Prem Rawat

Prem Rawat
Prem Rawat in Barcelona, Spain in 2018
Born
Prem Pal Singh Rawat

(1957-12-10) 10 December 1957 (age 66)
Haridwar, India
NationalityIndian, American
Other names(Guru) Maharaji
OccupationSpeaker
Years active1966–present
Organization(s)The Prem Rawat Foundation
Words of Peace
Elan Vital
Divine Light Mission
Known forPeace Education Program
Millennium '73
"Peace Bomb" address
SpouseMarolyn Rawat
Children4
Parents
RelativesSatpal Rawat (brother)
Amrita Rawat (sister-in-law)
Navi Rawat (niece)
AwardsLifetime Achievement Award of Asia Pacific Brands Foundation
Websitepremrawat.com

Prem Pal Singh Rawat (born 10 December 1957), formerly known as Maharaji, is an Indian international speaker and author. His teachings include a meditation practice he calls "Knowledge",[1] and peace education based on the discovery of personal resources such as inner strength, choice, appreciation and hope.[2]

Prem Rawat is the youngest son of Hans Ram Singh Rawat, an Indian guru and the founder of the Divya Sandesh Parishad, later known as Divine Light Mission (DLM). After his father's death, eight-year-old Prem Rawat assumed his role. At 13, he traveled to the West and took up residence in the United States. When young adults took interest in his message, the movement grew by tens of thousands. Many in the news media were perplexed by his youth and claims of divine status; he was also criticized for a lack of intellectual content in his public discourses,[3][4] and for leading an opulent lifestyle.[5][6]

Prem Rawat's marriage at the age of 16 to a non-Indian severed his relationship with his mother. At that point, the Indian branch of DLM controlled by his mother split from DLM everywhere else; at that point it was established in 55 countries. In the early 1980s, he began to discard references to religion in his speeches and closed the ashrams. The name of the DLM was changed to Elan Vital. Since that time, Prem Rawat has continued to travel extensively, speaking about peace to large and select audiences worldwide. On several occasions he has received recognition for his work and message of peace[citation needed].

In 2001 he established The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) to support his work and humanitarian efforts. Its Peace Education Program is licensed and utilized by correctional facilities and other service organizations around the world.

  1. ^ Geaves, Ron (2004). "Elan Vital". In Christopher Hugh Partridge (ed.). New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities. Oxford University Press. pp. 201–202. ISBN 978-0-19-522042-1.
  2. ^ Shanti Ayadurai. "Opening The Doors Of Peace In Prison Archived 6 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine" in The Malaysian Times (29 October 2012)
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference MeltonDLM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Schnabel (1982), p. 99
  5. ^ Rudin & Rudin (1980), p. 65
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hunt was invoked but never defined (see the help page).