Is This Man a Messiah? U.S. Cult Thinks So

LONDON, March 31, 2010 -- Raj Patel has found himself in an unusual position -- having to deny he's a god. Patel, a 38-year-old economist from San Francisco, has been hailed as the Messiah by a religious group called Share International.

After the New York Times first reported Patel's strange story on February 4, the economist has received a whirlwind of publicity.

Patel was the guest star on "The Colbert Report" on Comedy Central. Colbert bantered with Patel about the release of his newest book, "The Value of Nothing." The TV appearance served as Share International's sign that Patel is their next "Maitreya" or World Teacher, similar to Buddha, Christ, Krishna or the Messiah.

Share International is a religious group based out of London and Amsterdam, led by the Englishman Benjamin Creme. For the past 30-plus years, Creme has prophesied the emergence of Maitreya. In the early '70s, he announced that Maitreya would leave his home in India in 1977 and move to London. In 1977, Patel left his home in India and moved to England where he later attended the University of Oxford and London School of Economics.

In the 1990s, Creme also prophesied that "A major American television network has requested an interview with Maitreya, and he has accepted the offer."

Thus, Share International followers saw last week's episode of "The Colbert Report" as prophesy come true. And this divine happening has created a modern-day Internet firestorm.

"Just two days after the show, my inbox flooded with e-mails from people all over the world asking me if I was Maitreya," Patel said. "I got e-mails from people I've never heard of."

In fact, just days after his national television debut, two people from Detroit flew out to one of his book signings in San Francisco.

"They were really nice," Patel said. "They said, 'We've come from Detroit to see you. You appeared in our dreams and we're really excited to see who you are.' It broke my heart to have to tell them that I'm not the Maitreya and that they've wasted their time and money."