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.

Sydney

William Street, Sydney - heart of the car salesroom come-on and entrance to the cosmopolitan chaos of Kings Cross. On the second and third floors above the Datsun salesroom and the Elasto elastic company, premies are busy painting, cleaning and decorating the new satsang hall and offices of DLM Sydney. By some sweet twist of fate, the building overlooks Riley Street, site of the humble origins of Divine Light Mission in Australia. The national headquarters, which remain in Wentworth Avenue, are outshone by the growing splendour of the new regional hall. The former Parole Board offices make way for Mission Brown carpet, ricepaper shades and pink lights, Nevada Sand walls and a Signal Red handrail which points the way up flights of stairs (there's also a lift) to the living-room cosiness of the company of truth.

Before you can say mellow, the first week of satsang caters for our "special guest speaker", Mahatma Padarthanand Ji, whose inspiring words are the highlight of the local Guru Puja celebrations, which feature an abundance of food, films and music. Mahatma Ji's satsang emphasises the importance of making Guru Puja (Guru worship) a day-to-day event, of seeing every day as a special occasion because we are alive and fortunate enough to know the source of our lives. "Work is worship", he declares again, and points out the opportunity before us to serve Guru Maharaj Ji by working on the new building and making it a suitable home for the premie family.

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.