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It's been said that you can trap a monkey by placing a shiny trinket in a jar tied to a tree. The jar opening must be large enough for the monkey to put his hand in, but small enough that he can't remove it after closing his fist around the bait. We are people who have reached into the jar, been trapped there, and ultimately walked away with the trinket by breaking the jar that trapped us.

The shiny trinket offered was the experience of "Knowledge" of one's life-force via the
four meditation techniques taught by Prem Pal Rawat - currently known to his followers as "Maharaji". Hailed by his entourage as "The Lord Of The Universe" and boldly stating "I declare that I will establish peace in this World", he first came to the West from India in 1971 as a 13-year-old boy who went by the name "Guru Maharaj Ji". Professing himself to be "greater than God", Maharaji built a following of "premies" by offering to reveal the supposedly-free experience of Knowledge to anyone who would reach "within inside".

The jar that held us was the belief instilled in us by Maharaji, through a
slow and careful exposure to it, that experiencing this Knowledge is only possible for those who become devoted to him personally.

In the years since his arrival in the West, Maharaji has changed. The former Lord Of The Universe has become "The Master". Devotion has been re-bottled under the label "Gratitude". His earlier Divine Light Mission has evolved into
"Elan Vital", and he is now repackaging his image with a new "Foundation", and paid for advertorials in free magazines for business leaders. No longer needing to be driven to borrowed lodgings in devotees' cars, he now parks his fleet of luxury cars within the walls of his estates located around the world. The young boy who needed his followers to pay his airfare from India is now a middle-aged man who owns a luxury jet which he pilots himself - after commuting to the airport in his own private helicopter. Another teaching aid he has recently acquired is a $7 million yacht.

And many who contributed our services, our money, and our devotion to his professed "mission" of establishing World peace have grown disgusted with his having used those contributions for his personal enrichment, and have broken free of the personality cult surrounding him.




Ex-premie.org exists because new "aspirants" and existing premies are still being encouraged by him to become, or to remain, steadfast in their devotion. Maharaji attempts to surround himself only with people who are reluctant to reveal what they have learned about him. Those who have broken away from that devotion want to make available what's been learned in the process:

  • That the jar of devotion only serves Maharaji's personal interest and wealth-building, and is not required in order to experience anything in this life.

  • That the shiniest trinkets to be held in this world are ours by birth to discover, to enjoy, and to share freely.

  • That having looked up to Maharaji only enabled him to look down to us - the people making monkeys of themselves before finally Breaking Free.



Notice to New Visitors to Ex-Premie.org

  • There is an abundance of issues and information provided in this website, the various links, and at the Forum discussion. It can be overwhelming to newcomers here. Therefore, a general outline of all the issues has been created in a brief letter called "the 14 objections." This letter provides a general overview and is kept up-to-date to reflect each of the major issues.

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