1. "When Mr. Rawat came to the West in the early 1970s, he proclaimed himself to be the incarnation of God..." .

Prem Rawat came to the West as a 13 year old Indian boy. He has on numerous occasions clearly stated that he is not God. However, his history, concepts, analogies and understanding were steeped in Indian tradition, so it is hardly surprising that he continued using them in the West. As his English and understanding increased he rephrased his message in a less dramatic, Western way. When he talks to Indians, he will often revert to stories and analogies that Indians love and understand. It is a part of Indian culture, perhaps as a mark of respect, to call almost any holy man an incarnation of some Hindu god - or to imply that they have some kind of divine quality. The supreme place of the Guru/teacher is a forgone conclusion and does not jar the ego as it does to most Westerners, who believe that they are the most important people in the universe.

2. "Throughout the history of DLM/Elan Vital, Mr. Rawat has continually demanded monetary 'contributions' from his followers in order to support his obscenely lavish lifestyle, complete with several mansions, private jets, etc."

Wrong! Prem Rawat has never 'demanded' contributions. He once stated, "Keep your money. If it can't make you happy, what's it gonna do for me?" He does not charge for his appearances at events, nor does he receive income from the organizations which support his work. E.V. is granted royalty-free copyright to produce vidoes and other materials from his addresses. During the 1970s, Prem Rawat received stock shares in corporations as gifts of appreciation from people who were concerned that he should be financially independent. Eventually, these produced significant dividends, and some were sold generating substantial profits which were reinvested. A company which developed software applications for government contractors went public. This generated considerable income for Prem Rawat and his family.
When he first arrived in the West, numerous people were happy to help him out with food, shelter and clothing. "He was also provided support by the organization in the US in keeping with his guest status until he became an emancipated minor capable of persuing his own interests privately. This support included housing, transportation to and from events, and other relevant expenses." The organization supporting his work was audited by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service in 1997 and "found to be in full compliance with regulations governing charities."
He has always been adamant that Knowledge be made available free of charge. (pp218, 219 Peace is Possible by Andrea Cagan) Here is the next false claim from Brauns' web site:

2. "Fund raising has always been an important activity in ... Elan Vital. Although Knowledge is free, there is a constant need for cash to maintain expensive properties around the world, and the expensive lifestyle of Maharaji and his family."

A 2005 investigation into Elan Vital by the British Charities Commission was dropped. EV emerged with a clean bill of health. An informed source stated that the investigation was triggered by a bogus report submitted to the Commission by British accountant and hate group member Nick Wright.

Elan Vital is a registered charity in the United States and Britain and a non-profit organization in Australia. EV is subject to audit by tax authorities in these countries. Any diversion or misuse of funds for Maharaji's or his family's benefit would be illegal. The claims are libelous and false, and have been repeated ad nauseam by Brauns and his associates, however, they have never produced a shred of supporting evidence. Any fund raising efforts by or on behalf of Ivory's Rock Conference Center (the "expensive property" leased by Elan Vital) are clearly specified as such. Contributions are made voluntarily by those who wish to help in this way. It would be wonderful if satellite broadcast facilities, video editing facilities, halls and all other items used to take Maharaji's message to the world were available free of charge. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Contributions are needed and greatly appreciated.

Grievance 3 - see below.

4. "The Jagdeo affair."

This unfortunate affair involves allegations that a former instructor, Jagdeo, molested children during the 1970s. According to grievance 4, "Mr. Rawat did not prevent Jagdeo from continuing in his service..." The fact is that allegations referred to in Brauns' web site were not made until several years after the alleged offenses. A contributor to Brauns' site, Michael Dettmers, who was head of DLM at the time, says "It was my personal experience that, whenever Maharaji (Prem Rawat) became aware of improper sexual behavior by any of his instructors, he took immediate disciplinary action."

5. "Mr. Rawat teaches what he calls Knowledge, which consists of four techniques of meditation. He claims to have the sole privilege of teaching these techniques. But in fact, these techniques are centuries old and are now taught by hundreds of gurus in India, and by several Western gurus."

Wrong! Prem Rawat has revealed the same Knowledge to people who were unable to practice one or more of the techniques! In my experience, Knowledge is the key to the door of an extraordinary place within me which is not governed by, or within the realm of the mind. That the key to that experience, and exactly the same techniques, taught in the same way, are available elsewhere is highly unlikely. Inaccurate and misleading descriptions may be available elsewhere. If you are satisfied with this, by all means go for it! Mr Rawat's claim to be the legitimate source of 'Knowledge' is based on two facts: 1. He is able to deliver. 2. He is carrying on the activities of his teacher. Knowledge as taught by Maharaji has always been available free of charge. Why? It would be impossible to put a price on it.

6. "Mr Rawat claims to be the current master in a direct and unique lineage of masters... but this is a false claim."

Wrong! There is a direct lineage. This is a simple statement of facts: Maharaji's teacher was Shri Hans (his father), Shri Hans' teacher was Swarupanand, and Swarupanand's teacher was Dayal Ji. Frankly, I couldn't care less about this non-issue. Mr Rawat has made a priceless gift freely available world-wide. He continues to provide help and encouragement. Lineage is irrelevant.

Three of the next four "grievances" (7, 8, and 10) are based on puerile, libelous gossip about Maharaji's lifestyle originating from a handful of hostile sources. These claims conflict with the accounts of many others who have worked with Maharaji and spent time with him. Some of these accounts are available in the faq page. See also "Hearsay" and "The subliminal hook" on the same page.

The following grievance does not rate a response, but for the record I will respond briefly:

"Mr. Rawat has always enjoyed a lifestyle exactly opposite of what he teaches."

Wrong! Mr Rawat has never taught or promoted a lifestyle. He has always made it clear that Knowledge is independent of religion, culture, education and lifestyle. Claims such as this are based on an apparent preference that Maharaji should be a poor, celibate monk. He isn't and has never claimed to be, but if he was, his critics would complain that such a lifestyle is too arduous, and impractical in our society. Knowledge has nothing to do with lifestyle.

9. Grievance 9 consists of a set of trumped-up allegations related to an alleged traffic accident in the early 1980s in India. This brief story was attributed to Mike Dettmers, however it is seriously flawed, unsubstantiated, misspelt and poorly written. It is therefore unlikely to have been written by Dettmers. It is The "first-hand account" of a man who wasn't there. Grievance 9 contains the following omissions and errors:
* Maharaji did not "instruct" anyone to "take the blame." No such claim is made in the letter.
* An Indian court found that the accident was caused by the negligence of the cyclist, and that the driver was not at fault. Brauns' web site fails to report this.
* Dettmers (?) admits that he was not in the car involved in the collision, therefore, he cannot confirm the identity of the driver.
* According to the story, "... we all sped to the airport." An instructor "stayed behind to deal with the situation.." The writer then describes (first hand) events which he claims occurred when he wasn't there. He admits that he "sped to the airport." Therefore, he could not have known "first hand" about ANYTHING that ensued after his departure. The account is a fabrication.
Dettmer's brief association with Brauns and the Hate Group ended soon after the publication of these claims. He has not been in contact with them since. I wonder why?

11. see"A Mad Scenario"

12. "Front row seats for sale. What is mostly unknown to the rank and file members of Elan Vital, is that front row seats to Mr Rawat's talks are for sale for thousands of dollars."

Wrong! There are no "rank and file members of EV" and front row seats are not for sale. Seats close to the stage are usually reserved for Maharaji's family, staff, and people who have helped stage the event. I have usually obtained excellent seats by helping to stage the event. This has always been my preferred option. Not only have I obtained seats close to the stage, I have enjoyed the pleasure and excitement of participating prior to the event. It is not a coincidence that those who help to finance events are actively involved in organizing and staging events. If people have been allocated seats closer to the stage purely on the basis of a donation, fine! These events would never happen without financial support. That's economic reality.

13. "Mr. Rawat encourages his followers to believe that anything they experience in meditation is due to his grace and influence."

Wrong! Prem Rawat has always made it clear that anything experienced whilst practicing the techniques of Knowledge are already within you. This 'grievance' also states, "He teaches them to to depend on him for all inner experiences for their entire lives." Again untrue! The practice and experience of Knowledge depends on a person's individual effort. Maharaji cannot practice Knowledge for you. You have to do it! Maharaji has always made this clear. Many thousands of people find his discourses and unique perspective wonderfully inspiring. For this reason he continues to attract large audiences around the world, either live or via satellite broadcast. Many thousands of others enjoy access to his discourses via video.

14. "Mr. Rawat tells his followers that they should rely solely on the "inner friend," and that all other love relationships are secondary, imperfect and not to be trusted. By following this teaching, his followers develop a toxic relationship with their own humanness."

This distortion belongs under "The Absurd" heading (see faq page) .

I am more in touch with my "own humanness" now than I have ever been. I enjoy a close, loving relationship with my wife and family and I profoundly enjoy life. At the core of my being is something that sustains and fulfills me. Maharaji has said that your breath is the most important factor in your life. No breath, no life, no nothing! A human being who can appreciate the gift of each breath is celebrating the unity and worth of all humanity.

These so called 'grievances' are the core of much of the malicious propaganda directed at Maharaji by people who lost touch with him and the experience of Knowledge many years ago.

An attempt to negotiate the removal of incorrect information from EPO

Someone posting under the name, M Barrister, attempted negotiating with Mr. Brauns (2003) in an effort to have incorrect, contradictory claims removed from the latter's web site.

"We've had a little discussion and it seems Grievance 3 is full of inaccuracies. Grievance 3 claims:

"Mr. Rawat instructed his followers to abandon all family, sexual relations, education, and career goals to devote their lives entirely to his service, by living in his ashrams. When the ashrams became a financial liability to him, he closed them, leaving many of the ashram members in debt and poorly prepared to return to society." This statement is wrong.

Prem Rawat never 'instructed' his follow to live in ashrams, his view (as provided by ex-premies) is as follows. In 1972 he said that the ashram was for anyone 'but first they must have no obligations'. Ashrams were for those who 'need intensive care'. All others need not apply. When some ashrams failed to provide the expected 'shelter', he said that "it has been quite wise for people to leave there...because in some of the ashrams the way they have been, it has been ridiculous, where you can do this and you can't do this and they didn't know what they could do, because there were so many can'ts." Could he be any clearer? If you're in the ashram and it isn't working for you, clear out!

The second claim that Prem Rawat closed the ashrams because they 'became a financial liability to him' directly contradicts the oft sprouted claim that ashrams were a source of funds for him. It doesn't warrant a reply.

As they say, there are none so blind as those who will not see! Perhaps Brauns can glimpse enough to honor his word and remove this beat-up so we can go on to the next one."

Webmaster's note: The ashrams closed in 1983.

Following the publication of M Barrister's evidence, Brauns changed 'grievance 3.' It now states that Maharaji "demanded" complete surrender and that he made it clear that "the way to do this was to move into one of his ashrams."

This is a gross distortion of the real facts. Prem Rawat never issued any such "demand" and did not demand that anyone move into the ashram. Any such move was always voluntary. Many single people who had no ties chose NOT to move into the ashram. I was one of them. Hate group members have a habit of altering and inventing ancient history to suit their agenda.

There is a man who has no great love of the sea and little or no time to spend on board a boat. The man is supposed to own a yacht, but actually, he doesn't own a yacht. People who may or may not know him own it, but the story changes depending on which Hate Group web site you read. The man and his family live in California, although his work takes him around the world for much of the year. The yacht is owned by a company registered in Newport Rhode Island, a well known maritime recreational spot on the other side of the country. The man is, of course, Prem Rawat (Maharaji). The 'yacht' he probably doesn't own is actually a large motor cruiser. The scenario described here is a critical view of the kind of misleading claims that are typical of detractors.

I hope that if ever Maharaji develops a love of the sea, that he is able to buy a far more distinctive and attractive vessel than the one described in at least two Hate Group web sites. When I stop to think about the quality of life that I experience practicing the gift that Maharaji gave to me, stories such as this seem inane and pathetic. As usual, it reveals nothing about Maharaji, and quite a lot about the pettiness of those who are responsible for Hate Group web sites. I can't say with certainty that envy and jealousy are amongst their motives, but I am quite sure that there are ex-premies who would crawl across broken glass to get their hands on some of the toys that I own or have owned. There are many of us these days who own assets and property and live quite comfortably. Knowledge has nothing to do with lifestyle, and Prem Rawat does not advocate any particular life style.

The web master of this site owned and yacht and spent several years cruising and living aboard. Prem Rawat is independantly wealthy. If he wants to buy a yacht, fine! Good luck to him.

Deliberate Harassment

1. An aerial photograph showing the location of the house that you and your family occupy (pinpointed with an arrow).
2. The address of the house and a street map showing it's location.
3. Detailed drawings showing the interior layout of the house.
4. The names and year of birth of your your wife and children.

Wouldn't you consider this to be unethical and an invasion of your privacy? Wouldn't this compromise the safety and security of your family? The only reasonable answer to these questions is "yes!"

In his web site, John Brauns still continues to publish all of this information about Prem Rawat's family and the house they occupy. No matter how much I disagree with Brauns and his associates, common sense and common decency dictate that I would never publish material of this nature about them or their families. I call on John Brauns to demonstrate a little courage, leadership and common decency by deleting this material from his web site, although, it has been said that he is merely the bookkeeper and probably has little real say over the contents of his(?) web site.

Many more examples of deliberate, organized harassment are available.