hello everyone,
does anyone know what's going on with the trial or where i can find more information?
thanks!

I believe you.

Michael Lyons will go on trial in March 2009. FBI agents and Detectives from London came over to the United States to interview people who knew him or were raped by him.

What follows below are characteristics of a cult leader. These are given so that the reader may understand what to look for in patterns of cult leadership. The text was excerpted from chapter five of Captive Hearts Captive Minds by Madeline Landau Tobias and Janja Lalich pp. 67-79, and is reprinted with permission of the author.

Psychopathy and the Characteristics of a Cult Leader

In general, charismatic personalities are known for their inescapable magnetism, their winning style, the self assurance with which they promote something, a cause, a belief, a product. A charismatic person who offers hope of new beginnings often attracts attention and a following. Over the years we have witnessed the likes of this in Dale Carnegie, Werner Erhard (founder of est, now the Forum), John Hanley (founder of Lifespring), Mahareshi Mahesh Yogi, Shirley MacLaine, John Bradshaw, Marianne Williamson, Ramtha channeler J. Z. Knight, and a rash of Amway "executives," weight loss program promoters and body building gurus.

One dictionary definition of charisma is "a personal magic of leadership arousing special popular loyalty or enthusiasm for a public figure (as a political leader or military commander); a special magnetic charm, or appeal." (5) Charisma was studied in depth by the German sociologist Max Weber, who defined it as "an exceptional quality in an individual who, through appearing to possess supernatural, providential or extraordinary powers, succeeds in gathering disciples around him."(6)

Weber's charismatic leader was "a sorcerer with an innovative aura and a personal magnetic gift, [who] promoted a specific doctrine....[and was] concerned with himself rather than involved with others....[He] held an exceptional type of power: it set aside the usage's of normal political life and assumed instead those of demagoguery, dictatorship, or revolution, [which induced] men's whole hearted devotion to the charismatic individual through a blind and fanatical trust and an unrestrained and uncritical faith."(7)

In the case of cults, of course, we know that this induction of whole hearted devotion does not happen spontaneously but is the result of the cult leader's skillful use of thought-reform techniques. Charisma on it's own is not evil and does nor necessarily breed a cult leader. Charisma is, however, a powerful and awesome attribute found in many cult leaders who use it in ways that are both self-serving and destructive to others. The combination of charisma and psychopathy is a Lethal mixture - perhaps it is the very recipe used at the Cookie-cutter Messiah School!

For the cult leader, having charisma is perhaps most useful during the stage of cult formation. It takes a strong-willed and persuasive leader to convince people of a new belief, then gather the newly converted around him as devoted followers. A misinterpretation of the cult leader's personal charisma may also foster his followers' belief in his special or messianic qualities.

So we see that charisma is indeed a desirable trait for someone who wishes to attract a following. However, like beauty, charisma is in the eye of the beholder. Mary, for example, may be completely taken with a particular seminar leader, practically swooning at his every word, while her friend Susie doesn't feel the slightest tingle. Certainly at the time a person is under the sway of charisma the effect is very real. Yet, in reality, charisma does nothing more than create a certain worshipful reaction to an idealized figure in the mind of the one who is smitten.

In the long run, skills of persuasion (which may or may not be charismatic) are more important to the cult leader than charisma - for the power and hold of cults depend on the particular environment shaped by the thought-reform program and control mechanisms, all of which are usually conceptualized and put in place by the leader. Thus it is the psychopathology of the leader, not his charisma, that causes the systematic manipulative abuse and exploitation found in cults.

The Cult Leader as Psychopath

Cultic groups and relationships are formed primarily to meet specific emotional needs of the leader, many of whom suffer from one or another emotional or character disorder. Few, if any, cult leaders subject themselves to the psychological tests or prolonged clinical interviews that allow for an accurate diagnosis. However, researchers and clinicians who have observed these individuals describe them variously as neurotic, psychotic, on a spectrum exhibiting neurotic, sociopathic, and psychotic characteristics, or suffering from a diagnosed personality disorder.

It is not our intent here to make an overarching diagnosis, nor do we intend to imply that all cult leaders or the leaders of any of the groups mentioned here are psychopaths. In reviewing the data, however, we can surmise that there is significant psychological dysfunctioning in some cult leaders and that their behavior demonstrates features rather consistent with the disorder known as psychopathy.

Dr. Robert Hare, one of the world's foremost experts in the field, estimates that there are at least two million psychopaths in North America. He writes, "Psychopaths are social predators who charm, manipulate, and ruthlessly plow their way through life, leaving a broad trail of broken hearts, shattered expectations, and empty wallets. Completely lacking in conscience and in feelings for others, they selfishly take what they want and do as they please, violating social norms and expectations without the slightest sense of guilt or regret."

Psychopathy falls within the section on personality disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is the standard source book used in making psychiatric evaluations and diagnoses. In the draft version of the manual's 4th edition (to be released Spring 1994), this disorder is listed as "personality disorder not otherwise specified/ Cleckley-type psychopath," named after psychiatrist Hervey Cleckley who carried out the first major studies of psychopaths. The combination of personality and behavioral traits that allows for this diagnosis must be evident in the person's history, not simply apparent during a particular episode. That is, psychopathy is a long-term personality disorder. The term psychopath is often used interchangeably with sociopath, or sociopathic personality. Because it is more commonly recognized, we use the term psychopath here.

Personality disorders, as a diagnosis, relate to certain inflexible and maladaptive behaviors and traits that cause a person to have significantly impaired social or occupational functioning. Signs of this are often first manifested in childhood and adolescence, and are expressed through distorted patterns of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about the environment and oneself. In simple terms this means that something is amiss, awry, not quite right in the person, and this creates problems in how he or she relates to the rest of the world.

The psychopathic personality is sometimes confused with the "antisocial personality," another disorder; however, the psychopath exhibits more extreme behavior than the antisocial personality. The antisocial personality is identified by a mix of antisocial and criminal behaviors--he is the common criminal. The psychopath, on the other hand, is characterized by a mix of criminal and socially deviant behavior.

Psychopathy is not the same as psychosis either. The latter is characterized by an inability to differentiate what is real from what is imagined boundaries between self and others are lost, and critical thinking is greatly impaired. While generally not psychotic, cult leaders may experience psychotic episodes, which may lead to the destruction of themselves or the group. An extreme example of this is the mass murder-suicide that occurred in November 1978 in Jonestown, Guyana, at the People's Temple led by Jim Jones. On his orders, over 900 men, women, and children perished as Jones deteriorated into what was probably a paranoid psychosis. The psychopathic personality has been well described by Hervey Cleckley in his classic work, The "Mask of Sanity", first published in 1941 and updated and reissued in 1982. Cleckley is perhaps best known for his "The Three Faces of Eve", a book and later a popular movie on multiple personality. Cleckley also gave the world a detailed study of the personality and behavior of the psychopath, listing 16 characteristics to be used in evaluating and treating psychopaths. Cleckley's work greatly influenced 20 years of research carried out by Robert Hare at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. In his work developing reliable and valid procedures for assessing psychopathy, Hare made several revisions in Cleckley's list of traits and finally settled on a 20-item Psychopathy Checklist. Later in this chapter we will use an adaptation of both the Cleckley and Hare checklists to examine the profile of a cult leader.

Neuropsychiatrist Richard M. Restak stated, "At the heart of the diagnosis of psychopathy was the recognition that a person could appear normal and yet close observation would reveal the personality to be irrational or even violent". Indeed, initially most psychopaths appear quite normal. They present themselves to us as charming, interesting, even humble. The majority "don't suffer from delusions, hallucinations, or memory impairment, their contract with reality appears solid." Some, on the other hand, may demonstrate marked paranoia and megalomania. In one clinical study of psychopathic inpatients, the authors wrote "We found that our psychopaths were similar to normals (in the reference group) with regard to their capacity to experience external events as real and with regard to their sense of bodily reality. They generally had good memory, concentration, attention, and language function. They had a high barrier against external, aversive stimulation....In some ways they clearly resemble normal people and can thus 'pass' as reasonably normal or sane. Yet we found them to be extremely primitive in other ways, even more primitive than frankly schizophrenic patients. In some ways their thinking was sane and reasonable, but in others it was psychotically inefficient and/or convoluted."

Another researcher described psychopaths in this way These people are impulsive, unable to tolerate frustration and delay, and have problems with trusting. They take a paranoid position or externalize their emotional experience. They have little ability to form a working alliance and a poor capacity for self-observation. Their anger is frightening. Frequently they take flight. Their relations with others are highly problematic. When close to another person they fear engulfment or fusion or loss of self. At the same time, paradoxically, they desire closeness; frustration of their entitled wishes to be nourished, cared for, and assisted often leads to rage. They are capable of a child's primitive fury enacted with an adult's physical capabilities, and action is always in the offing." Ultimately, "the psychopath must have what he wants, no matter what the cost to those in his way."

The Master Manipulator

Let us look for a moment at how some of this manifests in the cult leader. Cult leaders have an outstanding ability to charm and win over followers. They beguile and seduce. They enter a room and garner all the attention. They command the utmost respect and obedience. These are "individuals whose narcissism is so extreme and grandiose that they exist in a land of splendid isolation in which the creation of the grandiose self takes precedence over legal, moral or interpersonal commitments."

Paranoia may be evident in simple or elaborate delusions of persecution. Highly suspicious, they may feel conspired against, spied upon or cheated, or maligned by a person, group, or governmental agency. Any real or suspected unfavorable reaction may be interpreted as a deliberate attack upon them or the group. (Considering the criminal nature of some groups and the and social behavior of others, some of these fears may have more of a basis in reality than delusion!) Harder to evaluate, of course, is whether these leaders' belief in their magical powers, omnipotence, and connection to God (or whatever higher power or belief system they are espousing) is delusional or simply part of the con. Megalomania--the belief that one is able or entitled to rule the world--is equally hard to evaluate without psychological testing of the individual, although numerous cult leaders state quite readily that their goal is to rule the world. In any case, beneath the surface gloss of intelligence, charm, and professed humility seethes an inner world of rage, depression, and fear.

Two writers on the subject used the label 'Trust Bandit' to describe the psychopathic personality. Trust Bandit is indeed an apt description of this thief of our hearts, souls, minds, bodies, and pocketbooks. Since a significant percentage of current and former cult members have been in more than one cultic group or relationship, learning to recognize the personality style of the Trust Bandit can be a useful antidote to further abuse.

The Profile of a Psychopath

In reading the profile, bear in mind the three characteristics that Robert Lifton sees as common to a cultic situation

1. A charismatic leader who...increasingly becomes the object of worship

2. A series of processes that can be associated with "coercive persuasion" or "thought reform"

3. The tendency toward manipulation from above...with exploitation-economic, sexual, or other--of often genuine seekers who bring idealism from below

Based on the psychopathy checklists of Hervey Cleckley and Robert Hare, we now explore certain traits that are particularly pertinent to cult leaders. The fifteen characteristics outlined below list features commonly found in those who become perpetrators of psychological and physical abuse. In the discussion we use the nomenclature "psychopath" and "cult leader" interchangeably. To illustrate these points, a case study of Branch Davidian cult leader David Koresh follows this section.

We are not suggesting that all cult leaders are psychopaths but rather that they may exhibit many of the behavioral characteristics of one. We are also not proposing that you use this checklist to make a diagnosis, which is something only a trained professional can do. We present the checklist as a tool to help you label and demystify traits you may have noticed in your leader.

1.Glibness/Superficial charm

Glibness is a hallmark of psychopaths. They are able to use language effortlessly to beguile, confuse, and convince. They are captivating storytellers. They exude self-confidence and are able to spin a web that intrigues others and pulls them into the psychopath's life. Most of all, they are persuasive. Frequently they have the capacity to destroy their critics verbally or disarm them emotionally.

2.Manipulative and Conning

Cult leaders do not recognize the individuality or rights of others, which makes all self-serving behaviors permissible. The hallmark of the psychopath is the psychopathic maneuver; which is essentially interpersonal manipulation "based on charm. The manipulator appears to be helpful, charming, even ingratiating or seductive, but is covertly hostile, domineering....[The victim] is perceived as an aggressor, competitor, or merely as an instrument to be used....The manipulation inevitably becomes the end-all and is no longer qualified by the reality principle." In other words, there are no checks on the psychopath's behavior--anything goes. The Psychopath divides the world into suckers, sinners, and himself. He discharges powerful feelings of terror and rage by dominating and humiliating his victims. He is particularly successful when, through an overlay of charm, he makes an ally of his victim--a process sometimes described as emotional vampirism or emotional terrorism. Examples of this type of manipulation are plentiful in the literature of Jonestown and other cultic groups. It is especially prevalent in the one-on-one cultic relationship, where there is direct involvement with the manipulator.

3. Grandiose Sense of Self

The cult leader enjoys tremendous feelings of entitlement. He believes everything is owed to him as a right. Preoccupied with his own fantasies, he must always be the center of attention. He presents himself as the "Ultimate One" enlightened, a vehicle of God, a genius, the leader of humankind, and sometimes even the most humble of humble. He has an insatiable need for adulation and attendance. His grandiosity may also be a defense against inner emptiness, depression, and a sense of insignificance. Paranoia often accompanies the grandiosity, reinforcing the isolation of the group and the need for protection against a perceived hostile environment. In this way, he creates an us-versus-them mentality.

4.Pathological Lying

Psychopaths lie coolly and easily, even when it is obvious they are being untruthful. It is almost impossible for them to be consistently truthful about either a major or minor issue. They lie for no apparent reason, even when it would seem easier and safer to tell the truth. This is sometimes called "crazy lying." Confronting their lies may provoke an unpredictably incense rage or simply a Buddha-like smile.

Another form of lying common among cult leaders is known as pseudologica fantastica, an extension of pathological lying. Leaders tend to create a complex belief system, often about their own powers and abilities, in which they themselves sometimes get caught up. "It is often difficult to determine whether the lies are an actual delusional distortion of reality or are expressed with the conscious or unconscious intent to deceive. These manipulators are rarely original thinkers. Plagiarists and thieves, they seldom credit the true originators of ideas, often co-opting authorship. They are extremely convincing, forceful in the expression of their views, and talented at passing lie detector tests. For them, objective truth does not exist. The only "truth" is whatever will best achieve the outcome that meets their needs. This type of opportunism is very difficult to understand for those who are not psychopaths. For this reason, followers are more apt to invent or go along with all kinds of explanations and rationales for apparent inconsistencies in behavior "I know my guru must have had a good reason for doing this." "He did it because he loves me even though it hurts."

5. Lack of Remorse, Shame, or Guilt

At the core of the psychopath is a deep-seated rage which is split off (i.e, psychologically separated from the rest of the self) and repressed. Some researchers theorize that this is caused by feeling abandoned in infancy or early childhood. Whatever the emotional or psychological source, psychopaths see those around them as objects, targets, or opportunities, not as people. They do not have friends, they have victims and accomplices-and the latter frequently end as victims. For psychopaths, the ends always justify the means. Thus there is no place for feelings of remorse, shame, or guilt. Cult leaders feel justified in all their actions since they consider themselves the ultimate moral arbiter. Nothing gets in their way.

6. Shallow Emotions

While they may display outbursts of emotion, more often than not they are putting on a calculated response to obtain a certain result. They rarely reveal a range of emotions, and what is seen is superficial at best, pretended at worst. Positive feelings of warmth, joy, love, and compassion are more feigned than experienced. They are unmoved by things that would upset the normal person, while outraged by insignificant matters. They are bystanders to the emotional life of others, perhaps envious and scornful of feelings they cannot have or understand. In the end, psychopaths are cold, with shallow emotions, living in a dark world of their own.

Hiding behind the "mask of sanity," the cult leader exposes feelings only insofar as they serve an ulterior motive. He can witness or order acts of utter brutality without experiencing a shred of emotion. He casts himself in a role of total control, which he plays to the hilt. What is most promised in cults--peace, joy, enlightenment, love, and security are goals that are forever out of reach of the leader, and thus also the followers. Since the leader is not genuine, neither are his promises

7. Incapacity for Love

As the "living embodiment of God's love," the leader is tragically flawed in being unable to either give or receive love. Love substitutes are given instead. A typical example might be the guru's claim that his illness or misfortune (otherwise inconsistent with his enlightened state) is caused by the depth of his compassion for his followers, whereby he takes on their negative karma. Not only are devotees supposed to accept this as proof of his love but also are expected to feel guilt for their failings! It becomes impossible for members to disprove this claim once they have accepted the beliefs of the group.

The leader's tremendous need to be loved is accompanyied by an equally strong disbelief in the love offered him by his followers; hence, the often unspeakably cruel and harsh testing of his devotees. Unconditional surrender is an absolute requirement. In one cult, for example, the mother of two small children was made to tell them nightly that she loved her leader more than them. Later, as a test of her devotion, she was asked to give up custody of her children in order to be allowed to stay with her leader. The guru's love is never tested; it must be accepted at face value.

8. Need for Stimulation

Thrill-seeking behaviors, often skirting the letter or spirit of the law, are common among psychopaths. Such behavior is sometimes justified as preparation for martyrdom "I know I don't have long to live; therefore my time on this earth must be lived to the fullest." "Surely even I am entitled to have fun or sin a little." This type of behavior becomes more frequent as the leader deteriorates emotionally and psychologically--a common occurrence.

Cult leaders live on the edge, constantly testing the beliefs of their followers, often with increasingly bizarre behaviors, punishments, and rules. Other mechanisms of stimulation come in the form of unexpected, seemingly spontaneous outbursts, which usually take the form of verbal abuse and sometimes physical punishment. The psychopath has a cool indifference to things around him, yet his icy coldness can quicky turn into rage, vented on those around him.

9. Callousness/lack of empathy

Psychopaths readily take advantage of others, expressing utter contempt for anyone else's feelings. Someone in distress is not important to them. Although intelligent, perceptive, and quite good at sizing people up, they make no real connections with others. They use their "people skills" to exploit, abuse, and wield power.

Psychopaths are unable to empathize with the pain of their victims. Meanwhile, part of the victims' denial system is the inability to believe that someone they love so much could consciously and callously hurt them. It therefore becomes easier to rationalize the leader's behavior as necessary for the general or individual "good." The alternative for the devotee would be to face the sudden and overwhelming awareness of being victimized, deceived, used. Such a realization would wound the person's deepest sense of self, so as a means of self-protection the person denies the abuse. When and if the devotee becomes aware of the exploitation, it feels as though a tremendous evil has been done, a spiritual rape.

10 . Poor Behavioral Controls/Impulsive Nature

Like small children, many psychopaths have difficulty regulating their emotions. Adults who have temper tantrums are frightening to be around. Rage and abuse, alternating with token expressions of love and approval, produce an addictive cycle for both abuser and abused, as well as create a sense of hopelessness in the latter. This dynamic has also been recognized in relation to domestic abuse and the battering of women. The cult leader acts out with some regularity--often privately, sometimes publicly--usually to the embarrassment and dismay of his followers and other observers. He may act out sexually, aggressively, or criminally, frequently with rage. Who could possibly control someone who believes himself to be all-powerful, all-knowing, and entitled to every wish, someone who has no sense of personal boundaries, no concern for the impact on those around him? Generally this aberrant behavior is a well-kept secret, known only to a few disciples. The others only see perfection. These tendencies are related to the psychopath's need for stimulation and inability to tolerate frustration, anxiety, and depression. Often a leader's inconsistent behavior needs to be rationalized by either the leader or the follower in order to maintain internal consistency. It is often regarded as divinely inspired and further separates the empowered from the powerless.

11. Early Behavior Problems/juvenile delinquency

Psychopaths frequently have a history of behavioral and academic difficulties. They often "get by" academically, conning other students and teachers. Encounters with juvenile authorities are frequent. Equally prevalent are difficulties in peer relationships and developing and keeping friends, marked control problems, and other aberrant behaviors such as stealing, fire setting, and cruelty to others.

12. Irresponsibility/Unreliability

Not concerned about the consequences of their behavior, psychopaths leave behind them the wreckage of others' lives and dreams. They may be totally oblivious or indifferent to the devastation they inflict on others, something which they regard as neither their problem nor their responsibility.

Psychopaths rarely accept blame for their failures or mistakes. Scape goating is common, blaming followers, those outside the group, a member's family, the government, Satan--anyone and everyone but the leader. The blaming may follow a ritualized procedure such as a trial, "hot seat" denunciation, or public confession (either one-on-one or in front of the group). Blame is a powerful reinforcer of passivity and obedience, producing guilt, shame, terror, and conformity in the followers.

13. Promiscuous Sexual behavior/infidelity

Promiscuity, child sexual abuse, polygamy, rape, and sexual acting out of all sorts are frequently practiced by cult leaders. Conversely, there is often stringent sexual control of the followers through such tactics as enforced celibacy, arranged marriages, forced breakups and divorces, removal of children from their parents, forced abortions or mandated births. For psychopaths, sex is primarily a control and power issue.

Along with this behavior comes vast irresponsibility not only for the followers' emotions but also for their lives. In one cult, for example, multiple sexual relations were encouraged even while one of the top leaders was known to be HIV positive. This kind of negligence toward others is not uncommon in the psychopath's world.

Marital fidelity is rare in the psychopath's life. There are usually countless reports of extramarital affairs and sexual predation upon adult and child members of both sexes. The sexual behavior of the leader may be kept hidden from all but the inner circle or may be part of accepted group sexual practices. In any case, due to the power imbalance between leader and followers, sexual contact is never truly consensual and is likely to have damaging consequences for the follower.

14. Lack of realistic life plan/parasitic lifestyle

The psychopath tends to move around a lot, making countless efforts at "starting over while seeking out Fertile new ground to exploit. One day he may appear as a rock musician, the next a messiah; one day a used car salesman, the next the founder of a mass self-transformation program; one day a college professor, the next the new "Lenin" bringing revolution to America.

The flip side of this erratic life planning is the all-encompassing promise for the future that the cult leader makes to his followers. Many groups claim as their goal world domination or salvation at the Apocalypse. The leader is the first to proclaim the utopian nature of the group, which is usually simply another justification for irrational behavior and stringent controls.

The leader's sense of entitlement is often demonstrated by the contrast between his luxurious lifestyle and the impoverishment of his followers. Most cult leaders arc supported by gifts and donations from their followers, who may be pressured to turn over much of their income and worldly possessions to the group. Slavery, enforced prostitution, and a variety of illegal acts for the benefit of the leader are common in a cult milieu. This type of exploitation aptly demonstrates Lifton's third point of idealization from below and exploitation from above.

Psychopaths also tend to be preoccupied with their own health while remaining totally indifferent to the suffering of others. They may complain of being "burned out" due to the burden of "caring for" their followers, sometimes stating they do not have long to live, instilling fear and guilt in their devotees and encouraging further servitude. they are highly sensitive to their own pain and tend to be hypochondriacs, which often conflicts with their public image of superhuman self-control and healing abilities.

According to them, the illnesses they don't get are due to their powers, while the ones they do get are caused by their "compassion" in taking on their disciples' karma or solving the group's problems. This of course is another guru trick.

15. Criminal or entrepreneurial versatility

Cult leaders change their image and that of the group as needed to avoid prosecution and litigation, to increase income, and to recruit a range of members. Cult leaders have an innate ability to attract followers who have the skills and connections that the leaders lack. The longevity of the group is dependent on the willingness of leadership to adapt as needed and preserve the group. Frequently, when illegal or immoral activities are exposed to the public, the cult leader will relocate, sometimes taking followers with him. He will keep a low profile, only to resurface later with a new name, a new front group, and perhaps a new twist on the scam.

5. Webster's Ninth Collegiate Dictionary, s.v. "charisma"

6. Max Weber, The Sociology of Religion (Boston, Beacon Press 1963)

7. Schiffer


from [www.fwselijah.com]

hi starfish, can you please tell me where you find out the info?
when i search nothing comes up.

Hi Folks,

I want to respect people's experiences, but unfortunately, when I look at these sites, I am not finding any real valid proof that this guy is or was ever arrested. In fact, it seems that some people are just copying and pasting without checking out the sources.

I have heard of this guy, Mohan, but he was never a Tibetan practitioner, just a con man. If he claimed he was a Tibetan it was only to lure people in.

What I have found however, is that someone out there seems to love slinging mud against all Tibetans and Tibetan teachers and they are just writing untruths about some teachers. I know one of the people accused, and he is a fine teacher. It is not Mohan, however.

Mohan definitely appears to have conned a lot of people and worse, I believe every story to be true, but the link posted above is NOT a valid news source.

I scanned the web for four hours and found NO reliable news sources that he was ever arrested, ever! What did I find? Lots of accusations by an anonymous poster, with the same identity, on many boards. And many dead links. Here are the examples. It seems that for some, getting vengeance is somehow appropriate, even if it means dragging people that are innocent into the mess.

www.orato.com (posted above, as a source) bills itself as "YOU are the news". "Sell us your story" It seems, for a price, you can write anything. Also, the author is "citizen correspondent" "anonanon anonanon" I couldn't even find any mention of Mohan on that website!

Now I am really starting to wonder if even Mohan exists, or if he really ever did anything to anyone! That's what happens when one person starts a flurry of accusations, without pointing us to any real, and verifiable truth, or at least a valid news source that does not come from "a friend" or an anti-Tibet website, or some "blog". Accusing someone of rape is a serious accusation. It should be reported, and if there are incidents which are accurately chronicled, then they can be discussed.

As a Tibetan Buddhist practitioner I am not saying that there has never been any sort of abuse to these women, but here, it seems that one particular woman has accused not just one person, but many in the Tibetan community, and there is no proof that 9 out of ten of these people ever did anything. If Mohan is such a bad apple, why is there no mention of it in any of the news sources. I want to be able to believe people, but I cannot and will not summarily believe what someone says, without them backing it up.

In each and every case that I came upon the name of Michael Lyons (aka Mahon Singh) I was lead to Blogs and to non-existing and deleted web pages. Here is an example of 1) a blog by a young lady who says that her friend sent her "a link to a news story about Mohan". [www.newstin.com]

When you click on the link to read the story, there is no story: [thewip.net]

So far, I have not found ONE SINGLE real newspaper article written that says this guy was arrested, or will stand trial.

In addition, all the other links, like the ones posted on guruphiliac.blogspot.com are absurd, and you have to take time to go to each and detail.

The anonymous "tips" that came into the guruphiliac website, which is similar to www.culteducation.com, but very less professional, obviously, are from a woman who claims to have been raped. This is a horrible thing, and a crime. However, she says he was not prosecuted. Why can't I find a real news story about this guy?

Strangely enough, there is another website, and the article on this site has an email, which we also find in the guruphiliac site. Strange coincidence? Obviously not.

If we go to the [portland.indymedia.org] site, you will see that it's author is "anonanon".

When you read the list of names in there you will see that she links Mohan Singh and a Tibetan lama Khenpo Chime Tsering. But I don't see any links to any real stories about people being robbed, or raped, etc. Just an angry diatribe, all behind the shield of anonymity. And the posting here, in this forum, was also posted in the guruphiliac site, in fact they are all cross-posted, each referencing the other.

I want to say here and now that I know one of the individuals that she rages against. It is not Mahon, and she never accuses him of abuse. She is just angry at him.

The fact is that he was supposedly in Mahon's presence does not mean that he is guilty, as Mahon supposedly is.
Tibetan teachers do that they teach, as such they are invited to peoples homes and centers and they give teachings. People who want to go to those do, and make offerings, if and when they can.

I myself hosted one such teacher, for a month, and scheduled teachings across the USA for him. I even went to India and to Malaysia to visit him. Thats what students do.

Even though I do not believe that this teacher did anything wrong, i have already sent out emails. I will find out. As an individual who was also abused sexually at the hands of a religious organization (the Catholic church) I take this woman's claims that she was raped seriously, but she must do more than make a claim, and then shield herself in anonymity. I took a huge million dollar organization to court (Rev Ike, for religious discrimination) and the Catholic Church-for sexual abuse while I was in a boy's home they were running to court. If I could confront two multi million dollar churches and giant organizations with powerful lobbies and lawyers behind them, why can this person not confront a simple monk?

Many of the names and the subjects on the link (http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2007/05/360282.shtml) appear to be specifically aimed at Tibetan Buddhism. Why is it that many of those links themselves are just the same story copied from different blogs, or news stories: someone is very angry at Tibetan Buddhism.

Here is my refutation of those links:

Two of the links appear to be criticisms but are not. They are the same article, from two sources. The one here is actually a pro Tibetan essay written by a foreign Indian journalist. he author has written "An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the World" and "Temptations of the West: How to be Modern in India, Pakistan, Tibet and Beyond". (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/18/magazine/18tibet.html?) These don't sound like books attacking Tibetan Buddhism, to me.

The next link is the authors dead link to something he/she had written but which is no longer there: notice the email name monarchthistle (http://www.geocities.com/monarchthistle/mohan.html)

This next link is by a couple, it appears who also want to paint all of Tibetan Buddhism with a negative brush. Notice the word Lamaists—that term was used in the 17th century by Catholic monks trying to convert the "heathens" in Tibet, and by the Communist Chinese.

Many of the links in there are also NOT negative, but they don't seem to know that. One of the very first links I looked at was an essay by a prominent Tibetan scholar named Donald S. Lopez. He is a friend of Tibetan Buddhist philosophical studies. (http://www.iivs.de/~iivs01311/EN/links.htm)

In their rush to judgement, they too simply noticed one negative word ("fantasy) and they plugged it into their site. If they had taken a closer look, however, they would have noticed that it was not negative at all. (www.beliefnet.com/story/31/story_3167_1.html [The Political Culture of Compassion - How Western fantasy and Tibetan reality have created a spiritual strategy for the Dalai Lama])

Again, I want to be open and honest here, and I want to be respectful of the people who have posted their stories and experiences, but in doing so, I hope that people like anonymous will at least try to validate their stories because when they just post dead links, and copy and paste blogs that don't belong to them then it throws all the accusations of kilt.

I want to be able to come onto the www.culteducation.com site and know that people are honest and for that to happen we have to have some kind of check in place.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/05/2008 08:13PM by Rangdrol.

I feel nauseous after reading all of this because I have also been violated by Dr Mohan. One of the girls in his cult asked me to come for this dinner at their house in London. I met this girl through work. I was in a weak mental stage, just been dumped by my boyfriend.
The dinner proceeded as it has been explained here a few times before. It is scary how the same pattern has been repeated over and over.
I always felt awkward. The girls wrote me weird emails like this one for instance:

How are you? I hope you enjoy. I hope you are taking it easy. and not getting full by all these Indian spiritual peddlers. What happened to you? you selfish. I told you Mo is in India and he is looking for you, but you guys never answered the phone. Be careful that you don't become like this selfish, neurotic Indians, and I hope you weren't fooled by my Indian driver because he is a little devil. Mo gave him lots of money, bought him clothes, and still stealing from us. He's a little thief, very disrespectful. Mo says take care of yourself. Remember to stop and meditate sometime instead of worshipping yourself. Mo says he is looking at you right now, he says you are so selfish. You don't even stop to say hello, no matter how much he is blissing you out you still maintain being selfish. He says be happy, take care of yourself, take care of the illusion. Not many people live with kindness. There are too many sheeps and goats, not many tigers. Millions of sheeps. For God's sake stop living just for you and try and spread some joy around this world.

I wish I could turn back time and have things undone! What a disgusting man.

Hi Paquita
I remember you. Is everything okay? I never stayed with the group because I was always really independent so I didn't like to listen to the "rules" and even though I felt like I was really being healed and helped by Mohan I thought it was really weird that Mohan wasn't exclusively interested in one girl, but would leave with all of them at individual times. Wow I guess this really was a cult with Mohan as the leader. Trickery! I always hated that we always had to wait for him and since I was in school at the time I really didn't have time to wait around for 3 hours in order to eat dinner or just to "hang out".

I actually ran into some girl at my school that also knew Mohan. She actually warned me to watch out and told me her story about how she met him and went to his house (where all of the girls go) after a period of time he tried to force himself on her and the pressure extended to the girls putting pressure on her telling her that "you are draining Mohan's power, he wants to be with you, blah blah blah" She warned me so I was always aware that there was much more going on beneath the surface than simply eating dinner and getting healed with about 15 (on average) girls and waiting around for the "leader" to show up. We always had to wait, then he would always leave with a girl and while he was gone you would have to wait to go home. The adjoining houses were gated with an iron gate that required a key (not that the property was big). What ever happened to Julie the "psychiatrist"? Do you know where she is? I remember a lot of weird stuff going on. Did all of the girls have sex with Mohan? He was always trying to get me to wait but I always new something was up.

I know that for other girls who didn't have lives independent from Mohan it must have been way more intense and almost impossible to act "independently". For me I was an outsider I met Mohan on a whim in a bar he was with two girls and I had my own life. I was in school and had just gotten out of a 1.5 yr relationship. I was supported financially by a grandparent and didn't need any sort of "help". So as an outsider I sort of felt suckered in by simply having to wait around for someone for three hours when I had finals the next day, etc. But for someone that lived there or I remember Mohan saying that you have to break away from your parents I was always thinking "Yeah, you have to be your own person" But I was always independent from my parents anyways. What he meant was you have to "Not let them get in the way of influencing you if someone like me shows up in your life wanting total control!"

This post is a little long anyway Mohan is real for any disbelievers and he is real manipulating. Talk about a real scheme to get laid! The Works!! It is a serious case and a serious accusation I have no doubt that some of these girls that were involved and so believing have undergone serious pain and suffering as a result of being taken advantage of and raped. Unfortunately, due to the extreme extent of manipulation that went on -the whole grand scheme and picture painted- here makes it difficult for others to believe anyone who might have been a victim here. I see that. Also, it is really difficult to find information on this guy Mohan, which leads me to believe he is somehow protected.

If this post can help anyone in any way. I was there and I remember.

Rangdrol,
Obviously he is not a simple monk. Do not insult the intelligence of the many people he has violated. This man is a full grown man that coerced many young women/Teenagers into a whole scenario where he is someone he isn't in a world he created. Not a simple monk! Not a monk at all!

Hi I totally believe you. I do not discount your account. I know one practitioner who shared her experience about Mohan. I am sorry that you had to be involved with that man at all. I totally believe that we must bring these people out into the limelight and expose them for what they are doing.

My question was this: why is it that there are no credible postings on this guy, and his supposed arrest?

Also, the fact that a teacher was affiliated with this man does not automatically mean that that person was guilty. If that person is guilty, i want to see some proof of that, a link that points me to a news article, or a court case. Everything else, is conjecture. That said, again, I am not denying your personal experience. The person who links a tibetan teacher in with Mohan, yes, I totally believe that this teacher was involved, but he was also a target of Mohan, using him, asking that teacher to give teachings. Other tibetan teachers in the US were also conned by this guy, and when they found out just who he was, they turned their backs on him.

Hope I was clearer.