CASTELLANE, France - The towering white statue of a self-proclaimed "cosmoplanetary messiah" crashed to Earth in southern France yesterday as demolition experts succeeded in blasting it after two days of work.

A controlled explosion toppled the 33-metre-high homage to Gilbert Bourdin, late founder of the Golden Lotus cult, and sent it sliding a few metres down a hill outside Castellane, about 50 kilometres northwest of the Riviera resort of Cannes.

An earlier bid to fell the statue on Wednesday was foiled after workers discovered its base was reinforced with iron.

French authorities said the monument to Mr. Bourdin, which stood overlooking a lake and formed the focal point of the sect's "holy city of Mandarom," was built in 1990 without planning permission.

The statue depicted the guru resplendent in white robes and a papal-style tiara. At night, the eyes glowed green and a Hindu bindi blinked on the forehead.

Cult followers had compared the demolition of the statue to the destruction of two giant statues of Buddhas in March in Afghanistan.

A small group of them watched from behind a security cordon with tears in their eyes as the statue wobbled under the loud explosion, then slowly fell backward.

Mr. Bourdin, who called himself the Cosmoplanetary Messiah of Synthesis, the Great Master of the Order of the Knights of the Triumphant Vajra, the Master of the Selection of Souls and the Great Pontiff of the Cosmic Diamond Order, claimed to be immortal. He died of heart disease in 1998 aged 74.

He founded his "Aumism" movement in 1969 with the goal of driving away "evil extraterrestrial forces," and uniting Eastern and Western religions.

The sect is a mix of Buddhism, Hinduism and Roman Catholicism, with several original touches. Members chant "om" which they believe was the first word pronounced by God.

While the number of cult followers has dwindled to about 400 from 1,200 at its height, the colourful holy city, with its statues and temples, draws thousands of visitors each year. The statue was the only unauthorized building on the site.

Mr. Bourdin's followers believe their founder will one day be resurrected from a local grave. Town officials covered the burial site with a thick layer of reinforced concrete to prevent his supporters from digging up his corpse.

France has begun a crackdown on cults following the mass suicides of members of the Solar Temple sect in France, Canada and Switzerland in the 1990s.

In May this year, parliament approved a law which will make it easier for the courts to shut down sects considered dangerous.

• Story originally published by:
National Post / Toronto | Pierre Thebault - Sept 07.01

All Copyrights are acknowledged.
Material reproduced here is for
educational and research purposes only.