Elan Vital Devine Light Mission

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have any opinions on the current state of Elan Vital (what used to be the Devine Light Mission).

Thanks
Phil

[Anonymous]

http://www.elanvital.org/
http://www.maharaji.net

[Anonymous]

Divine Light Mission is a major cult with a messiah Lord of the Universe leader who wants all your money and then wants you to kiss his feet. Oh, and did I mention that he wants you to surrender the reins of your life to him.

It's a cult.

www.ex-premie.org

[Anonymous]

Ex-Premie.org (http://www.ex-premie.org)

Here's how to escape Maharaji's cult.

[Anonymous]

Maharaji is anything but about getting your money. If he was he’d charge for his assistance, which he doesn’t. He spends his time traveling the world introducing to people the possibility for real peace. What he offers he offers freely, asking only that if you are going to accept it, you commit to it. If no commitment, then everybody is just wasting their time, including him.

Personally, has been nothing but a positive force in my life. He showed me something about myself that I could never find elsewhere... a kindness within that is always there; an undeniable truth about what I am that overrides inherent fear and self-doubt. For this he demanded nothing from me.

He did however offer me a chance to be a student; this so the doors of learning could remain open. Many, like me, have chosen to continue learning from him, while others have chosen to close that door. Some of the people who left show up on the internet blaming him for much of their own dysfunction, and the distance from their own self is exemplified by the kindness that is absent from their words.

Maharaji, on the other hand, has never let up reminding me what a wonderful gift I have having life. For me, that is the ultimate kindness anyone could bestow on me, and I for one am thankful for his influence in my life.

[Frank]

Why did he allow his followers to build him a solid gold toilet?
Wyy has he recently go a $7million dollat yaucht, when many are sarving?
Why did he allow some of his mahatmas to continue working for him when he knew they were guity of sexual abuse?
Why did he allow a young Indian man to take the rap for him when he killed someone by knocking them over?
Why does he deny his past? and why did he order all videos and publications from the 70s destroyed?

I could carry on.
To see the forbidden pictures and other info see www.ex-premie.org

[Anonymous]

My response to your questions Frank:

Why did he allow his followers to build him a solid gold toilet?
Not sure where this came from. Another one of the urban myths fabricated by disgruntled ex-followers? Or could be another case of exaggerating and misrepresenting facts based on hearsay and personal bias. Anybody seen a gold toilet with their own two eyes? You Frank?

Wyy has he recently go a $7million dollat yaucht, when many are sarving?
Last I heard about this was that a boat was bought to address a need pertaining to housing and security during the construction of his residence. Another benefit no doubt is it must be a welcome respite from public scrutiny for him and his family. One of the few places on earth where they can get away and be anonymous—a problem most of us don’t have by the way.

Why did he allow some of his mahatmas to continue working for him when he knew they were guity of sexual abuse?
It has never been established or admitted by him that he new about the alleged sexual abuse you cite. Anyone who knows him would find it inconceivable to think he would jeopardize the safety of his followers or his work to allow something like that to consciously go unchecked. In my opinion it is a totally unfounded claim, again by the same group of people with axes to grind.

Why did he allow a young Indian man to take the rap for him when he killed someone by knocking them over?
Fist let me say I am not privy to any information of this incident or that it even happened. But let me ask, have you ever been caught in India’s bureaucracy? Do you have an idea of how the Indian system works? Have you ever on a street in Delhi and watched the chaos that explodes every day? Yes, it is terrible when pedestrians are killed in automobile accidents, but it happens. So what would it have benefited the victim, the Indian public, or you for that matter, if he had forfeited his passport for the many months it would have taken to have the case go through the Indian courts? Especially since the family of the victim was helped financially in a significant way.

Why does he deny his past? and why did he order all videos and publications from the 70s destroyed?
I’ve never heard him deny his past. In fact he always seems to be very proud of it. As for the media he recalled, that was his prerogative to do as the person who originated the materials, and as the one who was doing the teaching. But now that you mention it, I’d say it is his ex-followers who are the ones who are truly denying their past. Denying how good it was to practice Knowledge, and for the first time in their lives scratch the surface of the deepest part of their “self”. To be able to listen for the first time to someone who expressed real wisdom with regards to life and the human experience. To have been a part of something so positive and uplifting. Yes, it astonishes the degree of unchecked revisionism capable in the mind of the apostate.

[toby (80.185.220.27)]

So, the golden toilet is a fact and just one example. I was in an ashram and the initiators were delighted to tell us about the wonderful golden toilet. I am pretty sure the anonymous guy above, who questions this like "Not sure where this came from", knows exactly of what i am talking about. Would you ever trust anybody who knows the facts and tries to hide them from you, though he believes, it is for your own benefit? To me: This is pure cultist behaviour

[Anonymous (67.35.13.193)]

Hi Phil,

Are you someone who used to be involved in Divine Light Mission?

Elan Vital is simply the new (since 1983) organizational name for Prem Rawat aka Maharaji aka Guru Maharaj Ji. Rawat has re-invented the packaging of the message over the years, but it's basically the same.

It's still a personality dependency cult with occasional flavors of left-over Hinduism. Darshan lines, i.e., kissing the feet of the master, still exist to this day, although it's kept quiet as possible.

The latest reinvention, The Prem Rawat Foundation, attempts to cast Rawat in a more "educational" package, with less religious overtones.

His message is simplistic, the meditation a joke (you can review the techniques on ex-premie.org). He uses all the classic techniques of mind control and coercive persuasion.

[Neville Rhys Barnes (213.122.196.150)]

I love the excuse given for Maharaji knocking over (and killing) a cyclist, then letting a house-boy take the blame. Apparently admitting to it himself would have inconvenienced him in his great mission to save the planet.

We also know he failed to act against Jagdeo, one of his mahatmas who was abusing children.

You could talk all night about Maharaji's corruption and lies. See it all carefully documented on EPO.org.

[carlos (carlos)]

I can't swear to it, but I heard about the golden toilet, too. And I think I know how the story started.

About 2, maybe 3, months after the Millenium event, we had 7 people living in the ashram in Puerto Rico. And that 1st ashram was a 1 bedroom condo my mom had bought for my grandmom to live in. It became the 1st ashram when I decided to stay and start propagation there instead of going back to Michagain after Abuelita's funeral.

And it was fine while it was just me and Elisha Perez, and even after that girl from San Fransisco joined us. But it was waaay to crowded with 7! So we started looking for a bigger place. And we found 1, a biiig place, in a better neighborhood for propagation, more readily accessable by public transit. And its bathroom fixtures in the Master Bedroom's bathroom were gold plated.

We didn't care. We hadn't sought something like that out - but it didn't get in the way, the rental was competative to other places its size, so we took the joint.

And if it was somewhere else it probably happened the same way, a golden fixture or 2, maybe even (tho I doubt it) a golden toilet. Not sought, nor desired but not an issue if the place worked out OK otherwise.

Come on, folks! Be opposed to him if you wish. Stop practicing if you don't like what the kryas plug you into, definately. But don't let bias over-ride your common sense to the point it makes ya look like a fool!

[gracful_girl (gracful_girl)]

I need some opinions from people who know about Elan Vital and Maharaji. What kind of an effect would you say the Elan Vital cult group has had on families and family structures? I myself have had a very bad experience but I would like to hear from other people

[formerpremie]

""Why has he recently got a $7million dollar yacht, when many are starving?"
Last I heard about this was that a boat was bought to address a need pertaining to housing and security during the construction of his residence. "

A big problem with this excuse is that there is no overlapping time frame. His new palace was started in the early or mid '80's. The yacht called Serenity was made in 1996 and was sold around April, 2004. Besides, he had other mansions in other countries where he could have lived, or could have just rented a modest place.

The excuse given for the palace? His old mansion had leaks. It would have been much less expensive to simply fix them.
Photos of the Malibu marble palace:
http://drek.org/pages/malibu/birds_eye_1.jpg
http://drek.org/pages/malibu/birds_eye_west_out2.jpg

Sale of the yacht:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/4/prweb115243.htm

Photos of the yacht:
http://www.racineyachts.com/serenity.htm

"public scrutiny for him and his family"

Most people have never heard of him, many who have don't remember.
Isn't this counterproductive in terms of public scrutiny?

"I’ve never heard him deny his past."

Nonsense, he has gone underground with his claims of divinity. A visual peak of his repeated claims of divinity:
http://www.mindspring.com/~bobby2/nagabobby/maharaji/millenium.html

That's a Krisna costume in the photo.
Many times he dressed up as Krisna (said to be an incarnation of God, many Hindus worship Krisna).
His feet were on a pillow in the photo because his devotees think of his feet as the 'Holy Lotus Feet'; even in the 2000's they have lined up to bow down to him and kiss his feet, as well as sing a devotional song called 'Arti' to him. One line is: "Creator, Preserver, Destroyer Bow their heads and pray to You". I sang Arti to him twice a day for years, as commanded by the Ashram Manual, which was written by Rawat.

http://www.ex-premie2.org/pages/arti.htm

He has spoken of himself as being the present incarnation of God, promised to bring peace on Earth very soon, promised to reveal God to people, etc.
One of the "techniques of Knowledge", the Light Technique, involved pressing on your eyeballs (later revised to be just a light touch and renamed #1), which causes a physical sensation of light. It was claimed that this was the "Light of God".
The Music technique (now called #2), involves stopping up your ears with your thumbs. It was claimed that the sounds you hear are "Divine Music". Perhaps a simpler explanation is blood rushing, tinitus, other physical sounds?
Isn't God a bit greater than this?
In the past few years he's conducted 'trainings', here is a reported transcript:
http://www.ex-premie2.org/pages/trainings.htm
People have paid thousands of dollars for these 'trainings' in which they are 'taught' to 'obey the rules'.

His compound in Australia:
http://www.prem-rawat-talk.org/forum/posts/4286.html