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.

12    THE TIMES MONDAY OCTOBER 23 1972

Early next month two jumbo jets will leave London for Delhi packed with British devotees of Guru Maharaj Ji, a 14-year-old boy whom many regard as "the perfect master" and "the prince of peace ". A further five jumbos will be flying in from America and altogether some three thousand Westerners will join the million or so Indians who will be flocking to Delhi to take part in the three-day birthday celebrations of the guru's late father. There they will sit at the boy's feet, listen to his spiritual discourses (satsangs) or just enjoy his physical presence (dashang).

The disciples are members of the Divine Light Mission which was founded in India 12 years ago by the Guru's father Satgurudev Shri Hans Maharaj. Like his father Guru Maharaj Ji is " the perfectly enlightened soul of our time " who, say the divinely lit missionaries, can give " the knowledge of God " to over five million people, just like Christ or Krishna.

Guru Maharaj began to deliver spiritual discourses on God realization at the age of two and a half and at six gave his first satsang in English with such strength and authority that his audience was moved to tears of joy. Now, as be approaches his fifteenth birthday he speaks for hours, often before audiences of hundreds of thousands.

Last year the boy guru - a distinctly portly figure in western dress - paid two visits to Britain since when the number of his adherents here has risen from a mere handful to over six thousand. There is an efficiently-run organization based in North London which produces a weekly newspaper, The Divine Times, and distributes lots of glossy publications carrying pictures of Him (they always use a capital "h") and transcripts of His discourses. His picture is widely fly-posted about London.

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.