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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"For every premie, not only in this office building, but anywhere doing service, the very important thing is that everybody should understand that they are doing service to Guru Maharaj Ji. This is very important to understand so that you can focus, you can aim the energy of that service toward Guru Maharaj Ji's purpose which is to reveal this Knowledge to the whole world. "… All three things: satsang, service and meditation, are very, very important, but the most beautiful part is that, at this age, now, it is very possible to do service. This beautiful opportunity has been given to us so that we can do prachar, so that we can do service, so that we can really do meditation. |
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After arriving and having little conversations with some of us, he went into the woods with Jos, our National Director for a walk. Talking with Jos about the premies, he said that they were really happy and strong, and that the group, small as it was, would really be able to propagate. While they were walking, the whole atmosphere became very quiet. It was turning to sundown. Not a leaf was moving and no sound could be heard, only the footsteps of the two enjoying the amazing power of the Holy Name. Jos said afterwards that it was as if he found himself walking on the eternal path. It looked so beautiful with Mahatma Ji at his side, and sometimes a little rabbit jumping over their way." |
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The premie goes up to the door and knocks, waits, meditating. The door is opened by an elderly woman. Eye contact. Premie smile. "Hello," says the premie, "My name is Tom Munger and I'm with the Divine Light Mission. We're doing a survey on meditation." |
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Get Liberated Guru Maharaj Ji at the Guru Puja Celebration in Caracas, Venezuela on July 25th, 1975 You see, we can never tie down the Lord, the perfect thing, and expect him to do something. I'll give you three examples of three popular Perfect Masters: Christ, Ram, and Krishna. Here is Krishna, who is supposed to be the Perfect Master, and he's supposed to tell people to love each other. He is supposed to tell them, "Look, everything is okay. Realize the Knowledge, because you are here for some purpose." But he goes down into the battlefield, and you know what he tells Arjun? "Fight." I mean, he tells him one thing, "Fight." |
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What A Gift This Is Satsang Given by Durga Ji in Caracas, Venezuela at the Guru Puja Festival July 25, 1975 Guru Maharaj has said many times, and especially recently, that we really aren't of this world. This world is not our home. We're here for a time, we're born, we take our first breath, and we keep breathing, we keep living, we keep experiencing this world, and then we die. That's something we all have in common. We have a beginning and an end in this physical form. But that doesn't mean what we truly are has a beginning and has an end. Because it doesn't. It's infinite. When we realize that infinite thing is within us, and that we can concentrate on it through this meditation, then we realize that we really aren't this body. We are something so, so fantastic, so beautiful. We realize that Guru Maharaj Ji, out of his mercy, has come in a raindrop form, in a body, to say, "Hey, all of you, I'm here to show you something. Something very beautiful. So you don't have to be afraid anymore." |
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Fiesta De Amor montage When we say Perfect Master, this person who is infinite - call him Guru Maharaj Ji, call him Lord, call him anything you want - he doesn't need to come into this world. You see? He doesn't. But he comes into this world, and bears a body just like everyone - comes in, and knocks on everybody's doors. Doesn't pressure anybody, but begs them to realize this Knowledge. |
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And Hans Jayanti '75 will be a garland of love for us all, Guru Maharaj Ji's premies. "My blessings to all of you, and I love you all very much," he told the premies at Guru Puja. He is speaking to all his premies. He loves us all so, so much. And though, he said, we can never say "thank you" to the Perfect Master, we can realize our life as service to him. |
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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.