Cult hails Indian origin British economist as a Messiah - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

An Indian origin British economist is baffled because a cult is hailing him as a Messiah. Raj Patel, 37, from Golders Green, North London, was flooded with emails from followers of Share International following a TV interview in the US. And with striking similarity to a scene in Monty Python's Life Of Brian, wherein Brian is mistaken for the saviour, Raj was forced to say: "I'm not the messiah... I'm just an economics expert!" It all started when Raj made a telly appearance two months ago to promote his book on the global financial crisis, The Value Of Nothing. Just two days later, Benjamin Creme, 87, founder of Share International, declared the arrival of the Messiah his cult calls "Maitreya". He told followers: "Maitreya recently gave hisz first interview in America. "The master of all the masters for the first time in human history himself came on a well-known television programme on a major network. But undeclared as Maitreya, just as one of us." Raj was mis-identified because he bears numerous prophesied characteristics of Maitreya. Raj qualifies as Maitreya because just like him the saviour is believed to be dark-skinned, born in 1972 and raised in London; Maitreya flew from India to Britain in 1977, which corresponds with the date Raj took a flight to the UK after holidaying in India; Maitreya would make an appearance on TV and speak with a slight stutter - which Raj did on The Colbert Report show; And Maitreya will immediately deny his identity just like Raj did. "I started getting emails saying 'Are you the world teacher?'" the Sun quoted Raj, as saying. He went on: "Then it wasn't just random internet folk, but also friends saying, 'Have you seen this?' "It's absurd to be put in this position when I'm just some bloke." Even as Raj tried to distance himself from his holy credentials, two devotees from Detroit travelled 2,400 miles to meet him at a book signing in his current US home in San Francisco. "They were really nice, straightforward people. They said they thought I was the Maitreya. They also said I had appeared in their dreams," Raj said. "I said, 'I'm really flattered you came all the way here, but it breaks my heart you spent all this money to meet someone who isn't who you think he is.'" Crème, a Scot, established the cult in the 1950s. It believes that the 18 million-year-old Maitreya - who combines elements of Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism and Islam - has been living in the Himalayas for 2,000 years. His arrival will unify humanity and make life better on Earth. Share International has its HQ in Amsterdam while its offices are spread across the globe - in London, the US, Japan, France and Germany. Creme has, however, refused to confirm or deny whether he believes Raj is his saviour. Meanwhile Raj, who has since removed his contact details from his website, said: He said: "It frustrates me it might disappoint those looking for Maitreya that, in fact, I'm just an ordinary bloke."