Prem Is Pissed: Why No Propagation? "Why So Shy?"
Prem Rawat, like any cult leader has, as one of his major priorities, increase in sucess of recruitment and intensity of dedication and devotion of his followers. Both of these factors directly influence his financial base and his power and safety. In Divine Light Mission terminology recruiting was called 'propagating.' 'Recruit' was too militaristic, 'proselytize' 'convert', 'evangelize' and 'missionize' were too religious and Christian and 'brainwash' was an obvious no-no, so 'propagate' it was. Rawat often stated that 'propagation' was the number one most important activity in which his followers could and should engage. In the relatively short span of three years from 1971 this increase in numbers was astronomical and his attitude and those of his followers became unrealistic. This increase ended with a thud and has never recovered. One presumes there is a limit to the amount of criticism a cult leader should inflict on his following, the carrot is more important than the stick no matter how ephemeral the carrot may be.
In 1977 through 1980 Rawat initiated a policy of numerous, regular 2 and 3 day 'festivals' which his premies were meant tto attend as often as possible over and above the daily practice of satsang, service and meditation. This was so demanding of time and resources that other activities, even propagation suffered. During those years the numbers of new people hardly exceeded the numbers of those falling away. In 1979 he intiated the DECA project and concentrated a large number of his most dedicated premies in Miami Florida. This had a negative effect on the other communities in the "West." In 1980, he made some speeches in which he made some serious complaints about his followers' level of activity in propagation, more so than he had ever made before. This low level of recruitment may have been one of the contributing factors to the dissolution of Divine Light Mission, the closure of the ashrams and the finish of all its public actvities two years later.
Prem Is Pissed: Holi festival, Miami Florida, 11th April 1980
But anyway, you know, again, surrender, have that faith in Guru Maharaj Ji. What else you gonna do? Nothing. You have to have that faith in Guru Maharaj Ji, You have to have to have that surrender. And so, I hope I'll be seeing you soon, you know, I really want to see propagation happening and that's something that everyone of you gotta get into is propagation, that's what we all gotta do is propagation. Not sit there and have donuts and coffee every morning. Some mornings, get out there, have some satsang, you know and you know get those communities together so people can come and people can hear satsang and and and and you know there can be a place where there can be those ashrams, can be a place where there can be those, don't go out and get a hall, you know, buy a hall. No, get some propagation going so you use the hall, then you can rent a hall, you know or whatever it takes to get a hall, whatever it takes. But I'd really like to see some propagation happening. America has been a little sleepy, believe it or not, America has been sleepy. Ha ha, stars and stripes, stripes are getting a little squiggly and stars are doing a thing a little bit, but you guys gotta wake up, you know, start that propagation and when that's you gotta carry Guru Maharaj Ji's word for it. That's, that's one of the things a devotee does, believe it or not.
What you gotta hide about? What? You know, what is it, what is it that you're shy about? About Guru Maharaj Ji? Why, you, you don't you have faith in Guru Maharaj Ji? Don't you believe in Guru Maharaj Ji? Don't you believe in Knowledge? We all sit down in our homes, you know, like (puts hand over mouth to muffle voice) Guru Maharaj Ji, Knowledge. Why? Because you see this is our problem we think the world is right and we are wrong. Isn't it? The tropical guilty syndrome, you know (puts hand over mouth to muffle voice) we can't talk about Guru Maharaj Ji (laughter from crowd) No. Don't you understand the world is wrong, always has been always will be? It's only the devotees that are right, that's the law, that's that has the way it's been all the way throughout, you know (cheering and whistling, Bolie Shri Satguru Dev Maharaj Ki Jai)
What did, you know, what did Jesus say to his devotees when he had given them Knowledge? "Congratulations, you just have received the Knowledge, the ultimate thing in your life. Now you may go back home and relax while I continue this good work." You know. No! He just, he didn't just say, "Give me a donkey and whole bunch of palm leaves and I'll go all over the place and you guys, just relax here, don't hurt yourself, don't bother about it." (laughter) No he said, "Go, spread the word. Get going." you know and that is the way it is, We've gotta spread that word because sitting at home and going (puts hand over mouth) like this isn't going to do anybody any good but don't you know everybody in this world needs Knowledge? When you understand that, it's a simple fact, just like you did. There's a lot of people in this world just like you, maybe they even look like you, you know. Sometimes that happens, I see people, you know, they look like each other. You think they're the same people.
I don't know, I don't know why sometimes we get so shy. Why? You afraid of Knowledge? You afraid about telling people about how wonderful the Knowledge is? Don't you have an experience, you know, why not? I mean you have experienced it, it is the truth, it is what world is waiting for, you know and I mean this I don't expect you to all go out there and change the world tomorrow like that. I don't. But at least if you were, if you were successful at changing that one life of that one person, bring him to the, bring him to Guru Maharaj Ji … and that's an incredible feeling, it's an incredible, incredible feeling. Look at it this way, the press has come out and said everything that you can think about that could be negative. What are we gonna do? Go back to the press and tell them you should put out some positive things . Will they? You can go to a lion and get yourself killed but you can't go back to a lion and put yourself back together again, you know, you can go to lion and get your hand bitten off but you can't go to the lion and say "Please sew this on again." It just doesn't happen, does it?
It's the same thing because they don't know, they don't understand, like I said, if you received peace and are happy their attitude is "Tough luck, kid." To them that doesn't exist, "Are you kidding 'em, peace, happiness, in a world as miserable as that?" I mean people have tried. I mean, some people have really tried to come here and we've let 'em come to the progams, they have very objectively looked at us and written a good story till it goes back to the editor who takes it and says, "Come on man let's make it this interesting and this and this and this and this and this and this." Who's gonna spread the word? Who's gonna spread the word? What are we relying on? Radios? Do you remember anything you hear on radios? You know. I mean, look at it, you know, sometimes you see the television commercials and sometimes those television commercials are so ridiculous that by the time you end up looking at them you have a good feeling in your heart that anybody who'd believe that commercial is a klutz. You know, is, is a complete fool, is a complete idiot. No, what we noo, there's, there's only one way Knowledge gets spread time after time and there's no I mean technology that's just gonna alter and that's one to one. Cause people see your experience manifesting. People see, "Yeah!" People feel that experience manifesting, you know and that's what we, we gotta, we've gotta propagate, ha, Knowledge. Ha. We've gotta propagate, we've gotta tell people about this truth in this age, in this time, you know. And so if you've recently had nothing to do, here is a lot and so premies, it's wonderful, it's wonderful to know how simple it is really. You've gotta bother about nothing and sometimes everything will bother about you but you don't have to bother about anything, you know, just let go, have that faith, surrender, have that love for Guru Maharaj Ji, Guru Maharaj Ji has that love for you and it's an endless, endless train ride. Never ends, just goes on and on. Who wants it to end, anyway.
When the initiators come everything is very good. Yeah and then what happens. Then it all turns, all goes bad, huh?If you just keep coming to places, never stay there, that'll be all to the good. Are you disappointed that I'm not prepared to make any more initiators? Come on. Your smile wiped off your face, saved by the bell. Mmm? Propagation what? Propagation in the street? What, you're trying to make the bricks a premie? First of all, you have to talk their language, you know. I don't know what bricks say to each other. Get you tap dance shoes on there, you know. Do a tap dance on the bricks and see if they understand that. Give 'em some moving satsang. Get the whole street to move out of there. Propagation on the street by I. Sing Daly. (laughs at his own witticism) That sounds like a good name for a good novel, you know., with the dark hat and the lamp post lit at night time, street fog and morgue across the street and the guy in the jacket, you know. Yeah, uh, it doesn't work like that. See my experience, it isn't like. What about the propagation in the street? If you can do propagation in your own, to your own self. If you can't convince your own selves to sit down and do some satsang, service and meditation you can forget about somebody else, you know.
Yah, I mean, obviously everyone of us like to have the whole thing in a platter, silver platter if preferred. How to do propagation, you know, have a book. How to do propagation. How to live in the ashram. How to do pranam you know. How to be with Guru Maharaj Ji . How to be in the ashram. How not to be in the ashram. Makes it so simple because every time you wanna do something, just pull your little book out (mimics pulling book out of suit, pocket, opening, reading it and replacing in pocket) Inspiration. Necessity is the mother of creation. You feel the necessity in your heart that the propagation should happen, you'll find a way. Maria has uh put together, Maria and uh Mark Winter and uh, what's the other premie's name? I can never get his name right. They've put some uh really, very beautiful uh material together, except they're so expensive you hesitate to give them to somebody (giggles) No, I'll keep this. (laughs) They're very beautiful. They're obviously very expensive.
You wanna surrender then all this stuff comes out and doesn't make you surrender. Yeah. Well if you can tell me what surrender is, maybe I can help you in uh how you should do it.