"Holy Hell" is a totally valuable book, because how often do we get an insider view from someone who was actually the personal assistant of such a big-name guru, and for two long decades? So often these gurus are two-faced hypocrites, presenting a smiling, benevolent persona to the general public, then changing into their true colors in private behind closed doors. People like Sathya Sai Baba (much of my two decades inside Indian ashrams were spent at his ashram in Puttaparthi) and Mata Amritanandamayi no doubt inspire their devotees through their idealistic teachings, but part of that inspiration always lines the guru's pockets with more wealth.
The fact is, as revealed in Gail's book and backed by a number of others who were close to the 'Hugging Amma', Amritanandamayi is violent with uncontrollable anger and harshly beats her attendants, she has sex with some of her top Swamis (who control the finances of the ashram empire - and who are also rapists), she orders murders of various people who come in her way - including her own brother (several police cases were halted by the powerful ashram authorities), she has made her family members multimillionaires (and then goes on record to say she gave them nothing and it is all due to the success of their local fishing business!). So many details backing Gail's experiences in her book, are available online - including financial reports that show less than 10% of donations help the poor. So many parallels between these reports and what I personally experienced in sai baba's ashram! They are greedy rotten apples, preying on our naive devotion. :-(
