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.

The young Australian man in the middle of the middle picture is now an old Australian man who has long ago given up on Rawat and his "Knowledge."

The darshan line is stressful. In the above right hand picture we see the young man in the brown coat bending over to make his donation. He has longish hair and has not had Holy Breath so this is his first time in the darshan line and he has to both pranam, kiss Rawat's feet and ask for Holy Breath by cupping his right hand behind his ear. Should this be before he bows and kisses the Lotus Feet of the Master, during or after or both, will he need both handS to steady his bow and hold himself while he kisses his feet, what if he stumbles and falls on the holy Lotus Feet and there are ushers, true devotees, pushing and pulling him as well. It might well take a miracle for him to become a true believer after all that.

It's go go go around the Feet of the Master. On Rawat's left Mahatma Param Saphlanand and his henchpremies feverishly separate the three tons of fruit and veges being offered to the Lord Of the Universe that will be given back to the devotees as prasad from the valuable donations (especially money) that will go to Rawat Himself. Meanwhile on the right, Bob Mishler, President of Divine Light Mission and future Apostate Extraordinaire, helps out, chats with the Perfect Master and ensures everything runs smoothly.

Even the Perfect Master deserves a break and if someone doesn't get Holy Breath while Rawat chats, well it's just a lila.

And after the tension comes the release and ecstatic bliss, or something reasonably close, for some and serious tears for others.

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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.