NZ Skeptics Articles

The Child Lord of the Universe: Prem Rawat and the Divine Light Mission, Part 1

Bronwyn Rideout - 22 July 2024

The Divine Light Mission (DLM) is something of an oldie as far as cults go, but it attracted its fair share of controversy in the 1970s and 1980s with notable followers such as respected kiwi composer Jenny McLeod and Billy TK Senior. For me this article has been on the backburner almost as long as the Colin Amery articles, as the DLM often received cursory mention in other cults I have researched. I recall first coming across the group in a folio of personal letters at the National Library. I was looking for mentions of Scientology, but instead came upon the type of family update letter that one receives from distant relatives and friends at Christmas; One year in the 1970s, an especially unfortunate family had adult children variously working with Scientology and living in a DLM ashram.

There are few materials regarding the DLM in the National Library, so I decided to let the matter lie until I had a chance to visit the Beaglehole Room at the Victoria University of Wellington and explore their archival materials of the Free Mind Foundation, an NZ anti-cult group that operated in the 1980s under the leadership of NZ Humanist Association officer Dave McLeod. Here my search was much more fruitful, as McLeod had kept a small collection of local and international DLM newsletters and magazines. Not all of it in good condition, mind you, but I guess the remnants of dirty footprints feel apropos when engaged in the excavation of cult history.

No. 42 of The Golden Age, a DLM publication.

There is a charm to the local newsletters which share updates on the nursery roster and from disciples who were on mission overseas, and even plans to provide regular education or satsangs at Wi Tako prison.

Unsurprisingly, these publications are glowing in their presentation of the DLM. Missing is any indication as to why former disciples could become so vitriolic against their former master, especially one who took as divergent a path as its once perfect master, Prem Rawat, did.

Origin

To be fair, the Wikipedia pages relating to the DLM and its various actors give a fairly thorough, if uncritical, history of the movement.

The DLM was founded in 1960 by Hans Ji Maharaj, in Gadh-ki-Sedhia in India. As a young man, Hans followed a guru and practitioner of Advait Mat named Swami Swarupanand. The swami taught Hans the four secret meditation techniques called Knowledge. Hans’ teacher also told him that he would have a son that would play an important role. Upon Swarupanand’s death, a group of mahatmas contested Han’s succession as leader of their group; he had married his first wife, Sinduri, and this was deemed unacceptable, as it was expected that he would renounce worldly and materialistic pursuits as a guru in his own right. Hans soon left with a small handful of his followers, and started teaching throughout India. Hans became popular as he accepted anyone as his student, regardless of caste or station in life, and he soon had a sizable following of devotees.

Hans’ first wife was unable to have more children after giving birth to their daughter. Recalling the Swami’s prophecy, Hans took a second wife in 1946, a 19-year-old woman named Rajeshwari Devi. Between 1951 to 1957, Rajeshwari would give birth to four boys, of which the youngest, Prem Rawat, became Hans’ favourite, due to his skills in public speaking.

Hans died suddenly in 1966 after a brief illness. There are various stories about how Prem Rawat, then just 8 years old, was determined to be his father’s successor. According to the Wikipedia page, Prem’s mother and eldest brother were put forward as successors. Before they could be nominated, Prem (in what looks like a very staged shot) gave a comforting speech to the assembled mourners. This wasn’t unusual for Prem; it’s reported that Prem had been attending and speaking at Han’s meetings from the age of 4. Somehow, Prem’s eulogy led to him being declared the Guru Maharaj Ji, and also as a satguru or perfect master.

While at first glance it may appear that having a child for a leader would cause resentment (and eventually it would), it initially worked out quite well for the family. Due to Prem’s age, running the DLM and enjoying the financial advantages it brought was shared by all family members. Prem’s reign of the DLM also came at the most auspicious of times, the 1960s. Senior teachers or mahatmas would travel, teach, and initiate people around the globe. However, some ex-disciples report experiencing cognitive dissonance with how the Mahatmas led seminars or satsangs, taught Knowledge, and then sprung it on them that a preteen was now their divine leader.

Knowledge and DLM practices

Hans drew from multiple political and spiritual sources, including the Bhagavad Gita and Sant Mat. It is often claimed that there were no rules, regulations or religious texts. The speeches of Prem Rawat were transcribed and disseminated, and the guru was seen as a manifestation of the divine. Disciples of DLM, called Premies, were required to perform a minimum of two hours a day in formal meditation, and the rest of the time in informal meditation. Premies who lived in the ashram, or who participated in the formal administration of the organisation, might spend over 50 hours a week participating in group activities or study activities. Premies who lived in the Ashram were required to practice celibacy, abstinence, and vegetarianism, while more casual followers, or those who lived in less strict Premie centres or Premie houses, were encouraged, but not required, to do the same. Premies who still maintained their more traditional careers committed to a tithe of 10% of their income to the group, while those who lived in Ashrams or centres could give anything between 30% and 100% to the group. It is not unusual to hear of pressure placed on even casual followers to donate their life savings or appliances.

The key difference between a casual follower and a full-on devotee was an initiation into a practice called Knowledge, a series of secret meditation techniques. Of course, with anything that is deemed a secret, there are ex-disciples out there who have shared what the knowledge is.

From the 51:09 point in this video, two ex-members described the Knowledge as follows:

Daily practice for Premies included covering yourself with a sheet upon waking, and concentration for at least 30 minutes on The Word, 30 minutes on The Music, and as much of The Light as you could, and doing The Nectar while doing the other three. Premies would repeat for 1 hour in the evening, and spend the rest of the day concentrating on The Word informally.

Followers were expected to attend nightly satsang meetings. What occurred at Satsang meetings is debated. Detractors report that such meetings were opportunities for indoctrination and shaming, while supporters claim that Maharaj Ji’s teachings of peace were reiterated.

As demonstrated above, Prem wasn’t above making a few ridiculous predictions. But in retrospect there were times where Prem’s reputation escaped him. One particular example was the bomb that was his Millenium ‘73 festival in Houston, Texas. Remembered as both the most culturally important youth event of the 1970s, and a financial disappointment, Millennium ‘73 was preceded by multiple egregious predictions attributed to Prem including:

Prem’s eldest brother claimed that earthquakes would occur in the US and the stock market would drop prior to the festival. None of these predictions came true, and no one predicted the nearly $700,000 in debt that would come from hosting a free event.

A New Zealand Premie

Avant-garde composer Jenny McLeod was the best-known NZ recruit of the DLM. This section is a summary of two chapters of a recently released biography which examines this period of her life. A talented musician and composer, McLeod became the youngest professor of music at Victoria University of Wellington in 1971, at the age of 30. In 1972, Jenny had recently developed an interest in Hindu philosophy and Indian music when she was introduced to the DLM through Lindsay and Kim Field, whom she had met during an indecency trial involving a national touring production of the musical Hair. Soon after, DLM missionaries hosted a meeting in Wellington where Jenny had some very inspiring discussions with the visiting mahatmas, and soon after became a fanatical follower.

McLeod would eventually commit her life to the work of DLM, and even offer up her house as a de facto centre, and then ashram. Jenny’s address was public knowledge and, in 1975, the house/centre was attacked by an arsonist and former member. However, in the biography, McLeod recollected that it was a man named Neil from Warkworth who did the deed, because he thought the group was possessed by the devil. While all the occupants and most of the house was saved, McLeod did lose her records and her early compositions. McLeod served the DLM as a national secretary, and would travel to the US and Australia attending festivals and completing whatever tasks were requested of her.

McLeod started to become disillusioned with her fellow Premies by the early 1980s. She was often older, more educated, and more worldly than her younger housemates, and struggled with being told what to do. She returned to Wellington in 1981 and, while she retained ownership of the Premie house, she stopped giving the rent to the DLM and instead kept it for herself.

In her later years, McLeod is described as being cagey when discussing this period in her life. Still, McLeod believed that many of Prem’s teachings were good and helpful for her, and truly believed that the Lord had returned. At the same time, McLeod experienced tremendous early success, and was trying to find enduring ways to replicate the uplift she felt while improvising. The promise of the DLM was not only a way to overcome the limits of her mind, but also provided enormous creative inspiration for her.

Growing Pains

In 1970, when Prem Rawat was 12 years old, he launched himself into international recognition with what is called the Peace Bomb speech. It is a bombastic speech that includes some big claims, such as:

“I say that peace will come without guns being fired. Is this impossible? No, it is possible, and I am going to show how it is possible. If you stay alive to see it, watch how I will make it possible! Not a single pistol will be made in this world. Lions and sheep, pigeons and cats, will drink water in the same lake and there will be no hostility.”

And

“Do you think it is a joke? The great leaders think that I have come to rule and, yes, they are right! I will rule the world, and just watch how I will do it! Even the lion and sheep will embrace each other.”

After his maiden speech, however, things started to change. Prem began travelling to the West, against his mother’s wishes. People were equal parts intrigued and incredulous about this spiritual prodigy. His immaturity was both attracted and repelled, while many just wanted to replicate the blissed-out state that his early followers demonstrated, who claimed that Prem could help them experience God. Prem’s international visibility helped grow the DLM to dozens and then hundreds of Ashrams and centres worldwide.

From the start of Prem’s growing international profile, there were frequent critiques and jibes about the guru’s lavish lifestyle and spending. The DLM owned three aeroplanes and a film production studio, leased an IBM computer, and Prem had access to multiple luxury cars and watches. To be sure, Prem benefitted from the significant donations he received from his followers. As Prem got older, he endeavoured to have more of a say and more control over what had been, up to that point, a family affair. Prem’s mother, now called Mata Ji, and each of his brothers had a say in the DLM operations, and were openly touted as the divine or holy family. Each brother has a special role to play: Eldest brother Satpal/Bal Bhagwan Ji was the organiser; second brother Bhole Ji was the Lord of Music, and the leader of the DLM band called Blue Aquarius; and third brother Raja led the World Peace Corps, who doubled as Prem’s bodyguards.

As Prem got older and spent more time in the West, he preached a holier-than-thou message while behaving like the utter teenager that he was, albeit with millions of dollars and the assistance of a loyal entourage. Ex-followers report Prem indulging in sex, drugs, alcohol and rock and roll, all to his mother’s dismay. The failure of the Millenium ‘73 would turn out to be the end of DLM’s growth period, but times were still good for the organisation, and new initiates were still being recruited.

Prem speaks to the assembled at Millenium ‘73

Millennium ‘73 was also infamous for the multiple arguments and fights between Premies and counter protestors, who were an odd-couple mix of Christians and Hare Krishnas.

That would all change forever in 1974. In May of that year, 16-year-old Prem married a 24-year-old follower named Marolyn Johnson. His family was not invited and, in a scene reminiscent of The Life of Brian, Mata Ji declared Prem to not be the perfect master, and to instead be a very naughty boy.

But for real, Prem was disowned by his family for his lifestyle, and commenced a legal battle for control over the entire organisation. The Western branches sided with Prem, while the traditionalists returned to India. The Indian courts ultimately decided that Prem would retain control of the Western branches, while his family held onto the Indian side of the divine business, including the Ashrams.

Between 1974 and 1976, Prem started to shed off the trappings of his Indian identity and encouraged his followers to do the same. Some Premies were angry that their leader had feet of clay after devoting years of their lives to abstinence and poverty. By the 1980s, Prem finally discarded his divine status and completely turned away from his Hindu beginnings. He changed the DLM’s name to Elan Vital in 1983, and the legacy of the DLM in the West started fading into obscurity.

But that’s not the end of the DLM or Prem’s story. Come back for part 2 in two weeks to learn about what Prem is doing now, what survivors have had to say in the decades since, and who exactly is running all the anti-Prem Rawat sites out there.