The Rawat Family Break-Up: Who Betrayed Who?

The young Guru Maharaj Ji had taken the opportunity of getting out from his mother's thumb and living high (boozing) on the hog (meat-eating) with sex (Playboy magazine masturbation) drugs (marijuana), rock 'n roll (very loud on expensive hi-fis) and fast cars and his very own Pinball machine. He had distanced himself from his family and tried to diminish their status in the eyes of his followers but was probably taken by surprise when he was stabbed in the back by his mother and elder brothers who were supposed to be worshipping Him. They outed Him in the press on April Fool's Day. His money-burning lifestyle kept on as it was bankrolled by his Western premies but his Indian houses and ashrams and land and mahatmas and hundreds of thousands of followers was gone despite a trip to India that failed to recover the family jewels. Poof.

Prem Rawat's Brother Bal Bhagwan Ji and DadBal Bhgwan Ji might very well have had his childhood dreams dashed when he did not inherit his father's titles and power. After all 'Bhagwan' means God in English so it must have seemed he was born to be the next Perfect Master. Despite this disappointment he spent years preaching that his brother was the "Perfect Master" and loyally doing a lot of the behind the scenes work while Prem mainly goofed off playing with his toys which became tape recorders which became cars which became aeroplanes. Bal Bhagwan appeared to live the role of Number One servant and devotee. But loyalty can only go so far and when his younger brother really began to go off the rails then someone had to make a stand. And if not the eldest brother then whom?

Prem Rawat Had BETRAYED His Position and Role

The young Imperfect Master had BETRAYED his position and role and something had to be done. And he did very well out of it indeed.

"I said, 'Oh Maharaji is Maharaji, he can do anything he wants'."

The First Commandment of Rawatism:
Maharaji is Maharaji, He Can Do Anything He Wants.

This is the crux of the family break-up. Can the Perfect Master act so badly that he loses his spiritual authority? Prem Rawat said : "No. I am the Perfect Master. I am self-existent. I cannot be demoted."

The family said "Yes, you have. You're outed. You're fired! You're disinherited!"

Prem was not a self-existent Perfect Master. He was appointed by an organisation in which his family were very important. He did not appear in a Himalayan cave and attract devotees through a spiritual ether. He was appointed, he could be demoted. Prem was the spoilt youngest son who had chutzpah to burn and had been worshipped by all those around him since he was a toddler. He had been getting away with everything and getting everything once his father was dead. Whether the succession had all been arranged or whether the young Prem stole the show on his father's death with his "The Perfect Master never dies soliloquy," his cute miniature sized Krishna Crown or his dancing on stage à la his dancing Dad we can no longer tell. Prem must have felt secure no matter how much his eldest brother might have seethed inside. His teaching was straightforward: The Perfect Master can do whatever he wants. Whether he worked this out for himself or he was taught it by his grey eminence, Mahatma Gurucharnanand, it was ingrained and he never showed the slightest embarrassment at his embarrassment of riches. Gimme. Gimme. Gimme.

The Rawat Family Betrayed Prem the Self-Existent Guru Maharaj Ji

Prem was quite certain he was untouchable. "It is funny and ridiculous to say they have removed me from office as if it is is a public office to which I was elected or appointed. Nobody creates a guru. He is self existent. Nobody can make a guru except the Guru Maharaj Ji himself." So when his mother and eldest brother said "Enough is enough" it must have come as a complete BETRAYAL. And a very successful coup it was.

Prem Rawat Phony Peace Ambassador
Prem Rawat Phony Peace Ambassador
Prem Rawat Phony Peace Ambassador
Prem Rawat Phony Peace Ambassador

Satpal Maharaj aka Bal Bhagwan Ji The Rawat's long time bodyguard, Bihari Singh, claimed 30 years afterwards on a Prem Rawat Foundation sponsored website, A Voice For Peace (since deleted) that at his mother's behest he forgot the words of his father: "You are the older brother. Never try to make yourself anything. Try to help your brother …" Satpal Maharaj, as he is known, became the replacement Perfect Master. Most of the Indian premies and virtually all of the mahatmas obeyed Mata Ji and Bal Bhagwan Ji who, after a protracted court case, won ownership of the name and property of Divine Light Mission in India.

As a young boy Prem Rawat or Maharaji had accused the Indian premies of being "lost in illusion" in his"Peace Bomb" Satsang To his loyal young Western followers this now seemed prophetic. Of course, he said this about them over and over as well. The young Western premies either became disllusioned or accepted they were witnessing a Divine Lila. There was a significant fall in numbers of people involved and a small rump who decided that the Divine Mother must know what she's doing.

Prem Rawat's Family Outs Him As a Stoned, Drunken, Meat-Eating Playboy ImPerfect Master

Resources & References:

Prem Rawat's Mother Appoints His Eldest Brother as the Replacement Perfect Master

Mata Ji empowered her eldest son, Bal Bhagwan Ji, as the new Guru Maharaj Ji or "Perfect Master" Satpal Ji. The millions of Indian devotees and thousands of mahatmas seemed quite content with the new Satguru and rejected the "playboy" Prem Rawat. The ex-Guru claimed that his Guru-ship was self-existent and his mother had no authority from God to demote him as He was God. But he ascended to the throne of Divinity when 6 years old and at 16 was not old enough to have legal control of the Indian Divine Light Mission infrastructure. It does raise the question of exactly what sort of Divine Incarnation the overwhelming majority of Indian followers had believed him to be. I guess one Master's Lotus Feet is as good as any others

Satpal Maharaj aka Bal Bhagwan Ji
Satpal Maharaj aka Bal Bhagwan Ji

Despite this rather embarrassing and sordid start to his career as No. 1 Spiritual Bestower of Knowledge Satpal Maharaj (as he self-titled) has gone on to a very successful career as both a God Man spiritual guru and a State and Federal politican and Grey Eminence. This was displayed with full ostentation with his son's wedding.

Satpal Maharaj: Satguru, Politician, Godman, Administrator, Father of Two Sons

Prem Rawat has tried to become a respected figure in his society by pretence and spending money buying false publicity. Satpal has done it the usual way through inheritance and/or hard work and competence.

A Voice For Peace website, www.avoiceforpeace.net, was paid for by the Prem Rawat Foundation. It was on the net from December 2005 to December 2006 and is partially available on the Wayback Machine. It's mission statement included:

"This initiative is aimed at gathering for posterity the many fond memories that people with an interest in Maharaji and in his message have collected and preserved throughout the years. Of particular interest are stories that would add to the historical documentation of Maharaji's efforts around the world including first visits to countries, media coverage, and eyewitness reports of significant occasions. Personal stories are welcome as well, but may not be published on this site. They will add to the record of people's personal appreciation for Maharaji and the Knowledge he offers."

It did not remain on the internet for very long presumably because Rawat's activities were so unimpressive and the stories posted by his followers so full of magical thinking.