Fulfillment is a short (15 minutes) long introductory video made in 1998. It combines professional sounding voice-over explanations of Prem Rawat's claims about his life, philosophy and teachings with snippets of Rawat's "satsangs". Though intended to be shown as an introduction to "Maharaji" or Great King as his followers call him, it still contains those central dogmas of his religion that have remained constant throughout the decades:

His uniqueness as the only source of true happiness in the world today and his position in the lineage of Perfect Masters that includes his father, Jesus Christ, Krishna and Buddha. They are referred to in pretentious, ambiguous language: "became the sole person to make this message available" and "Nor is he the first person to impart this message".

It is possible to experience unparalleled joy in this life - Maharaji

What is left unspoken is that Prem Rawat or Maharaji claims that only through following his teachings and practising the techniques of meditation he teaches is this possible. He is the sole source of this "gift" of unparalleled joy which, he claims, is dependant solely on one's breath. The "secret" techniques he teaches are placing one's middle finger and thumb on the eyeballs (eyes are closed) with the index finger between the eyebrows, pushing one's thumbs into your ears while your hands are held on top of your head, concentrating on your breath and poking your tongue backwards for 15 minutes each, in that order, once a day.

One singular aspect of humanity transcends every cultural and physical barrier. One trait shared by all people from the beginning of history. What is it then that we all have in common? We all have needs, we have physical needs such as hunger and thirst as do all living things but people are not satisfied with mere survival. To be truly content we require more. What we seem to require more of, varies from culture to culture, and continually changes with the times. There is however a consistency. In one way or another, the things we desire all promise gratification. Though we all search for it in our own individual ways the pursuit of happiness is universal. People have an innate need to be content, to be satisfied in life but how do we achieve this? Do we really achieve contentment or do we only feel happy when our circumstances unfold favourably. (Rawat appears on stage to applause)

Trite but true but hardly something that hasn't been understood by most of the people who have ever lived.

Maharaji speaks about happiness that is not the result of the circumstances in one's life but is available because one has life. For over 30 years Maharaji has been sharing this simple but profound message with those who wish to hear it. Without advertising or charging fees to attend his speaking events Maharaji has genuinely touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of people world-wide. What he offers enables those individuals who are interested to enjoy their lives in a truly unique way.

What he claims to offer is not truly unique though it is simple. To be profound though it must be a true claim else it is simplistic, self-serving propaganda. There is little doubt that some followers of Prem Rawat attain some happiness through following his directions. Probably about the same as those in any cult following a charismatic leader whose claims have consistently failed to eventuate. The story of Prem Rawat and his followers, while unique in the details, is commonplace in the history of minor religions. A brief optimistic period of growth in which it appears that the sky is the limit is followed by a long, slow decline in numbers and enthusiasm as the "Master" and original "true believers" age and then die - by 2008 the median age is late 50's. Fees to attend his speeches are charged but only to the true believers.

Maharaji does not teach a religion, dogma or doctrine. Nor is he the first person to impart this message. Many people have done so before him including his own father. Shri Hans Ji Maharaj, who was of royal Indian descent, formerly conveyed this message throughout India. Taking the initiative of travelling to his audiences, Shri Hans Ji Maharaj was able to reach people who could not come to him. Today Maharaji also travels to his audiences but he travels throughout the world.

Rawat's teachings are quite basic. One of the major doctrines is that he is not the first person he claims gave Knowledge of God, the Possibility of Peace or any of the other synonyms for this "best of all possible human experiences". He claims to be the Perfect Master or Satguru, the only Incarnation of God in a human body alive now. He is the last in a long line that includes Jesus Christ, Buddha, Krishna, his father Hans Rawat and others. While he now only publicly speaks of himself as the "Master", his extravagant claims for his unique "gift" requires that he has divine powers. How else could such a simple, even ridiculous, method of "going within" produce the results he promises.

Maharaji was born in Har(i)dwar, India in 1957. By the age of 6 he had already begun speaking to the large crowds that would gather to hear his father. When his father passed away, Maharaji became the sole person to make this message available though he was only 8 years old. He continued speaking to large audiences in India throughout his childhood. When he was just 13, Maharaji was invited to speak in London and Los Angeles.

Many claim to be the sole person able to teach or produce peace in their followers. Indeed, after his mother became disllusioned with Rawat's teenage drunkenness and playboy lifestyle he was replaced as the Master by his eldest brother, who is an extremely successful "Godman" in India, a former Minister of the Indian government and a powerful politician in the Congress Party. Satpal Maharaj's message is the same message their father taught, the techniques of meditation he teaches are the same his father taught and most of his father's followers believe it is the eldest brother who has his father's blessings. There are numerous other teachers within the Sant tradition who were taught by Rawat's father's Master and who convey the complete, original teachings, not just what the child Rawat picked up in the few years before his father died.

Ever since he has journeyed to speak to those who want to listen no matter where in the word they may live. Touring around the world several times a year, Maharaji barely keeps pace with the increasing number of people moved by his message. In over 75 countries people anticipate the chance to hear him speak. Whether addressing a crowd of over 50,000 in Delhi, India or an intimate audience of 13 in Osaka, Japan, Maharaji speaks to people about something that is relevant to each individual regardless of country, culture or creed. But perhaps the best way to introduce Maharaji is to introduce you to his message.

As far as it can be assessed, Rawat's following in Europe, North America and Australia is fewer than half what it was in 1975. In India, the numbers have increased significantly in the same period but are much less than his eldest brother's following and extremely small compared to the most successful Indian Godmen such as Ramdev, Amma, Sathya Sai Baba and many others. Rawat's organisation, Elan Vital, does not count and publish the number of individuals who consider him as their Master but the number of attendees at his speeches. This total, by definition, can never decrease. They count the number of people newly initiated but have never released these figures in any meaningful way. Occasionally, actual numbers are seen on leaked internal documents, they are always very small except in India, a country with a billion citizens going through a huge religious revival in which Balyogeshwar, as he is known there, is only a very small player.

In this life, know that you can be fulfilled.