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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Dance, Dance, Dance by Mitchell Ditkoff Ah satsang. Sweet, sweet, satsang. So there I (we) am, sitting in my (our) seat, trying not to wait for Guru Maharaj Ji to come, knowing he's everywhere, yet somehow noticing that despite his omnipresence, he most definitely is not sitting in his chair. And then, quite simply, he appears. Sits. And bows his head. Almost on cue I begin to nod out. Lean to one side. Tilt. Like my father home from a 12-hour day and watching Gunsmoke. I can't believe it. No, this can't be! I bite my lip. I pull the hairs on my wrist. I pinch my own cheeks. Please Maharaj Ji, don't let me fall asleep now. I've come so far to be with you, to do Puja, to receive what you have to give … and whatever you have to withhold. Please don't let me fall asleep now … |
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The Path of Devotion Excerpts from Initiator Joan Apter's Satsang at Guru Puja, Tucson, Arizona, July 15, 1978 Pranam, Guru Maharaj Ji. I can really feel in my heart such a feeling of what it's all about here today, worshipping Guru Maharaj Ji. This is the path of devotion that Guru Maharaj Ji is offering us, the path where we become one with that infinite perfection. And that experience that we have of touching his lotus feet to our foreheads, of kissing his lotus feet, it's such a symbol of what Guru Maharaj Ji is doing. Because he is taking what we would consider the finite and he's melting it, he's merging it, he's placing it in contact with the infinite, with the perfection that we are to become one with. It's my love for Guru Maharaj Ji. And it's what makes my life meaningful. |
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Song: I Love You - Rich Neel Lyrics: I cannot comprehend |
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Take Those Three Steps - Guru Maharaj Ji's Satsang at the Guru Puja Festival, Tucson, Arizona, July 16, 1978 And all, I can say is, please go ahead and take those three steps that you really need to take. Just take them. And let Guru Maharaj Ji walk those three million miles. Because that's Guru Maharaj Ji's pleasure. That's okay. He doesn't mind walking three million miles. But it just seems that you do mind walking those three steps. And I just sincerely advise you that you quit minding it, and just take those three steps, and let that happen in your hearts, let Guru Maharaj Ji come in your heart. This is an endless saga. Knowledge is infinite. |
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We have climbed the greatest mountain there ever could be. We have done the most that there ever could be. Yes! If you are surprised, don't be. You - if you have ever experienced Knowledge -- have in fact experienced what even in thousands and thousands and thousands of lifetimes can never be experienced. You have climbed mountains more than Mt. Everest could ever be. Mt. Everest would be like a microscopic dent on what you have climbed. And all by Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace. |
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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.