It is full of rhetoric, but try to see through the rhotoric and address the arguments.

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The 14 objections letter

"Grievance 3" is a reference to "The 14 objections," a so called "open letter" - not to Maharaji, but to those who practice Knowledge. So let's have a look at these 'objections.'

1. "When Mr. Rawat came to the West in the early 1970s, he proclaimed himself to be the incarnation of God," etc, blah, blah.

Maharaji came to the West as a 13 year old Indian. His history, concepts, analogies and understandings were steeped in Indian tradition, so it is hardly surprising that he continued using them in the West. As his English and understanding increased he rephrased his message in a less dramatic, Western way. When Maharaji talks to Indians, He will often revert to the stories and analogies that Indians love and understand. It is a part of Indian culture, perhaps as a mark of respect, to call almost any holy man an incarnation of some Hindu god - or to imply that they have some kind of divine quality. The supreme place of the Guru/teacher is a forgone conclusion and does not jar the ego as it does to most Westerners, who believe that they are the most important people in the universe.

2. "Throughout the history of DLM/Elan Vital, Mr. Rawat has continually demanded monetary 'contributions' from his followers in order to support his obscenely lavish lifestyle, complete with several mansions, private jets, etc."

What a crock of garbage! Maharaji has never 'demanded' contributions. He once stated, "Keep your money! If it can't make you happy, what's it gonna do for me?" In the 1970s and 80s there were fund raising efforts to buy gifts for him. They were clearly described and separate from DLM/EV funds, and contributions were always voluntary. His lifestyle is no more "obscenely lavish" than mine! I have been inside a house (one of the 'mansions' - what a laugh!) set up for his use in Australia. It is no more lavish than the house in which I live. I have met people who live in vastly more luxurious accommodation and whose life styles are far more 'lavish.' Moreover, Maharaji has not assumed ownership of the second hand aircraft purchased to make it possible for him maintain an often punishing schedule. See the faq page for more information.

Here is a related, libelous load of crap from Brauns' web site:

"Fund raising has always been an important activity in ... Elan Vital. Although Knowledge is free, there is a constant need for cash to maintain expensive properties around the world, and the expensive lifestyle of Maharaji and his family."

Elan Vital is a registered charity in the United States and Britain and a non-profit organization in Australia. EV is subject to audit by tax authorities in these countries. Any diversion or misuse of funds for Maharaji's or his family's benefit would be illegal. The claims are libelous and false, and have been repeated ad nauseam by Brauns and his associates, however, they have never produced a shred of supporting evidence. Any fund raising efforts by or on behalf of Ivory's Rock Conference Center (the "expensive property" leased by Elan Vital) are clearly specified as such. Contributions are made voluntarily by those who wish to help in this way. It would be wonderful if satellite broadcast facilities, video editing facilities, halls and all other items used to take Maharaji's message to the world were available free of charge. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Contributions are needed and greatly appreciated.

Grievance 3 has been quite adequately dealt with above.

4. "The Jagdeo affair."

This unfortunate affair involves allegations that a former instructor, Jagdeo, molested children during the 1970s. According to grievance 4, "Mr. Rawat did not prevent Jagdeo from continuing in his service..." The fact is that allegations referred to in Brauns' web site were not made until several years after the alleged offenses. In spite of contrary claims, Maharaji was not informed at that time. A contributor to Brauns' site, Michael Detmers, who was head of DLM at the time, says "It was my personal experience that, whenever Maharaji became aware of improper sexual behavior by any of his instructors, he took immediate disciplinary action." More detail is included in my reply to Macgregor.

5. "Mr. Rawat teaches what he calls Knowledge, which consists of four techniques of meditation. He claims to have the sole privilege of teaching these techniques. But in fact, these techniques are centuries old and are now taught by hundreds of gurus in India, and by several Western gurus."

More garbage! Maharaji has revealed the same Knowledge to people who were unable to practice one or more of the techniques! In my experience, Knowledge is the key to the door of an extraordinary place within me which is not governed by, or within the realm of the mind. That the key to that experience, and exactly the same techniques, taught in the same way, are available elsewhere is highly unlikely. Inaccurate, inadequate descriptions may be available elsewhere. If you are satisfied with this, by all means go for it! Maharaji's claim to be the legitimate source of Self-Knowledge is based on two facts: 1. He is able to deliver. 2. He is carrying on the activities of his teacher. Self-Knowledge as taught by Maharaji has always been available free of charge. Why? It would be impossible to put a price on it.

6. "Mr Rawat claims to be the current master in a direct and unique lineage of masters...etc, humbug..., but this is a false claim."

Untrue! There is a direct lineage. This is a simple statement of facts: Maharaji's teacher was Shri Hans (his father), Shri Hans' teacher was Swarupanand, and Swarupanand's teacher was Dayal Ji. Frankly, I couldn't care less about this non-issue. Maharaji has made a priceless gift freely available world-wide. He continues to provide help and encouragement. Lineage is irrelevant.

Three of the next four "grievances" (7, 8, and 10) are based on puerile, libelous gossip about Maharaji's lifestyle originating from a handful of hostile sources. These claims are incongruous with the accounts of many others who have worked with Maharaji and spent time with him. Some of these accounts are available in the faq page. See also "Hearsay" and "The subliminal hook" on the same page.

The following grievance does not rate a response, but for the record I will respond briefly:

"Mr. Rawat has always enjoyed a lifestyle exactly opposite of what he teaches."

Maharaji has never taught or promoted a lifestyle. He has always made it clear that Knowledge is independent of religion, culture, education and lifestyle. Claims such as this are based on an apparent preference that Maharaji should be a poor, celibate monk. He isn't and has never claimed to be, but if he was, ex-premies would complain that such a lifestyle is too arduous, and impractical in our society. Knowledge has nothing to do with lifestyle.

Grievance 9 is comprised of allegations related to an alleged traffic accident. The allegations are, in fact, a fabricated secondary set of allegations based on ( but not supported by) a seriously flawed, unsubstantiated account written almost two decades after the alleged accident. No supporting evidence of any kind is offered. See below.

11. see "A Mad Scenario"

12. Front row seats for sale. What is mostly unknown to the rank and file members of Elan Vital, is that front row seats to Mr Rawat's talks are for sale for thousands of dollars.

Garbage! There are no "rank and file members of EV" and front row seats are not for sale. Seats close to the stage are usually reserved for Maharaji's family, staff, and people who have helped stage the event. I have usually obtained excellent seats by helping to stage the event. This has always been my preferred option. Not only have I obtained seats close to the stage, I have enjoyed the pleasure and excitement of participating prior to the event. It is not a coincidence that those who help to finance events are actively involved in organizing and staging events. If people have been allocated seats closer to the stage purely on the basis of a donation, fine! These events would never happen without financial support. That's economic reality.

13. "Mr. Rawat encourages his followers to believe that anything they experience in meditation is due to his grace and influence."

Untrue. Maharaji has always made it clear that anything experienced whilst practicing the techniques of Self-Knowledge are already within you. This 'grievance' also states, "He teaches them to to depend on him for all inner experiences for their entire lives." More garbage! The practice and experience of knowledge depends on a person's individual effort. Maharaji cannot practice Self-Knowledge for you. You have to do it! Maharaji has always made this clear. Many thousands of people find his discourses and unique perspective wonderfully inspiring. For this reason he continues to attract large audiences around the world, either live or via satellite broadcast. Many thousands of others enjoy access to his discourses via video.

14. "Mr. Rawat tells his followers that they should rely solely on the "inner friend," and that all other love relationships are secondary, imperfect and not to be trusted." By following this teaching, his followers develop a toxic relationship with their own humanness.

This distortion belongs under "The Absurd" heading (see faq page) . It bears a resemblance. The person who wrote the original absurd story contacted me in December 2002 and asked to have her name removed from my web site. She explained that she had removed her 'journey' from Brauns' web site and had put it behind her. I was happy to remove her name.