 Downton, a sociologist and professor emeritus of Sociology at the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Colorado at Boulder, spent one month in an ashram and relied on interviews with eighteen followers, presenting a "vivid picture of the social and psychologically dynamics which led to their spiritual awakening".He followed the mission for a period of five years chronicling the followers' personal changes and the evolution of the movement itself.Downton himself later wrote an article in "Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion", which explored these issues further.