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.
Bhajans Dedicated To Prem Rawat
In the early 1980's, far from attempting to remove Indian trappings from his "Knowledge" and followers' lives, Prem Rawat was intensifying their influence by promoting the
use of bhajans as the main musical form used at his meetings and festivals. The lyrics demonstrate that these westernised bhajans are/were far more
overtly worshipful than any used before (apart from the ubiquitous Arti) The extreme personality worship of Prem Rawat as a Divine and Holy Being was reinforced with such lyrics as "Always
remember His every word is Holy", "How Beautiful Are The Feet Of Him" and "Maharaj Ji, boundless is Your love and glory". For many further examples see the song books of
DLM/EV bhajans here and here.
All relevant copyright to their respective holders is fully acknowledged. Excerpts and copies are published here under applicable fair use principles and specifically are for educational
non-commercial use. It is also noted that no respective copyright holder is currently using or planning to use any of these materials on a commercial basis.
1980 BHAJANS RECORDED AT THE HOLI 1980 FESTIVAL
One Foundation
|
 |
1980 YOU ARE MY EVERYTHING
One Foundation
Traders of the Holy Name
Leaving Your Lotus Feet (Where Would I Go?)
Dance With Us Lord
Maharaj Ji We Love You
You Are My Savior
I Surrender To My Satguru
I Just Want To Dance With You
You Are My Everything
©
Click Here for Complete Lyrics |
 |
| By 1982 we can see that there had been no attempt to remove any Indian-Hindu trappings from Divine Light Mission despite the re-branding of the organisation as Elan Vital that was then underway.
Actually the opposite had happened and the main impetus of the organisation was encouraging devotion and worship of Prem Rawat as a divine omnipotent guru through the use of Indian bhajans as the dominant musical form
at meetings. |
1982 COURT OF LOVE
Holy Jesters
Listen, Listen
I Have Seen Such A Great Wonder
Court Of Love
Please Fill Me With Your Devotion
Glory Of My Master
In Your Hands Is A Jewel
My Master Blessed Me (With Such An Eye)
Life Is Passing
I Am In Love With You My Lord
Don't Let Me Loose Hold
© Elan Communications |
 |
And of course from the late 1960's one bhajan was sung daily in the Divine Light mission ashrams:
Arti
The sample music herein is certainly not exhaustive and any further information and copies of media would be greatly appreciated.
See Site Policy for statement regarding copyright.
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.