Heller, you get your scrotum in a knot over whether or not Maharaji ever claimed to be God, when it's totally irrelevant! The real question is whether or not he is God.

Don't be crass. Don't forget, you're anonymous and an anonymous person slagging someone who's not that way always comes off looking like a little weenie.  We don't want that, now do we?  

Anyway, there are two distinct questions: "Is Rawat God?" and "Did he ever claim to be?"  Both perfectly fine.  Neither one's the "real" question.  In fact, even you end up addressing both separately.   

I mean, say he is and say years ago he made no bones about it. Then one day he decided  he wanted to keep this information a little closer to his chest. So he starts to play it cool about the hullabaloo in the past. Say he even asked that old documentation of his talks be 'decomissioned', so to speak. What does it matter... he's God for crying out loud! You'd call God on protocol? (Well, I guess the answer to that would be yes, you would.)

Well, this is so far-fetched for me.  It's almost like asking if, just if, there are real Hobbits, I think they should have to be fingerprinted like other Europeans at the U.S. border.  But, sadly, I know that your scenario is actually what some premies think.  Do you?  Are you willing to tell us what you honestly believe?  I know you don't know conclusively, you've made that clear but what you do think?  Hm?

But to answer your question, best I can, if it turned out Rawat was really God and just playing a game, I'd be so humbled I'd say "Hey, man, you're the boss.  You want me to kill anyone or anything?"  Who am I to tell my creator how to behave?  No, I'm with you there.  I might ask him how his duplicity fits in with the general morality he seems to like but if he glares at me or anything it's pranam time.  You bet.

So the real question is whether or not Maharaji is God. Okay, that question could be put to rest by someone who without a doubt really knows God. Okay, which of you ex-premies -- or premies for that matter -- wants to stand up and take the floor?

Now don't get me wrong... I'm not saying he is God. I just don't claim to know one way or the other. But that's okay, someday we'll all know for sure... one way or the other.

Naw, this is where you're being silly. There is no reason in the world to take your hypothetical seriously and no possible way to test it if we did.  Anyone could be God for that matter.  There's still no reason for thinking that.  There's no reason for thinking Rawat's God anymore than anyone else.  None. 

What's really important to me regarding Maharaji and Knowledge is whether my understanding and appreciation of life and existence has grown as a result of having encountered him and practiced his teachings. Can you guess what my answer is?

Well, if encountering Rawat has left you so confused that you think it's possible that God's walking around in a human body and that might even be him, I'd say that your understanding and appreciation of life and existence has most certainly not grown as a result of your contact with him.  In fact, you've probably been completely screwed up by this, sorry to say.  I know I was.