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.

Mahatmas of Prem Rawat (Maharaji)

One of the most important factors in the early success of DLM were the Indian 'mahatmas', supposedly celibate men and women who lived in ashrams and dedicated their lives to practice and proselytisation of the "Knowledge".

The idealistic and ignorant young Westerners believed these people to be "liberated", "realised souls", "yogis", "swamis", etc. They were thought to be above normal consciousness and to exist on a higher plane. And certainly the few mahatmas that came to Australia put on a pretty convincing show in this regard.

An article in the 1973 Realist magazine shows the respect the mahatmas were given:

As the devotees settled on the floor, it was as though we were watching a rock star paying a surprise visit to his fans. There was excitement in the air and everything in the office came to a standstill the moment Mahatma Ji entered the room. And there we were, face to face with one of the Holy Men, who was obviously enjoying all the attention he was getting. When Billy White told the honored guest that we were from the media, his eyes lit up and he looked as if he wanted us to ask him some questions. In the course of our short interview with Mahatma Ji, he told us that he had been a follower of Guru Maharaj Ji for four years, and that he had been an engineer in India before that.

Obviously, these mahatmas might be as ignorant and inexperienced in this "Knowledge" as the Western devotees who almost worshippped them. On July 17, 1974 Rawat explained:

And that is what Mahatmas are. Mahatmas are mikes (ie microphones) and they help, I mean more than help to convey this message of Knowledge, of peace, of Truth, of love, to so many people at one time. And this is a function, a role of Mahatmas. But the thing is you have to understand that for even them they need Grace, there is still development in their life, they still have to go somewhere. They've realised Knowledge and a lot of it, and it's like the thing is they are still trying to realise Knowledge more and more because now they have gone to such a point that they can see that the road is there, it's clear for them. I mean other people are just making the turns and twists and they don't even know if the road is there or not, but they have crossed their turns and twists now. They're there where they can see a big long road right down. All we can be to Mahatmas is thankful, because there could be a person singing a beautiful, beautiful song and maybe people at the back wouldn't be able to hear, all you can do is say thanks a lot for this microphone, because I can hear.

By far the most important mahatma was Mahatma Gurucharanand without whom the young Rawat would have missed the short window of opportunity during the early 1970's to gain enough devotees in the West to support him. By 1974 the pool of disenchanted counter-culture "hippies" had dried up and since then Rawat's constant push for new followers has proven mostly fruitless.

Prem Rawat preached that only mahatmas were able to "reveal Knowledge" ie Guru Maharaj Ji gave them the connection to Him that allowed the grace to initiate people. On a more mundane level, it was a reasonably time-consuming process and many mahatmas were required to indoctrinate and initiate the tens of thousands of Westerners that DLM claimed as members.

Many of the Western premies had their beliefs about mahatmas challenged when they learned that a mahatma, Mahatma Fakiranand, had nearly bludgeoned the journalist and merry prankster, Pat Halley, to death with a hammer for throwing a shavingcream pie into Maharaji's face in Detroit in 1973. Fakiranand, who was an important mahatma of Shri Hans, Prem Rawat's father, and remained an extremely important mahatma under Satpal Maharaj after Prem Rawat was deposed by his Indian followers, was quickly hustled overseas and Halley accepted a substantial payment from Divine Light Mission as compensation. (click here for full details of this crime) One of Fakiranand's satsangs is posted here, he certainly seems "blissed out" in the photo and in his speech:

"I am seeing that self-effulgent Light twenty-four hours a day. Guru Maharaj has opened my eye and has given everything to me. I am remembering that Word at all times. There is nothing more precious than Guru, nothing more lovely than Guru Maharaj in this whole universe for a human being."

He continued as a mahatma until at least the present day (2008) preaching for Satpal Maharaj, Rawat's eldest brother and replacement Satguru. The Western premies had to change their beliefs about mahatmas when all but a handful of them returned to India and remained loyal to Rawat's mother after she disinherited Him for his playboy lifestyle. After all, they couldn't have higher spiritual experience if they accepted Prem Rawat, their Perfect Master and Lord of the Universe as just a naughty fat boy who'd got lost in maya of sex, drink, drugs and being a playboy.

Some of the mahatmas were unable to remain celibate as Bob Mishler testified: "Although it was true that a number of his Mahatmas did that, and we had a number of problems with some of the Mahatmas on that level, I am not aware of Maharaji taking advantage of women followers." Rawat did take advantage sexually of some of his devotees in later years as Mike Dettmers testified.

Meanwhile, in Santa Monica, Mahatma Ji Satyanand, a leader loyal to the mother, told newsmen Friday that "it is a must" that Maharaj Ji "surrender" to the will of the mother and accept his oldest brother, Bal Bhagwanji, as "the perfect master." Mahatma Ji, speaking mostly through an interpreter, said that the mother had named the teen-ager the perfect master "temporarily" after the death of the father in 1966. The oldest brother, Mahatma Ji said, was really the perfect master all along. Speaking of the 17-year-old, who married a non-Hindu last year, Mahatma Ji said: "He is a saint, but not a guru." Joe Anctil, press spokesman for the Divine Light Mission headquarters, said the family quabble goes back quite a few years. The young spiritual master's taste for expensive cars and homes has been publicly known, but Anctil denied the mother's charges that the guru had also begun to eat meat and drink alcoholic beverages.

Those who remained loyal included Mahatmas Gurucharnanand and Sampurnanand who had both been heavily involved in the proclamation of Prem Rawat as the new Perfect Master on the death of his father. They are seen in this photo flanking the young Prem Rawat who pretends to play the flute and is dressed in the costume his father would wear when posing as Krishna. Sampuranand led the Rav Vidya Kender (DUO) in India after Rawat was unable to regain the Divine Light Mission properties in the Indian courts and was still testifying for Rawat in the Passages video. As of 2008 Gurucharnanand, or Abhay Charan - golfer and tennis player, is still touring for Rawat though he did not remain a celibate monk all those years. Mahatma Padarthanand also returned to India working for Rawat and became a hirsute householder. Mahatma Rajeshwaranand remained loyal to Prem Rawat. Mahatma Gitanand, who had spent considerable time in Europe was known to have worked in a bakery in Frankfurt around 1980 (Ash, XPF, 30/8/9). Mahatma Gyanyoganand was disillusioned with both of the brothers and went back to India to teach hatha Yoga (Mike Finch, XPF, 30/8/9). Mohani Bai married a German premie and teaches Indian chant.

The mahatma who was probably closest to Prem Rawat was Mahatma Jagdeo. He lived in the Malibu mansion and for many years had a special service overseeing the educational facilities of Divine Light Mission. It was later revealed he was a paedophile who took advantage of his position to sexually abuse some of the children in these schools.

When the organisation was challenged about these events, they first tried to ignore the accusations. Jagdeo was returned to India where he was protected within the Raj Vidya Kender infrastructure.

Jagdeo also supervised the training of the Western initiators for some years. In the photo on left he is seen at the back of an early group of Western devotees "training" to become "initiators".

The first and only Western Mahatma empowered in India, the spacey and charmingly cosmic Brian Pitt alias Mahatma Param Saphlanand, was the driving force behind the early attraction of young hippies to Rawat. He first convinced Sandy Collier, Ron Geaves (now Professor Ron Geaves), "Milky" Cole and David Beales to go to Dehra Dun and "receive Knowledge" and then was Mahatma Gurucharanand's offsider and translator in the beginning of his time in England.

In Denver in 1975, Rawat held a conference with most of the mahatmas still left to him in the West. He also appointed four new mahatmas - the former Bill Patterson, now Mahatma Satchitanand; the former Arthur Brigham, now Mahatma Param Premanand; the former Ira Woods, now Mahatma Gurupujanand; and the former Kathy Sullivan, now Mahatma Pranam Bai. Their "mahatmahood" status did not last long and they were soon downgraded to "initiators." Rawat later downgraded them again to "instructors" and continued to harp on their lack of spiritual superiority and total reliance on his Grace.

The majority of the Western 'mahatmas' or 'initiators' or 'instructors' who were appointed have become 'apostates' ie they no longer believe in Rawat or his Knowledge. Some of the more prominent include Mahatma Saphlanand, Mike Finch and Jean Paul ????. Of the first four Westerners, Ira Woods has remained one of Rawat's most important devotees, Bill Patterson has been reported as apostasising and dying after an accident, Kathy Sullivan has apostasised and Arthur Brigham is still a follower.

Female Mahatmas were call Bais. There were far fewer of these in the West than males. Mohani Bai was an influential 'mahatma' who served mainly in Germany. It was said, amongst followers of Prem Rawat at the time, that she was a widow, that she left Divine Light Mission at the time Prem Rawat's mother disowned him and removed him as the Perfect Master and that she married a German devotee who had been her chauffeur who also became an apostate. She is an M.D. practising as a physican and psychotherapist and has a web site The Mantra Calls You. She remains a spiritual teacher who has released CDs of Indian mantras for meditation, performs concerts and has written a book. She does not wish to speak publicly of her time in Divine Light Mission.

Learning More:
The Mantra Calls You

The Keys:

Mohani Bai gave Satsang which was published in Divine Light Vol 1 No 3, Magazine of Divine Light Mission, December 1971. At that time she believed mantras were useless without the "Knowledge" of Prem Rawat: "By performing penances, austerities, fastings and other various techniques one can get a worldly and perishable reward, but not realization of Truth. The mystery of scriptures is only known by the practical Knowledge of the Sadguru of the time." She believed "My divine teacher Shri Balyogeshwar Sadguru Deva Shri Sant Ji Maharaj gave me the Knowledge of that life which is the Light of all living beings." She's learnt a lot since then.

In September 1971 the Newsweek Feature Service issued an article which reported that the Guru claimed to have 2,000 Mahatmas. By 1975 he had a handful or two once he was stripped of his title for alcohol and drug abuse, meat-eating and a general "playboy lifestyle".

Article About the Initiator Development Program Golden Age Magazine No 34 November 1976

Mahatmas
Mahatma Guruchar(n)anand: now known as Mr Charan Anand
Mahatma Jagdeo: paedophile living in Rawat's Malibu mansion
Mahatma Sampurnanand: Rawat's main man in India
Mahatma Padarthanand: Spent 1973-75 in Australia
Mahatma Rajeshwar(ananad): formerly judge(?) Mahatma Fakiranand: attacked reporter with hammer, now mahatmaing for Satpal Maharaj
Mahatma Mahavir
Mahatma Ashokanand: Ran the British DLM 1972-75
Mahatma Vid Praktanand: Palace Of Peace
Mahatma Gyanyoganand:
Mahatma Krishnasukanand:
Mahatma Vijayanand; Vijay Kumar Sumar became disillusioned with Rawat, ordered to sweep floors, openly criticised in satsang
Mahatma Parlokanand
Mahatma Adharanand
Mahatma Gitanand
Mahatma Tribeninanand
Mahatma Trevinanand
Mahatma Satyanand: said to have been a follower of Hans Rawat's guru, Swarupanand
Mahatma Premanand
Mahatma Tejeshwaranand

Bais
Prakash Bai
Mohani Bai
Sulakshna Bai
Devki Bai
Belkis

Indian Mahatmas
Mahatma Gyan Bairaganand (Gyanbaraganand): became president of Rawat's Indian DLM
Mahatma Ramanand: (big ears)
Mahatma Premanand
Mahatma Dayalanand
Mahatma Dipanand
Mahatma Devananand
Mahatma Vasudevanand

Western Mahatma
Mahatma Param Saphlanand: The only Western mahatma

Short Term Mahatmas
Mahatma Gurupujanand; Ira Woods, still crazy after all these years
Mahatma Pranam Bai: Kathy Sullivan, longterm housekeeper for Rawat apostate
Mahatma Satchitanand: Bill Patterson, longterm administrator died an apostate
Mahatma Param Premanand: Arthur Brigham, rumoured to have gone to gaol for drug smuggling in Australia in early 1980's

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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.