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.
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Atlanta was the official end of the tour. About half an hour before Maharaj Ji was supposed to arrive, the welcoming committee learned that he was landing at a different airport. Rushing to the new point of arrival, they got there early and decided to take a break at the nearby Dairy Queen. As the premies were eating hot fudge sundaes, Guru Maharaj Ji, Mata Ji, Mahabir and Mahatma Gurucharanand drove up. Guru Maharaj Ji kidded them about their priorities. |
All in all, the tour was pretty intense, but not half so riotous as the Holi festival in Miami. Hundreds of premies convened in Miami after the tour to stage the first celebration of Holi in the States. Rumor had it that Holi, a tradition in India, is a pretty outrageous event, and nobody quite knew what to expect. A park by the ocean was the setting, and as everyone gathered, enjoying the sun, Maharaj Ji, Mata i, Bhole Ji were having a strategy meeting in a motorboat offshore. Suddenly the boat headed for the beach and when it hit sand, Guru Maharaj Ji jumped out wielding two paint-filled water pistols. Keeping the premies at bay, he drove a cart to the pavilion where he made his stand. The premies raced for him but were met by a jet stream of colored water. Guru Maharaj Ji had a generator rigged up behind the platform. He doused everyone present, including Mata Ji and Bhole Ji, in rainbow colors until his supply was exhausted. At the end, no one was questioning who was "king of the mountain" anymore. Mata Ji retreated to the ocean to wash followed by one enterprising premie who managed to swim underwater past the WPC to pranam at her feet. Finally, the three climbed back into the motor boat and sped away. |
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 Mata Ji celebrated her birthday in Los Angeles shortly after the American tour. At the last minute the L.A. premies decorated a hall, baked a heart-shaped cake and bought Mata Ji a birthday present. She came to the party, wore a party hat, blew her party horn, and squirted Silly String all over ecstatic premies. Maharaj Ji dropped in at the end of the party. "I just stopped by to wish Mata Ji a happy birthday," he said. Someone then armed him with a can of Silly String which he shook like a pro, then doused everyone within range with pink plastic, including his mother. |
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.
Bhole Ji flew to Philadelphia to join the tour there. Maharaj Ji played more Maserati lila. When following the General Secretary on the freeway, Maharaj Ji pulled him over and told him, "I can't get this car out of third gear." "Why not?" asked H. "Because you don't drive fast enough!"