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 premies, how fortunate we are to celebrate Guru Maharaj Ji in our midst, to celebrate his birthday which was on the 8th of November. How can I describe the lilas of Shri Maharaj Ji!" "I'll tell you this story that happened with Shri Maharaj Ji. There were a few premies, and they said, 'Maharaj Ji, you cannot function without us,' you know, 'we helped you a lot.' And he said, 'Oh yeah? That's what you think? I'll tell you,' he says, 'all of you stay here, and let me go out.' "So he took his doti, kurta, and he put on a tilak, and he just looked beautiful, gorgeous. He walked right through the streets of Jwalapur. When people saw him, they just flipped out. They said, 'Wow, this is just what we have been looking for.' "When he reached back to the ashram again, there was a crowd of seven to eight hundred people who had followed him, just followed him back." "What can I say about Shri Maharaj Ji who has sent me amongst you and has given me a chance to serve you? The name of such a merciful Guru Maharaj Ji is Shri Hans Ji Maharaj. How shall I sing of him? How shall I express the love he has for you? I do not have sufficient words to express how much he loves you. Because of him, I only want to devote every moment here to propagate the Name of God, to devote myself to God." "I will tell you the glories of Shri Maharaj Ji, which all have been unsuccessful to sing. Shri Maharaj Ji is such an ocean of grace, what shall I sing of him? How can I understand him? Nobody can sing about the love within him, about the love of Shri Maharaj Ji. Only a true devotee can sing about it. So dear premies, if you do not obey what Maharaj Ji says, why should you not die? Why should you not drown and die of shame in this world? Oh! that Shri Maharaj Ji has come!" How shall I sing of him? How shall I express the love he has for you? He has deep love for humanity. I cannot express the great love he has for you. I do not have sufficient words to express how much Shri Maharaj Ji loves you. So holy and kind is Shri Maharaj Ji that no matter how much I praise him, it is still too little. What can I tell you about his love? He loves you deeply. "When I was a small child, I loved spiritual discourses. Shri Maharaj Ji told me on Baisaiki day that I should give a lecture. I was a young boy at that time, people used to carry me in their arms. At that time I had no ego, I was so small, I used to consider myself blessed. "That day, Shri Maharaj Ji, my father, told me to give a discourse. I thought within myself, 'What should I say?' I never knew how to preach. At that age I was just beginning to be in the company of holy discourses; I didn't know a thing. "At that time I was in the second grade. It was commanded that I speak in English, but I didn't know English. But, after all, it was a command and I accepted it. How can I explain his divine play? It was his grace. I have never given a better discourse than I did on that day. I clearly remember that day. This is the grace of Shri Maharaj Ji." "His personality is great. His rays are so strong that they cross the bones, they cross the skin, and they shine out. His light, which is his personality, is so powerful that it crosses the whole body; it crosses the whole illusion; it crosses the whole world. But it can't be broken. His divine divinity is so strong, so strong that I've got no words to describe that divinity." 24 |
On July 19, 1966, Satgurudev Shri Hans Ji Maharaj left his body. Guru Maharaj Ji relates the events of that time:
"When I was a little boy, I was just like every other little boy going here and there, playing. When I was six, my father gave me Knowledge. I was given Knowledge and I didn't realize it right away. But I understood it was my duty and I began to meditate and in about a month I realized it. When I was eight, late Maharaj Ji left his body. He was very sick in Delhi. There were all these telephone calls. I was at home and it was time to go to school, so I went to school and I was sitting in the classroom and the driver from Delhi came and called the teacher out to tell her about Shri Maharaj Ji. The madame came back into the class and said to me, 'Go.'
"I went home and everyone was weeping. I was just sitting there not weeping and something began to happen to me. I began to feel that I am not this body; that I could not move these lips. I always thought that the soul would leave by the mouth, but my mouth was shut. Still 1 felt like I was leaving my body and my soul was everywhere going out. And this voice came to me saying:
" 'You are He, You are the one to continue.'
"Then I puzzled over the voice. Thirteen days later, I was doing pranam to my father's ashes and bones. You know, in India, they burn the bodies and thirteen days later you collect the ashes. I bent down to touch the ashes, and the voice came,
" 'You are He, You are the one to go and give this to the world.'
"I didn't want to be Satguru. I would have been satisfied to be a mischievous little boy. 1 didn't understand why it is me. l would have been satisfied to be the humblest servant of the Satguru and not to be one myself. It was not my desire. But the late Maharaj Ji had left one letter when he was away. He sent his love to his oldest three sons and complete prostrations to his youngest. So they crowned me with the crown of Rama and Krishna and put the tilak on my forehead, and again the voice came:
" 'This is the last I will tell you. You are He, you must take this Knowledge out to the world.'
"Then for the first time I did not give satsang. The satsang just came and I began to speak."
"Love flows into me and the Lord has given me wisdom; will he not give me strength to establish peace on this earth? I have complete faith in Shri Maharaj Ji, The tears I am shedding on his birthday are not because I remember him or because I feel sad. Right now, I feel such a spirit in me, I do not know where it has come from; I feel as if I want to shake the world."
Shri Maharaj Ji has showered boundless grace upon me. Take from me. You can give me nothing.
I swear by Shri Maharaj my father, that I will give you peace.
"I will tell you what happened at Dehra Dun after Shri Maharaj Ji left his body. I was sleeping. I suddenly felt that there was a man. I looked closely, wondering what this was all about. Then I saw that Maharaj Ji was there. I talked with Shri Maharaj Ji about certain matters.
"So Shri Maharaj Ji is here. He has not gone anywhere. if you want him to come before you, then I will reveal him to you. Do you think that he would leave you? I say that Shri Maharaj Ji is here. Would he force you to realize God within by leaving you? What must you have been thinking? No such test has been taken yet and never will it be taken.
"So many times, Guru Maharaj Ji has come to this world. There have been many, many Perfect Masters and each one has revealed the very same Knowledge. Yet you have not understood."
"When Shri Maharaj Ji was here, what did he do? He spread the Knowledge to everyone and such work he did that it will never end. Everyone kept taking from his endless treasure. He told me, 'I came for this purpose only. Now you have to do my work.'
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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.