During this period Prem Rawat openly espoused his divinity and berated his followers continually for lack of devotion and surrender. As he had already been publicised as a failed Messiah and was considered passé by the media, there was very little reporting of him and his followers during this time apart from a brief period circa 1979 following the Jonestown massacre when he was quite correctly lumped in with other cult leaders. Around 1983 Rawat tried to have all evidence of that time removed by ordering the destruction of all DLM published materials by his followers. These are excerpts from speeches Prem Rawat made in 1978 - 1980 at "Guru Puja, Holi or Hans Jayanti festivals". 'Puja' means worship and this festival was the annual highlight of Divine Light Mission activities. It was in the period 1977 to 1983 that Prem Rawat openly and continually propagated the myth of his divinity to his followers. He taught the concepts of himself as a unique Divine Being incarnated in the lineage of avatars, He claimed His Knowledge revealed God (the energy that is the source of the universe and life) and the only meaning of life was surrender to Guru Maharaj Ji (a term used for both the infinite God, himself in human form. During this period his wife, Marolyn Rawat, nee Johnson newly christened as Durga Ji, and his Western "initiators" (the most dedicated of his followers) took an active role in the declaration of his divinity, the proselytisation of his religion and the inspiring of his followers. Publicly, this stopped in 1982-83.
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"If you have a Perfect Master you can't do anything but worship him every day of your life. You tell me, if you really have that Perfect Master in your life, what can you do except to worship him every day? Get up and worship him, pray, know, surrender. Every day of your life!" |
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"Guru Maharaj Ji is that Supreme Power. |
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Durga Ji, Marolyn Rawat nee Johnson, crowns Prem Rawat who called himself Guru Maharaj Ji with the crown of Krishna and does pranam, kissing his feet, to the shouts of "Bhole Shri Satguru Dev Maharaj Ki Jai" of the blissed-out premie audience. |
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"Guru Maharaj Ji comes again and again and says 'Wait, there's nothing here! Let's go. Let's go my place. Let's go to my world. Where you can live, you can really live, where you can really experience, where you can be away from doubt.'" |
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"This is, this is the whole essence of creation in front of us! What is there more? What can be there more?" |
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"Because Guru Maharaj Ji can show that to us now in this lifetime while we are still alive. Guru Maharaj Ji can give us that love, Guru Maharaj Ji can give us that realisation now. We have to just let go to Guru Maharaj Ji, give ourselves to Guru Maharaj Ji, not in a theory, not in a song, not in an Arti that we sing every night. I give you my heart, for in you it will mellow, Maharaji my Lord, my life is your play. I mean those are pretty heavy duty statements, you know. You are my mother, you are my father. What, what, what are we saying? And yet do we even have an essence of meaning to it? What we sing is right, it's true, it is an expression of a devotee. This is what a devotee would understand of his Guru Maharaj Ji. That you are my all, he doesn't have to go into specifics about your brother, sister, mother, father, cousin, uncle, aunt. And yet in a very humble and beautiful way we are trying to express that you are my all, every relations, you are my all, you are above and beyond. You know, and really the whole essence of prayer is let me really give myself to you, (the song "Always There" joins in the soundtrack) let me surrender to you, you have come singing the glories of Guru Maharaj Ji is what Arti is all about. Oh Guru Maharaj Ji you are my father, you are my mother, you are friend. I see you in those respect, you need to teach me a lesson, you need to give me the fathering, you need to give me that mothering, you need to give me that support and yet you are my all, my Lord to me." |
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Warning: This file is 40 megabytes long and includes scenes of Prem Rawat dancing and some off-key singing The only thing that I can feel within my heart to play Chorus: It is said the ???? will always be with us to keep Chorus: This hour we have the chance to gaze upon your golden form Chorus: |
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"Really experience Guru Maharaj Ji's Grace!" The world stops when I look into your eyes |
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