I find this article very hopeful, and worth reading right to the bottom.

Let's separate the magic and miracle of this Practice and this Life (not two, by the way) ... from magic and cheap miracles:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... 067989.ece

Members now spend much of their time investigating and reverse-engineering “miracles” performed by self-styled holy men who often claim millions of followers and amass huge wealth from donations.

One common trick they expose is levitation, usually done using an accomplice who lies on the ground under a blanket and then raises his upper body while holding out two hockey sticks under the blanket to make it look like his feet are also rising. “It’s quite easy really,” said Mr Edamaruku, who teaches members to perform the tricks in villages and then explains how they are done, or demonstrates them at press conferences.