I guess that got officially dropped at some point, but I don't think it was anytime before I left the cult in 1983, was it?   Rawat was still preaching god realization combined with total devotion to him, well in to the 80s.

I think it was simpler in the early 70s, when the "path of knowledge" was emphasized as the means to God Realization.

But in the late 70s and into the 80s, it was less "path of knowledge" and more "devotion and surrender" or "path of devotion" that was emphasized, but this was still part of the means to God Realizaiton.

Isn't that how you looked at it then?  I know I did.

Hi Joe,

I guess this is what I mean by gradually.  It seems that as soon as premies regrouped at the end of '76 after the international coordinators meeting in Essen, Germany, where Rawat put a screeching halt to the secularizing and deconstructing trends of that year, he dropped both the terminology and, more importantly, the very idea of "realizing Knowledge".  Yes, we were still trying to get "there" somewhere but "there" became an even vaguer goal than it it had been earlier.  Within a couple of years of Rawat beating us up for being human, and us dutifully joining in, the whole idea of realizing Knowledge was gone to the ethers.  All we wanted, all we dare ask for, was just to love and serve our blessed Guru Maharaj Ji.  Any realizations he deigned to give us miserable, treacherous weaklings was a bonus.  Where once we aspired to some nifty idea of becoming happy, guilt-free -- and strong -- realized souls, we knew now to never even think in those terms again. 

Indeed, the traitorous Holy Family and various mahatmas who'd either turned their backs on Rawat or had otherwise fallen so hard were vivid examples to us that realizing Knowledge was a stupid goal in any event.  What was the point of doing that if you could still end up leaving your Lord?  We were humbled, beaten down and very confused.  No one was trying to do anything much except strengthen our devotion and that, as we know, we were miserably preoccupied with.  How convenient, then, that Rawat first dropped the phrase "realizing Knowledge" and then directed us to not talk about (i.e. compare) our experiences altogether. 

No, as far as I remember, the path changed dramatically in the late 70's even though neither Rawat nor us would say that aloud.