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{{POV|date=August 2008}}
{{Refimprove|date=October 2007}}
{{Infobox Person
|name = Prem Rawat
|image = Prem Rawat 2007 cropped.jpg
|imagesize =200px
|caption = Prem Rawat in Lisbon, Portugal
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1957|12|10}}
|birth_place = [[Haridwar]], [[India]]
|spouse = Marolyn Rawat
|parents = [[Shri Hans Ji Maharaj]], Rajeshwari Devi
|children = Premlata Rawat, Hans Rawat, Dayalata Rawat, Amar Rawat.<ref>Cagan, A. ''Peace is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat. ''Mighty River Press. ISBN 0-9788694-9-4, pp. 206, 215, 219 and 233</ref>}}


{{Infobox school
'''Prem Pal Singh Rawat''' (born [[December 10]] [[1957]] in [[Haridwar]], [[India]]), also known as '''Balyogeshwar''', '''Guru Maharaj Ji''', and '''Maharaji''',<ref name="Navbharat Times" /><ref name="Mangalwadi">Mangalwadi, Vishal and Hoeksema, Kurt. ''The world of gurus: a critical look at the philosphies of India’s influential gurus and mystics''. Cornerstone Pr Chicago, revised edition (1992). ISBN 094089503X pp. 137-138</ref><ref>"New Hindu Religious Movements in India," by Arvind Sharma, in "New Religious Movements and Rapid Social Change", by James A. Beckford, Unesco/Sage Publications: London,1986, ISBN 0-8039-8003-8, p224</ref> became a [[guru]] in India at the age of eight, and gained international prominence at 13 when he first began to spread his message in the West. Rawat's teachings include four meditation techniques he calls "Knowledge".<ref>Hadden, ''Religions of the World'', p. 428</ref> Over the years, several organizations have assisted in spreading his message, including the [[Divine Light Mission]], [[Elan Vital (organization)|Elan Vital]] (1983), and The Prem Rawat Foundation (2001).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.tprf.org/|title=The Prem Rawat Foundation website|accessdate=2008-06-09}}</ref>
|name=Kingwood High School
<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[Image:KHS_logo.jpg‎]] -->
|principal=[mailto:melissa.hayhurst@humble.k12.tx.us Melissa Hayhurst]
|telephone=281.641.6901
|fax=281-641-7217
|fundingtype=Public
|grades=9-12
|streetaddress=2701 Kingwood Drive, Kingwood, TX
|city=Houston
|state=Texas
|campus type = Suburban
|zipcode=77339
|country=USA
|motto="Learning for all...whatever it takes."
|enrollment=3,700
|mascot=Mustang
|established=1979
|district=[[Humble ISD]]
|newspaper=The Kingwood Courier
|yearbook=Hoofprints
|school_colours=Navy Blue, Columbia Blue, White
|homepage=[http://www.humbleisd.net/education/school/school.php?sectionid=17 KHS Home Page]
}}


'''Kingwood High School''' is a [[Humble Independent School District|Humble ISD]] secondary school located in the [[Kingwood, Houston, Texas|Kingwood]] community of [[Houston]], [[Texas]], [[United States]].
Rawat's father and guru was Shri [[Hans Ji Maharaj]]. When he died in 1966, Rawat was proclaimed "[[satguru]]" or "Perfect Master",<ref>Melton J. Gordon Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America. Routledge, 1992 (1st Edition), ISBN 0-815-31140-0, p. 217</ref> and succeeded his father as the spiritual leader of three million followers in India.<ref name=MacDougall1983>{{Citation|last=MacDougall|first=Curtis|year=1983|title=Superstition and the press|isbn=0-87975-211-4|publisher=Prometheus Books|location = Buffalo, N.Y.|oclc = 10248727|page=437}}</ref> Granted [[emancipated minor]] status at age 16, Rawat married in 1974, which resulted in conflicts within his family and the splitting of the movement.<ref name="Hunt2003" /><ref>Miller, ''America's Alternative Religions'', p. 474</ref> Prem Rawat retained control outside of India and took a more active role in guiding the movement in the West.<ref>Melton J. Gordon Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America. New York/London: Garland, 1986 (revised edition), ISBN 0-8240-9036-5, pp. 141-145</ref> He became a [[United States]] citizen in 1977.<ref>"Guru Maharaj Ji becomes a citizen of the U.S." ''Rocky Mountain News'', Wednesday, October 19, 1977, Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.</ref> He later dropped the title "Guru" and claims of divinity, and abandoned the Indian aspects of his teachings associated with the early movement.<ref> Hunt, Stephen J. ''Alternative Religions: A Sociological Introduction'' (2003), pp.116-7, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 0-7546-3410-8</ref>


Melissa Hayhurst is the current principal of Kingwood High School.
The focus of Rawat's teachings is on stillness, peace and contentment within the individual.<ref name="Hunt2003"> Hunt, Stephen J. ''Alternative Religions: A Sociological Introduction'' (2003), pp. 116–7, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 0-7546-3410-8</ref> Rawat's supporters and independent studies have credited him with helping people experience inner peace.{{Fact|date=October 2008}}


Prior to fall 2007, 9th graders attended an adjacent campus at 4015 Woodland Hills Drive. This campus which was renovated is now called [[Kingwood Park High School]] and is its own independent school.
Rawat has been criticized for a lack of intellectual content in his public discourses<ref name="MeltonHandbook1986Controversy">[[J. Gordon Melton|Melton, J. Gordon]]. Entry "DIVINE LIGHT MISSION", subtitle "Controversy" in ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America''. Garland, 1986 (revised edition), ISBN 0-8240-9036-5 pp. 144–5<br /><small>During the first years of the Divine Light Mission in the United States, both it and Maharaj Ji were constantly involved in controversy. The teachings of the Mission, particularly the public discourses of Maharaj Ji, were condemned as lacking in substance. Maharaj Ji, who frequently acted like the teenager that he was in public, was seen as immature and hence unfit to be a religious leader. At one point, a pie was thrown in his face (which led angry followers to assault the perpetrator). Ex members attacked the group with standard anti cult charges of brainwashing and mind control.<br />However, as the group withdrew from the public eye, little controversy followed it except for the accusations of Robert Mishner [sic] the former president of the Mission, who left in 1977. Mishner complained that the ideals of the group had become impossible to fulfill and that money was increasingly diverted to Maharaj Ji's personal use. Mishner's charges [were] made just after the deaths at Jonestown, Guyana [...]<br />''</small></ref><ref name="Schnabel1982"> [[Paul Schnabel|Schnabel]], ''Tussen stigma en charisma'' ("Between stigma and charisma"), 1982. [http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/schn016tuss01_01/schn016tuss01_01_0009.htm Ch. IV, C]:
{|
|-
|<small>(p. 99:) [...] persoonlijke kwaliteiten alleen [zijn] onvoldoende [...] voor de erkenning van het charismatisch leiderschap. [...] de verwende materialistische en intellectueel weinig opmerkelijke Maharaj Ji.<br />(p. 101-102:) Tegelijkertijd betekent dit echter ook, dat charismatisch leiderschap als zodanig tot op grote hoogte ensceneerbaar is. Maharaj Ji is daar een voorbeeld van. In zekere zin gaat het hier om geroutiniseerd charisma (erfopvolging), maar voor de volgelingen in Amerika en Europa geldt dat toch nauwelijks: zij waren bereid in juist hem te geloven en er was rond Maharaj Ji een hele organisatie die dat geloof voedde en versterkte.</small>
| &nbsp;
|<small> [...] personal qualities alone are insufficient for the recognition of the charismatic leadership. [...] the pampered materialistic and intellectually quite unremarkable Maharaj Ji.<br />At the same time, this means however that charismatic leadership, as such, can also to a high degree be staged. Maharaj Ji is an example of this. Certainly, Maharaj Ji's leadership can be seen as routinized charisma (hereditary succession), but for the followers in America and Europe this is hardly significant: they were prepared to have faith specifically in him and Maharaj Ji was embedded in a whole organisation that fed and reinforced that faith.</small>
|}</small></ref><ref name="Kent2001">[[Stephen A. Kent|Kent, Stephen A.]] ''[[From Slogans to Mantras|From slogans to mantras: social protest and religious conversion in the late Vietnam war era]]'', Syracuse University press, 2001, ISBN 0-8156-2948-6 </ref> and for his opulent lifestyle.<ref name="R&R1980">Rudin, James A. & Marcia R. Rudin. ''Prison or Paradise: The New Religious Cults''. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1980, ISBN 080060637X, p. 65.<br /><small>The guru's mother was so upset over the marriage and her son's opulent lifestyle that she disowned him...</small></ref><ref name="Hunt2003" />


Kingwood High School serves portions of Houston. The school has a "Kingwood" postal address even though Kingwood is no longer unincorporated.
==Childhood==
{{details|Hans Ji Maharaj}}
[[Image:T ym2.jpg|thumb|Prem Rawat at age 6]]
Prem Rawat was born in [[Haridwar]], northern India, on December 10, 1957. He had a wealthy, high caste father<ref name="CBY1974">''Current Biography Yearbook'', 1974.</ref><ref>McKean, Lise. ''Divine Enterprise''. University of Chicago Press, 1996.</ref> and was born into luxury.<ref>Downton 1979</ref><ref>Larson, Bob. ''Larson's Book of Cults''. Tyndale House Publications. 1982</ref> The fourth and youngest son of [[guru]] [[Shri Hans Ji Maharaj]] and his second wife, Jagat Janani Mata Shri Rajeshwari Devi, Rawat attended St. Joseph's Academy elementary school in his hometown of [[Dehra Dun]].<ref>A. Cagan. ''Peace is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat.'' p3.</ref> At the age of three he began speaking at his father's meetings, and when he was six his father taught him the "[[techniques of Knowledge]]." During the 1960s, Americans in India searching for spiritual guidance met members of his father's [[Divine Light Mission]] (founded in 1960) and a few became initiates or [[premie]]s (from the Hindi ''prem'', which literally means "love".) Rawat's father died in 1966, and during the customary 13 days of mourning, his mother and senior officials of the organization discussed the succession. Both his mother (Mata Ji) and eldest brother Satpal Rawat were suggested as potential successor, but before Satpal could be nominated, Prem addressed the crowd and was accepted by them as their teacher and "[[Perfect Master]]".<ref>Cagan, A. ''Peace is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat''. Mighty River Press. ISBN 0-9788694-9-4, Page 83-87</ref><ref>Aagaard, Johannes. ''Who Is Who In Guruism?'' (1980) <small>"During the first 6 years of the new movement its head was Shri Hans, the father of the young Maharaj Ji, who, at the age of 8 years, succeeded his father in 1966."<small></ref><ref name="AP165-13">''Religious Requirements and Practices of Certain Selected Groups: A Handbook for Chaplains'' by U.S. Department of the Army, published 2001 by The Minerva Group, ISBN 0-89875-607-3 - reprint of Army Pamphlet 165-13, published in 1978 by Kirchner Associates in Honolulu, [http://books.google.com/books?id=6gDQfnMUI6gC&pg=PT98&dq=%22Sant+Ji%22+maharaj&sig=9B6bZGgC21-0JqArh0VInCLM6Xc p. II-5 ff.]<br /><small>Following his death, Shri Hans Ji appointed the youngest of his four sons, Sant Ji as the next Perfect Master and therefore he assumed the head of the Divine Light Mission as decreed by his father.</small></ref><ref> Fahlbusch E., Lochman J. M., Mbiti J., Pelikan J., Vischer L, Barret D. (Eds.) The Encyclopedia of Christianity (1998). p.861, ISBN 90-04-11316-9 <small>"At the funeral of Shree Hans, his son Prem Pal Singh Rawat [...] comforted those who mourned his father's death with the thought that they still had perfect knowledge with them. The son himself had become the subject of this knowledge, the perfect master, in the place of his father, and took the title of "guru" and the name of Maharaj Ji, or great king, a title of respect to which other titular names were added. The honors paid him by his followers gave him the characteristic of a messianic child. These were supposedly his by nature and they helped him to eliminate rival claims from his own family."</small></ref> On July 31 after an improvised ceremony, Mata Ji and his elder brothers touched Rawat's feet as a sign of respect.<ref>Cagan, A. ''Peace is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat''. Mighty River Press. ISBN 0-9788694-9-4, Page 83-86</ref> Because of his youth, effective control of the DLM was shared by the whole family.<ref>Melton, Gordon J. Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America, (1986), pp.141-2 Garland Publishing, ISBN 0-8240-9036-5 <small> "Just six years after the founding of the Mission, Shri Hans Ji Maharaj was succeeded by his younger son Prem Pal Singh Rawat, who was eight when he was recognized as the new Perfect Master and assumed the title Maharaj Ji. Maharaj Ji had been recognized as spiritually adept, even within the circle of the Holy Family, as Shri Hans' family was called. He had been initiated at the age of six [...] He assumed the role of Perfect Master at his father's funeral by telling the disciples who had gathered. [...] Though officially the autocratic leader of the Mission, because of Maharaji's age authority was shared by the whole family."</small></ref><ref name="MeltonDLM">[[J. Gordon Melton|Melton, J. Gordon]]. ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'', pp. 141–2. Entry: Divine Light Mission <small>"Just six years after the founding of the Mission, Shri Hans Ji Maharaj was succeeded by his younger son Prem Pal Singh Rawat, who was eight when he was recognized as the new Perfect Master and assumed the title Maharaj Ji. Maharaj Ji had been recognized as spiritually adept, even within the circle of the Holy Family, as Shri Hans' family was called. He had been initiated at the age of six [...] He assumed the role of Perfect Master at his father's funeral by telling the disciples who had gathered. [...] Though officially the autocratic leader of the Mission, because of Maharaji's age authority was shared by the whole family."</small></ref><ref name="EoC1998">Fahlbusch E., Lochman J. M., Mbiti J., Pelikan J., Vischer L, Barret D. (Eds.) ''The Encyclopedia of Christianity'' (1998). p.861, ISBN 90-04-11316-9<br><small>At the funeral of Shree Hans, his son Prem Pal Singh Rawat [...] comforted those who mourned his father's death with the thought that they still had perfect knowledge with them. The son himself had become the subject of this knowledge, the perfect master, in the place of his father, and took the title of "guru" and the name of Maharaj Ji, or great king, a title of respect to which other titular names were added. The honors paid him by his followers gave him the characteristic of a messianic child. These were supposedly his by nature and they helped him to eliminate rival claims from his own family.</small></ref> From that time on, Rawat spent his weekends and school holidays travelling as his father had, addressing audiences on the subject of Knowledge and inner peace.


Kingwood was the 5A recipient of the prestigious [[Lone Star Cup]] in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005. Kingwood also won the award in 1999, the first year the award was given. Winners of the cup are often considered to be among the best high schools in Texas in terms of [[University Interscholastic League|UIL]] athletic and academic achievement. Kingwood was also named a [[National Blue Ribbon School]] in 1984-85. <ref>[http://www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/list-1982.pdf Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002 (PDF)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
In the late 1960s, British followers in India invited him to visit the West. In 1969 he sent one of his closest Indian students (known as [[Mahatmas]]) to London to teach Knowledge on his behalf.<ref name="Geaves2006" /> In 1970, many of his new Western followers flew to India to see him and were present at India Gate, Delhi, when – still only twelve years old – he delivered an address known as "The Peace Bomb," which marked the start of his international work.<ref name="Navbharat Times">''Navbharat Times'', 10 November 1970 (from Hindi original): <small>"A three-day event in commemoration of Sri Hans Ji Maharaj, the largest procession in Delhi history of 18 miles of processionists culminating in a public event at India Gate, where Sant Ji Maharaj addressed the large gathering."</small><br />''Hindustan Times'', 9 November 1970 (English): <small>"Roads in the Capital spilled over with 1,000,000 processionists, men, women and children marched from Indra Prasha Estate to the India Gate lawn. [...] People had come from all over the country and belonged to several religions. A few Europeans dressed in white were also in the procession."</small><br />''Guinness Book of World Records'', 1970.</ref><ref>[[Reender Kranenborg|Kranenborg, Reender]]. ''Oosterse Geloofsbewegingen in het Westen'', p. 64:
{|-
| | <small>In 1969 stuurt Maharaj ji de eerste discipel naar het Westen. In het daaropvolgende jaar houdt hij een toespraak in Delhi voor een gehoor van duizenden mensen. Deze toespraak staat bekend als de 'vredesbom' en is het begin van de grote zending naar het Westen.</small>
| | &nbsp;
| | <small>In 1969 Maharaj ji sent the first disciple to the West. The next year he held a speech for an audience of thousands of people in Delhi. This speech became known as the 'peace bomb' and was the start of the great mission to the West.</small>
|}</ref>


==Leaving India==
==Renovation==
{{Unreferencedsection|date=October 2007}}
[[Image:Maharaji arrival west.jpg|thumb|right|Prem Rawat at the [[Los Angeles Airport]]]]
Kingwood High School Renovation - Bond funds have provided the money to bring Kingwood High into compliance with Texas Education Agency current standards for classroom size. The renovations and additions will eliminate the use of portable buildings, provide a learning environment in which temperatures and humidity can be effectively controlled, and provide spaces designed for specific instructional and co-curricular activities instead of "make-shift" spaces. In summary, {{convert|108000|sqft|m2|-2}} will be added and {{convert|371000|sqft|m2|-2}} of existing space will be renovated. Currently, there are 12 portable buildings in which 550 students attend classes daily. When the renovations are complete, Kingwood High will have a capacity of 2,800 without the use of portable buildings.
Prem Rawat first travelled to the West in 1971.<ref>Lewis, James R. ''Cults in America'', ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, 1998. p.83</ref> His first western address was given at a pop music festival in [[Glastonbury]].<ref>Clarence Lewis Barnhart, Sol Steinmetz, Robert K. Barnhart. ''The Second Barnhart Dictionary of New English''. Barnhart Books, 1980, ISBN 0060101547, [http://books.google.com/books?id=rEaWoZwx5xwC&q=Maharaj+Glastonbury&dq=Maharaj+Glastonbury&pgis=1 p. 411]</ref> In September 1971 the U.S. [[Divine Light Mission]] (DLM) was established in [[Denver, Colorado]] and the same year Rawat spoke to a large U.S. gathering. By the end of 1973, DLM was operating in [[North America|North]] and [[South America]], [[Europe]] and [[Australia]]. Tens of thousands of people had been initiated, and several hundred centers and dozens of [[ashram]]s formed.<ref name="Melton">Melton, J. Gordon ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America.'' (New York/London: Garland, 1986; Revised edition, pp. 141–145 <small>"In 1970 Maharaj Ji announced his plans to carry the knowledge throughout the world and the following year, against his mother’s wishes, made his first visit to the West. A large crowd came to Colorado the next year to hear him give his first set of discourses in America. Many were initiated and became the core of the Mission in the [[United States]]. Headquarters were established in Denver, and by the end of 1973, tens of thousands had been initiated and several hundred centers, as well as over twenty ashrams which housed approximately 500 of the most dedicated premies, had emerged."</small></ref>


The renovations at Kingwood High will create 63 properly sized classrooms and 17 science classroom/ labs. Four teaching theaters, eight business labs, practice areas for dance and drill teams, and a renovated auditorium that includes a new scene shop and a black box theater are included in the renovations. Completely new finishes, including carpet, ceiling tile, lighting and paint, will be provided throughout the school. Also, a new roof, lockers, electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning systems will be installed. The school will be designed so that students may be grouped into ''houses,'' allowing counselors, assistant principals and teachers to focus on a specific group of students. The decision to move to the new "house" system has been extremely controversial among students.
The 1972 Hans Jayanti, a festival celebrating Rawat's father's birthday,<ref>Marc Galanter. ''Cults: Faith, Healing and Coercion'' p.20</ref> was attended by over 500,000 people. Rawat, then aged 14, arrived back in India on 7 November, together with 2,500 followers from the U.S in seven chartered [[Boeing 747|Jumbo jets]].<ref>"Guru's Pupil Slates Talk", SYRACUSE POST-STANDARD'' Feb. 3,1973. p. 3</ref> A suitcase containing cash, jewelry and wristwatches worth an estimated total of US$27,000 to $80,000 was not properly declared, and was impounded by customs.<ref>"Gifts for a guru". AP, ''THE STARS AND STRIPES'' November 15, 1972. p.4</ref> A DLM spokesman said that the money did not belong to Rawat, but had been deposited by 3,000 followers to pay for expenses, and that the other valuables were gifts.<ref name=NYT19730718>''India still studying goods confiscated from youthful guru''. New York Times'', July 18, 1973</ref> One secretary accepted responsibility for the valuables and another for failing to declare them.<ref name=AP730915>"Gifts for a guru". AP, ''THE STARS AND STRIPES'' November 15, 1972. p.4</ref><ref name=NYT19730718 /> The finances of Rawat and the DLM at home and abroad were investigated by the Indian government, and [[Indira Gandhi]] took a personal interest in the case which was discussed in parliament.<ref>"Boy Guru Suspected of Smuggling", AP, Sat., ''Oakland Tribune'', Aug. 25, 1973</ref> Rawat had to post a $13,300 bond in order to leave the country in June of 1973. Mata Ji said that customs officials had humiliated her son, that the Indian press had given his visit the worst possible coverage, and that her son was angry with her for convincing him to attend.<ref>"Some feel the youth is fraud", Sun., Dec. 10, 1972 INDEPENDENT, PRESS-TELEGRAM A-27</ref> Charges were never filed,<ref>''Current Biography Yearbook'' by H.W. Wilson Company, 1974</ref> and the Indian government later issued an apology.<ref>Downton, 1979: 187-8.<br /><small>First, there was the claim by the Indian government that Guru Maharaj Ji and his family had smuggled jewels and large sums of money into the country, a charge which was eventually dropped with the apologies from the government.</small></ref>


==Mission Statement==
On August 7, 1973 Rawat went to the [[Detroit]] city hall to receive a testimonial resolution praising his work, but was [[Pieing|pied]] by a reporter from the anti-establishment Detroit periodical ''[[Fifth Estate (periodical)|Fifth Estate]]''.<ref name="NYT1973-08-08">"Guru Gets Testimonial And Some Pie in Face" in ''New York Times''. August 8, 1973, p. 43. [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30913FC3B59137A93CAA91783D85F478785F9&scp=1&sq=Guru%20Gets%20Testimonial%20And%20Some%20Pie%20in%20Face&st=cse At NYT website]</ref><ref name="I-PT1973-08-08">"Guru Set For Honor, Gets Pie In Face" in ''Independent'' and ''Press-Telegram'' (UPI). Long Beach, Calif., Sunday, August 8, 1973, p. A-6</ref> A tour of U.S. cities was cut short in early September 1973, when Rawat was hospitalized with what his doctor called an "[[intestinal ulcer]]". The doctor said that Rawat's body showed the stresses of a middle-aged executive weakened by the pace of continual travel.<ref>"The 'Perfect Master' from India has an ulcer", AP, ''THE STARS AND STRIPES'' September 4, 1973 p. 6</ref>
The mission of Kingwood High School is to create a collaborative learning environment that is supportive, challenging, and disciplined, resulting in life-long learners whose exemplary performance is a credit to themselves and their community.


==Athletics==
The Hans Jayanti of 1973, called "[[Millennium '73]]", was held in the [[Houston]] [[Astrodome]]. It was promoted as "the most significant event in human history". Organizers, including Rawat's eldest brother Satpal Rawat (then known as Bal Bhagwan Ji) and activist [[Rennie Davis]], had publicly predicted attendance of 100,000 or more, but the event only attracted an estimated 20,000. Though it was not covered by the national television news, it did get extensive coverage in the print media and was depicted in the award-winning U.S. documentary [[Lord of the Universe (documentary)|"Lord of the Universe"]].<ref>"Videotape Explorers on the Trail of a Guru" by Dick Adler, Los Angeles Times, February 23, 1974 p. B2 </ref> The premies were reported to be "cheerful, friendly and unruffled, and seemed nourished by their faith". To the 400 premie parents who attended, Rawat "was a rehabilitator of prodigal sons and daughters". Other reporters found a "confused jumble of inarticulately expressed ideas."<ref>Collier, p. 176</ref><ref>"Oz in the Astrodome" Ted Morgen New York Times</ref> The event was called the "youth culture event of the year".<ref>Worshipping the Absurd 'The Negation of Social Causality among the Followers of Guru Maharaj Ji.' Article by Daniel Foss and Larkin in Sociological Analysis, 1978.</ref> The failure of the event to meet expectations generated negative publicity and left the Divine Light Mission heavily in debt, forcing changes in the movement.<ref>J. Gordon Melton Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America (New York/London: Garland, 1986; revised edition, Garland, pages 141-145</ref> According to Thomas Pilarzyk, the Millennium economic deficit was partially the result of poor management by the "holy family", Rawat's mother and three older brothers, as well as the much lower than anticipated attendance.<ref name="Pilarzyk1978">Pilarzyk, Thomas. "The Origin, Development, and Decline of a Youth Culture Religion: An Application of Sectarianization Theory" in ''Review of Religious Research''. Fall 1978, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 23-43. [http://www.jstor.org/pss/3509939 At JSTOR]<br /><small>''Abstract:'' In this paper Wallis' theory of sectarianization is applied to data collected on the Divine Light Mission, a contemporary cultic movement of the American youth culture. Its development is discussed in terms of intra-organizational changes within the social context of American pluralism. The movement's short history to date largely substantiates Wallis' writings concerning the effects of cultic fragility, sectarianizing strategies and organizational constraints on movement development. The paper contributes to recent conceptual writings within the sociology of religion on youth culture movements in modern Western societies.</small></ref>


===Basketball===
Because of Prem Rawat's youth, Mata Ji, his mother, had managed the affairs of the worldwide DLM, with the help of her eldest son, Satpal Rawat. As Prem Rawat approached sixteen years of age, he wanted to take a more active part in deciding and managing the direction of the movement. According to Downton, "this meant he had to encroach on his mother's territory and, given the fact that she was accustomed to having control, a fight was inevitable".<ref name="Downton">Downton, James V. ''Sacred Journeys: The Conversion of Young Americans to Divine Light Mission''. New York: Columbia University Press, 1979, ISBN 0-231-04198-5, Chapter 12 "Changes in the Movement"<br /><small>The end of 1973 saw Guru Maharaj Ji breaking away from his mother and his Indian past. He declared himself the sole source of spiritual authority in the Mission. And, unlike some gurus who have come to this country and have easternized their followers, he became more fully westernized, which premies interpreted as an attempt to integrate his spiritual teachings into our culture.</small></ref><ref name="Geaves2006" />


Men's Basketball State 5A Playoff Berths (1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)<ref>[http://www.uil.utexas.edu/athletics/archives/basketball/playoff_text/index.html UIL: Athletics - Basketball Playoff Text Results<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> <ref>[http://www.uil.utexas.edu/athletics/archives/basketball/ UIL: Athletics - Archives - Basketball Results<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==Coming of age==
In December 1973, when he turned 16, Rawat took administrative control of the Mission's U.S. branch and began to assert his independence from his mother who returned to India with Satpal.<ref>Melton J. Gordon Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America. New York/London: Garland, 1986 (revised edition), ISBN 0-8240-9036-5, pp. 141-145"In December 1973, when Maharaj Ji turned 16, he took administrative control of the Mission’s separate American corporation. "</ref><ref name="Caganpp200-197">Cagan, ''Peace is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat.'' Mighty River Press, ISBN 0-9788694-9-4 pp. 200, 197. <small>"In Denver in April 1974, Maharaji applied to become an emancipated minor, because he and Marolyn were now engaged and he knew his mother would not condone his marriage at sixteen (or any other age, considering the American wife he'd chosen). With his emancipation, he could obtain a legal marriage licence without his mother's signature. After spending about forty five minutes with a judge, he was granted his request."</small></ref>


{| class="wikitable" width="60%"
In May 1974 Rawat received permission from a judge to get married.<ref>"Guru, 16, marries secretary" AP Tues. May 21, 1974 ''Greeley Tribune''</ref> His marriage to Marolyn Johnson, a 24-year old follower and secretary of his from [[San Diego, California]], was officiated at a non-denominational church in [[Golden, Colorado]].<ref>"The Guru's Wife Is Another Devotee", Robert P. Dalton, AP Staff Writer, ''Oakland Tribune''. May 23, 1974.</ref> Rawat's mother, Mata Ji, had not been invited.<ref>Downton, James V. ''Sacred Journeys''. Columbia University Press, 1979. p.191.</ref> As a result of his marriage he became an [[emancipated minor]].
|+
|colspan=7 align=center bgcolor="#e5e5e5"|<big>'''Boys Basketball 5A State Championship Games'''<ref>[http://www.uil.utexas.edu/athletics/archives/basketball/boys_champions.html UIL State Boys Basketball Champions<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
|-
|align=center bgcolor="#e5e5e5"| '''Year'''
|colspan=2 align=center bgcolor="#e5e5e5"| '''Winning Team'''
|colspan=2 align=center bgcolor="#e5e5e5"| '''Losing Team'''
|align=center bgcolor="#e5e5e5"| '''Location''' <small>(all in Texas)</small>
|align=center bgcolor="#e5e5e5"| '''Class'''
|-
| 2005
| '''Kingwood'''
| '''54'''
| [[DeSoto Independent School District|DeSoto]]
| 52
| [[Frank Erwin Center]], [[Austin, Texas|Austin]]
| 5A
|-
| 2006
| '''[[Plano Senior High School|Plano]]'''
| '''60'''
| Kingwood
| 58
| [[Frank Erwin Center]], [[Austin, Texas|Austin]]
| 5A
|-
| 2007
| '''[[Duncanville High School|Duncanville]]'''
| '''60'''
| Kingwood
| 46
| [[Frank Erwin Center]], [[Austin, Texas|Austin]]
| 5A
|-
|}


Rawat's marriage to a non-Indian finally severed Rawat's relationship with his mother.<ref name="Hunt2003" /><ref>Miller, ''America's Alternative Religions'', p. 474</ref> She gained legal control of the Indian DLM and appointed the eldest brother, Satpal, as its leader, while Rawat maintained the support of the Western disciples.<ref>"Guru Maharaj Ji," ''Biography Resource Center'', [[Thomson Gale]], 2007 <small> "The marriage further disrupted his relationship with his mother and older brothers. A lawsuit in India gave control of the Indian branch of the Divine Light Mission to Maharaj's mother and led to a complete break with her son, who maintained the complete support of the Western disciples."</small></ref> Most of the mahatmas either returned to India or were dismissed.<ref name="Downton"/> Rawat had by then become financially independent as a result of contributions from his Western devotees, which made it possible for him to follow the lifestyle of an American millionaire.<ref>Price, ''The Divine Light Mission as a Social Organization.'' pp. 279–96 <small>"Immediately following Maharaj Ji's marriage a struggle for power took place within the Holy Family itself. Maharaj Ji was now sixteen years old. He had the knowledge that his personal following in the West was well established. It is likely that he felt the time had come to take the reins of power from his mother, who still dominated the mission and had a strong hold over most of the mahatmas, all of whom were born and brought up in India. Another factor may well have been the financial independence of Maharaj Ji, which he enjoys through the generosity of his devotees. Note 27: Contributions from premies throughout the world allow Maharaj Ji to follow the life style of an American millionaire. He has a house (in his wife's name), an Aston Martin, a boat, a helicopter, the use of fine houses (divine residences) in most European countries as well as South America, Australia and New Zealand, and an income which allows him to run a household and support his wife and children, his brother, Raja Ji, and his wife, Claudia. In addition, his entourage of family, close officials and mahatmas are all financed on their frequent trips around the globe to attend the mission's festivals."</small></ref><ref name="Downton"/>


===Baseball===
In November 1974, seeking more privacy for himself, his wife and his entourage following security concerns, Rawat moved to a four-acre property in [[Malibu, California]].<ref name="MHomeBase">"Maharaj Ji Buys $400,000 Home Base in Malibu Area", JOHN DART, ''Los Angeles Times'', Nov 27, 1974; p. B2</ref><ref name= "LAT1979" /> Purchased by the DLM for $400,000, the property also served as the DLM's West Coast headquarters.<ref name="MHomeBase" /><ref name= "LAT1979" /> Described in the press as a "lavish hilltop estate", it was damaged in a 1978 brush fire.<ref name="LAT1989-09-03">[[Nikki Finke|Finke, Nikki]]. "MALIBU Metamorphosis: Is Hollywood's Haven Growing Into Just Another Miami Beach?" in ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. September 3, 1989. [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/results.html?st=advanced&QryTxt=Malibu+Metamorphosis+Finke&x=0&y=0&type=current&sortby=REVERSE_CHRON&datetype=0&frommonth=01&fromday=01&fromyear=1985&tomonth=07&today=24&toyear=2008&By=&Title=&at=ALL&Sect=ALL At L.&nbsp;A.&nbsp;Times Archives]</ref><ref name="Cagan219220">Cagan, A. ''Peace is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat.'' Mighty River Press. ISBN 0-9788694-9-4, pp. 219–220 <small>Judy Osborne recalls Maharaji asking the staff to leave immediately. "He didn’t want any heroics," she comments, “even though this was his home and everything that he had was in there." His concern was for their safety. "The fire came but it blew right over the house," she remembers. "All the trees were burned, and so were the grass, the shrubs, and the hills around there. And then there was the soot. Everything in the house was filthy from soot." Maharaji and his family stayed with his brother, Raja Ji, for a while, and then within a few months, they relocated to Miami while the Malibu house was being repaired.</small></ref> Controversy around a helipad on the property<ref name="LAT1981-02-14">"1-Year Trial OKd for Sect's Helipad" in ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. May 22, 1981, p. F6. [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/657565412.html?dids=657565412:657565412&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&type=historic&date=May+22%2C+1981&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(1886-Current+File)&edition=&startpage=F6&desc=1-Year+Trial+OKd+for+Sect%27s+Helipad At L.&nbsp;A.&nbsp;Times Archives]</ref> was resolved by installing emergency water storage for use by the [[Los Angeles County Fire Department]] in emergencies and by limiting the number of permitted flights.<ref name="LAT1985-07-07">Pasternak, Judy. "Maharaji Denied in Bid to Triple Copter Use" in ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. July 7, 1985, p.&nbsp;1. [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/64480144.html?dids=64480144:64480144&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+7%2C+1985&author=JUDY+PASTERNAK&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=1&desc=Maharaji+Denied+in+Bid+to+Triple+Copter+Use At L.&nbsp;A.&nbsp;Times Archives]</ref> After scaling down the DLM's activities in the early 1980s, Rawat created the North American Sponsorship Program to help pay for the property,<ref>"Guru Maharaj Ji." Religious Leaders of America, 2nd ed. Gale Group, 1999. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC</ref> which by 1998 was valued at $15 million.<ref>"Fomer guru on a different mission, Rebecca Jones, ''Rocky Mountain News'', January 30, 1998</ref>


2004 Men's Baseball 5A State Final-Four <ref name=autogenerated1>[http://www.uil.utexas.edu/athletics/archives/baseball/index.html UIL: Athletics - Archives - Baseball Results<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Although there were still residues of belief in his divinity, by 1976 the vast majority of students viewed Rawat primarily as their spiritual teacher, guide and inspiration.<ref>Downton, James V., ''Sacred Journeys: The Conversion of Young Americans to Divine Light Mission,'' (1979) Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04198-5 p199 <small>"Although there were still residues of belief in his divinity, in 1976, the vast majority [of premies] viewed the guru primarily as their spiritual teacher, guide, and inspiration.</small></ref> In January 1976 Rawat encouraged students to leave the ashrams and to discard Indian customs and terminology.<ref>Downton, ''Sacred Journeys.'' <small>"The guru had inspired greater autonomy by saying in January 1976: 'Don't expect that all these premies who are in the ashram right now are going to stay in the ashram. I hope they don't.' This comment had the effect of producing a widespread exodus from the ashrams that year, which gave rise to an individualistic attitude ... Changes in terminology were made in an attempt to divorce the Mission from its Indian trappings. 'Festivals' became 'regional conferences.' 'Holy Company,' a term used to describe the state of being in the presence of other premies, fell from use, as did the customary Indian greeting."</small></ref> In the same year, staff at the Denver headquarters were reduced from 250 to 80.<ref>Downton, ''Sacred Journeys.'' <small>"The staff in Denver was 250 just a couple of months ago. Now it is 80."</small></ref>


'''2005 Men's Baseball 5A State Champions''' <ref name=autogenerated1 />
His appearance at an event on 20 December 1976 in [[Atlantic City, New Jersey]], wearing a traditional [[Krishna]] costume for the first time since 1975, signaled a resurgence of Indian influence and devotion. His followers elevated Rawat to a higher level in the conveyance of "Knowledge". During 1977, many returned to ashram life, and there was a shift back from secular tendencies towards ritual and messianic beliefs.<ref>Downton, James V., ''Sacred Journeys: The Conversion of Young Americans to Divine Light Mission'' (1979), Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04198-5. pp. 210–211. <small>"Signs of rededication both to Guru Maharaj Ji and the inner guru became quite apparent. Most of the premies who left the ashrams in the summer of 1976 began to return in 1977, when more than 600 signed up to enter the ashrams in just a few months' time. ... To the surprise of everyone who had come to the Atlantic City program at the close of 1976, Guru Maharaj Ji appeared in his Krishna costume, a majestic looking robe and crown he had not worn since 1975. The sight of him in his ceremonial best brought premies to their feet singing, as nostalgia for the early days caught them up in feelings of devotion once more. ... With so many premies coming out in support of devotion, there has been a shift away from secular tendencies back to ritual and messianic beliefs and practices ... elevating the guru to a much greater place in their practice of the Knowledge."</small></ref><ref> Cagan, A. ''Peace is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat.'' Mighty River Press. ISBN 0-9788694-9-4, p. 228</ref><ref>Downton, ''Sacred Journeys''. <small>"Signs of rededication both to Guru Maharaj Ji and the inner guru became quite apparent. Most of the premies who left the ashrams in the summer of 1976 began to return in 1977, when more than 600 signed up to enter the ashrams in just a few months' time.</small></ref> In 1977 Rawat became a US citizen.<ref>"Guru Maharaj Ji becomes a citizen of the U.S." ''Rocky Mountain News'', Wednesday, October 19, 1977, Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.</ref>


In the mid-1970s several ex-members became vocal critics.<ref>Melton, J. Gordon. ''Encyclopedia Handbook of Cults in America'' p.143, Garland Publishing (1986) ISBN 0-8240-9036-5<br><small>"several deprogrammed ex-members became vocal critics of the mission"</small></ref> James Lewis wrote that they attacked the movement with charges of [[brainwashing]] and [[mind control]].<ref>Lewis, James, ''The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions'', p.210, Prometheus Books, ISBN 1-57392-888-7<br />"a number of ex-members became critics of the movement, attacking it with charges of brainwashing and mind control"</ref> In January 1979 the ''Los Angeles Times'' reported that Rawat maintained his Malibu following despite a rising mistrust of cults.<ref name= "LAT1979">"Malibu Guru Maintains Following Despite Rising Mistrust of Cults" Mark Foster, ''Los Angeles Times'' January 12, 1979 p. 3</ref> Bob Mishler, co-founder of DLM in the United States and former president of the business side of the mission, and Robert Hand, a former vice president of the movement, voiced their criticism in a press conference,{{Fact|date=June 2008}} warning that a situation like the recent [[Jonestown]] incident could occur with the followers of Rawat.<ref name="Brown">Brown, Chip, ''Parents Versus Cult: Frustration, Kidnapping, Tears; Who Became Kidnappers to Rescue Daughter From Her Guru'', The Washington Post, February 15, 1982<br><small>"Suddenly there were new reports from people who'd actually managed the Divine Light Mission&mdash;Robert Mishler, the man who organized the business side of the mission and served for 5 1/2 years as its president, and Robert Hand Jr., who served as a vice president for two years. In the aftermath of Jonestown, Mishler and Hand felt compelled to warn of similarities between Guru Maharaj Ji and Jim Jones. They claimed the potential for another Jonestown existed in the Divine Light Mission because the most fanatic followers of Maharaj Ji would not question even the craziest commands. As Jim Jones convincingly demonstrated, the health of a cult group can depend on the stability of the leader.<br>Mishler and Hand revealed aspects of life inside the mission that frightened the Deitzes. In addition to his ulcer, the Perfect Master who held the secret to peace and spiritual happiness 'had tremendous problems of anxiety which he combatted with alcohol,' Mishler said in a Denver radio interview in February 1979."</small></ref> Mishler complained that the ideals of the group had become impossible to fulfill, but his charges found little support and did not affect the progress of the Mission.<ref name="MeltonHandbook1986Controversy" />


===Football===
A source of controversy in the 1970s was Rawat's affluent lifestyle, which continued during the DLM's financial difficulties.<ref>Bromley and Shupe 1981, p. 137</ref> Press reports listed expensive automobiles such as Rolls Royces, Mercedes Benz limousines<ref>"Oz in the Astrodome" Ted Morgan, ''New York Times'', December 9, 1973</ref> and sports cars, some of them gifts.<ref>"The guru who minds his mother", By MALCOLM N. CARTER, AP. 11/4/73 Stars and Stripes</ref><ref>"Boy guru weds Calif. woman, 24". Associated Press, Long Beach, Calif. ''Indepedent'', May 22, 1974</ref> Several of the vehicles were reportedly bought tax-free due to the DLM's status as a church.<ref>"Investigation under way into Guru's business activities" AP Jun 24, 1974 GREELEY (Colo.) TRIBUNE</ref><ref>Current Biography Yearbook 1974</ref> The DLM was investigated for possible abuse of its status but was not charged.{{Fact|date=October 2008}}


'''1990 Men's Football 5A State Final-Four [Division 2]'''
Rawat took flying lessons beginning when he was 13,<ref>"Pretty Far-Out Little Dude" Henry Allen, ''Washington Post'', September 14, 1971</ref> and began training in a jet by age 15.<ref>''Who is Guru Maharaj Ji''</ref> In 1972 two Cessna airplanes were obtained for his use.<ref name="CBY1974" /><ref>"Gifts for a Guru" in ''Stars and Stripes'', November 15, 1972.</ref> Travelling almost constantly, he was reported to have residences in London, New York, Colorado, California, India, and Australia.<ref>"Oz in the Astrodome" Ted Morgan, ''New York Times'', December 9, 1973</ref><ref name="CBY1974" />


'''The Run'''<ref>[http://www.uil.utexas.edu/athletics/archives/football/playoff_text/index.html UIL: Athletics - Football Playoffs<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
On several occasions, reporters enquired of Rawat why he did not give his Rolls Royce away, in order to alleviate hunger or poverty. In response, Rawat explained that he only had one; once that was given away, people would still be hungry and poor, and he wouldn't have another one to give them.<ref>Current Biography Yearbook 1974</ref><ref>"BLISSING OUT IN HOUSTON", Francine du Plessix Gray, New York Review of Books December 13, 1973</ref><ref>"Oz in the Astrodome" Ted Morgan, NYT 12/9/1973</ref><ref>"Seventeen-year-old guru likes pizza and sports cars", DEBORAH FRAZIER UPI Santa Fe, July 13,1975 THE NEW MEXICAN.</ref><ref>Levine, Richard. "When The Lord of All The Universe Played Houston: Many are called but few show up" in Rolling Stone. Issue No. 156, March 14, 1974, pp 36-50:</ref> In addition, he stated that he gave something that was more valuable than money. His followers saw no conflict between his worldly and spiritual riches either: "Maharaj Ji's luxuries are gifts from a Western culture whose fruits are watches and Cadillacs," a spokesman explained. "He isn't saying, abandon the material world. He's saying it is our attachment to it that is wrong."<ref>"'You're a Perfect Master'", Newsweek November 19, 1973</ref> In their view, the messiah had come as a king this time, rather than as a beggar.<ref>"Oz in the Astrodome" Ted Morgan, NYT 12/9/1973</ref><ref>"An East Indian Teen-Ager Say He Is God", Ken Kelley, Vogue March 1974</ref> Other premies asserted that he did not want the gifts, but that people simply gave them out of their love for him.<ref>"Through a 'Third Eye' Comes The Divine Light", By PHIL HASLANGER (Of The Capital Times Staff), Capital times, 2/16/73</ref> They saw Rawat's lifestyle as an example of a ''[[lila]]'', or divine play, which held a mirror to the "money-crazed and contraption-collecting society" of the West.<ref>Foss & Larkin 1978</ref>


[Bi-District] - Kingwood 38 - Deer Park 7
Sources close to his mother said that his materialistic lifestyle was one of the reasons she disowned him.<ref>"Guru Tries to Take Control of Mission" in The Ruston Daily Leader, April 9, 1975:</ref><ref>"MOTHER OUSTS 'PLAYBOY' GURU" in Los Angeles Times. Wednesday April 2, 1975, PART II, p. 6A</ref> Former officials of the DLM in the 1970s, including the founding president, the vice president, and a financial analyst, later complained that money was increasingly diverted to Rawat's personal use,<ref>Melton, J. Gordon. Entry "DIVINE LIGHT MISSION", subtitle "Controversy" in ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America''. Garland, 1986 (revised edition), ISBN 0-8240-9036-5 pp. 144–5</ref> and that the movement appeared to them to exist only to support Rawat's "opulent existence".<ref>TIME, Apr. 07, 1975 [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,917237,00.html]</ref> Critics have complained that his lifestyle was supported by the donations of followers.<ref>Hunt, Stephen. ''Aternative Religions''. Ashgate 2003</ref>


[Area] - Kingwood 14 - Galveston Ball 14 [penetration]
Following the fire damage to his Malibu home, Rawat moved to [[Miami Beach, Florida]] with his wife and three children for several years, and DLM headquarters relocated there.<ref name="Cagan219220" /> Prem Rawat visited India again in October 1980 after an absence of five years, and spoke to over 38,000 people in Delhi. He also toured South America and Europe that year.<ref name="Cagan">Cagan, A. ''Peace is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat.'' Mighty River Press. ISBN 0-9788694-9-4, p. 229</ref>


[Regional] - Kingwood 24 - Alief Elsik 12
==Westernization==
[[Image:Maharaji Royal Albert Hall.jpg|left|thumb|280px|October 12, 1981. Prem Rawat speaking at the [[Royal Albert Hall]], London]]


[State Quarterfinals] - Kingwood 25 - Houston Lamar 17
In the early 1980s, the Hindu traditions and religious parables that had been prominent in Prem Rawat's teachings were abandoned as obstacles to a wider western acceptance of his message and gave way to an exclusive focus on "Knowledge" – the meditation techniques. Formerly considered the "Perfect Master", Prem Rawat abandoned his "almost divine status as guru". Spiritual growth was no longer attained by the grace of the guru, but from the teachings and their benefit to individuals.<ref name="Hunt2003"/><ref>Melton, J. Gordon. Encyclopedia of American Religions. <small>Maharaji had made every attempt to abandon the traditional Indian religious trappings in which the techniques originated and to make his presentation acceptable to all the various cultural settings in which followers live. He sees his teachings as independent of culture, religion, beliefs, or lifestyles.</small></ref>


[State Semifinals] - Kingwood 22 - Converse Judson 51
In 1983 the downsized Divine Light Mission changed its name to [[Elan Vital (organization)|Elan Vital]], and Rawat closed the last western ashrams, marking the end of his use of Indian methods for international objectives.<ref>Miller, ''America's Alternative Religions'', p. 474</ref>


===Soccer===
Rawat continued to teach the techniques of Knowledge and affirmed his own status as a master rather than a divine leader. The original religious movement was essentially defunct. Scholars such as [[Reender Kranenborg|Kranenborg]] and [[George D. Chryssides|Chryssides]] describe the departure from divine connotations, and the new emphasis that the Knowledge is universal, rather than Indian.<ref name="KranenborgNeo178">Kranenborg, Reender. ''Neohindoeïstische bewegingen in Nederland: een encyclopedisch overzicht'', p. 178<br /><small>"Zij [Mata Ji, Prem Rawats moeder] onterfde hem spiritueel, in feite werd hij de beweging uitgezet. Maharaji ging zelfstandig verder, zij het met minder pretenties dan voorheen. Zo sprak hij sindsdien niet meer in goddelijke termen over zichzelf, maar noemde zich 'humanitarian leader'" (translation: "She [Rawat's mother, Mata ji] disinherited him spiritually. In fact, he was expelled from the movement. Maharaji continued on independently, albeit with less pretensions than in the past, no longer speaking in divine terms about himself, but calling himself instead a 'humanitarian leader'.")</small></ref><ref name="Chryssides"/> Sociologist [[Stephen J. Hunt|Hunt]] claims that Rawat "left his more ascetic life behind and does not personally eschew material possessions. Over time, critics have focused on what appears to be his opulent lifestyle and argue that it is supported largely by the donations of his followers. His tens of thousands of followers in the West see themselves as adherents to a system of teachings that extol the goal of enjoying life to the full."<ref name="Hunt2003" />


'''[Boys]'''<ref name=autogenerated2>[http://www.uil.utexas.edu/athletics/archives/ UIL: Athletics - Champions Archives and Records<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
He toured extensively throughout the 1980s and 1990s,<ref>Cagan, A. ''Peace is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat.'' Mighty River Press. ISBN 0-9788694-9-4 pp. 255, 266</ref> and spoke publicly in over 40 countries, in places as culturally diverse as [[Japan]], [[Taiwan]], the [[Ivory Coast]], [[Slovenia]] and [[Venezuela]].<ref>Melton, J. Gordon ''Encyclopedia of American Religions.'' <small>"He sees his teachings as independent of culture, religion, beliefs, or lifestyles, and regularly addresses audiences in places as culturally diverse as India, Japan, Taiwan, the Ivory Coast, Slovenia, Mauritius and Venezuela, as well as North America, Europe and the South Pacific."</small></ref> 1999 saw the commencement of regular satellite broadcasts to North America and other countries.<ref>[http://www.contact-info.net/broadcasts.cfm Contact Info - Broadcasts<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>


1991-1992 Boys 5A State Semi-Finals
==2000s==
[[Image:Maharaji Salamanca.jpg|thumb|280px|June 30, 2003. Prem Rawat addressing the first "Conference on Peace" at the [[University of Salamanca]]]]


1998-1999 Boys 5A State Finalist
Between January 2004 and June 2005, Rawat delivered 117 addresses in Asia, Europe, and North America focusing on a universal message of peace and self-fulfillment. His message is currently distributed in eighty-eight countries in print and on video, and his program "Words of Peace" is broadcast on TV channels such as ''Canal Infinito'' in South America, ''Channel 31'' in Australia, and ''Dish Network'' in the U.S.A.<ref>''Conversation with Prem Rawat'', [http://www.tprf.org/Prem_Rawat_conversation.htm Available online.] (Retrieved January 2006)</ref><ref>"Words of Peace" by Maharaji receives TV Award in Brazil" [http://maharaji.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2004/11/29/193283.html Press release].</ref>


2000-2001 Boys 5A State Finalist
In 2001, Rawat founded the The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF),<ref>"[http://tprf.org/prem-rawat/about-prem-rawat.htm About Prem Rawat]" at the [http://www.tprf.org website of The Prem Rawat Foundation]</ref> a [[501(c)|Public Charitable Organization]] for the production and distribution of materials promoting his message, and for funding worldwide humanitarian efforts. TPRF has provided food, water and medical help to war-torn and impoverished areas.<ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://charityreports.give.org/Public/Report.aspx?CharityID=3098
|title=Charity report
|publisher=BBB Wise Giving Alliance
|retrieved=March 2007}}</ref>


2002-2003 Boys 5A State Semi-Finals
In 2005, Rawat introduced ''The Keys'', a set of five DVD's which prepare the student for receiving Knowledge, as well as a sixth Key which is a DVD presentation of Rawat teaching the Knowledge techniques.<ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://thekeys.maharaji.net/home/index.php?_a=knowledgebase&_j=questiondetails&_i=372&nav=+%26gt%3B+%3Ca+href%3D%27index.php%3F_a%3Dknowledgebase%26_j%3Dsubcat%26_i%3D52%27%3EThe+Keys%3C%2Fa%3E
|title=The Keys, by Maharaji
|publisher=thekeys.maharaji.net
|accessdate=2008-05-19
|last=
|first=
}}
</ref>


2004-2005 Boys 5A State Finalist
In 2007, during a two-month tour of India, [[Sri Lanka]] and [[Nepal]], Rawat spoke at 36 events, addressing over 800,000 people, and by live satellite broadcasts reached an additional 2.25 million.<ref>Press release. [http://www.tprf.org/Prem_Rawat_press_releases/Prem_Rawat_addreses_over_3_million_in_India_events.htm Over 3 million people participate in events with Prem Rawat in India]</ref>


'''[Girls]'''<ref name=autogenerated2 />
==Teachings==
{{details|Teachings of Prem Rawat}}


1991-1992 Girls 5A State Finalist
Prem Rawat teaches a process of self-discovery using four [[meditation]] techniques, known collectively as "Knowledge", that offer a direct experience of transcendence.<ref name="Hunt2003" /><ref>Hadden, Religions of the world, p. 428 <small>The meditation techniques the Maharaji teaches today are the same he learned from his father, Hans Ji Maharaj, who, in turn, learned them from his spiritual teacher [Sarupanand]. 'Knowledge', claims Maharaji, 'is a way to be able to take all your senses that have been going outside all your life, turn them around and put them inside to feel and to actually experience you ... What you are looking for is inside of you.'</small></ref><ref name="nytoz">"Oz In the Astrodome", by Ted Morgan, New York Times, December 9, 1973</ref><ref>"Blissing Out in Houston", by Francine du Plessix Gray, New York Review of Books, Vol. 20, No. 20, December 13, 1974, p36 <small>'I am meditating right now, as I talk to you,' he says cheerfully. 'But I cannot describe to you the Divine Knowledge any further than that if you haven't experienced it. Our Knowledge is not a religion, but an experience. Can I describe to you the taste of a mango before you have tasted it?'</small></ref> [[Stephen J. Hunt]] describes Rawat's major focus as being on stillness, peace and contentment within the individual, with 'Knowledge' encompassing the necessary techniques to acquire these qualities. Knowledge, roughly translated, means the happiness of the true self-understanding. Each individual should seek to comprehend his or her true self. In turn, this brings a sense of well-being, joy, and harmony as one comes in contact with one's "own nature."<ref name="Hunt2003" />


1992-1993 Girls 5A State Finalist
Some scholars assert that Rawat's teachings began in the North Indian [[Sant Mat]] tradition,<ref>Melton, J. Gordon. ''The Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America''. Garland Publishing (1986). ISBN 0-8240-9036-5 p. 143<br /><small>The Divine Light Mission is derived from Sant Mat (literally, the way of the saints), a variation of the Sikh religion which draws significant elements from Hinduism... In any case Hans Maharaj Ji claimed a Sant Mat succession which he passed to Maharaj Ji.</small></ref> which dismisses ritual and claims that true religion is a matter of loving and surrendering to God who dwells in the heart.<ref name=Lipner>{{cite book |author=Lipner, Julius |title=Hindus: their religious beliefs and practices |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |year=1994 |pages=p.120-1 |isbn=0-415-05181-9 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref><ref name=Schomer>{{cite book |author=Schomer, Karine |title=The Sants: studies in a devotional tradition of India |publisher=Berkeley Religious Studies Series |location=[Berkeley, Calif.] |year=1987 |pages= |isbn= 0-9612208-0-5 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref> Rawat claims that practicing Knowledge will allow the practitioner to experience the divine within, which will yield self-understanding, calmness, peace and contentment.<ref name="Chryssides">Chryssides, George D. ''Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements'' pp. 210–1, Scarecrow Press (2001) ISBN 0-8108-4095-2 <small>This Knowledge was self-understanding, yielding calmness, peace, and contentment, since the innermost self is identical with the divine. Knowledge is attained through initiation, which provides four techniques that allow the practitioner to go within ... and emphasizing that the Knowledge is universal, non Indian, in nature. </small></ref>


1993-1994 Girls 5A State Semi-Finals
Several scholars wrote that Rawat claimed or suggested that he was divine, in accord with the Indian [[Sant Mat]] tradition of regarding the "[[Perfect Master]]" as an embodiment of God.<ref>[[Jan van der Lans|Lans, Jan van der]] and Frans Derks, Premies Versus Sannyasins in "Update: A Quarterly Journal on New Religious Movements", X/2 (June 1986)[http://www.dci.dk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=599:premies-versus-sannyasins&catid=163&Itemid=36]<small>"DLM and Rajneeshism are comparable in that in both, the Indian guru is the central object of devotion. While in the Christian tradition the spiritual master is only an intermediate between the individual and God, standing outside their personal relation, in both these new religious movements the devotee's relation with the guru is considered identical to his relation with God. The guru is accepted as the manifestation and personification of God. His request for total surrender and complete trust is grounded in his claim of ultimate authority derived from his godliness.'"</small></ref><ref>[[J. Gordon Melton|Melton, J. Gordon]] ''The Encyclopedia Handbook of Cults in America.'' p. 143, Garland Publishing (1986) ISBN 0-8240-9036-5 <small>"In any case Hans Maharaj Ji claimed a Sant Mat succession which he passed to Maharaj Ji. Maharaj Ji, as do many of the other Sant Mat leaders, claims to be a Perfect Master, an embodiment of God on earth, a fitting object of worship and veneration."</small></ref> As a [[guru]], he carried divine connotations for his followers, and Rawat's appeal to his followers to give up their beliefs and concepts did not prevent them from adopting a set of ideas about his divinity and the coming of a new age.<ref name="DowntonDivinity"> Downton, ''Sacred Journeys.'' <small>"During 1971, there were social forces encouraging the development of millenarian beliefs within the Mission. They were developed in part by the carryover of millennial thinking from the counterculture; by the psychological trappings of surrender and idealization; by the guru's mother, whose satsang was full of references to his divine nature; and partly by the guru, himself, for letting others cast him in the role of the Lord. Given the social pressures within the premie community which reinforced these beliefs, there was little hope premies would be able to relax the hold that their beliefs and concepts had over them. ... From the beginning, Guru Maharaj Ji appealed to premies to give up their beliefs and concepts so that they might experience the Knowledge, or life force, more fully. This, as I have said, is one of the chief goals of gurus, to transform their followers' perceptions of the world through deconditioning. Yet Guru Maharaj Ji's emphasis on giving up beliefs and concepts did not prevent premies from adopting a fairly rigid set of ideas about his divinity and the coming of a new age."</small></ref> Despite his denial in a July, 1972 interview of any belief that he was the Messiah, pre-existing [[Millennialism|millennial]] expectations were fostered partly by his mother, whose talks were full of references to her son's divine nature, and partly by Rawat himself, who generally encouraged whatever view was held by people.<ref name="DowntonDivinity" /><ref name=Collier>Collier, Sophia, ''[[Soul Rush (book)|Soul Rush: The Odyssey of a Young Woman of the '70s]]'' Morrow, 1978. <small>"There are those who sincerely believe that Guru Maharaj Ji is the Lord of Creation here in the flesh to save the world. And then there are those who know him a little better than that. They relate to him in a more human way ... to them he is more of a teacher, a guide, a co-conspirator in their personal pursuit of a more heavenly way of life. Guru Maharaji, though he has never made a definitive statement on his own opinion of his own divinity, generally encourages whatever view is held by the people he is with. Addressing several hundred thousand ecstatic Indian devotees, prepared for his message by a four-thousand-year cultural tradition, he declares, 'I am the source of peace in this world ... surrender the reins of your life unto me and I will give you salvation.' On national television in the United States he says sheepishly, with his hands folded in his lap, 'I am just a humble servant of God.''" </small></ref>


'''1994-1995 Girls 5A State Champions'''
Some journalists and scholars have described Rawat's teachings as lacking in intellectual content.<ref>"Melton, J. Gordon, ''The Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America: Revised and Updated Edition''. Garland Publishing (1992). p. 222</ref><ref name="Kent2001" /> <ref name="nytozintellectual">"Oz In the Astrodome", by Ted Morgan, New York Times, December 9, 1973 <small>The reasons for the guru's American success seem to lie partly in the nature of the movement and partly in the timing of the transplant. The doctrine has about as much intellectual content as the fudge sundaes the guru dotes on. As the late [[Alan Watts]], the all-purpose mystic and expert on Zen Buddhism, said: "The core of this doctrine is a sacred ignorance." The important thing is the experience the guru claims he can give, to change people and make them want peace. It follows, as puddles follow rain, that if everyone has this experience, the world will be at peace.</small></ref> Van der Lans and Derks wrote that according to Rawat all evil should be attributed to the mind (premies use "mind" and "ego" interchangeably), as an obstacle to freeing oneself from former bonds.<ref>Van der Lans and Derks ''[http://www.dci.dk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=599:premies-versus-sannyasins&catid=163&Itemid=36 Premies Versus Sannyasins]'', 1986</ref><ref>Downton 1979 p181</ref> Rawat makes no reference to any traditional authority, neither person nor text.<ref>Geaves, Ron in Partridge, Christopher (Ed.) and Melton, J. Gordon (introduction). ''New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities''. Oxford University Press, USA, 2004, ISBN 978-0195220421, pp. 201–202<br /><small>Rawat is insistent that it is not the product of any one culture or the property of any religious tradition and that it can be practiced by anyone. Consequently, Maharaji asserts that he is not teaching a religion and there are no particular rituals, sacred days, pilgrimages, sacred places, doctrines, scriptures or specific dress codes, dietary requirements or any other dimension associated with a religious lifestyle.</small></ref><ref name="Geaves2006" /> In the 80s Rawat came to recognize that the Indian influences on his followers in the West were a hindrance to the wider acceptance of his teachings, and he changed the style of his message, relinquishing the Hindu traditions and beliefs and most of the original eastern religious practices.<ref name="Hunt2003" /><ref>Melton, J. Gordon. ''Encyclopedia of American Religions.'' <small>Maharaji had made every attempt to abandon the traditional Indian religious trappings in which the techniques originated and to make his presentation acceptable to all the various cultural settings in which followers live. He sees his teachings as independent of culture, religion, beliefs, or lifestyles.</small></ref><ref name="nytozintellectual">"Oz In the Astrodome", by Ted Morgan, New York Times, December 9, 1973 <small>The reasons for the guru's American success seem to lie partly in the nature of the movement and partly in the timing of the transplant. The doctrine has about as much intellectual content as the fudge sundaes the guru dotes on. As the late [[Alan Watts]], the all-purpose mystic and expert on Zen Buddhism, said: "The core of this doctrine is a sacred ignorance." The important thing is the experience the guru claims he can give, to change people and make them want peace. It follows, as puddles follow rain, that if everyone has this experience, the world will be at peace.</small></ref>


1995-1996 Girls 5A State Semi-Finals
Practitioners describe Knowledge as internal and highly individual, with no associated social structure, liturgy, ethical practices or articles of faith.<ref name="Hunt2003" /> Practitioners and organizations related to Prem Rawat emphasize the superiority of subjective experience over intellect.<ref name="Hunt2003" /><ref name="Barret">Barret, David V. ''The New Believers: A Survey of Sects, Cults and Alternative Religions''. Cassel, 2003, ISBN 1844030407, p. 65<br /><small>The experience is on individual, subjective experience rather than on a body of dogma, and in its Divine Light days the movement was sometime criticized for this stressing of emotional experience over intellect. The teaching could perhaps best described as practical mysticism</small></ref><ref name="Mangalwadi"/>


1997-1998 Girls 5A State Semi-Finals
==Reception==
According to [[Ron Geaves]], one of the earliest Western students of Prem Rawat who later became a Professor of Religion in the UK:<ref name=cagan109 /> "Prem Rawat has been successful since he left India in 1971, establishing his teachings in over eighty countries, and his original vehicle Divine Light Mission was described as the fastest growing new religious movement in the West."<ref name="Geaves2006">Geaves, Ron. "Globalization, charisma, innovation, and tradition: An exploration of the transformations in the organisational vehicles for the transmission of the teachings of Prem Rawat (Maharaji)" in ''Journal of Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies - Volume 2'', 2006, ISBN 978-1-4196-2696-5, pp. 44-62. {{cite web |url=http://www.asanas.org.uk/files/002geaves.pdf |title= Online version at the "Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies Association" website|format= |work= |accessdate=2008-06-14}}</ref>


'''1998-1999 Girls 5A State Champions'''
[[Stephen A. Kent]], in the preface of his book ''[[From Slogans to Mantras]]'', described his disappointment at hearing what he considered to be a poorly delivered and banal message by Rawat in 1974, and was surprised that his companions spoke glowingly about the same message.<ref name="Kent2001" />


2001-2002 Girls 5A State Finalist
===Following===
Estimates of the number of Rawat's adherents varied, and became less certain over time.<ref name="RR&P1993" /> Petersen states that Rawat claimed 7 million disciples worldwide in 1973, with 60,000 in the U.S.<ref>Petersen, William J. ''Those Curious New Cults in the 80s''. New Canaan, Connecticut: Keats Publishing (1982); p. 146., as quoted in "Adherents.com"[http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_257.html#1344]</ref> Rudin & Rudin give a worldwide following of 6 million prior to the family schism of 1974, of which 50,000 were in the U.S. According to these authors, these figures had fallen to 1.2 million for Prem Rawat's personal worldwide following in 1980, of which just 15,000 were in the U.S.<ref name="R&R">Rudin, James A. & Marcia R. Rudin. ''Prison or Paradise: The New Religious Cults''. Fortress Press: Philadelphia (1980); p. 63.</ref> Palmer and Keller published a general DLM membership of approximately 1.2 million worldwide, with 50,000 in the U.S., in 1990 and 1997.<ref> Palmer & Keller, ''Religions of the World'', p. 95. 1990 edition quoted in: [http://www.adherents.com/index.html Adherents.com], entry [http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_257.html#1344 Divine Light Mission]</ref>


2003-2004 Girls 5A State Semi-Finals
[[Paul Schnabel]] notes a steady growth of adherence in the U.S. until 1975 (numbers for 1974: 50,000 premies, of which 1,200 living in ashrams), with a steep decline afterwards.<ref name="Schnabel1982II"> [[Paul Schnabel|Schnabel]], ''Tussen stigma en charisma'' ("Between stigma and charisma"), 1982. [http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/schn016tuss01_01/schn016tuss01_01_0003.htm Ch. II, p. 32]</ref> Army Pamphlet 165-13 (1978, reprinted 2001) estimated 50,000 adherents in the U.S., of which 10,000 to 12,000 were considered very active.<ref name="AP165-13" /> Melton & Moore suggested a U.S. following of no more than 3,000 committed followers in 1982 out of some 50,000 who had been initiated into the Knowledge meditation.<ref>Melton, J. Gordon & Robert L. Moore. The Cult Experience: Responding to the New Religious Pluralism. New York: The Pilgrim Press (1984 [3rd printing; 1st printing 1982]); p. 142.<br/><small>The Divine Light Mission grew quickly in the early seventies but suffered a severe setback in 1973 [..]. In the late seventies the Mission became a low-key organization and stopped its attempts at mass appeal. Recently, Maharaj Ji quietly moved to Miami. The Mission has reportedly initiated over 50,000 people, but only a few thousand remain in the chain of ashrams that now dot the nation.</small></ref> By 1993 it was no longer possible to obtain estimates from Rawat's organisations.<ref name="RR&P1993">[http://web.archive.org/web/20010303215240/www-cgsc.army.mil/chap/relpractice/Sikh/elan.htm "Elan Vital"] in ''Religious Requirements and Practices of Certain Selected Groups: A Handbook for Chaplains'' by The Institute for the Study of American Religion (J. Gordon Melton, Project Director - James R. Lewis, Senior Research Associate). 1993 - online edition at [[Internet Archive]], last updated 30 May 2000. The [http://web.archive.org/web/20010203173400/http://www-cgsc.army.mil/chap/relpractice/handbook.doc 1993 version] already contained:<br /><small>[..] Elan Vital Maharaj Ji has continued a policy of not relating to outside information gathering efforts. Recent attempts to gain status reports on the organization by researchers have been completely ignored by the leadership.</small></ref> Paul Schnabel indicated that in 1980 the number of DLM adherents in the [[Netherlands]] had fallen to 150, 15 of which were living in a community setting.<ref name="Schnabel1982III"> [[Paul Schnabel|Schnabel]], ''Tussen stigma en charisma'' ("Between stigma and charisma"), 1982. [http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/schn016tuss01_01/schn016tuss01_01_0004.htm Ch. III, p. 53]</ref> In 1983 the following of Rawat in [[Fiji]] was around 1,000.<ref name="HinduismToday1983">"Whatever Happened to Guru Maharaj Ji?" in ''[[Hinduism Today]]'' by Himalayan Academy, [[USA]], ISSN 0896-0801, October 1983. [http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1983/10/1983-10-06.shtml Web copy at hinduismtoday.com]</ref> For West Germany, 800 members were recorded in 1987.<ref>Clarke, Peter B. (ed). ''The New Evangelists: Recruitment, Method and Aims of New Religious Movements''. London, Ethnographics, 1987, ISBN 0905788605, pg. 10 to 14. Quoted in: [http://www.adherents.com/index.html Adherents.com], entry [http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_257.html#1344 Divine Light Mission]</ref> According Rawat's official website, as of May 2008 and in the last eight years, 365,237 people in 67 countries have attended a ''Key Six session'', a special session where techniques of Knowledge are taught by Rawat via a video presentation.<ref name="urlThe Keys, by Maharaji">{{cite web |url=https://thekeys.maharaji.net/home/index.php?_a=knowledgebase&_j=questiondetails&_i=372&nav=+%26gt%3B+%3Ca+href%3D%27index.php%3F_a%3Dknowledgebase%26_j%3Dsubcat%26_i%3D52%27%3EThe+Keys%3C%2Fa%3E |title=The Keys, by Maharaji |format= |publisher=The Prem Rawat Foundation |accessdate=2008-10-10}}</ref>


===Media===
===Cross Country===
After Prem Rawat's first arrival in the [[United Kingdom]] and [[United States]] in 1971 at the age of thirteen and through the 1970s he, his students and his organizations attracted media scrutiny and attention. Examples of articles appearing in the mainstream press in that decade include a 1974 article in [[Rolling Stone magazine]] and a 1979 article in the [[New York Review of Books]].<ref>Rolling Stone Magazine. ''The Seventies: A Tumultous Decade Reconsidered.'' Rolling Stones Press, 1998. p. 102, ISBN 0-316-75914-7</ref><ref>du Plessix Gray, Francine. ''Blissing out in Houston.'' The New York Review of Books. vol.20, no. 20 (December 13, 1973) [http://www.nybooks.com/articles/article-preview?article_id=9652]</ref> In 1973, the 50-member public relations team of the Divine Light Mission who met to talk about the guru's image, concluded that he was seen as a "fat 15-year-old with pie in his face ... and a Rolls-Royce ... who was arrested for jewel smuggling", and pointed at the necessity to establish his credibility beyond his age and body shape.<ref>"The Guru Who Minds His Mother", MALCOLM N. CARTER. Associated Press ''THE STARS AND STRIPES'', November 4, 1973 Page A6</ref>


(10) Boys 5A State Championships
===Charisma and leadership===

Several scholars refer to [[Max Weber]]'s [[Tripartite classification of authority|classification of authority]] when describing Rawat as a [[charismatic leader]].<ref name="McGuire175">McGuire, Meredith B. ''Religion: the Social Context''. Belmont California : Wadsworth Publishing, fifth edition, 2002, ISBN 0-534-54126-7, Ch. 5 "The Dynamics of Religious Collectivities", section "How Religious Collectivities Develop and Change", sub-section "Organizational Transformations", p. 175 – first edition of this book was 1981, ISBN 0-534-00951-4</ref><ref name="Schnabel1982" /><ref name="DuPertuis1986">DuPertuis, Lucy. "How People Recognize Charisma: The Case of ''Darshan'' in ''Radhasoami'' and Divine Light Mission" in ''Sociological Analysis: A Journal in the Sociology of Religion'' Vol. 47 No. 2 by Association for the Sociology of Religion. Chicago, 1986, ISSN 0038-0210, pp.&nbsp;111-124. [http://www.jstor.org/pss/3711456 At JSTOR]
1994,1996, & 2001 The Kingwood High School Men's Cross Country Team was ranked #1 Nationally
{| class="collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%"

!<small>Abstract</small>
{| class="wikitable" width="60%"
|+
|colspan=7 align=center bgcolor="#e5e5e5"|<big>'''Boys Cross Country 5A State Championship Meet (Top 10 Finishes)'''<ref name=autogenerated2 />
|-
|align=center bgcolor="#e5e5e5"| '''Year'''
|align=center bgcolor="#e5e5e5"| '''Finished'''
|align=center bgcolor="#e5e5e5"| '''Year'''
|align=center bgcolor="#e5e5e5"| '''Finished'''
|-
| align=center| 1987
| align=center| 2nd
| align=center| 1998
| align=center|'''1st "State Champions"'''
|-
| align=center| 1988
| align=center|'''1st "State Champions"'''
| align=center| 1999
| align=center| 3rd
|-
| align=center| 1989
| align=center| 2nd
| align=center| 2000
| align=center| 2nd
|-
| align=center|1991
| align=center|6th
| align=center| 2001
| align=center|'''1st "State Champions"'''
|-
| align=center|1992
| align=center|2nd
| align=center| 2002
| align=center|'''1st "State Champions"'''
|-
| align=center|1993
| align=center|'''1st "State Champions"'''
| align=center| 2003
| align=center| 7th
|-
| align=center|1994
| align=center|'''1st "State Champions"'''
| align=center| 2004
| align=center| 4th
|-
| align=center|1995
| align=center|'''1st "State Champions"'''
| align=center| 2005
| align=center| 7th
|-
| align=center|1996
| align=center|'''1st "State Champions"'''
| align=center| 2006
| align=center| 7th
|-
| align=center|1997
| align=center|'''1st "State Champions"'''
| align=center| 2007
| align=center|
|-
| align=center|1998
| align=center|'''1st "State Champions"'''
| align=center| 2008
| align=center|
|-
|-
|}
|This paper examines the recognition of charisma as an active, conscious social process involving the confirmation of belief through non-cognitive methods of altering perception. In the illustrative case of Sant Mat/Radhasoami/Divine Light Mission tradition the Hindu concept and ritual of darshan is examined. Devotees use meditative means to recognize charisma in the guru considered as the formless Absolute, as himself, and as a "presence" generated within the community of followers. The aim on all three levels is ecstatic merging of a separate sense of self with the Absolute,. It is conjectured that once Westerners learned this they no longer felt need of the guru. The discussion calls for further research on social components of mystical practices.
|}</ref> This type of leadership, in Weber's words, rests "on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained by him."<ref name="isbn0-472-08259-0">Weber, Maximillan. ''Theory of Social and Economic Organization'', Originally published in 1922 in German under the title ''Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft'' as cited in {{cite book |author=Siebers, Tobin |title=Religion and the authority of the past |publisher=University of Michigan Press |location=Ann Arbor, Mich |year=1993 |pages= p.228|isbn=0-472-08259-0 }}</ref>


===Track & Field===
Melton refers to Rawat's personal charisma as one of the reasons for the rapid spread of his message among members of the 1960's [[counterculture]].<ref name="isbn0-19-522042-0">{{cite book |author=Partridge, Christopher H. |title=New religions: a guide: new religious movements, sects and alternative spiritualities |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford [Oxfordshire] |year=2004 |pages= |isbn=0-19-522042-0 |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=}}</ref> The Dutch sociologist [[Paul Schnabel]] described Rawat as a pure example of a charismatic leader. He characterized Rawat as materialistic, pampered and intellectually unremarkable compared to [[Osho]], but no less charismatic. Schnabel remarks that although Rawat's charisma was partly [[Charismatic authority#Routinizing charisma|routinized]] as it resulted from a hereditary succession, this type of routinization played a negligible role for his Western followers; there, his charisma was primarily the result of careful staging supported by a whole organization.<ref name="Schnabel1982" /> Meredith McGuire sees formalization resulting from Rawat's desire to consolidate his power and authority over the movement in the United States.<ref name="McGuire175">McGuire, Meredith B. ''Religion: the Social Context''. Belmont California : Wadsworth Publishing, fifth edition, 2002, ISBN 0-534-54126-7, Ch. 5 "The Dynamics of Religious Collectivities", section "How Religious Collectivities Develop and Change", sub-section "Organizational Transformations", p. 175 – first edition of this book was 1981, ISBN 0-534-00951-4</ref> Lucy DuPertuis, a sociologist and follower who assisted [[James V. Downton]] with [[Sacred Journeys (book)|his book about the Divine Light Mission]], described Rawat's role as a Master as emerging from three interrelated phenomena: traditional or theological definitions of ''[[Satguru]]'', adherents' first-hand experiences of the Master, and communal accounts and discussions of the Master among devotees. Her ultimate assertion is that imputation of charisma is an active, conscious, changing process which, in this context, involves non-cognitive modes of perception. She also observed that Rawat's charisma did not prevent some devotees from discovering that they had learned the "experience of God" on their own, and to drift away, not in disillusionment but in fulfillment.<ref name="DuPertuis1986" />
===Swimming and Diving===


1993,1994,2006 - The Kingwood High School Men's Swimming and Diving Team won the High School Swimming National Championship
[[David G. Bromley]] describes the difficulty of a charismatic leader in proving to be above normal human failings such as not to suffer ill health or indulge in worldly pursuits. He presents Rawat's marriage as such a situation, which is then exploited by the media to discredit charismatic claimants in the eyes of the general public.<ref name="isbn0-86554-238-4">{{cite book |author=Hammond, Phillip E.; Bromley, David G. |title=The Future of new religious movements |publisher=Mercer University Press |location=Macon, GA |year=1987 |pages=p.36 |isbn=0-86554-238-4 |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=}}</ref> Bromley describes Prem Rawat and other founders of new religions as being held in awe by their early followers, who ascribe extraordinary powers to them that set them apart from other human beings – in the words of Max Weber, a "prophet" or bearer of charisma who proclaims alternative or new revelations. Bromley asserts that recent scholarship gives emphasis to [[Social constructionism|social construct]] aspects of charisma, rather than relying solely on individual personality.<ref name="isbn0-19-517729-0">{{cite book |author=Bromley, David G. |title=Teaching New Religious Movements (Aar Teaching Religious Studies Series) |publisher=An American Academy of Religion Book |location= |year=2007 |pages=p.156 |isbn=0-19-517729-0 |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=}}</ref> Thomas Pilarzyk, a sociologist, wrote in a 1978 paper that the distribution of power and authority in the DLM was officially based on the charismatic appeal of Maharaj Ji, which he describes as being somewhat ambiguous, and that many followers were not certain about his position in the organizational scheme of the movement, or the claim that he was the only true spiritual master.<ref name="Pilarzyk1978" />


'''[Boys]'''<ref name=autogenerated2 />
[[Stephen J. Hunt]] observes that in Rawat's case the notion of spiritual growth is not derived — as is traditionally the case with other gurus — from his personal charisma, but from the nature of his teachings and the benefits to the individuals applying them.<ref name="Hunt2003"> Hunt, Stephen J. ''Alternative Religions: A Sociological Introduction'' (2003), pp. 116–7, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 0-7546-3410-8</ref> The aforementioned [[Ron Geaves]], a student of Prem Rawat,<ref name=cagan109>[[Andrea Cagan|Cagan, Andrea]], ''Peace Is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat'', pp.109, Mighty River Press ([[2007 in literature|2007]]), ISBN 978-0978869496</ref> states that Rawat is not a [[renunciate]], and that he has made great efforts to assert his humanity and take apart the [[hagiography]] that has developed around him. He further writes that Rawat himself has stated that he does not consider himself to be a charismatic figure, preferring to refer to his teachings and the efficacy of the practice of the four techniques on the individual as the basis for his authority, and that Rawat could only be defined as charismatic in the sense of charisma having an antagonistic relationship with tradition.<ref name="Geaves2006"/>


'''1992-93 Boys 5A State Meet Champions'''
===Students===
Schnabel observed, referring to research by the psychologist of religion [[Jan van der Lans|Van der Lans]], that among his Western students, Rawat appeared to stimulate an uncritical attitude, giving them an opportunity to project their fantasies of divinity onto his person. According to these authors, the divine nature of the guru is a standard element of Eastern religion, but removed from its cultural context, and confounded with the Western understanding of God as a father, what is lost is the difference between the guru's person and that which the guru symbolizes—resulting in what they refer to as limitless personality worship. Schnabel writes that this kind of understanding of the master-disciple relationship, alien to the original Eastern [[Guru-shishya tradition|guru-disciple]] context, often ends in disillusionment for the disciple, who finds that the teacher in the end fails to live up to his or her expectations.<ref name="Schnabel1982V"> [[Paul Schnabel|Schnabel]], ''Tussen stigma en charisma'' ("Between stigma and charisma"), 1982. [http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/schn016tuss01_01/schn016tuss01_01_0012.htm Ch. V, p. 142]<br />The reference texts by Van der Lans quoted by Schnabel in that chapter:
* Lans, Jan van der. "Religious Experience: An Argument for a multidisciplinary approach" in ''Annual Review of the Social Sciences of Religion 1'', 1977, pp. 133-143.
* Lans, Jan van der. ''Volgelingen van de goeroe: Hedendaagse religieuze bewegingen in Nederland''. Ambo, Baarn, 1981, ISBN 90-263-0521-4</ref>


'''1993-94 Boys 5A State Meet Champions'''
===Former followers===
Based on an analysis of [[Sophia Collier]]'s ''[[Soul Rush]]'', John Barbour, a Professor of Religion,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/religion/faculty/barbour.html |title= John Barbour, Professor of Religion |publisher= St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota |accessdate=2008-08-21}}</ref> concludes that Collier's deconversion from DLM was uncharacteristic compared to other deconversions from other movements, in that her deconversion brought her no emotional suffering.<ref name="Barbour1994">Barbour, John D. ''Versions of Deconversion: Autobiography and the Loss of Faith''. University of Virginia Press, 1994, ISBN 0813915465, [http://books.google.com/books?id=w0whChb6hFQC&pg=PA230&vq=%22Soul+Rush%22&dq=Downton+%22Sacred+journeys%22&source=gbs_search_s&cad=5&sig=18AB9WzaODHIevToF1tW6XFLKAw#PPA173,M1 p. 173]</ref>


1994-95 Boys 5A State Meet 2nd Place
When former officials of Rawat's organisations voiced their criticism in the aftermath of the [[Jonestown]] drama in the late 1970s they didn't limit themselves to the movement, but included its leader in their comments,<ref name="Brown" /> which included claiming that money had been increasingly diverted to Rawat's personal use.<ref name="MeltonHandbook1986Controversy" />


1995-96 Boys 5A State Meet 3rd Place
Former followers became known as "Ex-premies",<ref name="HinduismToday1983" /><ref name="Keim">Keim, Tony. "Police block drive-in protest against guru", ''Courier Mail'', [[Australia]], September 4, 2002.</ref><ref name="Blinded">"Blinded by the Light", ''[[Good Weekend (Sydney Morning Herald)|Good Weekend]]'', Sydney (Australia), August 31, 2002.</ref><ref>"Former Guru on a Different Mission", ''[[Rocky Mountain News]]'', January 30, 1998.</ref> and Elan Vital has characterised the vocal critics among them as disgruntled former employees.<ref name="Keim" />


1996-97 Boys 5A State Meet 3rd Place
==Aviation interests==
Prem Rawat holds an [[Airline Transport Pilot License]] and has [[type rating]]s for a number of multi-engined aircraft and helicopters.<ref>Cagan, A., ''Peace is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat'', p. 228</ref> He is listed as co-inventor on a U.S. patent for a world-time aviational watch.<ref>[http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect2=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&d=PALL&RefSrch=yes&Query=PN%2F5982710 U.S. Patent Office]</ref>


1998-98 Boys 5A State Meet 3rd Place


'''2001-02 Boys 5A State Meet Champions'''
== Footnotes ==
{{reflist|colwidth=50em}}


2002-03 Boys 5A State Meet 2nd Place
==References ==
{{refbegin}}
*{{citation|last=Aagaard|first=Johannes|title=Who Is Who In Guruism? |periodical=Update: A Quarterly Journal on New Religious Movements| volume=IV|issue=3 | publisher = [[Dialog Center|Dialogcentret]] | date = 1980 | url =http://www.dci.dk/index.php?view=article&catid=142&id=333&option=com_content&Itemid=36 | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2008-07-07}}
* Barret, David V., ''[[The New Believers: A Survey of Sects, Cults and Alternative Religions]]'' (2001), Cassel, ISBN 1-84403-040-7
* [[Beit-Hallahmi, Benjamin]] ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Active New Religions, Sects, and Cults'', (1997), ISBN 0-8239-1505-0
* Bowker, John (Ed.), ''The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions'', Oxford University Press, New York (1997) ISBN 0-19-213965-7
* [[Andrea Cagan|Cagan, Andrea]], ''Peace Is Possible: The Life and Message of Prem Rawat'', Mighty River Press ([[2007 in literature|2007]]), ISBN 0-9788694-9-4 {{OCLC|123014238}}
* Cameron, Charles (Ed.), ''Who Is Guru Maharaj Ji?'' (1973), Bantam Books, Inc.
* Carrol, Peter N. ''Nothing Happened: The Tragedy and Promise of America in the 1970s'', Holt, Rinehart and Winston (1982), ISBN 0030583195
*{{Citation|last=Chryssides|first=George D.|author-link=George D. Chryssides|title=Historical dictionary of new religious movements|publisher=Scarecrow Press|location=Metuchen, N.J|year=2001|pages=|isbn=0-8108-4095-2}}
*{{Citation|last=Collier|first=Sophia|author-link=Sophia Collier|title=[[Soul Rush (book)|Soul rush: the odyssey of a young woman of the '70s]]|publisher=[[William Morrow and Company]]|location=New York|year=1978|pages=|isbn=0-688-03276-1}}
*{{Citation|last=Downton|first=James V.|author-link=James V. Downton|title=[[Sacred Journeys (book)|Sacred journeys: the conversion of young Americans to Division Light Mission]]|publisher=[[Columbia University Press]]|location=New York|year=1979|pages=|isbn=0-231-04198-5}}
*{{Citation|title=Hans Jayanti|last=DUO staff|year=2000|publisher=Divine United Organization|location=New Delhi|pages=24-37|ref=Book published in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Hans Ji Maharaj's birth}}
* DuPertuis, Lucy (Summer 1986), ''How people recognize charisma: the case of darshan in Radhasoami and Divine Light Mission'' Sociological Analysis, University of Guam, Vol 47, No 2
* Fahlbusch E., Lochman J. M., Mbiti J., Pelikan J., Vischer L, Barret D. (Eds.) ''The Encyclopedia of Christianity'' (1998), ISBN 90-04-11316-9
* Frankiel, Sandra S. in Lippy, Charles H. and Williams. Peter W. (Eds.) ''Encyclopedia of the American Religious Experience'', p. 1521, Charles Scribner's Sons (1988), ISBN 0-684-18863-5 (Vol III)
*{{citation|last=Geaves|first=Ron|year=2004|author-link=Ron Geaves|title=From Divine Light Mission to Elan Vital and Beyond: an Exploration of Change and Adaptation|journal=[[Nova Religio]]|volume=7|pages=45|doi=10.1525/nr.2004.7.3.45}}
* Geaves, Ron, "From Totapuri to Maharaji: Reflections on a Lineage (Parampara)" in Indian Religions: Renaissance and Revival, ed. Anna King. London: Equinox, 2007
* Geaves, Ron. "Globalization, charisma, innovation, and tradition: An exploration of the transformations in the organisational vehicles for the transmission of the teachings of Prem Rawat (Maharaji)" in ''Journal of Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies - Volume 2'', 2006, ISBN 978-1-4196-2696-5, pp. 44-62. {{cite web |url=http://www.asanas.org.uk/files/002geaves.pdf |title= Online version at the "Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies Association" website|format= |work= |accessdate=2008-06-14}}
* Goring, Rosemary (Ed.). ''Dictionary of Beliefs & Religions'' (1997) Wordsworth Editions, ISBN 1-85326-354-0
* {{nl}} Haan, Wim, ''De missie van het Goddelijk licht van goeroe Maharaj Ji: een subjektieve duiding from the series Religieuze bewegingen in Nederland'' Feiten en Visies nr. 3, autumn 1981 (Dutch language) ISBN 90-242-2341-5. [http://www.bezinningscentrum.nl/teksten/wim/divinelightmission.pdf Available online via Wim Haan's webpages at a website of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam]
* Hadden, Jeffrey K. and Elliot III, Eugene M., ''Divine Light Mission/Elan Vital'' in Melton, Gordon J. and Bauman, Martin (Eds.) "Religions of the world: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of beliefs and practices" ABC-CLIO (2002), ISBN 1-57607-223-1
* Hinnells, John (Editor), ''The Penguin Dictionary of Religions'' (1997), ISBN 0-14-051261-6
*{{Citation|last=Hunt|first=Stephen J.|author-link=Stephen J. Hunt|title=Alternative religions: a sociological introduction|publisher=Ashgate|location=Aldershot, Hants, England|year=2003|isbn=0-7546-3410-8}}
*{{Citation|last=Kent|first=Stephen A.|author-link=Stephen A. Kent|title=[[From Slogans to Mantras|From slogans to mantras: social protest and religious conversion in the late Vietnam War era]]|publisher=[[Syracuse University Press]]|location=Syracuse|year=2001|isbn=0-8156-2948-6}}
* {{nl}} [[Reender Kranenborg|Kranenborg, Reender]] Dr. (1982) ''Oosterse Geloofsbewegingen in het Westen'' ("Eastern faith movements in the West") (Dutch language) ISBN 90-210-4965-1
* {{nl}} Kranenborg, Reender, ''Neohindoeïstische bewegingen in Nederland: een encyclopedisch overzicht'', Kampen Kok cop. (2002)
* {{nl}} Lammers, Jos. "Het concern van Guru Maharaj ji: Vijf jaar zakenman in dienst van de verlichting" in ''[[Haagse Post]]'' 68/7, [[1981-02-14]], pp. 48-53.
* Lans, Jan van der and Dr. Frans Derks, "[http://www.dci.dk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=599:premies-versus-sannyasins&catid=163&Itemid=36 Premies Versus Sannyasins]" in ''Update: A Quarterly Journal on New Religious Movements'', X/2 (June 1986)
* {{nl}} Lans, Jan van der Dr. ''Volgelingen van de goeroe: Hedendaagse religieuze bewegingen in Nederland'' (Dutch language), Ambo, Baarn, 1981 ISBN 90-263-0521-4
* Lee, Raymond L M., ''Sacred Tensions: Modernity and Religious Transformation in Malaysia'' (1997), The University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 1-57003-167-3
* Leech, Keneth. ''Soul Friend'' (2001), Morehouse Group, ISBN 0-8192-1888-X
*{{Citation|last=Levine|first=Richard|title=When The Lord of All The Universe Played Houston: Many are called but few show up|periodical=[[Rolling Stone Magazine]]|pages=36–50|date=March 14, 1974}} Also in {{Citation|author=Dahl, Shawn; Kahn, Ashley; George-Warren, Holly|title=Rolling stone: the seventies|publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]]|location=Boston|year=1998|pages=102-105|isbn=0-316-75914-7}}
* Levine, Saul V. ''Life in the Cults''in Galanter, Mark M.D., ''Cults and new religious movements: a report of the committee on psychiatry and religion of the American Psychiatric Association'' (1989), ISBN 0-89042-212-5
* Lewis, James, ''The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions'', Prometheus Books, ISBN 1-57392-888-7
* Lippy, Charles H., ''Pluralism Comes of Age: American Religious Culture in the Twentieth Century'', M. E. Sharpe (2002), ISBN 0-7656-0151-6
* Macgregor, John. "Blinded by the Light" in ''[[Good Weekend (Sydney Morning Herald)|Good Weekend]]'', Sydney (Australia), August 31, 2002.
* McGuire, Meredith B. ''Religion: the Social Context'' 5th edition (2002) ISBN 0-534-54126-7
* [[J. Gordon Melton|Melton, Gordon J.]], ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'' 7th edition. Thomson (2003), ISBN 0-78766-384-0
*{{Citation|last=Melton|first=J. Gordon|author-link=J. Gordon Melton|title=The encyclopedic handbook of cults in America|publisher=Garland Pub|location=New York|year=1986|pages=|isbn=0-8240-9036-5}}
* Metz, Cade, ''Wikipedia ruled by 'Lord of the Universe'', The Register, February 6, 2008, [http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/06/the_cult_of_wikipedia/]
*{{Citation|last=Miller|first=Timothy|author-link=Timothy Miller|title=America's alternative religions|publisher=[[State University of New York Press]]|location=Albany, N.Y|year=1995|pages=|isbn=0-7914-2398-0}}
* Palmer, Spencer J. P. and Keller R. R., ''Religions of the World: A Latter-day Saint View'', Brigham Young University (1997) ISBN 0-8425-2350-2
*{{Citation|last=Pilarzyk|first=Thomas|year=1978|month=Autumn|title=The Origin, Development, and Decline of a Youth Culture Religion: An Application of Sectarianization Theory|journal=Review of Religious Research|volume=20|issue=1|pages=23-43 }}
*{{Citation|last=Price|first=Maeve|year=1979|month=|title=The Divine Light Mission as a social organization|journal=The Sociological Review|volume=27|issue=|pages=279-296|url=http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=12681125 }}
* Pryor, William, ''The Survival of the Coolest: A Darwin's Death Defying Journey Into the Interior of Addiction'' (2004), Clear Press, ISBN 1-904555-13-6
* Rawat, Prem and Wolf, Burt. ''Inner Journey: A spirited conversation about self-discovery'' (DVD). ISBN 0-9740627-0-7
* Rawat, Prem, ''Maharaji at Griffith University'' (2004) ISBN 0-9740627-2-3
* {{nl}} [[Paul Schnabel|Schnabel, Paul]]. ''Tussen stigma en charisma: nieuwe religieuze bewegingen en geestelijke volksgezondheid'' ("Between stigma and charisma: new religious movements and mental health"). Erasmus University Rotterdam, Faculty of Medicine, Ph.D. thesis, 1982. Deventer, Van Loghum Slaterus, ISBN 90-6001-746-3. [http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/schn016tuss01_01/index.htm Available online at DBNL]
* ''The Prem Rawat Foundation presents: Maharaji at Sanders Theatre, Harvard University'' (2005) ISBN 0-9740627-3-1
* U.S. Department of the Army. ''Religious Requirements and Practices of Certain Selected Groups: A Handbook for Chaplains''. Published 2001 by The Minerva Group, ISBN 0898756073 - reprint of Army Pamphlet 165-13, published in 1978 by Kirchner Associates in Honolulu [http://books.google.com/books?id=6gDQfnMUI6gC&pg=PT98&dq=%22Sant+Ji%22+maharaj&sig=9B6bZGgC21-0JqArh0VInCLM6Xc]
{{refend}}


2005-06 Boys 5A State Meet 2nd Place
==External links==
{{Wikisource author}}
{{Commonscat|Prem Rawat}}
{{wikiquote|Prem Rawat|Maharaji (Prem Rawat)}}
* [http://maharaji.net/ Maharaji] Official site of Prem Rawat


'''[Girls]'''<ref name=autogenerated2 />
{{Prem Rawat}}


1990-91 Girls 5A State Meet 2nd Place
{{Persondata

|NAME=Prem Rawat
1991-92 Girls 5A State Meet 2nd Place
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Prem Rawat; Prem Pal Singh Rawat; Maharaji; Guru Maharaji; Guru Maharaj Ji, Balyogeshwar

|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Addresses people on the subject of finding [[inner peace|peace within]] and says that he is able to offer a practical way which he calls "[[Techniques of Knowledge|Knowledge]]"
1992-93 Girls 5A State Meet 3rd Place
|DATE OF BIRTH=December 10, 1957

|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Deradun]], [[India]]
'''1993-94 Girls 5A State Meet Champions'''
|DATE OF DEATH=

|PLACE OF DEATH=
2002-03 Girls 5A State Meet 3rd Place
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rawat, Prem}}
'''2003-2004 Girls 5A State Meet Champions'''
[[Category:Prem Rawat|*]]

[[Category:1957 births]]
==Alma Mater [Pledge to Kingwood]==
[[Category:Living people]]
<blockquote>
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]]
''Kingwood High, we pledge to you,<br />
[[Category:Americans of Indian descent]]
''Honor and respect.<br />
[[Category:Advait Mat gurus]]
''For you stand that we may learn<br />
''Wonders, then reflect.<br />
''As we spread throughout the land,<br />
''Knowledge is our light.<br />
''Through life's struggles we recall<br />
''Kingwood's "Blue and White."
</blockquote>

==Fight Song==
<blockquote>
''Fight, you mighty Mustangs,<br />
''Win the game tonight;<br />
''Show the other team who's<br />
''Behind the blue and white.<br />
''The best is what we'll be when<br />
''We're put to the test;<br />
''Let's show them, Kingwood Mustangs<br />
<br />
'''GO-FIGHT-WIN<br />
<br />
''Go you mighty Mustangs,<br />
''With victory in sight,<br />
''Win you mighty Mustangs,<br />
''Let's take that game tonight.<br />
<br />
'''GO-FIGHT-WIN<br />
<br />
''Our Mustang pride will lead us to victory again!<br />
''Cause we're the Mustangs!<br />
</blockquote>

==Feeder patterns==

The following elementary schools feed into Kingwood High School <ref>"[http://www.humble.k12.tx.us/attendance.htm ATTENDANCE AREAS IN HUMBLE ISD]," ''[[Humble Independent School District]]''</ref>:
* Bear Branch (feeds into both Kingwood high schools)
* Deerwood
* Greentree
* Hidden Hollow
* Pine Forest (feeds into Kingwood High and Atascocita High)
* Shadow Forest
* Willow Creek
* Elm Grove

Some subdivisions zoned to Foster and Bear Branch elementary schools jointly feed into Kingwood High School and Kingwood Park High School [http://www.humble.k12.tx.us/attendance.htm]

Creekwood and Riverwood middle schools feed into KHS.

==Trivia==
{{Trivia|date=November 2007}}

*Justin Deabler, a cast member on [[MTV|MTV's]] [[The Real World: Hawaii]], attended both Kingwood Middle School and Kingwood High School.
*Sheel Tayi aka "Matador", a graduate of Kingwood High School, was featured on the VH1 series "The Pick Up Artist" and has done subsequent training sessions with "Mystery".
*In 1999, four female Kingwood High School students were arrested after holding up five local businesses at gunpoint. The girls, who may have robbed the stores to finance a recreational drug habit, were convicted of armed robbery. It has been rumored that the film ''[[Sugar & Spice]]'' was loosely based on those events.
*In April 2001, The Kingwood High School Concert Chorale, under the direction of Keith Dixon, collaborated with other national high schools to perform in Carnegie Hall in New York City, NY.
*In December 2003, the Kingwood High School Madrigals, led by Keith Dixon, performed at the White House Christmas party in Washington D.C.
*In the spring of 2005, there was a controversy at Kingwood High School surrounding who would be that year's graduating class's [[valedictorian]]. Karen Scherr was denied the honor because she missed six weeks of her junior year while receiving treatment for [[anorexia nervosa|anorexia]]. Kingwood High has codes requiring students to attend Kingwood High for certain periods of time to prevent parents from pulling students from Kingwood to attend less difficult schools and give them a competitive edge at placing well in Kingwood High's competitive class rankings.[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7884243/]
*At the 2005 KHS Talent Show, The Freddies (Made up of Jason Harris, Kyle Walker, Brett Neu, and Judson Johnson) performed Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' along with the KHS choir. The performance came to be known officially as the greatest act the KHS Talent show has ever hosted.
*In 2006, The Kingwood High School Men's Swimming and Diving Team won the High School Swimming National Championship.
*In 1994,1996, & 2001 The Kingwood High School Men's Cross Country Team was ranked #1 Nationally.
*On January 1, 2007, The Kingwood High School Military Marching Band performed in the 2007 [[Tournament of Roses Parade]] in Pasadena, California.
*In 2007, Syvette Wimberly sued [[porn star]] Laura Madden, both former Kingwood High students, for using her name in pornographic films[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/07/10/stolen_name_kerfuffle/].

==See also==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{portalpar|Houston|Flag of Houston, Texas.png}}

==External links==
*[http://www.kingwoodbaseball.com/ Kingwood High School Baseball]
*[http://www.kingwoodbasketball.com/ Kingwood High School Basketball]

{{Humble ISD}}


[[Category:High schools in Harris County, Texas]]
[[da:Prem Rawat]]
[[Category:High schools in Houston, Texas]]
[[de:Prem Rawat]]
[[el:Πρεμ Ραβάτ]]
[[es:Prem Rawat]]
[[fr:Prem Rawat]]
[[it:Prem Rawat]]
[[he:גורו מהרג'י]]
[[pl:Prem Rawat]]
[[pt:Prem Rawat]]
[[simple:Maharaji]]

Revision as of 04:58, 11 October 2008

Kingwood High School
Address
Map
2701 Kingwood Drive, Kingwood, TX

Houston
,
Texas
77339

United States
Information
Funding typePublic
Motto"Learning for all...whatever it takes."
Established1979
School districtHumble ISD
PrincipalMelissa Hayhurst
Grades9-12
Enrollment3,700
Campus typeSuburban
Colour(s)Navy Blue, Columbia Blue, White
MascotMustang
NewspaperThe Kingwood Courier
YearbookHoofprints
WebsiteKHS Home Page

Kingwood High School is a Humble ISD secondary school located in the Kingwood community of Houston, Texas, United States.

Melissa Hayhurst is the current principal of Kingwood High School.

Prior to fall 2007, 9th graders attended an adjacent campus at 4015 Woodland Hills Drive. This campus which was renovated is now called Kingwood Park High School and is its own independent school.

Kingwood High School serves portions of Houston. The school has a "Kingwood" postal address even though Kingwood is no longer unincorporated.

Kingwood was the 5A recipient of the prestigious Lone Star Cup in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005. Kingwood also won the award in 1999, the first year the award was given. Winners of the cup are often considered to be among the best high schools in Texas in terms of UIL athletic and academic achievement. Kingwood was also named a National Blue Ribbon School in 1984-85. [1]

Renovation

Kingwood High School Renovation - Bond funds have provided the money to bring Kingwood High into compliance with Texas Education Agency current standards for classroom size. The renovations and additions will eliminate the use of portable buildings, provide a learning environment in which temperatures and humidity can be effectively controlled, and provide spaces designed for specific instructional and co-curricular activities instead of "make-shift" spaces. In summary, 108,000 square feet (10,000 m2) will be added and 371,000 square feet (34,500 m2) of existing space will be renovated. Currently, there are 12 portable buildings in which 550 students attend classes daily. When the renovations are complete, Kingwood High will have a capacity of 2,800 without the use of portable buildings.

The renovations at Kingwood High will create 63 properly sized classrooms and 17 science classroom/ labs. Four teaching theaters, eight business labs, practice areas for dance and drill teams, and a renovated auditorium that includes a new scene shop and a black box theater are included in the renovations. Completely new finishes, including carpet, ceiling tile, lighting and paint, will be provided throughout the school. Also, a new roof, lockers, electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning systems will be installed. The school will be designed so that students may be grouped into houses, allowing counselors, assistant principals and teachers to focus on a specific group of students. The decision to move to the new "house" system has been extremely controversial among students.

Mission Statement

The mission of Kingwood High School is to create a collaborative learning environment that is supportive, challenging, and disciplined, resulting in life-long learners whose exemplary performance is a credit to themselves and their community.

Athletics

Basketball

Men's Basketball State 5A Playoff Berths (1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)[2] [3]

Boys Basketball 5A State Championship Games[4]
Year Winning Team Losing Team Location (all in Texas) Class
2005 Kingwood 54 DeSoto 52 Frank Erwin Center, Austin 5A
2006 Plano 60 Kingwood 58 Frank Erwin Center, Austin 5A
2007 Duncanville 60 Kingwood 46 Frank Erwin Center, Austin 5A


Baseball

2004 Men's Baseball 5A State Final-Four [5]

2005 Men's Baseball 5A State Champions [5]


Football

1990 Men's Football 5A State Final-Four [Division 2]

The Run[6]

[Bi-District] - Kingwood 38 - Deer Park 7

[Area] - Kingwood 14 - Galveston Ball 14 [penetration]

[Regional] - Kingwood 24 - Alief Elsik 12

[State Quarterfinals] - Kingwood 25 - Houston Lamar 17

[State Semifinals] - Kingwood 22 - Converse Judson 51

Soccer

[Boys][7]

1991-1992 Boys 5A State Semi-Finals

1998-1999 Boys 5A State Finalist

2000-2001 Boys 5A State Finalist

2002-2003 Boys 5A State Semi-Finals

2004-2005 Boys 5A State Finalist

[Girls][7]

1991-1992 Girls 5A State Finalist

1992-1993 Girls 5A State Finalist

1993-1994 Girls 5A State Semi-Finals

1994-1995 Girls 5A State Champions

1995-1996 Girls 5A State Semi-Finals

1997-1998 Girls 5A State Semi-Finals

1998-1999 Girls 5A State Champions

2001-2002 Girls 5A State Finalist

2003-2004 Girls 5A State Semi-Finals

Cross Country

(10) Boys 5A State Championships

1994,1996, & 2001 The Kingwood High School Men's Cross Country Team was ranked #1 Nationally

Boys Cross Country 5A State Championship Meet (Top 10 Finishes)[7]
Year Finished Year Finished
1987 2nd 1998 1st "State Champions"
1988 1st "State Champions" 1999 3rd
1989 2nd 2000 2nd
1991 6th 2001 1st "State Champions"
1992 2nd 2002 1st "State Champions"
1993 1st "State Champions" 2003 7th
1994 1st "State Champions" 2004 4th
1995 1st "State Champions" 2005 7th
1996 1st "State Champions" 2006 7th
1997 1st "State Champions" 2007
1998 1st "State Champions" 2008

Track & Field

Swimming and Diving

1993,1994,2006 - The Kingwood High School Men's Swimming and Diving Team won the High School Swimming National Championship

[Boys][7]

1992-93 Boys 5A State Meet Champions

1993-94 Boys 5A State Meet Champions

1994-95 Boys 5A State Meet 2nd Place

1995-96 Boys 5A State Meet 3rd Place

1996-97 Boys 5A State Meet 3rd Place

1998-98 Boys 5A State Meet 3rd Place

2001-02 Boys 5A State Meet Champions

2002-03 Boys 5A State Meet 2nd Place

2005-06 Boys 5A State Meet 2nd Place

[Girls][7]

1990-91 Girls 5A State Meet 2nd Place

1991-92 Girls 5A State Meet 2nd Place

1992-93 Girls 5A State Meet 3rd Place

1993-94 Girls 5A State Meet Champions

2002-03 Girls 5A State Meet 3rd Place

2003-2004 Girls 5A State Meet Champions

Alma Mater [Pledge to Kingwood]

Kingwood High, we pledge to you,
 Honor and respect.
 For you stand that we may learn
 Wonders, then reflect.
 As we spread throughout the land,
 Knowledge is our light.
 Through life's struggles we recall
 Kingwood's "Blue and White."

Fight Song

Fight, you mighty Mustangs,
 Win the game tonight;
 Show the other team who's
 Behind the blue and white.
 The best is what we'll be when
 We're put to the test;
 Let's show them, Kingwood Mustangs
GO-FIGHT-WIN
Go you mighty Mustangs,
 With victory in sight,
 Win you mighty Mustangs,
 Let's take that game tonight.
GO-FIGHT-WIN
Our Mustang pride will lead us to victory again!
 Cause we're the Mustangs!

Feeder patterns

The following elementary schools feed into Kingwood High School [8]:

  • Bear Branch (feeds into both Kingwood high schools)
  • Deerwood
  • Greentree
  • Hidden Hollow
  • Pine Forest (feeds into Kingwood High and Atascocita High)
  • Shadow Forest
  • Willow Creek
  • Elm Grove

Some subdivisions zoned to Foster and Bear Branch elementary schools jointly feed into Kingwood High School and Kingwood Park High School [1]

Creekwood and Riverwood middle schools feed into KHS.

Trivia

  • Justin Deabler, a cast member on MTV's The Real World: Hawaii, attended both Kingwood Middle School and Kingwood High School.
  • Sheel Tayi aka "Matador", a graduate of Kingwood High School, was featured on the VH1 series "The Pick Up Artist" and has done subsequent training sessions with "Mystery".
  • In 1999, four female Kingwood High School students were arrested after holding up five local businesses at gunpoint. The girls, who may have robbed the stores to finance a recreational drug habit, were convicted of armed robbery. It has been rumored that the film Sugar & Spice was loosely based on those events.
  • In April 2001, The Kingwood High School Concert Chorale, under the direction of Keith Dixon, collaborated with other national high schools to perform in Carnegie Hall in New York City, NY.
  • In December 2003, the Kingwood High School Madrigals, led by Keith Dixon, performed at the White House Christmas party in Washington D.C.
  • In the spring of 2005, there was a controversy at Kingwood High School surrounding who would be that year's graduating class's valedictorian. Karen Scherr was denied the honor because she missed six weeks of her junior year while receiving treatment for anorexia. Kingwood High has codes requiring students to attend Kingwood High for certain periods of time to prevent parents from pulling students from Kingwood to attend less difficult schools and give them a competitive edge at placing well in Kingwood High's competitive class rankings.[2]
  • At the 2005 KHS Talent Show, The Freddies (Made up of Jason Harris, Kyle Walker, Brett Neu, and Judson Johnson) performed Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' along with the KHS choir. The performance came to be known officially as the greatest act the KHS Talent show has ever hosted.
  • In 2006, The Kingwood High School Men's Swimming and Diving Team won the High School Swimming National Championship.
  • In 1994,1996, & 2001 The Kingwood High School Men's Cross Country Team was ranked #1 Nationally.
  • On January 1, 2007, The Kingwood High School Military Marching Band performed in the 2007 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California.
  • In 2007, Syvette Wimberly sued porn star Laura Madden, both former Kingwood High students, for using her name in pornographic films[3].

See also

References

  1. ^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002 (PDF)
  2. ^ UIL: Athletics - Basketball Playoff Text Results
  3. ^ UIL: Athletics - Archives - Basketball Results
  4. ^ UIL State Boys Basketball Champions
  5. ^ a b UIL: Athletics - Archives - Baseball Results
  6. ^ UIL: Athletics - Football Playoffs
  7. ^ a b c d e UIL: Athletics - Champions Archives and Records
  8. ^ "ATTENDANCE AREAS IN HUMBLE ISD," Humble Independent School District

External links

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