From Maharaji to Prem Rawat

The transition from Guru Maharaj Ji and Divine Light Mission to Maharaji and Elan Vital happened quickly at a time when Guru Maharaj Ji/Maharaji/Prem Rawat was attempting (mostly successfully) not to attract any publicity at all and even the premies themselves had to learn of the changes through word-of-mouth in most cases. As far as I know it was only mentioned in the Guardian 20 years later as background to a story about astrology.

In those days the guru described himself as the Lord of the Universe and the Exploding Love-Bomb. Since then, the Divine Light Mission has changed its name to Élan Vital, and its leader now prefers to be known as Maharaji, Perfect Master.

Post 2000, Maharaji apparently decided that more resources should not be wasted in attempting to gain a larger following through the continued scheduling at small venues of videos of himself speaking. These programs were organised and financed by small groups of his followers partly organised into local communities. More resources should be spent trying to gain himself the reputation of a respected, even famous, international speaker for Peace and as a small but significant part of this process this name change should be gradually released by his followers in his organisations' media productions.


Venture: the magazine for business management (Vanity publishing) © 2003 Schofield Media. All rights reserved.
PREM RAWAT INTERVIEW: THE WEALTH WITHIN

Prem Rawat is also known as Maharaji, an honorary title given to him in India where he began his work.


The Prem Rawat Foundation: Inspire Electronic Magazine, Volume 1, Issues 1 - 43, January 2004 - 29/12/2004
Inspire v1 i10: The Universal Quest for Peace

Prem Rawat, also known by the honorary title Maharaji, is a successful investor and receives no compensation for teaching the techniques of Knowledge.


© Ron Geaves, 2006, Journal of Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies, 2 44-62.

This paper will focus on the case study of Prem Rawat, also known as Maharaji, and the various organisations used to transmit his teachings.


ADI ADI MAGAZINE, ISSUE #1, 2007

As an advocate for peace, Prem Rawat, widely known as Maharaji, has dedicated his life to helping people find peace within themselves

Followers of Prem Rawat/Maharaji have always been prepared to tell porkies about their Master: Maharaji was never "widely known." Charlie Chaplin was widely known. Adolf Hitler was widely known. Gandhi was widely known. Donald Trump is widely known. Maharaji was known by a few tens of thousands of people out of the 7 billion who didn't live in India. He was known by some hundreds of thousands in India where he is a very minor figure, unlike his eldest brother who is widely known.


Journal of Contemporary Religion
Forget Transmitted Memory: The De-traditionalised 'Religion' of Prem Rawat, Ron Geaves, 2009

I chose the teachings of a contemporary Sant, Prem Rawat or Maharaji, as he is more commonly known.


ADI ADI ISSUE #6 published October 10, 2011

Addressing audiences worldwide, Prem Rawat, known also as Maharaji, delivers his message of peace to many different people.


ADI ISSUE #10 published 21st May 2102

Prem Rawat, also known as Maharaji, delivers his message of peace to many different audiences around the world.


Prem Rawat net worth Oct, 2023: Prem Pal Singh Rawat (born 10 December 1957), formerly known as Maharaji

Wikipedia article 2024 - Prem Rawat

Prem Pal Singh Rawat (born 10 December 1957), formerly known as Maharaji, is an Indian international speaker and author.


The renaming process was well summarised in "Yoga in Britain: Stretching Spirituality and Educating Yogis" by Suzanne Newcombe © 2019.

During the 1970s, a series of internal problems and negative publicity led to Prem Rawat closing all his ashrams in 1982 and reforming his global followers under the name of Élan Vital (1984-2010). By the late 1980s, the movement (then known as Élan Vital) claimed 1,420 committed supporters, who pledged £5 a month to Prem Rawat (then known as Maharaji), with 5,000 on their mailing list and 7,000 individuals practicing his techniques called 'the Knowledge'. Since 2010, Prem Rawat has been teaching 'The Knowledge' under his own name and audiences of 2-3,000 on visits to Britain, now largely drawn from the diasporic north Indian population.