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.

Prem Rawat (Maharaji) Remembers Hans Ji In this short Words Of Peace Global video posted on the Internet, Prem Rawat (Maharaji) reminisces about his father, his father's career and business sense, his father's vision and his father's agya to his eldest son. This is a transcript of that video: (webmaster's comments, rebuttals, etc in italics) "Imagine, imagine one Master having a vision that some day this Knowledge will be around the world and he did. And he had to plot a course to make it happen and he did, he did. He took one of his kids and he said "I want him to learn English" and then not only that, first of all he's born into Royalty, first of all he's born into Royalty, a Rawat, and he throws it all away, kicks it all out, doesn't want any part of it because he wants to find peace." Actually at least 2 other sons learnt English and they spoke it far better (and still do) than did the youngest, Prem Rawat. The claim to be "Royalty" was never made until the 1990's.

"And he searches and he searches and he searches and he searches and he finds a Master who gives him peace. That Master sees his enthusiasm, his love and makes him the next Master. At this point there is nothing, there's no cars, there's no assets, he has to begin from scratch. I don't know why this is this way but all the assets that there were went, were divided, went somewhere else. He said "I don't need it, all I have is my Master's blessings and my enthusiasm." He ended up with a few premies, a few people who recognized that and knew what his master had said that that he will be the one. So it begins, he's sleeping on benches on train stations, no place to eat, waiting for trains, propagation begins."
Hans Rawat was not accepted as the next Perfect Master by Swarupanand's followers as he was married (to his first wife).

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"Propagation starts and the India division happens and all his work ends up in Pakistan. All his work ends up in Pakistan. He comes to India, again he has to start doing propagation and he starts. He buys a place strategically because he knows that some of those people will go to Haridwar which is the holy place in India at least once a year around Vaisakhi cause they're from Punjab and Vaisakhi is one of the festivals and so he builds a place strategically and he puts up his banners with his name, so far no organisation here, he puts up his banners with his name so when they are going towards Haridwar they will see this and make the connection and some did, some did. So against all odds there is a vision that there will be Knowledge will spread throughout the world and that started. Today what you see, 2,000, 3,000, 4,000, 5,000, 6,000, 7,000, 8,000, 100,000, 300,000 the seeds of it are planted way back. Not only that he has a clear vision, 100%, as clear as it gets. He goes, sets up a picnic and his eldest son is in Mussoorie at this college. He goes, he sets up a picnic with him and he tells him, "Don't try to become anything and let Sant, which is what I was called, let him do whatever he wants to do." "
There were 11 years between Swarupanand's death and the partition of India and Pakistan so propagation had well and truly started. If he had such vision why did he not understand that partition was on the cards? It was the young Rawat's long time bodyguard, Bihari Singh, who told this picnic story 30 years after the supposed conversation on a Prem Rawat Foundation sponsored website, A Voice For Peace (since deleted) that at his mother's behest he forgot the words of his father: "You are the older brother. Never try to make yourself anything. Try to help your brother.…" And how was the young Bal Bhagwan Ji supposed to understand that "do anything he wants" included meat-eating, drunkeness, dope smoking, countless cars and general playboy lifestyle? Hans Rawat should definitely been more specific if had such vision.

"So the vision is as clear as it gets, no questions about it because, cause you know, there is that feeling of, "Well, the eldest son should be the one who takes on and all that" and he makes it abundantly clear, "Don't try to become anything and let him do whatever he wants to do." And then a series of events happens and then one year I find myself in a photographic studio having my picture taken for a passport and then back to school, Indian bureaucracy, and then one day this guy arrives with the passport in hand. And to me it's like, "Wow, a passport," I mean, you know, in those days you had no ID cards or anything and I am, you know, in 9th grade so getting one of these things, picture in it, is like this is the coolest thing. At that moment do you realise, people in India did not want me to go to the West. No. I am sure you're sitting going "Well, why not?" This has been in India, this is where it stays, same mentality, closed loop. It doesn't matter, concepts, concepts, concepts, concepts, concepts, trade one for the other, doesn't really matter. So they had their concepts, no it's not going out, people were crying and then the day came, tickets came, day came, you know, it was a night time flight. I got dressed, two pairs of clothes on, I didn't know what was gonna happen and took off, landed in Rome, looked around Fiumacino, little Fiats everywhere running around, you know, hmm, it's not too bad ended up in England and of course the rest is history I was, I was sitting in a living room, bunch of people looking at me, I'm looking at them "Here we are, it has begun." "
How typical of Prem Rawat, what he was interested in and what he has to get out when the feeling comes is about Italian cars.

"And so it goes and it goes and it goes and it needs to evolve and it will evolve and the time has come to take another step."
A gigantic evolutionary step into WOPG. Now, at last, propagation will really take off ...

Even though references to the techniques of Knowledge are made earlier than 1700, this is the traceable history thus far.
But Prem Rawat (Maharaji) has many, many times given satsang that Jesus Christ, Krishna, Ram, Buddha, Mohammed, Kabir, Guru Nanak and many others were also Perfect Masters in the lineage of Perfect Masters who revealed the same Knowledge as he does.

But Prem Rawat (Maharaji) has many, many times given satsang that Jesus Christ, Krishna, Ram, Buddha, Mohammed, Kabir, Guru Nanak and many others were also Perfect Masters in the lineage of Perfect Masters who revealed the same Knowledge as he does.

A Voice For Peace website, www.avoiceforpeace.net, was paid for by the Prem Rawat Foundation. It was on the net from December 2005 to December 2006 and is partially available on the Wayback Machine. It's mission statement included:

"This initiative is aimed at gathering for posterity the many fond memories that people with an interest in Maharaji and in his message have collected and preserved throughout the years. Of particular interest are stories that would add to the historical documentation of Maharaji's efforts around the world including first visits to countries, media coverage, and eyewitness reports of significant occasions. Personal stories are welcome as well, but may not be published on this site. They will add to the record of people's personal appreciation for Maharaji and the Knowledge he offers."

It did not remain on the internet for very long presumably because Rawat's activities were so unimpressive and the stories posted by his followers so full of magical thinking.

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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.