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.
Sept. 20, 1997
Brisbane Courier-Mail Newspaper
By Rory Callinan
Cult Leader Jets In to Recruit New Believers
Rory Callinan reports.
MILLIONAIRE cult leader Maharaj Ji, (known to his followers as the "Exploding Peace Bomb" and the "Lord of the Universe"), has returned to Australia to recruit new followers. The guru is holding a secret brainstorming session on a former cattle property in remote bushland 60 km west of Brisbane all weekend.
Thousands of followers have set up a tent city on the property at the base of Ivory Rock, (a monolithic egg-shaped mountain), for the four-day session, which ends on Sunday. Maharaj Ji, (or Maharaji, as he is now known), is due to appear at a 4000 seat open-air auditorium at the meeting to enlighten devotees in the "getting of Knowledge".
In the early 1970's the guru became an international household name as the teen leader of the Divine Light Mission cult. When the cult was at its height, many of the followers or "premies" lived in DLM houses or Ashrams and paid their entire salaries to the cult.
One former DLM member, Stephen Faulds, this week told the Courier-Mail that cult members would take out home loans and then all the occupants would pay off the mortgage. Former DLM president Robert Mishler, who has since left the cult, said that in the early 1970's DLM took more than $5 million from missions around the world.
The guru's latest gathering appears to be another money-spinner but under a different guise. Organizers expect up to 4000 "students" to attend the "Elan Vital 1997 Conference" and a spokeswoman for Elan Vital claimed the guru was no longer associated with DLM. "That is all in the past now," said Ros Sutton, who claimed to have found "Knowledge" with the guru 25 years ago.
Ms. Sutton said Maharaji had "completely disassociated himself" from DLM. "He (Maharaji) was very young at that time. It was when he was 13. He was promoted as being involved with the organization (DLM)," she said. "But since then, because of the strong Indian connotations, he has completely disassociated himself from that organization. What he teaches is not religion."
Australian Securities Commission records show the registered company Divine Light Mission Inc. changed its name to Elan Vital in the late 1980's. In 1992, Elan Vital registered the name Ivory Rock Convention Centre, where the meeting is being held, and is currently marketing it as a conference venue. Security officers at the front gate this week were stopping cars, and followers manned checkpoints on roads inside the property.
Ms. Sutton declined to say the source of Maharaji's income. "That is private," she said, as was Maharaji's location and time of arrival, according to Ms. Sutton. But according to Hawker Pacific's Brisbane office, which services corporate jets, the guru jetted into Australia on the weekend in his Gulf Stream jet, valued at between $20 to $30 million. A Hawker Pacific employee said Maharaji arrived under the name of Captain Rowatt and his family flew in on a commercial flight.
The luxury twin-engine jet is just part of the incredible life of luxury of the cult leader. Locals living around the conference centre were baffled at the activity. Vegetable farmer Lucien Stelet said: "They don't do any harm but there's been a few rumors about what they're doing. One theory was that they were digging tunnels."
In 1974 the 16 year old Maharaji caused a split in the cult when he married a 24 year old air hostess. The marriage sparked a massive internecine feud, with Maharaji's mother trying to sack him as leader. But his worldwide status enabled him to remain a dominant force. During his reign, he was hailed by his followers as a living god and acquired the title of the "Exploding Peace Bomb".
In one bizarre festival, he sprayed swooning devotees with pink colored water from a giant water pistol. It is believed he now lives in a Malibu mansion with his wife and children. The cult boasts a website titled "Premie" and lists a series of worldwide events where devotees can catch up with Maharaji as well as messages of love from followers to their revered guru. But on an "ex-premie" web page, The Courier-Mail found numerous allegations that the cult had shattered people's lives.
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.