For any of you subjects of the Queen, feel free to use any or all of the following as a letter to the editor of the Bristol paper.  Elan Vital's obfuscations in trying to explain how Rawat became obscenely wealthy seem to be scripted at this point.  Linda Gross told pretty much the same lame excuses a few weeks ago in Berkeley.  The Daily Californian didn't print my letter to the editor, so I modified it slightly to fit the statements made to the Bristol paper.  Please, copy and use as you see fit!

Elan Vital denies that Prem Rawat has become fabulously wealthy off the backs of his followers because Prem Rawat does not receive compensation from Elan Vital and because he got his money from being a "successful investor."  The first  statement may or may not be true, but it is also irrelevant and the second begs the question as to where Prem Rawat got the money to "invest" in the first place and  how much came from his devotees and how much from investments.

It is impossible for the public to know if the money Elan Vital collects at events it sponsors and from donations it receives supports the (US) $40 million Gulf Stream jet Mr. Rawat flies, or is used to maintain his Malibu mansion and servants, because Elan Vital in the USA, for example, is legally classified itself as a "church" and is thus free from any kind of financial reporting to the public, something other nonprofits are required to do.  This is also curious given that Elan Vital is claiming that what Mr. Rawat offers is not a religion.

Moreover, Elan Vital conveniently fails to mention the millions Prem Rawat has received, outside the structure of Elan Vital, from thousands of his followers who dedicated to him every cent they earned while living in Mr. Rawat’s monastic ashrams for over a decade, all the while Mr. Rawat was claiming to be the living incarnation of God, and demanding total devotion and surrender from them.

Indeed, Elan Vital's fundraising for Mr. Rawat's personal lifestyle around the world is well known, even if the money did not go through its own bank accounts.  As just one example, for years, Elan Vital instructed Mr. Rawat's evotees to send Mr. Rawat donations directly to his post office box in Malibu, Califnronia and to bypass Elan Vital entirely, as Elan Vital could not legally give money directly to Mr. Rawat.

In addition, at Elan Vital events, a ceremony during which his devotees line up to kiss Mr. Rawat's feet has often been held and Elan Vital encourages attendees to make cash donations to Mr. Rawat personally, which have totalled hundreds of thousands of US dollars at any given event.  Whether that money was successfully invested or not would seem to be largely beside the point.

As you can see, the statements by Elan Vital are misleading at best.

If anyone would like to find out more about Mr. Rawat and his history which he now tries to hide, checi the website put together by former followers of Mr. Rawat at www.ex-premie.org.