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.
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Paper: Miami Herald, The (FL)
Date: July 13, 1986
Here's a private party you weren't invited to.
A very select group of Guru Maharaj Ji followers -- certainly no more than 1,000 or so -- boogied down at Ovo at the Warsaw Ballroom Sunday. And just how do the guru's people party?
Premies -- that's what they call themselves -- watch videos. They watch dancers. They even drink liquor. This inside information was confirmed by Ovo publicist Melody Leeds:
"Isn't that wild? They drink. They dance. They probably smoke cigarettes. That's what I think is so interesting about them. Lots of beer and goodies."
Not only didn't we know about the party, we didn't even know these guys were in town. But while you were busy waiting for those wet fireworks on the beach, thousands and thousands of premies from all over the country were convening, appropriately enough, at the Miami Beach Convention Center. At least 6,000 in all, said Norman Litz, who runs the convention center.
Apparently, premies like their privacy.
"They're a very close-mouthed organization," said a convention center worker who would not give his name. "They don't tell us anything. We just rent the building to them. They keep a low profile. When they hold their meetings, the answer we've been told is, 'Those who need to know, do.' "
OK, maybe we don't really need to know. But how is it possible that more than 6,000 premies could escape detection?
Leeds explained: "They look normal, you see. They don't dress in white robes and sheets. It's not like they're walking around with shaved heads. These are not people where you'd say, 'Look at that guy without hair.' There were a lot of young professional types. They could be the yuppies next door."
As for that party, don't feel too bad about being left out. You weren't the only one to miss the guru's bash. He wasn't there either.
Said Leeds: "He has four children, and I don't think he could get out."
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.