Educational tool only. All groups exist on a spectrum of control. Individual experiences vary. Based on publicly available reports, ex-member accounts, court records, and expert analyses — not medical or legal advice.

India

71 profiled groups with documented operations in India — 5 Extreme-band, 24 High-band, 42 Moderate or below. Presence here describes documented operations, not a judgement about India or its communities; many listed groups also operate elsewhere.

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Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj movement (Satlok Ashram)

Indian guru-led devotional movement founded in 1999 by Rampal Singh Jatin, who broke from established Kabir Panth tradition and built a personal-following organisation centred on his own claim to be the 'tatvadarshi sant' prophesied in Bhagavad Gita 4.34. Rampal is currently serving life imprisonment following separate murder convictions arising from the November 2014 Barwala ashram standoff in which six people died.

Dera Sacha Sauda / Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh

North Indian Sikh-Hindu syncretic religious organisation headquartered in Sirsa, Haryana. Founded 1948 by Mastana Balochistani; led 1990-2017 by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan (born 1967), who claims to be the third Guru. Estimated 50+ million followers concentrated in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan. Ram Rahim convicted 2017 for raping two female followers (20 years total); 2019 for the 2002 murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati; 2021 for the 2002 murder of dera manager Ranjit Singh. Mass violence by followers during 2017 arrest produced 38 deaths.

Asaram Bapu organisation

Indian guru organisation. Asaram Bapu convicted in 2018 of raping a teenage devotee in 2013; sentenced to life imprisonment. Son Narayan Sai also convicted of rape (2019).

Rampal (Satlok Ashram, India)

Indian self-styled guru Rampal Singh Jatin (born 1951) — a former irrigation department engineer who left government service in 1995 to preach an idiosyncratic interpretation of Kabir Panth and Sant Mat — convicted of two murders for the November 2014 Satlok Ashram siege deaths. Six followers (five women, one infant) died inside the Barwala compound during the standoff; Rampal received concurrent life-imprisonment sentences in 2017 and 2018. Organisation continues to publish his discourses and operate satellite centres under his sons.

Sathya Sai Baba ashram residential schools (Puttaparthi)

Free residential schools and university operated by the Sathya Sai Central Trust at the Puttaparthi ashram (Andhra Pradesh, India). Decades of child-sexual-abuse allegations against Sathya Sai Baba (1926–2011) and the unresolved 1993 ashram shootings.

New Religious Movement

Rajneesh / Osho Movement

Movement of the late Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh / Osho (1931–1990). Famous for its Oregon Rajneeshpuram commune (1981–85), the 1984 Salmonella attack on The Dalles (largest US bioterror attack until 2001), and the 'free love' philosophy. Subject of the 2018 Netflix series 'Wild Wild Country'.

Oneness University / Ekam (Kalki Bhagavan / Sri Bhagavan)

Indian guru-led devotional movement founded in 1989 by Vijaykumar Naidu (known within the movement as 'Kalki Bhagavan' and 'Sri Bhagavan') and his wife Padmavathi ('Sri Amma'). The movement operates internationally as 'Oneness University' and more recently 'Ekam', offering 'deeksha' transmission practices and 'awakening' programmes from an ashram complex in Andhra Pradesh, India. Subject of 2019 Indian Income Tax Department raids on properties and documented in academic work on contemporary Indian gurus and in sustained Indian press coverage.

Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (BKWSU)

International guru-led devotional movement founded in 1937 by Lekhraj Kirpalani ('Brahma Baba') in Hyderabad, Sindh (now Pakistan), and headquartered since 1950 at Mount Abu, Rajasthan, India. The organisation holds UN ECOSOC general consultative status and runs over 8,500 centres internationally. Substantial academic study (Lawrence Babb, Julia Howell, John Walliss) and a long-running ex-member testimony archive document a set of internal control patterns including strict lifetime celibacy, sustained early-morning meditation discipline, distinctive cosmology centred on a 5,000-year cycle, and family-displacement patterns for committed adherents.

The Message of the Hour / William Branham / Voice of God Recordings

Post-WWII Pentecostal prophet movement founded around the ministry of William Marrion Branham (1909–1965), an American faith-healing evangelist. After Branham's December 1965 death in a road accident in Texas, followers organised around the Voice of God Recordings ministry in Jeffersonville, Indiana (now led by Branham's son Joseph), which distributes Branham's sermon recordings as scripture-equivalent. Doctrines include Branham as the end-times Elijah, the 'Serpent's Seed' doctrine, and a distinctive pre-tribulation rapture timeline. Approximately 500 congregations and 1-2 million followers globally.

Sahaja Yoga (Nirmala Srivastava)

Movement founded by Nirmala Srivastava ('Mataji', 'Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi') in 1970 teaching kundalini awakening. Followers believe Srivastava was a divine incarnation. Ex-member accounts document children sent away for residential schooling, most substantially at the International Sahaja Public School in Dharamsala, India.

ISKCON (Hare Krishna)

International Society for Krishna Consciousness, founded by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1966) in New York. Famous for Hare Krishna street chanting and Krishna devotion. Devastated by 1970s–80s Gurukula child abuse later acknowledged and adjudicated.

Brahma Kumaris (BKWSU)

Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, founded by Lekhraj Khubchand Kripalani (Brahma Baba) in 1937 Sind. Distinctive female-led leadership, mandatory celibacy for all members (including married couples), and 'Murli' daily teachings transmitted from the deceased founder via mediums.

Jesus Christians (Dave McKay)

Small active communal-living Christian movement founded in 1981 by Dave McKay (an Australian-born ex-Children of God / Family International member) and his wife Cherry. The movement operates as a sequence of small communal households across Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, India, and Kenya, organising around a literal-discipleship interpretation of Christian texts. The movement is internationally known for its members' documented practice of voluntary kidney donations to strangers as an expression of that literal-discipleship framework. Documented in sustained BBC and Sydney Morning Herald long-running coverage and in documentary work.

Political / Ideological

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)

Indian Hindu nationalist paramilitary-style organisation founded by K.B. Hedgewar (1925). Largest volunteer organisation in the world. Documented links to political violence including the 1948 Gandhi assassination.

Sathya Sai Baba movement

Global devotional movement around Sathya Sai Baba (1926–2011), who claimed to be an avatar and drew millions with materialisation miracles and vast charitable works — hospitals, schools, water projects. From the 1990s, ex-devotees and international media documented allegations of sexual abuse of young male devotees and unexplained 1993 ashram deaths; no case reached independent adjudication in his lifetime. The post-2011 trust continues the institutions; a rival 'Muddenahalli' successor claims a channelled continuation.

Sathya Sai Baba organisation

Followers of the late Sathya Sai Baba (1926–2011) of Puttaparthi, India. Notable for his miracle/materialisation claims, large educational and hospital projects, and serious unresolved sexual abuse allegations from numerous former devotees including children.

Wellness / Multi-Level

Bikram Yoga (Bikram Choudhury)

'Hot yoga' system created by Bikram Choudhury in the 1970s. Multiple women won civil sexual-assault judgments against him in the 2010s. Choudhury fled to Mexico to evade enforcement; the surviving Bikram Yoga community has fragmented. ESPN '30 for 30' and Netflix's 'Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator' (2019) are major documentaries.

New Religious Movement

Osho International Foundation (post-Rajneesh)

Successor organisation to the Rajneesh / Osho movement after the founder's 1990 death. Operates Pune meditation resort and global network. Significantly less coercive than the 1980s Rajneeshpuram era but documented patterns of guru-veneration, financial extraction, and trademark litigation against ex-members continue.

Siddha Yoga (Muktananda / Chidvilasananda)

Indian Tantric Shaivite guru lineage of Swami Muktananda (1908–1982) and his designated successor Swami Chidvilasananda ('Gurumayi'). The 1983 William Rodarmor exposé in *The CoEvolution Quarterly* — followed by the 1994 Lis Harris *New Yorker* investigation and the 2010 Sarah Caldwell *Stripping the Gurus* synthesis — established a pattern of Muktananda's sexual abuse of female and underage devotees stretching back to the 1970s, suppressed during his lifetime by the SYDA Foundation's leadership. Gurumayi inherited the foundation in 1982 and remains its head; the movement continues at reduced visible scale, with a stable core membership and substantial real estate (the Shree Muktananda Ashram in South Fallsburg, New York; Gurudev Siddha Peeth in Ganeshpuri, Maharashtra).

Wellness / Multi-Level

QNet

Hong Kong-based MLM (founded by Vijay Eswaran, 1998) selling lifestyle products, holidays, and 'bio-discs' through independent representatives across Asia and Africa. It faces among the broadest enforcement footprints in the industry: pyramid-fraud prosecutions and police cases in India, bans or warnings in Rwanda and other states, and repeated arrest waves of promoters — while the company maintains its legality and continues operating.

Wellness / Multi-Level

Oneness University (Sri Bhagavan / Sri Amma)

Indian movement founded by Kalki Bhagavan and Sri Amma offering 'Deeksha' (oneness blessing) and a path to 'enlightenment in this lifetime'. Heavy financial investments, lavish leader lifestyle, and 2019 Indian tax raid uncovering substantial unaccounted wealth.

Ananda Marga (P.R. Sarkar)

Tantric reform movement founded by P.R. Sarkar (1955). Documented violent incidents in 1970s–80s, including arrests connected to the 1978 Sydney Hilton bombing.

Sahaja Yoga successor organisations / Vishwa Nirmala Dharma (post-Nirmala Srivastava)

Successor organisations continuing Sahaja Yoga after founder Nirmala Srivastava's (Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi) 2011 death in Italy. Primary post-2011 organisation is the family-led Vishwa Nirmala Dharma trust based at Cabella Ligure, Italy. Multiple splinter groups have emerged from succession disputes. Documented continuation of Sahaja Yoga school controversies, residential ashram coercion, and Srivastava-veneration patterns. ~50,000-100,000 active globally.

Isha Foundation / Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev

Indian guru organisation founded 1992 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu by Jaggi Vasudev (born 1957), who took the name 'Sadhguru' ('true guru'). Approximately 9 million followers globally; major activities include Inner Engineering 4-day intensive courses, the Isha Yoga Centre at Velliangiri Mountain, and the Adiyogi statue at the centre. 2024 India Supreme Court probe; ongoing dispute about 1997 wife Vijji's death; documented coercive-control concerns around Inner Engineering programmes and the consecrated-monastic 'Brahmacharya' community.

New Religious Movement

Divine Light Mission / Elan Vital / Words of Peace Global / Prem Rawat

Indian-import NRM founded 1960 by Hans Ji Maharaj as 'Divine Light Mission' (DLM); from 1966 led by his teenage son Prem Pal Singh Rawat (born 1957), known as 'Guru Maharaj Ji' or 'Maharaji'. Rapid 1971-1973 US expansion centred on Rawat's status as a teenage divine-figure. After 1980s membership decline, Rawat systematically rebranded the organisation (Elan Vital 1980s, The Prem Rawat Foundation 2001, Words of Peace Global 2003+) to evade cult reputation. Documented coercive-control patterns including 'Knowledge' initiation under non-disclosure and exit barriers.

Various Indian 'godmen' / guru figures (umbrella)

Umbrella entry for the numerous Indian 'godmen' / guru figures beyond the specific named cases in this dataset. India has produced one of the world's most prolific guru-led religious-organisation traditions. Notable smaller cases include Swami Nithyananda (fled India 2019, founded Kailasa, separately documented), Sant Rampal (Haryana, imprisoned 2014), Radhe Maa (various legal cases), Bhole Baba / Suraj Pal (2024 Hathras stampede), and dozens of regional 'baba' figures. Common documented patterns include sexual abuse, financial extraction, mass-event violence.

Political / Ideological

Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP)

Vishva Hindu Parishad ('World Hindu Council', VHP) is a Hindu-nationalist religious-political organisation founded on 29 August 1964 in Mumbai under the auspices of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Major Sangh Parivar (RSS-family) organisation responsible for coordinating Hindu religious leaders into Sangh political projects. Substantial documented role in the December 1992 Babri Masjid demolition campaign and the resulting nationwide communal violence (~2,000 killed); ongoing role in the post-2014 Sangh-aligned BJP-government era Hindutva political mobilisation. The Liberhan Commission Report (2009) and the multiple post-Babri criminal proceedings (2020 acquittals of all named accused) are the canonical investigative record.

Spiritual Science Research Foundation (SSRF) / Jayant Athavale

Indian-origin spiritual-research organisation founded 1999 in Mumbai by Jayant Balaji Athavale (born 1942), a former hypnotherapist. Distinctive 'subtle dimension' science claims about ghosts, possession, and supernatural phenomena. Operates a Goa-based ashram (Sanatan Sanstha Sanstha is the affiliated Indian organisation) and a substantial online presence. Documented moderate coercive-control patterns including residential ashram severance.

Art of Living Foundation / Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Indian guru organisation founded 1981 in Bangalore by Ravi Shankar (born 1956), who took the religious name 'Sri Sri Ravi Shankar' or 'Gurudev'. Operates in 180+ countries with claimed total reach of 500+ million people through Art of Living courses. Distinctive Sudarshan Kriya breathing technique, multi-tier Happiness Programme / Advanced Programme structure. Documented financial-extraction patterns and environmental controversies (2016 Yamuna World Culture Festival).

Bhole Baba (Narayan Saakar Hari) satsang

Uttar Pradesh satsang leader whose July 2024 Hathras event stampede killed 121. Fled after the stampede; SIT investigation continuing.

Indian online spirituality influencer cults 2025 (umbrella)

Umbrella for Indian online spirituality influencer parasocial communities. Substantial overlap with broader Indian godman phenomenon.

Radhe Maa (Sukhvinder Kaur)

Indian 'godwoman' Sukhvinder Kaur (b. 1965). Multiple documented legal cases including 2015 dowry-harassment and 2017 obscenity cases over distinctive dancing on stage.

Dawoodi Bohra (Mustaali Ismaili)

Mustaali Ismaili Shia community led by the Dai al-Mutlaq from Mumbai. Substantial commercial network. Documented controversy around female genital cutting ('khafz').

Swaminarayan BAPS (Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Sanstha)

Gujarati Hindu denomination following Bhagwan Swaminarayan and the Akshar Purushottam Darshan. Substantial global presence (Akshardham temples). 2021 New Jersey labour-trafficking lawsuit involving temple construction workers brought scrutiny.

Mata Amritanandamayi Math (Amma)

Indian guru Mata Amritanandamayi ('Amma') leads a global humanitarian organisation famous for her 'darshan hugs'. Documented patterns include substantial donations, devotee severance, and Gail Tredwell's 2013 memoir alleging abuses.

Sri Karunamayi (Indian guru, hugging-style ministry)

Indian guru Sri Karunamayi (Vijayeswari Devi) leads a humanitarian ministry with substantial US following. Practices distinctive devotional and meditation programmes. Moderate-low control patterns documented.

Wellness / Multi-Level

OnPassive / GoFounders

OnPassive, promoted through its GoFounders recruitment arm and led by Ash Mufareh, is the sector's clearest specimen of the perpetual-prelaunch pattern: from 2018 it sold 'founder positions' in a soon-to-launch AI-powered marketing platform whose full launch — and with it the promised passive income — remained perpetually imminent for years while the founder base grew into the hundreds of thousands worldwide, heavily in South Asia and the Gulf. The mechanics documented across MLM-watch analysis and press coverage are the catalogue's interest: money in against a promise perpetually deferred; launch-date announcements repeatedly passing like failed prophecy; an internal culture of webinars, testimonials, and 'O-Cademy' events in which doubt was negativity and patience was faith; and payment-processor and regulatory frictions abroad reported as the scheme's external reality-checks. Scored in the moderate band at low confidence.

Swadhyay Parivar (Pandurang Shastri Athavale)

Indian Hindu devotional reform movement founded by Pandurang Shastri Athavale (1954). Substantial educational and humanitarian programmes. Post-2003 succession disputes after his death.

Shri Ram Chandra Mission / Heartfulness (Sahaj Marg)

Sahaj Marg ('Natural Path') Raja Yoga lineage now branded as 'Heartfulness'. Founded by Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur (1945). Substantial global meditation network.

Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB)

Major Sant Mat-derived Indian movement headquartered at Dera Beas, Punjab. Distinctive lineage of living Sant Satgurus. Substantial global following.

S.N. Goenka Vipassana Movement (10-day retreats)

Major global Vipassana retreat network in the S.N. Goenka tradition (founded 1969). Distinctive 10-day silent retreats with strict structure. Mostly low-control, some documented retreat-distress cases.

Sant Nirankari Mission (Indian, mainstream)

Indian Sant tradition founded by Buta Singh (1929). Distinctive teachings on the Formless God (Nirankar). Major successor disputes with mainstream Sikhism.

Dera Sant Sarwan Dass / Dera Ballan (Ravidassi)

Major Punjabi Ravidassi dera following Guru Ravidas's 15th-century teachings. The 2009 Vienna Singh Sabha attack on dera leadership drew international attention.

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

Reformist Muslim movement founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1889) believing him to be the promised Messiah and Mahdi. Officially declared non-Muslim in Pakistan (1974) and severely persecuted there; centred internationally in the UK Caliphate.

New Religious Movement

Theosophical Society (Blavatsky lineage)

Major 19th-century Western esoteric movement founded by Helena Blavatsky (1875). Mainstream low-control; influential on later New Age and Anthroposophy.

Namdhari Sikh tradition (Kuka)

Distinct 19th-century Sikh reform movement founded by Balak Singh and developed by Ram Singh. Distinctive white dress, vegetarianism, and recognition of a continuing line of living Gurus.

New Religious Movement

Auroville (Indian intentional community, mainstream)

Major Indian intentional community (1968) based on the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and Mirra Alfassa ('The Mother'). UNESCO-supported. Mainstream low-moderate control.

Nihang warrior Sikh tradition (mainstream)

Distinctive Sikh warrior-ascetic tradition (17th c. Guru Hargobind era). Distinctive blue dress, edged weapons, and Akali culture. Mainstream voluntary tradition.

Tibetan Buddhism (mainstream)

Mainstream Tibetan Buddhism (Gelug, Kagyu, Sakya, Nyingma) is a moderate-low CLCI tradition. The guru-devotion (samaya) emphasis has produced documented teacher-abuse cases (notably Sogyal Rinpoche, Sakyong Mipham); the Dalai Lama's 2017 statement and post-2018 reforms have shifted norms.

Digambara Jain mainstream

Digambara ('sky-clad') Jain mainstream tradition. Distinctive male monastic nudity (women cannot achieve liberation in this body). Mainstream voluntary tradition.

Zoroastrian Parsis (India)

Indian Zoroastrian community descended from 8th–10th century Persian refugees. ~50,000 in India today; endogamy disputes are a major intra-community fault line.

Udasi Sikh tradition (mainstream)

Sikh ascetic tradition founded by Sri Chand (Guru Nanak's son). Distinctive monastic celibacy. Mainstream low-control.

Sthanakvasi Jain (anti-idol reform)

Anti-idol Svetambara Jain reform tradition (15th c.). Worship in plain meditation halls (sthanak) without temple imagery.

Various Jain spinoff communities (umbrella)

Umbrella for Jain spinoff communities — Terapanth (1760 Bhikhanji split), Kanji Swami Panth, etc.

Mainstream Sikhism

Mainstream Sikhism is a low-CLCI reference point. Founded by Guru Nanak (15th c.), it teaches equality, social service (langar), and devotion to Akal Purakh. Khalsa initiation is voluntary and undertaken in adulthood.

Syriac Orthodox Church

Syriac Oriental Orthodox church preserving Aramaic liturgical tradition. Voluntary mainstream tradition.

Assyrian Church of the East

Distinct Eastern Christian tradition holding Nestorian christology. Patriarchate moved from Iraq to Erbil; HQ now in Erbil and Chicago.

Shaktism (mainstream Goddess tradition)

Major Hindu devotional tradition centred on the Divine Mother (Devi, Durga, Kali). Hundreds of millions of adherents.

Ravidassia tradition (mainstream)

Distinct Punjabi Dalit Ravidassia tradition centred on Guru Ravidas's teachings. 2010 declaration of Ravidassia Dharm as separate religion from Sikhism.

Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (Kerala)

Indian Oriental Orthodox church of Kerala (St Thomas Christians). Apostolic succession from Thomas the Apostle tradition.

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