Newsmakers---
Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File); Mar 23, 1975; ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1986)   pg. 2

Newsmakers---

Beneath the spiritual bliss of the Guru Maharaj Ji's Denver-based Divine Light Mission lie more than $300,000 in unpaid bills and a never-ending fund drive, according to the mission's former financial director, Michael D. Garson. Garson quit his job in February "because I could not tolerate the contradictions." He said there was a continuing $300,000 debt caused by declining revenues and the demands of the recently married 17-year-old guru. When the guru wants something, be it a $30,000 car or a new house, he gets it," Garson said. Meanwhile, other mission hills go unpaid. For example, Millenium 73, the mission's huge festival at the Houston Astrodome, was paid for only after mission equipment and property had been repossessed. Many of the problems are caused by a lack of business understanding that stems from the mission's contention that it is a spiritual not a business organization, Garson said. "There are some people that are trying to get the mission on the right track," he said. "But it takes a lot of money to keep a guru."