User:Andries/Teachings of Prem Rawat

Prem Rawat succeeded his father Hans Rawat as the leader of the Divine Light Mission an organisation that was created to formalise the activities of Hans Rawat's existing following. Hans Rawat did not promote a systematically developed doctrine however the teaching that he adopted was, acccording to several scholarly articles, derived from Sant Mat. Central to Hans Rawat's teaching was the practice of four meditation techniques, collectively called Knowledge which were taught in a secret initiation. Precepts propounded by Hans Rawat included the essential need to surrender to a Satguru through only whom the true Knowledge could be obtained, and only through the practice of which could lasting inner peace be gained.

Initially Prem Rawat adopted all aspects of his father's teaching, however successive changes in presentation have seen the younger Rawat abjure all the teaching inherited from his father with the single exception of the tenat that the practice of Knowledge is essential to obtaining inner peace.

Origins
Scholars wroted that Prem Rawat's teachings spring from the traditions of the Indian Sants, who dismissed religious ritual and praised the "Divine Name" for its power to save. They emphasised honour for the guru or Perfect Master. In correspondence with the Sant Mat movement, Rawat emphasized surrender and devotion to the guru and claimed, according to several scholars, to be an embodiment of God on Earth. He also emphasized surrender to God "who dwells in the heart." Hummel, Reinhart Indische Mission und neue Frömmigkeit im Westen. Religiöse Bewegungen in westlichen Kulturen, Stuttgart 1980, ISBN 3-17-005609-3  pp.76-77: pp76-77. Neither in the time of the father, Shri Hans, nor in that of the son, did the Divine Light Mission possess a systematically developed set of teachings. Both saw [doctrines] as presenting more problems than advantages. Although the father saw himself primarily as the Guru of the Poor, and his discourses that were rich in metaphors were more concerned with practical applications than with penetrating theory, yet his satsangs could always be understood against a background of Hindu tradition. But the satsangs that his son held in the west, which he managed with a minimum of Hindu terms and concepts, still remain vague for the non-Hindu listener. The young Guru explains that conceptual thinking, translated with the English word “mind” in German translations also, is the main enemy of direct religious experience. It is therefore hardly surprising that little firm information about DLM teachings can be obtained from his followers. On the other hand, the lack of professed concepts allows them a freedom of expression which is spontaneous and personal, and which makes an agreeable contrast with the unexamined reproduction of received teachings which one especially finds in the devotees of Iskcon. Whatever judgment one may have about the movement, its intellectual lack of contours is clear to all observers. "Eine systematisch entwickelte Lehre hat die Divine Light Mission weder zur Zeit des Vaters Śhrī Hans noch des Sohnes besessen. Beide haben darin eher einen Vorzug als einen Mangel gesehen. Hatte der Vater sich vornehmlich als >>Guru der Armen<< verstanden und sich in einer bilderreichen Sprache mehr um praktische Anwendbarkeit als um theoretische Durchdringung bemüht, so blieb doch der Inhalt seiner Satsangs auf dem Hintergrund der Hinduistischen Tradition klar verständlich. Die Satsangs jedoch, die der Sohn im Westen gehalten hat und die mit einem Minimum hinduistischer Terminologie und Konzepte auskommen, müssen für den nichthinduistischen Hörer vage bleiben. Der junge Guru erklärt das konzeptionelle Denken, das auch in deutschen Übersetzungen mit dem englischen Wort >>mind<< bezeichnet wird, als Hauptfeind der unmittelbaren religösen Erfahrung. So ist es nicht verwunderlich, daβ von seinen Anhängern nur wenig Handfestes über die DLM-lehre zu erfahren ist. Andererseits eröffent ihnen der Mangel an vorgegebenen Konzepten einen Freiraum für Äuβerungen einer spontanen Subjektivität, die wohltuend vom unselbständigen Reproduzieren autoritativ verkündenter Lehren absticht, wie man es vor allem dei den Anhängern der ISKCON antrifft. Wie auch immer die Bewertung ausfallen mag - die geistige Konturlosigkeit der Bewegung fällt allen Beobachtern auf. Im Zentrum steht bei Vater und Sohn die vierfache Meditationstechnik, die vier >>Kriyas<<, die Sri Hans von Svami Sarupanand gelernt hatte. [..]" "pp.78: "Innerhalb dieses eklektischen Denken dominiert der Einfluβ der in Nordindien beheimaten Sant-Tradition, der schon in der Geschichte des Radhasoami Satsang wirksam war. Von ihr bestimmt ist die Ablehnung äußerlicher Rituale und Zeremonien und die Forderung, das Göttliche im eigenen Inneren zu suchen; damit verbunden die Polemik gegen den Trennenden Charakter der in Äuβerlichkeiten estarrten Religionen und gegen die Kastentrennung; ferner die Ablehnung der Askese zugunsten des Lebens im Stande des Haushalters, wie Sri Hans es selbst geführt hat; die Ablehnung der Bilderverehrung und die Konzentration auf den Guru als die Manifestation des Göttlichen; [..]"   According to several scholarly articles and observers, Prem Rawat, never had a systematically developed set of teachings or doctrine. Haan, Wim (Dutch language) De missie van het Goddelijk licht van goeroe Maharaj Ji: een subjektieve duiding from the series Religieuze bewegingen in Nederland: Feiten en Visies nr. 3, autumn 1981 edited by Dr. R. Bakker, Dr. C. J. G. van der Burg,(The article is mainly based on the Dutch branch of the Divine Light Mission) ISBN 90-242-2341-5 page 55 English parahrasing:The DLM hardly had a philosophical background and that its central items of faith were summarized in the song associated with the Hindu devotional ritual called aarti. Partial text of the song "page 55 note 2

"Bij de Divine Light Mission is nauwelijks sprake van een filosofische achtergrond. De centrale 'geloofspunten zijn allen weergegeven in dit lied. Helaas is er geen Nederlandse tekst beschikbaar.   Hieronder volgt de Engelse tekst van dit dertien coupletten tellende 'loflied'

page 55 note 2
 * "Bij de Divine Light Mission is nauwelijks sprake van een filosofische achtergrond. De centrale 'geloofspunten'' zijn allen weergegeven in dit lied. Helaas is er geen Nederlandse tekst beschikbaar.
 * Hieronder volgt de Engelse tekst van dit dertien coupletten tellende 'loflied'


 * Jai, Gurudev Maharaj, Ji,
 * Your glory fills the world
 * Protector of the weary and the weak
 * You bring the death of attachment
 * You bring the mind true detachment
 * Save us from the ocean deep
 * Jai Dev, Jai Satgurudev


 * Creator, Preserver, Destroyer
 * Bow their heads and pray to You
 * All bow and pray to You
 * Scriptures sing Your glory
 * Heaveny hosts sing Your praises
 * Your virtues are ever true
 * Jai Dev, Jai Satgurudev


 * Chanting, fasting, charity, austerity
 * never bring you knowledge of the soul
 * will never reveal your soul
 * without the grace of satguru
 * without the Knowledge of Satguru
 * rites and rituals never reach the goal
 * Jai Dev, Jai Satgurudev


 * In the river of bondage to maya
 * All are swept out to sea
 * All are sinking in the depths of the sea
 * Guru's boat is the holy name
 * Guru's ship is the holy word
 * In seconds he has set us free
 * Jai Dev, Jai Satgurudev


 * In the river of bondage to maya
 * All are swept out to sea
 * All are sinking in the depths of the sea
 * Guru's boat is the holy name
 * Guru's ship is the holy word
 * In seconds he has set us free
 * Jai Dev, Jai Satgurudev


 * Anger, desire, attachments
 * Rob us of eternal life
 * Take away our heavenly life
 * Satguru gives us true Knowledge
 * Satguru is eternal Knowledge
 * The sword that kills our problem life
 * Jai Dev, Jai Satgurudev


 * Religions harp their own glories
 * Call to follow their own path
 * Welcome me to follow their own way
 * The essence of all was revealed
 * The seed of all was revealed
 * I walk on the true way today
 * Jai Dev, Jai Satgurudev


 * Nectar from Satguru's feet is
 * Holy and it cleans us of our sins
 * So sacred in cleaning us of sin
 * When he speaks, darkness flies away
 * When he speaks, darkness cannot stay
 * Doubts removed, new life then begins
 * Jai Dev, Jai Satgurudev


 * Mine, Thine, Wealth, Health
 * Give them to the lotus feet of love
 * Give them to the lotus feet of the Lord
 * Give yourself to Satguru
 * Sacrifice yourself to Satguru
 * Be united with the blissful Truth
 * Jai Dev, Jai Satgurudev


 * Bible, Gita, the Koran
 * Sing the glory of Your Name
 * They all sing the glory of Your Name
 * Angels sing Your great glory
 * Heavenly hosts sing Your praises
 * They find no end to Your fame
 * Jai Dev, Jai Satgurudev


 * Desires have robbed me and left me
 * Trapped in the darkness of the night
 * Yes, they've trapped me in the darkness of the night
 * Guru gives holy Name and Light
 * Guru gives Holy Name and Sight
 * Cross the ocean by His Love and Light
 * Jai Dev, Jai Satgurudev


 * Many past forms you have taken
 * Now we have come in your control
 * Again You have come to save the soul
 * In this time of darkness
 * To lead Your devotees from darkness
 * You have come as Hansa the pure soul
 * Jai Dev, Jai Satgurudev


 * Come to the shelter of Guru's grace
 * Come with your heart and your soul
 * Bring Him your heart and your soul
 * Cross the worldly ocean
 * Cross it by your devotion
 * And attain the supreme goal
 * Jai Dev, Jai Satgurudev


 * Jai Gurudev Maharaj Ji
 * Your glory fills the world
 * Protector of the weary and the weak
 * You bring the death of attachment
 * You bring the mind true detachment
 * Save us from the ocean deep
 * Jai Dev, Jai Satgurudev"

English translation: page 55
 * "The DLM hardly had a philosophical background and its central items of faith are all listed in the song associated with the Hindu devotional ritual called aarti. Unfortunately a Dutch text is not available."

Note:Haan wrote this article while he was a student of theology at a Pastoral and Theology school in a small town in the Netherlands and while he was part of a critical movement within the Catholic church. According to a religious scholar, he was also influenced by Christianity and his speaking style in a satsang in 1975 was described as resembling a "Christian evangelical campaign." .His teachings were described by a religious scholar as essentially Hindu in origin. One scholar wrote that the teachings of the Divine Light Mission are in essence Radhasoami

"Knowledge"
'' When Rawat first came to the West his teachings were essentially Hindu in origin, embracing a worldview that accepted transmigration of souls, karma, human avatars and imbedded in an interpretation of the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.However, a discerning listener would have recognized the radical voice of the North Indian nirguna bhaktas, also defined as Sants, notably Nanak and Kabir, especially in the message of universalism, equality and the focus on inwardness rather than the outward forms of Hinduism. The experience was an individual, subjective experience rather than on a body of dogma, and in its Divine Light days the movement was sometime criticized for this stressing of emotional experience over intellect. His teaching consists simply of what he calls "giving knowledge," not of any extensive set of moral precepts. Unlike most Eastern religious teachers, he generally refused to give concrete instructions regarding what one should eat, how one should make a living, or what one's disciplehood should involve. All of truth is in "the Knowledge" and not in the "conceptual mind". '' In the early 80s Rawat dropped all of its original Eastern religious practices. [...] Unusually, the fact that Rawat came from a lineage of 'Perfect Masters' is no longer relevant since this is not where the authority comes from, nor the recognition of Maharaji as the master by his student; this comes rather from the nature of the teaching and its benefit to the individual.'' Although occasionally drawing upon Indian anecdotes to use as examples for his teachings and referring to Kabir and Nanak, there is apparently little in his current idiom that could be linked to Hinduism, on the contrary, he openly challenges transmigration and the law of karma as only belief systems that cannot be verified as fact. Although there are many who would assert that his authority lies in his charisma, Rawat himself has stated that he does not consider himself to be a charismatic figure, preferring to refer to his teachings and the efficacy of the practice of the four techniques on the individual as the basis of his authority Rawat's teachings provide a kind of practical mysticism. He speaks not of God, but of the god or divinity within, the power that gives existence. And although such references apparently suggest an acceptance of a creative, loving power, he distances himself and his teachings from any concept of religion. The process of reaching the true self within can only be achieved by the individual, but with the guidance and help of a teacher. Maharaji now teaches a simple self-discovery process, involving the use of four simple techniques to turn the senses within and appreciate the joyful basis of existence beyond thoughts and ideas. He denies that his teachings represent instant gratification, but he sees it instead as an ongoing learning process that c an enrich an individual. The tens of thousands of followers in the West do not see themselves as members of a religion, but the adherents of a system of teachings that extol the goal of enjoying life to the full. ''For Elan Vital, the emphasis is on individual, subjective experience, rather than on a body of dogma.

According to the Dutch religious scholar and Christian minister Reender Kranenborg and the American religious scholar J. Gordon Melton, these techniques are secret and were originally called "Light", "Sound", "Name" or "Word" and "Nectar" but Maharaji now refers to them as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th techniques. Kranenborg, Reender Dr. (1982) Oosterse Geloofsbewegingen in het Westen/Eastern faith movements in the West (Dutch language) ISBN 90-210-4965-1 partial free English translation. The mediation methods are officially secret. They are quite simple. The 'light meditation' means that one closes one's eyes and presses with the thumbs on the eye balls with as a consequence that they move towards each other and that it seems that the third eye is openened. After some time one sees the light. The original intention of this meditation, as it is practiced in Tantrism, is indeed opening of the 'third eye' between the eyebrows on the forehead, but only after a long and heavy training. The 'sound meditation' means thone closes the ears by pressing on them with the thumbs, with the hands on the temples. After some time one hears the noise of blood and finally heavenly music. This technique is a sabda-brahman-meditation in which one assumes the eternal vibrations that form the basis of the universe and form the divine. The 'nectar meditation' means that one tries to get one's tongue behind the uvula. If one succeeds then one can taste the nectar. This excercise comes originally from yoga in which is it is a part of elaborate breathing excercices. The 'name meditation' consists of following the breath going inside and of using mantras during exhalation i.e. hamsa and soham which means respectively 'swan' (the divinity) and 'I am that' (that is the divine). This excercise is related to the 'japa-' or mantra-yoga that we also encounter at the Transcendental meditation and the Hare Krishnas.Dutch original "De methodes van de vier technieken zijn officieel geheim. Maar geheimen blijven moeilijk bewaard en ook deze vier technieken zijn bekend. Ze zijn bij de Divine Light Mission vrij simpel. De 'meditatie van het licht' houdt in dat men de ogen sluit en met de duimen op de oogballen drukt zodat deze naar elkaar toe gaan en als het ware ‘het derde oog’ geopend wordt. Na verloop van tijd ziet men dan het licht. De oorspronkelijk bedoeling van deze oefening, zoals die in het tantrisme beoefend word, is inderdaad het openen van ‘het derde oog’ tussen de wenkbrauwen op het voorhoofd, maar dan wel na een lange en zware training. De ‘meditatie van het geluid’ houdt in dat men de oren met de duimen dichtdrukt, met de handen op de slapen. Na verloop van tij hoort men het geruis van het bloed en tenslotte hemelse muziek. Oorspronkelijk is deze oefening een sabda-brahman-meditatie, waarin men uitgaat van de eeuwige trillingen die de basis van het universum vormen en het goddelijke uitmaken. De filosofie van de ook in Nederland aanwezige Radha Soami Satsang is hierop gebaseerd. De ‘meditatie van de nectar’ houdt in dat men met de tong achter de huig probeert te komen. Wie hierin slaagt proeft de nectar. Deze oefening komt oorspronkelijk uit de yoga, waar ze een onderdeel vormt van de uitgebreide ademhalingsoefeningen. De ‘meditatie van het woord’ bestaat hieruit dat men de adem naar binnen volgt en bij het uitademenen mantra’s gebruikt: hamsa en soham, resp. als betekenis hebbend ‘zwaan’ (de goddelijkheid) en ‘dat ben ik ‘ (namelijk:dat goddelijke). Deze oefening is verwant met de ‘japa-‘ of mantra-yoga, zoals we die ook tegenkomen bij de Transcedente Meditatie en bij de Hare Krishna’s." "Op zichzelf zijn de vier meditaties niet uniek. Het speciale van de Divine Light Mission is dat ze losgemaakt zijn uit het verband waar ze in passen en verregaand vereenvoudigd zijn." Maharaji asks practitioners to promise "not to reveal these techniques to anyone", but says to "let other people go through their own journey... [so] they, too, can have the techniques when they are ready." Kranenborg and Melton provide differing details of them in their writings but agree on a general description of the practices. "Light" involves careful pressure on the eyes, seeking to open the "third eye" after a long period of training and practice. This is comparable to similar Tantric practices. "Sound" involves positioning the hands over the ears and temples, with the goal of hearing the "heavenly music". This is reported to be related to sabda-brahman meditation. "Name", or "Word", is a meditation concentrating on breath. Kranenborg additionally states that it employs mantras while exhaling. "Nectar" involves tongue positioning, eventually leading the student to taste the "nectar of life".

Warnings against the mind
Another aspect of his teaching were warnings against the "mind". The "mind" was defined in the Divine Light Mission, according to various scholarly articles, either as alienating influences that made man stray off from his true nature, or a "state of consciousness characterized by everything but passive, nonrational confidence and trust", or "conceptual thinking" that was the main enemy of direct religious experience.

Developments and name changes
Following the split with his family in 1974 Rawat transformed his initial teachings in order to appeal to a Western context. He came to recognize that the Indian influences on his followers in the West were a hindrance to the wider acceptance of his teachings. He therefore changed the style of his message and relinquished the Hindu tradition, beliefs, and most of its original eastern religious practices.

In 1983 Rawat downsized Divine Light Mission and changed its name to Elan Vital. He dropped the title "Guru" and closed the last western ashrams, seeing his teachings as independent of culture, religion, beliefs, or lifestyles,  He continued to teach the four techniques of Knowledge and affirmed his own status as a master rather than a divine leader. The original religious movement was essentially defunct. Scholars such as Kranenborg and Chryssides describe the departure from divine connotations, and the new emphasis that the Knowledge is universal, rather than Indian.

According to Stephen J. Hunt in Alternative Religions: A Sociological Introduction, Rawat's major focus 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." The Knowledge includes four secret meditation procedures and the process of reaching the true self within can only be achieved by the individual, but with the guidance and help of a teacher. Hence, the movement seems to embrace aspects of world-rejection and world-affirmation. The tens of thousands of followers in the West do not see themselves as members of a religion, but the adherents of a system of teachings that extol the goal of enjoying life to the full.