Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 15, No. 1, 1998, page 62
someone had turned the dial on a radio, I was on another frequency-playing in the sand
along the Nile River in Egypt.” Her mother later “confirmed” for her that she had a “past
life” memory. In 1978 I heard from CUT devotees who were close friends of mine that
“Mother” (Elizabeth Prophet) suffered from petit mal seizures, a type of epilepsy.
Researcher and long-time CUT critic, Kathy Schmook of Montana, also discovered that those
closest to Prophet are aware of her disorder. Anyone familiar with this type of temporal lobe
disorder knows how vivid and “spiritual” one‟s imagination becomes during the “aura” prior
to an epileptic incident, which does not always include a seizure. If the epilepsy connection
is true, it goes a long way to explain why it is important for Prophet to construct an
alternative reality rather than admit to embarrassing fantasies triggered by a neurological
dysfunction.
In my opinion, that is the purpose of this book: to shore up one woman‟s prophecies about
herself and her devotees. CUT devotees have told me that Prophet “remembers” that she
was Queen Nefertiti, Catherine the Great, Catherine of Sienna, St. Martha, Lady Guinevere,
and others. She “remembered” that her middle daughter, Moira, was John F. Kennedy, and
her daughter-coauthor Erin was none other than the heroic Mahatma Gandhi. Although you
will not find this “personal” information in Reincarnation, CUT devotees have been aware of
the famous lives of all the Prophet family since the early 1970s from Summit Lighthouse
books and group gossip.
Joseph P. Szimhart
Cult Information Specialist
Pottstown, Pennsylvania
The Mother of God. Luna Tarlo. Plover Press, Brooklyn, NY, 1997, 319 pages.
“A mother‟s account of her experience as a disciple of her son, a well-known American guru,
and of her struggle to free herself from his control” is the apt subtitle of this intimate,
revealing story by Luna Tarlo. Beyond the story, it is the author‟s effort to make sense of
the spiritual seeker‟s folly, her folly, of absorption into the enigmatic manipulation of a
controversial guru. In her case it is easy to see why she was attracted to Andrew Cohen in
the first place: she loves her son. When he transformed into an enlightened guru in India
some 10 years ago, he no longer related to her as her son. He became her “god,” an
embodiment of the Absolute Self that all persons must know and experience to be truly
“free.” Tarlo struggled to make sense of this, and for some years capitulated to whatever
degree she could to the guru-chela (disciple or slave) relationship that Andrew exacted. She
was somewhat overwhelmed at Andrew‟s uncanny ability to collect devotees who
“experienced” enlightenment from him, but she finally broke the spell while living in one of
the group homes (sanghas) in 1989. Her recovery from that spell has not been an easy
journey. Her story is one that many disenchanted devotees of gurus will understand.
Today, dozens to hundreds of devotees -some quite wealthy -support Cohen and his
enlightened status. He has established FACE (Friends of Andrew Cohen Everywhere) centers
in many cities around the world under the Moksha Foundation in Lenox, Massachusetts. By
New Age-guru standards, Cohen has not reached great numbers of followers, but he is one
of the more recent rising stars. His biannual magazine, What Is Enlightenment?, is a slick
production that features articles by and about some of the more fashionable spiritual
teachers. For example, a recent edition features Ken Wilbur, Georg Feuerstein, and Deepak
Chopra. And, of course, Andrew Cohen. In his article, “Releasing the Unspeakable Glory of
the Absolute,” Cohen talks about his philosophy like a broken guru record: “The true Self
cares only about itSelf [sic] ...that power reveals itself to be a hurricane of destruction
leaving in its wake only perfect peace and unqualified harmony ...permanent revolution of
body, mind and soul...” Cohen‟s teaching includes skillful means, a euphemism for the
guru-can-do-anything to trick, attract, coerce, embarrass, or shock a devotee who wants
someone had turned the dial on a radio, I was on another frequency-playing in the sand
along the Nile River in Egypt.” Her mother later “confirmed” for her that she had a “past
life” memory. In 1978 I heard from CUT devotees who were close friends of mine that
“Mother” (Elizabeth Prophet) suffered from petit mal seizures, a type of epilepsy.
Researcher and long-time CUT critic, Kathy Schmook of Montana, also discovered that those
closest to Prophet are aware of her disorder. Anyone familiar with this type of temporal lobe
disorder knows how vivid and “spiritual” one‟s imagination becomes during the “aura” prior
to an epileptic incident, which does not always include a seizure. If the epilepsy connection
is true, it goes a long way to explain why it is important for Prophet to construct an
alternative reality rather than admit to embarrassing fantasies triggered by a neurological
dysfunction.
In my opinion, that is the purpose of this book: to shore up one woman‟s prophecies about
herself and her devotees. CUT devotees have told me that Prophet “remembers” that she
was Queen Nefertiti, Catherine the Great, Catherine of Sienna, St. Martha, Lady Guinevere,
and others. She “remembered” that her middle daughter, Moira, was John F. Kennedy, and
her daughter-coauthor Erin was none other than the heroic Mahatma Gandhi. Although you
will not find this “personal” information in Reincarnation, CUT devotees have been aware of
the famous lives of all the Prophet family since the early 1970s from Summit Lighthouse
books and group gossip.
Joseph P. Szimhart
Cult Information Specialist
Pottstown, Pennsylvania
The Mother of God. Luna Tarlo. Plover Press, Brooklyn, NY, 1997, 319 pages.
“A mother‟s account of her experience as a disciple of her son, a well-known American guru,
and of her struggle to free herself from his control” is the apt subtitle of this intimate,
revealing story by Luna Tarlo. Beyond the story, it is the author‟s effort to make sense of
the spiritual seeker‟s folly, her folly, of absorption into the enigmatic manipulation of a
controversial guru. In her case it is easy to see why she was attracted to Andrew Cohen in
the first place: she loves her son. When he transformed into an enlightened guru in India
some 10 years ago, he no longer related to her as her son. He became her “god,” an
embodiment of the Absolute Self that all persons must know and experience to be truly
“free.” Tarlo struggled to make sense of this, and for some years capitulated to whatever
degree she could to the guru-chela (disciple or slave) relationship that Andrew exacted. She
was somewhat overwhelmed at Andrew‟s uncanny ability to collect devotees who
“experienced” enlightenment from him, but she finally broke the spell while living in one of
the group homes (sanghas) in 1989. Her recovery from that spell has not been an easy
journey. Her story is one that many disenchanted devotees of gurus will understand.
Today, dozens to hundreds of devotees -some quite wealthy -support Cohen and his
enlightened status. He has established FACE (Friends of Andrew Cohen Everywhere) centers
in many cities around the world under the Moksha Foundation in Lenox, Massachusetts. By
New Age-guru standards, Cohen has not reached great numbers of followers, but he is one
of the more recent rising stars. His biannual magazine, What Is Enlightenment?, is a slick
production that features articles by and about some of the more fashionable spiritual
teachers. For example, a recent edition features Ken Wilbur, Georg Feuerstein, and Deepak
Chopra. And, of course, Andrew Cohen. In his article, “Releasing the Unspeakable Glory of
the Absolute,” Cohen talks about his philosophy like a broken guru record: “The true Self
cares only about itSelf [sic] ...that power reveals itself to be a hurricane of destruction
leaving in its wake only perfect peace and unqualified harmony ...permanent revolution of
body, mind and soul...” Cohen‟s teaching includes skillful means, a euphemism for the
guru-can-do-anything to trick, attract, coerce, embarrass, or shock a devotee who wants
