Prem Rawat's "Contact" video

Contact video This video, titled 'Contact', a Visions International (a division of Elan Vital Inc) production, was released in 1988 and was shown during the "Contact 88 Tour." It was available for purchase from Visions International. It is based upon the Rejoice events that occurred the year earlier when Prem Rawat began to reinvigorate his moribund organisation after his years "underground". It is, as is usual in these videos, a combination of footage of his speeches or "satsangs", footage of him going to and from meetings and airports, personal testimony from some of his younger and/or more attractive devotees or "students", footage of him flying his personal jet, the nearly obligatory dancing scene and ends with pictures of he and his devotees laughing over a soundtrack of an inspirational, devotional ballad, in this case 'Need To Feel It'.

It also includes footage of him in India with Wet Dhoti Holi scenes, flying his helicopter and of his $125,000 glider in flight, presumably as a metaphor for the flight of his students' souls in blissful devotion to their Master.

"In April alone when I was in India we had a three day program in which the first day there were about 172,000 people and the rest of the two days there were 167,000 people."

By 1988, Raj Vidya Kender had been able to recruit some mahatmas but only a fraction of those his brother had propagating for Manav Dharam.

The almost obligatory dancing scene

The colourful Holi wet dhoti scene.

A brief scene of a shifty-eyed Prem Rawat.

It's ordinarily difficult to see just how short and fat Prem Rawat is but when he walks beside normal men you get a chance to realise.

Don't they understand that he'll always be fat and unhealthy if they always do everything for him?

"Through all of this travel, through all the things I have seen. Knowledge is the best thing happening and I can say that with absolutely no doubt in my mind. It is incredible."

"But you don't need to have seen the world to realise that Knowledge is the best thing happening."

"Knowledge stays the same, the holy curiosity and curiosity is holy, stays the same, the desire to want to know stays the same and when that fulfillment happens in one's life the joy of that fulfillment stays the same but we change, our attitudes change, the way we look at things changes and what that Master does, amazingly enough that it takes that thing, that experience, that Knowledge and makes it real, tangible, comprehendible to the people of his time so that they may experience that as if the same thing was being experienced by any other generation and therefore Knowledge is kept alive and not thrown in the doctrine, not thrown in the dogma but is kept totally awakened, alive and separated by that teacher. When that teacher is not there it immediately firms and becomes a dogma and a doctrine. When the teacher comes back he takes it back out of dogma and doctrine and makes it a living experience for the living people and that's what it's all about." (Heartfelt, awed applause)

The call every sincere premie prays for. Let me give praise for you, Maharaji.
But not in public, on film. Please.

"He's the greatest thing I've ever seen."

"Just love the guy. Just love him."

"To me, Maharaji is the Giver of the Gift."

A loving farewell from his Mistress, Monika Winslow, and off for a jaunt in the helicopter with one of the boys.

The scene that shows off his latest private jet.

Beat that Maharishi.
Keep flying Economy, Amma Ji.
Eat my jet stream, Dalai Lama.
You're stuck in India, Satpal!

What every Perfect Master needs to get to those hard to reach, out of the way programs, a $125,000 glider.

Nearly all Elan Vital videos produced for public consumption finish with a montage of he and his devotees laughing over a soundtrack of an inspirational, devotional ballad, in this case "I Need To Feel It, I Need To Feel It, I Need To Feel It, I Need To Feel It" …

I Need To Feel It

Contact video Contemplation, I've been thinking tonight
About my life and I need to feel it
I need to feel it
Just need to feel it
I need to feel it

Life carries on
I need to go where it goes
I need to see what it shows
And I need to feel it
Just need to feel it
I need to feel it

Hidden in my boredom
He calls me up
Shows me what it's all about
And I need to feel it
I need to feel it
Just need to feel it

Things may come and things may go
I'm here to be enough
And I need to feel it
Just need to feel it
I need to feel it