Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 12, No. 2, 1995, page 57
Hamilton and Ram Dass and his circle were introduced to Joya through Hilda Charlton, a
trusted friend and spiritual teacher in New York. Charlton helped to screen members for
“secret classes” and managed the cult rituals. Hamilton stayed in Joya‟s cult longer than did
Ram Dass, who after two years of embattled devotion, left her and later wrote an exposé of
“the complicated web of lies, deception, sexual misconduct and drug use.”
In chapter 3 Hamilton relates his hapless romance with Mukti Ma Deva Walla, a.k.a. Jane,
another devotee named by Neem Karoli Baba. He met Mukti in 1977. Her Hindu name
means “Goddess Who Sells Enlightenment.” Mukti impressed Hamilton with her incredible
guru recognition --she apparently had met all the “who‟s who” in the current guru market,
including Anandamayima, Amarit Desai, Muktananda, Sai Baba, and Ram Dass. Hamilton
describes Mukti as an insecure adoptee who grew up in a very wealthy family. Her foster
mother eventually cut Jane off after her hippie adventures led to some bizarre habits.
Nevertheless, Mukti manipulated money out of anybody she could con, including Hamilton.
Her spending habits and guru-hopping cost Hamilton more than $150,000. During one five-
month spree Mukti managed to charge an average of $20,000 per month in India --no
mean feat when anyone could live there very comfortably on several hundred dollars per
month.
At the end of the book Hamilton offers a useful glossary of the Sanskrit terms and some of
the psychological jargon he uses. The last two pages are extra charts that can be removed
from the book. If you are a seeker not yet devoted to a psychopath, you might take
Hamilton‟s advice and pin it above your desk or on your refrigerator, or carry it around in
your wallet. Those already trapped by psychopathic gurus may benefit little from such a list
--unfortunately, the effect of the psychopath‟s control over a follower is that just about
anything ends up being justified and rationalized.
Joseph P. Szimhart
Cult Information Specialist/Exit Counselor
Pottstown, Pennsylvania
Les sectes: état d’urgence (Cults: A State of Emergency). C.C.M.M. Centre
Roger Ikor B Centre de documentation, d‟éducation et d‟action contre les manipu-
lations mentales. Editions Albin Michel, Paris, France (23, rue Huyghens, 75013
Paris), 1995.
In the late 1970s a young Frenchman died of malnutrition and resulting complications, even
though he had been out of his cult for six months and was living again with his loving
family. The ravages of his previous “macrobiotic” cult life had gone on too long and were
irreparable at that time. The young man‟s father, Roger Ikor, was a prize-winning writer,
who then tried even harder to learn more about not only the cult his son had been in but
also about cults in general, particularly in France, a country that has attracted a large
number of gurus of every stripe.
Ikor used his prestige and considerable influence to interest other people in this urgent
subject. With the help of these friends, he founded Centre Roger Ikor, Centre de
documentation, d‟éducation et d‟action contre les manipulations mentales (CCMM, the
Center for Information, Education and Action Against Psychological Manipulation). Ikor also
wrote two books to help spread the knowledge they had gained from their research.
This new book is a collaborative effort by the president of CCMM, Mme. Marie Geneve, and
several outstanding experts who have collectively put years of research into this compelling
Hamilton and Ram Dass and his circle were introduced to Joya through Hilda Charlton, a
trusted friend and spiritual teacher in New York. Charlton helped to screen members for
“secret classes” and managed the cult rituals. Hamilton stayed in Joya‟s cult longer than did
Ram Dass, who after two years of embattled devotion, left her and later wrote an exposé of
“the complicated web of lies, deception, sexual misconduct and drug use.”
In chapter 3 Hamilton relates his hapless romance with Mukti Ma Deva Walla, a.k.a. Jane,
another devotee named by Neem Karoli Baba. He met Mukti in 1977. Her Hindu name
means “Goddess Who Sells Enlightenment.” Mukti impressed Hamilton with her incredible
guru recognition --she apparently had met all the “who‟s who” in the current guru market,
including Anandamayima, Amarit Desai, Muktananda, Sai Baba, and Ram Dass. Hamilton
describes Mukti as an insecure adoptee who grew up in a very wealthy family. Her foster
mother eventually cut Jane off after her hippie adventures led to some bizarre habits.
Nevertheless, Mukti manipulated money out of anybody she could con, including Hamilton.
Her spending habits and guru-hopping cost Hamilton more than $150,000. During one five-
month spree Mukti managed to charge an average of $20,000 per month in India --no
mean feat when anyone could live there very comfortably on several hundred dollars per
month.
At the end of the book Hamilton offers a useful glossary of the Sanskrit terms and some of
the psychological jargon he uses. The last two pages are extra charts that can be removed
from the book. If you are a seeker not yet devoted to a psychopath, you might take
Hamilton‟s advice and pin it above your desk or on your refrigerator, or carry it around in
your wallet. Those already trapped by psychopathic gurus may benefit little from such a list
--unfortunately, the effect of the psychopath‟s control over a follower is that just about
anything ends up being justified and rationalized.
Joseph P. Szimhart
Cult Information Specialist/Exit Counselor
Pottstown, Pennsylvania
Les sectes: état d’urgence (Cults: A State of Emergency). C.C.M.M. Centre
Roger Ikor B Centre de documentation, d‟éducation et d‟action contre les manipu-
lations mentales. Editions Albin Michel, Paris, France (23, rue Huyghens, 75013
Paris), 1995.
In the late 1970s a young Frenchman died of malnutrition and resulting complications, even
though he had been out of his cult for six months and was living again with his loving
family. The ravages of his previous “macrobiotic” cult life had gone on too long and were
irreparable at that time. The young man‟s father, Roger Ikor, was a prize-winning writer,
who then tried even harder to learn more about not only the cult his son had been in but
also about cults in general, particularly in France, a country that has attracted a large
number of gurus of every stripe.
Ikor used his prestige and considerable influence to interest other people in this urgent
subject. With the help of these friends, he founded Centre Roger Ikor, Centre de
documentation, d‟éducation et d‟action contre les manipulations mentales (CCMM, the
Center for Information, Education and Action Against Psychological Manipulation). Ikor also
wrote two books to help spread the knowledge they had gained from their research.
This new book is a collaborative effort by the president of CCMM, Mme. Marie Geneve, and
several outstanding experts who have collectively put years of research into this compelling
