We may need any local investigative journalists from local papers in the region of Monte Sahaja ashram to really investigate the cult issues and money there. We can invite them for discussion here at this forum. They may later write articles like "A New Osho in Monte Amoreiras..."
Do anyone remember the name of the journalist who reported about the fire in Monte Sahaja in last year 2017 and his/her email or the name of local paper there?

Hi Horowitz,

According to the documents filed by the Moo Foundation, their biggest source of income for 2017 was "media and product income" at 794,249 pounds.

That would be the funds raised by their trading subsidiary, Mooji Media. From what I can gather, these funds are then donated straight to the Moo Foundation, so I doubt they would pay any tax on this money, even though it is technically 'income', earned from trading. I would have to double check the tax laws on this.

Either way, they must be selling a lot of photos of Moo's sacred feet to be earning that amount! No wonder Moo has to pepetuate the whole sham by prtending to be God.

Their second highest source of funds is "donations and gifts" at 424,446 pounds in 2017. Again, as a registered charity, they would not be paying tax on this.

Money raised from retreats seems to be only in the region of 44,000 pounds- so not a lot, really. I can't quite work this out, as I thought it would be more.

It's a good idea to try and find an investigative journalist to look into this group. I was thinking that someone from the UK might like to take it on, as it's an interesting story. I think people would be really interested in this.

Hi Wombat,

I think you might have missed the point a little bit. Constantin is posting directly from Monte Sahaja and he is telling us that Moo is a duplicitous person, who acts one way in front of the cameras and another way when the cameras stop rolling. He can be cold and callous and talk behind people's backs.

He says that Moo is a good talker but fails to deliver on his promises. Constantin also confirms that Moo "likes young women" and had someone kicked out of the ashram for being attracted to (ie, wanting to have sex with) the same young woman as Moo himself was.

Constantin also states in a post "this is a cult" and that people are cut off and ostracised when they leave. He has also confirmed that there are public shamings at Monte Sahaja.

If you are posting here because you are curious as whether on not the Moo group are a cult, then Constantin has confirmed for you that they are indeed a cult.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2018 04:04AM by Sahara71.

Hi Happytown,

A study of the power relations within this cult would fascinating in itself! Maybe one day the Moo cult will even be the subject of a documentary film?

What is on the public record is that Moo was originally a trustee of his own charity, but then he resigned from the board of trustees. Did he resign or was he gently pushed out?

Then Moo shows up in official documents as an "employee" earning only around $31,000 U.S. per year. It isn't all that much money, and kind of seems like a demotion, to me.

One thing I am getting out of reading posts here on this forum is that Moo is erratic and moody and quite possibly a narcissist. He might have been a big liability on the board of trustees. There are also reports that Moo never follows through with what he says he will do. So he wouldn't be easy to work with!

I think Moo is cunning, but not all that bright. The board of trustees may well have pushed him out.

Never-the-less, Moo has great power at Monte Sahaja, based mainly on people being deceived into thinking he is a deity or an enlightened being. At the ashram, he can get on with doing what he does best - bullsh*ting people. The running of the whole organisation is done by others.

Let's face it, Moo was not successful at anything else in life before he became a cult leader. He sold chai on the streets- he was never stable and productive. He was a drifter. Not the kind of guy who could run a significant 'charity' and a trading subsidiary.

Of course, the whole Moo show is dependent on keeping him happy and keeping him spouting the spiritual mumbo-jumbo. So the trustees would absolutely turn a blind eye to his relations with different female devotees, his moodiness and his temper.

As rrmoderator pointed out, the board of trustees is probably just a front and everything is controlled by the one guy, based on how he's feeeeeeeeling. A board of trustees is a technical necessity for a UK charity.

rrmoderator wrote:
"No peers?

Sounds like the group is run like a dictatorship.

It also probably has corporate bylaws and a board. My guess is that Moo runs that too without any meaningful accountability.

Again, someone that becomes an object of worship who is also a dictator would fit the criteria associated with a destructive cult."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2018 05:06AM by happytown.

Good point Happytown.

Moo could control the board of trustees from behind the scenes. I had a feeling that he wasn't clever enough to oversee absolutely everything, but who knows?

The toxic power dynamics of oneness

[meaningness.com]

It's one thing to realize that a toxic structure has grown around an authoritarian leader, but it's a different thing to scapegoat that structure in order to keep your view of that leader pure.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2018 05:33AM by happytown.

Sahra71,
"Money raised from retreats seems to be only in the region of 44,000 pounds- so not a lot, really. I can't quite work this out, as I thought it would be more..."

Moo foundation does not match my calculations and I think they are incorrect, I remember that they ran 4 retreats in Monte Sahaja and one in Zmar in year 2017.
4 x Monta Sahaja retreats is 120 people x E500 = 240 000 Euros (food and tent included)
Zmar retreat is 850 people x E375 = 318 000 Euros. (food and tent not included).

I do not know if the profits from paid retreats go directly into Moo foundation or go in Mooji Media Ltd company to be taxed or not. My guess is Monta Sahaja ashram lives from donation, shops, paid visitors, and the paid ashram retreats only and the Mooji Media, Ltd runs the paid retreats outsides of Monte Sahaja, Mooji's TV, books and makes the profit only for Moo.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2018 10:35AM by Horowitz.

The Moo Foundation and "its daughter" Associacao Mooji Sangha charity-ashram do publish their financial records (1-2 mils Euros a year, online), I think they have used the money to build up the whole ashram in Monte Sahaja and for some salaries there. The ashram at Monte Sahaja is registered as a charity and run a lot of paid retreats everywhere and additionally hundreds of paying visitors/tourists live there for months. One shop and two cafes are there as well. The money are on the foundation/ashram account and the board manage the entire stuff. But the only legal problem I see there is that the commercial Mooji Media Ltd company operates its business within the charity/ashram and make profits which is based on some products and property of the charity.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/2018 05:55AM by Horowitz.

Hi Horowitz,

Take a look at this link:

[www.gov.uk]

It explains the rules guiding the use of trading subsidiaries to reduce the amount of tax a charity pays.

In this case, the 'charity' is the Moo Foundation and the 'trading subsidiary' is Mooji Media LTD.

Using the 'beneficiaries' of your charity as employees is one way of getting a tax exemption. For this purpose, the 'beneficiaries' of the Moo Foundation would be the ashram devotees, as the charity exists for their benefit. (At least on paper!!)

I'm not sure about how the Moo Foundation get around having them work for free, though. In ashram terms this free labor is called 'seva', but in legal terms, I'm not sure how it works.

According to the paperwork filed by the Moo Foundation, the ashram is Portugal gets by on 'grants' from the Moo Foundation, to the tune of around 400,000 pounds for the year ending in 2017.

What happens to the money they earn from their chai shop and restaurant, also staffed with free labor form devotees? It's hard to say, just going by their records.

They do have a lawyer and an accountant on staff in the U.K, so it looks like things are all tied up fairly watertight.