Rawat first came to the West during his school holidays on 17 June 1971, visiting the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. He traveled without his family and reported that he arrived with only twenty-five pounds sterling in his pocket.[28] He was interviewed by the BBC and spoke at the first Glastonbury Festival, where he again offered people peace. Rawat made brief trips to Paris and Heidelberg, Germany, and on 17 July flew to Los Angeles and began a tour of American cities.[29] Rawat returned to India in October to commemorate his father's birthday having first established the US Divine Light Mission, or DLM, in September 1971 in Denver, Colorado. In 1972, Rawat returned to the West, this time accompanied by his mother and eldest brother, Satpal, and an entourage of mahatmas and other supporters. That year DLM held a multi-day event at Montrose, Colorado at which two thousand people attended. In November 1973, DLM booked the Houston Astrodome for a three-day gathering coinciding with Shri Hans' birthday called "Millennium '73".[30] The attendance was estimated at twenty thousand and according to Thomson Gale, "the rapidly developing movement ran into trouble, beginning with its inability to fill the Houston Astrodome in a highly publicized event."[31][32] Rennie Davis, a former member of the Chicago Seven, was a prominent spokesman for the group at that event.[33] By the early 1970s, DLM was operating in South America, North America, Europe, and Australia and had established ashrams, whose members were required to take a vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience.[34][35][36] In 1974, DLM was reporting that 60,000 individuals were practicing the techniques of Knowledge in the United Kingdom and "it was a successful movement because it stressed access to the inner world, the attainment of peace and certainty ( 'leave no room for doubt in your mind'), direct experience of God within and the use of guaranteed methods".[37] In May 1974 at age sixteen, Rawat married Marolyn Johnson, a twenty-five year old flight attendant and one of his early American students,[38]. According to Cagan, Rawat named her at the wedding in keeping with Indian tradition, after the Hindu Goddess Durga. [39] The marriage to a Westerner apparently precipitated a rift between Prem and his mother,[40] for what she described as his pursuit of a "despicable, nonspiritual way of life."[41] Rawat took control of the Western DLM away from them, and his mother disowned him and returned to India with two of his brothers. His mother gained control of DLM India through legal means and appointed the eldest brother, Satpal, as leader of the DLM in India. The other two brothers split in allegiance, one siding with Prem and one siding with Satpal. Most of the mahatmas in the West either returned to India with his mother or were fired. Rawat later commented to the press on the family rift, saying "They live in India and I think [my mother] was upset that I married a foreigner. She thought I had married out of my caste or something like that."[42] According to an article in the 1979 Sociological Review, Maharaj Ji was financially independent through the generosity of his devotees and this allowed him to follow the lifestyle of an American millionaire, support his family and finance close officials and mahatmas on their frequent trips around the globe.[43] During these years, claims of divinity made by the Indian mahatmas, his family, and some followers were reported by the media.[44][45] Kranenborg wrote in a 1982 article that "in Maharaj ji's satsangs one can notice a speaking style that resembles very much some Christian evangelization campaigns: a pressing request, an emphasis on the last possibility to choose before it is too late and a terminology in which one is requested to surrender to the Lord, in this case Maharaj ji himself."[46]The American religious scholar J. Gordon Melton wrote in 1986 that, "[..]Maharaj Ji, as do many of the other Sant Mat leaders, claims to be a Perfect Master, an embodiment of God on earth, a fitting object of worship and veneration."[47]Rawat denied claims to be divine in several interviews given to the press and on television.[48][49] In 1971 he had said that yes, he is human (with) hands, bone (and) lungs but that "guru is greater than God because if you go to guru, guru will show you God".[50] In an autobiographical book by an early follower who was quite involved with the DLM in the early 70s, Sophia Collier writes, "There are those who sincerely believe that Guru Maharaj Ji is the Lord of Creation here in the flesh to save the world. And then there are those who know him a little better than that. They relate to him in a more human way... to them he is more of a teacher, a guide, a co-conspirator in their personal pursuit of a more heavenly way of life.".[51] According to Stephen J Hunt, a professor of sociology, the major focus of Rawat is on stillness, peace, and contentment within the individual, and his 'Knowledge' consists of the techniques to obtain them. Knowledge, roughly translated, means the happiness of the true self-understanding. Each individual should seek to comprehend his or her true self. In turn, this brings a sense of well-being, joy, and harmony as one comes in contact with one's "own nature."[52] The first posters about Rawat in the early 1970s said, “Meditation is not what you think.” At that time, Rawat was already making a distinction between the "mind", which he described as including the dark or negative thoughts that a person may have, and "heart", the place within each person where peace can be found. Lans and Derks wrote that according to Maharaj Ji, "all evil should be attributed to the mind", and that such concept of mind indicates the obstacle of freeing oneself from former bonds, referring primarily to a "state of consciousness characterized by everything but passive, nonrational confidence and trust."[53] In the 1970s Rawat spoke in more than twenty countries and received the keys to the cities of New York City, New Orleans, Monterey, Oakland, Detroit, Miami, and Macon, Georgia in the United States, and Kyoto, Japan.[54]
Rawat first came to the West during his school holidays on 17 June 1971, visiting the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. He traveled without his family and reported that he arrived with only twenty-five pounds sterling in his pocket.[28] He was interviewed by the BBC and spoke at the first Glastonbury Festival, where he again offered people peace. Rawat made brief trips to Paris and Heidelberg, Germany, and on 17 July flew to Los Angeles and began a tour of American cities.[29] Rawat returned to India in October to commemorate his father's birthday having first established the US Divine Light Mission, or DLM, in September 1971 in Denver, Colorado. In 1972, Rawat returned to the West, this time accompanied by his mother and eldest brother, Satpal, and an entourage of mahatmas and other supporters. That year DLM held a multi-day event at Montrose, Colorado at which two thousand people attended. In November 1973, DLM booked the Houston Astrodome for a three-day gathering coinciding with Shri Hans' birthday called "Millennium '73".[30] The attendance was estimated at twenty thousand and according to Thomson Gale, "the rapidly developing movement ran into trouble, beginning with its inability to fill the Houston Astrodome in a highly publicized event."[31][32] Rennie Davis, a former member of the Chicago Seven, was a prominent spokesman for the group at that event.[33] By the early 1970s, DLM was operating in South America, North America, Europe, and Australia and had established ashrams, whose members were required to take a vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience.[34][35][36] In 1974, DLM was reporting that 60,000 individuals were practicing the techniques of Knowledge in the United Kingdom and "it was a successful movement because it stressed access to the inner world, the attainment of peace and certainty ( 'leave no room for doubt in your mind'), direct experience of God within and the use of guaranteed methods".[37] In May 1974 at age sixteen, Rawat married Marolyn Johnson, a twenty-five year old flight attendant and one of his early American students,[38]. According to Cagan, Rawat named her at the wedding in keeping with Indian tradition, after the Hindu Goddess Durga. [39] The marriage to a Westerner apparently precipitated a rift between Prem and his mother,[40] for what she described as his pursuit of a "despicable, nonspiritual way of life."[41] Rawat took control of the Western DLM away from them, and his mother disowned him and returned to India with two of his brothers. His mother gained control of DLM India through legal means and appointed the eldest brother, Satpal, as leader of the DLM in India. The other two brothers split in allegiance, one siding with Prem and one siding with Satpal. Most of the mahatmas in the West either returned to India with his mother or were fired. Rawat later commented to the press on the family rift, saying "They live in India and I think [my mother] was upset that I married a foreigner. She thought I had married out of my caste or something like that."[42] According to an article in the 1979 Sociological Review, Maharaj Ji was financially independent through the generosity of his devotees and this allowed him to follow the lifestyle of an American millionaire, support his family and finance close officials and mahatmas on their frequent trips around the globe.[43] During these years, claims of divinity made by the Indian mahatmas, his family, and some followers were reported by the media.[44][45] Kranenborg wrote in a 1982 article that "in Maharaj ji's satsangs one can notice a speaking style that resembles very much some Christian evangelization campaigns: a pressing request, an emphasis on the last possibility to choose before it is too late and a terminology in which one is requested to surrender to the Lord, in this case Maharaj ji himself."[46]The American religious scholar J. Gordon Melton wrote in 1986 that, "[..]Maharaj Ji, as do many of the other Sant Mat leaders, claims to be a Perfect Master, an embodiment of God on earth, a fitting object of worship and veneration."[47]Rawat denied claims to be divine in several interviews given to the press and on television.[48][49] In 1971 he had said that yes, he is human (with) hands, bone (and) lungs but that "guru is greater than God because if you go to guru, guru will show you God".[50] In an autobiographical book by an early follower who was quite involved with the DLM in the early 70s, Sophia Collier writes, "There are those who sincerely believe that Guru Maharaj Ji is the Lord of Creation here in the flesh to save the world. And then there are those who know him a little better than that. They relate to him in a more human way... to them he is more of a teacher, a guide, a co-conspirator in their personal pursuit of a more heavenly way of life.".[51] According to Stephen J Hunt, a professor of sociology, the major focus of Rawat is on stillness, peace, and contentment within the individual, and his 'Knowledge' consists of the techniques to obtain them. Knowledge, roughly translated, means the happiness of the true self-understanding. Each individual should seek to comprehend his or her true self. In turn, this brings a sense of well-being, joy, and harmony as one comes in contact with one's "own nature."[52] The first posters about Rawat in the early 1970s said, “Meditation is not what you think.” At that time, Rawat was already making a distinction between the "mind", which he described as including the dark or negative thoughts that a person may have, and "heart", the place within each person where peace can be found. Lans and Derks wrote that according to Maharaj Ji, "all evil should be attributed to the mind", and that such concept of mind indicates the obstacle of freeing oneself from former bonds, referring primarily to a "state of consciousness characterized by everything but passive, nonrational confidence and trust."[53] In the 1970s Rawat spoke in more than twenty countries and received the keys to the cities of New York City, New Orleans, Monterey, Oakland, Detroit, Miami, and Macon, Georgia in the United States, and Kyoto, Japan.[54]
The 1980s and 1990s
Rawat returned to India in October 1980 for the first time since 1975, and spoke to over 38,000 students in Delhi on newly acquired land.
He returned to South America for events for the first time since 1976, and visited Mexico for the first time. He continued to hold large, multi-day events for his students in Cartagena (Colombia), Miami, Rome, London, New Delhi, and Kansas City (Missouri). Other cities where he spoke included Cancun (Mexico), Lima, Sao Paulo, and Leicester (UK). He obtained a private pilot’s license and began training to obtain certifications and ratings for operating various types of aircraft.
For a time around 1980, the center of operations moved to Miami, where activities included a project known as DECA. DECA was concerned with the customization of a Boeing 707 intended for Rawat's work, and the development of a commercial executive aircraft refurbishing facility. During 1981, Rawat flew the 707 to forty different cities and spoke on 120 separate occasions. He crisscrossed North America four times that year, touring South America, Europe, India, Nepal, Australia, New Zealand, and Malaysia. The DECA business was later sold to Aircraft Modular Products (AMP), a leader in the field of business jet interiors which which in turn was sold in 1998 to B/E aerospace for $118 US million.[55]
The Encyclopedia of American Religions describes that in the early 1980s Rawat personally renounced the trappings of Indian culture and religion, and disbanded the DLM, to make his teachings independent of culture, religious beliefs, and lifestyles.[13] Other scholars, such as Kranenborg, George D. Chryssides and Ron Geaves also described a departure from divine connotations.[56][57] Rawat continued delivering the four techniques of Knowledge which, according to Chryssides, afford self-understanding and self-realization, in a manner that is independent of culture and not bound to the traditions of India.[58]
' James V. Downton, in his 1979 book Sacred Journeys, writes that in 1976 the majority of premies saw Rawat primarily as their "spiritual teacher, guide, and inspiration", and quit imputing great powers to him, assuming more responsibility for their own personal growth. He asserts that, since the beginning, Rawat appealed to his followers to give up beliefs and concepts, so that they could experience the Knowledge more fully, but that it did not prevent followers from adopting a "a fairly rigid set of ideas about his divinity and the coming of a new age."[59]
In the early 1980s the late Margaret Singer included the DLM in the list of groups she studied. In 1979, Singer mentioned the Divine Light Movement as one of a set of groups that have "intense relationships between followers and a powerful idea or leader", in an article in Psychology Today.[60]
In 1983 the Western ashrams were closed and the Divine Light Mission changed its name to Elan Vital.[61][62] The video production organization was renamed "Visions International,"[63] and it began producing video versions of Rawat's addresses. According to America's Alternative Religions, during the 1980s, Rawat stepped away from the image of himself as a "Perfect Master" and dropped the title "Guru Maharaj Ji" in favor of "Maharaji". He continued to appear to audiences as Maharaji, a teacher, and established a minimal organization called Elan Vital. In this new role, "he may be reaching more listeners than ever, especially abroad, but his role is that of a public speaker, and the original religious movement is essentially defunct."[64] An article published on 4 December 1987 in The Times of India, describes Rawat's mission as involving international tours during which he explains to "people in general without any distinction of caste, color, race, stature, or wealth that the source of happiness, peace and contentment lies within one's own self. [...] He is trying to prepare humanity to face and overcome the present day tussle and turmoil prevailing in the world in the name of achieving world peace, on individual basis. In fact what Maharaj Ji is trying to do is not being comprehended by most of the people, with the results that he is included in the category of those persons who have become mere machines to collect wealth, while Maharaj Ji has taken a pledge to complete this huge task without any monetary consideration."[65]
Rawat continued to tour extensively in the 1980s and 1990s, most often at the controls of a series of executive jets leased for his use. He held multi-day events in over 40 countries and in 1990 he spoke at over 50 public events all over the world. In December 1998, Rawat spoke via a live, interactive global satellite broadcast from an event in Pasadena, California, to 86,600 participants in 173 locations in 50 countries. In 1999 his message started being broadcast on a regular basis via satellite to North American cities with similar initiatives in other regions and countries.