Teaching of Prem Rawat
Scholars have claimed that Rawat's teachings spring from the traditions of the Indian Sants, who dismissed religious ritual and praised the "Divine Name" for its power to save. They emphasised honour for the guru or Perfect Master as an embodiment of God on Earth, and surrender to God "who dwells in the heart."[1] Kabir, the 14th century Sant poet wrote: "Guru and God both appear before me. To whom should I prostrate? I bow before Guru who introduced God to me."[2][3][4] Rawat claimed that the techniques of Knowledge he teaches, with the help and guidance of the Guru, will enable the practitioner to experience the divinity within.[5][6] His early teachings, which were essentially Hindu in origin, were variously described by Western religious scholars as lacking in substance or as resembling a "Christian evangelical campaign."[7][8][9]
Following the split with his family in 1974 Rawat transformed his initial teachings in order to appeal to a Western context. He came to recognize that the Indian influences on his followers in the West were a hindrance to the wider acceptance of his teachings. He therefore changed the style of his message and relinquished the Hindu tradition, beliefs, and most of its original eastern religious practices.[10][11][12]
In 1983 Rawat downsized Divine Light Mission and changed its name to Elan Vital. He dropped the title "Guru" and closed the last western ashrams, seeing his teachings as independent of culture, religion, beliefs, or lifestyles,[13][14]He continued to teach the four techniques of Knowledge and affirmed his own status as a master rather than a divine leader. The original religious movement was essentially defunct. Scholars such as Kranenborg and Chryssides describe the departure from divine connotations, and the new emphasis that the Knowledge is universal, rather than Indian.[15][16]
In 2005, Rawat introduced The Keys, a program of five DVD packs which prepare the student for receiving Knowledge. The techniques are taught in Key Six, a multimedia presentation produced in fifty languages. Rawat advises students that for maximum benefit the techniques should be practised daily for at least one hour.[17][18][19] Practitioners describe Knowledge as internal and highly individual, with no associated social structure, liturgy, ethical practices or articles of faith.[20][21]
- ^ Lipner.
- ^ Kranenborg, Reender, Oosterse Geloofsbewegingen in het Westen/Eastern Faith Movements in the West.
- ^ Melton, J. Gordon The Encyclopedia Handbook of Cults in America. p.143, Garland Publishing (1986) ISBN 0-8240-9036-5
- ^ Geaves, Ron, Globalization, Charisma, Innovation and Tradition: 2006. Journal of Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies, 2 44-62.
"Prem Rawat has affinities with the mediaeval Nirguna Bhakti (formless devotion) tradition of Northern India, more commonly known as Sant. With its emphasis on universalism, equality, direct experience, criticism of blind allegiance to religious ritual and dogma, and tendency towards syncretism." - ^ Hadden, Religions of the World, pp.428
"The meditation techniques the Maharaji teaches today are the same he learned from his father, Hans Ji Maharaj, who, in turn, learned them from his spiritual teacher [Sarupanand]. 'Knowledge', claims Maharaji, 'is a way to be able to take all your senses that have been going outside all your life, turn them around and put them inside to feel and to actually experience you..." - ^ Stephen J. Hunt, Alternative Religions: A Sociological Introduction. (2003), pp.116-7, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 0-7546-3410-8
"The process of reaching the true self within can only be achieved by the individual, but with the guidance and help of a teacher." - ^ Geaves, Ron, Globalization, Charisma, Innovation and Tradition: An exploration of the Transformations in the Organisational Vehicles for the Transmission of the Teachings of Prem Rawat (Maharaji), 2006, Journal of Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies, 2 44-62
"The teachings were essentially Hindu in origin, embracing a worldview that accepted transmigration of souls, karma, human avatars and imbedded in an interpretation of the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. However, a discerning listener would have recognized the radical voice of the North Indian Nirguna Bhaktas, also defined as Sants, notably Nanak and Kabir, especially in the message of universalism, equality and the focus on inwardness rather than the outward forms of Hinduism." - ^ Hummel, Reinhart, Indische Mission und neue Frömmigkeit im Westen. Religiöse Bewegungen in westlichen Kulturen Stuttgart 1980, ISBN 3-170-05609-3, p79.
"In a satsang in 1975 in Orlando/Florida, he speaks in a language similar to American evangelical campaigners." Original: "In einem 1975 in Orlando/Florida gehaltenen Satsang spricht er eine aehnliche Sprache wie Amerikanische Evangelizationsfeldzuege." - ^ Kranenborg, Reender (1982) Oosterse Geloofsbewegingen in het Westen/Eastern faith movements in the West (Dutch language) ISBN 90-210-4965-1
- ^ Stephen J. Hunt Alternative Religions: A Sociological Introduction (2003), pp.116-7, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 0-7546-3410-8
"Maharaji transformed his initial teachings in order to appeal to a Western context. He came to recognize that the Indian influences on his followers in the West were a hindrance to the wider acceptance of his teachings. He therefore changed the style of his message and relinquished the Hindu tradition, beliefs, and most of its original eastern religious practices." - ^ Miller, America's Alternative Religions, pp.474
- ^ Downton, Sacred Journeys.
"The end of 1973 saw Guru Maharaj Ji breaking away from his mother and his Indian past. He declared himself the sole source of spiritual authority in the Mission. And, unlike some gurus who have come to this country and have easternized their followers, he became more fully westernized, which premies interpreted as an attempt to integrate his spiritual teachings into our culture." - ^ Miller, America's Alternative Religions, pp.474
- ^ Melton, Encyclopedia of American Religions.
"In the early 1980s, Rawat moved to disband the Divine Light Mission and personally renounced the trappings of Indian culture and religion. Disbanding the mission, he founded Elan Vital, an organization essential to his future role as teacher. [...]Maharaji had made every attempt to abandon the traditional Indian religious trappings in which the techniques originated and to make his presentation acceptable to all the various cultural settings in which followers live. He sees his teachings as independent of culture, religion, beliefs, or lifestyles, and regularly addresses audiences in places as culturally diverse as India, Japan, Taiwan, the Ivory Coast, Slovenia, Mauritius and Venezuela, as well as North America, Europe and the South Pacific." - ^ Chryssides, George D., Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements pp.210-1, Scarecrow Press (2001) ISBN 0-8108-4095-2
"Maharaji progressively dissolved the Divine Light Mission, closing the ashrams, affirming his own status as a master rather than a divine leader, and emphasizing that the Knowledge is universal, non Indian, in nature" [...] "This Knowledge was self-understanding, yielding calmness, peace, and contentment, since the innermost self is identical with the divine. Knowledge is attained through initiation, which provides four techniques that allow the practitioner to go within." - ^ Miller, America's Alternative Religions, pp.474
- ^ Melton, Encyclopedia of American Religions.
"Maharaji had made every attempt to abandon the traditional Indian religious trappings in which the techniques originated and to make his presentation acceptable to all the various cultural settings in which followers live. He sees his teachings as independent of culture, religion, beliefs, or lifestyles." - ^ J. Gordon Melton, Christopher Partridge (Eds.), New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities. pp.201-202, Oxford University Press, USA (2004) ISBN 978-0195220421.
"Rawat is insistent that it is not the product of any one culture or the property of any religious tradition and that it can be practiced by anyone. Consequently, Maharaji asserts that he is not teaching a religion and there are no particular rituals, sacred days, pilgrimages, sacred places, doctrines, scriptures or specific dress codes, dietary requirements or any other dimension associated with a religious lifestyle." - ^ Geaves, Ron, Globalization, Charisma, Innovation, and Tradition.
"He does not demand obedience, in that no outer requirements or prohibitions are placed on those taught the techniques. The simple axiom, 'If you like it, practice it, if you don’t, try something else,' is applied on frequent occasions in his public discourses. Neither does Prem Rawat regard himself as an exemplary leader, a role often ascribed to religious founders." - ^ Chryssides, George D. Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements pp.210-1, Scarecrow Press (2001) ISBN 0-8108-4095-2
"This Knowledge was self-understanding, yielding calmness, peace, and contentment, since the innermost self is identical with the divine. Knowledge is attained through initiation, which provides four techniques that allow the practitioner to go within...and emphasizing that the Knowledge is universal, non Indian, in nature." - ^ Hunt, Stephen J., Alternative Religions: A Sociological Introduction. (2003), pp.116-7, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 0-7546-3410-8 Br />"The major focus of Maharaji is on stillness, peace, and contentment within the individual, and his 'Knowledge' consists of the techniques to obtain them. Knowledge, roughly translated, means the happiness of the true self-understanding. Each individual should seek to comprehend his or her true self. In turn, this brings a sense of well-being, joy and harmony as one comes in contact with one's "own nature." The Knowledge includes four meditation procedures: Light, Music, Nectar and Word. The process of reaching the true self within can only be achieved by the individual, but with the guidance and help of a teacher. Hence, the movement seems to embrace aspects of world-rejection and world-affirmation. The tens of thousands of followers in the West do not see themselves as members of a religion, but the adherents of a system of teachings that extol the goal of enjoying life to the full."