Prem Rawat's Teaching about Spirituality - In His Own Words
Spirituality
Maharaj Ji was born Prem Pal Singh Rawat on the 10th of December, 1957, in Haridwar, India. He was the youngest of four sons of Shri Hans Ji Maharaj, spiritual leader at that time for millions of followers in India. Before Shri Hans Ji Maharaj passed away in 1966, he left instructions that his youngest son, then eight years old, should continue his work, spreading the Knowledge of God throughout India and the rest of the world.
Some insights from Maharaj Ji
If this sounds too simple, perhaps it is because we have come to expect our approach to spiritual matters to be complicated. Finding Knowledge is a simple thing, for it already exists within each and every one of us. It does not have to be searched out in the peace and tranquility of the Himalayas at 45,000 feet.
Vancouver Canada, February 1986
Q: So, it's more or less a spiritual thing?
A: No, it's more of a practical thing. Spirit is a very vague word to people. There is a little drawer called spiritual. All the things on the table that don't belong in any other drawer, just lump them together, open this drawer, and shove them in.
It's a very practical experience, something we can experience now. And we have a control over it in a practical sense as well – how much we experience it, if we want to experience it.
In View Newsletter, Summer 1986
So it's more or less a spiritual thing?
No it's not in a spiritual thing. It's more of a practical thing. Spiritual thing can be very vague. Spirit. Spirit is that's a very vague word to people because there is a little drawer, it's called spiritual and all the things on the table that don't belong to any other drawer you just lump 'em together, open this drawer and shoo. (laughter) Some people have it phenomena, some people will have it "I don't know." Some people have it spiritual so I don't know if it's really spiritual it's more or less a very practical experience, something we can experience now and we have a control over it in that sense as well. How much we experience it, if we want to experience it. No, it's not a spiritual, spiritual where the spiritual connotation comes from because if you tell me where it comes from I'd like to correct my own self because it's really not, not spiritual at all.
(posh English female) I appreciate the simplicity that you have. I found it very irritating at first but you seem to be going round and round and not quite getting to what a questioners want a point, a package and saying "Thanks, that's nice, it' got a label." Um but I do appreciate it now, I see that it's difficult to talk about it and I think I appreciate the fact that it's commonplace, by that I mean it's a place that's common to us all, I like that. What I still would like to know quite simply I don't want to be told exactly which shovel, what tool and so on but is it an element of meditation that is the process by which you reach it? That's interests me.
Okay and I'll try to be as vague as I can hahaha (laughter) not that not that I have managed to hook you to the simplicity of it um um. Okay, it's it's very easy for people to call it meditation and sometimes people do call it meditation but um for most practical purposes there's very little in it that resembles meditation in that that one sometimes one thinks that one has to grant themselves a posture for cross legged and so on and so forth and uh that's not quite necessary and so you can make it appear to be meditation but it's not. (laughter)
Selected Listening '87 - Excerpts from Maharaji's 1986 talks
"I have not come here to bring you some new piece of information that you can debate or rate, that you can argue or unargue, no. This is not about religion, this is
not about spirituality, in fact, for what I am talking to you about there is no label in this whole world for it. So what do you know? You know about being happy how you need that in this life. You know that. You know how you need the joy in this life. You know that. You know how contentment is important to you, you know that. You know that you dislike sadness, you know that. … Awakening is awakening to that which already is. Then with this heart awakened to the possibility of being fulfilled. Then in this life know that you can be fulfilled. Know in this life know that you can be content and that is the simplest of request that has always been."
Fulfillment Video, 1998
"Knowledge is very different, not a path to follow, I don't tell people. You know people used to always come to me: 'Should we be vegetarians?' 'If you wanna be, yes.' 'Should we be non-vegetarians?' 'If you wanna be, yes.'"
There is no record of any such statement. Click here to see what Rawat actually said about vegetarianism.
Why are there misleading scenarios? Because if you understand the limitation of Knowledge then it is not a subject that can be comprehended by this mind. Now I know some of you are getting hyper-spiritual and getting excited about that but in my opinion flying an airplane is like that too. Driving a car is like that too. Riding a bike is like that too. I can tell you, look ahead, pedal, pedal, pedal, hold the steering, hold the wheel but that's not going to teach you how to ride a bike. How do you transpose your knowledge, what you know to ride a bike to a person who doesn't? Can it be done?
Maharaji Answers Questions, 2004, Raj Vidya Kender DVD/161
Maharaji, did you have a Spiritual Master?
Yes, I did. He was also my father. How convenient. Um and he is the one who also gave me this gift of Knowledge. See that was short and of course I am eternally grateful. What he gave me. Maybe I didn't even understand when it was given to me. I was very young, very very young. But all it was was a seed was sown. That's all. No promises were made. A seed was sown and it's care was left up to me. You water it. You take care of it and it'll grow. Today I can say that it has grown immensely. Today I can rest in this shade. Eat of its fruit and enjoy having this oasis in my life. I mean that's one analogy or one way to look at it. So, yes. Was he my Spiritual Master? No. Was he my Master? Yes. I don't need to define. What he has done for me has affected every facet of my existence. Every facet of my existence. It has changed everything for me.
A Bridge To The Infinite, Maharaji, 2004 DVD/161
So where does Maharaji fit in? Where does Maharaji's message fit in? What does he talk about? Let's box him too. This box business. Oh, it's religious? No. Spiritual? No. What? So you think about it. You think and what do you think? And when you think about what, what is he going to talk about? What does he talk about? It is to go and look at everyone of the boxes you have and see which label. Because now you don't want to make new boxes and you don't want to write new labels. So let's see. Make it convenient. Let's see what what box we can put this in. I have news for you. This won't fit in a box.
Prem Rawat in Boston Sunday 24th November 2013
This day, today, was in the making a long time ago. The universe conspired to get you here, clapping) to create this body. No, no. I'm not talking about any spiritual stuff. I'm talking about right down to Earth. I mean, that's where I like to keep my feet. I find that anytime my feet are not firmly planted on the earth, on the ground, Aagh bad things happen because you gotta you get obviously you get a pain in your head. This is where these feet are meant to be and this is where they do well. I'm planted very firmly. I wanna feel. I want answers. Not just questions and questions and questions. Any idiot can come up with questions. They usually do.
Lockdown 2020
There are people who get into "This spiritual thing"; they get into that spiritual trip. They go, "It's like, you know, it's wonderful to do this kind of travel; You've got to try this thing; you've got to try that thing…." And people are trying everything.