{"id":3777,"date":"2010-02-08T01:47:02","date_gmt":"2010-02-08T05:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/?p=3777"},"modified":"2026-06-09T20:25:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T03:25:28","slug":"new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Times: Benjamin Cr\u00e8me\u2019s Maitreya? American Hindu man worshipped as god"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/graphics8.nytimes.com\/images\/2010\/02\/05\/us\/05sfmetro_CA0\/05sfmetro_CA0-articleInline.jpg\" alt=\"Andrea Ismert\" width=\"121\" height=\"151\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>By SCOTT JAMES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In Internet Era, an Unwilling Lord for New Age Followers&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><em>New York Times<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Raj Patel\u2019s desk sits in a dusty, cement-floored nook in his garage, just beyond a parked gray Prius, near the washer and dryer. They are humble surroundings for a god.<\/p>\n<p>Followers of Share International, a New Age religious sect, claim Raj Patel is the messiah Maitreya. He denies the claim, but he cannot persuade them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is absurd to be put in this position, when I\u2019m just some bloke,\u201d Mr. Patel said.<\/p>\n<p>A native of London now living on Potrero Hill in San Francisco, Mr. Patel suddenly finds himself an unlikely object of worship, proclaimed the messiah Maitreya by followers of the New Age religious sect Share International.<\/p>\n<p>He was raised as a Hindu and had never heard of the group. He has no desire for deification. But he may not have a choice. <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20220121043548\/https:\/\/truedsicernment.com\/2010\/02\/05\/benjamin-creme%E2%80%99s-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\/\">Click here to continue reading.<\/a>\u00a0(courtesy <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20220121043548\/https:\/\/truedsicernment.com\/2010\/02\/05\/benjamin-creme%E2%80%99s-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\/\">True Discernment blog<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>For further information about Benjamin Creme&#8217;s Maitreya, please read Warren B. Smith&#8217;s book, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrails.com\/39-warren-b-smith\"><em>False Christ Coming: Does Anybody Care?<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By SCOTT JAMES &#8220;In Internet&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[122,37,197],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-global-spirituality","category-hinduism","category-signs-wonders-and-visions","wpcat-122-id","wpcat-37-id","wpcat-197-id"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.4 (Yoast SEO v28.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>New York Times: Benjamin Cr\u00e8me\u2019s Maitreya? American Hindu man worshipped as god - From the Lighthouse<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New York Times: Benjamin Cr\u00e8me\u2019s Maitreya? American Hindu man worshipped as god\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By SCOTT JAMES &#8220;In Internet...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"From the Lighthouse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LighthouseTrailsResearch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-02-08T05:47:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-10T03:25:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/graphics8.nytimes.com\/images\/2010\/02\/05\/us\/05sfmetro_CA0\/05sfmetro_CA0-articleInline.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Miscellaneous News Source\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@LTrails\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@LTrails\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Miscellaneous News Source\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Miscellaneous News Source\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9fdbcbd48da5f29bb452804f6cac87fd\"},\"headline\":\"New York Times: Benjamin Cr\u00e8me\u2019s Maitreya? American Hindu man worshipped as god\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-02-08T05:47:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-10T03:25:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":194,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/graphics8.nytimes.com\\\/images\\\/2010\\\/02\\\/05\\\/us\\\/05sfmetro_CA0\\\/05sfmetro_CA0-articleInline.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"A GLOBAL SPIRITUALITY\",\"Hinduism\",\"SIGNS AND WONDERS\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\\\/\",\"name\":\"New York Times: Benjamin Cr\u00e8me\u2019s Maitreya? American Hindu man worshipped as god - From the Lighthouse\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/graphics8.nytimes.com\\\/images\\\/2010\\\/02\\\/05\\\/us\\\/05sfmetro_CA0\\\/05sfmetro_CA0-articleInline.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-02-08T05:47:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-10T03:25:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9fdbcbd48da5f29bb452804f6cac87fd\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/graphics8.nytimes.com\\\/images\\\/2010\\\/02\\\/05\\\/us\\\/05sfmetro_CA0\\\/05sfmetro_CA0-articleInline.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/graphics8.nytimes.com\\\/images\\\/2010\\\/02\\\/05\\\/us\\\/05sfmetro_CA0\\\/05sfmetro_CA0-articleInline.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"New York Times: Benjamin Cr\u00e8me\u2019s Maitreya? American Hindu man worshipped as god\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"From the Lighthouse\",\"description\":\"&quot;A Light Shining in the Darkness&quot;\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9fdbcbd48da5f29bb452804f6cac87fd\",\"name\":\"Miscellaneous News Source\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ae5ed7321390b0777703fc89a380c78854f42226a02207a7d093580adc2e5935?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ae5ed7321390b0777703fc89a380c78854f42226a02207a7d093580adc2e5935?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ae5ed7321390b0777703fc89a380c78854f42226a02207a7d093580adc2e5935?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Miscellaneous News Source\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/misc\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New York Times: Benjamin Cr\u00e8me\u2019s Maitreya? American Hindu man worshipped as god - From the Lighthouse","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New York Times: Benjamin Cr\u00e8me\u2019s Maitreya? American Hindu man worshipped as god","og_description":"By SCOTT JAMES &#8220;In Internet...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\/","og_site_name":"From the Lighthouse","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LighthouseTrailsResearch","article_published_time":"2010-02-08T05:47:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-10T03:25:28+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/graphics8.nytimes.com\/images\/2010\/02\/05\/us\/05sfmetro_CA0\/05sfmetro_CA0-articleInline.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Miscellaneous News Source","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@LTrails","twitter_site":"@LTrails","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Miscellaneous News Source","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\/"},"author":{"name":"Miscellaneous News Source","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9fdbcbd48da5f29bb452804f6cac87fd"},"headline":"New York Times: Benjamin Cr\u00e8me\u2019s Maitreya? American Hindu man worshipped as god","datePublished":"2010-02-08T05:47:02+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-10T03:25:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\/"},"wordCount":194,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/graphics8.nytimes.com\/images\/2010\/02\/05\/us\/05sfmetro_CA0\/05sfmetro_CA0-articleInline.jpg","articleSection":["A GLOBAL SPIRITUALITY","Hinduism","SIGNS AND WONDERS"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\/","url":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\/","name":"New York Times: Benjamin Cr\u00e8me\u2019s Maitreya? American Hindu man worshipped as god - From the Lighthouse","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/graphics8.nytimes.com\/images\/2010\/02\/05\/us\/05sfmetro_CA0\/05sfmetro_CA0-articleInline.jpg","datePublished":"2010-02-08T05:47:02+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-10T03:25:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9fdbcbd48da5f29bb452804f6cac87fd"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/graphics8.nytimes.com\/images\/2010\/02\/05\/us\/05sfmetro_CA0\/05sfmetro_CA0-articleInline.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/graphics8.nytimes.com\/images\/2010\/02\/05\/us\/05sfmetro_CA0\/05sfmetro_CA0-articleInline.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/new-york-times-benjamin-cremes-maitreya-american-hindu-man-worshipped-as-god\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"New York Times: Benjamin Cr\u00e8me\u2019s Maitreya? American Hindu man worshipped as god"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/","name":"From the Lighthouse","description":"&quot;A Light Shining in the Darkness&quot;","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9fdbcbd48da5f29bb452804f6cac87fd","name":"Miscellaneous News Source","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ae5ed7321390b0777703fc89a380c78854f42226a02207a7d093580adc2e5935?s=96&d=blank&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ae5ed7321390b0777703fc89a380c78854f42226a02207a7d093580adc2e5935?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ae5ed7321390b0777703fc89a380c78854f42226a02207a7d093580adc2e5935?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Miscellaneous News Source"},"url":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/author\/misc\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3777"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45940,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3777\/revisions\/45940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}