Weak Links - Prem's House of Maharaji Drek

Prem Rawat's House of Maharaji Drek

You've been on the operating table just long enough to realize that the patient is you.

(Maharaji - Prem Rawat, date unknown)

Weak and Missing Links

(Note: Some or even most links may be dead or broken)

SOME DETAILS REGARDING SATSANG QUALITY:
DIALOGUE BETWEEN CHARLES SCHUMAN (QUESTIONER) AND PEtrOS:

Tell me, now, if you would. Do you find that
it is the guru, or the crowd in it's expectations
that create those great vibes?

It's the gestalt created when the guru and the group get together. A strong central presence can get everyone on the same wavelength. Without it, it's just a tea-party!

If the guru is just faking it, in your
estimation, how does it effect the vibes?

Most people in the group probably couldn't tell, not having subtle enough discernment or not enough experience in satsangs with other teachers. They will follow the lead of everyone else, however. A few people with more discernment might sense that something isn't quite right, especially if the teacher speaks at length. But such people may decide not to say anything and just go along for the ride anyway and chalk it up to experience.
For instance, I just attended another Maharaji video tonight, with about ten people attending. There was nothing wrong with what Maharaji said or the way he said it, and everyone was very silent and attentive. But I still sense something amiss about this particular group, but I can't put it into words yet.

Does less talk make for a better satsang?

Surely.

Your willingness to create your own satsang,
just to get your fix, was one damned straight
honest disclosure. Does the guru grok the
vibes as much as those attending?

I think the guru is usually the most addicted of the bunch! See, he needs the fix so bad, he's become a "dealer" (dealer of bliss?) in order to get it wholesale.

Much of this was validated for me in a recent satsang with Ram Tzu, who basically agreed with me that satsang can be a form of attachment replacing other attachments on one's journey.

In a message dated 97-03-27 16:29:32 EST, you write:

[[It's funny...I don't usually look at the name of the person who wrote what I'm reading--I like to try to guess and then check when I'm done. So I found myself extremely surprised when I figured out Colin was writing about this. I suddenly flashed on a beautiful mental image of a cab with the driver breathing deeply from a large, bright balloon. Cracked my shit up...]]

"You bring me back to a simpler time...around '81 I think, when I drove a cab in Denver and spent my days in my buddy Angelo's house getting stoned and listening to his stereo w'reel-to-reel that he picked up for a song in 'Nam when he was in the service. Anyways he had discovered those little canisters of nitrous at a store and had a bottle that dispensed carbonated liquids propeled by the same sized canisters. He had picked it up at a garage sale held annually by the Premies or followers of Guru Maharaji (he had been a 14-year-old hindu boy when he reached guruhood but was a bit older now).

Anyways, we were already pretty stoned on some fine columbo when we started taking hits off the bottle. I went first and remember hearing something like chimes bonging in my head for 10 seconds or so then a fuzzy feeling. Then Angelo took his hit. I remember him sliding off the kitchen chair to his knees and then, on hands and knees, pecking at the linoleom like a crazed chicken. He finally lifted himself up and sat back in his chair with a goofy smile, a bulbous nose and lots of blood on his face. I was shocked but then he said, "Wow! What a rush. Your hit man".

tim

"and hey barkeep, whats keepin' you keep pouring drinks, for all these palookas, hey you knows what I thinks..."

Christ, I just realized that I am still reading march mail.

Excerpt: When I was following my Guru Maharaji and having doubts about his divine authenticity, I had a number of stony conversations with Jesus about whom I should be following. Eventually the message became clear. Jesus indicated...

Learn all the In's and Out's of effective tax liability reduction for your corporate aircraft from PAM and Maharaji cronie Alvaro Pascotto in his article posted at the National Business Aviation Association, Inc.

If you own and/or operate an aircraft, a broad understanding of complex income tax rules is important to the timing of any losses from the aircraft activities.

Alvaro Pascotto is an attorney of counsel to Irell & Manella, LLP in Los Angeles. He specializes in business and aviation transactions and taxation. Pascotto, who has lectured at a variety of aviation and tax seminars, is a pilot, aircraft owner and member of the NBAA Tax Committee.

The famed deprogrammer's new site since losing the lawsuit to Scientology. Now Scientology owns Cult Awareness Network (CAN)!

A research paper:
Residential Treatment
The Potential for Cultic Evolution
David A. Halperin, M.D.
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York
Arnold Markowitz, M.S.W.
Cult Hotline and Clinic, New York

Pretty good short description of Maharaji and the early days of DLM.
The excerpt in the event this link breaks.

Seems that what is good for the goose isn't good enough for the gander. Prem Pal Singh Rawat is listed as a client of Private Chefs, Inc. of Beverly Hills, California. This agency places a chef in your home fulltime for cooking you those grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches. So, if you don't have your own PCI Chef yet then you're doing something wrong. And if you are still eating that Ashram diet of apple butter sandwiches it's way too late.

"The compensations for those who pander to stars' whims can be considerable, as Christian Paier, of the agency Private Chefs, Inc. explains: 'You get the lifestyle, yachts, helipads, private jets, travelling all over the world. Quite often [chefs] become confidantes, even friends. I know stars who see their cooks more than their spouses.' " What Stars Eat ,by Richard Patterson, Red Magazine, London
Other current or former clients include:

Their Royal Highnesses Prince Charles and Lady Diana, L.A. Lakers Basketball Team Chef, Cher, President and Mrs. Clinton, Barbara Grant Cohen, Natalie Cole, Tom Cruise, Sir E. de Rothshild, Danny De Vito, Kirk Douglas, Bob Dylan, Robert Evans, Sally Field, Prem Pal Singh Rawat, Rob Reiner, Winona Ryder, Arnold Schwarzennegger, Steven Segal, Jerry Seinfeld, Sidney Sheldon, Frank Sinatra, Aaron Spelling, Rod Stewart, Sting, Sharon Stone, Barbra Streisand, Elizabeth Taylor, John Travolta, Pia Zadora

Private Chefs, Inc. represents more than 350 top-caliber personal chefs worldwide. PCI has placed chefs in households all over the United States, Europe, and Hong Kong.

Note: The salaries listed above were from April of 1999.
Please contact Private Chefs, Inc. for a current list of salaries and rates.
I would wish to thank Private Chefs, Inc. for allowing me to excerpt this from their website.
I would like to add that Private Chefs, Inc. contacted me and asked me to put this disclaimer and they were very courteous and gracious in every respect.

Excerpts from the paper
Read the entire paper at Prem-Rawat-Bio.org
with an appendix of Dutch and German literature
by Rob H. Nanninga, March 1998
e-mail: [email protected]

Foss, D. & R. Larkin (1978)
Worshipping the absurd: the negation of social causality among the followers of the Guru Maharaj Ji. Sociological Analysis, 39(2), 157-164.

A chronology of religious events during the 20th Century including:
1966 Prem Pal Singh Rawat, age 6, becomes new Maharaj Ji for the Divine Light Mission, recognized in South America, Southeast Asia, and Polynesia.
Editors Note: This is not a typo on my part. Actually, I believe that Maharaji was 9 years old the time.

Relix: Ever consider becoming a guru?
Zappa: No.

Relix: You could have something as legitimate as anything by Maharaji Ji.
Zappa: I'd have something more legitimate. I'd have lots of followers and make lots of money and do 'em a lot of good. I could be tax exempt. I could deliver where they don't. You've convinced me; I think I'll do it.

Relix: What do you think of someone following Sri Chinmoy?
Zappa: Obviously, a person would have a problem that leads him to seek advice of that nature, and he has other problems that lead him to accept that advice and live by it. If his problems go away, then being exposed to this stimulation was the right thing. If they don't go away, then he did the wrong thing and somebody else made a lot of bucks. Who knows? The problem that they try to get rid of is usually not the problem they talk about; it's usually something they won't even admit to themselves. They seek some acceptable physical manifestation of help. Today if you have a problem, it is more acceptable to go to some bogus quack with a robe on and some phony mental paraphernalia, than to say you're going to a psychiatrist or psychologist. At one time it was fashionable to go to a shrink, but who needs a shrink when you can join something exciting where some guy calls you an asshole for a couple hours? Or you can go to one of these expensive camps where you play children's games and touch each other. As far as I'm concerned, it's total nonsense. But if that's the way you want to live your life, go ahead. I'm not here to regulate anyone's behavior. By the same token, I have the right to feel about it the way I do. I find it somewhat humorous but mostly disgusting.

Relix: Does the answer come from within?
Zappa: What answer? What question?

Relix: The answer to how to live your life.
Zappa: Sure. Ultimately, it does.

Michael Cannon is one of the patriarchal figures of this community. His vision, energy, and talent has been a major force in the evolution of the the Chico music scene and sub-culture. He and few other young pioneers helped to organize a group of folks known as the Butte Creek Family. They lived and continue to live an alternative lifestyle, working and playing together. As you'll read here Michael is the founding member of the Butte Creek Family Band and was an original member of Spark & Cinder. He's still as busy as ever with the incredible Irish band, The Pub Scouts, which can be heard every Friday at 4:00 at Duffy's Tavern in Chico.

Was this when everybody was getting into Guru Maharaji? And was this devotional music?

Yeah. While I was gone, before I went to the West Indies, I got the "knowledge" from Mahatma Rajiswar and Regina Saskatchewan at the suggestion of the gal that I was hanging out with, Katrina. So I came back from the West Indies really blissed out. I had to leave my girlfried in the West Indies but I had to get back. Little did I know that I was gonna impregnate a lady very shortly and have my son born in 1976. But I came back and worked on this album. Basically it was a premie band. [The followers of Guru Maharaji are called "premies"] There were other people in it, but it was Debbie Crumb, Stevie Cook, Ron Moroni, Barney Barber played in it. John Lapado ended up getting the knowledge. He wasn't in the Butte Creek Family Band but was around at that time. He had been in the original band before I left. Then when I came back we did more devotional music. All the music we did on the album was devotional.

Voices from the Underground: Volume 1- Insider Histories of the Vietnam Era Underground Press

Looking for Utopia Page 37 by Patrick Halley
In August of 1973, Guru Maharaj Ji, the 15-year old "perfect master, arrived in Detroit to inaugurate his "Divine Light Mission"--a religious cult started in India--and to receive the key to the city. The local press hailed him as a messenger of peace and brotherhood. His disciples hailed him as the new "God." Only Detroit's Fifth Estate concluded that he was a hustler and a fraud. In this appendix to Bob Hippler's history of the Fifth Estate, Patrick Halley tells, for the first time, how he infiltrated the "Divine Light Mission" and pied the perfect master from 15 feet, and about the steel plate he wears in his head as a reminder.

Basically, just a long poem with one tiny mention of Maharaji in it.
There are specific forms of poetry like Limericks, Haiku and the Malaysian Pantun. Each of these have a very formal structure as to number of lines, meter, syllables etc. The meaning is often also tightly prescribed - especially the Pantun. The Bonto is a new formal type of poetry for use on the net...

In 1973 Billy Graham sponsored "SPRESS '73" in which 20,000 Christians came to study the Word of God, this happened in London. In Houston Texas at the same time Maharaji Ji claimed to be "the savior of the world" and that he was ushering in the 1,000 year reign of peace and prosperity that was foretold in the Bible. Notice, God is moving, then Satan also counters with his minister. One thing is certain Billy Graham is still going strong and nobody knows where Maharaji Ji is, his cult declined into nothing.
Excerpted from Inner-City Christian Discernment Ministry

But suppose heaven really is fascist,
God with the face of Nixon,
dressed like the Pope,
talks like Rockefeller
& smells like the Maharaji.
Excerpted from a poem called AS ABOVE, SO BELOW by John Curl

Here's a poser for all you avid NME album reviews readers: if the Guru Maharaji is the little Jimmy Osmond of spiritualism and Melanie is the Guru Maharaji of folk wimpishness, then what do Melanie and little Jimmy Osmond have in common? That's right. They're both fat.
4th Aug, 1973. New Musical Express. - by Nick Kent

Kamer Canine College Maharaji's dogs learn obedience (webpage still works and Maharaji has had two dogs trained at Kamer Canine College. I think they got the Knowledge that they weren't going to get in college at Kamer.)

A classic Hippie political activist with his accounts of pie throwing.
Includes pictures and list of celebrities like William Shatner and Bill Gates.
In the spring of 1973, Rennie Davis, one of the Chicago 8, who became a convert to the cult of Guru Maharaj Ji, came to NYC's Lower East Side to proselytize on the Guru's behalf. Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and other movement people were there to watch the circus. Rennie came out onto the stage and I landed a pie onto the floor. The Gurunoids started to lick it off the floor.

A Golf.com article on books about golf including Tim Gallwey's Inner Game of Golf. Hey Tim, how about something for us lower-middle classers like bowling? I can't afford the greens fees nor those expensive titanium and graphite drivers as advertised by Bill Gates. And everytime I pop a ball into the water there goes $2, which is the equivalent to 1/2 hour of my wages after taxes.

Maharaji and DLM crossing the the waters in the longboats from Denmark to conquer Finland in 1972. (Site is unavailable.)

A very cool site to see how your Guru rates (5 Shining Buddhas down to Bogus.) Many, many Gurus that you may remember are here. As of January 20, 1999, Sarlo had no current information about Maharaji and only the following was found: Lost, ascended, error 404, or otherwise out of business: Srii Srii Anandamurti (Ananda Marga), Herff Applewhite (Heaven's Gate), Shoko Asahara (Aum Shinri Kyo), Michael Barnett, Da Free John, Guru Maharaj Ji (Divine Light Mission), Oscar Ichazo (Arica), Jim Jones, Luc Jouret (Solar Temple), David Koresh (Branch Davidians), Paul Lowe, Lee Lozowick (Hohm)

Note from Roger: Sarlo has updated his site as of January 22, 1999 and has given Maharaji a 1/2 Golden Buddha rating with the comment of Seems to be running on fumes.

Personally, I am quite surprised at both the rating and the comment.

I was expecting at least a one Golden Buddha if not two. Nor do I really believe that Maharaji is running on fumes and that seems quite obvious when you step into the Sales Hall at programs like Long Beach. With the distribution of videos and the recent Global Satellite Broadcast, Elan Vital has a lot of things going for it.

Sure, there are relatively few newcomers in the West today, but this is the 90s, not the 70s. The times have a-changed.

Webmasters take note: Sarlo had little more than what is available on the Internet to make his rating. Considering that Sarlo states in his review Pro sites vacuous, Anti sites full of info. This seems like a strong message that fancy, slow loading graphics does not a webpage make. Maybe it's content and the free flow of information?

If this doesn't scare you, nothing will. A very intense, but well crafted site on end-time Apostasy. Lots of cults and the usual suspects are mentioned. There is a little blurb on Maharaji in Chapter 8 - War of the Ages.
Be sure to bookmark this site for the invaluable Year 2000 Countdown Clock to know exactly how much is left until it's time to start chowing down on your survival food and maintaining a 24 hour a day armed vigil against your neighbors who didn't stock up. Better yet, be prepared to ascend with the other 143,999 lucky souls. Holy Cow, I'd better take a day off of work to clean my guns again and get going on my homemade landmines.

A, rather lame, online auction site of '60s counterculture memorabilia. Little did you know that you were sitting on a veritable gold mine, a nest egg to retire on. About as valuable as a lottery ticket. Could have told your boss at Mickey D's to take this job and shove it. But no, you thought it was all worthless and threw it all in the trash, gave it to Divine Sales, or the WPC came and took it away. Act quick, it's not too late. Get your bid in now on items such as the following:

Item D0003 - GURU MAHARAJ JI: Leaflet for the "14 year old Perfect Spiritual Master of the..."
Item 00559 - 1970 BRITISH ELECTION: "The Real Issues" leaflet of the International Marxist
Item 01267D - 60S BUTTON: "A man of quality is not threatened by a woman of equality"
Item 01267C - 60S BUTTON: "My Karma Ran Over My Dogma" bent
Item 01247 - SPIRO AGNEW: NY Daily News 8/22/73 "Agnew: Leaks are Outrageous" vows to "fight..."

Seems that this Seattle based shop has received and reviewed a comic based on Maharaji!
Maharaji, is this the comic book you were talking about so long ago?
Here's what reviewer Tom Spurgeon says about Gerard Ashworth's comic:

Modern Murder #30
Gerard Ashworth

Ashworth works in an extremely violent, obssessive style, covering the page inch for inch in a way that hasn't been seen since Jeff Johnson. The story in this issue of Modern Murder is much more interesting than my only other exposure to Ashworth, the "Weird Stress Kittens" comics at least to me.

It's the story of the artist's own experience with the faith community that has sprung up around a Guru Maharaj Ji, which is told with brutal, funny, matter-of-fact bile. The anger shown here is a much better fuel for the savage cross-hatching and linework than usual, lending the whole thing an eerie atmosphere it's a bit too personal.

Having said that, I should also warn there's not a lot here in the cartooning or in the insights to elevate it to pure art. But it did hold my attention.

Tom Spurgeon, Feb. 22, 1998
(The address given in this Xeroxed, full-sized work is 7-7, Queenscliff Rd, Queenscliff, N-S-W, 2096)

A Review of Press Reports on Cultism and Unethical Social Influence
Maharaji and every other cult you've ever imagined, including the Billionaire Boys Club. Guess we're talking infamous and the notorious.

Grefe, John (1947- )
Tied for first in the 1973 U.S. Chess Championship in El Paso, Texas.
He attributed his success by his complete devotion to the Guru Maharaj-Ji, a 15 year-old prophet from India.

A band called Medium Medium has a song called Guru Maharaj Ji (I think I heard this song on the radio in late 1998)

LEVEL	REQUIREMENTS	SALARY
Low	Recent culinary school graduates; some restaurant or catering experience.	$25,000 - $35,000
Medium	Five to 10 years of experience in private households; good references.	$40,000 - $65,000
High	Ten to 20 years of experience in private households, star restaurants or top corporate positions; excellent references.	$70,000 - $130,000