Prem Pal Singh Rawat (Hindi: प्रेम पाल सिंह रावत; born 10 December 1957), also known as Maharaji and (for publications going back to the early years of his public appearances) as Guru Maharaj Ji and Balyogeshwar, is a native of India who teaches a meditation practice he calls Knowledge.[1] He came to prominence leading the Divine Light Mission
(DLM), which has been described as a new religious movement, a cult, a
charismatic religious sect and an alternative religion. Rawat has been
called a cult leader in popular press reports[2][3] and in anti-cult writings.[4][5] He has been criticized for a lack of intellectual content in his public discourses,[6][7] and for an opulent lifestyle.[8][9] His followers, when they have reacted to such criticism, have tended to point to issues of perception[10][11][12] while Rawat himself has attributed it to ability to give peace[13][clarification needed] and his mistrust of the press.[14]
Rawat is the youngest son of Hans Ji Maharaj, an Indian Satguru
(True Master) and the founder of the Divya Sandesh Parishad (DLM's
native name.) After his father's death, eight-year-old Rawat, became the
new Satguru at the center of the organization his father had founded.
At age 13 Rawat travelled to the West, soon taking up residence in the United States.
Many young adults were attracted to DLM, taking interest, for instance,
in the claim that Rawat could impart direct knowledge of God to his
followers. News media were nonplussed by his youth and supposed divine
status. Tens of thousands were initiated in Knowledge techniques, and
hundreds of DLM centers opened worldwide. Some Western followers took up
communal life in dozens of ashrams, guided by DLM Mahatmas.
In November 1973 the Millennium '73
festival was held, centered around Rawat's addresses. Although media
attention was peaking, attendance to the festival was much lower than
the expected 100,000. Within half a year — Rawat had turned sixteen,
married, and ties with his mother and eldest brother
were broken — he had gained an active control of the DLM (by now
established in 55 countries), except its Indian severed stem. From the
early 80s he discarded ostensible references to religion. Ashrams were
closed and the part of DLM he controlled was replaced by Elan Vital.
Rawat toured extensively in the 80s and 90s. In 2001 he established
"The Prem Rawat Foundation" to fund his work and humanitarian efforts.
By the 2010s more organizations were put to the front and Elan Vital was
eventually replaced by a complex of them. Rawat continues to speak for
large and/or select audiences worldwide, and on several occasions has
received a significant recognition for his work and message of Peace.
The core of Prem Rawat's teaching is that the individual’s need for
fulfillment can be satisfied by turning within to contact a constant
source of peace and joy. Rather than a body of dogma, he emphasizes a
direct experience of transcendence that he says is accessible through
the meditation techniques he teaches.
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