Prem Rawat "Maharaji" targeted by Hate Group on a IMC website : Miami IMC

Comprised of around 15 core participants, some of whom have committed criminal offenses in support of their cause, the group has tried to have Rawat's supporters fired from their jobs, sent bogus reports to government regulatory bodies, and attempted to have Rawat's events cancelled. In response to death threats by members of the Hate Group, metal detectors are now used at public events featuring Mr Rawat. Members of the group are also suspected of having organized a spam email attack targeting Brisbane based lawyer, Damian Scattini. Typical of the tactics employed by the group, they create a problem via misuse or out-of-context use of material, for example, and then complain when the use of material is restricted.

The latest in a string of guilty verdicts, on October 24 2007 at the Supreme Court in Brisbane Australia, Tom Gubler, a Gold Coast resident member of the Hate Group was convicted on three counts of contempt of court. He appeared later for sentencing and received a suspended jail term.

In 2002, a former member of the group, Neville Ackland, attempted to disrupt one of Rawat's events at Ivory's Rock Conference Center, Ipswich Australia. Soon after, he was arrested for possession of $2.5 million worth of marijuana and unlicensed firearms. Then, on March 1, 2004, the Supreme Court ruled that journalist, John Macgregor, was in violation of the law when he conspired with Tom Gubler to steal proprietary computer files from the computers of a non-profit organization, Elan Vital, and then distributed those files to an internet web site run by the Hate Group. The Court ruled against Macgregor on summary judgment, meaning that the record of Macgregor's unlawful acts was so strong that there was no need for the matter to go to a full trial. Macgregor was also ordered to pay the costs of the action, which were estimated to top $100,000. Gubler was ordered to comply with conditions aimed at curbing his harassment of Elan Vital, an organization which arranges speaking engagements for Mr Rawat.

In April 2005, in an expression of remorse, Macgregor apologized for his actions, and stated, "These people (ex-premie group members) maintain a series of internet web pages and chat rooms a goal of which is to create an atmosphere of ill will and malice towards Rawat and his students. ... The goals of the Ex-Premie group are often obsessive, malicious and destructive in nature. The Ex-Premie group, through the use of the internet interferes with the rights of people to experience their own spiritual discovery and for the purpose of harassing individuals who are students of Rawat's.... The Ex-Premie group's actions have included the contacting of employers of students of Prem Rawat, letters to regulartory agencies and the media with usupported allegations and rabid personal attacks on the character of individuals. Further instances include... The publication of entirely false stories of a defamatory nature on the internet and encouraging media to report these fabrications as fact."

In the latest verdict against Gubler, the court noted that he had entered his former wife's apartment while she was out, and in violation of a previous court order, downloaded files from her computer without her knowledge or consent. Gubler's ex-wife has voluntarily assisted Elan Vital for more than 20 years.

Historically, prominent voices for peace have been targets of violent reactions. Gandhi and Martin Luther King were assassinated. Even Mother Teresa was attacked by a British journalist as a "self-serving egotist" engaged in money laundering. When critics employ unethical and unlawful activities to achieve hateful ends, it suggests a degree of anti-social behavior that goes far beyond acceptable boundaries.

Members of this group have posted thousands of pages of criticism about Prem Rawat on the Internet. They exhibit behavior that psychologists diagnose as obsessive/compulsive disorder. See Time To Log Off: New Diagnostic Criteria For Problematic Internet Use, Dawn Heron, MD, University of Florida, Gainesville, published in Current Psychology, April 2003, (identifying incessant posting in chat rooms as emotional disorder).

Prem Rawat, an Indian bourn teacher, emigrated to the United States as a teenager in the early 1970s and has for many years traveled the world speaking about inner peace. He is also known by the Indian title, Maharaji. He teaches, free of charge, practical methods by which any sincere person can discover peace and fulfillment within themselves. U.S. academic, J. Gordon Melton, has described the evolution of Rawat's teaching. In 1982 he abandoned the trappings of Indian culture and dissolved his own support base. He then established a new organization and began moving it into mainstream society. He has received numerous awards and international recognition for his humanitarian efforts and inspirational TV broadcasts. Detailed information is available in new biography "Peace is Possible" by Andrea Cagan available at Amazon.

A video and on-line comments are available at
http://www.whatpeoplesay.org/

Details of his humanitarian efforts are available at
http://www.tprf.org

See also
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