Darshan: The Greatest Magician

Darshan in the Divine Light Mission production "The Greatest Magician" video of 1978.

In late 2009 a former community audio/visual co-ordinator for Divine Light Mission was cleaning out his attic and contacted the Ex-Premie Forum to see if anyone might want the boxes of tapes, magazines and some 35mm films that he hadn't destroyed when ordered to in the early 1980's. The film quality had deteriorated during the 30 years but were professionally converted to DVDs.

The film has a 7 minute 10 second section showing the darshan line at Holi Festival in Miami, Florida in 1978 and possibly in Malaga, Spain the same year. It is the climax and the emotional highlight of the film for Rawat's followers and the most popular or at least most often used Divine Light Mission song, Teach Me Devotion is the sound track during these scenes.

A scene of massed premies in a stadium shouting "Bolie Shri Satguru Dev Maharaj Ki Jai" fades out to a single line of feet, mostly bare, almost Biblical and the song Teach Me Devotion's slow introduction begins…

The people in the line are 5 years older than those shown in "Who Is Guru Maharaj Ji?" They are less hippie-ish, there are older people and there are children. As they approach the darshan area, always now through a tunnel, darkened where possible, they pass through a line of known dedicated premies, the closer to Rawat the more dedicated, who provide a model of behaviour and emotional intensity to those approaching the Lotus Feet of the Perfect Master.

The darshan line ritual and directions were well understood by now and disastrous experiments like the double-line-kiss-one-foot trial in 1975 were over. Fainting and other signs of deep affect were encouraged. It was a highly staged ritual that was constantly promoted as the ultimate experience for a devotee and was built up to with hours if not days of "satsang."

Children were allowed to kiss the Lotus Feet as well, no doubt they were encouraged to by their parents who hoped they would gain spiritual benefit and they were happy to accede, no doubt hoping for some material benefits.

DLM officials quickly learnt to place Rawat on a high pedestal to to facilitate the pranam and foot kissing and to try to make him look as impressive as possible.

Post Pranamic Bliss Disorder: Wild celebrations are going on Deep Within Inside.

And after the tension comes the release but wild scenes of blissful cavorting were no longer appropriate, now premies were meant "to go deep within inside."

Prasad, usually pieces of fruit, that had been offered to Guru Maharaj Ji, the Perfect Master, was then given out after darshan. That may be the "Recovery Tent" for those overcome by the experience.

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Complete cycle: Holy Breath in slow motion, academics of religion, such as Emeritus Professor Ronald Geaves the world expert in Prem Rawat Studies and in the Hysterictomy of Maharaji, will study this for decades.

Holy Breath Phase 1: Prem Rawat, the Breather spots a Holy Breathee approaching in the darshan line and brings his hand up to his mouth.

Phase 2: Rawat breathlessly creates the Holy Breath hand trumpet, blows and begins to throw the breath out.

Phase 3: Rawat's Holy Breath hand trumpet fans out, the expelled air reaches the waiting ear and the hand drops awaiting the next new devotee, the unbreakable connection to the Satguru is created.