The Divine Light Mission (Divya Sandesh Parishad; DLM) was an organization founded in 1960 by guru Hans Ji Maharaj for his following in northern India. During the 1970s, the DLM gained prominence in the West under the leadership of his fourth and youngest son (Prem Rawat). Some scholars noted the influence of the Bhagavad Gita and the Radha Soami tradition, a.k.a. Sant Mat movement, but the western movement was widely seen as a new religious movement, a cult, a charismatic religious sect or an alternative religion. DLM officials said the movement represented a church rather than a religion."Miami's startled elite wish the guru, in short, a pleasant stay", By Barry Bearak, Knight-Ridder Service, 30 July 1977. INDEPENDENT PRESS TELEGRAM (Long Beach, CA) A-11 "ACCORDING to Anctil and mission president Bill Patterson, they represent a church rather than a religion."
When Shri Hans Ji Maharaj died in 1966, he was succeeded as guru by Prem Rawat, then just eight years old, despite rival claims from other family members. Although Prem Rawat was accepted as his father's successor, because of his age his family retained effective control of the DLM. In 1971, Rawat defied his mother by travelling to the UK and the US, where local branches of DLM were established and rapidly expanded. By 1973, DLM had over a million followers in India and tens of thousands of followers in the West, along with dozens of ashrams and hundreds of centers.Downton (1979), p. 5
As Rawat grew older, he began to take a more active role in the movement and, when he turned sixteen, following the financially disastrous Millennium '73 festival, he took administrative control of the US branch. His increasing independence and his marriage to a non-Indian in 1974, caused a permanent rift with his mother and two of his brothers, Satpal Ji Maharaj and Bhole Ji Maharaj. They returned to India, where his eldest brother Satpal Maharaj took over the control of the Indian DLM.
In the early 1980s, Rawat began disbanding the western DLM. He closed the ashrams and eliminated the remaining Indian influences from his presentation to make it independent of any specific culture or religion. In the US, UK, France and Australia, Elan Vital was formed to replace the DLM in supporting Rawat in his role as teacher.
History
Founding and early years in India
Shri Hans Maharaj Ji, initiated by the Sant Mat guru Sri Swarupanand 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" which is still active in 2017.Melton (1992), pp. 217-218
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 his death on 19 July 1966, the Divine Light Mission had six million members in India."Whatever Happened to Guru Maharaj Ji? ", Hinduism Today Magazine, October 1983 Available Online (Retrieved March 2008)
During the customary 13 days of mourning, his mother and senior officials of the organization discussed the succession. Prem Rawat, who was 8 years-old at the time, addressed the crowd and was accepted by them as their teacher and "Perfect Master" and was named as Bal Bhagwan.Aagaard (1980)U. S. Department of the Army (2001), pp.1-5Fahlbusch et al. (1998), p. 861 Because of his age, effective control of the DLM was shared by the whole family.Melton (1986), pp.141-2
International Footprints
In 1971, Rawat, then known as Guru Maharaji Ji, travelled to the West against his mother's wish & will.Lewis (1998), p. 301 DLM was established in the U.S. and the UK. The U.S. branch was headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It was registered there as a non-profit corporation and in 1974 was recognized as a church by the United States Internal Revenue Service under section 501(c)(3).Hunt (2003), pp.116-7
By 1972 DLM was operating in North and South America, Europe and Australia. By 1973, DLM was operating in 37 countries, tens of thousands of people had been initiated (become premies) and several hundred centers and dozens of ashrams formed in the U.S. and the UK. DLM said it had 8,000 devotees and forty ashrams at that time.Oz in the Astrodome; Middle-class premies find Guru. The guru enthroned by Ted Morgan, New York Times, 9 December 1973, Page 338Price (1979)
In the United States, the staff at the headquarters grew to 125, and Telexes connected the headquarters with the ashrams."Indian Shrewdness Plus American Merchandising Equals Guru", BETTY FLYNN Chicago Daily News Social service facilities, including a medical clinic in New York City, were opened. A Women's Spiritual Right Organization dedicated to reaching out to persons in prisons, mental institutions and hospitals, was organized.Melton (1986), pp. 141-145Messer in Glock & Bellah (1976), pp. 52-72 The U.S. DLM published two periodicals: And It Is Divine (AIID), a monthly magazine with a circulation of 90,000; and Divine Times, a biweekly newspaper with a circulation of 60,000."Snowballing Movement Centers On Teen-Age Guru From India", AP, THE LAWTON CONSTITUTION-MORNING PRESS, Sunday, 29 July 1973 The cover price of AIID was $1 but most were given away free, as were the advertisements.Messer in Glock & Bellah (1976), p. 66 The World Peace Corps (WPC) was established as a security force to provide protection for Rawat. After Bob Mishler, the DLM President, was removed from power he said that Rawat got the idea to start a bodyguard unit after watching The Godfather. The WPC became the organizing agent of meetings and businesses. A variety of businesses were founded under US DLM auspices including laundromats, used clothing stores, a plane charter agency ("Divine Travel Services"), a repair service, and the "Cleanliness-is-Next-to-Godliness" janitorial service."Guru's 17th birthday observed", KENNETH T. WALSH Associated Press, GREELEY (Colo.) TRIBUNE 11 December 1974 p.16
Detroit incident On 8 August 1973, while Rawat was at the Detroit City Hall to receive a testimonial resolution praising his work, Pat Halley, who was at the time a reporter from Detroit's underground periodical Fifth Estate, slapped him in the face with a shaving cream pie."Guru Gets Testimonial And Some Pie in Face", "New York Times", 8 August 1973 Page 43"15-Year Old Guru Slapped in Face by Shaving Cream Pie", UPI, Los Angeles Times, 8 August 1973; pg. 2 Rawat responded by saying that he did not want his attacker arrested or hurt, but the reporter was attacked by two men a few days later and seriously injured.A-6 Independent (AM) Press-Telegram (PM) Long Beach, Calif., Wed., 8 August 1973Melton (1992), p. 222 When local members heard of the incident they notified Rawat in Los Angeles who extended his regrets and condolences to Pat Halley's family, and requested that the DLM conduct a full investigation. The assailants, one of them an Indian, were identified. They admitted their part in the incident and offered to turn themselves in. The Chicago police were immediately notified.Page 2 – Section B – Sun News – Las Cruces, New Mexico – Wednesday, 22 August 1973 The Detroit police declined to initiate extradition proceedings, variously claiming that they were unable to locate the assailants, or that the cost of extraditing them from Chicago to Detroit made it impractical. The arrest warrant remained outstanding.I See The Light, by Ken Kelley, Penthouse (July 1974), page 98-100, 137-138, 146, 148, & 150-151. This lack of action by the Detroit police was attributed by some to Halley's radical politics. A spokesman later stated that the Indian national had been "shipped off to Europe"."Get Your Red-Hot Panaceas!", Ken Kelley, New York Times, 19 January 1974
Festivals Festivals were a regular part of the Divine Light Mission's activities and a source of revenue. Members would pay from $50 to $100 to attend, and Darshan events would generate considerable donations."Financing the New Religions: Comparative and Theoretical Considerations" JAMES T. RICHARDSON p.259 The DLM celebrated three main festivals: Holi, which is celebrated in late March or early April; Guru Puja, which was held in July; and Hans Jayanti, which falls in November.435 A.2d 1368. Supreme Judicial Court of Maine. Mark A. DOTTER v. MAINE EMPLOYMENT SECURITY COMMISSION. Argued 2 March 1981. Decided 19 October 1981. s:Dotter v. Maine Employment Sec. Commission 435 A.2d 1368 Hans Jayanti marks the birthday of the DLM's founder.Galanter (1999), p. 20 According to Marc Galanter, the members at a festival in Orlando, Florida "looked as though they had been drawn from the graduate campus of a large university—bright, not too carefully groomed, casually dressed. They were lively, good-tempered, and committed to their mutual effort. There was no idleness, brashness, marijuana, beer, loud music, or flirtation—all hallmarks of a more typical assembly of people in their twenties".Galanter (1999), pp. 22-28 Other festivals were held nationally and locally, and sometimes organized with little advance notice. Attending as many as ten festivals a year meant many members were unable to hold regular full-time jobs, and required sacrificing leisure and community activities in order to devote time to earning the money needed to attend.DuPertuis (1986), p. 118
In 1972, seven jumbo jets were chartered to bring members from the U.S. and other countries to the Hans Jayanti festival held at the main ashram near New Delhi. 2500 foreign members camped out at the mission's "city of love" for a month."Some feel the youth is fraud" Long Beach, Calif., Sun., 19 December 1972 INDEPENDENT, PRESS-TELEGRAM A-27 The event attracted a reported total of 500,000 attendees."Guru's Pupil Slates Talk", SYRACUSE POST-STANDARD 3 February 1973. p. 3 When Rawat flew to India to attend he was accused of attempting to smuggle $65,000 worth of cash and jewelry into the country, but no charges were ever filed,Moritz, (1974) and the Indian government later issued an apology.Downton (1979), pp. 187-8"The Mini-Guru: Discourse on Maharaj Ji is scheduled in Wiesbaden" J. KING CRUGER, 3 February 1973 THE STARS AND STRIPES Page 9 The accusation led to negative coverage in the Indian press and hard feelings between Rawat and his mother, who had persuaded him to return to India for the festival.
In June 1973, the British DLM, with Prem Rawat's mother acting on behalf of her son, organized the 'Festival of Love' at Alexandra Palace in London. While it drew thousands of attendees, Rawat began receiving hostile press coverage, partly due to his showing up late, or not at all, at scheduled appearances. The membership had grown 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.
Millennium '73
The 1973 Hans Jayanti festival was held at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, and publicized as "Millennium '73"."Under the Astrodome: Maharaj Ji – The Selling of a Guru", Gregg Kilday, Los Angeles Times, 13 November 1973 The free three-day event was billed as "the most significant event in human history" that would herald "a thousand years of peace for people who want peace", the idea being that peace would come to the world as individuals experienced inner peace. To promote the event, Prem Rawat's 20-year-old brother, Bhole Ji Rawat toured with a 60-piece band, Blue Aquarius for two weeks giving free concerts."'Round and About" The Vidville Messenger. Valparaiso, Indiana, 25 October 1973 The 500-member tour was dubbed "Soul Rush" and traveled to seven cities on the way to Houston.Collier (1978), p. 170