Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 15:52, 24 May 2008

Prem Rawat
Prem Rawat at the Forum of Cultures in Barcelona (June 14, 2004)
Born	(1957-12-10) December 10, 1957 (age 67) Haridwar, India
Spouse	Marolyn Rawat
Children	Premlata Rawat, Hans Rawat, Dayalata Rawat, Amar Rawat.
Parent(s)	Shri Hans Ji Maharaj, Rajeshwari Devi

Prem Rawat (b. Prem Pal Singh Rawat, December 10, 1957 in Haridwar, India), also known as Maharaji (formerly Guru Maharaj Ji), also as Sant Ji Maharaj and Balyogeshwar, is a speaker on the subject of inner peace, and offers instruction in four meditation techniques he calls Knowledge. This Knowledge consists of the techniques to obtain stillness, peace, and contentment within the individual: the happiness of the true self-understanding.

In June 1971, Rawat left India for the West, where he was the subject of substantial media attention. His first western address was given at a pop music festival in Glastonbury. Tens of thousands were attracted to his message, largely from the hippie culture. Rawat made his home in the U.S. and began touring and teaching worldwide. When he turned 16, Rawat became an emancipated minor and was able to take a more active role in guiding the movement.

Over time, his teachings became more universal and less Indian, and in the early 1980s he dropped the title "Guru" and abandoned the Indian traditions from which the techniques originated. In 2001 The Prem Rawat Foundation was established to contribute to global humanitarian efforts and to promote his message, which is now available throughout the world via print, TV, cable and satellite. As of 2006, Rawat continued to tour regularly.

Rawat has been criticized for a lack of intellectual content in his public discourse and for leading a sumptuous lifestyle.

Childhood

Prem Rawat was born in Haridwar, northern India, on December 10, 1957. The fourth and youngest son of guru Shri Hans Ji Maharaj and his second wife, Jagat Janani Mata Shri Rajeshwari Devi, Rawat attended St. Joseph's Academy elementary school in his hometown of Dehra Dun. At the age of three he began speaking at his father's meetings, and when he was six his father taught him the "techniques of Knowledge." During the 1960s, Americans in India searching for spiritual guidance met members of his father's Divine Light Mission (founded in 1960) and a few became initiates or premies from the Hindi prem, which literally means "love". Rawat's father died in 1966 and during the customary 13 days of mourning, his mother and senior officials of the organization discussed the succession. Both Mata Ji and eldest son Satpal were suggested but before they could nominate Satpal as successor, Prem Rawat addressed the crowd and was accepted by them as their teacher and "Perfect Master". On July 31 after an improvised ceremony, Mata Ji and his elder brothers touched Rawat's feet as a sign of respect. Because of his youth, effective control of the DLM was shared by the whole family. From that time on, Rawat spent his weekends and school holidays travelling as his father had, addressing audiences on the subject of Knowledge and inner peace.

In the late 1960s, British followers in India invited him to visit the West. In 1969 he sent one of his closest Indian students (known as Mahatmas) to London to teach Knowledge on his behalf. In 1970, many of his new Western followers flew to India to see him and were present at India Gate, Delhi, when – still only twelve years old – he delivered an address known as "The Peace Bomb," which marked the start of his international work.

Leaving India

Prem Rawat first travelled to the West in 1971. In September 1971 the U.S. Divine Light Mission (DLM) was established in Denver, Colorado and that same year Rawat spoke to a large crowd. By the end of 1973, DLM was operating in North and South America, Europe and Australia. Tens of thousands of people had been initiated, and several hundred centers and dozens of ashrams formed.

The 1972 Hans Jayanti, a festival celebrating Rawat's father's birthday, attracted a reported total of 500,000 attendees, including 2500 members from the U.S. Rawat returned to India from the U.S. on November 7 1972, to attend. Cash, gems, and wristwatches worth a reported total of US$27,000 to $80,000 were not properly declared to customs, leading to accusations of smuggling. Rawat was not able to leave India due to the investigation until he posted $13,300 bond in June 1973. Charges were never filed and the government later apologized.

A tour of U.S. cities was cut short in early September 1973, when Rawat was hospitalized. According to Andrea Cagan, Rawat's biographer, there was no official diagnosis but the press had a "field day" claiming Rawat had an ulcer. Rawat's doctor said that Rawat's body showed the stresses of a middle-aged executive weakened by the pace of continual travel.

The Hans Janyanti of 1973, called "Millennium '73", was held in the Astrodome of Houston, Texas. It was promoted as "the most significant event in human history". Organizers, including Rawat's eldest brother Satpal Rawat (Bal Bhagwan Ji) and activist Rennie Davis, had publicly predicted attendance of 100,000 or more, but the event only attracted an estimated 20,000. Though it was not covered by the national television news, it did get extensive coverage in the print media and was depicted in the award-winning U.S. documentary "Lord of the Universe". The premies were reported to be "cheerful, friendly and unruffled, and seemed nourished by their faith". To the 400 premie parents who attended, Rawat "was a rehabilitator of prodigal sons and daughters". Other reporters found a "confused jumble of inarticulately expressed ideas." The event was called the "youth culture event of the year". The failure of the event to meet expectations generated negative publicity and left the Divine Light Mission heavily in debt, forcing changes in the movement. The festival is often considered the high-point of Rawat's prominence as a guru.

Coming of age

Because of Prem Rawat's youth, Mata Ji, his mother, had managed the affairs of the worldwide DLM with the help of her eldest son, Satpal Rawat (then: Bal Bhagwan Ji). As Prem Rawat approached sixteen years of age, he wanted to take a more active part in deciding and managing the direction of the movement. According to Downton, "this meant he had to encroach on his mother's territory and, given the fact that she was accustomed to having control, a fight was inevitable". In December 1973, when he turned 16, Rawat took administrative control of the Mission's U.S. branch and began to assert his independence from his mother who returned to India with Satpal.

In April 1974, at the age of sixteen, Rawat became an emancipated minor, and in May married Marolyn Johnson. Johnson was a 24-year old follower and secretary of Rawat from San Diego, California. The marriage was officiated at a non-denominational church in Golden, Colorado. Rawat's mother, Mata Ji, had not been invited.

Rawat's marriage to a non-Indian finally severed Rawat's relationship with his mother. She gained legal control of the Indian DLM and appointed the eldest brother, Satpal, as its leader, while Rawat maintained the support of the Western disciples. Most of the mahatmas either returned to India or were dismissed. Rawat had by then become financially independent as a result of contributions from his Western devotees, which made it possible for him to follow the lifestyle of an American millionaire.

In November 1974, seeking more privacy for himself, his wife and his entourage following security concerns, Rawat moved to a four-acre property in Malibu, California. Purchased by the DLM for $400,000, the property also served as the DLM's West Coast headquarters. Described in the press as a "lavish hilltop estate", it was damaged in a 1978 brush fire. Controversy around a helipad on the property was resolved by installing emergency water storage for use by the Los Angeles County Fire Department in emergencies and by limiting the number of permitted flights. After scaling down the DLM's activities in the early 1980s, Rawat created the North American Sponsorship Program to help pay for the property, which by 1998 was valued at $15 million.

Although there were still residues of belief in his divinity, by 1976 the vast majority of students viewed Rawat primarily as their spiritual teacher, guide and inspiration. In January 1976 Rawat encouraged students to leave the ashrams and to discard Indian customs and terminology. In the same year, staff at the Denver headquarters were reduced from 250 to 80.

His appearance at an event on 20 December 1976 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, wearing a traditional Krishna costume for the first time since 1975, signaled a resurgence of Indian influence and devotion. His followers elevated Rawat to a higher level in the conveyance of "Knowledge". During 1977, many returned to ashram life, and there was a shift back from secular tendencies towards ritual and messianic beliefs. In 1977 Rawat became a US citizen.

In the mid-1970s several ex-members became vocal critics. James Lewis wrote that they attacked the movement with charges of brainwashing and mind control. In January 1979 the Los Angeles Times reported that Rawat maintained his Malibu following despite a rising mistrust of cults. Bob Mishler, co-founder of DLM in the United States and former president of the business side of the mission, and Robert Hand, a former vice president of the movement, voiced their criticism in a press conference, warning that a situation like the recent Jonestown incident could occur with the followers of Rawat. Mishler complained that the ideals of the group had become impossible to fulfill.

Following the fire damage to his Malibu home, Rawat moved to Miami Beach, Florida with his wife and three children for several years, and DLM headquarters relocated there. Prem Rawat visited India again in October 1980 after an absence of five years, and spoke to over 38,000 people in Delhi. He also toured South America and Europe that year.

Westernization

In the early 1980s, the Hindu traditions and religious parables that had been prominent in Prem Rawat's teachings were abandoned as obstacles to a wider western acceptance of his message and gave way to an exclusive focus on "Knowledge" – the meditation techniques. Formerly considered the "Perfect Master", Prem Rawat abandoned his "almost divine status as guru". Spiritual growth was no longer attained by the grace of the guru, but from the teachings and their benefit to individuals.

In 1983 the downsized Divine Light Mission changed its name to Elan Vital, and Rawat closed the last western ashrams, marking the end of his use of Indian methods for international objectives.

Rawat continued to teach the techniques of Knowledge and affirmed his own status as a master rather than a divine leader. The original religious movement was essentially defunct. Scholars such as Kranenborg and Chryssides describe the departure from divine connotations, and the new emphasis that the Knowledge is universal, rather than Indian. Sociologist Hunt claims that Rawat "left his more ascetic life behind and 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. His tens of thousands of followers in the West see themselves as adherents to a system of teachings that extol the goal of enjoying life to the full."

He toured extensively throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and spoke publicly in over 40 countries, in places as culturally diverse as Japan, Taiwan, the Ivory Coast, Slovenia and Venezuela. 1999 saw the commencement of regular satellite broadcasts to North America and other countries.

2000s

Between January 2004 and June 2005, Rawat delivered 117 addresses in Asia, Europe, and North America focusing on a universal message of peace and self-fulfillment. His message is currently distributed in eighty-eight countries in print and on video, and his program Words of Peace is broadcast on TV channels such as Canal Infinito in South America, Channel 31 in Australia, Eurobird: SKY Open Access 2 in Europe and Dish Network in the U.S.A.

In 2001, Rawat founded the The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF), a Public Charitable Organization for the production and distribution of materials promoting his message, and for funding worldwide humanitarian efforts. TPRF has provided food, water and medical help to war-torn and impoverished areas.

In 2005, Rawat introduced The Keys, a set of five DVD's which prepare the student for receiving Knowledge, as well as a sixth Key which is a DVD presentation of Rawat giving the Knowledge.

In 2007, during a two-month tour of India, Sri Lanka and Nepal, Rawat spoke at 36 events, addressing over 800,000 people, and by live satellite broadcasts reached an additional 2.25 million.

Teachings

Prem Rawat teaches a process of self-discovery using four meditation techniques, which are known collectively as "Knowledge", that offer a direct experience of transcendence. Stephen J. Hunt describes Rawat's major focus as being on stillness, peace and contentment within the individual, and his 'Knowledge' consists of the techniques to obtain them. Knowledge, roughly translated, means the happiness of the true self-understanding. Each individual should seek to comprehend his or her true self. In turn, this brings a sense of well-being, joy, and harmony as one comes in contact with one's "own nature."

Some scholars assert that Rawat's teachings began in the North Indian Sant Mat tradition, which dismisses ritual and claims that true religion is a matter of loving and surrendering to God who dwells in the heart. Rawat claims that practicing Knowledge will allow the practitioner to experience the divine within, which will yield self-understanding, calmness, peace and contentment.

Several scholars wrote that Rawat claimed or suggested that he was divine, in accord with the Indian Sant Mat tradition of regarding the "Perfect Master" as an embodiment of God,As a guru, he carried divine connotations for his followers, and Rawat's appeal to his followers to give up their beliefs and concepts did not prevent them from adopting a set of ideas about his divinity and the coming of a new age. Despite his denial in a July, 1972 interview of any belief that he was the Messiah, pre-existing millennial expectations were fostered partly by his mother, whose talks were full of references to her son's divine nature, and partly by Rawat himself who generally encouraged whatever view was held by people.

Some journalists and scholars have described Rawat's teachings as lacking in intellectual content. Van der Lans and Derks wrote that according to Rawat all evil should be attributed to the mind, as an obstacle to freeing oneself from former bonds. Rawat makes no reference to any traditional authority, neither person nor text. In the 80s Rawat came to recognize that the Indian influences on his followers in the West were a hindrance to the wider acceptance of his teachings, and he changed the style of his message, relinquishing the Hindu traditions and beliefs and most of the original eastern religious practices.

Practitioners describe Knowledge as internal and highly individual, with no associated social structure, liturgy, ethical practices or articles of faith. Practitioners and organizations related to Prem Rawat emphasize the superiority of subjective experience over intellect.

Reception

According to Ron Geaves, since Prem Rawat left India in 1971, he has "established his teachings in over eighty countries, and his original vehicle Divine Light Mission was described as the fastest growing new religious movement in the West."

Following

Estimates of the number of Rawat's adherents varied, and became less certain over time. Petersen states that Rawat claimed 7 million followers worldwide in 1973, with 60,000 in the US. Rudin & Rudin give a worldwide following of 6 million prior to the family schism of 1974, of which 50,000 were in the US. According to these authors, these figures had fallen to 1.2 million for Prem Rawat's personal worldwide following in 1980, of which just 15,000 were in the US. Religions of the World: A Latter-day Saint View published a general membership of approximately 1.2 million worldwide, with 50,000 in the US, in 1990 and 1997.

Paul Schnabel notes a steady growth of adherence in the US until 1975 (numbers for 1974: 50,000 premies, of which 1200 living in ashrams), with a steep decline afterwards. Army Pamphlet 165-13 (1978, reprinted 2001) estimated 50,000 adherents in the US, of which 10,000 to 12,000 were considered very active. Melton & Moore suggested a US following of no more than 3,000 committed followers in 1982 out of some 50,000 who had been initiated into the Knowledge meditation. By 1993 it was no longer possible to obtain estimates from Rawat's organisations. Outside the US, Paul Schnabel indicates a decreasing number of 150 DLM adherents, 15 of which living in a community setting, for Netherlands in 1980. For West Germany, 800 full-time members were recorded in 1987.

Media

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. In 1973, the 50-member public relations team of the Divine Light Mission who met to talk about the guru's image, concluded that he was seen as a "fat 15-year-old with pie in his face ... and a Rolls-Royce ... who was arrested for jewel smuggling", and pointed at the necessity to establish his credibility beyond his age and body shape.

Authority

In 1982, the Dutch sociologist Paul Schnabel described Rawat as a pure example of a charismatic leader. He characterized Rawat as materialistic, pampered and intellectually unremarkable compared to Osho but no less charismatic. 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.

Ron Geaves, a Professor of Religion at Liverpool Hope University in England who is one of the earliest Western students of Prem Rawat, writes that Prem Rawat himself has stated that he does not consider himself to be a charismatic figure, preferring to refer to his teachings and the efficacy of the practice of the four techniques on the individual as the basis of his authority.

Disappointment

Stephen A. Kent, in the preface of his book From Slogans to Mantras, described his disappointment at hearing what he considered to be a poorly delivered and banal message by Rawat in 1974, and was surprised that his companions spoke glowingly about the same message.

Schnabel observed, referring to research by Van der Lans, 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. According to these authors, 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 by former followers

When former officials of Rawat's organisations voiced their criticism in the aftermath of the Jonestown drama in the late 1970s they didn't limit themselves to the movement, but included its leader in their comments, for instance that money was increasingly diverted to Rawat's personal use.

Critical former followers became known as "ex-premies". A website started in 1996 utilizes the term, www.ex-premie.org. Elan Vital has characterised former followers that became vocal critics as disgruntled former employees.

Aviation interests

Prem Rawat holds an Airline Transport Pilot License and has type ratings for a number of multi-engined aircraft and helicopters. He is listed as co-inventor on a U.S. patent for a world-time aviational watch.

Footnotes

1. Cagan, A. Peace is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat. Mighty River Press. ISBN 0-9788694-9-4, pp. 206, 215, 219 and 233
2. ^ Navbharat Times, 10 November 1970 (from Hindi original): "A three-day event in commemoration of Sri Hans Ji Maharaj, the largest procession in Delhi history of 18 miles of processionists culminating in a public event at India Gate, where Sant Ji Maharaj addressed the large gathering."
   Hindustan Times, 9 November 1970 (English): "Roads in the Capital spilled over with 1,000,000 processionists, men, women and children marched from Indra Prasha Estate to the India Gate lawn. People had come from all over the country and belonged to several religions. A few Europeans dressed in white were also in the procession."
   Guinness Book of World Records, 1970.
3. ^ Mangalwadi, Vishal and Hoeksema, Kurt. The world of gurus: a critical look at the philosphies of India’s influential gurus and mystics. Cornerstone Pr Chicago, revised edition (1992). ISBN 094089503X pp. 137-138
   The Divine Light Mission has not been interested in teachings and philosophies. Balyogeshwar and his brother have consistently rejected "theoretical" knowledge as "useless." I found the DLM devotees most difficult to talk to, because they neither wanted to teach their philosophy to me nor answer philosophical questions and objections. Their one comment was "Take the practical knowledge of the experience of Sound and Light and all your doubts and questions will be answered."
4. "New Hindu Religious Movements in India," by Arvind Sharma, in "New Religious Movements and Rapid Social Change", by James A. Beckford, Unesco/Sage Publications: London,1986, ISBN 0-8039-8003-8, p224
5. McKean, Lise. Divine Enterprise: Gurus and the Hindu Nationalist Movement. University of Chicago Press, 1996, ISBN 0226560090. p. 54
6. ^ Cagan, A. Peace is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat. Mighty River Press, ISBN 0-9788694-9-4
7. Hadden, Religions of the World, p. 428 "The meditation techniques the Maharaji teaches today are the same he learned from his father, Hans Ji Maharaj, who, in turn, learned them from his spiritual teacher ." 'Knowledge', claims Maharaji, 'is a way to be able to take all your senses that have been going outside all your life, turn them around and put them inside to feel and to actually experience you ...'
8. ^ Hunt, Stephen J. Alternative Religions: A Sociological Introduction (2003), pp. 116–7, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 0-7546-3410-8
   The leader of the Divine Light Mission, the Guru Maharaji, was 13 years old when he spectacularly rose to fame in the early 1970s. It was his young age which made him different from other eastern gurus who had established similar Hindu-inspired movements at the time. He was the son of Shri Hans Ji Maharaj, who began the DLM in India in 1960, based on the teachings of his own variety of enlightenment through the acquisition of spiritual knowledge. When his father died in 1966, the Guru Maharaji announced himself as the new master and started his own teaching. His global tour in 1971 helped to establish a large following in Britain and the USA. In 1973, he held what was intended to have been a vast, much publicized event in the Houston Astrodome. "Millennium '73" was meant to launch the spiritual millennium, but the event attracted very few and had little wider influence.
   Perhaps because of this failure, Maharaji transformed his initial teachings in order to appeal to a Western context. He came to recognize that the Indian influences on his followers in the West were a hindrance to the wider acceptance of his teachings. He therefore changed the style of his message and relinquished the Hindu tradition, beliefs, and most of its original eastern religious practices. Hence, today the teachings do not concern themselves with reincarnation, heaven, or life after death. The movement now focuses entirely on "Knowledge", which is a set of simple instructions on how adherents should live. This Westernization of an essentially eastern message is not seen as a dilemma or contradiction. In the early 1980s, Maharaji altered the name of the movement to Elan Vital to reflect this change in emphasis. Once viewed by followers as Satguru or Perfect Master, he also appears to have surrendered his almost divine status as a guru. Now, the notion of spiritual growth is not derived, as with other gurus, from his personal charisma, but from the nature of his teachings and its benefit to the individual adherents to his movement. Maharaji also dismantled the structure of ashrams (communal homes).
   The major focus of Maharaji is on stillness, peace, and contentment within the individual, and his "Knowledge" consists of the techniques to obtain them. Knowledge, roughly translated, means the happiness of the true self-understanding. Each individual should seek to comprehend his or her true self. In turn, this brings a sense of well-being, joy, and harmony as one comes in contact with one's "own nature". The Knowledge includes four secret meditation procedures: Light, Music, Nectar and Word. The process of reaching the true self within can only be achieved by the individual, but with the guidance and help of a teacher. Hence, the movement seems to embrace aspects of world-rejection and world-affirmation. The tens of thousands of followers in the West do not see themselves as members of a religion, but the adherents of a system of teachings that extol the goal of enjoying life to the full.
   For Elan Vital, the emphasis is on individual, subjective experience, rather than on a body of dogma. The teachings provide a kind of practical mysticism. Maharaji speaks not of God, but of the god or divinity within, the power that gives existence. He has occasionally referred to the existence of the two gods – the one created by humankind and the one which creates humankind. Although such references apparently suggest an acceptance of a creative, loving power, he distances himself and his teachings from any concept of religion. It is not clear whether it is possible to receive Knowledge from anyone other than Maharaji. 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 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. However, deliberately keeping a low profile has meant that the movement has generally managed to escape the gaze of publicity that surrounds other NRMs.
9. ^ Geaves, Ron, From Totapuri to Maharaji: Reflections on a Lineage (Parampara), paper delivered to the 27th Spalding Symposium on Indian Religions, Regents Park College, Oxford, 22–24 March 2002 Abstract: During the early years of the 1970s, Divine Light Mission experienced phenomenal growth in the West. The teachings of the young Guru Maharaji (now known as Maharaji), based upon an experience of fulfilment arrived at by four techniques that focused attention inward, spread quickly to Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Scandinavia, Japan, South America, Australasia, Canada and the USA. Today, the teachings have gone worldwide to over 80 countries.
10. Goring, Rosemary (Ed.) Dictionary of Beliefs & Religions (1997) p. 145. Wordsworth Editions, ISBN 1853263540
11. Clarence Lewis Barnhart, Sol Steinmetz, Robert K. Barnhart. The Second Barnhart Dictionary of New English. Barnhart Books, 1980, ISBN:0060101547, p. 411
12. ^ Melton, J. Gordon. Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America. pp. 141–2. Entry: Divine Light Mission "In 1970 Maharaj Ji announced his plans to carry the knowledge throughout the world and the following year, against his mother’s wishes, made his first visit to the West. A large crowd came to Colorado the next year to hear him give his first set of discourses in America. Many were initiated and became the core of the Mission in the United States. Headquarters were established in Denver, and by the end of 1973, tens of thousands had been initiated, and several hundred centers as well as over twenty ashrams formed. Cite error: The named reference "Melton" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
13. Downton, Sacred Journeys. "Nearly sixteen, he was ready to assume a more active part in deciding what direction the movement should take. This of course meant that he had to encroach on his mother's territory and, given the fact that she was accustomed to having control, a fight was inevitable."
14. Geaves, Ron, in Christopher Partridge (Eds.), New Religions: A Guide. New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities. pp. 201–202, Oxford University Press, U.S.A. (2004) ISBN 978-0195220421. "As Maharaji began to grow older and establish his teachings worldwide he increasingly desired to manifest his own vision of development and growth. This conflict resulted in a split between Maharaji and his family, ostensibly caused by his mother's inability to accept Maharaji's marriage to an American follower rather than the planned traditional arranged marriage."
15. Melton, J. Gordon. Encyclopedia of American Religions. "In the early 1980s, Maharaj Ji moved to disband the Divine Light Mission and he personally renounced the trappings of Indian culture and religion. Disbanding the mission, he founded Elan Vital, an organization essential to his future role as teacher."
16. "The Prem Rawat Foundation website".
17. ^ Melton, J. Gordon. Entry "DIVINE LIGHT MISSION", subtitle "Controversy" in Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America. Garland, 1986 (revised edition), ISBN 0-8240-9036-5 pp. 144–5
    During the first years of the Divine Light Mission in the United States, both it and Maharaj Ji were constantly involved in controversy. The teachings of the Mission, particularly the public discourses of Maharaj Ji, were condemned as lacking in substance. Maharaj Ji, who frequently acted like the teenager that he was in public, was seen as immature and hence unfit to be a religious leader. At one point, a pie was thrown in his face (which led angry followers to assault the perpetrator). Ex members attacked the group with standard anti cult charges of brainwashing and mind control.
    However, as the group withdrew from the public eye, little controversy followed it except for 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 made just after the deaths at Jonestown, Guyana
    (Note: deaths at Jonestown: November 1978)
18. ^ Schnabel, Tussen stigma en charisma ("Between stigma and charisma"), 1982. Ch. IV, C:

    (p. 99:) persoonlijke kwaliteiten alleen onvoldoende voor de erkenning van het charismatisch leiderschap. de verwende materialistische en intellectueel weinig opmerkelijke Maharaj Ji. (p. 101-102:) Tegelijkertijd betekent dit echter charismatisch leiderschap als zodanig tot op zekere hoogte ensceneerbaar is. Maharaj Ji is daar een voorbeeld van. In zekere zin gaat het hier om geroutiniseerd charisma (erfopvolging), maar voor de volgelingen in Amerika en Europa geldt dat toch nauwelijks: zij waren bereid in juist hem te geloven en er was rond Maharaj Ji een hele organisatie die dat geloof voedde en versterkte.

    personal qualities alone are insufficient for the recognition of the charismatic leadership. the pampered materialistic and intellectually quite unremarkable Maharaj Ji. At the same time, this means however that charismatic leadership, as such, can be staged to a certain degree. Maharaj Ji is an example of this. Certainly, Maharaj Ji's leadership can be seen as routinized charisma (hereditary succession), but for the followers in America and Europe this is hardly significant: they were prepared to have faith specifically in him and Maharaj Ji was embedded in a whole organisation that fed and reinforced that faith.

19. ^ Kent, Stephen A. From slogans to mantras: social protest and religious conversion in the late Vietnam war era, Syracuse University press, 2001, ISBN 0-8156-2948-6
20. "Guru Tries to Take Control of Mission" in The Ruston Daily Leader, April 9, 1975: "Earlier this month, the guru's mother issued a statement in New Delhi saying she had disowned her son because of his pursuit of "a despicable, nonspiritual way of life." Sources close to Rajeshwari Devi said she was upset because of her son's materialistic lifestyle, including a fondness for expensive homes and sports cars, and because of his marriage last year to his secretary."
21. A.Cagan. Peace is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat. p3.
22. Cagan, A. Peace is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat. Mighty River Press. ISBN 0-9788694-9-4, Page 83-87
23. Aagaard, Johannes. Who Is Who In Guruism? (1980) "During the first 6 years of the new movement its head was Shri Hans, the father of the young Maharaj Ji, who, at the age of 8 years, succeeded his father in 1966."
24. ^ Religious Requirements and Practices of Certain Selected Groups: A Handbook for Chaplains by U.S. Department of the Army, published 2001 by The Minerva Group, ISBN 0-89875-607-3 - reprint of Army Pamphlet 165-13, published in 1978 by Kirchner Associates in Honolulu, p. II-5 ff.
    Following his death, Shri Hans Ji appointed the youngest of his four sons, Sant Ji as the next Perfect Master and therefore he assumed the head of the Divine Light Mission as decreed by his father.
25. Fahlbusch E., Lochman J. M., Mbiti J., Pelikan J., Vischer L, Barret D. (Eds.) The Encyclopedia of Christianity (1998). p.861, ISBN 90-04-11316-9 "At the funeral of Shree Hans, his son Prem Pal Singh Rawat comforted those who mourned his father's death with the thought that they still had perfect knowledge with them. The son himself had become the subject of this knowledge, the perfect master, in the place of his father, and took the title of "guru" and the name of Maharaj Ji, or great king, a title of respect to which other titular names were added. The honors paid him by his followers gave him the characteristic of a messianic child. These were supposedly his by nature and they helped him to eliminate rival claims from his own family."
26. Cagan, A. Peace is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat. Mighty River Press. ISBN 0-9788694-9-4, Page 83-86
27. Melton, Gordon J. Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America, (1986), pp.141-2 Garland Publishing, ISBN 0-8240-9036-5 "Just six years after the founding of the Mission, Shri Hans Ji Maharaj was succeeded by his younger son Prem Pal Singh Rawat, who was eight when he was recognized as the new Perfect Master and assumed the title Maharaj Ji. Maharaj Ji had been recognized as spiritually adept, even within the circle of the Holy Family, as Shri Hans' family was called. He had been initiated at the age of six He assumed the role of Perfect Master at his father's funeral by telling the disciples who had gathered. Though officially the autocratic leader of the Mission, because of Maharaji's age authority was shared by the whole family."
28. Melton, J. Gordon. Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America, pp. 141–2. Entry: Divine Light Mission "Just six years after the founding of the Mission, Shri Hans Ji Maharaj was succeeded by his younger son Prem Pal Singh Rawat, who was eight when he was recognized as the new Perfect Master and assumed the title Maharaj Ji. Maharaj Ji had been recognized as spiritually adept, even within the circle of the Holy Family, as Shri Hans' family was called. He had been initiated at the age of six He assumed the role of Perfect Master at his father's funeral by telling the disciples who had gathered. Though officially the autocratic leader of the Mission, because of Maharaji's age authority was shared by the whole family."
29. Fahlbusch E., Lochman J. M., Mbiti J., Pelikan J., Vischer L, Barret D. (Eds.) The Encyclopedia of Christianity (1998). p.861, ISBN 90-04-11316-9
    At the funeral of Shree Hans, his son Prem Pal Singh Rawat comforted those who mourned his father's death with the thought that they still had perfect knowledge with them. The son himself had become the subject of this knowledge, the perfect master, in the place of his father, and took the title of "guru" and the name of Maharaj Ji, or great king, a title of respect to which other titular names were added. The honors paid him by his followers gave him the characteristic of a messianic child. These were supposedly his by nature and they helped him to eliminate rival claims from his own family.
30. Geaves, Ron, Globalization, Charisma, Innovation and Tradition: An Exploration of the Transformations in the Organisational Vehicles for the Transmission of the Teachings of Prem Rawat (Maharaji), 2006. "Journal of Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies," 2 44-62. "There had been a presence in the UK since 1969, located in a basement flat in West Kensington and then in a semi-detached house in Golders Green, North London. This had come about as a result of four young British members of the counter-culture taking the ‘hippy trail’ to India in 1968 discovering the young Prem Rawat and his teachings and requesting that a ‘mahatma’ be sent to London who could promote the message and show interested individuals the four techniques known as ‘knowledge’.
31. Kranenborg, Reender. Oosterse Geloofsbewegingen in het Westen, p. 64:

    In 1969 stuurt Maharaj ji de eerste discipel naar het Westen. In het daaropvolgende jaar houdt hij een toespraak in Delhi voor een gehoor van duizenden mensen. Deze toespraak staat bekend als de 'vredesbom' en is het begin van de grote zending naar het Westen.

    In 1969 Maharaj ji sends the first disciple to the West. In the next year he holds a speech for an audience of thousands of people in Delhi. This speech is known as the 'peace bomb' and is the start of the great mission to the West.

32. Lewis, James R. Cults in America, ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, 1998. p.83
33. Marc Galanter. Cults: Faith, Healing and Coercion p.20
34. "Guru's Pupil Slates Talk", SYRACUSE POST-STANDARD Feb. 3,1973. p. 3
35. "Young Guru Castigated As Smuggler By Critics", UPI, FLAYGROUND DAILY NEWS, November 20, 1972
36. "Boy Guru Suspected of Smuggling", AP, Sat., Oakland Tribune, Aug. 25, 1973
37. Current Biography Yearbook by H.W. Wilson Company, 1974, p. 256
38. A.Cagan. Peace is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat. p191.
39. "The 'Perfect Master' from India has an ulcer", AP, THE STARS AND STRIPES September 4, 1973 p. 6
40. "Videotape Explorers on the Trail of a Guru" by Dick Adler, Los Angeles Times, February 23, 1974 p. B2
41. Collier, p. 176
42. "Oz in the Astrodome" Ted Morgen New York Times
43. Worshipping the Absurd 'The Negation of Social Causality among the Followers of Guru Maharaj Ji.' Article by Daniel Foss and Larkin in Sociological Analysis, 1978.
44. J. Gordon Melton Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America (New York/London: Garland, 1986; revised edition, Garland, pages 141-145
45. Mangalwadi, Vishal. The World of Gurus. Vikas Publishing House New Delhi 1977. p.219
46. ^ Downton, James V. (1979). Sacred Journeys: The Conversion of Young Americans to Divine Light Mission. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04198-5 Chapter 12 "Changes in the Movement"
    "The end of 1973 saw Guru Maharaj Ji breaking away from his mother and his Indian past. He declared himself the sole source of spiritual authority in the Mission. And, unlike some gurus who have come to this country and have easternized their followers, he became more fully westernized, which premies interpreted as an attempt to integrate his spiritual teachings into our culture."
47. Geaves, Ron. Globalization, charisma, innovation, and tradition: An exploration of the transformations in the organisational vehicles for the transmission of the teachings of Prem Rawat (Maharaji), 2006, Journal of Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies, 2 44-62
48. Melton J. Gordon Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America. New York/London: Garland, 1986 (revised edition), ISBN 0-8240-9036-5, pp. 141-145"In December 1973, when Maharaj Ji turned 16, he took administrative control of the Mission’s separate American corporation. "
49. Cagan, Peace is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat. Mighty River Press, ISBN 0-9788694-9-4 pp. 200, 197. "In Denver in April 1974, Maharaji applied to become an emancipated minor, because he and Marolyn were now engaged and he knew his mother would not condone his marriage at sixteen (or any other age, considering the American wife he'd chosen). With his emancipation, he could obtain a legal marriage licence without his mother's signature. After spending about forty five minutes with a judge, he was granted his request."
50. "The Guru's Wife Is Another Devotee", Robert P. Dalton, AP Staff Writer, Oakland Tribune. May 23, 1974.
51. Downton, James V. Sacred Journeys. Columbia University Press, 1979. p.191.
52. Miller, America's Alternative Religions, p. 474
53. "Guru Maharaj Ji," Biography Resource Center, Thomson Gale, 2007 "The marriage further disrupted his relationship with his mother and older brothers. A lawsuit in India gave control of the Indian branch of the Divine Light Mission to Maharaj's mother and led to a complete break with her son, who maintained the complete support of the Western disciples."
54. Price, The Divine Light Mission as a Social Organization. pp. 279–96 "Immediately following Maharaj Ji's marriage a struggle for power took place within the Holy Family itself. Maharaj Ji was now sixteen years old. He had the knowledge that his personal following in the West was well established. It is likely that he felt the time had come to take the reins of power from his mother, who still dominated the mission and had a strong hold over most of the mahatmas, all of whom were born and brought up in India. Another factor may well have been the financial independence of Maharaj Ji, which he enjoys through the generosity of his devotees. Note 27: Contributions from premies throughout the world allow Maharaj Ji to follow the life style of an American millionaire. He has a house (in his wife's name), an Aston Martin, a boat, a helicopter, the use of fine houses (divine residences) in most European countries as well as South America, Australia and New Zealand, and an income which allows him to run a household and support his wife and children, his brother, Raja Ji, and his wife, Claudia. In addition, his entourage of family, close officials and mahatmas are all financed on their frequent trips around the globe to attend the mission's festivals."
55. ^ "Maharaj Ji Buys $400,000 Home Base in Malibu Area", JOHN DART, Los Angeles Times, Nov 27, 1974; p. B2
56. ^ "Malibu Guru Maintains Following Despite Rising Mistrust of Cults" Mark Foster, Los Angeles Times January 12 1979 p. 3
57. "MALIBU Metamorphosis Is Hollywood's Haven Growing Into Just Another Miami Beach", NIKKI FINKE, Los Angeles Times, September 3, 1989
58. ^ Cagan, A. Peace is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat. Mighty River Press. ISBN 0-9788694-9-4, pp. 219–220 Judy Osborne recalls Maharaji asking the staff to leave immediately. "He didn’t want any heroics," she comments, “even though this was his home and everything that he had was in there." His concern was for their safety. "The fire came but it blew right over the house," she remembers. "All the trees were burned, and so were the grass, the shrubs, and the hills around there. And then there was the soot. Everything in the house was filthy from soot." Maharaji and his family stayed with his brother, Raja Ji, for a while, and then within a few months, they relocated to Miami while the Malibu house was being repaired.
59. "1-Year Trial OKd for Sect's Helipad" Los Angeles Times May 22, 1981; p. F6
60. "Maharaji Denied in Bid to Triple Copter Landings", JUDY PASTERNAK Los Angeles Times; Jul 7, 1985, p. WS1
61. "Guru Maharaj Ji." Religious Leaders of America, 2nd ed. Gale Group, 1999. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC
62. "Fomer guru on a different mission, Rebecca Jones, Rocky Mountain News, January 30, 1998
63. Downton, James V., Sacred Journeys: The Conversion of Young Americans to Divine Light Mission, (1979) Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04198-5 p199 "Although there were still residues of belief in his divinity, in 1976, the vast majority viewed the guru primarily as their spiritual teacher, guide, and inspiration.
64. Downton, Sacred Journeys. "The guru had inspired greater autonomy by saying in January 1976: 'Don't expect that all these premies who are in the ashram right now are going to stay in the ashram. I hope they don't.' This comment had the effect of producing a widespread exodus from the ashrams that year, which gave rise to an individualistic attitude ... Changes in terminology were made in an attempt to divorce the Mission from its Indian trappings. 'Festivals' became 'regional conferences.' 'Holy Company,' a term used to describe the state of being in the presence of other premies, fell from use, as did the customary Indian greeting."
65. Downton, Sacred Journeys. "The staff in Denver was 250 just a couple of months ago. Now it is 80."
66. Downton, James V., Sacred Journeys: The Conversion of Young Americans to Divine Light Mission (1979), Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04198-5. pp. 210–211. "Signs of rededication both to Guru Maharaj Ji and the inner guru became quite apparent. Most of the premies who left the ashrams in the summer of 1976 began to return in 1977, when more than 600 signed up to enter the ashrams in just a few months' time. ... To the surprise of everyone who had come to the Atlantic City program at the close of 1976, Guru Maharaj Ji appeared in his Krishna costume, a majestic looking robe and crown he had not worn since 1975. The sight of him in his ceremonial best brought premies to their feet singing, as nostalgia for the early days caught them up in feelings of devotion once more. ... With so many premies coming out in support of devotion, there has been a shift away from secular tendencies back to ritual and messianic beliefs and practices ... elevating the guru to a much greater place in their practice of the Knowledge."
67. Cagan, A. Peace is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat. Mighty River Press. ISBN 0-9788694-9-4, p. 228
68. Downton, Sacred Journeys. "Signs of rededication both to Guru Maharaj Ji and the inner guru became quite apparent. Most of the premies who left the ashrams in the summer of 1976 began to return in 1977, when more than 600 signed up to enter the ashrams in just a few month's time.
69. "Guru Maharaj Ji becomes a citizen of the U.S." Rocky Mountain News, Wednesday, October 19, 1977, Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
70. 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"
71. 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"
72. ^ 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."
73. Cagan, A. Peace is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat. Mighty River Press. ISBN 0-9788694-9-4, p. 229
74. Melton, J. Gordon. Encyclopedia of American Religions. Maharaji had made every attempt to abandon the traditional Indian religious trappings in which the techniques originated and to make his presentation acceptable to all the various cultural settings in which followers live. He sees his teachings as independent of culture, religion, beliefs, or lifestyles.
75. Miller, America's Alternative Religions, p. 474
76. Kranenborg, Reender. Neohindoeïstische bewegingen in Nederland: een encyclopedisch overzicht, p. 178
    "Zij onterfde hem spiritueel, in feite werd hij de beweging uitgezet. Maharaji ging zelfstandig verder, zij het met minder pretenties dan voorheen. Zo sprak hij sindsdien niet meer in goddelijke termen over zichzelf, maar noemde zich 'humanitarian leader'" (translation: "She disinherited him spiritually. In fact, he was expelled from the movement. Maharaji continued on independently, albeit with less pretensions than in the past, no longer speaking in divine terms about himself, but calling himself instead a 'humanitarian leader'.")
77. ^ Chryssides, George D. Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements pp. 210–1, Scarecrow Press (2001) ISBN 0-8108-4095-2 This Knowledge was self-understanding, yielding calmness, peace, and contentment, since the innermost self is identical with the divine. Knowledge is attained through initiation, which provides four techniques that allow the practitioner to go within ... and emphasizing that the Knowledge is universal, non Indian, in nature.
78. Cagan, A. Peace is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat. Mighty River Press. ISBN 0-9788694-9-4 pp. 255, 266
79. Melton, J. Gordon Encyclopedia of American Religions. "He sees his teachings as independent of culture, religion, beliefs, or lifestyles, and regularly addresses audiences in places as culturally diverse as India, Japan, Taiwan, the Ivory Coast, Slovenia, Mauritius and Venezuela, as well as North America, Europe and the South Pacific."
80. Contact Info - Broadcasts
81. Conversation with Prem Rawat, Available online. (Retrieved January 2006)
82. "Words of Peace" by Maharaji receives TV Award in Brazil" Press release.
83. "About Prem Rawat" at the website of The Prem Rawat Foundation
84. "Charity report". BBB Wise Giving Alliance. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |retrieved= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
85. "The Keys, by Maharaji". thekeys.maharaji.net. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
86. Over 3 million people participate in events with Prem Rawat in India
87. Hadden, Religions of the world, p. 428 The meditation techniques the Maharaji teaches today are the same he learned from his father, Hans Ji Maharaj, who, in turn, learned them from his spiritual teacher . 'Knowledge', claims Maharaji, 'is a way to be able to take all your senses that have been going outside all your life, turn them around and put them inside to feel and to actually experience you ... What you are looking for is inside of you.'
88. "Oz In the Astrodome", by Ted Morgan, New York Times, December 9, 1973
89. "Blissing Out in Houston", by Francine du Plessix Gray, New York Review of Books, Vol. 20, No. 20, December 13, 1974, p36 'I am meditating right now, as I talk to you,' he says cheerfully. 'But I cannot describe to you the Divine Knowledge any further than that if you haven't experienced it. Our Knowledge is not a religion, but an experience. Can I describe to you the taste of a mango before you have tasted it?'
90. Melton, J. Gordon. The Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America. Garland Publishing (1986). ISBN 0-8240-9036-5 p. 143
    The Divine Light Mission is derived from Sant Mat (literally, the way of the saints), a variation of the Sikh religion which draws significant elements from Hinduism... In any case Hans Maharaj Ji claimed a Sant Mat succession which he passed to Maharaj Ji.
91. Lipner, Julius (1994). Hindus: their religious beliefs and practices. New York: Routledge. pp. p.120-1. ISBN 0-415-05181-9. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
92. Schomer, Karine (1987). The Sants: studies in a devotional tradition of India. : Berkeley Religious Studies Series. ISBN 0-9612208-0-5.
93. Lans, Jan van der and Frans Derks, Premies Versus Sannyasins in "Update: A Quarterly Journal on New Religious Movements", X/2 (June 1986)"DLM and Rajneeshism are comparable in that in both, the Indian guru is the central object of devotion. While in the Christian tradition the spiritual master is only an intermediate between the individual and God, standing outside their personal relation, in both these new religious movements the devotee's relation with the guru is considered identical to his relation with God. The guru is accepted as the manifestation and personification of God. His request for total surrender and complete trust is grounded in his claim of ultimate authority derived from his godliness.'"
94. Melton, J. Gordon The Encyclopedia Handbook of Cults in America. p. 143, Garland Publishing (1986) ISBN 0-8240-9036-5 "In any case Hans Maharaj Ji claimed a Sant Mat succession which he passed to Maharaj Ji. Maharaj Ji, as do many of the other Sant Mat leaders, claims to be a Perfect Master, an embodiment of God on earth, a fitting object of worship and veneration."
95. ^ Downton, Sacred Journeys. "During 1971, there were social forces encouraging the development of millenarian beliefs within the Mission. They were developed in part by the carryover of millennial thinking from the counterculture; by the psychological trappings of surrender and idealization; by the guru's mother, whose satsang was full of references to his divine nature; and partly by the guru, himself, for letting others cast him in the role of the Lord. Given the social pressures within the premie community which reinforced these beliefs, there was little hope premies would be able to relax the hold that their beliefs and concepts had over them. ... From the beginning, Guru Maharaj Ji appealed to premies to give up their beliefs and concepts so that they might experience the Knowledge, or life force, more fully. This, as I have said, is one of the chief goals of gurus, to transform their followers' perceptions of the world through deconditioning. Yet Guru Maharaj Ji's emphasis on giving up beliefs and concepts did not prevent premies from adopting a fairly rigid set of ideas about his divinity and the coming of a new age."
96. Collier, Sophia, Soul Rush: The Odyssey of a Young Woman of the '70s Morrow, 1978. "There are those who sincerely believe that Guru Maharaj Ji is the Lord of Creation here in the flesh to save the world. And then there are those who know him a little better than that. They relate to him in a more human way ... to them he is more of a teacher, a guide, a co-conspirator in their personal pursuit of a more heavenly way of life. Guru Maharaji, though he has never made a definitive statement on his own opinion of his own divinity, generally encourages whatever view is held by the people he is with. Addressing several hundred thousand ecstatic Indian devotees, prepared for his message by a four-thousand-year cultural tradition, he declares, 'I am the source of peace in this world ... surrender the reins of your life unto me and I will give you salvation.' On national television in the United States he says sheepishly, with his hands folded in his lap, 'I am just a humble servant of God."
97. "Melton, J. Gordon, The Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America: Revised and Updated Edition. Garland Publishing (1992). p. 222
98. ^ "Oz In the Astrodome", by Ted Morgan, New York Times, December 9, 1973 The reasons for the guru's American success seem to lie partly in the nature of the movement and partly in the timing of the transplant. The doctrine has about as much intellectual content as the fudge sundaes the guru dotes on. As the late Alan Watts, the all-purpose mystic and expert on Zen Buddhism, said: "The core of this doctrine is a sacred ignorance." The important thing is the experience the guru claims he can give, to change people and make them want peace. It follows, as puddles follow rain, that if everyone has this experience, the world will be at peace.
99. Van der Lans and Derks Premies Versus Sannyasins, 1986
100. Geaves, Ron in Partridge, Christopher (Ed.) and Melton, J. Gordon (introduction). New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities. Oxford University Press, USA, 2004, ISBN 978-0195220421, pp. 201–202
     Rawat is insistent that it is not the product of any one culture or the property of any religious tradition and that it can be practiced by anyone. Consequently, Maharaji asserts that he is not teaching a religion and there are no particular rituals, sacred days, pilgrimages, sacred places, doctrines, scriptures or specific dress codes, dietary requirements or any other dimension associated with a religious lifestyle.
101. Geaves, Ron. "Globalization, charisma, innovation, and tradition: An exploration of the transformations in the organisational vehicles for the transmission of the teachings of Prem Rawat (Maharaji)" Journal of Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies, 2, 2006, pp 44-62
     He does not demand obedience, in that no outer requirements or prohibitions are placed on those taught the techniques. The simple axiom, 'If you like it, practice it, if you don’t, try something else,' is applied on frequent occasions in his public discourses. Neither does Prem Rawat regard himself as an exemplary leader, a role often ascribed to religious founders.
102. Melton, J. Gordon. Encyclopedia of American Religions. Maharaji had made every attempt to abandon the traditional Indian religious trappings in which the techniques originated and to make his presentation acceptable to all the various cultural settings in which followers live. He sees his teachings as independent of culture, religion, beliefs, or lifestyles.
103. Barret, David V. The New Believers: A Survey of Sects, Cults and Alternative Religions. Cassel, 2003, ISBN 1844030407, p. 65
     The experience is on individual, subjective experience rather than on a body of dogma, and in its Divine Light days the movement was sometime criticized for this stressing of emotional experience over intellect. The teaching could perhaps best described as practical mysticism
104. Geaves, Ron, Globalization, charisma, innovation, and tradition: An exploration of the transformations in the organisational vehicles for the transmission of the teachings of Prem Rawat (Maharaji), 2006, Journal of Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies, 2 44-62
105. ^ "Elan Vital" in Religious Requirements and Practices of Certain Selected Groups: A Handbook for Chaplains by The Institute for the Study of American Religion (J. Gordon Melton, Project Director - James R. Lewis, Senior Research Associate). 1993 - online edition at Internet Archive, last updated 30 May 2000. The 1993 version already contained:
     Elan Vital Maharaj Ji has continued a policy of not relating to outside information gathering efforts. Recent attempts to gain status reports on the organization by researchers have been completely ignored by the leadership.
106. Petersen, William J. Those Curious New Cults in the 80s. New Canaan, Connecticut: Keats Publishing (1982); p. 146.
107. Rudin, James A. & Marcia R. Rudin. Prison or Paradise: The New Religious Cults. Fortress Press: Philadelphia (1980); p. 63.
108. Palmer & Keller, Religions of the World, p. 95. 1990 edition quoted in: Adherents.com, entry Divine Light Mission
109. Schnabel, Tussen stigma en charisma ("Between stigma and charisma"), 1982. Ch. II, p. 32
110. Melton, J. Gordon & Robert L. Moore. The Cult Experience: Responding to the New Religious Pluralism. New York: The Pilgrim Press (1984 ); p. 142.
     The Divine Light Mission grew quickly in the early seventies but suffered a severe setback in 1973 . In the late seventies the Mission became a low-key organization and stopped its attempts at mass appeal. Recently, Maharaj Ji quietly moved to Miami. The Mission has reportedly initiated over 50,000 people, but only a few thousand remain in the chain of ashrams that now dot the nation.
111. Schnabel, Tussen stigma en charisma ("Between stigma and charisma"), 1982. Ch. III, p. 53
112. Clarke, Peter B. (ed). The New Evangelists: Recruitment, Method and Aims of New Religious Movements. London, Ethnographics, 1987, ISBN 0905788605, pg. 10 to 14. Quoted in: Adherents.com, entry Divine Light Mission
113. Rolling Stone Magazine. The Seventies: A Tumultous Decade Reconsidered. Rolling Stones Press, 1998. p. 102, ISBN 0-316-75914-7
114. du Plessix Gray, Francine. Blissing out in Houston. The New York Review of Books. vol.20, no. 20 (December 13, 1973)
115. "The Guru Who Minds His Mother", MALCOLM N. CARTER. Associated Press THE STARS AND STRIPES, November 4, 1973 Page A6
116. Cagan, Andrea, Peace Is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat, pp.109, Mighty River Press (2007), ISBN 978-0978869496
117. Geaves, Ron, Globalization, charisma, innovation, and tradition: An exploration of the transformations in the organisational vehicles for the transmission of the teachings of Prem Rawat (Maharaji), 2006, Journal of Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies, 2 44-62
118. Schnabel, Tussen stigma en charisma ("Between stigma and charisma"), 1982. Ch. V, p. 142
     The reference texts by Van der Lans quoted by Schnabel in that chapter:
     • Lans, Jan van der. "Religious Experience: An Argument for a multidisciplinary approach" in Annual Review of the Social Sciences of Religion 1, 1977, pp. 133-143.
     • Lans, Jan van der. Volgelingen van de goeroe: Hedendaagse religieuze bewegingen in Nederland. Ambo, Baarn, 1981, ISBN 90-263-0521-4
119. ^ Keim, Tony. "Police block drive-in protest against guru", Courier Mail, Australia, September 4, 2002. Web version at rickross.com
120. ^ "Blinded by the Light", Good Weekend, Sydney (Australia), August 31, 2002. Web version (PDF) at rickross.com
     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.
121. "Former Guru on a Different Mission", Rocky Mountain News, January 30, 1998.
122. Cagan, A., Peace is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat, p. 228
123. U.S. Patent Office

• Prem Rawat
• 1957 births
• Living people
• Naturalized citizens of the United States
• Americans of Indian descent