| Is it just me or are these numbers laughable? |
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Below is a new interview with Linda Pascotto about the magnificent contributions TPRF is making on the humanitarian front. But, really, aren't these numbers a bit of a joke in context? $15k here -- even $100k there? I mean, do you really need to create a fake Rockefeller "foundation" in your name to give such paltry sums? And then to bandy it about with this ridiculous, fervent PR effort. Why, it's downright embarrassing somehow.
It kind of reminds me of some of the immensely lame Canadian game shows they used to have when I was growing up where the contestants would win a few dollars at a time, perhaps as many as thirty or fourty if they really cleaned up. A winning streak all week long, where they'd wipe out their competition, might yield a couple of hundred. Petty, that's what it was. Petty.
I'm sure that these sums are not significant to Prem Rawat, not in terms of the most conservative estimations of his wealth. So why does he need this costly foundation to give a little? Oh, because the money's not his, it's coming from other donors? Surely, at these levels, it would be far simpler, more efficient and far less expensive for him to just urge his followers to donate to these causes directly. The only problem, though, is that that would leave Rawat with nothing to boast about.
Anyway, forgive me for stating the obvious.
The Prem Rawat Foundation’s humanitarian efforts: an interview with Linda Pascotto, President
Many people consider that the possibility of finding peace within that Maharaji offers is the noblest, greatest, and most helpful humanitarian initiative there can be. Why would TPRF embark on such a dedicated campaign of humanitarian efforts?
To be able to experience peace within, people first need to have nutritious food and clean water. These are basic physical necessities, without which it is not possible to lead a healthy life. Unfortunately, while we have explored outer space and enjoy the benefits of advanced technology, thousands of people still die of hunger each day. I know Maharaji feels strongly about the humanitarian efforts that the Foundation is heading, and all of us at TPRF feel this way, too. While the primary responsibility for humanitarian aid lies with governments, there is plenty that humanitarian organizations like TPRF can do to help, and we are in this for the long haul.
Why focus on providing food and water rather than medicine, for example?
There are many ways to help, and all are valid. It could be providing medical assistance or clothing or education. However, TPRF has limited funds, and we decided to focus on providing the basic necessities—nutritious food and water—without which nothing is possible.
TPRF has been partnering with organizations like the United Nations World Food Programme and, most recently, the Houston Food Bank. Why?
We chose to work with the WFP at the time of the tsunami in Asia because WFP has a sterling reputation, the lowest overhead of any United Nations agency, and an infrastructure on the ground able to deliver food and water to people most in need directly, rapidly, and reliably. We trusted them to make the best possible use of the funds sent to TPRF for hunger relief by generous donors.
The Houston Food Bank, a branch of America’s Second Harvest, was a partner of choice to bring food aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina. HFB delivers year round more than 235,000 meals a month. They have an infrastructure in place already, and because they receive many donations of food, they are able to give $25 worth of food for each dollar donated. These capabilities allow exceptionally efficient use of the funds donated to TPRF.
After the tsunami, Maharaji gave a check for $150,000 to the WFP on behalf of the Foundation and then later another check for $30,000 for their School Feeding Program. At the same time, TPRF launched a hunger-relief effort in Sri Lanka. What is the status of this project?
After the tsunami, the Foundation gave $15,000 to the Jeevashakthi Society in Sri Lanka. This made it possible to distribute food aid particularly to children. Local volunteers distributed nutritious supplements to schoolchildren in refugee camps. We are working on the development of a new School Feeding Program in Sri Lanka to feed more school-age children, and we are speaking with several other possible partners.
A few months ago, Maharaji laid the cornerstone of a long-term food-aid initiative in northeastern India near Ranchi. What is the status of this project?
In partnership with The Premsagar Foundation, an Indian charitable organization with objectives comparable to those of TPRF, a facility is being developed in a village called Bantoli, where free, healthy meals will be given each day to children and adults in need. The food will be purchased from those cultivating it, and people preparing and serving the food will be paid. All of this is happening with support from TPRF. Some educational services may be provided. It has also been suggested to have TV monitors in the dining room where the children could watch Discovery Channel-style documentaries while having their meal. Things take time in India, and it will be months until the facility is operational, but steady progress is being made. This initiative, which will help the local economy at the same time it helps people in need, is being developed with village elders and has the full appreciation and support of local villagers.
TPRF just donated $100,000 to Pakistan. Why Pakistan, and where did the funds come from?
Our heart goes out to the victims of this horrible tragedy. The earthquake has claimed tens of thousands of lives and left as many as five million people homeless. People who have lost everything face the daunting task of finding much-needed food, shelter, and water. The World Food Programme mobilized immediately to provide urgent relief and deliver life-saving food aid to give survivors the strength and energy they need to rebuild. WFP has already started to send enough ready-to-eat rations to feed one million people. We immediately sent a check for $100,000. Donations have started coming in, and more are needed.
How can people contribute to this and other humanitarian initiatives headed or supported by TPRF?
Just go to the TPRF website, at www.tprf.org to the “Giving” or the “Humanitarian” section.
I also want to take this opportunity to thank all those who are contributing so generously. It is heartwarming to see that, with Maharaji’s inspiration, we can truly make a difference.
Thank you.
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What took these people so long to figure out that there were people in need in the world?
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I went to tprf to try and find the place where you got this interview from and started browsing through the page with all the fake magazine articles. I was especially intrigued by a new one because the name of the magazine is "Leaders ... with a life". I don't know, I just thought that was so funny and had to see what that magazine was about. Well of course it has to be Australian for starters, and it seems very weird, superfluous and boring – geared toward new agey and depressed middle management people I guess.But the thing that really got me wondering is that I couldn't find the issue with the Malibu Prem cover on it. Another weird thing is that they only seem to have put out 5 issues and the last one was put out in the fall of 2004, although it says that it is a quarterly publication. Okay, so they also have a shop where they sell fun T-shirts with sayings like, "Coach", "Look Out! Power Surge Approaching", "Who Says We Can't Do It?" and of course "Leader With A Life". Real knee slappers they be. The shopper can also choose from must-have book titles like "Working with Monsters", "Influence without Authority" and "Come on, get Happy." Also amongst the shoppers' paradise are all the issues of "Leaders with a Life". Yes, all five of them. The funny thing is that none of them, including the fifth one, which is supposed to be the Malibu Prem one, say anything about Prem Rawat, Issue 5 has a completely different cover and other feature articles in it. Too bad "The X-Files" are no longer running. I think I have a script for them. I've included all of the links and uploaded the article that is available on TPRF for convenience. Also note that on the page with the Prem Rawat article it says "advertorial". Oh my! I tink Pwem Wawat dun told a fib! http://www.leaderswithalife.com.au/
http://www.lwalshop.com/
http://www.lwalshop.com/shop/default.php?cPath=30 I'm now thinking of making my own magazine called "Leaders with Alimony Payments". Planned book titles for the shop will be: "Monster in the Mirror", "Influence without Medical Benefits" and "Come On! Take Prozac!"
Modified by dant at Sat, Oct 22, 2005, 16:38:16
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Dant, could you just say really simply what exactly you think has been done/happened. A fake magazine? What is the "fib" ? I can see you're a determined detective but I got bored trying to follow the story and would appreciate the conclusion being spelled out. ( I always have to ask what's happening in detective movies too ).
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Well there are three things. First of all the magazine itself is someone dubious. It only had five issues for example. Magazines come and go, but they seem at best very amateurish. I have to wonder what kind of readership they were/are hoping to find and how they hoped to find it. But it could also be that the magazine is itself a fake.Second point is that the Magazine cover as depicted on tprg doesn't exist on the magazine's website. The number five issue has a different cover, lists different feature articles and doesn't mention Prem Rawat at all. On the tprf version, there is a big fat orange banner running diagonally across the cover with "The Race to Win/ An Interview with Prem Rawat" printed in reverse type. The cover art is a neutral picture of an office building, completely boring and not very "cover-like". Normally you have a picture of a person. In the version on the magazine's website, there is no Prem Rawat banner, and the cover art is a picture of some Australian guy who is featured in the issue. Both versions show a list of feature articles, but they are completely different. By the way, the version on tprf only shows the cover and the two page spread of the supposed interview. All this suggests that the issue is a fake, or is a special edition created only for Prem Rawat. The third point is that on the spread showing the supposed interview of Prem Rawat, in the upper right hand corner it says, "advertorial". It is considered ethical magazine practice and important for the publisher's reputation to make the distinction between advertising and editorial content clear to the reader. While the term advertorial is somewhat cynical, it serves that purpose. Normally when an ad is made to look like an editorial, the word "advertisement" is printed on the top corner of the page. The "interview" is anyway so obviously contrived that you would have to be an idiot to think it was anything but an ad. I find that in itself amazing, that EV or whoever put that together doesn't have the sense to lend the "interview" some authenticity. But really, all of the pretend interviews with Rawat have been like that. But getting back to the point, the fact that this ad is being presented on tprf as a legitimate editorial piece is lying. I would make that accusation about most of the articles on tprf, but in this case it is especially obvious. In conclusion: The magazine may or may not be a fake, but at best doesn't seem to be viable. The issue itself seems to be some kind of a fake. Finally the article itself is not an article but an advertisement. Tprf using this on their website as an example of legitimate press coverage is unethical, disingenuous and beyond all else pathetic.
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....it's so embarrassing.Are there no depths to which they won't stoop?
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jim how much have you contributed?
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Turtle,
You've obviously been meditating for many years and as a consequence are perhaps none too bright, but 'try' to grasp the following if you can.
1. The criticisms of an organisation which seeks to garner funds, which enjoys tax free status and which seeks public approval of its activities has no relation to the choices an individual makes - whether Jim or anyone else 'gives' nothing or $100,000 has no implication for the judgements made about a 'charity'.
2. The judgement about 'charity' can never simply be based upon whether the 'cause' is 'good' or upon the level of funding attributed to that cause. Charity has frequently been the vehicle of cultural and even racial oppression; even where the intention has been noble and the practice has been sound, the accompanying cultural message has often been destructive. What a Charity 'says' and the way it says it, is often as important as what that Charity actually does if there is concern for the long term interests of those who the Charity claims to help.
3. TPRF and Raway say nothing about the fundamental problems of poverty, of environmental disaster, of social dislocation or of the problems that lie at the heart of malnourishment in a food rich world. The only thing that TPRF says about 'food' is that TPRF and Rawat are wonderful for donating $x dollars - the only conclusion that a reasonable person can reach is that TPRF and Rawat are cynically using food poverty as a PR tool to promote Rawatism.
4. The effectiveness of a Charity is largely related to its capacity to focus on a core activity - the greater the number of activities the higher the volume of administration costs that have to be expended on each activity, leading to inherent inefficiency. TPRF avoids public analysis of the efficiency of its 'humanitarian' activities by lumping all its admin costs and all its outputs into single budget heads .One way to show just how impoverished TPRF's humanitarian efforts really are is to take the claimed numbers of 'aspirants in preparation' and divide the humanitarian funds by that number. The most recent $75,000 divided by 125,000 claimed to be in preparation (* see below) gives a figure of just 67 cents - as US aspirants are paying $19 per Keys DVD in admin and P&P - 67 cents looks pretty paltry in comparative allocation of funds.
5. Given TPRF's claims about its activities in India and its partnerships with RVK, TPRF's (and Rawat's) humanitarian concerns can be usefully judged by their operation in India. As the largest portion of the claimed 125,000 'aspirants' are predominantly low income Indian citizens the net effect of TPRF/RVK humanitarian activity in India can be calculated as: the total sum provided in 'actual' aid and support - less - the total expenditure made by impoverished Indians on participating in TPRF/RVK/Rawat promoted/promoting activities. Unless TPRF/RVK can demonstrate that they make net expenditures running into tens of millions of rupees annually that directly provide material benefit to low income Indians, the conclusion must be that rather than improving the position of the poor in India, TPRF/RVK/Rawat are simply absorbing resources from the poor and then doling back a small percentage in the guise of charitable giving.
In conclusion Turtle - if you and Rawat want to play the 'philanthropy game' you had better get a lot more sophisticated in your back story if you don't want to look stupid, venal and corrupt.
Nik
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prem_rawat
Size of following
130,000 people came to hear Maharaji speak at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi
According to the organizations, Prem Rawat has over the years engaged over six and a half million people in 250 cities and fifty countries. They estimate slightly more than half a million have been taught the techniques since Rawat came to the West, about 125,000 of this number between January 2000 and April 2004[43]. Volunteers estimate an additional 125,000 currently in preparation to be taught the techniques, 65,000 having been in preparation five months or more, with these numbers on the increase in many countries. A press release states that 2004 was the first year where the number of new students has exceeded 50,000 [44]. Printed and audiovisual materials are available in approximately sixty languages, and the organizations estimate Rawat currently has hundreds of thousands of practicing students worldwide, representing a wide variety of backgrounds and personal situations. Since there is no longer any membership component to the organizations, however, it is difficult to determine with precision the number of persons actually practicing his techniques. Chryssides' Historical Dictionary of New Religious movements (2001), estimates 15,000 people practicing the techniques in the USA and 5,000 in the UK.
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Other foundations, such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, receive a large endowment from their benefactor, and then spend it on the causes they support. Rawat's foundation apparently receives nothing from it's founder, solicits donations, and then spends some of those donations on good causes (the main stated purpose of the foundation is promoting and disseminating the speeches, writings, music, art, and public forums of Prem Rawat). There is no evidence that Rawat himself donated anything. Sure, he gave some items to an auction, but these were donations from his followers anyway. Where is there evidence of a single cent, that Rawat has earned, being donated to TPRF?Hey, hang on a moment, promoting Rawat's music and art? How in hell does that benefit anyone? John.
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"Where is there evidence of a single cent, that Rawat has earned..."
uh, earned?
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He must have been going on the "give until it hurts" mentality. This one is under his own personal name, but shortly after, tprf was founded and the private money stopped flowing.
Mr. Generosity's name is the sixth one down.
Related link: Indian Embassy
Modified by Cynthia at Sun, Oct 23, 2005, 06:59:57
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either Jeevashakthi Society or Premsagar Foundation can be found!?
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Jeevashakthi Society is Sri Lankan listed - its phone number was given last year on the Rawat Contact Info site. Weird name though for a set up that has nothing to do with religion !
N
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This is what it says for the giving link
Those who feel touched by this message and wish to express their appreciation to The Prem Rawat Foundation are welcome to do so. Each expression of gratitude is important as it helps the Foundation to make his message available to people worldwide.
Another important part of the mission of The Prem Rawat Foundation is to help improve the quality of life for people most in need. Read about the Foundation's humanitarian activities.
I can't find a way to give to the humanitarian effort without donating to things to help spread his "message". Personally, I donate through the Red Cross. Also to medical missions where people in our community go to countries and do surgery and stuff.
If it was not so suspicious I would be thrilled if the PWKs were spending their energy helping those in need instead of traveling to Amaroo and making private donations to Rawat himself. If Rawat were to spend the percent of his wealth that most people I know spend on charity I would imagine it would be an impressive amount of money.
Sadly, I suspect Prem Rawat's motives have less to do with caring for other humans in need than buying a little legitimacy.
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I don't think The Prem Rawat Foundation was created only to give Rawat something to boast about. I think it also has to do with dodging taxes and giving employment to a few hangers-on.
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