Many long-term spiritual seekers are waking up to the reality that aligning oneself to an 'enlightened' master often ends in spiritual disappointment and an empty bank account. In the same way that fear is used to control the masses, spiritual hopium proffered by messianic conmen works in the same way. The human mind is an easy target for persuasion. Self reliance and scepticism are the only safeguard against cult figures. Thanks for the enlightening essay.