Editing Prem Rawat (section)

===Following===
Estimates of the number of Prem Rawat's adherents have varied widely over time. Petersen stated that Rawat claimed 7 million disciples worldwide in 1973, with 60,000 in the US.<ref>Petersen, William J. ''Those Curious New Cults in the 80s''. New Canaan, Connecticut: Keats Publishing (1982); p. 146., as quoted in "Adherents.com"{{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20080514004247/http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_257.html]}}</ref> Rudin & Rudin gave a worldwide following of 6 million in 1974, of which 50,000 were in the US. According to these authors, the adherents had fallen to 1.2 million for Prem Rawat's personal worldwide following in 1980, with 15,000 in the US.<ref name="R&R">Rudin & Rudin (1980), p. 63</ref> [[Spencer J. Palmer]] and [[Roger R. Keller]] published a general DLM membership of 1.2 million worldwide, with 50,000 in the US, in 1990 and 1997.<ref>[[Spencer J. Palmer]] & [[Roger R. Keller]], ''Religions of the World'', p. 95. 1990 edition quoted in: {{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20080515092545/http://adherents.com/index.html Adherents.com]}}, entry {{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20080514004247/http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_257.html Divine Light Mission]}}</ref>

[[James V. Downton]], who studied Prem Rawat's followers for five years in the 70s, said "these young people had a spiritual experience which deeply affected them and changed the course of their lives. It was an experience which moved many to tears of joy, for they had found the answer they had been seeking".<ref>Downton, James V., ''Sacred Journeys: The conversion of young Americans to Divine Light Mission'', (1979) Columbia University Press. {{ISBN|0-231-04198-5}} "Encounters with God" Page 156</ref> Downton said by 1976 the vast majority of students viewed Rawat "as their spiritual teacher, guide and inspiration". Quoting a student he had studied, Downton said a typical view was that "the only thing he (Rawat) wants is to see people living happily and harmoniously together".<ref>Downton (1979), p. 198</ref> Downton concluded that the students had changed in a positive way, "more peaceful, loving, confident and appreciative of life".<ref>Downton (1979), p. 210</ref>

[[Paul Schnabel]] referenced professor in the psychology of religion [[Jan van der Lans|Van der Lans]] saying that among his Western students, Rawat appeared to stimulate an uncritical attitude, which gave them an opportunity to project their fantasies of divinity onto his person. According to Schnabel, the divine nature of the guru is a standard element of Eastern religion, but removed from its cultural context, and confounded with the Western understanding of God as a father, what is lost is the difference between the guru's person and that which the guru symbolizes—resulting in what was described as limitless personality worship.<ref name="Schnabel1982V">[[Paul Schnabel|Schnabel]], ''Tussen stigma en charisma'' ("Between stigma and charisma"), 1982. [http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/schn016tuss01_01/schn016tuss01_01_0012.htm Ch. V, p. 142] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726022137/http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/schn016tuss01_01/schn016tuss01_01_0012.htm |date=26 July 2008 }}<br />The reference texts by Van der Lans quoted by Schnabel in that chapter:
* Lans, Jan van der. "Religious Experience: An Argument for a multidisciplinary approach" in ''Annual Review of the Social Sciences of Religion 1'', 1977, pp. 133-143.
* Lans, Jan van der. ''Volgelingen van de goeroe: Hedendaagse religieuze bewegingen in Nederland''. Ambo, Baarn, 1981, {{ISBN|90-263-0521-4}}</ref> Stephen Hunt wrote that Western followers do not see themselves as members of a religion, but rather as adherents of a system of teachings focused on the goal of enjoying life to the full.<ref name="Hunt"/>

Former followers became known as "ex-premies".<ref name=HinduismToday1983 /><ref name="Keim">;Keim, Tony. "Police block drive-in protest against guru", ''Courier Mail'', [[Australia]], 4 September 2002.</ref><ref name="Blinded">"Blinded by the Light", ''[[Good Weekend (Sydney Morning Herald)|Good Weekend]]'', Sydney (Australia), 31 August 2002.</ref><ref>"Former Guru on a Different Mission", ''[[Rocky Mountain News]]'', 30 January 1998.</ref>