Teachings of Prem Rawat
| 4 › 2 › 3 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Prem Rawat
 |
| HH Prem Rawat |
Prem Rawat is also known as Maharaji (formerly Guru Maharaj Ji), and known for speaking at his father's religious meetings from he was three. When he was six his father taught him four meditation techniques of "Knowledge." His father had learnt them from his own teacher, Swarupanand. Rawat offers instruction in them, and calls them Knowledge. Some of the techniques are of mantra-yoga and similar to the first technique of Transcendental meditation. Rawat's methods are secret. They were originally called "Light", "Sound", "Name" or "Word" and "Nectar", but today he refers to them as the first, second, third, and fourth techniques.
Reender Kranenborg and J. Gordon Melton inform:
- "Light" involves careful pressure on the eyes (with eyelides closed, presumably, and gently), intent on seeing and opening what is called the "third eye" chakra [between the eyebrows] with training and practice. This is a yoga method. Others teach it too.
- "Sound" involves positioning the hands over the ears and temples, with the goal of hearing the "heavenly music". This is said to be related to sabda-brahman meditation, or the Om-mediation technique of other associations. It means, ultimately, listening for and tuning in to the real OM-sound of prana-currents inside oneself.
- "Name", or "Word", is a meditation concentrating on breath. In Buddhist and Hindu yoga there are both breath-focused methods and mantra-meditation.
- "Nectar" involves tongue positioning, eventually leading the student to taste the "nectar of life". Such tongue-lifting is quite commonly used in other yoga organizations too. Practicing khechari mudra = yogic tongue-lifting.
At eight Rawat was accepted by his family and his father's followers as their new Satguru.
In the late 1960s, British followers in India invited him to visit the West. In 1969 he sent one of his closest Indian students to London to teach Knowledge on his behalf. In Delhi, in 1970 he delivered an address which marked the start of his international work.
In 1971, Rawat left India to speak in London, Paris, Heidelberg and Los Angeles. Frequently acting like the teenager that he was, Rawat was seen by some as immature and hence unfit to be a religious leader. Yet tens of thousands were attracted to his message, largely from the hippie culture. Rawat then relocated to the U.S. and began touring and teaching world wide.
In September 1971 the U.S. Divine Light Mission (DLM) was established in Denver, Colorado. By 1972, DLM was operating in North and South America, Europe and Australia. Tens of thousands of people had been initiated.
As soon as Rawat was sixteen, he married one of his American students. This caused a permanent rift with his mother. As a result of contributions from his Western devotees, Rawat took control of the Western DLM, and encouraged students to leave the ashrams and to discard Indian customs and terminology. By 1976 the vast majority of students viewed Rawat primarily as their spiritual teacher, guide and inspiration. In 1979, Rawat moved to Miami Beach, Florida with his wife and three children, and DLM headquarters relocated there. Also in 1980, Rawat got the use of a Boeing 707 for his work, and during 1981 spoke on 120 occasions in forty cities.
In the early 1980s he himself dropped the title "Guru" and abandoned the Indian traditions that his four techniques originated in, and publicly denied that he was the Messiah. Western DLM became more secular. Rawat renounced the trappings of Indian culture and religion and moved to disband the Divine Light Mission. In 1983 his downsized Divine Light Mission changed its name to Elan Vital, and Rawat closed the last western ashrams.
Prem Rawat continued to tour internationally throughout the 1980s and 1990s, speaking publicly in over 40 countries, and piloted leased executive jets himself. In 2001 The Prem Rawat Foundation was established to promote his message. Between January 2004 and June 2005, Prem Rawat delivered 117 addresses in Asia, Europe, and North America, focusing on a universal message of peace and self-fulfillment.
Rawat has been touring much, and his message is also available via print, TV, cable and satellite. And he himself continues to teach the techniques of Knowledge in the role of a public speaker.
In 2001, The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) was founded, largely for producing and distributing materials that promote Rawat's message. TPRF also funds world-wide humanitarian efforts, providing food, water and medical help to war-torn and impoverished areas. TPRF serves to improve the quality of life for the disadvantaged, and has funded humanitarian initiatives in seventeen countries.
In 2005, Prem Rawat introduced a program of five DVD packs which prepare the student for receiving Knowledge. The techniques themselves are taught in Key Six. Prem Rawat's early western discourses were based largely on references from Indian mythology, but after his marriage in 1974 he began to draw more on his growing personal experiences. According to scholars, his teachings began in the traditions of the North Indian Sants who dismiss ritual and dogma and focus on direct inner experience. He has never developed a systematic set of teachings or doctrine, and the core of his teaching is summarized in his statement: "That which you are looking for is within you."
The four meditation techniques he teaches and calls Knowledge and God, allow the practitioner to experience self-understanding, calmness, peace and contentment. Practitioners describe Knowledge as internal and highly individual. Rawat advises students that for maximum benefit the techniques should be practised daily for at least one hour.
Teachings of Ram Prawat
Accepting what is good in your life is one of the greatest challenges.When people in the world are at peace within, the world will be at peace.
When all the questions are gone the true answer will emerge.
You can do so many things because you are alive.
My central message is: You are alive.
Accepting this life is the doorway.
Tomorrow will never happen [When tomorrow comes, it is today]. Today comes in this moment called Now. (Abr)
What is perishable? This vessel that you are in is perishable.
What is today? Another chance you have been given you to fully feel what it feels like to be alive.
The peace, the beauty, the joy that we are looking for are already within.
You can feel serenity. You can feel beauty.
This journey of self-discovery will be a beautiful process of uncovering. To make this journey, we need to feel and trust - trust our hearts, trust ourselves. (Abr)
We have a fundamental need to feel complete. The first step is to recognize this fundamental need.(Abr)
Understanding is within.
When understanding takes place, we are left with answers. This is a beautiful process. (Abr)
[Keep] attention on the place within where it is possible to feel joy, peace, tranquility.
We can enjoy. This is something we need to uncover. (Abr)
Simplicity is taking away unwanted and unnecessary elements. (Abr)
That beautiful, shining diamond - life itself.
Knowledge is a journey for a lifetime. (Abr)
If you become conscious in your life and avoid creating problems, you will not have to try to solve them.
When you are prepared to practise and enjoy Knowledge keys and make each moment count, then you are ready. (Abr)
Preparing for Knowledge is a very simple process, and can be most enjoyable.
Understand what this life is all about.
There is no one like you. No one can substitute for another person. (Abr)
Feeling is [a] most important thing.
Have tranquility. It is [a sort of inner] feeling that takes place in the heart.
Literature
The Keys: [thekeys.maharaji.net/home/?group=en&language=en|]
A good newsletter, Inspire: [tprf.org/newsletter/index.htm]
TPRF, Maharaji's foundation: [tprf.org/]
Skilled in graphics: [maharaji.net/index.html]
[A] Drury, Michael, The Dictionary of the Esoteric: 3000 Entries on the Mystical and Occult Traditions. New York: Barnes and Noble: Sterling Publishing Company, 2002:75-76
 |
 |
 |
 |
USER'S GUIDE to abbreviations, the site's large bibliography, letter codes, dictionaries, site design and navigation, tips for searching the site and page referrals. [LINK]
DISCLAIMER: To help us out: [LINK]
© 2007, Tormod Kinnes. All rights reserved. [E-MAIL]