Prem Rawat (Prem Pal Singh Rawat) whose devotees call him Maharaji (meaning Ultimate Ruler) first came to attention in the West as Guru Maharaj Ji - the self-proclaimed Perfect Master and Lord of the Universe ridiculed in the media as a fat, squeaky-voiced God boy. He had inherited his titles and position as the Satguru, The True Revealer of Light and Spiritual Master of the Divine Light Mission, India (Divya Sandesh Parishad) when his father died in 1966. His father, Hans Rawat, was a successful Indian guru, self titled HRH (His Royal Highness) Yogiraj Param Sant Satgurudev Shri Hans Ji Maharaj. As a child the youngest Rawat son was informally called Sant Ji, more formally Balyogeshwar ("Born King of the Yogis") and even more formally Param Sant Satgurudev Shri Sant Ji Maharaj. In the West Rawat dropped these more verbose titles in the early 1980's and instructed his followers to call him Maharaji. He has also changed the names of his organisations many times: Divine Light Mission (DLM), World Welfare Association (WWA), World Peace Corps (WPC) and Divine United Organisation (DUO) became Elan Vital in the early 1980's and in 2001 The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) was created and from 2010 his major orgs are Words Of Peace Global (WOPG) registered in Holland, Words of Peace International (WOPI) in the USA, HDSK (Human Development through Self Knowledge) in Great Britain and Raj Vidya Kender (Royal Knowledge Society) in India. He no longer claims to be an Incarnation of God but an internationally famous humanitarian leader and teacher of peace. He's neither.
Dear Friends,
Thank you so much for your contributions in 2003.
The enclosed audio CD is a gift for you and includes some brief excerpts from Maharaji's talks during the past year. The year was unprecedented in both the scope and scale of Maharaji's activities. Here is a synopsis of the activities your contributions helped support.
- Four-month tour of India: During February and March and October to December, he traveled to 20 cities, including 16 public and follow up events, attended by over 900,000 people. This tour was concluded by a follow-up event in December in Delhi with 650,000 people connected live via satellite in over 1,000 centers throughout the country. Maharaji answered 25 questions phoned in live from many of those cities.
- Some highlights of that tour were: The Delhi stadium event in March with 130,000 people attending, and November events with 150,000 people attending in Kanpur and 200,000 in Varanasi.
- A helicopter was used for the first time for transport to the events in India - saving many hours of travel time.
- A new large outdoor LED screen was used in India for the first time in November, enabling the entire audience to see Maharaji onscreen close up in full daylight and enjoy his expressions as he spoke. The feedback from people was overwhelming. This screen can also be used in Amaroo, Mauritius, and other outdoor events.
- Mobile stage and audio-visual systems were transported to the events in specially-designed trailers, which provided excellent quality and efficient set up.
- The first Expressions event ever was attended by 46,000 people in New Delhi.
Around the World:
- During 2003, Maharaji also visited 20 cities in the West, with significant focus on reaching out to the public.
- In total there were 25 introductory and follow-up events, attended by 15,000 guests.
- Expression events in 8 cities enabled people who never had the chance to speak to Maharaji to do so for the first time.
- Introductory events included several university events in Berkeley, Boulder, and Fort Lauderdale in the United States and Salamanca in Spain.
- Maharaji was received with great enthusiasm in Africa, returning for the first time in five years there to Accra, Ghana, with a total number of 1,650 people attending from the West Africa region.
- A Pacific Regional Expressions event took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, attended by 2800 people from all over Asia. A follow-up event in Bangkok, Thailand was held after Malaysia.
- 171 Knowledge Sessions were held, an increase of 122 % from 2002 when there were 77 (with an almost 50% increase in the number of people receiving Knowledge).
- A successful training for Knowledge Session teams in Delhi in October enabled 10 operational teams from India to conduct at least one Knowledge Session per day since then in India. In addition, 11 teams are now established for the West and more will be trained this year.
- The Key videos for the aspirant process and related material are now in development.
- The first TV, print and radio advertising were released in major US markets. An interview by Maharaji was heard on three major airlines in October, November and December. Clarity, a book by Maharaji was published, and more than 60 positive articles appeared in the press worldwide. There has been a ten-fold increase from 2002 in the number of cable networks around the world broadcasting his message, including some prime cable channels, with increasing results of people responding with interest.
As you can see, your generosity spreads far and wide. Your support has contributed towards the success of not only the tours and events in the West, but also the miraculous success of the events in India and a record number of people attending events with Maharaji live and, as well, becoming familiar with his message through the diversity of materials.
Thank you again for your enthusiasm and care. It takes each one of us to support this wonderful cause. This year, though still in the planning stage, appears to be exciting, presenting us with fresh opportunities and renewed potential to be part of this incredible work.
Sincerely,
Yoram Weis, Barbara Brogan, David Mankoff and Joan Levin on behalf of the NAM Resource Team
Prem Rawat's "Knowledge" has three parts: regularly listening to his speeches, doing voluntary work for organisations serving him or donating money and daily meditation correctly practicing the four techniques he recommends. The techniques are so simple it's hard to see how they could be practiced incorrectly. First technique ("Divine Light") involves sticking your thumb and middle finger on your eyeballs (NB: with eyes closed) and your index finger between your eyebrows. Second technique: ("Heavenly Music") poking your thumbs into your ears and listening. Third technique: ("Holy Name") thinking about your breathing (NB: continue to breathe). Fourth technique: ("Nectar") curling your tongue backwards and tasting. Rawat's father taught slightly different techniques but either way it's difficult to see how these could produce the benefits claimed for them especially as Rawat claims His Knowledge is the only method of attaining real happiness and love in this life.