Prem Rawat: Man Of Peace – Biography 2 - The Early Years in Northern India; Maharaji's Lineage...

THE EARLY YEARS

Prem Rawat was born on December 10, 1957, in the town of Kankhal in the Northern Indian province of Uttar Pradesh. He was the youngest of 4 sons of Hans Ram Singh Rawat and Rajeshwari Devi. During early childhood he was given the nickname Sant Ji, after the Sant spiritual adepts of Northern India, and upon his father's death, the honorary title Maharaji. Today he is known by millions as both Maharaji and Prem Rawat.

Nestled at the foot of the Himalayas where the Ganges and Jumna rivers flow, in ancient times Uttar Pradesh was at the forefront of the Aryan Settlement and was the center point of the Vedic Age, where saints and sages traveled and countless religious observances and ceremonies were held. The region had been exposed to the ideas of the great religions of the world: Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and, with the Mogul Empire, Islam. With the arrival of the British in India, Christianity was added to this diverse mix of religions, sects, belief systems and philosophies.

Prior to 1936, Prem Rawat’s father, Hans, had helped his teacher Swarupanand in the Lahore and Sind area, now part of the new Pakistan. After Swarupanand's death, Hans traveled throughout Northern India as Sat Guru {truth teacher} to thousand of students. From an outside observer's position, Hans might be categorized as a teacher in the Sant tradition of Northern India. But these teachers were not easy to categorize or define. They offered to show a fundamental inner peace, free of rites, rituals and religious trappings. Many of their students saw no reason to leave their cultural and religious traditions, and to Hans these were never obstacles to their receiving his Knowledge.

On one occasion, Hans spoke to a Soviet diplomat in Delhi. The diplomat abruptly told Hans that he was an atheist and that his fellow Russians didn't believe in God either, so they didn't have anything to talk about. Hans’ question to him was, "Do you believe in peace?” The diplomat agreed that he did, and Hans continued, “The names we use for that feeling are immaterial. What we are looking for is peace and satisfaction – no matter what we call it.”

Hans was wary of organizations, knowing that they could assume a life and direction of their own, out of step with the purpose of their creation. However, in 1960, a group of students finally convinced him to head an organization called Divya Sandesh Parishad (Divine Light Mission).

Hans Rawat's vision was to be a strong and lasting influence on his son as his life unfolded. When Prem was only 2 weeks old, Hans took his young family on a short trip north to Dehra Dun. Prem Rawat’s journey had begun. But where Hans traveled throughout India, Prem would travel throughout the world.

Prem was described as an extraordinary child who was contented and playful. He interacted with his family and his father’s students with a level of maturity beyond his years. His father's journeys to see his students included 480-km round trips to his Shakti Nagar Ashram in Delhi. Prem was often taken on shorter journeys through the region. He first spoke on stage at the age of 3 during one of these trips.

The audience was captivated by the interaction between Hans and his son. Even at that time, there were strong indications that Prem would continue in his father's footsteps. In the meantime, work continued on Prem Nagar Ashram in nearby Haridwar, where Hans often stayed with his students.

Prem joined his brothers at the St Joseph’s Academy, a Patrician Brothers school in Dehra Dun. Becoming proficient in the English language was the focal point of his education.

When he was 6 years of age, Hans taught him and his brothers the techniques of Knowledge, and he began to speak to audiences in Haridwar and Dehra Dun. On one occasion he organized an event at his school and invited his father to speak. Hans was away at another planned event at the time, but when he received the invitation he left it, and traveled through the night to attend the event that his son had organized. When his father asked him to address the audience in English and Hindi, the flame of expectation that young Prem would succeed his father was fanned, but there was no indication that things would happen so quickly.

On July 19, 1966, the news arrived in Haridwar that Hans had passed away in Delhi. Arrangements were made for his body to be returned to Prem Nagar. At the end of the mourning period, Prem Rawat spoke to and comforted thousands of weeping students, and was accepted by those present as the new teacher in accordance with his father's expressed wishes. While this was happening, Prem's mother, eldest brother and some senior officials of the organization were holding a meeting to decide who should succeed Hans. They emerged from the meeting and belatedly accepted Prem Rawat's succession. His mother and eldest brother then joined him on stage.

Prem Rawat continued his education at St Joseph’s Academy while beginning his life-long work, and began traveling throughout Northern India at weekends and during school holidays. The following year his mother, Mata Ji, arranged his schedule in advance and established an additional team of mahatmas [people who were trained and qualified to teach the techniques of Knowledge].

By 1969, westerners traveling in India had discovered him and would meet with him after school. Several stayed at his house in Dehra Dun. Indian students in London requested a mahatma to travel to England, and Charanand arrived in October. When the westerners heard this, several decided to return to England.

By the following year, new students arrived from the west and were present when, still only 12 years old, he announced at a gathering at India Gate in Delhi that he was ready to begin the task of bringing peace to the world. This gathering of 1 million people on November 8 was reported to be one of the largest ever in the history of Delhi, and was the culmination of an 18 mile-long procession. Some westerners had been staying at the Prem Nagar Ashram enjoying Prem Rawat's weekend visits. Now the time had come for them to return to the west.

NEXT >>>