A Pictorial History of Prem Rawat: Holi Festivals

Holi The festival of Holi is celebrated on the day after the full moon in early March every year. Originally a festival to celebrate good harvests and fertility of the land, Holi is now a symbolic commemoration of a legend from Hindu Mythology. Today Holi is an excuse for Indians to shed inhibitions and caste differences for a day of spring fever and Big Fun. Teenagers spend the day flirting and misbehaving in the streets, adults extend the hand of peace, and everyone chases everyone else around, throwing brightly colored powder (gulal) and water over each other.

However, Divine Light Mission, Élan Vital, Words of Peace Global and whatever Prem Rawat names his organisations are cults based around one Divine Supreme Leader and so rather than interact with each other, his followers stand, shoulder to shoulder in anonymous crowds and await their Master spraying them from atop a huge throne-like stage. Their practice of Holi is a quintessential example of their practice of "Knowledge". And you know what Freud says about really short, really fat men who need to have really, really big guns …

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Hans Rawat was happy to get down and dirty with his devotees during Holi

Hans Rawat Holi

Prem's Eldest Brother, Satpal Maharaj, Enjoys a More Traditional Holi

Satpal Maharaj Holi

The first Holi festival in the USA in 1974. At this time it appears he had neither the vision nor the money for the overblown Holi extraganzas he had later

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By 1980 his staff had developed a long, hard chromium steel technological marvel

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The 2nd Holi festival in the USA in 1975. Still using a modest hand pump.

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1979

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1980

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Holi '83 - The Festival of Light at Night

A combination of some of Prem Rawat's favourite things. His giant water pistol spraying greate waves of coloured water, oodles of technology, very loud music, bright lights and an adoring croud.

Images of the Holi festival in 2004

Prem Rawat, the would-be internationally-known teacher of Inner Peace trying to teach Inner Peace and Contentment. He and his followers also celebrate annual festivals. Hans Jayanti in honour of his father. Guru Puja in honour of Himself. Holi in honour of His … ejaculatory powers?

Holi is celebrated as a democratic carnival in which Hindus shed inhibitions and caste differences for a day and throw buckets of water and coloured powder over each other. Prem Rawat and his students have a relationship in which he is the all-powerful divine guru, they are powerless supplicants.

This relationship is mimicked in their celebration of Holi where he stands atop an extremely elevated stage and fires enormous streams of water over them from an extremely powerful pump. It is a microcosm of their everyday relationship with him. They acknowledge him as the source of their life, love and devotion which he gives as a gift and for which they must feel gratitude.