Prem Rawat - A Life in Song - The Guru Maharaj Ji years click here for: The Prem Rawat Years

Prem Rawat, a minor though controversial guru of the 1970s, lives in sordid luxury in his Malibu mansion surrounded by a group of sycophants, his mistress and his dysfunctional family. His life as spun on the internet by his relatively small group of devotees is far greater than his actual life in which he continues on a roundabout of speeches to his declining, dying devotees left over from His brief success in His early 1970's Lord of the Universe Guru Maharaj Ji persona.

He also has a life recorded in songs written by the more talented members of His premies or lovers as they were called. These songs show Rawat as His devotees still see Him though since he sought relative anonymity they are less overt and the early songs are not played in public. Many of the were embarassingly simple and silly. This small selection of typical song titles alone tell the story of Prem Rawat as taught by Prem Rawat:

From 1971 to 1973 the songs were lighter, often bombastic and triumphal, trumpeting their new religion. Their Guru Maharaj Ji, Father, Lord and Perfect Master would bring bliss to all who received the Knowledge and Peace to the World

• The Lord of The Universe, I Come To My Lord, Oh Perfect Lord, People Come To See Your Creator, Symphony Of Love, Shining Grace, People, Listen to the Message of the Lord

• The King of Kings, Satguru Your Face Is Like The Sun, Peace and Bliss is Satguru, If You Want To Go To Heaven, Guru Maharaj Ji You Are My Only Light, We Love You Guru Maharaj Ji, Spread This Knowledge, I Come to My Lord, That's the Way of the Lord, At the Feet of the Master, God Is Love, Creator Of All, Balyogeshwar (born king of the yogis) I Know My Lord, Connections Of Soul, That's What's Keeping Us Alive

After the fiasco of Millenium 73 the song titles became more circumspect. The earlier songs were superseded and were no longer played in public as they were an embarrassment until Rawat's followers could Realise the Knowledge and start to attract the rest of the world to His Feet

• Power of Love, He's Here, Ocean Of Mercy, Here You Are Again, All Is Well, You Are The Sun Above, Oh Love, Sweet Premlata, Family Of Love

• Something's Going' on in L.A., Love is a Treasure, World of Love, All is Well, Oh Holy Light, Your Love, Let's Rise in Love, Oh Love, Praising Hymn, I Thank You, Surrender, Find That Love Inside, Best Of Life, Right Inside, Shine Together, Love is the Feeling, Prayer

In 1977 Rawat survived His DLM administrators' rebellion and the music quickly became more melodramatic and devotional as they entered the Super Devotional period.

• Soul Power, You Saved Me, Without Your Love, Wind Of Grace, Only One Love, Weeping In My Joy, You Are My Perfect Master, Arti, Loving Times, Court Of Love, How Can I Ever Stop (Loving You), Brand new Love, Love In The name Of Love, You Are Always There

• The Greatest Magician, Teach Me Devotion, Here At Your Feet, I Only Want To Be With You, Your Love Has No Seasons, Teach Me Devotion, He's Here, See The Face (Of the Living Lord), I'm Gonna Love Him Forever, Magic Of Your Love, Maharaj Ji We Love You, Meditating on Your Love

• What Have You Done To Me, Tears Of Happiness, Hold Me Closer, I Love You, You Take The Darkness Away, Maharaji  I Am Bound To You, Beat The Great Drums of His Satsang, Everybody Needs You, Let Me Give Myself To You, Lord I Need Your Love, Helpless, Oh My Lord

Rawat reached the summit of his success in 1979. He danced half-naked on stage to as many as 20,000 devotees (Westerners, not Indians), had ashrams and groups of followers meeting regularly in major cities all over the West donating regularly and publicly worshipping him at festivals and speeches many times a year. Then He instructed or hinted to His musicians to take it a step higher, they would sing Indian bhajans. (Anglified as only a handful of his Western followers could speak Hindi)

• Focus on the Form, Meditating on Your Love, Guru Maharaj Ji He Is Our Divine Father, How Beautiful Are The Feet Of Him, Leaving Your Lotus Feet, Save Me, Apani Hasti (Those Who Lose Themselves In Your Lotus Feet), Traders Of The Holy Name, Whatever It Is That's Between Us, You Are My Savior, Your Love Is The Only Answer, I Surrender To My Satgurudev, You Are My Everything, Maharaj Ji We Love You, I Surrender To My Sat Guru Dev, Downpour of the Holy Name, You Are My Everything, You're The Only One, I Have Seen Such A Great Wonder, Glory Of My Master, I Am In Love With You My Lord

Rawat became obsessed with owning a jet. He moved to Miami in 1980 and secretly made it His followers' main priority and there he strained Divine Light Mission's finances and manpower to purchase and refurbish a Boeing 707. This also became a fiasco and shortly afterwards (late 1982) He closed the ashrams sending His most devoted followers into the street, ordered all DLM materials destroyed, ordered all satsang meetings to end, ordered His followers not to talk about Him or His Knowledge and to drop His capitalisation and he changed his name and went underground in his Malibu bunker. This had a significant effect on his bottom line and no new music was produced or at least recorded and distributed (as far as I can tell) until 1987.

The songs do more than parrot Rawat's dogma, they also reveal many of the difficulties and pain suffered by those sincere followers who are caught in the Catch 22 of His Knowledge. He claims that practising His meditation will provide bliss and ecstasy and pure love, devotion, adoration and worship of Himself but He's an ugly ignorant toad so that's a big ask. Many songs deal with this difficulty especially the ones written by His High Priestess of Song, Kim O'Leary.