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much of what I heard as he reiterated arcane ideas common to the Theosophical theater of
teachings resembling those of Rudolf Steiner and Rosicrucianism.
I purchased and read two of his more popular (among devotees) books, but I have since
thrown them away. All I have is a few sheets of notes I took after the lecture and from the
books. I did write that Aïvanhov teaches that honey bees were a gift from the planet Venus
(Aïvanhov, Vol.1, p.48), and that he believed in an extensive and ancient underground
civilization: ―the center of the Earth is the home of the extraordinary culture of the
Agarthians‖ (Aïvanhov, Vol.1, p.xviii). Within the Theosophical milieu, these are not unusual
beliefs. Feuerstein traces the roots of the Agarthian myth in a section describing some of
Aïvanhov‘s troubles with the law—in 1947 he was accused of espionage in France and
served two years of a four-year sentence. The incident was bizarre a Cuban occultist who
called himself ―The King of the World‖ and who was an Aïvanhov adversary, Cherenzi Lind,
allegedly started a campaign against Aïvanhov. Women filed complaints of sexual
impropriety against Aïvanhov, thus preciptating his arrest. Feuerstein reports the group
version that Aïvanhov was framed. Later a 1950 French news article exonerated Aïvanhov,
and his name was officially cleared in 1962. Feuerstein gingerly insinuates that Agartha is a
real place and reports that Lind claimed to be from there.
I mention this because Feuerstein seems to me to bend and twist page after page to make
Aïvanhov into a sage and heroic figure and not appear delusional and racist. Then again
maybe I bend and twist to try to adjust my impression of Aïvanhov, one I formed nearly two
decades ago. Aïvanhov was born in 1900 in Macedonia his home village was burned by
Greeks in 1907 his father died when he was nine and he had his first spiritual ecstasy at
age 16. He experimented with color effects on his psyche and with trance states. He claimed
his room once flooded with a mystical, purple light. He discovered that he had psychic
abilities: At one of his talks he apparently crippled a friend by psychic power, then released
him from the affliction. As if these were supernatural powers, Feuerstein mentions a few
other demonstrations of Aïvanhov‘s magic, but in every case I found alternative, more
prosaic explanations: Stage magic, autosuggestion, hypnosis, and plain delusional
memories both in guru and disciple.
Do I believe that these psychic powers or miracle workers exist? I can tell you that I have
known and counseled several individuals who told me of even more profound shamanic
powers than anything I read about Aïvanhov. Some of their stories were inexplicable and I
had no reason to doubt them. However, psychic powers, if real, are fickle at best and there
is no reason to believe that shamans who supposedly demonstrate these powers are holy,
dependable, or sane. In any case, Aïvanhov did resort to the same mantra magic used by
most Theosophical cults, particularly the ―I AM‖ Activity and Church Universal and
Triumphant, whose students and former devotees will easily recognize the following
example:
―Sixth Exercise: Kneeling down on one knee, bring both hands up to your face
and then move them away from you in a movement similar to the breast
stroke, saying, ―May all the enemies of the Universal White Brotherhood be
routed, defeated and dispersed, for the Glory of God!” (6 times). The enemies
of the Universal White Brotherhood are not human beings but are dark forces,
ill-intentioned spirits that invade humans in order to destroy the divine work.
You have every right to chase them, you can even say, ―may they be struck
down, ground to bits, annihilated!‖ They have no right to undermine the
Light.‖ (Aïvanhov, 1982. A New Earth, Vol. XIII, 198-199)
There are pages of these magic mantra exercises, most of them for healing and good
fortune.

Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2003, Page 88
In 1917 Aïvanhov met his ―master,‖ Peter Deunov (1864-1944), a guru he served and
emulated all his life. Raised by a father who was an Orthodox priest with radical views,
Deunov studied medicine and theology in the United States and in 1895 he returned to
Bulgaria, where he published his dissertation on ―Science and Education.‖ Steeped in
Theosophy and Gnostic (Bogomil derivative) ideology, Deunov created his White
Brotherhood movement in 1900. His theosophy was ―Christ‖ centered echoing earlier
Rosicrucian movements and the later Anthroposophy of Rudolf Steiner. Most concurrent
versions of theosophy emphasized a more oriental bias with foundation myths featuring
Buddhist and Hindu masters. Deunov may have gathered up to 40,000 followers at the peak
of his movement according to Feuerstein (Mystery, 25).
Aïvanhov became Deunov‘s principle disciple by 1937 when he moved to France to extend
the movement. In 1959 Mikhaёl Aïvanhov traveled to India, met with ―various masters‖ and
claimed he met the legendary (I say fictional) adept Babaji (This ―god‖ was popularized in
Swami Paramahansa Yogananda‘s Autobiography of a Yogi published long before Mikhaёl
Aïvanhov‘s India sojourn). One master Aïvanhov met apparently gave him his moniker
Omraam, a combination of the mantra Om and the divine name Ram. This master was
purportedly none other than Neemkaroli Baba, popularized later by the American guru of
LSD fame, Dr. Richard ―Ram Dass‖ Alpert. This represents a departure from his master,
Deneuv. Feuerstein reports group estimates that Aïvanhov‘s following (1998) approached
10,000 worldwide. That is a considerable loss from his master‘s numbers in 1944.
The Fraternité Blanche Universelle (FBU) may be in decline, as movements that depend on
charismatic leaders tend to go after the guru dies, but this does not prevent self-proclaimed
upstarts from revitalizing and refining the cult. Currently I‘m tracking one communal group
out of Quebec, Cite Ecologique de l'Ere de Verseau (Ecological City of the Age of Aquarius),
that recently relocated a few dozen followers to Florida. Unlike most FBU devotees, the Cite
Ecologique group lives communally and it hawks standard New Age products through
members and on a web site (http://www.kheopsinternational.com )that makes no mention
of the group. Another Michael, a Michel de Cornellier, leads and founded it around two
decades ago. De Cornellier was a gym teacher. Its primary texts are the writings of Mikhaёl
Aïvanhov in French. Controversy follows this sect regarding their strict parochial treatment
of children, racist and elitist practices, and complaints from former members who allege
undue influence to gain donations (The Gazette, May 26, 1990, Montreal). But that takes us
off my topic.
Of the two books, I think Holy Madness would be a worthwhile read for any student of the
new religions and cults whether or not you share the author‘s valuation. The presentation
on Omraam Mikhaёl Aïvanhov however is overly apologetic and leaves much back-stage
information out. My one experience with Aïvanhov and his devotees is enough to convince
me that the guru and his cult are more problematic than Feuerstein likes to imagine. One
couple I interviewed after Omraam‘s lecture is illustrative. The young lady, a devotee, was
clearly smitten with the man, even saluting him with raised right hand as all devotees did
during his final blessing. Her boy friend, like me, just stood there watching. We may have
been the only two who did so among the thirty or so folks left, most of whom were
Aïvanhov‘s entourage and choir. I asked the young man what he thought of it: ―Boring,‖ he
said out of earshot of his smiling girl friend.
*For those readers unaware of this divine White Brotherhood, it is basically a heavenly or
metaphysical hierarchy of ―ascended‖ beings, angels, gods, and goddesses who guide the progress of
the human race. White purportedly stands for the pure white light that these beings emanate both
literally (in case you ever meet one!) and symbolically as a sign of their spiritual attainment. Each
Theosophical group expresses its unique myth on the Brotherhood, a.k.a. the Masters or the
Hierarchy.
Joseph P. Szimhart