-
- They worship in a vast glass and golden
temple, their reflections glinting endlessly from dozens of sparkling mirrors.
-
- Members of the cult of Damanhur are proud
of the room they carved under what is now known as Mystic Mountain.
-
- It took them 13 years to dig out the
five vast chambers linked by winding passageways and secret doors.
-
- But not even the local council knew the
cult were building the strange base where they experiment in time travel
and alchemy.
-
- And now there are frightening claims
that followers were used like slaves to labour on the labyrinth for 15
hours a day - shifting two million buckets of earth and rock.
-
- Government watchdogs are investigating
the strange community in the foothills of the Italian Alps.
-
- They're looking at claims that "rigid"
discipline badly affected members' "personal freedom". Then there's
the question of possible arson - when a caravan used by two workers erupted
in flames.
-
- And fraud - connected with the finances
of the cult which rakes in millions of pounds selling silk, olive oil and
pasta to posh stores including Harrods.
-
- Damanhur, which means "city of light"
and takes its name from an ancient Egyptian town, was founded in 1977 by
48-year-old artist Oberto Airaudi.
-
- He wants NASA to send some of his members
into space and claims he can arrange reincarnation.
-
- He's also a former insurance salesman
- which probably comes in handy.
-
- Folk who want to join the cult (there
are 700 already and the number grows by the month) are told they had better
be self-sufficient cash-wise - because Damanhur can't guarantee work.
-
- Visitors start out by renting one of
nine holiday-style houses at the site - which Airaudi has proclaimed a
"centre of mystical energy".
-
- Then they're invited to join the activities.
Many sign up for life.
-
- Members must learn to speak Italian and
have to undergo a "common medical examination".
-
- There's a wide range of services and
a school. But they all have to be paid for every month. It was a cash wrangle
that first exposed Damanhur's bizarre underground world.
-
- One of the original members in 1977,
Fillippo Cerutti, became disillusioned with the community, left and demanded
a refund of the money he'd put into the temple project.
-
- When Airaudi refused, Cerutti sued -
and denounced him as a dictator. Airaudi was forced to go public.
-
- Now he may have to defend his group's
"principle of constant action" which, say critics, comes close
to slavery. His own Internet site admits... "Our life rhythms are
very intense and fast-paced and, at first, people may feel a bit disoriented.
-
- "Damanhur is no wonderland. For
us, being spiritual means to work very hard."
-
- Airaudi's fans claim that he offers a
wonderful way of life.
-
- Perhaps they're not too concerned about
the probe. They can always fix a reincarnation.
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