How I Was Lured into a Sex Cult—and Escaped
The Book the Ex-Cult Doesn’t Want You to Read!
"You speak. You die." That’s just one of the many threats Aya Ray received since telling the secrets of her ex-cult. Also, her blog was cyber-attacked, and someone tried to get this book banned from Amazon.
What secrets are they trying to hide? Could it be the gurus’ secret "sex factory" which lured in scores of women and children over sixty years? Or one guru’s conviction on child molestation and his escape from justice? Or the mysterious disappearances and deaths?
These secrets and more are revealed in Sex, Lies, and Two Hindu Gurus. Aya Ray went down the rabbit hole to dig up the facts and write this riveting book, which is equal parts memoir, true crime drama, and cautionary tale wrapped up in one book—a book that her ex-cult does not want you to read.
Life as Celibate Hindu Nun
For 14 years, Aya Ray lived as a celibate Hindu nun in the US ashram of two Hindu gurus. Following a traumatic event, she began to learn the truth about the two men. She learned they were malignant psychopaths and conmen dressed in saffron clothing, running an elaborate spiritual con game—and a secret sex cult—for sixty years. In Sex, Lies, and Two Hindu Gurus, she tells their secrets—and her truth.
As soon as Aya Ray learned the truth about their "secret sex factory," money-collection scams, and other dark secrets, she escaped their abusive lair. From that point on, she has been zealously working to lift the veil off the organization and the fake gurus to help protect others from getting lured into their wicked con game.
Her efforts have included working with U.S. Marshals, supporting victims, contributing to an episode of John Walsh’s The Hunt, and writing this book. Aya Ray is currently writing her next books on exposing the vast guru con game and on cult therapy.
Read Book Excerpt - Sex, Lies, and Two Hindu Gurus
Prologue: The Case of the Disappearing Swami—Whereabouts Unknown
MONDAY, 7 MARCH 2011, HAYS COUNTY COURTROOM
At 9:10 a.m., I noticed that Swami Prakashanand Saraswati (aka Swamiji, meaning "respected teacher"), my former guru, was not in the courtroom for the sentencing phase of his criminal trial. The previous Friday, at 5:05 p.m., he had been convicted on twenty counts of child sex abuse. Although all the seats were filled, the crowd of his faithful followers was not spilling out into the courthouse hallway as it had during the previous nine days of his trial. The sense of calm was eerie.
By 9:20 a.m., I began watching the devotees more closely. Some were talking to each other. Some were sitting quietly. A few were reading. Overall, their demeanor seemed odd, considering that today the fate of their guru would be decided, including the number of years he could spend in a state penitentiary.
At 9:35 a.m., the lawyers on the prosecution team started looking around the courtroom and realized the defendant was not there.
By 9:40 a.m., it was clear Swamiji was not coming. Cathy, the lead prosecution attorney, walked over to me and said, "It looks like we are missing one swami."
Early in the search for Swamiji, the U.S. Marshals had evidence that, after his dinner on Sunday evening, he had crossed the border into Mexico at Nuevo Laredo. He was not alone, or broke. Several of his devotees accompanied him into Mexico.
And then my ex-guru’s trail went cold.
Read the Book My Ex-Cult Doesn't Want You to Read!
Updated edition includes five new secret-spilling chapters — including the secrets from the lawsuit of one young woman raped by one of my ex-gurus in India, the mysterious death of one of my ex-gurus (by his own people?), and how a village of my ex-guru's followers created an elaborate, collaborative scheme to get the convicted felon from Texas to Mexico to India. "Sex, Lies, and Two Hindu Gurus — Telling Their Secrets and Finding My Truth
"Karen Jonson woke up on July 25th 2013 to find that her blog about her ex-cult had been cyber-attacked with the same force used by cyber-criminals to bring down WikiLeaks.com. One month before that YouTube had removed her book trailer video after receiving a complaint from a mysterious person. A few months later her ex-cult requested that Amazon remove her book — the online merchant declined. What secrets is this cult hiding? What don’t they want you to know? Could it be one guru’s "secret sex factory" involving consenting adults and child rapes? Could it be the conviction and escape of the other child-molesting guru? Could it be the billion-dollar network of India-based trusts — created with donation scams? Or the mysterious deaths and disappearances? In fact, there are many secrets Karen’s ex-gurus want to keep hidden — just as they had for 60 years. Until now. Now, in "Sex, Lies, and Two Hindu Gurus," Karen exposes the dark and twisted secrets of her two former "gurus." This riveting book is at once a true crime drama, a memoir, and a cautionary tale — warning others to look before they leap into the abusive world of corrupt spiritual leaders.
Readers Commentary
"Aya Ray’s story perfectly captures the twisted, insular, and secretive world in which we all lived."
- Kate Tonnessen, child victim
"Your narrative is very very gripping. Excellent stuff! I like your honesty and truthfulness."
— Sandeep S., USA
"With each new revelation in your book, I get more angry and more determined to do something to cripple this corrupt organization."
— Raj S., India
"This book exposes a world that few have ever seen and that many deny even exists."
— Sheridan Burman
"All I can say is wow … and amazing."
— Suren Pandya
"This perfectly captures the twisted, insular, and secretive world in which we all lived."
— Kate Tonnessen
"It is a great expose of these two ‘holy crooks.’"
— Rahul B.
"It’s so much more than just a story of gurus."
— Jai Hari
"I like your honesty and truthfulness."
— Sandeep S.
Order your copy of this riveting memoir, Sex, Lies, and Two Hindu Gurus— and learn all of the gurus' twisted secrets.
