I have had a few requests to expand on the idea of the birth of a religion I briefly mentioned when describing the AoL course. In many ways, I can see how in one hundred or two hundred years the man who started the AoL program could become deified, and a religion will be born from a program designed to assist and help fulfill the average life.
The person who led our program had a very interesting way in describing the man, whom I gather she had met several times. If you asked her directly she wold undoubtedly say she did not worship him, or believe him to be anything other than a particularly kind and generous human being. The reason I said she seemed to worship him earlier is the manner in which she described him. It struck me as incredibly similar to biblical descriptions of Jesus, or historical descriptions of Buddha. Buddha obviously wasn't deified directly, but the connection between being a spiritual separate from most humans remains. On a personal level she was emotionally deifying/worshiping/separating him from the rest of humanity, a small leap from doing so logically.
Aside from the personal anecdotal evidence provided by the AoL instructor, we also watched a few movies about the man who started the program, and his travels across the world. He had traveled across the world spreading his ideas and methods. In many of the countries thousands of people would come to hear him speak. Crowds literally swarmed him, throwing flowers and leaves at him, calling his name, and begging to be close to him. The attitudes of the various crowds stuck me as going beyond the usual pomp and accord appointed to most religious leaders, be it the Pope or the Dali Lama.
Of course this is all conjecture, and most likely I'm reading into something far beyond what I should be, but I found it interesting none the less.
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