Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 15, No. 1, 1998, page 63
enlightenment. To such gurus, enlightenment means entitlement to money, power, sex and
unquestioning submission. The illusion to be entertained is that the guru as Andrew Cohen,
son of Luna (or name any enlightened one) is not the person the devotee worships rather,
it is the Absolute Self that has seized Andrew‟s being that is being worshipped. Meanwhile,
little Andrew enjoys the entitlements without taking responsibility --it is the big Absolute
that makes the demands.
Cohen‟s mother found all this “revolution” to be too much to sustain, despite her persistence
in following her godman son‟s challenging commands. Tarlo experienced Cohen‟s ruthless
verbal putdowns about her behavior, her emotions, and her thoughts to the extent that she
did not know who she was any longer. It all began in 1985 when Cohen took his substantial
inheritance from his grandmother and became part of the Western, leisure-class tradition of
spiritual seekers in India. After considerable guru-hopping with his Indian girlfriend and
fellow seeker, Alka, Cohen happened upon H.W.L. Poonja, a then-obscure teacher who
claimed to be of the lineage of Ramana Maharshi. Tarlo later discovered that Ramana
Maharshi (1879-1950) left no lineage. Poonjaji had little to no success gathering devotees
at the time nevertheless, he claimed enlightened status and gave it to Cohen, as if it were
a transferable condition. According to Tarlo, Poonjaji and Cohen were no longer friends at
the time of Poonja‟s death last summer. Cohen, then in his early thirties, got whatever “it”
was from Poonja, and has claimed enlightenment ever since. His version of enlightenment
means that his “personal history” is gone, or, at least, his acknowledgment of it. He
identifies only with the “other” or the Absolute.
Tarlo was with him off and on during this period as she deigned to become one of his
followers. If she had a vulnerability other than being “God‟s” mother, it was her personal
history of self-analysis and seeking that gave her a sophisticated but naive awareness of the
spiritual milieu. In a subtly humorous passage Tarlo recounts how she did not feel
enlightened after both Poonjaji and Andrew said she was. Once she had been set up with
this knowledge, her struggle was to make sense of it, with only her son as a guide. It was a
conundrum she could not easily dismiss. Her break came after she and a few other
Cohenites dared to meet the irascible Indian teacher, U.G. Krishnamurti (no relation to J.
Krishnamurti). U.G. convinced them that they did not need a teacher. It was the nudge
Tarlo needed to stall her ambivalence long enough to feel free of her son‟s control, and seek
further resources to help her gain perspective on her experiences.
Luna Tarlo‟s book is now the must-read publication for anyone wanting to understand
Andrew Cohen beyond his group propaganda. Her book is also a plea to her son to “come
home” to the real person she believes he is. Tarlo argues convincingly that Cohen exhibits
the characteristics of narcissism and anti-social personality disorder. They are not diseases,
but character flaws that the bearer covers with a mask. In this case, the mask could be one
of pseudo-enlightenment, one he is not likely to give up easily. Nor will his cocoon of
devotees permit him to be anything less than their enlightened godman who tinkers with
their awareness. Cohen‟s teachings, as described by Tarlo, remind me exactly of fascism, its
political counterpart. Because he‟s enlightened, Cohen the Absolute believes he has a right
to ask total submission from devotees and then to dictate their reality. Fascist ideas have
some roots in Futurism, an early 20th century art and political movement. The Futurist poet
and leader, F.T. Marinetti, directly influenced Benito Mussolini as well as many proto-Nazis
in two ways: the elite among us “know” the pure spirit world, and to bring that pure world
into mundane life, even war could serve as a purifying agent. Cohen‟s skillful means is his
technique to create “wars” within his devotees to purify them. Or, as Luna Tarlo tells us, to
destroy them by destroying their personal history. Not that there is a connection, but Tarlo
points out that Andrew Cohen likes to smoke cigarettes and drink Italian coffee.
The Futurist Manifesto of 1909 declared “a new beauty ...a roaring motorcar which runs like
a machine-gun, is more beautiful than the Winged Victory of Samothrace ...We wish to
enlightenment. To such gurus, enlightenment means entitlement to money, power, sex and
unquestioning submission. The illusion to be entertained is that the guru as Andrew Cohen,
son of Luna (or name any enlightened one) is not the person the devotee worships rather,
it is the Absolute Self that has seized Andrew‟s being that is being worshipped. Meanwhile,
little Andrew enjoys the entitlements without taking responsibility --it is the big Absolute
that makes the demands.
Cohen‟s mother found all this “revolution” to be too much to sustain, despite her persistence
in following her godman son‟s challenging commands. Tarlo experienced Cohen‟s ruthless
verbal putdowns about her behavior, her emotions, and her thoughts to the extent that she
did not know who she was any longer. It all began in 1985 when Cohen took his substantial
inheritance from his grandmother and became part of the Western, leisure-class tradition of
spiritual seekers in India. After considerable guru-hopping with his Indian girlfriend and
fellow seeker, Alka, Cohen happened upon H.W.L. Poonja, a then-obscure teacher who
claimed to be of the lineage of Ramana Maharshi. Tarlo later discovered that Ramana
Maharshi (1879-1950) left no lineage. Poonjaji had little to no success gathering devotees
at the time nevertheless, he claimed enlightened status and gave it to Cohen, as if it were
a transferable condition. According to Tarlo, Poonjaji and Cohen were no longer friends at
the time of Poonja‟s death last summer. Cohen, then in his early thirties, got whatever “it”
was from Poonja, and has claimed enlightenment ever since. His version of enlightenment
means that his “personal history” is gone, or, at least, his acknowledgment of it. He
identifies only with the “other” or the Absolute.
Tarlo was with him off and on during this period as she deigned to become one of his
followers. If she had a vulnerability other than being “God‟s” mother, it was her personal
history of self-analysis and seeking that gave her a sophisticated but naive awareness of the
spiritual milieu. In a subtly humorous passage Tarlo recounts how she did not feel
enlightened after both Poonjaji and Andrew said she was. Once she had been set up with
this knowledge, her struggle was to make sense of it, with only her son as a guide. It was a
conundrum she could not easily dismiss. Her break came after she and a few other
Cohenites dared to meet the irascible Indian teacher, U.G. Krishnamurti (no relation to J.
Krishnamurti). U.G. convinced them that they did not need a teacher. It was the nudge
Tarlo needed to stall her ambivalence long enough to feel free of her son‟s control, and seek
further resources to help her gain perspective on her experiences.
Luna Tarlo‟s book is now the must-read publication for anyone wanting to understand
Andrew Cohen beyond his group propaganda. Her book is also a plea to her son to “come
home” to the real person she believes he is. Tarlo argues convincingly that Cohen exhibits
the characteristics of narcissism and anti-social personality disorder. They are not diseases,
but character flaws that the bearer covers with a mask. In this case, the mask could be one
of pseudo-enlightenment, one he is not likely to give up easily. Nor will his cocoon of
devotees permit him to be anything less than their enlightened godman who tinkers with
their awareness. Cohen‟s teachings, as described by Tarlo, remind me exactly of fascism, its
political counterpart. Because he‟s enlightened, Cohen the Absolute believes he has a right
to ask total submission from devotees and then to dictate their reality. Fascist ideas have
some roots in Futurism, an early 20th century art and political movement. The Futurist poet
and leader, F.T. Marinetti, directly influenced Benito Mussolini as well as many proto-Nazis
in two ways: the elite among us “know” the pure spirit world, and to bring that pure world
into mundane life, even war could serve as a purifying agent. Cohen‟s skillful means is his
technique to create “wars” within his devotees to purify them. Or, as Luna Tarlo tells us, to
destroy them by destroying their personal history. Not that there is a connection, but Tarlo
points out that Andrew Cohen likes to smoke cigarettes and drink Italian coffee.
The Futurist Manifesto of 1909 declared “a new beauty ...a roaring motorcar which runs like
a machine-gun, is more beautiful than the Winged Victory of Samothrace ...We wish to
