| The Rawat Belief System -- Excellent list from Billy |
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The new website, www.prem-rawat-maharaji.info does a good job cutting to the root of the belief system that Rawat peddles, while all the time claiming there is no belief system. The website points out that the two, required, beliefs are:
1. That each individual has an 'inner world' which is a source of secret reward...which is an "ill defined mystical reality." and
2. That Prem Rawat uniquely, has the power to take the individual to that 'inner world' and that it is impossible to get there unaided by Prem Rawat.
But as we all know, there are a lot more, and "billy" down below has an excellent list of many of them. His post is great starting point for ex-premies to compile the Rawat "belief system" and maybe there can be some permanent place for it on EPO. Here is billy's excellent list, which is great because it also exposes a number of contradictions.
That man is 'complete' and needs no 'embellishment'
That the 4 techniques are keys to unlock the door to the infinite, unchanging, ultimate Truth.
That the thirst is there within and so is the water.
That God can manifest in a human body to save mankind.
That Truth is 'simple.'
That there is a True Self.
That mind is the creation of man and is therefore 'bad' and must becontrolled by Holy Name.
That mind is the creation of God and therefore cannot be controlled.
That the love between devotee and Master is 'unconditional' and is the highest form of love.
That the love between man and wife, man and child, man and friend are conditional and therefore not as valuable.
That when man finds peace within there will be peace in this world.
That you can trust your heart but not your mind.
That Knowledge is not selfish.
That this Knowledge is the same Knowledge that Jesus gave, that Krishna gave, that Mohammed gave.
That there is only ever one True Master in this world.
That what you are looking for is within you.
That everything you see with these eyes is illusion, except Maharaji.
That in one lifetime our 'evolution' can be completed.
That what matters is the 'journey' and not the destination.
That if God had manifested Himself one year later it would have been too late.
That as soon as you receive Knowledge your karmas are finished.
That there is a purpose to human life and that the purpose is : to have faith in Maharaji, to be happy, to find inner peace....
That you are perfect but made imperfect by the mind.
That as soon as a man takes Knowledge he is liberated.
That devotion means living without suffering, no suffering at all.
That if you don't practice this Knowledge you will get rotten inside.
That Grace is necessary to make Knowledge active.
That through the Knowledge you can become one with God.
That the more you meditate the higher you get and then you join that frequency where you become infinite.
That man who is just perfect in meditation does not do a wrong action.
That Maharaji is permanently in God consciousness.
That Knowledge is infinite and Maharaji has not reached the pinnacle of it.
That the people who are most receptive to Maharaji's message are people who are 'free in what they think'
Great list, no? Thanks to billy for putting that together, and for whom I have a suggestion of just one word: "paragraphs."
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I am not sure these are " the beliefs that are required to be a practicing premie". Some of these are now outdated and will be quite alien concepts to new premies: like the necessity of Maharaji's Grace, or becoming one with God (realising Knowledge), or that God has manifested Himself in a human body. I am also not sure there is such a thing as 'required beliefs'. I think they operate on a more subtle level than that, which is why most premies genuinly believe they do not have any beliefs.
For me, the list is a collection of ideas, concepts and beliefs we have 'borrowed' from Maharaji over a period of some 3 decades. You only have to step back from the World of Knowledge for a while to see not only that you have concepts but in fact you are full of them up to your eyeballs. Its just that you cannot see the wood from the trees.
When I listen to premies I can always hear Maharaji speak. I was like that too. Which reminds me of the story of Clever Hans. Do you know it? Clever Hans was a horse who was taught to do arithmetic by his trainer. He would just tap the answers with his hoof. People were very impressed until they realised that the horse made mistakes when his trainer did not know the answer. Clever Hans was not so clever after all.
Wittgenstein said that The hardest thing in life was not to deceive oneself. I agree with him. In fact I think the reason is that we have an almost natural inclination toward self deception rather than self knowledge.
Just look at it. How much truth can we really bear? Not much. Not much at all. We can't handle even small truths (ask your spouse, friend) never mind really big ones. So what do we do? We go for 'truths' that sound really good. Truths that make us 'feel good'. I know this is not a very noble image of man or a sound basis for approaching 'truth' but it is perfectly in keeping with man involved primarily in self preservation.
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Hi billy
Good point!
Just as soon as I get a chance I will refine the intro to that page to reflect those facts. Unless of course you would like to suggest an alternative wording which I can incorporate. You know, I sure like other people to do my thinking for me! 
Gallery
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Hi Gallery
I am sure you will do a good job.
Thank you
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While you may have listed some points/beliefs that are no longer required for admission into the oh-so-exclusive turn-your-mind-into-a-pretzel cult, still they WERE required and, now, have been replaced with beliefs that are less obvious.
I still see quite a number, especially when you include Jim's list with it, that are still in effect. Unbelievable, no? Yet, imho, quite accurate!
You did good with that one!
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You know, we could also put together a list of beliefs we were once fed but later told (expressly or not) to spit back out:
That Rawat's family is the Holy Family and any one of the members could easily replace him.
That there is no such thing as a "Holy Family" and Rawat's mother and two eldest brothers were / are stupid idiots.
- That Rawat will bring peace to the world within a few decades.
- That Rawat never promised to bring peace to the world.
- That one can "Realize Knowledge" which meant crossing into a state of permanent God-realization.
- That there is no such thing as realizing Knowledge.
- That all serious premies without encumbrances and those that have them who can possibly get rid of them should move into the ashram for the rest of their lives. Soon the whole world will be an ashram.
- That the ashram was no big deal, it didn't quite work right, it's time had come and gone, get over it!
- That the internet is a big, fat waste of time.
- That Rawat is bringing peace to the internet.
- That his wife, Marolyn, is Durga Ji, Goddess of Love and our mum to boot.
- That Monica is where it's at.
- That there is no place in this world for a man who turns his back on Maharaji.
- That if you want to walk, walk, no problemo.
- That one must receive Knowledge through the physical touch of an authorized agent of the Lord.
- That one can receive Knowledge on TV.
- That Maharaji wants as much up front, in your face, exposure as possible in the world media.
- That Maharaji is not interested in talking with the regular press.
- That one must meditate 24/7
- That one must not try to meditate 24/7
- That Knowledge is the real meditation
- That Knowledge has nothing to do with meditation
Modified by Jim at Fri, Apr 01, 2005, 10:21:45
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Jim,
I was thinking about this and it just came to me. No, nothing all that earth-shattering, but still........ All premies justifiy the changes in M's message to "concept breaking." Ok, that sounds almost logical, in a perverted way.
If "I" were trying to break concepts, I would just refuse to fuel ANY of them. I wouldn't say anything about what K is or is not. I certainly wouldn't require any preloading. In fact, I would specifically contraindicate any preloading of concepts. I mean, if I am trying to put out the "fire of concept," the best way to do that is to refuse to add fuel to it.
Instead, M has fed us concept after concept, only to alter them at some random whim at a later date. The reason for the alteration? Concept breaking! What a pant-load!
When we, in the scientific community, observe some unusual data that doesn't fall into anything we've seen before, what do we do? We continue observing...... that's all, just observe and collect more data. It's after significant data has been collected that we put forth a hypothesis as to the origin or meaning of that data. No concepts allowed until a decent hypothesis can be produced by the copious (hopefully) data present. I mean, that is just common sense. Sheesh!
As an illustration, I ask a simple question: Did Darwin even consider the "concept" of "evolution" prior to observing the data that led his mind in that direction? The answer should be obvious...... duhhhhhhh!
Hey M....... that was a clue! Twisting people's minds into something akin to a pretzel DOES NOT break concepts. Of course, you would know that if you had an education........ which we all know you do not! Give the "techniques" to the world, freely and openly...... ask them to discover for themselves what "K" is...... and tell them to "expect" nothing (null hypothesis). That should be all that you do........ period! But, of course, that would likely mean that you would have to get a real job or, as an alternative, keep your promise to spread "this knowledge" even if you have to "walk the world" and "eat salt!" Do I hear a resounding chorus of "Bullsh_t" coming from the peanut gallery? I think I do! (More data needs to be collected, though)
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- This is the Knowledge of Knowledges. The same as taught by Krishna, Christ, Mohammed, Moses, et al.
- No it isn't........ it's just some "peace."
With a list of turnabouts like that, I would think that most people would call him a liar! Concept-breaking, my fat arse! I still have a hard time believing that I fell for this tripe and all of the REQUIRED trappings that went along with it. Ahhhhhh, the joys of youth!
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Maharaji enthusiastically states that he is this, this, and this.
Maharaji is the one who people love to put labels on.
Maharaji is an enigma.
Modified by Johnny Ex at Fri, Apr 01, 2005, 18:50:29
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Modified by Henna at Sat, Apr 02, 2005, 17:23:00
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Joe,
C'mon, you know there is no such thing as "belief" in M's world. There is no belief system and nothing to be learned (brainwashed) prior to the reception of the holiest of knowledges....... sheesh!
Just ask any premie..... they'll tell ya. Heck, M has said it a gazillion times, himself! This isn't a belif system, this isn't a religion and there are no contradictions, either. So there!
Jonx, help me here! This has just got to be infuriating for you. C'mon, tell them that none of the things in that list are preconditioning, brainwashing or required beliefs for the reception of that most-excellent thing you call "knowledge."
No belief system, my arse! Watch that list grow, although it seems to be pretty complete already! If this isn't a "religion," then I don't know the meaning of the word "dogma!"
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That's a great list but here are a few other things Rawat teaches, sometimes tacitly, worth mentioning:
- That children are pure and closer to "Truth" than the rest of us. As we grow up and start to think, we drift further away.
- That "truth" is not in ideas or words. In fact, words and ideas are misleading traps and questions even worse. The best "answer" for questions is to stop asking them.
- That Maharaji is here to answer all our questions.
- That Maharaji is not here to answer all our questions but rather to show us an experience.
- That it's wrong to relax and feel good or satisfied about one's experience of Knowledge because that's the sign of complacency and a recipe for disaster.
- That premies should relax and feel good and satisfied about their experience of Knowledge and not worry all the time.
- That no one can ever know or judge how well they or anyone else understand or have progressed along the path of Knowledge.
- That people who leave Maharaji obviously never experienced anything legitimate in Knowledge.
- That Knowledge is a path.
- That Knowledge is not a path.
- That we should love each other as we are all, after all, the same thing.
- That we are all individuals and no one can ever really know another person so we should mind our own business.
- That we are here to pursue excellence in all our endeavours.
- That nothing in this world matters.
- That Maharaji is God incarnate.
- That Maharaji is not God incarnate but a normal human being like anyone else.
- That Maharaji is the one who controls this process and only he can lead us to the destination we may or may not be on a path to.
- That Maharaji is not a leader and never said he was either.
- That people are all too serious about things.
- That everyone thinks life is just a big joke when it's really deadly serious.
- That Maharaji leads a selfless life of extraordinarly dedicated work and an extremely taxing schedule.
- That Maharaji's no martyr and knows how to enjoy life to the fullest.
- That Maharaji is here for us.
- That we are here for Maharaji.
- That Knowledge is at the heart of all religions.
- That Knowledge has nothing at all do to with religion.
- That one can and must meditate on the Word a/k/a Holy Name of God, 24/7/365
- That one should only meditate on that technique a bit
- That one should meditate with a bragon
- That one should not meditate with a bragon
- That Knowledge is the real meditation
- That Knowledge has nothing to do with meditation
Modified by Jim at Fri, Apr 01, 2005, 10:19:35
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Talk about contradictions in our former belief-system! Those are excellent examples of how Prem Rawat twisted our minds to actually get us to believe one thing and also the direct opposite of it.
Rawat had us coming and going. But, of course, it was always all the premies' fault that we had so many "concepts" and "confusion," because Rawat would claim (and Jonx, et al, would back this up voceriferously) that he never said anything like that. And he never disabused us of any of those beliefs, either one way or the other. What kind of "teacher" fosters confusion in their student's minds???
I must have been in my mind all that time to think that I should be worshipping his Holy Lotus Feet! That would be a LOL, if it weren't so awful. Yes, and I also wonder how it was that I got this photo of Maharaji's feet, right out of the file cabinets of Divine Light Mission Headquarters, Alton Road, Miami Beach, Florida, in 1980, when they told me to "cull the photo files." Who has photos taken of their feet??? 
Modified by Cynthia at Fri, Apr 01, 2005, 05:25:00
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These beliefs really show the contradictions as well.
Also:
Maharaji is the Lord of the Universe
Maharaji is an Enigma
Maharaji cannot be understood with the Mind
Maharaji is only an Inspirational Speaker
Modified by Joe at Fri, Apr 01, 2005, 16:11:27
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M is the celery-stick of philosophers...... totally empty and meaningless
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Celery is a good source of water and fiber and some say it has a pleasing crunch. Celery sticks are also convenient platforms for soft cheese and peanut butter. These are hardly meaningless.
Modified by Joe at Fri, Apr 01, 2005, 17:54:38
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But you have to admit, in terms of caloric content (real food value) it's about as vacuous as M's "inspirational speeches."
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Celery is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, Potassium and Manganese.Allegedly it's both diuretic and nerve building. It is a tonic for the pancreas, spleen, and entire intestinal system.Celery has been used in Asia as a treatment for high blood pressure for centuries. Once put to the test by an assistant professor at the University of Chicago, the remedy was proven true. By injecting research animals with a small amount of 3-n butyl phthalide (a chemical found in celery) he dropped the blood pressure of the test subjects by 12%to 14%. Phthalide relaxes the arteries that regulate blood pressure. This allows the vessels to dilate. Phthalide also lowers the level of stress hormones called catacholamines.This helps fight high blood pressure that is stress induced constricting blood vessels and raising blood pressure. There is an ingredient found in celery called acetylenics, which has been shown to stop the growth of cancer cells. Celery also contains phenolic acids. These have been shown to block the actions of prostoglandins, which are known to encourage the growth of cancerous tumors. Unlike foods that lose much of their nutritional value when cooked, celery does not. Eating 1 cup of cooked or uncooked celery will provide you with a good portion of your daily nutritional requirement, such as-vitamin C 15%DV, potassium 12%DV, and calcium 6%DV. Even the seeds are beneficial. A tablespoon packs 17%DV of iron.Most of us eat the stalk but actually it's the leaves that contain the most nutritional benefits. So just by altering your recipes in small ways, adding a little bit of celery seed, or sprinkling a few celery leaves over your sauces and soups, you will help lower your blood pressure and enjoy the benefits of a healthier life. On the other hand it's very high in Sodium, and a large portion of the calories in this food come from sugars. Hence celery salt I suppose. And it does make the most delicious soup. Bunny (who just loves a little nibble)
Modified by Bunny at Tue, Apr 05, 2005, 16:21:10
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Man...... make a comment about the Holy Hamster's philosophy being somewaht celery-like and all heck breaks loose! Sheesh
I actually LOVE raw celery. I particularly like it with a dash of sea-salt. I'm not a fan of that vegetable after it has been boiled to the point of limp, but other than that..... it's good.
OK all you shmarty pants kinda folks, what vege would YOU compare to M's vacuous and idiotic philosophy? Eh?
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.... not to mention hamsters, to compare the Lawd to such other life forms. There is no comparison!You will have to stick to a few well chosen adjectives instead. Sorry if you think I'm stalking you. Damn - I swore I wouldn't mention the celery again! Bunny
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But I have to blame ..... someone...... I learned THAT from my massa! If it gets messy, it isn't mine
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Thanks, Billy did a great job gathering all this.I'd say - as a comment, that all these aphorisms have been extracted of numerous discourses Rawat gave over the time. He has repeated and hammered most of them countless times - with several variations.
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