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.
CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL FRI., APRIL 18, 1975
VANCOUVER. B.C. API - A British Columbia Supreme Court order has blocked an American heiress from handing over much of her wealth to guru Maharaj Ji.
Darby McNeal's capital assets in the United States are said to be worth about $500,000.
Justice H. E. Hutcheon said Wednesday that her plans to give the money to the guru are "sheer folly".
The court order requires her to submit to a mental assessment by three British Columbia doctors who will be designated by the B.C. College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Darby McNeal, 31, who is married and lives in Nelson, B.C., does not use her married name.
The court action was brought by her sister, Sarah McNeal, 36, of Louisville, Ky. Sarah McNeal said she became concerned about her sister's ability to handle her own affairs when she learned of her plans to loan $275,000 to the Divine Light Mission of Denver. Colo., an organization run by Maharaj Ji.
Justice Hutcheon said that "the most superficial investigation would have disclosed that as an investment, her loan of $275,000 to the Divine Light Mission was an act of sheer folly.
"The evidence before me is that this Maharaj Ji's way of living does not correspond to the ideals of a traditional Indian guru and that 60 per cent of the substantial receipts of the Divine Light Mission are directed to maintain Maharaj Ji and those close to him in grand style," the judge said.
The guru's mother recently made similar charges against her son and removed him from leadership of his order. He then went to India where he is challenging that move.
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.