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.

	Wednesday, April 21, 2004

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Comment on this article View Others' Comments Other Headlines Spoilports mar Cong party � Might is right in Nitish’s constituency � Where jungle meets country, farmers don’t want to vote � Son seeks to encash father’s goodwill � Surgeon with a passion for politics � Marxists get a taste of their own tactics � Warring generals declare silent truce � SAD blasts Cong for fielding riot-accused � Sari stampede and ‘cold calculations’ � ‘TDP has deviated from all NTR ideals’ � It’s advantage Shiv Sena in Thane � Somnath, a crorepathi among Marxists � Deccan Herald � India Votes � Full Story Warring generals declare silent truce Union Minister Maj Gen (retd) B C Khanduri (BJP) and his rival Uttaranchal Minister Lt Gen (retd) T P S Rawat (Congress) will slug it out from the Pauri-Garhwal constituency. FROM SHISHIR PRASHANT DH NEWS SERVICE, DEHRA DUN: Two former generals of the Indian army on Tuesday formally locked horns in the battle of ballots after filing their nomination papers from the Pauri-Garhwal constituency amid beating of drums and blowing of trumpets. But, before the two brave-hearts could pull the trigger, a truce was already on between them. Union Transport and Highways Minister Maj Gen (retd) B C Khanduri (BJP) and his rival Uttaranchal Tourism Minister Lt Gen (retd) T P S Rawat (Congress) have now decided not to rake up issues concerning their seniority in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls. Significantly, Khanduri won from this constituency three times defeating his rival Congress leader Satpal Maharaj all the three times. But Maharaj once defeated Khanduri in 1996. Maharaj this time tactfully withdrew from the contest and instead proposed the name of his close confidante Rawat in his bid to make it a contest between a “big general vs small general”. The post of Lieutenant General was obviously higher than that of the Major General, an issue that is being raked by the ruling Congress. Considering that Khanduri was responsible for the “India shining” campaign, BJP also made Pauri a prestige issue and launched attacks on the Congress. “We will fight to the finish to see that Khanduri is victorious. Anyway one should not forget that the main leader of the Congress party Satpal Maharaj ran away from the field,” said BJP state President Bhagat Singh Koshiyari. As electioneering picked up the momentum, both the former generals are now avoiding the issue relating to their seniority. “I am here to contest elections. Please don’t ask me to comment on these non-issues,” says Khanduri when asked to comment on the big general issue. Similar sentiments were being echoed by Rawat also. He is also avoiding the issue and instead targeting BJP on the development issues as Congress leaders realised that the issue of big general could prove counter-productive in the long run.

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.