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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This video contains footage of Prem Rawat answering questions which have been written down beforehand and even reading from Kabir. It contains some graphics presenting the questions and various interludes of running streams and a long bridge and quaint third world life. |
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These graphics certainly provide a contrast He was then only 36. |
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"Whatever you want to follow, follow. When you get it out of your system and you're clear what you really want, I'm here. OK? Knowledge isn't another medal, mm mm, Knowledge isn't an anaesthetic, Knowledge isn't Advil, Knowledge isn't any one of those things. People must come to Knowledge because they want to come to Knowledge. Just as simple as that. If there is going to be reasons, then they will not understand what Knowledge is all about. There can be no reasons." |
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| How does spirituality correlate to Knowledge?
"It doesn't. Ssssssssssspirit (audience laughter), Spirit. Knowledge is concrete, not ethereal. You don't mistake me, I mean I'm not saying these things but there is a difference." |
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| "Knowledge is very different, not a path to follow, I don't tell people. You know people used to always come to me: 'Should we be vegetarians?' 'If you wanna be.' 'Should we be non-vegetarians?' 'If you wanna be.'"
There is no record of any such statement. Click here to see what Rawat actually said about vegeterianism. |
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| Q: Should this man be a vegetarian? A: It's probably too late to help. |
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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.