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.
DENVER (AP) - Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for a Maryland couple charged with kidnapping their 22- year-old daughter from a religious cult
The warrant was issued after Dr. Leonard Deitz and his wife Esther, of Silver Spring, Md., refused to attend a hearing before a Denver district judge. The couple plans to fight extradition as a delaying tactic until they find out more about the case, their attorney said Monday.
However the lawyer, Maurice Dunie, said they could change their minds and return to Colorado voluntarily.
The Deitzes were among 10 people - including a Denver policeman - indicted Jan. 11 for the April 8 kidnapping of Emily Deitz, a follower of the Guru Maharaj Ji and his Divine Light Mission
The indictment charged that she was taken from a Denver alley by three men who threw her in a van and drove away She escaped from her captors 12 days later by jumping from a second-story window and hitchhiking to a truck stop
Dunie said he was surprised the couple bad been indicted for the kidnapping since they were "acting out of love" for their daughter
Deitz is charged with second-degree kidnapping, conspiracy and false imprisonment. His wife is charged with conspiracy
Mark Gerard Roggeman, a 10-year veteran of the Denver Police Department, also was charged in connection with kidnapping. Roggeman allegedly located Emily for her parents and observed the kidnapping. He has been suspended from the force without pay pending the outcome of the case.
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.