Arbit,
I agree with you that the BKs on the whole are not intentionally malevolent. But I think most of us ex-BKs, many friends and relatives of BKs have experienced the whole BK project as a manifestation of Samuel Johnson’s famous aphorism:
”Hell is paved with good intentions” *
That is, good intentions are not enough. In other words,
"be careful what you wish for".
As Hell is a place that is eternal (which doesnt mean forever,
eternal actually means outside the measures of time, like
the land of faery in ancient British myth) you loose track of how long you are there. Some enter and leave quickly, others enchanted can be there for years and decades before they return to the real world.
I agree that some scientific study to support their claims will help them.
One must objectively (scientifically?) see what the outcomes and results of a proposed hypothesis actually are, regardless of what the intent of that hypothesis was or the belief of what the outcome would be before testing. (otherwise, why test?) The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
There is ample evidence to both effects
From what I can see, the benevolent effects mostly come from aspects of BK life that are not exclusively BK, e.g. many benefit from a change of routine to their eating, sleeping and working, giving up drink or drugs or bad diet etc. Learning to sit still and direct your mind to a predetermined ‘ideal' state is a worthwhile lesson.
Unfortunately, they do not go to the next level of understanding of mental states, preferring to merely dose people up on the alternative ego that is soul-consciousness.
You can also see from the different reports by different BKs how the same meditation technique and practice gives quite different experiences. This is explained away as people being ”number-wise” etc or proof of worthiness or accuracy of following sri mat or whatever. But most kinds of meditation, BK or otherwise, will bring some sort of benefit, if even just as a ”time out” rest.
Conversely, many of the malevolent effects can be sourced directly back to what is exclusively and definitively BK - the family breakdowns, poor health (yes, some people’s health improves by being BK, others get worse, so we can say easily that BK Sri Mat on mental and physical diet and activity is not divine or absolute, as it presents itself to be).
The diversion of time and energy from establishing a solid home or family environment, career, life path or sense of meaning, essential for many people’s overall sense of security and support, leads to increased dependence on the BKs for a sense of community and validation, leaving people more open to exploitation of their time and energy, i.e. a closed circle, entrapment.
There are other cases, e.g. BK teachings leading to anxiety, insecurity, or distortion of career paths and so on.
Of course much that goes wrong for a BK or from the BKs, or within the BKs, is not exclusively BK either - human nature, politics, greed, ambition, lies and deception, hypocrisy all are found everywhere. The malevolence behind it all, however, is the disarming of people’s wariness by gaining their trust in the promise that this is ”highest on high”. Whatever you believe about the
hypothesis of BK life and teachins, the practical result when objectively observed is that it is a "feel good now, pay later” Ponzi scheme.
*From Boswell's Life of Johnson, 1775 N.B. the more common ”
The road to hell is paved wih good intentions” comes much later, it’s a mistaken restating of it and changes the meaning.