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".
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 mahtmas 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.
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 was quickly husteld overseas and Halley accepted a substntial payment for DLM as compensation. One of Fakiranand's satsangs is posted here, he certainly seems "blissed out" in the photo and in his speech:
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.
|  |
 |
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 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 ????.
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
See Site Policy for statement regarding copyright.