Prem Rawat's Teachings about Yoga - In His Own Words

Prem Rawat or Maharaji ("Ultimate Ruler") as he calls himself or Guru Maharaj Ji as he called himself until the 1980's has no compunction stating he is a unique person with power possessed by nobody else alive. He declared himself, and was declared by his devotees, the Lord of the Universe and the Perfect Master ("I'm just teaching them perfectness and that's why they call me Perfect Master") and taught he was going to usher in a millenium of peace on earth in this Kali Yuga through his Knowledge which is the Raj Yoga, the King of all Yogas (also known as Raja Yoga) and the Raj Vidya, the King of All Knowledges. Through this Raj Yoga and the Grace of the Perfect Master a person can realize and become united with the Supreme Being, that Supreme God. Any other form of yoga cannot give you peace of mind and is basically worthless for quality of life and while it may remove itty bits of bad karma becoming his devotee makes bad karma disappear.

Maharaji's Teachings about the Yoga

The first discourse by Shri Guru Maharaj Ji in America, Los Angeles, July 17, 1971
"People write in their books, "I have heard." People have been taught, they say, "I have heard." But for the people who have experienced, then the words, "I have heard," go off. Suppose I am saying to you out there that I have heard that there are rubber roads in Paris. Now I have experienced it, so I won't say, "I have heard;" I will say, "I have experienced it. I have seen it. The roads in Paris are like rubber, rubber roads." So now - now we are just saying that we should know God, we should realize Him, we should do that, we should do that. But when you realize, then somebody will ask you what you have done, "Oh, I have realized that Supreme Being, that Supreme God." So, you have to realize God and there is a special technique, that Raja Yoga - not yoga - Raja Yoga: yoga of mind and not of body. Of mind. That yoga of mind which I teach, Krishna taught to Arjuna. Krishna says, "Arjuna, this is the Raja Yoga and every yoga started from it." Every yoga started from it."
And It Is Divine magazine, Volume I, Issue 1, November 1972

Maharaji's Teachings About Yoga

Central Hall, Westminster, London, England, November 2, 1971
I agree it can help you in a physical help, or something like that, or something like that, or something like that. But is it the perfect and the pure meditation? I can do yoga. I can do yoga and, you know it, well I can be in perfect health or shape but is it-I can, I can believe that yoga can help me to a limit, but is yoga the perfect and the pure thing? If suppose today I have my legs, my hands, my body is perfect and I am doing yoga and tomorrow I have an accident and my hand is broken, my leg is broken, then how will I be able to keep my leg on my neck? (Muted laughter) How will I be able to move my hand back? How will I do that? And you know the perfect meditation should be continuous.
Reflections on an Indian Sunrise

Maharaji's Teachings about Yoga

New York Times Interview published April 8 1973
"Knowledge? What knowledge? Do you give them the guru mantra (the sacred formula whispered by a guru in the ear of the disciple on initiation)?"
"I give them the Maha (the great) mantra," he says emphatically. "I tell them of the true aim of human life. It is not to eat, drink and be merry; it is realization, the true realization of God." … He breaks into English: "Divine knowledge is like money in a bank, it is my money. I have the checkbook. But only after I write on that check and sign it can you draw the money. See?" His English is not very good. He speaks it with an American accent with the query "see?" at the end of the sentence. "There is this special technique I have Raja Yoga: yoga of the mind, not of the body which is Hatha Yoga. The yoga of the mind that I teach, Krishna taught in his sermon in the Gita, see?"
Guru, Godmen and Good People by Khushwant Singh

Maharaji's Teachings About Yoga

Copenhagen, Denmark, July 3 1974
There are so many people who are doing yoga. They get up at three in the morning and they just completely swirl themselves around. But with all these things, they still cannot get Peace. Now one thing people have not tried is this Knowledge. And I'll tell you one thing. It's so strange. Because people who have tried it have received Peace. They have Peace.
Élan Vital magazine, Volume III Issue 1 Spring 1978

Maharaji's Teachings About Yoga

Holi Festival, Miami Florida, March 20, 1977
And to really accomplish what we are here for - to me, a lot of people say, "Well, if we lead this kind of a lifestyle we will reach peace, we will accomplish peace." Lot of people say, "Well, if you live naked …" There's sadhus there who live in the Himalayas, who live in jungles; they are completely naked and they think they will attain peace. A lot of people practise yoga, they will say, "Well, we will attain peace." Just recently I was watching the Barnum & Bailey circus and they were swinging, they were doing all these acrobatic things. And these acrobats, these, these people were really fantastic! How they could mould their body completely around, and I said, "Wow! This is, this is something that maybe a lot of yogis can do, but will they achieve peace, will they attain peace in their lives? No!" I mean, to maybe a lot of people that yoga is a way to, to get into that peace, to get into that true satisfaction of mind. To these guys, it's their profession! This is how they live, this is how they earn money! But would they receive peace? A lot of people go down in the Ganges and so on and so forth, to take a bath in the Ganges and say, "Okay, well, by doing this we will receive peace." And one of the saints says, "There are fishes that live in that Ganges, do you think they will attain peace? They haven't attained peace so far, how do you think they're going to do it?"
The Golden Age May/June 1977 Number 38 and Divine Times - April/May 1977 Volume 6, Number 4

Maharaji's Teachings About Yoga

Geneva, Switzerland, September 8, 1978
the karma of a yogi gets slashed away the more he does the yoga. And the karma of a bhogi - and bhogi is opposite to yogi - the karma of a bhogi becomes worse and worse and worse and worse, as he gets into the materialistic things. But whatsoever happens to the karma of a devotee? And it's an incredible answer. It disappears! A yogi can start his yog, do this and do that, but for every ounce of karma, to slash it away, he has to do so much. Then maybe chunks and chunks will fall off, and then maybe he dies and everything is not gone yet. And when we really become devotees … And beyond this door we know that there is something called peace, tranquality, Knowledge, I mean, what has been described in scriptures. The ultimate thing. The Yoga of all the yogas. The Knowledge of all the knowledges. The most divine Truth. In Bible: that 'Word.' In Koran … I mean, in in all languages, that incredible perfection, that beauty, the thing that we all ought to know, lies behind the door.
The Golden Age, December 1978, Number 50

Prem Rawat Inspirational Speaker Teachings About Yoga

Auckland, New Zealand, 14th March 1983
we live in this world wanting to live, wanting quantity of life. We take our vitamins, we go jogging, we do our yoga exercises, we play tennis, umm we do all the little things that we do maybe for the quantity of life and yet what is the reason for quantity if we can't have quality? And what is that ultimate quality of this life?
Audio tape

Maharaji's Teachings About Yoga

Festival Of Knowledge, Brussels 9th December 1989
And all of these people create, create their own fanciful situations and try to fill them. "Oh yeah. Okay. I've got. My kundalini, you know, lights up." I mean I could never understand this kundalini business. I'm almost 32 years old, I haven't got this one licked at all and you know I understand why because I fig uh I you know a moment flashes in my head, what is this thing? I know I have a spine at any time anything starts going up and down the spine I want a massage. If it really gets severe, go see a doctor because ideas, whole bunch of ideas. I was talking to a guy once and he was really into yoga and he said "Yoga is the answer" and I said "How about a guy who has no arms and no legs what he gonna do? You mean he's had it. He can't enjoy life." Didn't think of it I guess all the people who came to him had arms and legs. I mean you know when somebody has his place call says yoga instrucsh instructions available why would a person without arm and legs wasting his time going there? He ain't going to be able to do any yoga. So what is it? Oh, eat right, eat healthy, exercise every day. That's good for your blood pressure but it doesn't touch the heart. "Oh you'll feel really good." If tomorrow all the articles started coming out saying running is really bad for you believe me all of a sudden you wouldn't feel so good. "Oh my God I've been running, does it mean I'm gonna die?"
Festival Of Knowledge Audio Tape transcript

Uh? Excuse me! Whats that Rawat is saying about a person without arms and legs and yoga and "His Knowledge"?
Divine Light
Music of the Spheres
Holy name
Maharaji's Teachings About Yoga
Prem Rawat Inspirational Speaker teaching about Yoga

Portland, Oregon, Questions and Answers, March 19, 2001
Track 5: Q: ??? Shri Maharaji ??? read satsang about yogis and yoga and I have some questions about um the practice of actual physical asanas in yoga and how that relates or doesn't relate to knowledge?
A: Very clearly, it is described, the Knowledge is Raj Yoga, the king of all the yogas because it is the unity, 'yoga' means unity, 'yog'. It actually doesn't mean physical exercise it just means unity, to become one with something and that which puts you to be in one with that essence within inside of you is the King of all yogas. All the yogas that are there, they are for physical benefit, maybe they put you in touch with different elements. This yoga is to put you in touch with the element of life itself. It is not a physical exercise in that you have to put your foot over your back. I mean look at some of the people who have knowledge, including me, it is obvious we don't do that, ha, ha ha ha. We have a hard time getting up from the chair, much less putting, you know, that's not everybody but it's very clear, it's very clear, clearly defined the two in one you do, you know, a housewife cooks or a houseman cooks, in this day and age, umm, but that feeds the stomach but Knowledge feeds something else, a thirst that is much deeper than that and so there is a very, very clear distinction between all these different things and I think to appreciate that difference, I'm not gonna put down anything, I don't need to, you know, umm, be in this world, do whatever do whatever it is that you do and whatever it is that you have to do but don't forget that element, that breath and in each breath there is that is the witnessing, that is the witnessing of that Supreme Power that makes all of this possible, the whole world, the whole universe, so, it's not a paradox, it's simply a very clear division, the two have nothing to do with each other.
Visions International CD #AC0722EN

Prem Rawat Inspirational Speaker teaching about Yoga

Excerpts from Various Speeches, 2003
"Has the potential that is in each one of us been recognised. Cause that's what I offer, that's what I call Knowledge. Knowledge of the self, that's what I offer. A way to be able to go within. People are wondering is that Yoga? If you are into yoga, it is the Raj Yoga, the king of all yogas. It has also been called Raj Vidya, the king of all knowledge. That's why it is called the Knowledge because it is knowledge of the self. My Master showed me a place where I could take the seed and I could sow it and when that seed was sown it started to grow."
Thank You 2003 CD