Hoy se ha publicado en el foro en inglés un mensaje que me parece muy
interesante, ya que da información de primera mano sobre cómo se
preparan los 'eventos' con Prem Rawat, lo que cuestan, los ingresos,
etc... Esta información puede abrir los ojos a muchísimas personas que
estén pensando en recibir el 'conocimiento' así como a los premies que
sean capaces de abrir su mente un poco. Por supuesto está en inglés, y
por eso quería consultar si alguno domina el inglés y se atreve a
traducirlo, ya que es bastante largo. Si nadie se ve capaz, quizás lo
intente yo o al menos un resumen. Este es el texto del mensaje:
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Prem Rawat 'Speaker' Events: The Process, Expenses, Revenues

Let's start with the so-called 'invitation' to Prem Rawat [hereinafter
referred to as PR] to speak in a city, anywhere. First, PR meets with
his staff, he expresses his wishes, and they discuss potential tours
and events. Prerequisites include jet airstrip facilities, luxury
accommodations for "The Speaker," regular local Knowledge events and
some evidence of propagation (aspirants), and in the West, a host
community's (and an event's) ability to pay for all the expenses - and
generate substantial additional revenue. North America and Western
Europe have always provided almost all the funding for PR and his
alleged 'mission.'

Then, word is leaked out by PR's associates to the targeted
communities/cities or to certain individuals, or via visiting
instructors or other cult officials. Sometimes, PR will even arrange
meetings of regular financial donors and express a possible interest
in visiting their locales. The attending donors are always sworn to
secrecy beforehand about these meetings, not to divulge the location
to other uninvited "premies" [sic "students" or devotees].

Afterwards, PR's cult subordinates are instructed to advise the
targeted communities to 'prepare' for him and submit an invitation
written to PR to visit their city. This way, on the surface, it always
appears as though the event is the result of PR "accepting an
invitation," rather than the invitation being a top-down directive. In
some cases, the invitation actually does come from a community first.
Nevertheless, a community's "invitation" is always carefully
orchestrated from the top, too. Meanwhile, the cult members think that
PR is coming to town for them, or to do propagation
(recruitment/conversion of new devotees). The indoctrinated
possibility of darshan (being in the Master's physical presence)
re-energizes their programmed devotion to him and focusses them in
this endeavor. However, there are other factors at play involved.

In the preliminaries of the process, the community has to put together
an event team, beginning with an event manager and an event finance
manager, and present on paper how and where it can hold the event and
accommodate PR in royal style. Sometimes this process takes several
years, involving many people locally and literally thousands of hours
of their unpaid professional time, since the requirements are quite
rigid and detailed. PR has extremely loyal, longtime cult subordinates
- very demanding national and international tour event coordinators
and a directory of event personnel who consult with the communities to
assure compliance, every step of the way: tour operations,
budgets/accounting, security/ushering, productions, AV, fundraising,
liaisons, public relations, legal, contributions, seating,
translation, communications, medical/special needs, sales, etc.

The community event organizers are instructed to communicate via
internal email on the FirstClass software system, for security and
confidentiality. They are also instructed not to discuss the
preparations or any details with unauthorized cult members or outsiders.

Within the communities, cult members are further instructed how to
"prepare" for PR. Signed financial pledges are solicited from
individuals to help underwrite the anticipated event. The community
must cover thousands of dollars of the event expenses. Detailed
monthly aspirant reports are also compiled and sent to PR's Los
Angeles-area cult offices.

The community's event team has to contact all the leading venues
(auditoriums, halls, ballrooms) in the area, the best hotels, and all
the nearby airports with airfields and facilities capable of handling
a Gulfstream V. The event team has to compile piles of extensive
information at each and every place contacted, in this process,
including specified dates of availability (as instructed by PR's tour
event people), maps, photographs, and numerous line-itemed sheets of
data. Much of the data pertains to providing for the "Speaker's"
requirements of supreme comfort and security. The national tour event
director sends a national security person to check each potential
hotel and venue, r.e. access, security, privacy, etc. In all dealings
with the various facilities and their managers, the event teams are
instructed never to reveal PR's name; he is always referred to as the
"Speaker." This naturally tends to arouse some suspicions and concerns
with the hotel and hall managers. "Why can't you even tell us his
name? Why all the secrecy? Do people want to kill him? Will our
hotel/hall be in danger?" The community's event team is also ordered
not to mention the name of PR's organization until a contract is
actually ready to be signed. This tends to unnerve most hotel and
venue managers, since this approach is not customary behavior for
reputable entities.

The luxury hotels must literally have Presidential or Royal Suites for
the "Speaker." Typically, a Presidential suite for PR ranges from a
bargain basement price these days of about $1000 US to $2-3000+/night,
depending upon whether the suite is packaged together with an on-site
ballroom rental for the event. PR's suite needs to have at least two
bedrooms, since he travels with his own personal valet, who attends to
his clothes, toilette, and other personal needs. Typically, PR's
expansive luxury suite will have 2 king bedrooms, 2 spa bathrooms, an
elegant living room, a full kitchen, big-screen televisions, stereo
systems, sweeping views, etc.. PR's suite must also be supplied with
specified food and the requisite expensive liquors, etc. Additionally,
PR's secretary needs an adjacent suite. The tour event director will
also demand a nice suite for herself/himself. And then there are the
suites and deluxe rooms for PR's retinue, including PR's mistress,
family members, instructors, rooms for the other tour event personnel,
Visions/Dunrite production staff, and security personnel, and so
forth. PR also requires the local community to foot the bill for a
hefty per diem expense account for his ample haute cuisine meals and
requests from room service, probably a minimum of $200+/day nowadays.

The amount of secrecy, detail and nitpicky requirements in these
arrangements is absolutely unbelievable. The only thing close to this
that I've seen is when the President of the United States or Queen
Elizabeth travels. Not even the world's richest private citizen, Bill
Gates, or the Rolling Stones travel in such grandiose style or with
such detailed, elaborate arrangements.

Continuing, the community must provide a leased luxury vehicle for PR:
no less than the top-of-the-line Lexus, Mercedes, or Infinity are
preferred, and in some countries a Rolls Royce, Bentley, or Jaguar
(the best BMW may be acceptable). A Lincoln Continental or Cadillac
generally will not suffice, and a limousine may draw too much
attention and is harder to park/maneuver in some situations. All the
vehicle routes (airport-hotel, hotel-event venue, etc.) must be mapped
out in advance and driven during various hours of the day for accurate
timing. An approved chauffeur/driver must be provided for PR,
available 24 hours/day. A number of other nice cars must be leased or
made available (with cult member drivers) for PR's retinue.

The airport has port charges and for servicing, fueling, and storing
the Gulfstream V, and there are expenses for PR's personal pilot and
mechanic, lodging and meals.

At the airport, hotel, event venue, and when traveling by car,
security personnel and related telecommunications must be personally
provided for PR; he has 24hrs/day security personnel on-hand.
Additional telecommunications systems must also be available for him.

At the event venue, he must have his own private VIP room and bathroom
backstage, and a private guarded backstage entrance/exit and elevator.
The parking on any street must also be blocked off, and plainclothes
security personnel (with headsets) are placed strategically at all
entrances and exits and others patrol the sidewalks/streets
surrounding the venue. Lists of "bongo premies," ex-premie activists,
et al are circulated, and computerized files are maintained on laptop
computers for immediate access. Event attendees must submit 'smart
cards,' and anyone looking 'suspicious' is noted and put under
surveillance, or evicted from the premises.

The basic costs of event venues varies, depending upon size,
contractual requirements, and number of days. The rental cost for a
single 1-day program at a hall with 1,000 seating capacity might run
only $2000, 2-3,000 seat hall $3500-5000+, and some halls with larger
seating capacities charge upwards of $10,000. Sometimes this base fee
does not include any required hall personnel, stagehands, food
concessions, etc. There is also the exorbitant cost of the audio-video
equipment rental; this varies dependent upon whether the system is all
in-house or contracted out, which is even more expensive ($2000-3000).
The stage set, if simple, might run $500-1000 just for materials,
usually the fabric. Carpeting adds more to the costs, and a more
elaborate set costs thousands of dollars, even when constructed by
devotee volunteer labor. The Speaker must have his specially-designed
chair, microphones, and/or an approved lecturn.

Visions International/Dunrite charges a minimum of $3,000-5,000+ to
replicate what the venue staff is already capable of doing. Sometimes
union stagehands and venue personnel are visibly just standing around,
with nothing to do but watch the event or grab some coffee. The
Visions/Dunrite production fee, and licensing fees for materials
depicting the Speaker all are taken off the top, and go right back to
the organization - and the licensing fees to its prime beneficiary.
Attendees are encouraged to deposit cash and personal checks in
various donation boxes. (Incidentally, community members are also
encouraged to send personal checks and cash regularly directly to
"Prem Rawat" at a Malibu, California post office box, which my friends
and I used to do, too.) If there is an opportunity for 'students' to
express their 'gratitude' to PR, envelopes and boxes are also provided
for similar cash and check donations. Additionally, tables are set
aside for these same purposes, and for monthly pledges. The net
revenue from videos, audio tapes, CDs, magazines, books, photos,
souvenirs, etc. depicting or licensed by PR all accrue to his benefit,
as run through Visions Intl.. Similarly, any cult audio CDs featuring
his daughter, who occasionally sings at these events dressed in
provocative, body-clinging attire while looking adoringly at PR.

For the sake of brevity here, these are just a few of the thousands of
details and expenses/costs involved in each tour event. There are also
expenses for additional hired police, radios/cell phones, translation
headsets and transmitters, ushering expenses, telephone/fax,
gratuities, forms and printing for the information and contribution
tables, instructors' airfare, a hired cook for PR, etc., ad nauseum.

Furthermore, in planning these tour events, the national tour event
director and personnel instruct the community's event manager, finance
manager, and their team to get multiple bids on everything, and to
play the hotels and event venues against each other, in order to get
the best deals. This is a tedious process, when there are 3-4 hotels
and 3-4 venues involved, and trying to mesh PR's tour event directors'
constant (and often changing) demands and dates with hotel and venue
availability. Then, the community event team managers have to submit
separate line-item budgets for each viable venue and luxury hotel for
the proposed tour event, and prepare separate budgets and summary
pages of the grand total expenses projected for each of the potential
scenarios. This is absolutely nuts, really, as any legit independent
professional in the event/conference/convention/hotel or tourist
business, will tell you. It is hierarchical control freakdom to the
nth degree. All this preparation is just preliminary, mind you, until
PR himself decides where, when, and if the event will happen - and
then tells somebody. Meanwhile, dozens of people are getting strung
along, in the process - the devotees and the outside businesses/staffs
alike. And that's just in one community. But wait - there's more!

Here's the kicker: What Prem Rawat's tour event directors don't tell
the community event team, until literally the last moment, is that
they are also competing against 3-4 (or more) other communities for
that tour event for the same exact dates. That means that literally
hundreds of people and businesses in 3-4+ cities are all getting
jerked around for each tour event, due to the capricious whims of
Rawat and his appointed, salaried, often verbally abusive,
organizational cult stooges. (If there are 4-5 cities on a tour, then
that's anywhere from 12 to 20 communities of cult members and business
venues/hotels being manipulated like objects.) And at the last minute,
sometimes PR changes his mind and itinerary, or scraps some events -
or even the entire tour. You can imagine how this demoralizes the
hard-working, slave-labor devotee professionals who have been busting
their butts for several years to make a tour event with the "Master"
happen in their city! Some of these people have been volunteering 20
hours/week or more for up to 2 years ahead of the event, and
increasing to even more hours as the potential tour event date
approaches. If their city isn't the one selected for that tour event,
their only consolation is a brief phone call from the national tour
event director, or a fax saying crap like, "Well, we prepared for
Maharaji 18 times before he finally showed up. If he doesn't come on
the 18th invitation, it might be the 19th!" Seriously. Unbelievable,
but True!!

Now, as to the revenue from these events: even after all the
exorbitant expenses for the "Speaker" and his entourage and security,
there's a tidy profit to be made. For example, a "winning" community's
single-day tour event grand total budget for all the aforementioned
expenses might be $20,000-25,000 [which includes a 10% contingency
added], including renting a hall with capacity for 2,500-3,000 people.
Even if only 1,500 cult members/aspirants show up, that's still a
range of only $13.33 to $16.66 on the estimated cost per attendee. If
each attendee pays a $50 "donation" or "reservation fee," that's
$75,000 gross revenue. $75,000 - 25,000 still leaves a $50,000 net
profit from the event. If the attendees pay staggered fees for better
seat reservations, the net revenue goes still higher. (And PR's cult
devotees paid considerably more if they camped out at Amaroo,
Australia and bought their meals there on-site at the cult concessions
and rip-off restaurant.)

With a smaller event venue (say, 750 seat capacity), the hall rental
and personnel and production costs are substantially lower, but the
lower seating capacity also translates into less cult member revenue.
Naturally, these costs vary by venue, city, country, etc. But after
looking at some of the figures from various small-medium-to larger
events in the USA beginning about 1995, the organization's estimated
costs per attendee are anywhere from about $12-16, and sometimes
approaching $20. (These figures are calculated by dividing the
projected grand total expenses by the expected attendance number.)

We also have to add in the cult souvenir sales (those titanium
watches, expensive photos, PR's designs, jewelry, etc.) and PR's
self-promoting licensed Visions videos and personality cult propaganda
materials, and that's a lot more revenue.

Then, add in the signed pledges from individuals in each community
planning a tour event, and finally the solicited cash and checks in
the event's donation boxes, and that's a pretty sizable cash haul for
one hour of public speaking by PR. It could be $75,000 to $100,000,
and that's not even for a major tour event (like the 7,000-8,000
attending those Long Beach programs in the 1990s). Moreover, it keeps
the faithful sheep in the flock, and afterwards the 'gratitude' checks
and pledges will flow into the coffers, too. Remember, too, that PR
and co. have charged $50 per home television subscriber fee for
digital satellite up-links of many of the same events, and then
Visions edits and releases versions of these event videos in required
community subscriptions (for local video events) and for sale to cult
members. And befitting his self-proclaimed Indian nom "Maharaji," the
guy really lives just like a great King, doesn't he? Amazing. What a
racket, huh!

Also, if anyone associated with PR's "non-profit organization"
(registered as a "church" that doesn't file federal tax returns) finds
out you are rich or have an inheritance, look out! You can bet they'll
be in touch.

So, anyone out there contemplating joining the Prem Rawat cult, before
you get lured and tricked by his delusional devotees, then brainwashed
by the mind-control videos of the self-proclaimed 'Master', and
finally sucked into his self-serving personality cult, take note.
Caveat Emptor: "A mind is a terrible thing to lose," after all. (By
that [mind], I mean the ability to think, and to use your brain and
innate intelligence.) Never surrender your mind, your money, your
time, let alone the reins of your life, to any human incarnation of an
'Imperfect Master.'

Lastly, anyone within the cult in denial of the facts presented here -
is either very ignorant or living a lie, as spoon-fed by PR's cult
zombie cloning apparatus. If there's someone out there who would like
to learn some meditation, fine - so long as it doesn't entail joining
a cult, or following a guru of any kind or stripe. If the truth is
within you, then you don't need to look outside to anyone else for it.
And the 'Knowledge' techniques (and now "keys') he supposedly
'reveals' are free on the internet, and in numerous books, without any
false attachments to anybody or to some deceptively misrepresented
cult/church.

When I was in Hawaii, this Christian television network had this
sequenced show with a process called the "Wisdom Keys," and after you
got bitten by the bug (as it were), then they hit you up for some
money, of course. After watching it for a bit, it made me wonder where
PR copped his recent Keys idea. Just like he copped his Pasadena 'dung
beetle' discourse from watching the Discovery Channel. Are you going
to pay money just to hear somebody regurgitate that kind of stuff, or
to hear some jumbled watered-down Hindu platitudes, or attend the cult
videos for 6 months just to learn some hijacked universal yoga
teachings falsely represented as somebody's [unholy cash-cow]
monopoly? Well, I hope NOT.

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Caveat and disclaimer: I was never an employee of the Prem Singh Rawat
(aka Guru Maharaji) personality cult, nor have I ever gotten any of my
information by illicit means, nor do I possess anything legally
belonging to the cult or its agents. Like many guileless and unwary
spiritual suckers, I was simply an abused volunteer and financial
contributor for many years. The information submitted here is based on
first-hand knowledge, personal experience, and statements and
information shared with me and others via numerous contacts with some
of Rawat's closest aides/organizers. Anyone inside the cult (or
outside) attempting to harass me (or my family) in any way for posting
this publicly does so at their own legal peril, including potential
criminal charges of racketeering and terrorism, and shall be held
liable for violating any pertinent civil statutes, with penalties
including damages, costs, and fees. If you'll notice, except for
Rawat, I did NOT mention any PR cult officials or operatives by name
here (although I definitely could, and lots more, too).

Upfront: Please be advised that my only intention is to simply present
this information as a 'service', as it were, to other unwary human
beings (including cult members). Other than writing this single
lengthy post for now, I frankly do not have the time available nor an
inclination to respond to questions or engage in related dialogue
about the cult (or correspond by any means with any inquiring minds
out there). I do hope anyone reading this post understands and can
empathize. (And this has already taken me more than a day to prepare
and write.)

Throughout recorded history, billions of people have been misled by
religions/cults and their leaders, and millions of people have
suffered and even perished at the hands of religious fanatics. The
transit system bombings in London today bear bloody witness and
testimony to the abomination of religious zealots. Rawat and his
devotees fall into the category of delusional cult zealots. Prideful,
intolerant, superstitious, religious zealots on all sides are
tyrannizing and tormenting the rest of the people of this planet.

My unsolicited advice to one and all: Think for yourself - practice
self-reliance, and understanding, too. And in keeping up the good
fight for truth and justice, practice peaceful means - because an eye
for an eye makes the whole world blind! The horror, the horror...

Best wishes (and I'll try and check back in sometime in the future),

Mick