Prem Rawat & the long Climb to Respectability
Prem Rawat's staff have attempted to make it seem that he has been asked to give speeches at prestigious universities. This is an integral part of his phony march to becoming a statesman. They have flooded the internet with stories of Prem Rawat associated with the universities. They have used functions staged by his minions in rented halls and rooms in major universities. To learn the truth about these phony events click on the appropriate line: (requires javascript enabled)
This speech is a typical one of Rawat's at that time. He has reached the mature stage of his career and the speeches are mainly interchangeable from now on. He speaks as if there are no university students listening which is understandable as the camera reveals the audience is composed of his worshippers whose average age is 50 years. This speech was the first one that can be classified as part of his legitimacy project, a plan to make him appear to be a respected public figurte through phony PR spin.
He makes many dogmatic assertions but provides no evidence for any of them even though they run counter to common-sense views of life. He says there is a self-existent transcendent peace that is necessary and should be "in the heart" of every human being. He does not refer to the physical heart or possibly even a metaphorical heart. This 'heart' wants permanent peace and permanent joy. He makes some paradoxical statements about peace, most accessible, most inaccessible, readily available, far away, right there, unknown. He does not explain this conundrum in this speech but he is referring to the methods he teaches, similar to meditation that supposedly make this peace accessible.
- Rawat claimed his Knowledge is extremely simple, no formulas, no contrivances, no massive institutions. Then why does he have so many organisations promoting and financing him? Why is there a formulaic procedure to qualify for the initiation into his techniques of meditation? Why does he teach contrived methods for "going inside" and feeling joy and beauty when these are inherent in life and freely and instantaneously available to everybody?
- If you forget the behaviour of this heart. The request of this heart. The call of this heart then you'll have 1,000 glasses but no water to fill them with
- my parents would tell me study, study so you can make something of yourself someday - but lazy, young Prem preferred to cheat and rely upon his father dying and inheriting His "divinity" and living like a cult leader: money for nothing and chicks for free
- He slips betweem peace=no warfare and peace=heart, ambiguously where 'peace' can mean the ineffable unattainable state he claims to be able to show a person who obeys him
- Rawat unearths a new truth: In the heart of every human being lies the thirst but also lies the very well that holds the water which can fulfil the thirst.
- all you have on this life is bragging rights He portrays normal human life as a lowest common denominator of "keeping up with the Jones"
- I have nothing to sell to you - doubly ironic because Rawats sells a non-existent state of being and has relied upon a minority of people taking up his offer to attain the unattainable and paying for it for ever after.
By 2004 (after 35 years of making many, many speeches) Maharaji had attained a level of competence. His speeches were no longer peppered with "you knows,", "I means," 'ums' and other poor expressions though his enunciation was often indistinct and he would speak with great speed or annoyingly slowly, he used very long pauses (apparently to give his speech the appearance of gravity and depth) and wild volume swings from excited shreaks to whispering which he used to indicate to his listeners he was saying something "deep and meaningful". His thinking and logic was still poor and he made many statements that were completely unfactual. From the early 2000s he had honed his conceptual base down to a narrow simplicity and from then on was just basically making the same speech in which he could reuse sentence structures with nouns that were interchangeable. Anaphorism was a mainstay of his style. There are very few of Rawat's speeches after 1980 in which we can compare an edited, published version of the speech with a transcript. This is one of those few. The transcript has 2335 words and the edited publication has 1,197 words.
Maharaji was invited by the National Resource Centre for Value Education in Engineering to address a distinguished audience of faculty, guests and students at the prestigious Indian Institute Technology in New Delhi, India.
Brief excerpt from the event:
IIT, Delhi is one of seven Institutes of technology in India. Maharaji's message was hailed as truly remarkable by the Deputy Director of IIT, Delhi.The other day I was asking someone who has also traveled a lot whether they had ever come across a thing called the world in their travels. He said, “No,” and I said, “Neither have I.” You come across countries, immigration, customs, people, taxis, animals - it depends where you go. But, world, I have never seen. It is people. It is people like you and me who need, not want peace in their lives. It is not a luxury. This is the missing piece of the puzzle.
What we cannot imagine today will happen tomorrow. Technology will move on. Things we could never imagine will happen. What doesn’t change is the need. The wants change, but the needs do not. Maybe you are not comfordiv with your bed so you want a new mattress. The want may change, but the need is to go to sleep, and that does not change. Maybe you go shopping and you see a new water glass. You want the new glass, but why you need the glass does not change. That stays the same. Need and want.
A lot of people are under the misconception that they want peace. It’s a misconception because peace is not something you want; peace is something you need in your life. Every day you wake up, something within you yearns to be fulfilled, to be happy, to be in joy. We create formulas for how to achieve that. Everyone has a formula: “I think if we do this, we can achieve it."
But how? look at the thirst for peace. If the thirst for peace is within you, then peace is within you. If that want wanders in this world for different things, it is because the want is processed by necessities that are created on the outside. look at your heart because that is a part of the puzzle.
I am not saying you should sacrifice one for the other. This is another wonderful excuse that people have: “I cannot engage in this search for peace because I have a family, and I have responsibilities.” I say to them, "What makes you think for a moment that you have to sacrifice one for the other?"
Peace is inside you. Wherever you go, peace goes with you. When you climb on a bus, peace goes with you. When you are fighting, peace goes with you. When you are asleep, peace is within you. When you are frustrated beyond imagination, peace is in you. No matter what you do, there is no place you can go where peace will not come with you. Because it’s within you.
Through technology, we want to improve our lives. What I am saying is that the real improvement begins with you. I am not saying to sacrifice technology or to sacrifice your responsibilities. Accept your responsibilities, and while accepting those responsibilities, find peace, find joy in your life.
Maharaji was invite to present his message in The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. This university(PolyU) specializes in professional education in Hong Kong. The University's teaching units are grouped under six faculties and two schools; the Faculty of Applied Science and Textiles, Faculty of Business, Faculty of Construction and land Use, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, alongside with School of Design and School of Hotel and Tourism Management.
The University is the sole provider of full-time degree or higher diploma programmes in Hong Kong in the areas of design, engineering physics, fashion and textiles, geomatics, international shipping and transport logistics, medical laboratory science, optometry, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and radiography.
Maharaji talked on a very simple yet profound topic on Seeing life As It Is:I talk about the possibility, the life we have been given. With all our responsibilities and the things people tell us, we forget what we have been given.
I have a little story, and it is about a man who used to dream of all the things he wanted in his life. He wanted to marry this beautiful girl, have a good-paying government position, have some land. He was very good at dreaming, but he had no sense of reality. Things would happen all day, people would send him letters, but he would ignore them.
One day, he got old. He looked at his life and thought about his dreams, lamenting that none of them had become a reality. Then he saw a big pile of letters and started opening them. To his amazement, there was a letter from his girlfriend who wanted to marry him. So he called her, and she said, “I waited for you, but I got no answer, so I went ahead and got married.”
He opened a letter and it was from the king, offering him a great job. He called the king, and the king said, “I waited for you, and you never responded, so the job was given to someone else.”
As he opened each letter, he realized that all his dreams had come true, but he wasn’t there to accept them. If only he had seen the reality, he wouldn’t be lamenting. He could be celebrating.
I’m telling you this story because it is like that with us. We also have our dreams, our hopes, and our aspirations. At the base of every hope and dream we have lies the wish to be fulfilled, the wish to be happy, the wish to be content.
A letter comes to us every day in the form of breath, but we don’t open it because we’re too busy dreaming, trying to come up with formulas and ideas of how we can be content. But happiness itself is included in each one of these envelopes of breath that the Creator gives us. When it is too late, then we look at them and start to open them. Then we say how precious they are, and we look at all the ones we have wasted.
It is so important that we acknowledge the reality of this existence. We get so busy painting our ideas of how this life should be that we actually miss what is really happening. We walk with a bag on one side that is good and a bag on the other side that is bad. Everything we pick up goes into either the good bag or the bad bag. Take away the good and bad, and it is what it is. When you can see it as it is, it is beautiful. When you were young, you had this ability. You could see something for what it was- not good and bad, right and wrong.
If you want that joy in your life, bring back the heart of a child. When we can once again see with the pure eyes of our heart, we can see what we have been given, that the gift of existence means something. Not “what I have accomplished” but “I am alive.” life unfolds, and the gift is presented again and again. If you open this package, in the heart of it all you will find beauty, simplicity.
Go within and feel that beauty, that contentment. Find your comfort, your joy, in this reality. Find your shelter in this beautiful place.
Maharaji addressed a standing-room-only audience faculty, students and guests.
The university was founded in the 19th century to advance and impart knowledge across a comprehensive range of disciplines to benefit people by educating them in the accumulated knowledge of humankind. The University of Colorado at Boulder is a national comprehensive research university offering bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in over 150 fields.Brief excerpt from the event:
Whether playing golf, flying airplanes, or thinking about frying chilies - whatever we do is made possible by the courtesy of this thing called life. We can do very little if life is not there.In this journey of life, we pick up a lot of luggage, and walking becomes miserably slow. Someone comes along and says, “Maybe you don’t need to carry all of that. look at the simplicity of your existence.”
What is calling us? What is the aspiration of every single human being regardless of who they are, where they live, what they do, and what they think? What has our heart been saying through all the good and bad things that have happened?
We have had a thirst, a desire, since we were very young. And no matter how old we get, that child is still there with the same thirst. Hope is within the heart of everyone wanting the same thing - to feel peace, joy, contentment. “Show me a way to turn within and feel for myself. Not some theory or nice words, but feel for myself, as real as feeling water in my mouth when I am thirsty.” Theory is great, but someday it has to become real.
Could it be that we go along in our lives looking at our future and our past, not paying attention to the present? Yet we are stuck in the moment called now, and this is where we will be for the rest of our lives. All our tomorrows will come as now. We can only go one step at a time on this journey.
We have the most priceless gift - breath. All the money and technology in the world can’t touch it. We cannot give it to someone else, steal it or borrow it. Breath comes freely, day and night. Because it does, we can dance, look, talk, dream - all the things we do. Some people ask why. But to the thirsty person in the desert, it doesn’t matter who built the well. All that matters is water and quenching their thirst.
For those who are thirsty, I can help. It is your journey. I cannot make it faster or slow it down. I can offer you a mirror so that when you want to see your self, you can. Someday you may feel a need for a joy. And when you do, look me up. I can help.
Speaking in Science city Auditorium in Kolkata, India, Maharaji inspired the young minds to take a peak within. Maharaji talked about the importance of this breath. The event started with welcome speech by the director of Bengal University.
The University primarily provides education in the multidisciplinary fields of science, technology and management. It is popularly known as WBUT or UTech. Funded at the initial stages of its formation by the Government of West Bengal, the UTECH is set to become a Centre of Excellence in multidisciplinary science and technology areas of topical importance, in studies and research, in addition to providing adequate facilities for the pursuit of degree and advanced-level course in management, paramedical and other professional areas through its affiliated institutions. The University has been accorded the affiliating University status with its jurisdiction encompassing the entire state of West Bengal.
Students of many other institutes in that region were also invited. In the Completely filled hall, Maharaji delivered his message and also responded to various questions asked by the excited and curious youth:
Q: Many of us are becoming spiritual in order to search peace of mind. Do you think we are becoming selfish, or is it some kind of divine planning?
A: Selfish is so relative! When we have the luxury of sitting somewhere. Then is it like selfish? If my action deprives somebody of something, then it selfish. But when I am going to discover myself, not the other person; who am I depriving of what? Secondly, the creator has given you gift of breath- Now give this to somebody else! You can't! Even if you want to, you can't. Is that selfish? It is NOT selfish. It is what it is. To search for yourself is not selfish, because you are not depriving anybody of anything.
Q: Maharaji, my question is "What is true joy, and how can we experience this in our life"
A: It is within you.Aatam anubhav gyaan ki, jo koi pooche baat
So gunga gud khaaye ke, kahe kaun mukh swaad! How can I describe the experience of knowledge. When I cannot explain you the taste of Kiwi Fruit, how can I explain you the feeling of Self-Knowledge! You have to experience it yourself. This is the possibility. That is why it is so exciting! This is not a philosophy. I have not come to say "do this and that", and then disappear. No. I am not here to give you give an hour lecture "You should find the God within you. Ok kid bye!"
"Nai, Main apne saare shubdon ke peeche hoon"- I backup up every word I say!
And that is what makes it so exciting. Around the world - Saare Sansaar ke andar, Main logon ko ye dikhata hoon, batata hoon, aur anubhav karata hoon (I show this to people, tell them, and also make them experience this)!Q: In this world of inhumanity where the bloods are shed, and the wars are fought, which peace do you talk about. How is the peace possible.
A: The real peace - not satisfaction. A peace that can be experienced in a battle-field. True freedom- A freedom that even a prisoner can feel in the middle of the prison. Someone who doesn't have peace, can only imagine what peace should be, or could be. Peace is not absence of war. Peace is not anti-corruption. These are pro-social things, good for society. There can be no war outside, but a war will rage inside you. The war outside can be ceasefire brought forth. But the war inside rages day and night. A true peace that is not absence of war, but a absence of war inside. Well, unfortunately that will be the last question. I am glad that you all were able to come. Thank you all, and many many blessings!
Prem Rawat was invited by leaders of Thammasat University to address a capacity audience of civic, government and academic leaders.
The guests were welcomed by Manu leopairote, President of the Economic Faculty Alumni Association of Thammasat, Permanent Secretary of the Thai Ministry of Industry, and Chairman of the Thailand Petroleum Authority. Mr. leopairote is also Director for Thailand of the Asian Productivity Organization, a nonpolitical, nonprofit, intergovernmental organization contributing to the socioeconomic development of Asia and the Pacific by enhancing productivity.
Mr. leopairote said: “Thammasat University has a long history of providing a forum for different voices with a significant message that, each in their own way, helps people live happier, more prosperous lives. In line with this long tradition, we are gathered tonight to hear from Prem Rawat. He travels the world bringing people a unique message of hope and peace, which deserves to be heard with great attention. We are pleased that he accepted our invitation.”
Prem Rawat was then introduced by Professor Dr. Surapon Nitikraipot, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Rector of Thammasat University, and President of the Alumni Association. A professor of law, he is regarded as one of Thailand’s sharpest legal minds on public issues and has helped Thammasat become a voice of public conscience. Professor Surapon has served as a member of several committees in the Prime Minister’s Office, modernizing Thai law and developing the legal infrastructure.
Professor Surapon said: “Throughout time, leading thinkers, academicians, and government leaders have attempted to develop an understanding of how to build peace. Many approaches have been explored, all attempting to create favorable conditions for peace. These solutions have drawn from economics, history, international law, comparative peace studies, conflict resolution, political science, sociology, anthropology, and more. Prem Rawat’s message of peace is rooted in the need for each person to find peace within themselves. He emphasizes that whether our search is for world peace or for personal peace, we very much need to look at the search for peace as a personal quest, rooted in an understanding of who we are. ‘When people in the world are at peace,’ he says, ‘the world will be at peace.’”
Thammasat University is one of the most prestigious universities in Thailand. More than 70 years since its establishment in 1934, the University has produced more than 240,000 undergraduate and graduate students who have greatly contributed to the development and progress of the society and the country. The University's alumni include prime ministers, top-level politicians and officers, Bank of Thailand governors, as well as most of the city's governors.
Maharaji delivered the keynote address at the first conference on peace "Peace is Possible", at this 13th century University near Madrid, Spain. Maharaji spoke in the great hall, "Paraninfo". He was introduced by the Vice-Rector, who hailed his message as "Noble".
The University of Salamanca is the oldest university in Spain; founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX. Many well known citizens have walked through the corridors of the university, including Christopher Columbus.Following is a brief excerpt from an address by Prem Rawat at the University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain.
It’s an honor to be here to talk about a very simple subject - peace. There are a lot of ideas about peace and I’m not here to add more, but to present a very simple possibility.
When are we going to acknowledge the peace that we need in our lives? When are we going to take the first steps to fulfill the oldest dream that mankind has had? Peace is a fundamental desire of every human being. It needs acknowledgment, and it needs to be realized, fulfilled. We need to turn within ourselves to find the answers for peace. We’re not going to find them outside. They are written in the very the pages that reside in the heart of every single human being regardless of who they are, what their belief is, or what they have done.
I have a dream that all civilizations, all people will be in peace. People say to me, “Isn’t that an impossible ideal?” Then I say to myself, “If that is true, then it is the only ideal worth having. That is something I can try to help with.” And that’s what I do. The amazing thing is, that to have peace on the outside, you have to have peace on the inside. This is not new. Everyone knows this. And to find peace on the inside is the most simple process of all because it is already there. It does not have to be created. It is there to discover, to have, to enjoy.
The thirst for peace lies within all of us. Around the world, I have found the currency not to be common, language not to be common, clothing not to be common, food not to be common. But the desire to be fulfilled is common to everyone. That’s what I am addressing.
I travel around the world bringing this message to people, and I hope people listen to it, that they get something out of it. I’m not preaching, nor am I teaching. All I’m doing is presenting a possibility. Peace is important to me, and I hope that peace is important to you. Because, after all, when I look at the horizon, if I have to imagine the world without peace, it is, indeed, a very grim prospect. When I see the light on the horizon, I certainly hope it is the light of the peace that dances, waiting to shine in my life, in my time.
Prem Rawat responded to an invitation to speak at an event in the Knoxville Convention Center. More than 1200 people from Knoxville and the surrounding area attended the event. This was the first time Prem Rawat had given an address in Tennessee.
“There is a peace, without which we would lose the very fabric of who we are,” he said. “A peace that dances in the heart of everyone. That’s the peace I am talking about. The reality. The beauty. The joy. The true peace - not an absence of something, but the very presence of something. That is what is possible, even in the middle of war.”
Melissa Mann of nearby Maryville, Tennessee organized the event. The daughter of a former U.S. foreign service diplomat who served in several countries, Ms. Mann teaches English at a local college. "Knoxville responded very positively," Ms. Mann said. "People were very excited to hear that Prem Rawat had accepted our invitation, and a lot of people came to see him, not just from Knoxville, but Atlanta, Memphis, Birmingham - all over."
“The freedom I talk about is not the kind of freedom that people think is freedom. People think freedom is when you get away from your house for the weekend. 'Free - I’m free.’ To teenagers, freedom is when they leave their parents’ house. Freedom to parents is when their teenagers actually leave. Not just threaten to leave, but actually leave. 'Now we are free.’ Is that freedom?
“Freedom from my troubles. Is that freedom? Freedom from my concerns. Is that freedom? Freedom from my responsibilities. Is that freedom? I talk about a freedom that can be felt in a prison. That’s the freedom that no one on the face of this earth can take away from me. No one. That’s freedom.
“Peace - a peace that cannot be disturbed. That is real peace. And one that cannot be taken away - that is real freedom.
“Often, people think they’re free. And sometimes they’re trying to free themselves from their concepts of freedom. 'Am I really free? If I think differently, I’ll be free. If I am open to everything, I will be free.’ This is our time to make that understanding happen. To begin to understand. And here is the concrete thing: To start to realize that all that we ever want, we have. We have that freedom inside of us.
“I go around giving people a mirror. A mirror that shows something that is real, that is true. Something that by its very existence is the most beautiful play ever written. You are the actor, and the most incredible script has been written for you. There is love, a little bit of action, a little bit of clarity, and a little bit of confusion. How well do we know this play? How well are we playing it?”
People leaving the hall were clearly enthusiastic about Prem Rawat and his message. For Russell G. from Oakridge, “I really enjoyed this opportunity to learn more about myself. I came at the invitation of a good friend. My faith is Christian based, but I am always eager to hear and listen to new ideas. I quickly realized that what this man had to say did not contradict my faith, but rather served to strengthen the ultimate message of love and happiness.”
For Adriana T. from Asheville, “I recently had surgery for cancer and have asked what difference my life has made. The answer came in his address. I am unique. There is no other that brings the gifts I can to make a difference in life.”
Mary W. from Asheville said, “This is the first time to see and hear him in person. Magnificent human being. Gives me much thought to proceed from this moment. I am a Christian, and I think I want what he is offering. His message is universal, and I see the possibility of connecting to me.”
Debbie S., a Knoxville resident and physical therapist at the University of Tennessee Medical Center, has been familiar with Prem Rawat’s message for years. She helped organize the Knoxville event. “It’s the most exciting thing to invite Prem Rawat and to have him accept our invitation. It’s a wonderful opportunity, not just for me, but for the people in the area to hear him speak and to hear his message, which is unique and very applicable to everyone regardless of background, education, or occupation.”
It used to stagger me that perfectly intelligent and otherwise mature human beings (who were long term devotees of Rawat's going back to the 70s) would try to impress me (I was married to a devotee) with these lame stories that were as limp as a collapsed soufflé I was embarrassed for them. Instructions sometimes arrived for people to try harder and think up ways to have Rawat meet with some small-time local dignitary for a photo-op. Even the people involved in trying to arrange these phony meetings would be so excited and inspired as it showed how Prem Rawat was being respected by outsiders who didn't understand what he really was even though they'd connived at it.
Most people officially involved with the United Nations achieve their position through hard work and social and political success. This is how Prem Rawat's eldest brother, Satpal Maharaj, long time provincial political power and spiritual Godman and member and Minister of the lok Sabha (Indian National Parliament) has achieved his association with the United Nations. Here are photos of him speaking at actual United Nations' international political meetings at the United Nations' headquarters in New York as a member of the Indian Parliamentary delegation to the United Nations. The speeches might be boring and meaningless or they might even have a real positive effect on world events but either way they are bona fidé. Satpal Maharaj, Prem Rawat's eldest brother, really is a respected international figure involved with the the United Nations Organisation and is a member of the National Parliament and a Minister in the Government of India. Meanwhile Prem Rawat plays with himself and his expensive toys at his Malibu mansion and attempts to gain status through paying for cheap, sleazy and phony PR campaigns with his devotees' donations.
Prem Rawat speechifying at United Nations Phony meetings pretending to be associated with the UN - what a pathetic phony. Phony! Phony!
For a fuller, more coherent exposition on Rawat's deceitful campaign to gain respectability and legitimacy see the Legitimacy Project and the Prem Rawat Critique Website.