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.
Feelings of anticipation were running high once these young people had secured a place for themselves in the Knowledge session. Six were expecting to have a powerful spiritual experience, thinking that the Mahatma was going to open their "third eye" and that they would be enlightened. A larger number were hopeful of some startling spiritual insights, but were not anticipating a dramatic change. Some, like John, were just curious to find out what the Knowledge was, since they had heard so much about its power to transform people, or had witnessed its influence in the generous actions of premies and Mahatmas. And a few, like Walt, were ready to be saved from their personal problems.
Just as there were different expectations about the Knowledge session, there were varying reactions. There were those who were "blissed out" by the Knowledge, who were completely satisfied it was the Truth they had been seeking; those who were disappointed for various reasons, feeling, for example, that they had experienced much of it before; and those who came away confused, not fully understanding what had happened.
Twelve of these premies were "blissed out" in varying degrees, while six left the Knowledge session disappointed or confused. The negative reaction of the six was not strong enough to extinguish their interest in joining the premie community, however, because all six eventually became devotees. After the Knowledge session, some overcame their disappointment or confusion in the process of discovering what the techniques of meditation could do or by remaining linked to others who were heavily involved in the movement.
The expression "receiving the Knowledge" conveys the somewhat misleading impression that the Mahatma, who is now called "Initiator," presents the Knowledge as if it could be wrapped and offered as a gift. It is true that the Mahatma (Initiator) gives instruction in the techniques of meditation; those techniques, however, are not the Knowledge, but rather are the means by which the initiate is put in touch with the Knowledge, the inner light which Guru Maharaj Ji has called the power of God. This is the mystery of nature, that there is a hidden Light in everything, and you have to realize what that hidden Light is, what that hidden thing is, what that hidden current is in you that is constant and can never die. These are the teachings of all the saints on record. That thing that is making things alive is the most constant thing in the world because it is the power of God, and this is making everything alive (Guru Maharaj Ji, 1971). 1
The claim that the guru could reveal God was affirmed through the experience of those who were "blissed out." As one premie said: "We grow up thinking that we are doing our own breathing, yet we cannot stop our breath by holding it, for at some point we will have to gasp for air and go on living. The techniques of meditation used in Divine Light Mission reveal how the Knowledge is breathing us."
Meditation on the inner light is one of ways premies are taught to contact their life force. Several premies had experienced the light in childhood while holding their eyes closed tightly. Others were caught completely off guard. Marc was one. "After concentrating on the third eye for so long, my first experience of divine light was beyond words. I got the feeling that this 14-year-old boy who could show me that simple means of seeing the light must really have something. It's such a subtle way of experiencing the light, which is in all of us, you don't have to use a mantra or anything else because it's always right there inside of you. You get the feeling that it is something real being shown to you, that it's the Truth and is beyond words. At the moment you concentrate on the light you have no thoughts and you realize that, if you could be in that light all of the time, it would solve all of your problems." There is a musk deer which has musk hidden in its belly button, always giving off a scent, and this scent intoxicates the deer. He is naturally attracted to it, yet does not know where it comes from. So he looks everywhere for the source and in the end in crazy frustration he jumps off from the mountain and falls and dies. You are just like this musk deer. You run around searching for the light, the source of your life, the abode of peace and understanding, and all the time it is inside you. But you don't know it. (Guru Maharaj Ji, 1971). 2
Listening to the celestial music, the musical sounds each meditator experiences differently inside the inner ear, is another way premies learn to experience their life force. A premie put it in the following way: "We're constantly in this world of sounds, with loud voices and cars rushing by, every kind of sound you can imagine. But there is one sound from which all sounds come and that is the celestial music, the music of life which is in all of us." Today, the guitar is played. We love it. Today, rock and roll music is played. We love it. Today, jazz music is played. We love it. Classical music is played. We love it. But there is a music going on inside of yourselves also, and God plays that music (Guru Maharaj Ji, 1971). 3
Premies believe that by concentrating on what one might call the inward flow of the body's moisture in the mouth and throat, one can experience the "river of life" within. This is meditation on the "nectar." "In this world of exterior taste," a premie said, "you can taste everything imaginable. But there is an inward taste also. To turn the taste inward is to discover a river of nectar flowing within. It is the river from which all tastes stem. It is the river of life that Jesus spoke of. Upon drinking from this river, there is complete satisfaction." Finally, by focusing on the rhythm of their breathing, premies were taught to become aware of the Word in each breath as the basis for meditation and action. " 'In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.' The Word is an unspeakable vibration that's keeping us alive." This Word is hidden, and then it is just shown to you., You understand it, you catch it, and then you receive the satisfaction of mind, because to our mind this Word is a church (Guru Maharaj Ji, 1971). 4
By trying to focus on their breathing during the day, premies seek contact with the Word, the spiritual source of their lives, which reminds them of what is common between themselves and others. Concentrating their attention on the inner light, celestial music, nectar or the Word during meditation, premies reported a general quieting of their mental activity. With calmer minds, they said they were better able to experience the Knowledge. Therefore, they regarded meditating in a disciplined way over time as an essential step in the development of a more meaningful, less tense and more fulfilling way of life. What is meditation? Perfect concentration upon a perfect thing is called meditation. Just remember that. For then you are making your soul and God into one, at that time you are receiving perfect communion with God. Because you have put all your mind into the Knowledge, into that peace which is God. Do you see? So you are doing everything at that time. You are worshipping, you are talking, you are seeing, you are listening, you are experiencing, you are touching, you are feeling, you are everything (Guru Maharaj Ji, 1971). 5
The "Blissed Out"
Tina's encounter with the Knowledge was fairly typical of the most "blissed out." "The Knowledge was more than I'd ever comprehended. What happened to me was so beautiful, subtle, and simple. It was absolutely perfect. And the Knowledge session was so full of love. The Mahatma just gave and gave, wanting us all to understand and to be really devoted to Guru Maharaj Ji. My Knowledge session lasted eight hours, but it didn't seem that long. My mind didn't think about anything during that time. And my soul was soaking up everything. It was just digging so much of what the Mahatma was saying, for he was answering everything I'd ever asked. It was so perfect and beautiful that I came out of the Knowledge session raised up.
Others experienced a childlike ecstasy. "After the Knowledge session, I ran outside. All day long I ate ice cream cones, swung on swings, ran around. I felt like it was my spiritual birthday. I was a child of God. Once you receive the experience of God in the Knowledge session, you can carry that over into all facets of your life, so that all the things that used to bother you are not so heavy or confusing. You can see the light; you can find the lesson in every action."
There was a deep feeling of thanks for Guru Maharaj Ji, because he had shown them God and set them on a new and more meaningful course. Feelings of enthusiasm gave rise to the conviction that Guru Maharaj Ji and Divine Light Mission were "the way." Not only were most of the "blissed out" ready and willing to surrender, they were eager to spread the Knowledge in order to realize their vision of a world at peace.
The Disappointed
The six premies who were disappointed and confused were less well prepared for conversion and commitment than the "blissed out." For example, five of the six had no friends, relatives, or close acquaintances in the movement before their initial contact. Three held views in conflict with the Mission's beliefs. Five had had little to do with premies before receiving the Knowledge.
John walked out of the Knowledge session disappointed. He had had high expectations that it would be a "cosmic experience," but in fact it was much less than a dramatic event for him. "When I saw the light it didn't strike me as anything new because I'd seen it several times before. I remember experiencing the light when I was about seven years old. I used to sit in church and close my eyes real tight and I'd see it. The same was true with the music technique. I remember sitting on top of a mountain watching the sunrise and hearing the same sound, although I didn't know what it was at that time. The Knowledge is like that; it really isn't anything new. The Knowledge session reveals what's there and that it's always going on."
John's heart warmed toward the movement when the Mahatma showed him how to experience the Word of God. "The Word meditation surprised me the most because it was so simple. Premies were always talking about the Word, so I expected that when I came in contact with it my mind would be blown away, and it was. I had not anticipated that the Word would be something so close to me, something which keeps me going all the time." From where is your breath coming? Who is making your breath alive there? Just observe it. You weren't breathing at night, were you? You never thought to take a breath at night. You never said, "Well, I am going to sleep, but yet I will be taking a breath." You just went to sleep. And still your breath was going on, the Word was helping this breath to go on ahead. If we realize that Word, it will be quite clear before us what is making us alive every moment. And what is making leaves alive. What is making birds alive. What is making animals alive. What is making the whole world alive (Guru Maharaj Ji, 1971). 6
Even though John was surprised at the simplicity of the Word meditation, he was not moved to put the techniques into use. "After the Knowledge session, I didn't meditate that much because the Knowledge seemed too simple. In fact, I probably would have fallen away from the Knowledge afterward if it hadn't been for my roommate. She was going to satsang a lot and I just went along with her."
Another premie recalled: "When I came out of the Knowledge session, I was sort of disappointed because nothing really happened. I'd expected all kinds of things. Other people were coming out of there laughing and hugging each other. 'Boy, what phonies,' I thought. The next day I was wandering around wondering what trip I was going to get into next." This premie was in spiritual limbo, knowing he was developing strong spiritual aspirations, while doubting that the Knowledge had the power to change his life radically. The next day he found a job, just to occupy his time, and that evening he halfheartedly decided to try the Word meditation. "I was sitting there doing the Word technique sort of half-assed, hardly putting any effort into it, when I found myself getting drawn deeper and deeper into it. I started getting rushes of pleasure up and down my body. From that experience I knew there was something powerful happening. So I got into meditating on a regular basis."
Both of these premies remained in touch with the Mission through fateful circumstances; one through his living arrangement with another premie, the other after the surprising sensations of his first meditation. Although both were free to join a spiritual group, it is questionable whether either of them would have become involved had it not been for these fortuitous events.
The Confused
Walt left the Knowledge session confused, for his experience had been both incomprehensible and bland. "The Mahatma went around the room revealing the light technique to everyone. I heard people go 'Wow!' But when he got to me and showed me how to see the light, I hardly saw anything. Then he revealed the nectar, music, and Holy Word. I was very tired, so I didn't experience very much. When the session was over the Mahatma told us to meditate and then go to sleep. I tried to meditate, but I was feeling so depressed I didn't have much success."
Having decided not to see Guru Maharaj Ji off at the airport the next morning, Walt returned to Boulder, still feeling depressed and wondering whether he would ever be able to meditate or be devoted. "I went back to my apartment in a very confused state of mind. But I did put up a picture of Guru Maharaj Ji on my wall. That night I went to see a friend and he and some of his friends were drunk. As I looked at them, I realized that something had happened to me because I felt so far removed from the game of getting drunk and stoned. I suddenly saw that I was no longer interested in doing that. My friend asked me if I'd received the Knowledge and I told him I had. He immediately started making sarcastic jokes about how I was a saint, and how he couldn't measure up to me. He was only joking, but it made me feel bad. Yet, when I left, I was feeling high about receiving the Knowledge, as if I'd been liberated a little bit. I went home and was taking a shower when, all of a sudden, I felt the presence of Guru Maharaj Ji very intensely. I bowed down right there in the shower, close to crying. I just felt his grace so much. It was like he was telling me, 'You're okay, for you're under my shelter now.' "
Another premie, who also had been poorly prepared to receive the Knowledge, was confused even by some elementary terms. "After the Knowledge session, I went outside and cried, for I had no idea what the Knowledge was. I even said to a friend, 'Incidentally, what's a guru? The Mahatma kept talking about guru; what's that?' I didn't even know what the importance of the guru was." Guru has got more significance than God. Why? There's a very logical explanation to it-how actually Guru is bigger than God. See, let me explain it from my way. When I was born, God existed, but I never saw God. I never knew Him. Either He was ashamed to turn up out of a hole, you know, or so on; I just never knew Him, until Guru Maharaj Ji came into my life; till Guru Maharaj Ji came in my way, and showed me and revealed me that secret. And the day he did that, there it was, I knew God. So to whom should I give significance? This is something that you can decide, to whom should I give significance? God was there, I was there, I was alive, God was alive, and God was right in my heart. I just never knew Him. To whom should I give significance at this moment? My guru, because he is the one who revealed me that, he is the one who told me. I never knew if God existed. My guru is the one who revealed God to me (Guru Maharaj Ji, 1972). 7
This premie might have walked away from the movement at that point, had it not been for the vow she took during the Knowledge session. "I was crying because I knew I'd gotten myself into something I wasn't sure about. I'd committed myself, for I'd made promises in the Knowledge session I knew I had to keep. I'm the kind of person who values promises. Whatever I say, I'll do. Every night for the next week I sat around with some other girls who had received the Knowledge and we wondered what it was. We also weren't sure we could get up at 4:30 in the morning to meditate or to meditate on the Word all the time. We weren't particularly glad we'd gotten into it."
Conversion
"To be converted, to be regenerated, to receive grace, to experience religion, to gain an assurance, are so many phrases which denote the process, gradual or sudden, by which a self hitherto divided, consciously wrong, inferior and unhappy, becomes unified and consciously right, superior and happy, in consequence of its firmer hold upon religious realities." 8 Although written primarily about Christian conversions, this comment by William James could easily have been made about premies, furnishing support for the idea that conversion is governed by a common set of principles and dynamics.
In psychology, we learn from E. T. Clark's The Psychology of Religious Awakening that individuals who experience dramatic conversions tend to be guilt-ridden; from Joel Allison's research that they are better able to employ the services of the unconscious in the ego's development; from Leon Salzman's work that repressed anger plays a key role; from William Sargant's Battle for the Mind that they tend to be simple but stable introverts; from Theodore Levin and Leonard Zegans that a dramatic conversion may help to break down developmental impasses; and from Carl Christensen that sexual conflicts may precipitate sudden conversions. 9
Christensen's enumeration of the stages of the conversion experience offers a good overview of the thinking in the field.
However dramatic conversion may seem, it is but one stage of a larger process of change. We will see, especially in the experiences of the "blissed out," how one step leads to another until the person has become eager for and receptive to a real transformation. Some of these steps have already been discussed, so I will only briefly mention them here; others will be explored in somewhat greater detail.
By the time they had been admitted into the Knowledge session, most premies had already been well-prepared for conversion. Discontented, they had found conventional means of change ineffective. This made them wonder what other measures could be taken to rectify their problems and to straighten out the world. Through their psychedelic experience and contact with spiritual people, spirituality became the answer they were seeking. Naturally, there was a tendency during this time to experiment with various forms of spiritual practice, such as meditation and yoga. The positive experiences gained from their first journey into the spiritual world made them more determined to take a spiritual direction.
Drawn more deeply into spirituality, they developed lofty spiritual ideals. They wanted to become loving, peaceful, and happy; ideals which demanded more than cosmetic changes. This was a time of great inner conflict because these ideals were well beyond the reach of their abilities.
Eager to pursue their spiritual interests, they struggled to change on their own, only to watch their efforts fall short. This was a low point in their development because whatever they tried seemed to have little effect. Many eventually tired of the struggle. As fatigue set in, feelings of futility, of being lost and incapable, partially immobilized them. No longer believing in the value of their individual efforts, they began to think they needed the outside intervention of a spiritual authority. So they started looking for a guru to follow. They were hoping for a breakthrough of some kind, thinking that possibly a guru's grace might provide the necessary impetus to get them through their impasse.
"Blissed out" premies like Tina arrived at the point where they were ready to surrender. They had come to realize that, not only were their individual efforts hopelessly inadequate, but they were also self-defeating. For, if their individual attempts to change succeeded, it would only serve to strengthen their egos, while they had come to see the individual ego as an obstacle to spiritual progress. This put them in the state described by Christensen "of giving up or giving into." In terms of their ultimate conversion, this was the first of several important changes.
Mistrusting the individual will, they became more receptive to spiritual experience. This was a critical development because, being more receptive, they were less apt to sit in judgment of the Knowledge experience, which was the tendency of the "disappointed" and "confused." Not judging their experience, the "blissed out" were more deeply affected and moved by it.
Experience of the universal spirit (Knowledge) was the dramatic turning point. As each meditation technique revealed their inner spiritual essence to them, they saw the simple but incredible wonder of life. This had the effect of changing their perceptions of themselves and the world. Everything was seen in a new light, as they recognized manifestations of the universal spirit everywhere. Even people with divergent beliefs were seen as sharing a common spiritual source. This understanding helped them overcome their alienation while it gave them a basis for believing that a world community was possible, if people would only recognize that they were one in spirit.
Premies who had an intense experience of their spiritual essence were likely to abandon the old way of seeing themselves and to identify with the universal spirit. This fundamental shift of their identity meant they were no longer tied emotionally to their personalities as the core of their being. Instead, they were seeing themselves as individual manifestations of the unifying energy-God. This was expressed by the premie who said that her experience of the spirit made her feel like a child of God. Having experienced the underlying spiritual unity of life, these premies were awed by it. They were seeing themselves as spiritual expressions and servants of God.
Unable to relate directly to an abstract God, premies came into a devotional relationship to Guru Maharaj Ji. He became the tangible expression of the Infinite, which explains why premies tend to see him as the Lord. Seen as a living manifestation of the universal spirit, premies could express their love and devotion to God through their connection to the guru. Identifying with the spirit and seeing themselves as lovers and servants of God and guru, premies tapped a hidden reservoir of potential within them for experiencing more love, peace, and happiness in their lives. This renewed their confidence, gave them a more positive view of themselves, and removed many of their doubts about what to do with their lives.
Premies who identified with the universal spirit in this way became detached from their personalities to such an extent that they were much less affected by their personal quirks and problems. Seeing their personalities as a result of social conditioning and not of any "real substance," they could step back and examine their behavior as one might thumb through a book, with a certain degree of aloofness. No longer identifying with their old problems, they could laugh at things they felt and did which, in the past, might have led them into a depression. Detachment from their personalities essentially freed them from emotional blocks which had prevented their further development. Alan received relief from his suffering in this way. After receiving the Knowledge, he was amused by his emotional upsets because he knew that his personality was only a product of socialization and nothing to really worry about. This attitude immediately improved his ability to relate to others.
Aside from all the psychological and social explanations one could offer to explain their conversions, the fact is that, during the Knowledge session or afterward in meditation, these young people had a spiritual experience which deeply affected them and changed the course of their lives. It was an experience which moved many to tears and joy, for they had found the answer they had been seeking. It was an experience which gave their lives more positive direction, meaning, and purpose. It was an experience which brought them into a new relationship to life and removed many blocks to growth. It was an experience-which sages have spoken about throughout history-of the oneness of life.
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.