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Maybe we should have a go at reviewing that too.
Modified by Moley at Wed, Feb 01, 2006, 11:32:48
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Dear Mr. Wolf: I am writing to you as a former follower of Prem Rawat (aka Maharaji, "Guru Maharaj Ji" and "Lord of the Universe" ). I was a devotee of Mr. Rawat from 1973 to 1983, and lived in Mr. Rawat's ashrams in various cities in the USA for 9 of those 10 years, living under Mr. Rawat's directions of poverty, chastity and obedience. I used the word "devotee" because that is how Mr. Rawat described his followers, and taught that his followers were to surrender and devote their lives to him as the living "Perfect Master" of our time, and in fact, Mr. Rawat repeatedly described himself as the living incarnation of God on Earth, the equivalent of Jesus Christ or Krishna, only greater. Thousands of young people joined Mr. Rawat's cult in the 70s, many, including me, becoming renunciates, giving all our money and talents to Mr. Rawat, and as you may have noticed, Mr. Rawat has become fabulously wealthy off the backs of his followers, notwithstanding claims of Mr. Rawat being a "successful investor" he in fact gained his money which he "invested" from his devotees, under the pretense that he was God on Earth. Many of Rawat's former followers are very concerned that Mr. Rawat has attempted to re-shape his image, pretending that he never made divine claims, and essentially deleting from his history the period 1972 to 1995. I hope that you are not an unwitting participant in that revisionism. But moreover, more than just showing people "peace," which is essentially nothing more than 4 meditation techniques that are widely available, Mr. Rawat actually heads a personality cult, and many of his followers, mostly Middle-aged from the 70s continue to believe he is God and continue to kiss his feet in ceremonies over which Mr. Rawat presides. Many of us also believe that the ideology that Mr. Rawat teaches is in fact dysfunctional, teaching that the human mind prevents happiness, and in fact is a separate, diabolical power that is out to prevent personal fulfillment. Hence, the constant need for Mr. Rawat, even after one receives knowledge. You may know this history, but I feel it is important to point it out to you, as I am concerned that you have become part of Mr. Rawat's PR campaign to try to get new followers, something he had been virtually unable to do in the West in the past 20 years, and in fact has lost more followers than he has gained. For more information on this, please check out a website put together by former followers of Mr. Rawat at: www.prem-rawat-maharaji.info and www.ex-premie.org You might also note that Prem Rawat's organization refers to people like me, indeed anyone who openly is critical of Mr. Rawat as a "hate group." This in itself is an indication that Mr. Rawat is likely a cult leader, who cannot, and will not accept criticism, feedback, and will not address damage or mistakes, even from former followers who gave him years of their lives. You may see the attacks on former followers at http://www.elanvital.com.au/faq/idx/11/0/ I assure you, the allegations on that website are lies. Attached is a picture of Mr. Rawat from the late 70s, when he was actively claiming to be God. By the way, I have often watched and enjoyed your food travel show on my local PBS station, KQED in San Francisco. Sincerely, Joe Whalen San Francisco, California, USA
Modified by Joe at Wed, Feb 01, 2006, 13:17:53
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I hope you don't mind but I have taken your letter and uploaded it to the PRC website. http://prem-rawat-critique.org/burt_wolf.htm I think it is important that propagation efforts by Prem Rawat such as this should be highlighted as much as possible. Thank you. It is also very interesting to see that Burt Wolf does not mention Prem Rawat on his website at any point anywhere. This is very surprising given the highly complimentary way that Burt Wolf describes Prem Rawat in the TPRF video. One has to wonder what exactly the background was that led to Burt Wolf 'interviewing' Prem Rawat. What type of pressure was used or perhaps what friendship favors were used? Who pulled what strings? So many questions, is there only one answer? 
Modified by PRC at Wed, Feb 01, 2006, 17:26:13
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Interview or Infomercial?, February 1, 2006
Interviews are meaningless unless they shed light on a subject. This interview does anything but. Consider the fact Prem Rawat asserts that he has some special gift for teaching people something deep and meaningful about life and that he's had this gift since he was a young boy. You'd expect any reasonable interview to seriously explore the obvious questions: what exactly is that gift? How did he get it? Just how special does that make him? And, my favorite, how do we know this isn't just another spiritual or religious con?
Mr. Wolff never begins to approach these questions. Rather he simply acts as a smiling foil for Rawat to pitch his vague, nebulous product. It's also important to know that Mr. Wolff was paid by the Rawat organization to participate in this soft-hued infomercial. This isn't journalism and it's not a documentary. It's new age sales, that's all.
The last time Prem Rawat gave a real interview was in 1973 at the Houston Astrodome which his organization rented for what he called the "Most Significant Event in the History of Mankind". Rawat stated categorically that he was ushering in a "Thousand Years of Peace" then and invited all the world press to come watch. At the press conference, which is nicely memorialized in the "Lord of the Universe" expose documentary, also available on Amazon, reporters asked him serious questions about who he thought he was, etc. Rawat seemed flustered and nervous. The Millenium Festival proved a big embarrassment for Rawat and his organization and he's never submitted himself to a real interview since.
Modified by Jim at Wed, Feb 01, 2006, 23:15:41
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