1. It should be noted here that while Sikhism and Radhasoami are both part of the Sant Tradition, they are distinct branches of it and are not to be confused as one in the same. For more on Sikhism's relationship to the Sant Tradition see the following studies by W.H. McLeod: The Sikhs (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989); Who is a Sikh? (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989); The Evolution of the Sikh Religion (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976); Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968).
2. Bhagat Singh Thind argued that Indians were from Aryan descent, since research suggests that nearly three thousand years ago India was invaded by Indo-Europeans. The Aryans in India were believed to be responsible for the Sanskrit language, the writing of the Vedas, and numerous other religious and cultural feats.
3. Kirpal Singh, Heart to Heart Talks, Volume One, Edited by Malcolm Tillis (Delhi: Ruhani Satsang, 1976), pp. 87-88.
4. Kirpal Singh, Heart to Heart Talks, Volume One, Edited by Malcolm Tillis (Delhi: Ruhani Satsang, 1976), pp. 87-88.
5. Bhagat Singh Thind, Radiant Road to Reality: Tested Science of Religion (New York: Privately Published, 1939).
Interestingly, if Kirpal Singh was correct in his assessment, then Kirpal Singh himself would be liable to the charge of appropriation, since much of Radiant Road to Reality is derived from the Hindi poetry of Shiv Dayal Singh and the subsequent translations of it made by Julian P. Johnson and others.6. Several of Thind's appropriations of Johnson's text, With a Great Master in India, were discovered in 1987 by a group of scholars (in which I was included) and published that same year in a journal entitled Understanding Cults and Spiritual Movements, Volume 5. (See Appendix Five.) The comparisons shown here, however, are original ones. I came across them while flipping through both texts. Unfortunately, Thind's book had no index and so I was not able to match the literature by first looking up the concepts in the index, as I had done when locating similarities between Twitchell's and Johnson's writings.
7. For more examples see Appendix.
8. Paul Twitchell, Difficulties of Becoming The Living Eck Master (Menlo Park: I.W.P., 1980), pp. 160-61.
9. Paul Twitchell, Difficulties of Becoming The Living Eck Master (Menlo Park: I.W.P., 1980), pp. 160-61.
10. For more on the Sugmad/Sarmad connection see David Lane’s "The J.R. Controversy" in Understanding Cults and Spiritual Movements, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Del Mar: Del Mar Press, 1984).
11. John-Roger Hinkins, Baraka (Los Angeles: M.S.I.A., 1973), p. 14.
12. Paul Twitchell, Eckankar Dictionary (Menlo Park: I.W.P., 1973), p. 93.
13. Paul Twitchell, Eckankar Dictionary (Menlo Park: I.W.P., 1973), p. 15.
14. John-Roger Hinkins, Baraka (Los Angeles: M.S.I.A., 1973), p. 8.
15. Ibid., p. 21.
16. David Lane, "The J.R. Controversy: A Critical Analysis of John-Roger and M.S.I.A." in Understanding Cults and Spiritual Movements, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Del Mar: Del Mar Press, 1984).
17. John-Roger Hinkins, Baraka (Los Angeles: M.S.I.A., 1973), p. 4.
18. There are a couple of heated controversies regarding John-Roger's writings. First of all, according to his co-author, and eventual defector, Peter McWilliams, John-Roger had absolutely nothing to do with the writing of the best selling books, Life 101 and Do It. Secondly, in "The J.R.Controversy" in Understanding Cults and Spiritual Movements the author makes the case that John-Roger surreptitiously copied significant portions of Florence Scovel Shinn's 1925 book, The Game of Life and How to Play It (DeVorss & Company). The following is just a small sample illustrating this. In her book Shinn writes: "God is my unfailing supply, and large sums of money come to me quickly, under grace, in perfect ways. Every plan my father in heaven has not planned, shall be dissolved and dissipated, and the Divine Idea now comes to pass. . ." In 1981 John-Roger wrote out his spiritual affirmations which seem to match Shinn's writing: "God is my unfailing supply, and large sums of money come to me quickly, under grace, in perfect ways. Every plan my father in Heaven has not planned, shall be dissolved and dissipated. The Divine Idea now comes to pass. . ."