Prem Rawat
Prem Pal Singh Rawat, formerly known as Maharaji, is an Indian international speaker and author. His teachings include a meditation practice he calls "Knowledge", and peace education based on the discovery of personal resources such as inner strength, choice, appreciation and hope.
Prem Rawat is the youngest son of Hans Ram Singh Rawat, an Indian guru and the founder of the Divya Sandesh Parishad, later known as Divine Light Mission. After his father's death, eight-year-old Prem Rawat assumed his role. At 13, he traveled to the West and took up residence in the United States. When young adults took interest in his message, the movement grew by tens of thousands. Many in the news media were perplexed by his youth and claims of divine status; he was also criticized for a lack of intellectual content in his public discourses, and for leading an opulent lifestyle.
Prem Rawat's marriage at the age of 16 to a non-Indian severed his relationship with his mother. At that point, the Indian branch of DLM controlled by his mother split from DLM everywhere else; at that point it was established in 55 countries. In the early 1980s, he began to discard references to religion in his speeches and closed the ashrams. The name of the DLM was changed to Elan Vital. Since that time, Prem Rawat has continued to travel extensively, speaking about peace to large and select audiences worldwide. On several occasions he has received recognition for his work and message of peace.
In 2001 he established The Prem Rawat Foundation to support his work and humanitarian efforts. Its Peace Education Program is licensed and utilized by correctional facilities and other service organizations around the world.
History
1957-1970
Prem Pāl Singh Rawat was born in Haridwar, Uttarakhand in northern India, on 10 December 1957, the fourth and youngest son of guru Hans Rām Singh Rawat and his second wife, Jagat Janani Mata Shri Rajeshwari Devi. Prem Rawat attended St. Joseph's Academy elementary school in his hometown of Dehra Dun. At the age of four, he began speaking at his father's meetings, and at six his father taught him the "techniques of Knowledge." His father died in 1966, and during the customary 13 days of mourning, his mother and senior officials of the organization discussed the succession. Both his mother, Mata Ji, and eldest brother, Satpal Singh Rawat, were suggested as successors. Before either could be nominated, however, Prem Rawat addressed the crowd of mourners, reminding them that their master was immortal and still among them. In response, his mother, brother and senior disciples accepted Prem Rawat as their Satguru, bowed to his feet and received his blessing. Previously known to his father's followers as Sant Ji, Prem Rawat now assumed the title "Guru Maharaj Ji" and was called "Balyogeshwar" by others on account of his youth and spiritual precocity. From that time, Prem Rawat spent his weekends and school holidays traveling as his father had, addressing audiences on the subject of Knowledge and inner peace. Because of his youth, effective control of the DLM was shared by the whole family.During the 1960s, Westerners in India searching for spiritual guidance met DLM members, and some became initiates or premies British initiates invited him to visit the West, and in 1969 he sent a Mahatma, a close Indian student, to London on his behalf. In 1970, many of his new Western followers flew to India to see him. They 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.
1971–1975
In 1971, Prem Rawat traveled to the West against his mother's wishes. His first western address was given in June 1971 at Glastonbury Fayre. Author Ron Geaves theorises that "the convergence of Prem Rawat, formerly known as Guru Maharaj Ji, and Glastonbury Fayre in 1971 was a key event in understanding the jigsaw that came to be known as 'New Age' spirituality."He then went to Los Angeles, New York, Washington, Canada and South Africa. His arrival in the United States was met with some ridicule, as the teen-aged Rawat was seen as too immature to be a religious leader. However, he generated great interest among young adults, who were willing to examine his claimed ability to give a direct experience of God. Many were attracted by the sense of joy, peace and commitment shown by Prem Rawat's followers. One witness said that Prem Rawat "played the whole time he was there... he played with squirt guns, flashed pictures of himself for all to see, and took movies of everybody... Love flowed back and forth between him and his devotees." Enthusiastic new members spread the message that the 13-year-old Prem Rawat could reveal God. He returned to India later that year with 300 westerners, stayed in the mission's ashrams.
Prem Rawat started flying lessons when he was 13, and jet training at age 15. In 1972 two Cessna airplanes were obtained for his use. Traveling almost constantly, he was reported to have residences in the United Kingdom, the United States, India, and Australia.
The 1972 Hans Jayanti, an annual festival celebrating the birthday of Rawat's guru, was attended by over 500,000 people. Six Jumbo jets were chartered by American followers who paid extra so that South Americans could fly from New York to India for free. Other countries made similar arrangements to help the less financially able.
A reporter who attended an event in Boston in August 1973, which drew 9,000 attendees, wrote that Prem Rawat appeared humble and human, and seemed to intentionally undercut the claims of divinity made by followers. Sociologist James Downton said that from his beginnings, Prem Rawat appealed to his followers to give up concepts and beliefs that might impede them from fully experiencing the Knowledge. This, however, did not prevent them from adopting a fairly rigid set of ideas about his divinity, and projecting millennial preconceptions onto him and the movement.
Followers stressed "love, peace and happiness" in their lives, but public attitudes were often unsympathetic. Sociologist Stephen A. Kent wrote that as a 22-year-old hippie, he found Prem Rawat's message to be banal and poorly delivered, though his companions spoke about it glowingly.
In August 1973 while Prem Rawat was in Detroit to receive an award, he was slapped in the face with a shaving cream pie by Pat Halley, a radical journalist. Prem Rawat said that he did not want his attacker arrested or hurt, but Halley was attacked a few days later and injured. When local members heard of the incident, they notified Prem Rawat, who requested that DLM conduct a full investigation. Two followers were identified as the assailants and the police were immediately notified. The Detroit police declined to initiate extradition proceedings. There was speculation that the lack of action may have been connected with Halley's radical politics.
Prem Rawat's publicity campaign was unparalleled. One journalist reported,
Thousands of people follow him wherever he goes; posters of his round, cheerful face adorn the walls of buildings in every major Western city; newspaper reporters and TV cameras cover his every public appearance—particularly his mass rallies, which attract hundreds of thousands of followers each.
A tour of US cities was cut short in early September 1973 when Prem Rawat was hospitalized with an intestinal ulcer. His physician said that his body, weakened by the pace of continual travel, showed the stresses of a middle-aged executive.
The Hans Jayanti of 1973, named "Millennium '73", was held in the Houston Astrodome. Press releases said that the event would mark the beginning of "a thousand years of peace for people who want peace." The main organizers were Prem Rawat's eldest brother Satpal Rawat and activist Rennie Davis, who predicted an attendance of 100,000 or more; the event attracted about 20,000. Although not covered by the national television news, it received extensive coverage in print media and was depicted in the award-winning US documentary "Lord of the Universe". The premies were described as "cheerful, friendly and unruffled... nourished by their faith". To the 400 premie parents who attended, Prem Rawat was "a rehabilitator of prodigal sons and daughters". Some reporters, however, found "a confused jumble of inarticulately expressed ideas." The event was called the "youth culture event of the year".
The event's failure to meet expectations hurt the Divine Light Mission and left it heavily in debt, forcing changes within the movement. By 1976, the DLM was able to reduce the debt to $80,000. According to Thomas Pilarzyk, the Millennium economic deficit was partly the result of poor management by the "holy family", and partly the much lower than anticipated attendance.
Because of Prem Rawat's youth, his mother, Mata Ji, and eldest brother, Satpal Rawat, managed the affairs of the worldwide DLM. When Prem Rawat reached sixteen years of age he wanted to take a more active part in guiding the movement. According to the sociologist James V. 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, Prem Rawat took administrative control of the Mission's US branch; his mother and Satpal returned to India.
By the end of 1973, the DLM was active in 55 countries. Tens of thousands had been initiated, and several hundred centers and dozens of ashrams were formed. 1973 has been called the "peak of the Mission's success".
Rawat's upscale lifestyle was a source of controversy in the early 1970s. Some media reports said that he "lived more like a king than a Messiah". Critics alleged that his lifestyle was supported by the donations of followers and that the movement appeared to exist only to support his "opulent existence". Supporters said there is no conflict between worldly and spiritual riches, and that Rawat did not advise anyone to "abandon the material world", but said it is our attachment to it that is wrong. Press reports listed expensive automobiles such as Rolls-Royces, Mercedes-Benz limousines and sports cars, some of them gifts. Rawat said, "I have something far more precious to give them than money and material things—I give peace". "Maharaj Ji's luxuries are gifts from a Western culture whose fruits are watches and Cadillacs", a spokesman said. Some premies said that he did not want the gifts, but that people gave them out of their love for him. They saw Rawat's lifestyle as an example of a lila, or divine play, which held a mirror to the "money-crazed and contraption-collecting society" of the West.
In May 1974, a judge gave Prem Rawat consent to marry without parental permission. His marriage to Marolyn Johnson, a 24-year-old follower from San Diego, California, was celebrated at a non-denominational church in Golden, Colorado. Prem Rawat's mother, Mata Ji, had not been invited.
Prem Rawat's marriage to a non-Indian finally severed his relationship with his mother. She retained control of the Indian DLM and appointed Satpal as its leader. Mata Ji said she was removing Prem Rawat as Perfect Master because of his "unspiritual" lifestyle and lack of respect for her wishes. Rawat retained the support of the Western disciples. Most of the mahatmas either returned to India or were dismissed. Prem Rawat had become wealthy as a result of contributions from his Western devotees, and led the life of an American millionaire. He ran a household for his wife, his brother and his sister-in-law, and financed travel for the close officials and mahatmas who accompanied him on his frequent trips around the globe to attend the Mission's festivals. By early 1974 the number of full-time DLM staff had increased from six to over one thousand.
In November 1974, seeking more privacy for himself, his wife and his entourage following security concerns, Prem Rawat moved to a property in Malibu, California. Purchased by the DLM for $400,000, the property served as the DLM's West Coast headquarters. Controversy around a helipad on the property was resolved by installing emergency water storage for the Los Angeles County Fire Department and limiting the number of permitted flights.