You make a cogent point, surrounding oneself with adoring sycophants is very dangerous - it destroys company presidents, ministers, college professors - nobody is immune because adoration is intoxicating. The classic case in this generation could be Michael Jackson.
I hung around AOL for a while, a big part of the teaching is not taking yourself/life too seriously. One of his main teachings is that too much focus on spirituality can make a person uptight and "dry." Sri Sri's lectures are usually serious subjects punctuated with lots of silly big hats, gags and laughter.. The last time I saw him he had a mechanical potted plant that spontaneously twirled a flower every so often. Whenever someone got too serious, he just turned it on. If TM is "yoga light for modernity" AOL is yoga light without a chastity belt!
