Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2003, Page 90
there is a new messiah, a revolutionary avatar, or an emerging Buddha among us now—
come and see! The bulk of this book engages the reader in the intimate world of the
devotees, what they were thinking and feeling and how they struggled with an increasingly
irrational if demanding leader. Cohen convinces a male student to have his twenty
thousand-dollar Saab crushed to end his attachment.
We follow the author through group events and relocations from Amsterdam to India and
from Massachusetts to Marin County. He describes his ascent to key editor and sub-leader
as well as his demotion to common student. Along with all students of the inner circle,
Cohen micro-managed van der Braak‘s sexual relationships and whether any close student
had sex at all. Celibates were required to shave their heads. Van der Braak‘s roller coaster
journey was not unique in the group. To anyone familiar with ex-cult member
autobiography [I‘ve read at least 100 accounts in published books and unpublished
manuscripts], van der Braak inadvertently exposes the tragic pattern common to
authoritarian groups that have poor checks and balances. One feature is a leader who
manages by perceiving constant, often bizarre crises while demanding unquestioning
loyalty, not unlike a hapless military campaign trapped in an amusement park. Cohen
reportedly threw temper tantrums, if he felt criticized in the news media, for example. This
is one unfortunate result of radical dualism in action or groups that devalue the ―world‖ as
an illusion while obsessing over a mysterious something or ideal they call gnosis or
enlightenment.
As van der Braak so skillfully relates in his narrative, Cohen may have been immature but
he was no idiot. The guru‘s utter confidence in his new spiritual status was contagious to
many seekers he met, and he was clever enough to reduce the experience of enlightenment
to simple, radical notions that at least could attract and impress the novice. Van der Braak
does help us appreciate the human need for spiritual resolution, and the need for most of us
to believe that some saints or gurus have somehow managed to tap into communion with
transcendental mysteries. It certainly was his need, and like so many who end up in
spiritual pits instead of a path our author found many like-minded seekers who shared in his
struggle to make sense of Cohen‘s selfish style.
In the end he expounds to another student why he rejects Cohen: ―But in Andrew‘s case he
actually managed to realize all his youthful fantasies, make them into a permanent lifestyle.
And he managed to convince all of us to live in this way too.‖ Van der Braak basically
describes Cohen as a narcissist stuck in his adolescence and out of control. Van der Braak
holds no hostile agenda to destroy Cohen—his stated intent was to honestly describe his
experience and to offer assistance to anyone else struggling to break with or understand a
group like Cohen‘s. This book fulfills its stated purpose well—it is more about caution and
the seeker‘s quest than it is about social or historical analysis, though the author does some
appropriate pontificating. However, van der Braak almost lost my respect in his opening
intro: ―All religions point to the same transpersonal truth.‖ I clench my teeth whenever I
hear absolute statements by someone I sense has no or little more insight into
―transpersonal truth‖ than I do. But the book redeemed itself for me by the end, and I felt I
learned something intimate about a man who matured in his humility and found strength
enough to reveal his way of getting there.
Joseph P. Szimhart
there is a new messiah, a revolutionary avatar, or an emerging Buddha among us now—
come and see! The bulk of this book engages the reader in the intimate world of the
devotees, what they were thinking and feeling and how they struggled with an increasingly
irrational if demanding leader. Cohen convinces a male student to have his twenty
thousand-dollar Saab crushed to end his attachment.
We follow the author through group events and relocations from Amsterdam to India and
from Massachusetts to Marin County. He describes his ascent to key editor and sub-leader
as well as his demotion to common student. Along with all students of the inner circle,
Cohen micro-managed van der Braak‘s sexual relationships and whether any close student
had sex at all. Celibates were required to shave their heads. Van der Braak‘s roller coaster
journey was not unique in the group. To anyone familiar with ex-cult member
autobiography [I‘ve read at least 100 accounts in published books and unpublished
manuscripts], van der Braak inadvertently exposes the tragic pattern common to
authoritarian groups that have poor checks and balances. One feature is a leader who
manages by perceiving constant, often bizarre crises while demanding unquestioning
loyalty, not unlike a hapless military campaign trapped in an amusement park. Cohen
reportedly threw temper tantrums, if he felt criticized in the news media, for example. This
is one unfortunate result of radical dualism in action or groups that devalue the ―world‖ as
an illusion while obsessing over a mysterious something or ideal they call gnosis or
enlightenment.
As van der Braak so skillfully relates in his narrative, Cohen may have been immature but
he was no idiot. The guru‘s utter confidence in his new spiritual status was contagious to
many seekers he met, and he was clever enough to reduce the experience of enlightenment
to simple, radical notions that at least could attract and impress the novice. Van der Braak
does help us appreciate the human need for spiritual resolution, and the need for most of us
to believe that some saints or gurus have somehow managed to tap into communion with
transcendental mysteries. It certainly was his need, and like so many who end up in
spiritual pits instead of a path our author found many like-minded seekers who shared in his
struggle to make sense of Cohen‘s selfish style.
In the end he expounds to another student why he rejects Cohen: ―But in Andrew‘s case he
actually managed to realize all his youthful fantasies, make them into a permanent lifestyle.
And he managed to convince all of us to live in this way too.‖ Van der Braak basically
describes Cohen as a narcissist stuck in his adolescence and out of control. Van der Braak
holds no hostile agenda to destroy Cohen—his stated intent was to honestly describe his
experience and to offer assistance to anyone else struggling to break with or understand a
group like Cohen‘s. This book fulfills its stated purpose well—it is more about caution and
the seeker‘s quest than it is about social or historical analysis, though the author does some
appropriate pontificating. However, van der Braak almost lost my respect in his opening
intro: ―All religions point to the same transpersonal truth.‖ I clench my teeth whenever I
hear absolute statements by someone I sense has no or little more insight into
―transpersonal truth‖ than I do. But the book redeemed itself for me by the end, and I felt I
learned something intimate about a man who matured in his humility and found strength
enough to reveal his way of getting there.
Joseph P. Szimhart
