Prem Rawat's Big Splash
File under: Satscams and Gurus Clockin' Dollars
Prem Rawat, the guru formerly known as Guru Maharaji Ji, has come a long way since his disgrace and subsequent withdrawal from the satsang scene in the early 80s. He recently addressed the U.N. during its 60th anniversary (and produced his own movie about it), has spoke at various educational institutions and donated $75,000 to a Texas food bank for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. How do we know all this? By the hand of his organization's PR department, of course! This is one guru who really knows how to toot his own horn.
Accused of the usual abuses (including shielding a pedophile in his organization), he has a very strong and seemingly well-organized group of ex-devotees who protest at his engagements. One went so far as to rent a truck to batter his way in.
We find that large, active communities of ex-devotees mean one thing: satscam. Rawat's renaming his org and flooding the internets with positive press releases doesn't seem to have quelled their criticism much. They say that any PR is good PR, but not when you claim to be God. Bad PR sticks to gurus like tobacco smoke at a truck stop. Unfortunately for him (but perhaps fortunate for the guru-seeking masses), we don't see poor old Prem getting out of that anytime soon.
Update: A Google blog search using the term "Prem Rawat" turns up an impressive number of blogs with Rawat-inspired entries, most of them seemingly planted by devotees. We're starting to smell a large, organized and concerted effort to flood the internets with positive portrayals of this notorious satscammer. Stay tuned as we attempt to track this scheme (if there is one) as it unfolds.
posted by guruphiliac @ 8:32 PM
11 Comments:
Again, and for the benefit of your reades, note that the "well organized gorup of ex-devotees" engage in an ongoing campaing of hate and religious intolerance.
While only a psychologist could decipher their exact motives, some of them have admitted in court documents that the real motivation is defame, libel and harass Prem Rawat and his students and although although some may justify their vindictiveness as "public service," many of their activities have leapt from mere criticism into outright illegal acts, including:
- Inciting people via the Internet to drug and kidnap members of Prem Rawat's family;
- Publishing on the Internet the floor plans of Prem Rawat's house (where his wife and children reside) and encouraging harassing phone calls by publishing his personal telephone number;
- Delivering death threats to Prem Rawat and attempting to physically assault him;
- Inciting people to poison the water at a Conference Center during a convention;
- Mounting telephone-call and letter-writing campaigns to employers of students of Prem Rawat claiming they employ "a member of a dangerous cult," causing several people to lose their jobs;
- Filing formal complaints to professional regulatory bodies to have the law and psychology licenses of Prem Rawat's students revoked. Fortunately, no regulatory body found any allegations worthy of formal investigation;
- Calling the editors of newspapers publishing fair articles about Prem Rawat (at times up to 40 calls a day), intimidating them into recanting their articles;
- Contacting venues where related organizations holds public meetings and flooding them with defamatory statements and threats of demonstrations in an effort to get them to cancel events;
- Contacting entities with which related organizations does business and flooding them with communications in an attempt to get contracted business cancelled;
- Trying to break into the internal email system of related organizations;
- Using stolen, misappropriated access codes to enter related organizations' telephone conferences.
- Publishing private information on the Internet about Prem Rawat’s students and registering these documents with Internet search engines so that people searching these people's names would immediately read this private information;
- Systematically posting copyrighted documents on their website, in violation of applicable copyright laws.
Liza E
Two words, Liza: Gulfstream jet.
Justify that.
I don't have to justify anything... But let us see what they say about this:
- He does not receive any money from organizations that organize his satsangs
- The Gulfstream does not belong to him
- Rawat is a pilot who flies the aircraft himself to those places around the world in which his satsangs takes place
Check your sources, Jody.
Liza E.
- He does not receive any money from organizations that organize his satsangs
Corporate insulation.
- The Gulfstream does not belong to him
More corporate insulation.
- Rawat is a pilot who flies the aircraft himself to those places around the world in which his satsangs takes place
At a much higher cost than just buying a ticket in coach.
At a much higher cost than just buying a ticket in coach.
I would rather fly in a Gulfstream than in coach with the "cattle". Wouldn't you?
Corporate insulation
You are either reading too much into this, or are so gullible as to believe what your ex-guru follower friend sold you wholesale. LOL!
Liza E.
Jody, you seem to see Prem Rawat as a fair target for scepticism, mainly because (in your words) 'They say that any PR is good PR, but not when you claim to be God.' I think you will find that Prem Rawat has never claimed anything of the kind. In fact when he was once asked the question his answer was to the effect 'of course not'. So far as I know his activities are to help people to become more self aware by focussing their attention inside themselves. And only for people who are keen to do this. He never hassles people who are not interested in what he teaches. This is why I find it hard to understand why people are so down on him, when he himself is very tolerant and unassuming. As for the comment for travelling by coach class air, maybe you should research how many engagements he has each year, responding to the requests of ordinary people who are eager for him to attend and speak in their locality. And some of those places he visits I don't think even have scheduled air services! I do think you should look a bit more at the facts or because your original blog seems based on some pretty off-the-wall anti-guru hype.
Most cults and their leaders use the mechanism of double-meaning and double-speak to confuse, alienate and divide their message. Prem Rawat is no exception. Yes, he has often said he is not God, but he has more often spoken about himself in the third person as being that superior power in person. Evidence of this is ample, some selected quotes of his can be found at the Forum 8 God claims section.
For a good in depth review of Prem Rawat, his history and the organisations that support him visit the Prem Rawat Maharaji information website. For a critical appraisal of Prem Rawat and his current promotional activities the Prem Rawat Critique website is a useful resource.
Lastly the claim that Maharaji does not benefit financially from his followers and the programs they organise, this is entirely bogus as this expose demonstrates.
Alex
Prem Rawat has rewritten his own history.
My premie neighbour who has been giving all her benefits (which were meant to be for her THREE drug addicted children) to Rawat, has just left town and deserted them.
This type of behaviour is called 'surrender' by Rawat and is not uncommon amongst the many poor premies who send their tythes to God in Bod.
"He recently addressed the U.N. during its 60th anniversary"
His address had nothing to do with the offical celebration of the 60th anniversary of the U.N.
Andries
Prem Rawat has re written his own history all his life. And deleted the past as if it never even happened, thats how he operates. he's vile. like to jump from lord of the universe to inspirational (not) speaker in a day, and then to get his organisations to act like it was always this way, and then to get the gullible out there to belive the same lie. All the while his real past tells a very different story. God alone knows why he has suddenly started to do charity work, when for years he was against it. He himself in the past never showed a charitable bone in his body, but suddenly we are all to beleive he's a humanitarian leader????? a very very dangerous psychopath to say the least.
Truth reveals the Good and the Light , but LIGHT reveals to everyone the worst a human beeing has ...scinism , envy , the frustration of not beeing simply happy .
What Prem Rawat's simple but profound words teach , is that
« Life is Simple .What we do in Life is the complication.» .
Jodi , may GOD Bless you and open your heart to the Simplicity of what , Wise men like Prem Rawat have to Share to all .
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