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Prem Rawat (also called Maharaji and formerly known as Guru Maharaj Ji) has at times been the subject of criticism from religious scholars, individuals related to the anti-cult movement of the 1970s, articles in the press and media, and former members.

Observations from scholars

Scholars and authors that have written about Prem Rawat and related organisations without criticism include Andrew Kopkind, Charles H. Lippy, John Bassett McCleary, Ruth Prince and David Riches, Bryan R. Wilson, Dennis Marcellino, Erwin Fahlbusch, Tim Miller, Raymond Lee, Rosemary Goring, George D. Chryssides, David V. Barrett, Lucy DuPertuis, J. Gordon Melton, Jeffrey K. Hadden, Eugene M. Elliot III, Sandra S. Frankiel, and James Lewis.

Barrett, Dupertuis, Melton, and Lewis mention criticism by the media, Rawat's mother, Bob Mishler, and former members respectively. Marc Galanter writes extensively about the Divine Light Mission in 1989 book, Cults: Faith, Healing and Coercion.

Stephen A. Kent criticizes Prem Rawat based on his personal experience with Rawat and treats the criticism by the countercultural left on him in the 1970s.

Some critical observations and comments about Rawat and his students are as follows:

Wim Haan

An article written by Wim Haan, a Dutch student of theology, was published in the official magazine of the Free University of Amsterdam in 1981, forwarding several critical statements. In the article, Haan wrote that he was a member of a critical movement within the Roman Catholic Church. In that article, based on his description of his involvement with the DLM over the course of two years in the Netherlands, he asserts that Rawat's battle against the mind sometimes degenerated into complete irrationality, that sometimes premies branded every critical and objective approach as "mind", and that they often avoided discussions with outsiders because these discussions could possibly stimulate the mind.

Stephen Hunt

In 2003, Stephen J. Hunt wrote in Alternative Religions: A Sociological Introduction that Prem Rawat has left "his more ascetic life behind him, he does not personally eschew material possessions. Over time, critics have focused on what appears to be his opulent lifestyle and argue that it is supported largely by the donations of his followers". Hunt also writes that by keeping a low profile the movement has managed to escape the gaze of publicity that surrounds other new religious movements.

Reender Kranenborg

Reender Kranenborg, a Dutch religious scholar and Christian minister, wrote in a 1982 article that "in Maharaj ji's satsangs one can notice a speaking style that resembles very much some Christian evangelization campaigns: a pressing request, an emphasis on the last possibility to choose before it is too late and a terminology in which one is requested to surrender to the Lord, in this case Maharaj ji himself. The contents of the message is not Christian, though." Kranenbord's impression was that the person of Maharaj ji had become more central over the course of years, and that Maharaj ji's assertions about himself and his vocation went further as he became more aware of the extent of his divinity. Kranenborg asserted that Jos Lammers, whom he labelled as an "ex-premie", made similar comments as van der Lans about Maharaji's lifestyle in his interview with the Dutch magazine Haagse Post. He further wrote that when Christians get into dialogue with premies that the lifestyle of the guru is of great importance. He argued that a satguru who drives an expensive cars and owns a big yacht may not be a problem for premies, but it is a problem for Christians and that they should ask premies why Maharaj ji does not live what he considers to be a normal and simple life.

Jan van der Lans

Jan van der Lans, a Dutch professor of psychology of religion wrote in 1981 that Maharaji is an example of a guru who has become a charlatan leading a double life. On the one hand, he tried to remain loyal to the role in which he was forced and to the expectations of his students, yet on the other hand, his private life was one of idleness and pleasure, which was only known to small circle of insiders. According to van der Lans, one could consider him either a fraud or a victim of his surroundings. Van der Lans treated several gurus but was only critical about Rawat, but does not provide citations for his very critical assessment.

Paul Schnabel

In 1982, the Dutch sociologist Dr. Paul Schnabel described Rawat as a pure example of a charismatic leader. Comparing Rawat to Osho, he argued that personal qualities alone are not enough to explain charismatic authority – while he characterized Rawat as materialistic, pampered and intellectually unremarkable compared to Osho, he found Rawat no less of a charismatic leader than Osho. Schnabel stated that Rawat's charisma was in a certain sense routinized (inherited) charisma, but that this was hardly a factor for how he was perceived by his Western following. There, his charisma was primarily the result of careful staging supported by a whole organization. Schnabel observed that among his Western students, Rawat appeared to stimulate an uncritical attitude, giving them an opportunity to project their fantasies of divinity onto his person. The divine nature of the guru is a standard element of Eastern religion, but removed from its cultural context, and confounded with the Western understanding of God as a father, what is lost is the difference between the guru's person and that which the guru symbolizes. The result is limitless personality worship. Schnabel observed that this kind of understanding of the master-disciple relationship, alien to the original Eastern guru-disciple context, often ends in disillusionment for the disciple, who finds that the teacher in the end fails to live up to his or her expectations.

Criticism in the media

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After Prem Rawat's first arrival in the United Kingdom and United States in 1971 at the age of thirteen and through the 1970s he, his students and his organizations attracted media scrutiny and attention. Examples of articles appearing in the mainstream press in that decade include a 1974 article in Rolling Stone magazine and a 1979 article in the New York Review of Books.

Criticism by former members

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A group of former followers that have become vocal critics, call themselves "ex-premies". One "ex-premie" Neville Ackalnd demonstrated outside an event Rawat attended. He was later arrested and charged with producing, possessing and supplying a dangerous drug as well as possessing drug related equipment. Ackland also faces charges of possessing unlicensed and unsecured firearms. There is also a website that utilizes this term, Ex-Premie.Org.

Gordon Melton describes that in the mid-1970s several ex-members became vocal critics. James Lewis wrote that a number of ex-members became critics of the movement, attacking it with charges of brainwashing and mind control.

Some of the criticism leveled at Prem Rawat derives from Bob Mishler, a former president of DLM, and Robert Hand after they parted ways with Prem Rawat in the 1970s. According to Melton in a 1986 article, Mishler's complaints that the ideals of the group had become impossible to fulfill and that money was increasingly diverted to Maharaji's personal use found little support and did not affect the progress of the Mission.

External links

Media/Press

• Panel Urged to Probe Cults, The Washington Post, March 14, 1980
• The Lure of the Cult, Time Magazine, April 7, 1997, refers to "Divine Light Mission", headed by Prem Rawat from 1966-1983.

References and footnotes

1. Kopkind, Andrew. The Thirty Years' Wars pp.233-4. Verso, ISBN 1-85984-096-5
2. Lippy, Charles H.Pluralism Comes of Age: American Religious Culture in the Twentieth Century p.114, M. E. Sharpe (2002), ISBN 0-7656-0151-6
3. McCleary Bassett, John. The Hippie Dictionary: A Cultural Encyclopedia of the 1960s and 1970s. p.140, Ten Speed Press(2004), ISBN 1-58008-547-4
4. Prince Ruth & Riches Davies, The New Age in Glastonbury: The Construction of Religious Movements, pp.99-100, Berghahn Books (2001), ISBN 1-57181-792-1
5. Wilson, Bryan, New Religious Movements: Challenge and Response. pp.268-9, Routledge (UK), ISBN 0-415-20049-0
6. Fahlbusch E. (Ed.) The Encyclopedia of Christianity (1998). p.861, ISBN 90-04-11316-9
7. Goring, Rosemary. Dictionary of Beliefs & Religions. p.145, Wordsworth Editions (1997), ISBN 1-85326-354-0
8. Hadden, Jeffrey K. and Elliot III, Eugene M. "Divine Light Mission/Elan Vital" in Melton, Gordon J. and Bauman, Martin (Eds.) "Religions of the world: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of beliefs and practices" ABC-CLIO (2002), ISBN 1-57607-223-1
9. Frankiel, Sandra S. in Lippy, Charles H. and Williams. Peter W. (Eds.) Encyclopedia of the American Religious Experience p.1521, Charles Scribner's Sons (1988), ISBN 0-684-18863-5 (Vol III)
10. Haan, Wim (Dutch language) De missie van het Goddelijk licht van goeroe Maharaj Ji: een subjektieve duiding from the series Religieuze bewegingen in Nederland: Feiten en Visies nr. 3, autumn 1981. ISBN 90-242-2341-5 (Based mainly on the Dutch branch of the Divine Light Mission.) Note: Haan was part of a critical movement within the Catholic church
11. Hunt, Stephen J. Alternative Religions: A Sociological Introduction (2003), pp.116-7, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 0-7546-3410-8
    " He claims only to encourage people to "experience the present reality of life now." Leaving his more ascetic life behind him, he does not personally eschews material possessions. Over time, critics have focused on what appears to be his opulent lifestyle and argue that it is supported largely by the donations of his followers. However, deliberately keeping a low profile has meant that the movement has generally managed to escape the gaze of publicity that surrounds other NRMs"
12. Lammers, Jos. "Het concern van Guru Maharaj ji: Vijf jaar zakenman in dienst van de verlichting" in: Haagse Post 68 (1981) 7, pp 48-53.
13. Kranenborg, Reender (1982) Oosterse Geloofsbewegingen in het Westen/Eastern faith movements in the West (Dutch language) ISBN 90-210-4965-1
14. Lans, Jan van der (Dutch language) Volgelingen van de goeroe: Hedendaagse religieuze bewegingen in Nederland page 117, written upon request for the KSGV published by Ambo, Baarn, 1981 ISBN 90-263-0521-4
15. Schnabel, Paul Dr. (Dutch language) Between stigma and charisma: new religious movements and mental health Erasmus university Rotterdam, Faculty of Medicine, Ph.D. thesis, ISBN 90-6001-746-3 (Deventer, Van Loghum Slaterus, 1982), Chapter II, page 33, Chapter IV page 99, page 101-102, Chapter V, page 142
16. Rolling Stone Magazine. The Seventies: A Tumultous Decade Reconsidered. Rolling Stones Press, 1998. p. 102, ISBN 0-316-75914-7
17. du Plessix Gray, Francine. Blissing out in Houston. The New York Review of Books. vol.20, no. 20 (December 13, 1973)
18. Police block drive-in protest against guru, Courier Mail, Australia, September 4, 2002, Tony Keim
    Neville Ackland, a self-proclaimed "ex-premie" (follower) of "Mahariji" Prem Pal Rawat, was yesterday stopped by police from driving into the Ivory's Rock convention centre to confront the "false guru".
19. Blinded by the Light, Good Weekend (Sydney Morning Herald), August 31, 2002.
    In 1996, Canadian lawyer and ex-premie Jim Heller was cruising the early cult newsgroups on the Internet, looking for some mention of Maharaji. Nothing. Then, slowly, other ex-premies materialised, including one who happened to have web design skills: www.ex-premie.org was born. As bits of information – recollections, documents, photos – trickled in to the web site from all over the world, an entirely new picture of the Perfect Master began to emerge.
20. Queensland Times, Ellen Quinn 9/2/03 Police have seized Marijuana worth more than $2.5 million in one of Ipswich's biggest drug busts in years. Around the same time as police unloaded 857 plants and 52kg of dried marijuana from their vehicles yesterday. Neville Ackland, 54, appeared in Ipswich Magistrates Court charged with drug offenses. Acting Inspector Brad Weller said the drug haul was one of Ipswich's biggest in years. "This will definitely put a hole in the Ipswich Marijuana trade for a while I think," he said. Inspector Weller said police searched a Mt Greville property at Moogerah on Wednesday night after a tipoff and stumbled across hundreds of plants. He said the 52kg of dried material was found spread across a large number of rubbish bins. "We were out at the property for five hours this morning digging out the plants and transporting everything back to the station," he said yesterday. "This afternoon we'll organise some samples to be taken and then the remainder will be destroyed." Police have alleged the marijuana belonged to Mr Ackland. He was charged with producing, possessing and supplying a dangerous drug as well as possessing drug related equipment. Ackland also faces charges of possessing unlicensed and unsecured firearms. He was given bail and the matter will be heard again in Brisbane Supreme Court at a later date."
21. "Former Guru on a Different Mission", Rocky Mountain News, January 30, 1998.
22. Listing, International Cultic Studies Association
    The Elan Vital - Divine Light Mission Papers "The primary purpose of this website is to provide information to current and prospective followers of Divine Light Mission/Elan Vital, that is not made available on Prem Rawat's official sites."
23. Melton, J. Gordon. Encyclopedia Handbook of Cults in America p.143, Garland Publishing (1986) ISBN 0-8240-9036-5
    "several deprogrammed ex-members became vocal critics of the mission"
24. Lewis, James, The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions, p.210, Prometheus Books, ISBN 1-57392-888-7
    "a number of ex-members became critics of the movement, attacking it with charges of brainwashing and mind control"
25. Brown, Chip, Parents Versus Cult: Frustration, Kidnapping, Tears; Who Became Kidnappers to Rescue Daughter From Her Guru, The Washington Post, February 15, 1982
    "Suddenly there were new reports from people who'd actually managed the Divine Light Mission—Robert Mishler, the man who organized the business side of the mission and served for 5 1/2 years as its president, and Robert Hand Jr., who served as a vice president for two years. In the aftermath of Jonestown, Mishler and Hand felt compelled to warn of similarities between Guru Maharaj Ji and Jim Jones. They claimed the potential for another Jonestown existed in the Divine Light Mission because the most fanatic followers of Maharaj Ji would not question even the craziest commands. As Jim Jones convincingly demonstrated, the health of a cult group can depend on the stability of the leader.
    Mishler and Hand revealed aspects of life inside the mission that frightened the Deitzes. In addition to his ulcer, the Perfect Master who held the secret to peace and spiritual happiness 'had tremendous problems of anxiety which he combatted with alcohol,' Mishler said in a Denver radio interview in February 1979."
26. Ibid. Encyclopedic Handbook pp.144-5 "However as the group withdrew from the public eye, little controversy followed it except the accusations of Robert Mishner , the former president of the Mission who left in 1977. Mishner complained that the ideals of the group had become impossible to fulfill and that money was increasingly diverted to Maharaj Ji's personal use. Mishner's charges found little support and have not affected the progress of the Mission."

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