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Kissemee,
Florida - November, 1979:
Prem Rawat dressed up in
stripped-down Krishna garb,
premies pulling him around on
a cart.
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of
Divine Light Mission
Elan Vital,
The
Prem Rawat Foundation,
a.k.a.
Self-Knowledge,
Knowledge.
The
more facts you learn, the better
off you are.
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![[Dividing Line Image]](line.gif)
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"The
Holy Name should be received from one who
himself received it from his Perfect Master,
and who is presently Perfect Master in a
correct spiritual succession. From ancient
times the Perfect Master has channelised His
spiritual power to His disciples. Since the
Name comes from the same spiritual tradition,
it has become very powerful. He who teaches
this Name is called the Guru, and he who
receives it is called the
disciple."
(Shri
Hans Ji Maharaj - Hans
Yog Prakash)
"Sublime
devotion, however, comes from implicit faith
and confidence in the Satguru of the time,
and it must be clearly understood that only
He who can bestow God-vision instantaneously
within oneself is the Satguru of the time,
and no one else. In reality, He is God
incarnate." (Shri
Hans Ji Maharaj June,
1961, Prem Nagar,
India)
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A
major part of the myth upon which Maharaji's cult has
been built is based in the following claims:
- Maharaji
(Prempal Rawat) is the one and only "Master" or
"Satguru" on the planet today.
- The
legitimacy of Maharaji's claim to be the only "Master"
is unquestionable.
- "Knowledge"
is the ultimate Truth, and its techniques can be
revealed by Maharaji only.
When
Maharaji first began giving Knowledge in the West, the
above claims were proclaimed loudly by both Maharaji and
his followers. Now these claims are not made, except
subtly, in the introductory videos that Maharaji
distributes. Instead, they are gradually made clear to
aspirants as they complete the process of learning about
Knowledge.
The purpose of the pages on this site, which focuses on
the traditional Indian background of Maharaji's status
and teachings, is to show that none of these claims are
true. In fact:
- There
are several other gurus and cult leaders today who
also claim to be the one and only "Master", or
Satguru. One of these is Maharaji's brother,
Satpal. The disciples of these "masters" report
having the same kind of experiences that Maharaji's
followers have (See Satgurus
Today
part).
- Maharaji's
teachings have been inherited from a well known and
well documented modern 'progressive' group of
Punjabi 'sects' (See Roots
part).
- The
Knowledge techniques are common knowledge shared by
many teachers (See Links
and Similarities
with the Radhasoami
Tradition
pages), and these teachers have other practices that
are very similar to Maharaji's: darshan, satsang, and
service, for example. What one can experience through
the bond with 'The Master' can simply be experienced
through meditation for those who enjoy it. (See
Resources
part).
"This
message is always the same..." (Maharaji,
Barcelona, Spain, July 17, 1999).
In
spite of the new revisionism and video editing, in
Western countries, the presentation of these
teachings
and of Maharaji himself has changed considerably. While
in India the presentation of "knowledge" is still the
same (read some of his recent
satsang
in India). This site also contains much information about
how Knowledge was presented during the 1970's and early
1980's.
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Origins:
the Indian Roots
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The
'Hindu' wrappings of
Maharaji's teachings
dazzled many people from
the West into believing
that it was somehow Eastern
based and derived from the
justifiably famous
traditions of that part of
the
world.
Far
from it! The messianic
tradition of One God and
One Way to God is
thoroughly Western and not
at all Hindu. Hindu
thinking is rather more
polytheistic and
inclusive.
It
may be more accurate to
regard Prem Rawat's
teachings as a perversion
of the Christ tradition
rather than as owing much
to
Hinduism.
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 The
actual place of Maharaji's movement
among Indian religious
groups.
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Introduction
to Sikhism & related
groups
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Kabir,
Nanak, Sikhism, Sant Mat, Radhasoami
& EV
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The
'Paramhansa Advait Mat'
Book
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Lineage,
lives and teachings of the Satgurus
including Sarupanand (M's father's
guru) and Shiv Dayal Ji
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Similarities
with the Radhasoami
tradition
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Radhasoami
ideas presented under DLM - EVs'
banner
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Prof.
David Lane' comments
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Connection
of DLM with Radhasoami groups and the
Advait Mat group
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Radhasoami
Faith
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An
extensive historical study, by Prof.
A.P. Mathur
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The
Radhasoami Tradition
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A
critical history of Guru Successorship,
by Prof. David Christopher Lane,
Ph.D.
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The
Myth of the Perfect Masters
Lineage
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Summary
of the main historical facts
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Shri
Nangli Sahib
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The
Indian group claiming Swarupanand &
Shiv Dayal's successorship
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More
relevant info
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and
details on M's lineage
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A sociological
approach to Maharaji's
movement.
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An
Indian Perspective
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Maharaji
- EV/DLM's status in respect to
Hinduism
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Shabdism
in North-America
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Relationship
to the Radhasoami tradition - Reasons
to deny their living religious
heritage
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Hinduism
Today (1983) article
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on
M's quasi-Vaishnava
background
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How
People Recognize
Charisma
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The
experience of knowledge: ecstatic
merging of a separate sense of self
with the Absolute
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Satgurus
Today
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Shri
Satpalji Maharaj
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Prempal's
older brother is also a
Satguru
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Links
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Satgurus
(& related) websites: Radhasoami,
Sant Mat, Rawat family, etc.
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Discuss
Maharaji's Teaching
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Letters
to the Site
What's
New on this
Website?
This
Website's
Creator
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Have
an Idea of what premies are involved in
nowadays
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Learn
more about Prempal Rawat and DLM / Elan
Vital
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Go
to ...
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And it came to pass when
he saw that the multitude
thronged him the more day on
day,
tighter and closer and fiercer
than ever they had,
when he saw that they pressed him
to heal them without rest,
and feed them always with his
miracles,
to learn for them and to live
their lives,
he went alone that day onto a
hilltop apart, and their he
prayed.
And he said in his heart,
Infinite radiant Is, if it be thy
will,
let this cup pass from me, let me
lay aside this impossible
task.
I cannot live the life of one
other soul, yet ten thousand cry
to me for life.
I'm sorry I allowed it all to
happen. If it be thy will,
let me go back to my engines and
my tools and let me live as other
men.
And a voice spoke to him
on the hilltop, a voice neither
male nor female,
loud nor soft, a voice infinitely
kind.
And the voice said unto
him,
"Not my will but thine be
done
For what is thy will is mine for
thee.
Go thy way as other men,
And be thou happy on the
earth."
And hearing, the master
was glad and gave thanks
and came down from the hilltop
humming a little mechanic's
song.
And when the throng
pressed him with its woes,
beseeching him to heal for it and
learn for it and feed it non
stop
from his understanding and to
entertain it with his
wonders,
he smiled at the multitude and
said pleasantly unto them,
"I QUIT"
And he went his way through the
crowds and left them,
and he returned to the everyday
world of men and machines.
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Excerpt
from 'Illusions. The Adventures
of a reluctant Messiah', by
Richard Bach
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