In 1973 I abandoned a promising academic career in Auckland, New Zealand, to spend seven years in India at the feet of such gurus as Bhagwan Rajneesh, Sathya Sai Baba and an enigmatic yogi in the Himalayan jungle by the name of Swami Balyogi Premvarni. The Serpent Rising: a journey of spiritual seduction is my story of the heaven and hell I experienced as I fell under the spell of these self-appointed ‘god-men’, especially Premvarni who wielded incredible and destructive control over his devotees. Rather than someone who could guide me towards the light, he turned out to be an unscrupulous psychopath who exploited me emotionally and sexually. I am grateful that I managed to wake up and escape, and survived to tell my tale.