Prem Nagar

Prem Rawat's Father's Premier Ashram: Prem Nagar

Prem Nagar Ashram is the premier ashram established by Shri Hans Ji Maharaj in 1943 because of the nagging of his devotees who believed a centre was needed where people initated into Hans Rawat's Knowledge could gather for instruction and inspiration. He cannily situated it on the banks of Ganges on Jwalapur Road, 3 kilometres from Haridwar, between the major holy pilgrimage places of Haridwar, Jwalapur and Kankhal to catch some of that pilgrim trade. Haridwar is one of the holiest pilgrimage places in India. For thousands of years, it has been the chosen retreat of saints, sages and pilgrims who pursued a life of study, meditation & austerity, none of which activities Prem Rawat thinks are of any value. Prem Nagar is where Prem Rawat aka Maharaji formerly Guru Maharaj Ji was declared to be the Satguru in 1966 on his father's death.

Hans Rawat had built up a relatively large and successful religio/spiritual business by the time of his death which allowed his children to carry on the family business successfully despite splitting it up through their inability to co-operate and live in harmony. Satpal has now expanded Prem Nagar into something even Walt Disney couldn't imagine and Donald Trump couldn't afford.

Prem Nagar Ashram 1971
Prem Nagar Ashram 1971
Prem Nagar Ashram 1971
Prem Nagar Ashram 1971

Prem Nagar Ashram 1971 From 1969 Western "hippies" began straggling into Prem Nagar looking for the spiritual enlightenment of the mystic East. Some of them believed they found it there at Prem Rawat's Lotus Feet. Larger grups arrived in 1971 and the numbers peaked in November 1972 when 3,500 young Western premies arrived at Prem Nagar for a month long Knowledge intensive. This was not the blissful Himalayan meditation holiday they were expecting and colds, dysentry and emotional problems were common. Even the young guru had liver problems and it was claimed he hadn't eaten for 3 days. If true, that would have been the one and only.

Prem Nagar Ashram 1971 Unfortunately for Rawat, he lost access to and future ownership of Prem Nagar when he was dismissed, deposed, disowned, denounced, disrespected, disgraced and disinherited by his disillusioned mother. He quickly returned to India once his mother publicly denounced him and attempted to gain control of the Indian DLM's assets, infrastructure and followers. He was unsuccessful and skulked around in India for about a month frightened and in hiding before surrendering and returning to the USA. His eldest brother, the National Indian politician and replacement Godman has continued to develop Prem Nagar into an astounding if kitschy and opulent extravaganza of Hans Rawat's vision. If the 16 year old Prem Rawat could have refrained from getting drunk, eating hamburgers, smoking dope and having sex with an older Californian true believer he could have kept the millions of devotees who abandoned him and kept Prem Nagar and the other family assets and become the respected international Master Of Peace he wants to be and pretends to be.

Prem Nagar 2011
Prem Nagar 2011
Prem Nagar 2011
Prem Nagar 2011
Prem Nagar 2011
Prem Nagar 2011
Prem Nagar 2011
Prem Nagar 2011
Prem Nagar 2011
Prem Nagar 2011
Prem Nagar 2011
Prem Nagar 2011
Prem Nagar 2011
Prem Nagar 2011
Prem Nagar 2011
Prem Nagar 2011
Prem Nagar 2011
Prem Nagar 2011
Prem Nagar 2011
Prem Nagar 2011

Mahatma Fakiranand at Prem Nagar Ashram, 2012

Mahatma Fakiranand at Prem Nagar
Mahatma Fakiranand at Prem Nagar
Mahatma Fakiranand at Prem Nagar

Mahatma Fakiranand at Prem Nagar Judging by reports of some spiritual tourists in 2012, Mahatma Fakiranand Ji is a major force in Prem Nagar. His career has spanned at least 50 years from his time reciting the Ramayana before Shri Hans and Mata Ji. He was involved in propagation in Bihar in the early 1960's along with Hans' senior mahatmas, Brahmanandji and Satyanandji. He recalls:

that when he received Knowledge he experienced an explosion of infinite Light. Although he was an official in the State Secretariat, he used to walk barefoot to satsang. He recalls, "Once I prostrated to a picture of Shri Maharaj Ji. Suddenly there stood Maharaj Ji himself in front of me! … Maharaj Ji arrived soon after. His movements were graceful and flowing and so centred, and light radiated from every pore of his body. I gazed at him unblinkingly, like a partridge staring at the moon. I stayed like that, as if turned to stone, throughout satsang and Arti. I got up only after some premies roused me. Whenever I closed my eyes I saw Maharaj Ji in the same way inside. I saw the same scene in the sky. I stayed in this blissful condition for several days. The entire Creation seemed Hans-permeated to me.

In the early 1970's he travelled in the West revealing the Knowledge and was involved in the most scandalous and terrible event in Divine Light Mission when he and Richard Fletcher attempted to kill the counter-culture journalist and anarchic spirit, Pat Halley, who had thrown a cream pie into Prem Rawat's face. He was hustled off to Europe and continued as a Mahatma of Prem Rawat's until he returned to India to work with Mata Ji and Bal Bhagwan Ji. He travelled internationally for many years giving satsang and revealing Knowledge for Satpal Maharaj and looks fit and happy though he must be 80 years old at least.

Both Hans and Prem Rawat gave satsang at Prem Nagar on many occasions. We can see how important Prem Nagar and those satsangs were in nurturing the first Western devotees who had flown to India for the November Hans Jayanti festivals of 1971 and 1972. We have transcripts of a sample of them:

Prem Nagar 2024