Divine Light Mission

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Divine Light Mission
Formation1960
Key people
Shri Hans Ji Maharaji, founder
Succeeded by Prem Rawat

The Divine Light Mission (DLM) was a spiritual organisation founded by Shri Hans Ji Maharaj in 1960 to further his work in northern India. When Shri Maharaji died in 1966, he was succeeded as guru by his fourth son, Prem Rawat (also known as Sant Ji and Balyogeshwar at the time, and later as Guru Maharaj Ji, then Maharaji).

Although Prem Rawat was accepted as his father's successor in 1966, effective control of DLM was shared by the whole family as Rawat was only 8 years old at the time.[1][2][3]In 1971 Rawat travelled to the UK and the US where local branches of DLM were established and rapidly expanded. In 1974, Rawat took action to become an emancipated minor giving him the legal rights of an adult and took a more active role in Western DLM. His mother and two of his brothers took legal action in India and his brother Satpal was given control of the DLM in India, while Rawat remained the leader in the rest of the world.

The DLM in the US changed its name to Elan Vital in 1983, by filing an entity name change.[4][5] According to the Encyclopedia of American Religions, the mission was disbanded [when] Prem Rawat personally renounced the trappings of Indian culture and religion, to make his teachings independent of culture, beliefs and lifestyles.[6]

Founding and early years in India

Shri Hans Maharaj Ji, initiated by the Sant Mat guru Sapuranand Ji, began teaching in the Sind and Lahore provinces of India in the 1930s. In 1950 he began initiating Mahatmas, followers who could themselves initiate devotees, and formed a magazine called "Hansadesh." [7]

In 1960 in the city of Patna, he founded the Divine Light Mission (Divya Sandesh Parishad) to organize followers across Northern India. At the time of the guru's death on July 19, 1966, the Divine Light Mission had six million members in India. [8]

Succession

Further information: Hans_Ji_Maharaj § Succession

Prem Rawat was accepted as his father's successor in 1966, though effective control of DLM was shared by the whole family as Rawat was only 8 years old at the time.[9][10][11][12] In the early 1970s, his family told American reporters that Shri Hans was travelling at the time of his death, but had written a letter home essentially naming Prem as his successor. Shri Hans' personal driver, who was a witness, confirms that Shri Hans publicly requested that Rawat would continue his work, but that some disregarded this request. During the customary 12 days of mourning, discussions were held about the succession. This culminated in Prem Rawat addressing the crowd and being accepted by them as their teacher.[13][14]

Following the DLM's leadership split in 1974, the eldest brother Satpal claimed that his father, Hans Ji Maharaj, had "bequeathed his mission and unfinished work" to Satpal, not to Prem, and so he, and not Prem, was the sole legitimate heir of their father's guru lineage.[15] Scholars that have written about the succession report the contrary, and it is clear that Satpal and the rest of the family accepted and supported Prem's declaration of succession for eight years. [16][17][18]

International expansion

In 1971, Rawat, then known as Guru Maharaji Ji, travelled to the West. DLMs were established in the US and the UK. In the US, the DLM was registered as a non-profit corporation, and in 1974 it was recognized as a church by the United States Internal Revenue Service under section 501(c)(3).[19][20]

By 1972 DLM was operating in North and South America, Europe and Australia. Tens of thousands of people had been initiated (become premies) and several hundred centers and dozens of ashrams formed.[21]

In November 1973, the Divine Light Mission held "Millennium '73", a three-day event celebrating the birthday of Rawat’s father at the Houston Astrodome.[22]Billed as "the most significant event in human history" it was said to herald "a thousand years of peace for people who want peace", the idea being that peace could come to the world as individuals experiencing inner peace.[23] The event featured spectacular staging and a 56-piece rock band.[24][25][23][26] Political activist Rennie Davis, well known as one of the defendants in the Chicago 7 trial, attracted extensive media coverage as a spokesperson for Rawat.[27][25][28]Davis said he expected an overflow of "100,000 people would fill the parking lot" but actual attendance was estimated at 25,000 by followers and 10,000 by police.[23][29] The Mission incurred a debt which has been estimated as between $600,000 and over $1 million, severely damaging its finances.[30][31] The event was depicted in the award-winning U.S. documentary "Lord of the Universe" broadcast by PBS Television in 1974,[32][27] and marked the end of the movement's early growth phase.[33][34][35]

Split in leadership

In 1974 Rawat's conflict with his family over the direction of DLM became a permanent rift after he became an emancipated minor and married an American follower.[36] A lawsuit in India resulted in his brother Satpal gaining control of the Divine Light Mission in India, and Rawat continuing to lead DLM in the rest of the world.[37][38][39]

In the 1980s, the Rawat-led DLM became more Western as he removed the Indian connotations from his message and adopted a more universal style.[40] The ashrams were closed, as were the Denver headquarters, and the organisation's name was changed to Elan Vital.[41] Prem Rawat asked to be referred to as "Maharaji" instead of "Guru Maharaj Ji." He continues to write, lecture and tour actively.

Satpal, now known as Shri Satpal Ji Maharaj, continues to teach "Manav Dharam" (the "Dharam (Religion) of Mankind"). He is also a politician in India, and founded Manav Utthan Sewa Samiti which he describes as "an all-India registered voluntary social welfare and charitable organization", that is also "making freely available the spiritual Knowledge which is the essence of all religions."[42]

Beliefs and practices

According to some scholars, Shri Hans was influenced by both the Sant tradition and the Bhagavad Gita. Reinhart Hummel wrote that from the former came the reduction of Hinduism to the inner realization of the divine and the veneration of the guru, and from the latter the emphasis on the practical life. Hummel also noted that the DLM never developed a systematic doctrine, either during Hans' time or Prem Rawat's time. Hummel also asserted that the influence of the North Indian Sant tradition was dominant in Hans' eclectic thinking, and that from the Sant tradition also came the rejection of outward rituals and ceremonies; the rejection of asceticism in favor of life as a householder; the rejection of veneration of idols and the focus on the guru as the manifestation of the divine. Hummel further wrote that the four meditation techniques are of central importance, to Prem as they were to Hans.[43]

No rules or regulations were imposed, and no beliefs or ethical practices were taught. The fundamental practices of inner peace were embodied and experienced through satsang, service and meditation, the sum of which is an experience that Prem Rawat calls "Knowledge." Members of the DLM meditated formally twice daily and attended discourses on the Knowledge (known as satsang) when possible. Vegetarianism was encouraged but not enforced.

In the United States, the early years of the Divine Light Mission were marked by the rapid growth of loosely affiliated local ashrams, united mainly by a shared devotion to Guru Maharaj Ji. As the DLM became more and more structured and centralized, leadership and power came to be concentrated in the Denver headquarters. According to scholars, Prem Rawat's desire to consolidate his power and authority over the U.S. movement led to increasing formalization, with rules and regulations for ashram living, standards for recruited "candidates," and pressure towards certification of the movement's teachers.[44][45]

Ashrams

The Divine Light Mission began creating ashrams in India in the 1960s, starting with a small one in Rajasthan and a larger one called Satlok ("Place of Truth") between Delhi and Hardwar. [46]

Soon after the Divine Light Mission expanded to the West, several dozen ashrams were formed in the US, Britain, Europe and Australia. Followers ("premies") who lived in them often worked part or full time at ordinary jobs and gave a sizable portion – sometimes all – of their income to the movement. In the ashrams they practiced celibacy, vegetarianism, and frequent meditation.[47][48][49] The ashram premies became the core of the Mission in the United States, but the ashrams themselves were not a source of income, never becoming more than self-sufficient.[50][51][52][53][54]

Marc Galanter, in his 1990 book, Cults: Faith, Healing and Coercion, wrote of his visit to a DLM ashram that –

"The atmosphere in the ashram was indeed quite striking. ... I was greeted in a friendly, even intimate fashion by people who were complete strangers. The intense communality of the members was immediately apparent, a quality that was clearly an important aspect of the group's function. One could sense a closeness among those present, and an absence of the minor tensions that would be expected in a setting where two dozen people were living in tight quarters. ... Caring and intimacy, reflective of the group's cohesiveness, seemed to mute any expression of animosity. ... I was made to feel as if I were entering a supportive envelope, to be protected from the rough edges of relationships in the outside world.[55]

Reception

The Divine Light Mission has been described in various and sometimes conflicting terms. It has been called a new religious movement,[56] a cult,[57] a charismatic religious sect,[58] an offshoot of Sant Mat,[59] an alternative religion or spin-off from other traditional religions,[60] a Radhasoami offshoot,[61] an orthodox Sikh community,[62] an Advait Mat related tradition,[63] and a defunct religious movement.[64]

David G. Bromley describes the Divine Light Mission as belonging in a "medium tension category", as it was one of the groups that were seen by the public as peculiar rather than threatening. Bromley attributes the decline of the mission and other movements to internal factors, but also in part to the news media's uncritical acceptance of discrediting reports by the anti-cult movement and those of apostates, accounts which created a wide-spread public perception of "mind control" and other "cult" stereotypes.[65] Bromley's assessment of the public's perception of DLM was echoed by the psychiatrist Saul V. Levine, who wrote in a paper published in 1989 that the DLM, the Hare Krishna movement, the Unification Church and the Children of God were widely held in low esteem – families felt that their children were being financially exploited, while the groups' leaders lived in "ostentation and offensive opulence."[66]

In a comparison of new religious movements, Gartrell and Shannon noted that people appeared to seek out such religious organizations to get answers to questions about ultimate meaning as well as answers to more prosaic issues. In discussing the differences in recruiting tactics employed by these groups, they placed the Divine Light Mission in the middle ground between movements in which recruits were love bombed, or overwhelmed by waves of intense sentiment, and those in which affective bonds were discouraged. They reported that close ties between newcomers and DLM members developed gradually over a period of three to four months, between initial contact and their attending a "Knowledge session", and the emergent friendships were an important forum in which recruits aired doubts and discussed DLM beliefs. These relationships thus supplemented a very cognitive conversion process, in which active consideration of the movement's ideas and beliefs was encouraged from the outset. They found little evidence to suggest that social rewards were orchestrated by the movement, either in degree or timing.[67]

Other studies of group members, such as one by James T. Richardson, led to the claim that "life in the new religions is often therapeutic instead of harmful", and that other information would suggest that the young people attracted to these movements were affirming their idealism by their involvement. Richardson asserted that there is little data to support the almost completely negative picture painted by a few mental health professionals and others.[68]

The sociologist James V. Downton, who studied the DLM for five years, reported that the "idealism of these premies was one of the motivating forces behind their conversion [to DLM]. They wanted to create a more caring world".[69] Five years after the subjects of his study became premies he wrote, "There is little doubt in my mind that these premies have changed in a positive way. Today, they seem less alienated, aimless, worried, afraid, and more peaceful, loving, confident, and appreciative of life. We could attribute these changes to surrender, devotion, and their involvement in the premie community. Each of these undoubtedly had a positive impact, but, if we accept what premies say, none were as critical as their experience of the universal spirit. Meditating on the life-energy for five years, they report having more positive attitudes about themselves."[70]

David V. Barrett noted that the DLM movement was often criticized for emphasizing the superiority of subjective emotional experience over intellect.[71] The sociologists Ralph Larkin and Daniel A. Foss made similar observations in 1978.[72] In response, the religious scholar Ron Geaves, himself a member of the movement, accused Foss and Larkin of bias, pointing to the number of people attracted to the DLM.[73] Geaves also stated that although the Divine Light Mission was established as an organization for promoting Prem Rawat's teachings, it developed into a vigorous new religious movement with its own specific traits that included characteristics of a contemporary North Indian Sant panth and nirguna bhakti, combining intense reverence for the living satguru with the millennial expectations of the 1970s counter-culture.[74]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Melton, Gordon J. Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America, (1986), pp.141-2 Garland Publishing, ISBN 0-8240-9036-5 "Just six years after the founding of the Mission, Shri Hans Ji Maharaj was succeeded by his younger son Prem Pal Singh Rawat, who was eight when he was recognized as the new Perfect Master and assumed the title Maharaj Ji. Maharaj Ji had been recognized as spiritually adept, even within the circle of the Holy Family, as Shri Hans' family was called. He had been initiated at the age of six [...] He assumed the role of Perfect Master at his father's funeral by telling the disciples who had gathered. [...] Though officially the autocratic leader of the Mission, because of Maharaji's age authority was shared by the whole family."
  2. ^ Aagaard, Johannes. Who Is Who In Guruism? (1980) "During the first 6 years of the new movement its head was Shri Hans, the father of the young Maharaj Ji, who, at the age of 8 years, succeeded his father in 1966."
  3. ^ U. S. Department of the Army, Religious Requirements and Practices of Certain Selected Groups: A Handbook for Chaplains (2001) pp.1-5 , The Minerva Group, ISBN 0-89875-607-3
    Following his death, Shri Hans Ji appointed the youngest of his four sons, Sant Ji as the next Perfect Master and therefore he assumed the head of the Divine Light Mission as decreed by his father."
  4. ^ Colorado Secretary of State, Business Center.
  5. ^ Elan Vital FAQs - About Elan Vital, Inc. Available online (Retrieved May, 2006)
  6. ^ Melton, Gordon, Encyclopedia of American Religions 7th edition. Thomson (2003) p.2328 ISBN 0-7876-6384-0
    "In the early 1980s, Maharaj Ji moved to disband the Divine Light Mission and he personally renounced the trappings of Indian culture and religion, disbanding the mission, he founded Elan Vital, an organization to support his future role as teacher." [...]Maharaji had made every attempt to abandon the traditional Indian religious trappings in which the techniques originated and to make his presentation acceptable to all the various cultural settings in which followers live. He sees his teachings as independent of culture, religion, beliefs, or lifestyles, and regularly addresses audiences in places as culturally diverse as India, Japan, Taiwan, the Ivory Coast, Slovenia, Mauritius and Venezuela, as well as North America, Europe and the South Pacific.
  7. ^ J. Gordon Melton, "Encylcopedic Handbook of Cults in America, Revised and Updated Edition", Garland Publishing: New York, 1992 p217-218
  8. ^ "Whatever Happened to Guru Maharaj Ji? ", Hinduism Today Magazine, October 1983 Available Online (Retrieved March 2008)
  9. ^ Melton, Gordon J. Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America, (1986), pp.141-2 Garland Publishing, ISBN 0-8240-9036-5 "Just six years after the founding of the Mission, Shri Hans Ji Maharaj was succeeded by his younger son Prem Pal Singh Rawat, who was eight when he was recognized as the new Perfect Master and assumed the title Maharaj Ji. Maharaj Ji had been recognized as spiritually adept, even within the circle of the Holy Family, as Shri Hans' family was called. He had been initiated at the age of six [...] He assumed the role of Perfect Master at his father's funeral by telling the disciples who had gathered. [...] Though officially the autocratic leader of the Mission, because of Maharaji's age authority was shared by the whole family."
  10. ^ Lee, Raymond L M. Sacred Tensions: Modernity and Religious Transformation in Malaysia (1997) pp.109-110 The University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 1-57003-167-3 "Upon the death of the founder in 1966, one of his sons, Guru Maharaj Ji, assumed leadership of the movement and won the hearts of many young Westerners." (p.109)
  11. ^ Aagaard, Johannes. Who Is Who In Guruism? (1980) "During the first 6 years of the new movement its head was Shri Hans, the father of the young Maharaj Ji, who, at the age of 8 years, succeeded his father in 1966."
  12. ^ U. S. Department of the Army, Religious Requirements and Practices of Certain Selected Groups: A Handbook for Chaplains (2001) pp.1-5 , The Minerva Group, ISBN 0-89875-607-3
    Following his death, Shri Hans Ji appointed the youngest of his four sons, Sant Ji as the next Perfect Master and therefore he assumed the head of the Divine Light Mission as decreed by his father."
  13. ^ Singh, Bihari. Maharaji Accepted by His Father's Students, Retrieved Jan 2006.
    "Right after Shri Maharaj Ji’s death, the family and several mahatmas were discussing who would become Master after the 13 days of mourning were over. They were thinking about Bal Bhagwan Ji, who was the eldest son. When they asked me what I thought, I said, 'Shri Maharaj Ji told us when Maharaji was born, "He’s going to take my message all over the world."' [...]Some were suggesting that there be several gurus (all four brothers or some group of 5 or 7 gurus), and others were still in the Bal Bhagwan Ji camp. Particularly in India, when a father dies, the older son steps into his place. [...] Twelve days after Shri Maharaj Ji’s death, Maharaji went on stage with a handkerchief on his head and spoke for about 45 minutes to the people who had gathered. After listening to him, everybody accepted him as their Master."
  14. ^ Fahlbusch E., Lochman J. M., Mbiti J., Pelikan J., Vischer L, Barret D. (Eds.) The Encyclopedia of Christianity (1998). p.861, ISBN 90-04-11316-9
    "At the funeral of Shree Hans, his son Prem Pal Singh Rawat [...] comforted those who mourned his father's death with the thought that they still had perfect knowledge with them. The son himself had become the subject of this knowledge, the perfect master, in the place of his father, and took the title of "guru" and the name of Maharaj Ji, or great king, a title of respect to which other titular names were added. The honors paid him by his followers gave him the characteristic of a messianic child. These were supposedly his by nature and they helped him to eliminate rival claims from his own family."
  15. ^ [1][dead link]
  16. ^ Beit-Hallahami, Benjamin The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Active New Religions, Sects and Cults (1997), ISBN 0-8239-1505-0 p.85 "Divine Light Mission". "When the founder died in 1966, the eight-year old Pretap [Prem] stood up at the funeral to announce his ascent to the throne and became the movement's recognized leader. [..] Maharaj Ji was considered satguru, or the Perfect Master."
  17. ^ Melton, Gordon J. Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America, (1986), pp.141-2 entry Divine Light Mission Garland Publishing, ISBN 0-8240-9036-5
    "Just six years after the founding of the Mission, Shri Hans Ji Maharaj was succeeded by his younger son Prem Pal Singh Rawat, who was eight when he was recognized as the new Perfect Master and assumed the title, Maharaj Ji. Maharaj Ji had been recognized as spiritually adept, even within the circle of the Holy Family as Shri Hans family was called. He had been initiated at the age of six [...] He assumed the role of Perfect Master at his father's funeral by telling the disciples who had gathered. [...] Though officially the autocratic leader of the Mission, because of Maharaji's age authority was shared by the whole family."
  18. ^ U. S. Department of the Army, Religious Requirements and Practices of Certain Selected Groups: A Handbook for Chaplains (2001) pp.11-5 , The Minerva Group, ISBN 0-89875-607-3
    "Following his death, Shri Hans Ji Maharaj appointed the youngest of his four sons, Sant Ji, as the next Perfect Master and thereby the assumed head of Divine Light Mission as decreed by his father. Since that time, Guru Maharaj Ji has inspired a world wide movement and the Mission is active in 55 countries."
  19. ^ Stephen J. Hunt Alternative Religions: A Sociological Introduction (2003), pp.116-7, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 0-7546-3410-8 The leader of the Divine Light Mission, the Guru Maharaji, was 13 years old when he spectacularly rose to fame in the early 1970's. His global tour in 1971 helped to establish a large following in Britain and the USA.
  20. ^ http://www.guidestar.org/pqShowGsReport.do?partner=amex&ein=23-7174539#rptlink1
  21. ^ J. Gordon Melton, Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America. New York/London: Garland, 1986; revised edition, pp. 141-145
    "Many were initiated and became the core of the Mission in the United States. Headquarters were established in Denver, and by the end of 1973, tens of thousands had been initiated, and several hundred centers as well as over twenty ashrams, which housed approximately 500 of the most dedicated premies, had emerged."
  22. ^ "Under the Astrodome: Maharaj Ji – The Selling of a Guru", Gregg Kilday, Los Angeles Times, Nov 13, 1973 So when the DLM's annual Hans Jayanti [= birthday] festival drew near, although it has been traditionally held in India, the decision was made to move the show to America.
  23. ^ a b c “Guru's Followers Cheer 'Millennium' in Festivities in Astrodome", by Eleanor Blau, New York Times, November 12, 1973
  24. ^ J. Gordon Melton Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America (New York/London: Garland, 1986; revised edition, Garland, pages 141-145
  25. ^ a b "Oz in the Astrodome", by Ted Morgan, New York Times, December 9, 1973
  26. ^ "Maharaji Ji: The Selling of a Guru, 1973", by Gregg Killday, Los Angeles Times, November 13, 1973, p. D1
  27. ^ a b "TV: Meditating on a Young Guru and His Followers", by John O'Connor, New York Times, February 25, 1974
  28. ^ "Houston's Version of Peace in Our Time" GREGG KILDAY, Los Angeles Times Nov 25, 1973 p. S18
  29. ^ "Worshiping the Absurd: The Negation Of Social Causality Among The Followers of Guru Maharaj Ji", Daniel A. Foss, Ralph W. Larkin, Sociological Analysis, 1978, 39, 2:157-164
  30. ^ "Growing Pile of Unpaid Bills Beneath Guru's Spiritual Bliss", Deborah Frazier, UPI, March 23, 1975, Lincoln, Neb., Sunday Journal and Star
  31. ^ "New Religious Movements Turn to Worldly Success", KIRPAL SINGH KHALSA, JOURNAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION, Vol. 25, No. 2 (Jun., 1986), pp. 233–247
  32. ^ "Videotape Explorers on the Trail of a Guru", by Dick Adler, Los Angeles Times, February 23, 1974 p. B2
  33. ^ "Guru Maharaj Ji." Religious Leaders of America, 2nd ed. Gale Group, 1999. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008
  34. ^ "Guru Maharaj Ji." Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, 5th ed. Gale Group, 2001. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008.
  35. ^ "A LOOK BACK AT THE '70S" HENRY ALLEN, Los Angeles Times Dec 16, 1979; p. K30
  36. ^ Geaves, Ron, Globalization, charisma, innovation, and tradition: An exploration of the transformations in the organisational vehicles for the transmission of the teachings of Prem Rawat (Maharaji), 2006, Journal of Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies, 2 44-62."As Prem Rawat developed from a thirteen year old to an adolescent, about to be married and raise his own family, he was no longer prepared to be a figurehead whilst others dictated the direction and management of the movement established on the basis of his teachings"
  37. ^ J. Gordon Melton, Christopher Partridge (Eds.), New Religions: A Guide. New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities. pp.201-202, Oxford University Press, USA (2004) ISBN 978-0195220421.
    "As Maharaji began to grow older and establish his teachings worldwide he increasingly desired to manifest his own vision of development and growth. This conflict resulted in a split between Maharaji and his family, ostensibly caused by his mother's inability to accept Maharaji's marriage to an American follower rather than the planned traditional arranged marriage."
  38. ^ Downton, Sacred Journeys. "Nearly sixteen, he was ready to assume a more active part in deciding what direction the movement should take. This of course meant that he had to encroach on his mother's territory and, given the fact that she was accustomed to having control, a fight was inevitable."
  39. ^ name="thomsonwife">"Guru Maharaj Ji", Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Michigan, Thomson Gale, 2007. The marriage further disrupted his relationship with his mother and older brothers. A lawsuit in India gave control of the Indian branch of the Divine Light Mission to Maharaj's mother and led to a complete break with her son, who maintained the complete support of the Western disciples.
  40. ^ Lippy, Charles H. Pluralism Comes of Age: American Religious Culture in the Twentieth Century p.114, M. E. Sharpe (2002), ISBN 0-7656-0151-6
    "The Divine Light Mission, for example, in the 1980s became Elan Vital and dropped most of its Asian trappings."
  41. ^ Melton, Gordon, Encyclopedia of American Religions 7th edition. Thomson (2003) p.2328 ISBN 0-7876-7702-7
    "In the early 1980s, Maharaj Ji moved to disband the Divine Light Mission and he personally renounced the trappings of Indian culture and religion. Disbanding the mission, he founded Elan Vital, an organization suited to his future role as teacher." [...]Maharaji had made every attempt to abandon the traditional Indian religious trappings in which the techniques originated and to make his presentation acceptable to all the various cultural settings in which followers live. He sees his teachings as independent of culture, religion, beliefs, or lifestyles, and regularly addresses audiences in places as culturally diverse as India, Japan, Taiwan, the Ivory Coast, Slovenia, Mauritius and Venezuela, as well as North America, Europe and the South Pacific.
  42. ^ "Manav Dharam". 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  43. ^ Hummel, Reinhart Indische Mission und neue Frömmigkeit im Westen. Religiöse Bewegungen in westlichen Kulturen, Stuttgart 1980, ISBN 3-17-005609-3,
    pp.76-77: :pp.76-77: "Eine systematisch entwickelte Lehre hat die Divine Light Mission weder zur Zeit des Vaters Śhrī Hans noch des Sohnes besessen. Beide haben darin eher einen Vorzug als einen Mangel gesehen. Hatte der Vater sich vornehmlich als »Guru der Armen« verstanden und sich in einer bilderreichen Sprache mehr um praktische Anwendbarkeit als um theoretische Durchdringung bemüht, so blieb doch der Inhalt seiner Satsangs auf dem Hintergrund der Hinduistischen Tradition klar verständlich. Die Satsangs jedoch, die der Sohn im Westen gehalten hat und die mit einem Minimum hinduistischer Terminologie und Konzepte auskommen, müssen für den nichthinduistischen Hörer vage bleiben. Der junge Guru erklärt das konzeptionelle Denken, das auch in deutschen Übersetzungen mit dem englischen Wort »mind« bezeichnet wird, als Hauptfeind der unmittelbaren religösen Erfahrung. So ist es nicht verwunderlich, daß von seinen Anhängern nur wenig Handfestes über die DLM-lehre zu erfahren ist. Anderseits eröffnet ihnen der Mangel an vorgegebenen Konzepten einen Freiraum für Äußerungen einer spontanen Subjektivität, die wohltuend vom unselbständigen Reproduzieren autoritativ verkündeter Lehren absticht, wie man es vor allem bei den Anhängern der ISKCON antrifft. Wie auch immer die Bewertung ausfallen mag – die geistige Konturlosigkeit der Bewegung fällt allen Beobachtern auf. Im Zentrum steht bei Vater und Sohn die vierfache Meditationstechnik, die vier »Kriyas«, die Sri Hans von Svami Sarupanand gelernt hatte. [..]" p. 78: "Innerhalb dieses eklektischen Denkens dominiert der Einfluß der in Nordindien beheimateten Sant-Tradition, der schon in der Geschichte des Radhasoami Satsang wirksam war. Von ihr bestimmt ist die Ablehnung äußerlicher Rituale und Zeremonien und die Forderung, das Göttliche im eigenen Inneren zu suchen; damit verbunden die Polemik gegen den trennenden Charakter der in Äußerlichkeiten erstarrten Religionen und gegen die Kastentrennung; ferner die Ablehnung der Askese zugunsten des Lebens im Stande des Haushalters, wie Sri Hans es selbst geführt hat; die Ablehnung der Bilderverehrung und die Konzentration auf den Guru als die Manifestation des Göttlichen; [..]"
  44. ^ McGuire, Meredith B. "Religion: the Social Context" fifth edition (2002) ISBN 0-534-54126-7 Chapter. 5 "The Dynamics of Religious Collectivities", section “How Religious Collectivities Develop and Change’’, sub-section "Organizational Transformations" p. 175 "As Weber pointed out, the long-term impact of a movement hinges on transformation of bases of authority and leadership from a charismatic mode to either traditional or legal-traditional rational structures. When a movement becomes established, there is a strong tendency for the organization to calcify around the memory of the early dynamism; its own tradition becomes the rationalization for why things should be done in a certain way. Early stages of a movement's organization involve simple structures such as the charismatic leader and followers or leader, core followers, and other followers. The transition to legal-rational structures is typically accompanied by the elaboration and standardization of procedures, the emergence of specialized statuses and roles, and the formalizing of communication among members. The early years of the Divine Light Mission in the United States were characterized by rapidly growing, loosely affiliated local ashrams (i.e., groups of devotees, usually living communally), united mainly by the devotion to the ambiguous charismatic figure of Guru Maharaj Ji. As the DLM became increasingly structured and centralized, leadership and power focused in the Denver headquarters. The guru's desire to consolidate his power and authority over the movement in the United States resulted in greater formalization: rules and regulations for ashram living, standards for recruited "candidates", and pressure toward certifying the movement's teachers."
  45. ^ Thomas Pilarzyk ‘’The Origin, Development, and Decline of a Youth Culture Religion: An Application of the Sectarianization Theory’’ in "Review of Religious Research" 20, 1:33-37, 1978) Like some of its youth culture counterparts, the Divine Light Mission movement experienced rapid growth from its inception in the United States in 1971. By the summer of 1974, the American movement had grown to a total of 27 ashrams which housed over 1200 of an estimated 50,000 members or "premies." However, its development was not as simple, gradual, consistent, nor as long-lasting as changes within other "Eastern imports" such as the Hare Krsna movement. [...] By July of 1972, the first national conference of DLM leaders took place, and guidelines were laid down which specified certain rules and regulations for U.S. ashrams. DLM officials note that this led to an initial departure of followers who viewed ashram life more as an economic convenience than as a step toward the enhancement of the spiritual path to God-realization.
  46. ^ Hans Jayanti (2000), pp.24-37. DUO, New Delhi, Book published in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Hans Ji Maharaj's birth by Prem Rawat's Indian organization.
  47. ^ All Mission activities depend entirely on volunteered labor and funds. The knowledge itself, the primary source of satisfaction to devotees, is independent of the Mission proper, and DLM has no power to discipline or enforce agreements. Devotees move in and out of service roles or financial commitments, and DLM has little chance to predict or control income or staffing. Messer, Jeanne 'Guru Maharaj Ji and the Divine Light Mission, in The New Religious Consciousness edited by Charles Y. Glock and Robert N. Bellah, Berkeley: University of California Press. pp.52-72. ISBN 0-52003-472-4
  48. ^ Premies could live in ashrams to devote themselves more fully to Service. Premies often worked part or full time outside the ashram and gave a sizable portion-sometimes all-of their income to the movement. They also practiced celibacy, vegetarianism, and frequent meditation. The focus of this ascetic existence was their religious mission rather than personal pleasure or gain.Galanter, Marc (1999). Cults: faith, healing, and coercion. Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-512370-0.
  49. ^ Many of the characteristics of the Indian movement founded by Prem Rawat’s father, who had died only in 1966, were imported wholesale into the western environment. Ashrams were established with a lifetime commitment of celibacy expected from those who joined. Members were expected to forswear drugs and alcohol, and adopt a strict vegetarian diet. [...] The closing of the ashrams took away the possibility of a committed workforce and instead Prem Rawat’s activities to promote his teachings became more dependent on part-time volunteer assistance from individuals who were now raising families and creating careers for themselves. Geaves, Ron, Globalization, Charisma, Innovation and Tradition: An exploration of the transformations in the organisational vehicles for the transmission of the teachings of Prem Rawat (Maharaji), 2006, Journal of Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies, 2 44-62
  50. ^ Many were initiated and became the core of the Mission in the United States. Headquarters were established in Denver, and by the end of 1973, tens of thousands had been initiated, and several hundred centers as well as over twenty ashrams, which housed approximately 500 of the most dedicated premies, had emerged. J. Gordon Melton Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America New York/London: Garland, 1986; revised edition, Garland, pages 141-145
  51. ^ While the ashrams have often been self-supporting they have not been a good source of income for the Mission. Unlike the Moonies, the Children of God, or the Hare Krishnas, Divine Light Mission members do not sell anything. They do not solicit on street corners, selling candy, flowers, peanuts, or literature. And unlike the Church of Scientology, Guru Maharaj Ji's group does not charge for the courses or the teaching of the techniques of "knowledge." The group gets its money through gifts and the tithing of its members. The more gainfully employed a premie is, the higher the tithe the Mission receives.
  52. ^ Parke, Jo Anne; Stoner, Carroll (1977). All gods children: the cult experience--salvation or slavery?. Radnor, Pa: Chilton. ISBN 0-8019-6620-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  53. ^ Like some of its youth culture counterparts, the Divine Light Mission movement experienced rapid growth from its inception in the United States in 1971. By the summer of 1974, the American movement had grown to a total of 27 ashrams which housed over 1200 of an estimated 50,000 members or "premies." However, its development was not as simple, gradual, consistent, nor as long-lasting as changes within other "Eastern imports" such as the Hare Krsna movement. [...] By July of 1972, the first national conference of DLM leaders took place, and guidelines were laid down which specified certain rules and regulations for U.S. ashrams. DLM officials note that this led to an initial departure of followers who viewed ashram life more as an economic convenience than as a step toward the enhancement of the spiritual path to God-realization. Pilarzyk, Thomas, The Origin, Development, and Decline of a Youth Culture Religion: An Application of Sectarianization Theory Review of Religious Research, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Autumn, 1978), pp. 23-43
  54. ^ From the small beginning of one mahatma in London and a handful of premies, the mission grew, with up to half a dozen mahatmas at any one time giving knowledge, the establishment of Divine Information Centres in most major towns and cities and the setting up of about forty ashrams (designated premie households) throughout Britain by the end of 1973. Ashrams played an important part in the mission's structure. Here premies had chosen to live in small communal households, under vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. In practice they were under the direct supervision of head office and acted as cadres for the whole movement.[...] A large membership had grown up very rapidly but the organizers had no clear idea where to lead the following, nor did they have the financial resources to maintain so many full-time workers. The ashrams which should have provided a sound financial basis for the mission's operations were not even self-financing and had to be supported from funds. Price, Maeve (1979): The Divine Light Mission as a social organization. Sociological Review, 27, Page 279-296
  55. ^ Marc Galanter, Cults: Faith, Healing and Coercion, Oxford University Press (1999) ISBN 0-19-512370-0 Initial Encounters, p. 25
  56. ^ Hunt, 2003: 116; Derks and van der Lans Of Gods and Men 1983: 303; Wilson, Social Dimensions of Sectarism, 1990: 209
  57. ^ Beckford, Of Gods and Men 1983: 195; Langone, 1995 :41
  58. ^ Galanter, 1999: 19
  59. ^ Lewis, 2004: 24; Edwards, 2001 :227
  60. ^ Guiley, 1991: 152; >Barret, 1996
  61. ^ Miller, 474: 364; Juergensmeyer, 1991 :207
  62. ^ Sutton, 2005 :44
  63. ^ Geaves, 2002
  64. ^ Olson, Roger E., in Miller 1995: 364
  65. ^ Bromley, Hammond, 1983: 113-4, 227
  66. ^ Levine, 1999: 95
  67. ^ Gartrell and Shannon, 1985: 35
  68. ^ Richardson, 1995: 147
  69. ^ James V. Downton "Sacred Journeys: The Conversion of Young Americans to Division Light Mission" Columbia Univ Press (July 1979) ISBN 0231041985 Chapter 6: Growing Up/Uncaring Institutions page 87
  70. ^ James V. Downton "Sacred Journeys: The Conversion of Young Americans to Division Light Mission" Columbia Univ Press (July 1979) ISBN 0231041985 Chapter 12: Changes Page 210
  71. ^ Barret, 2003
  72. ^ Foss and Larkin, 1978: 157-164
  73. ^ Geaves, From Divine Light Mission to Elan Vital and Beyond, 2004: 45-62
  74. ^ Geaves (2006)

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  • Geaves, Ron, Globalization, charisma, innovation, and tradition: An exploration of the transformations in the organisational vehicles for the transmission of the teachings of Prem Rawat (Maharaji), 2006, Journal of Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies, 2 44-62
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