X-Rated Revelations About Prem Rawat
X-rating
Mr. Rawat has always enjoyed a lifestyle exactly opposite of what he taught for the first ten years of his career in the West. Even since he stopped instructing his followers on how to live, he went to great pains to hide from them how he lived. The followers who are invited into his inner circle are "X-rated", meaning that they are privileged with the information of Mr. Rawat's true materialistic, avaricious, hedonistic lifestyle, promising to never divulge the information to the rank and file members of the Elan Vital cult. Former X-rated devotees have posted their experiences on the ex-premie website, mainly Michael Dettmers and Mike Donner.
This situation is not unusual in cults where the Cult Leader's actual life ise kept hidden from the members.
Dettmers was directly questioned about this in 2000.
Q: Why would he want to hide these things?
MD: … it's because it's inconsistent with the stand he's taken in public vis-à-vis the premies, i.e. what it takes to lead a spiritual life or whatever, the ashrams for instance. He's concerned that people will recognize that he's acting in a very hypocritical manner.
Q: And what steps does he personally take to cover up information, or make sure that people don't find out about it, which is rather the implication of what you're saying?
MD: You create an inner circle. This is not unusual with many leaders, and you could certainly say that this applies to cults. You create an inner circle, and they somehow have to be sworn to secrecy about the inconsistencies, and that was what the whole "X-rating" scene was about. The belief system was that Maharaji can do anything because he's the "Perfect Master." He isn't subject to the influences of the world. They presumably don't have any effect on him as they do on everyone else. Hence, for supposedly our own benefit, he created the ashrams and all of those rules, but simultaneously he exempted himself because as the "Perfect Master" he's above and beyond it - that's what the Lotus is. So the rationale is, because most people wouldn't understand, it's best to keep it (his lifestyle) a secret, and that's what the X-rating ritual was designed to ensure.
Q: And that was something that Maharaji instituted personally was it?
MD: Yeah
Michael Dettmers long-time personal assitant and adviser to Prem Rawat
There were certainly enough sordid details about Rawat's hypocrisy, drug and alcohol abuse, his extraordinary selfishness and failure to actually meditate, his use of Dettmers to pimp for him amongst his female devotees, his long term mistress of the mattress, Monica Lewis/Winslow, his wife's affair and alcoholism and pill-popper and Rawat's refusal to accept meaningful marriage and life counselling to satisfy the most avid soap opera addict.
Since those revelations most of the more sophisticated of Rawat's followers no longer deny any of these "pecadilloes", they deny their importance to Rawat's career as a guru or teacher. The great majority of people who expect "teachers" who talk the talk to walk the walk will make up their own mind. What sort of inner peace manifests in the life of a person who acts in this manner? Make up your own mind and remember, Rawat's life style and lack of peace is written into his face.
Mike Donner, ex-President, DLM; ex-US National Executive Director, DLM; ex-co-ordinator, Prem Rawat's personal staff
my personal experience is that m has been drinking since i began in denver in 1973…told then by bob mishler that he was drinking daily…that is daily … since he arrived in america.
Mike Donner was National Coordinator of Divine Light Mission in the USA in the mid 70s. He then became an initiator and after touring for a year was called into Rawat's inner circle to 'coordinate' his personal staff. At the same time he was the contact for the initiators worldwide until 1984 when he left and got married. After a later spell as a part-time married instructor he left Rawat for good in 1987.
Mike and Bob Mishler did their best to put "the Knowledge" into practice and make Divine Light mission a reality and continued to paint the best possible picture of Rawat despite their knowledge of his behaviour. Mishler lasted 6 years before his final disillusion and Mike Donner lasted 15 years as a close disciple and servant. Mike was the National Executive Director at the time of Prem Rawat's family "split-up" and was the person who tried to explain away the situation to the members of DLM.
Although they did not realize it they were describing typical behavioiur at a Royal Court. The sycophants, the back-biting, the lavish living, the social hierarchy, the desperate attempts to get closer to Maharaji in attempts to gain status and influence, the attempts to gain status and influence, the entertainment which centered on Maharaji and drinking and taking drugs and what happeans at festivals stays at festivals and scheming and vying for power.