Did Prem Rawat Inherit the Title of Perfect Master?

Prem Rawat's father was the Perfect Master of his time and over 30 years of direct propagation, often walking hundreds of miles, he had created a large following and a successful organisation. However Prem Rawat was the youngest of four sons and though he was chosen by his father to be the next Perfect Master the succession would have gone to the oldest son if the succession devolved by inheritance.

Prem Rawat has given first person testimony of the process he experienced in becoming the Perfect Master within a few years of it happening.

On the day Shri Maharaj Ji left his body, a disciple tearfully begged to speak once more with his master. The young Guru Maharaj Ji had replied, "Shri Maharaj Ji has only left his body, but his spiritual body is still here, and he will appear again after a few days." At the time, he did not fully realize that this power was within him.

"I went home (from school) and everyone was, weeping. I was just sitting there not weeping and something began to happen to me. I began to feel that I am not this body; that I could not move these lips. I always thought that the soul would leave by the mouth, but my mouth was shut. Still I felt like I was leaving my body and my soul was everywhere going out. And this voice came to me saying, 'You are he, you are the one to continue.'

"Then I puzzled over the voice. Thirteen days later, I was doing pranam to my Father's ashes and bones. You know, in India they burn the bodies and thirteen days later you go and collect the ashes. I bent down to touch the ashes, the voice came: 'You are he. You are the one to go and give this to the world."'

On August 1st, Guru Maharaj Ji, eight years old, stood in front of the thousands of devotees present at his father's funeral. The voice came again, saying: "This is the last I will tell you. You are he. You must take this Knowledge out to the world." ¹

We also have the testimony of Charanand, the former Mahatma Gurucharanand, the foremost disciple of Prem Rawat who one of the few mahatmas to remain loyal to Prem Rawat when his mother disowned him.

On the evening before Maharaji was to publicly accept the role of Master, I was standing with him on the roof of Shri Maharaj Ji’s residence. He was very serene and quiet. The sky was clear, the moon was full. He turned his eyes toward the stars and the moon and said to me so innocently, “Look Charan Anand, I feel Shri Maharaj Ji watching us to see whether we are lost in our sorrow or are still remembering him and how dear the propagation of Knowledge was to him.” I was so deeply moved and felt total admiration and reverence. Surrounded by so much sorrow, let alone his own unimaginably intense personal feelings of loss – in that most painful of moments, he retained such a profound awareness of Shri Maharaj Ji’s wishes for him. All I could feel was that if Maharaji at this tender age has such strength and clarity under these challenging circumstances, then what won’t he be able to do when he grows older?

We also have the testimony of Sampuranand, the former Mahatma Sampuranand, one of the foremost disciples of Prem Rawat who one of the few mahatmas to remain loyal to Prem Rawat when his mother disowned him. "He stepped forward and he gave the hope to thousands of people who were crying and wondering and he promised then, "Don't worry, your Master is with you always," and he said "I will take care of Knowledge. I will try to spread the same Knowledge as Shri Maharaj Ji was doing."

At the time of his father's death Prem Rawat spoke to Bihari Singh, (the man with the waxed moustache) Shri Maharaji's personal driver who later became Prem Rawat's bodyguard: “Bihari Singh, why are you crying? I am still here, and he left his body. Guru never dies and is never born. Guru is a power.” Bihari was disloyal to Prem Rawat when his mother disowned him but he returned to the USA and Prem Rawat after many years in India. However, he was no longer allowed to be close to Maharaji.