Professor Michael Ray of the Stanford Graduate School of Business came to a new view of human potential and its application to the business world after being introduced by his psychotherapist to the Siddha Yoga of Swami Muktananda. At that time the Swami (since deceased) was the guru to many business leaders and Hollywood stars. Ray’s life was transformed when an assistant to Muktananda ran a peacock feather across the "third eye" in the center of his forehead. Says Ray:

As we shall see, Ray’s experience was much like that of thousands of charismatics who are convinced they have received a "special touch from the Holy Spirit" at a John Wimber or Benny Hinn "miracle" service or at the former Toronto Airport Vineyard, or perhaps from the worldwide "revival" flowing out of the Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida, or elsewhere. One cannot escape the similarity between shaktipat and what the charismatics, both Catholic and Protestant, call being "slain in the Spirit."

At the touch of the evangelist, usually on the forehead, the subject falls backward into the arms of "catchers" standing by. In this trancelike state he has a variety of occult experiences, from flashes of light to a sense of well-being and love; from uncontrollable weeping or laughter and violent shaking to "speaking in tongues." It was evangelist and healer Kathryn Kuhlman who made "slaying in the Spirit" a household term among charismatics in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Televangelist Benny Hinn claims to be Kuhlman’s successor, having picked up "the anointing," which he says still lingers at her grave.

As a further example of the similarity between "slaying in the Spirit" and shaktipat, consider what happened to Gerald Jampolsky. He has become famous for his use of A Course in Miracles in his psychiatric practice and in his books and lectures around the world. Jampolsky believes he was prepared for the message of the Course through shaktipat, administered by Muktananda:

As a result of such mystical experiences, Ray and Jampolsky and thousands like them have adopted the views of Eastern mysticism. We are in the midst of an occult invasion.

Many Christians assure themselves that there is real virtue in trying to see all the good they can in everyone and that in so doing they are showing Christ’s love. After all, isn’t love the most important virtue (1 Corinthians 13)? But love is meaningless without truth. Showing the influence of Eastern mysticism, a recent poll revealed that 71 percent of Americans, 64 percent of those who claim to be "born-again," and 40 percent of self-described evangelicals do not believe in absolute truth.

That denial of God’s truth is promoted in all communications from entities claiming to be spirits of the dead, Ascended Masters, space brothers, "Jesus," or whoever is most appealing to the particular recipient. Judith Skutch, the publisher of A Course in Miracles, attests to the fact that "the same perennial philosophy or ancient wisdom" is expressed consistently through "different voices." ³ The message of the 500,000-word A Course in Miracles is no exception. Dictated to an atheistic psychologist by "Jesus," the Course reflects the same promotion of Eastern mysticism that Edgar Mitchell embraced on his moon journey:

The lie is so obvious that it requires no explanation. Every child has conscience enough to know that he is morally accountable for his deeds and that sin has separated him from God. Yet the lie is so appealing that intelligent adults by the millions embrace it in their desperate flight from truth and God.

It can hardly be coincidence that "Ramtha," who channels through J. Z. Knight, preaches the same cosmic gospel from the East. Those who have rejected the Bible as "myth" turn right around and swallow the wildest tales—and there is none wilder than Ramtha’s.

Having allegedly lived in mythical Atlantis 35,000 years ago and having "ascended into the Seventh Heaven, where he and God became one… [Ramtha] is now part of an ‘unseen brotherhood’ of superbeings who love us and hear our prayers." ⁴ The top business leaders of the world accepted Napoleon Hill’s story of a Temple of Wisdom run by a school of Masters on the astral plane, so why not Ramtha’s delusion as well? Indeed, Ramtha’s followers include some of America’s brightest and most highly educated.

Ramtha’s teachings even influenced "managers and executives of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) whose decision-making and judgments have the greatest impact on the agency…." Ramtha’s influence came through a stress management course for FAA executives over a period of years at a cost of 1.4 million dollars to taxpayers. The bizarre training, which resulted in lawsuits against the FAA, was given by a California psychologist who is reportedly a follower of Ramtha and has even conversed with him. ⁵ The amoral nature of the training and its relation to the rejection of sin and absolute truth reflects Ramtha’s blatantly anti-Christian teachings, which echo to a large extent A Course in Miracles and have been summarized as follows:

India, Tibet, Burma, Sri Lanka, and other countries where Eastern mysticism has been practiced for thousands of years are among the poorest countries in the world and the most blinded by superstition. Yet Westerners, having rejected the Bible, are looking for enlightenment in the very Eastern religions which destroyed and impoverish these countries.

In one of her rare accurate insights, the late psychic Jeane Dixon foresaw this massive turning to the East. The story is reminiscent of the Garden of Eden. Dixon relates how the serpent crawled up on her bed and wrapped itself around her: