Prem Rawat

Prem Rawat was born in the town of Dehradun near Haridwar, India on December 10, 1957, the fourth son of Shri Hans Ji Maharaj, himself a teacher and guide (called guru in Indian culture). In India he is known as Guru Maharaj ji or Balyogeshwar, and reportedly started speaking to audiences about inner peace at the age of three. At the age of eight, when his father passed away, he declared his intentions to bring a message of peace to the world.

Opposition

A small group of ex-followers and ex-employees that call themselves ex-premies, claim that Prem Rawat is the head of a cult who teaches platitudes and fluff and lives off the gullibility and credulity of his followers. They express their disillusion over early claims of divinity and other allegations. Organizations that support Prem Rawat's reproach these critcs for repeatedly defaming, libeling and harassing Maharaji and his students[1] and considers these critcs a hate group.

Current activities

According to official websites [2], Prem Rawat has presented his message to more than 6.5 million people in over 250 cities and 50 countries and that his message is made available in more than 88 countries and 60 languages[3].

Maharaji travels on average 11 months each year and, between tours, lives with his family (he has four grown up children) in Malibu, USA. The websites say he travels extensively within the Indian sub-continent as well as in the West, spreading his message that "peace is possible, as it resides within each human being", by speaking at numerous forums throughout the year[4], and interacting with individuals interested in knowing more about his teachings. In a recent tour in India, he reportedly spoke to more than a million people about the possibility of inner peace and contentment. [5], These websites also say he is acknowledged by many public communities, business associations and magazines [6] for his contribution to helping bring peace into people's lives.[7]. Although many interviews have been published, Maharaji only gives interviews to journalists with a sincere interest in his message[8].

According to a resume posted on his website, he graduated as an airline transport pilot, and holds a number of pilot type ratings on jet airplanes and helicopters. The resume states that Prem Rawat has advanced skills in computer graphics, computer-aided design, and the development of aviation software, has invented a number of aviation related applications and products, holds a patent for a sophisticated world watch,[9] and is a private investor that has contributed to the success of several startup companies in various industries, including software.

Teachings

According to The Prem Rawat Foundation website, Maharaji provides inspiration and guidance about the possibility of knowing inner peace and contentment through techniques that he calls "Knowledge".

"Peace needs to be in everyone's life. Of all the things we have tried in this world, there is one thing we have never given a chance. That one thing is peace. If we want to hope for something, maybe we could hope in our heart that peace will come in our life. The peace that we are looking for is within. It is in the heart, waiting to be felt, and I can help you get in touch with it. It is not the world that needs peace; it is people. When people in the world are at peace within, the world will be at peace."

According to these sources, his students come from all walks of life. They range from farmers and fishermen in poor countries to executives in global corporations and diplomats in the highest echelons of government and international institutions.Read testimonials from students.. Some of his students are in their late teens, and others have been his students for more than thirty-five years.

Official websites say that Maharaji has hundreds of thousands of students around the world, and he provides ways of interaction with him via expression events and question and answers sessions that are broadcast via live satellite TV to thousands of locations around the world. Printed, audio and video materials are available in more than 60 languages for people to keep in touch with his teachings[10].

Most of the work and preparation for events in which Maharaji is invited to speak is conducted by the students themselves that give their time, effort and money to make these events possible. According to the organizations that support his work, he does not receive compensation for his public appearances.

See slideshow and audio excerpt of an address given by Maharaji at the Griffith University in early 2004. (Requires QuickTime). See also: Video clips of recent addresses given at several universities in the USA and Europe in 2003.

According to The Prem Rawat Foundation, a public educational and charitable foundation[11], more than 528,000 people have received Knowledge since 1971, of which more than 125,000 people between Jan 2000 and April 2004. As there is no membership, group practices, or obligation to attend any events, the foundation believes that a large percentage continue to enjoy Maharaji's teachings by keeping in touch via webcasts, satellite broadcasts, and Internet publications and websites.

They also say that there are currently more than 125,000 people in 88 countries preparing to be taught the techniques of Knowledge, with more than 65,000 of them having prepared for 5 months or more. Their statistics indicated that since 1997, the number of persons preparing to be shown the techniques of Knowledge has grown by 2000% in Cuba, 1000% in Hong Kong, 571% in Portugal, 460% in India, 187% in Nepal, 149% in Spain, 100% in Uruguay, 82% in the United States, 50% in Canada, 50% in Peru, and 45% in Australia. In most countries in Africa where Prem Rawat’s message is available, the number of people preparing to be taught these techniques has doubled or tripled since 1997.

Practices

Although there is no liturgy or social obligations involved, Maharaji asks his students to practice daily for at least one hour the techniques of "Knowledge" to help them experience inner peace and fulfillment. He also motivates them to keep in touch with his teachings, participate in making his message available to other people, and asks not to divulge the techniques of Knowledge to others. These techniques of Knowledge are given free of charge in special gatherings called "Knowledge Sessions". In early days, Maharaji himself or his instructors (Mahatmas in India) conducted these Knowledge sessions. Nowadays these sessions are conducted with the help of digital media in which Maharaji teaches the techniques of Knowledge via a video presentation available in more than 50 languages.

Students and interested people keep in touch with his teachings via digital satellite video broadcasting and cable TV programming in stations around the word See TV programming schedule.

Knowledge: the four techniques

Nowadays Prem Rawat teaches the four techniques of Knowledge that according to Elan Vital are beyond meditation. These techniques are not secret: several explanations of these techniques have been posted by ex-students on the Internet (even though they made a promise to Prem Rawat before they received it, to not to reveal these techniques to others to allow them to "prepare the ground" before receiveing the "seed"). Mentions of similar techniques can be found in other practices, ancient books and poetry. In respecting student's requests, these techniques are not being published in this article. According to the FAQs of Elan Vital, the practice of Knowledge provides an experience of peace, are given freely, and if a student later changes his mind they can merely stop practicing and encouraged to move on.[12]

Evolution of Teachings

Maharaji grew up in a Hindu environment and arrived in the West as a 12 year old child in 1971, at a time when there was an attraction for all things Indian. His family and entourage brought many customs from India with them, which were eagerly embraced by Westerners who sometimes did not fully distinguish between the cultural artifacts and the message.

According to scholarly sources (See references), as he grew up, Maharaji worked to remove Indian cultural trappings that he had inherited and to free his message from religious and cultural connotations. In this process, he was criticized by students from the West as well as from India who were more interested in Eastern culture and Hindu traditions than in his message.

By reading his addresses over the last 30 years, supporters say, one can gather that Maharaji has consistently kept pointing that what mattered was the message and not what surrounds it. Supporters say that he has chosen to operate outside the safety of a religion or culture and has attempted to find a balanced way to present himself and his message in a simple manner, culturally acceptable on all continents and that he is entitled to evolve any normal human being. They see the internationalization of his work as an indication that he has succeeded, to a large extent.

Excerpts

A recent address at the Barcelona Forum 2004 [13].
Recent addresses in India [14], and [15].
Excerpts, video, and audio clips from recent addresses by Maharaji [16]
"Peace Bomb" address, 1970 [17].
Quotes from Maharaji from Wikiquote

Organizations

Maharaji's work is helped by many organizations around the world, most of them run by volunteers. Others are set up as non-profit organizations. The first organization, "Divine Light Mission" (DLM), was set up in the early 70's, and was replaced by Elan Vital in 1983. Ashrams setup by DLM in the West were closed at that time. Today, Elan Vital exists in a few countries, mainly involved in organizing events and fundraising. Elan Vital is registered as a church in the United States and enjoys 501(c)(3) tax exempt status.

In 2001, The Prem Rawat Foundation a 501(c)(03) public charity, was formed according the the Foundation's website, to "promote and disseminate the speeches, writings, music, art, and public forums of Prem Rawat." (See profile by GuideStar [18])

According to Dr. Ron Geaves (see references), Maharaji has never been concerned with creating a particular religious movement and neither has ever considered himself bound by the teachings or practices of any of the world religions. Maharaji has said many times in his public forums, that the practice of Knowledge is compatible with all religions, beliefs, and ways of life.

Historical Perspective

When he was four years old and was speaking in front of large audiences, critics would shout from the back claiming that a recorded speech was played and he was just moving his lips;
At the age of eight, when his father passed away, Prem Rawat declared that he would continue his father's work to spread his message of peace in India and around the world. His mother and older brothers accepted this and he became the assumed teacher. According to translations of some of his early addresses, he taught that there was always one "perfect master" (satguru) in the world at any one time. Just as Rama, Krishna and Buddha had been such manifestations in their time, his father was as well;

According to a transcription of a speech that Maharaji gave in India when he was 12 years old, he declared that he will bring peace to the world and that he was the true master (satguru) of his time, [19].

When he was thirteen years old, Maharaji was discovered by travelling western hippies who persuaded him to leave India and visit them in England and the U.S. These hippies began to spread the message that the "Lord of the Universe" was here for all throughout the world. Whether because of his youth or the grand nature of that claim, Maharaji (called at that time Guru Maharaji Ji) courted and attracted the attention of people of all walks of life, journalists and government officials. At that time the Divine Light Mission ran a large public relations campaign on the theme "Who is Guru Maharaj Ji?" The answer, Maharaji taught, was to be found in the Knowledge that he offered which, he claimed, allowed one to have a direct and immediate experience of God within;

When he was sixteen years old, he married a follower, a stewardess by the name of Marolyn Johnson. His mother and two elder brothers were so incensed that he married outside of Indian culture that they repudiated him and retreated to India. Prem Rawat's oldest brother, Satpal Rawat[20], asserted himself as the one to continue their father's teachings within Indian culture traditions, while, according to Melton (see references) Maharaji remained in the West and continued teaching, slowly removing himself from these trappings. Satpal pursued a career in politics in India with mixed success.

External Links

The Prem Rawat Foundation

The Prem Rawat Foundation A not-for-profit Foundation that promotes and disseminates Maharaji's speeches, writings, music, art and public forums.

Edited reprints of articles placed in various newspapers and magazines:

Other official websites

Maharaji's personal web site Short poems set to music. Available in Chinese, Danish, English, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Spanish, Greek, French, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Slovenian, Finnish and Swedish.
Contactinfo.net News, Event information, Materials, Contacts around the world
Inspire Weekly newsletter with highlights of Maharaji's work
FAQ Frequently Asked Questions

Unofficial websites

Organizations that support Maharaji's work

These organizations, setup as non-profit organizations in most coutries, are mostly run by volunteers to promote Maharaji's message in their localities and organize events to which Maharaji is invited to speak. A short list of these follows:

Grassroot websites

Many localities have groups of volunteers that support Maharajis's work. See world map index. Apart from the English-language websites listed hereunder there are also websites in other languages.

Critics

Ex-premie.org

References and bibliography

Barrett, D. V. The New Believers - A survey of sects, cults and alternative religions 2001 UK, Cassell & Co ISBN 0-304-35592-92-5 [21] pages 65, 305-329
Geaves, Ron A., PhD. CertEd. From Divine Light Mission to Elan Vital and Beyond: an Exploration of Change and Adaptation. The 2002 International Conference on Minority Religions, Social Change and Freedom of Conscience. University of Utah at Salt lake City. (Note: Ron Geaves is a scholar and a student of Prem Rawat)
Geaves, Ron A., PhD. CertEd. New Religions and Globalization: Theoretical and Methodological Perspectives. A RENNER conference in Aarhus, Denmark.[22]
Melton, J. Gordon and Lewis, R. James. Department of the USA Army, Office of the Chief of Chaplains Religious Requirements and practices. A Handbook for Chaplains written by The institute for the study of the American religion (ISAR) 1993 [23]
Melton, J. Gordon. Encyclopedia of American Religions, 7th edition ISBN 0-7876-6384-0 - page 1055