Prem Rawat

His teachings include a meditation practice he calls "Knowledge",[1] and peace education based on the discovery of personal resources such as inner strength, choice, appreciation and hope.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,[3][4] and for leading an opulent lifestyle.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.[17] 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.[29] 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.[30] 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 (or life force).[32] 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.[33] 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.He ran a household for his wife, his brother (Raja Ji) and his sister-in-law (Claudia), 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.[63][64][65] Controversy around a helipad on the property[66] was resolved by installing emergency water storage for the Los Angeles County Fire Department and limiting the number of permitted flights.[64] Bob Mishler and Robert Hand, a former vice president of the movement, complained that money was increasingly diverted to Prem Rawat's personal use, and that the ideals of the group had become impossible to fulfill.[76][77] In 1983 the Divine Light Mission was renamed Elan Vital and Rawat closed the last western ashrams, marking the end of his use of Indian methods for international objectives.In one two-year period he spoke at over 100 programs in 37 international cities, including New York, London, Paris, Kuala Lumpur, Rome, Delhi, Sydney, Tokyo, Caracas and Los Angeles.[12] A biography of Rawat, Peace is Possible, by Andrea Cagan, was published in 2006 with a foreword by Emilio Colombo, former President of the European Parliament and Prime Minister of Italy.Michael Gilbert, UTSA associate professor of criminal justice, stated that,"The constructive changes in behavior among participants have been noticed in our local Dominguez prison"."[89][90][91][92] In 2016, Prem Rawat delivered the keynote address at a forum hosted by TPRF and the Tutu Foundation UK at the British Film Institute in London.Government officials and NGO leaders met to explore peace education, reconciliation, alternatives to violence, prison reform and breaking the cycle of crime.[93][independent source needed] In March 2021, the Italian Ministry of Justice, Department of Penitentiary Administration, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to implement the Peace Education Program for inmates' rehabilitation.[100][101] 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.A number of scholars have said that Prem Rawat's teachings began in the North Indian Sant Mat or Radhasoami tradition,[3] which dismisses ritual and claims that true religion is a matter of loving and surrendering to God who dwells in the heart.[3][4][33] Prem Rawat states that light, love, wisdom and clarity exist within each individual, and that the meditation techniques which he teaches, and which he learned from his teacher, are a way of accessing them.The program, not only successful in some educational institutions, had by 2012 also been adopted by 28 prisons in 10 countries including the United States, South Africa, India, Spain, Ireland, the U.K. and Australia."[121] In 1973, the Divine Light Mission's 50-member public relations team concluded that Prem Rawat's credibility had been compromised by his youth, his physical appearance, and the Rolls-Royce, as well as the Detroit "pieing" incident and an allegation of smuggling (which was never prosecuted).[125][126] In 2019, Penguin Random House published Prem Rawat’s book, Peace Is Possible - Thoughts on happiness, success and relationships for a deeper understanding of life.[132] Thomas Pilarzyk, a sociologist, wrote in a 1978 paper that the distribution of power and authority in the DLM was officially based on the charismatic appeal of Maharaj Ji, which he described as being somewhat ambiguous, and that many followers were not certain about his position in the organizational scheme of the movement, or the claim that he was the only true spiritual master.[133] By the early 1980s Meredith McGuire, a professor of sociology and anthropology, saw a process of formalization (transition of charismatic to rational management), resulting from Rawat's desire to consolidate his power and authority over the movement in the United States.[136] When describing the difficulty of charismatic leaders in proving to be above normal human failings such as not to suffer ill health or indulge in worldly pursuits, he used Rawat's marriage as an example.[12] According to Geaves Rawat, rather than considering himself a charismatic leader, deemphasizes the sealing of the master disciple relationship, and focuses on correct practice and staying in touch through participation or listening.[144] James V. Downton, who studied Prem Rawat's followers for five years in the 70s, said "these young people had a spiritual experience which deeply affected them and changed the course of their lives.[147] Paul Schnabel referenced professor in the psychology of religion Van der Lans saying that among his Western students, Rawat appeared to stimulate an uncritical attitude, which gave them an opportunity to project their fantasies of divinity onto his person.