When my parents took me back to Canada
(following a court order), I wanted to go back to Kashi. In fact, I ran away twice. They [at
the Ashram] told me all I had to do was accuse my parents of rape, destroy the house, and
generally go wild, and they'd send me back to the ashram. Would I have lied for Kashi?"
said the computer engineer, now living in Silicon Valley."Sure. I did lie for them. They were
my family."
Kashi's current PR director says the financial allegations are part of a "smear campaign"
orchestrated by Rosenkrantz, a "disgruntled former employee" engaged in alimony
negotiations with his soon-to-be ex-wife, who lives at the ashram. Concerning the
convalescence home, he said that building "is a long-term process that we have in no way
abandoned. This is a smear campaign leveled at a holy being whose deeds have touched
millions of lives in positive ways." Bhagavati denies that she lost $30,000 on the slots,
saying that she does not frequent casinos.
Kashi associates such as Judy Martin label allegations of control and abuse ludicrous. Now a
radio/television journalist in New York City, Martin said that when she was vacillating
between pursuing her career or staying at the ashram, Bhagavati encouraged her to choose
New York. "For every person who feels compelled to say something negative about Ma,"
said Martin, "There are thousands more like me who are in gratitude." And ashram resident
Robin Bruner, a child psychologist, said that she's never seen or even heard of anyone
getting beaten at the ashram. (From "Ex-members rip enclave," by Billy Cox, Florida Today,
2/2/02, Internet)
Life Space
Life Space Guru Gets 15-year Sentence in Mummy Case /Japan
The Chiba District Court has found Koji Takahashi, 63, leader of the Life Space "self-
enlightenment" group, guilty of killing Shinichi Kobayashi, 66. Takahashi was sentenced to
15 years in prison for murdering Kobayashi, whose mummified body was found at a hotel in
Chiba Prefecture in 1999.
According to the ruling, Takahashi ordered Kobayashi's son Kenji, 33, and other followers to
take Kobayashi from a hospital in Hyogo Prefecture where he had been treated for a stroke,
and move him to a hotel in Narita, where the group performed hand-tapping. The court
found that Takahashi failed to allow Kobayashi to receive medical treatment. As a result,
Kobayashi suffocated and died three days later.
Even after the arrest and indictment of Takahashi and the others, about 100 of his
supporters continue to publicize his beliefs on Web sites and in books, and many of them
$30,000 on slot machines in a single night." He alleges that "She took everybody for a ride,
and most of the people in the ashram don't have a clue. In fact, she was making so much
money they didn't know how to hide it, so they had to form a new corporation for it."
Rosenkranz, meanwhile, said that his mother invested $1 million in a trust fund for his
daughter that cannot be accessed until the teenager turns 40. "She [his mother] was
concerned that he [the grandson] would give it all to Ma."
Physical violence
In a 1997 autobiography called It's Here Now (Are You?), spiritual chanter Bhagavan Das
writes that he was confronted by Bhagavati's followers when he tried to leave Kashi. "I was
beaten until I was bruised and bleeding. Fortunately, they didn't break any bones. I ...
thought, 'We have given (Bhagavati) the power of God. It's time to leave."
Paul Rousseau, now 36, who grew up in the Ashram, says: "It was an insular environment,
and I didn‘t want to leave. I realize now, looking back, just how clever Joyce (Bhagavati)
really was, how well she manipulated us. When my parents took me back to Canada
(following a court order), I wanted to go back to Kashi. In fact, I ran away twice. They [at
the Ashram] told me all I had to do was accuse my parents of rape, destroy the house, and
generally go wild, and they'd send me back to the ashram. Would I have lied for Kashi?"
said the computer engineer, now living in Silicon Valley."Sure. I did lie for them. They were
my family."
Kashi's current PR director says the financial allegations are part of a "smear campaign"
orchestrated by Rosenkrantz, a "disgruntled former employee" engaged in alimony
negotiations with his soon-to-be ex-wife, who lives at the ashram. Concerning the
convalescence home, he said that building "is a long-term process that we have in no way
abandoned. This is a smear campaign leveled at a holy being whose deeds have touched
millions of lives in positive ways." Bhagavati denies that she lost $30,000 on the slots,
saying that she does not frequent casinos.
Kashi associates such as Judy Martin label allegations of control and abuse ludicrous. Now a
radio/television journalist in New York City, Martin said that when she was vacillating
between pursuing her career or staying at the ashram, Bhagavati encouraged her to choose
New York. "For every person who feels compelled to say something negative about Ma,"
said Martin, "There are thousands more like me who are in gratitude." And ashram resident
Robin Bruner, a child psychologist, said that she's never seen or even heard of anyone
getting beaten at the ashram. (From "Ex-members rip enclave," by Billy Cox, Florida Today,
2/2/02, Internet)
Life Space
Life Space Guru Gets 15-year Sentence in Mummy Case /Japan
The Chiba District Court has found Koji Takahashi, 63, leader of the Life Space "self-
enlightenment" group, guilty of killing Shinichi Kobayashi, 66. Takahashi was sentenced to
15 years in prison for murdering Kobayashi, whose mummified body was found at a hotel in
Chiba Prefecture in 1999.
According to the ruling, Takahashi ordered Kobayashi's son Kenji, 33, and other followers to
take Kobayashi from a hospital in Hyogo Prefecture where he had been treated for a stroke,
and move him to a hotel in Narita, where the group performed hand-tapping. The court
found that Takahashi failed to allow Kobayashi to receive medical treatment. As a result,
Kobayashi suffocated and died three days later.
Even after the arrest and indictment of Takahashi and the others, about 100 of his
supporters continue to publicize his beliefs on Web sites and in books, and many of them
