The core of Prem Rawat's teaching is that the individual’s need for fulfillment can be satisfied by turning within to contact a constant source of peace and joy.
"[1] In his public speeches he quotes from Hindu, Muslim and Christian sources, but he relies on the experience provided by the four meditation techniques for his inspiration and guidance.
[7][8][9] Scholars have asserted that Prem Rawat's teachings originate in the traditions of the North Indian Sants, who dismiss all religious ritual and dogma and emphasize the possibility of a direct experience of God, who, they claim, "dwells in the heart".
[10] Theologically, their teachings are distinguished by an inward, loving devotion to a divine principle, and socially by an egalitarianism that is opposed to the qualitative distinctions of the Hindu caste system.
[7] Other scholars refer to affinities with medieval traditions of Nirguna Bhakti (Sanskrit = "formless devotion"), with a similar emphasis on universalism, equality and direct experience, and criticism of blind allegiance to religious ritual and dogma.
[13] Unusually for an Indian teacher, he accepted students irrespective of caste, religion or status, and drew his share of criticism from traditional Hindus.
Prem Rawat did not inherit a formal set of teachings nor did he develop one, as he sees conceptual thinking as the main enemy of the direct religious experience which he claims can be obtained through the techniques of Knowledge.
[2][13]Neither in the time of the father, Shri Hans, nor in that of the son, did the Divine Light Mission possess a systematically developed set of teachings.
On the other hand, the lack of professed concepts allows them a freedom of expression which is spontaneous and personal, and which makes an agreeable contrast with the unexamined reproduction of received teachings [such as are found in other Indian-inspired groups.
[20] Sociologist James Downton observed that from his early beginnings Rawat appealed to his followers to give up the concepts and beliefs that might impede them from fully experiencing the "Knowledge" or life force, but this did not prevent them from adopting a fairly rigid set of ideas about his divinity, and to project millennial preconceptions onto him and the movement.
He is essentially an iconoclast who plots his route by pragmatic decisions to meet the demands and challenges that occur in his public career as a teacher striving to convince people of the value of self-knowledge.
Practitioners describe Knowledge as internal and highly individual, with no associated social structure, liturgy, ethical practices or articles of faith.
They also say that the techniques are universally applicable and their practice has no impact on, or relationship to, a student's gender, race, sexual orientation, economic status, religion,[31] or national origin.
"[38] In his early days in the West, Prem Rawat or his Mahatmas (renamed to "Initiators" in 1974) conducted "Knowledge Sessions" face-to-face in small groups.
George D. Chryssides writes that the Knowledge according to Prem Rawat was based on self-understanding, providing the practitioner with calmness, peace, and contentment, as the inner-self is identical with the divine.
[40] Ron Geaves, who specializes in studies in comparative religion at Liverpool Hope University in England and who is one of the Western students of Prem Rawat,[41] writes that Prem 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 of his authority.
The Knowledge includes four secret meditation procedures and the process of reaching the true self within can only be achieved by the individual, but with the guidance and help of a teacher.
The tens of thousands of followers in the West do not see themselves as members of a religion, but the adherents of a system of teachings that extol the goal of enjoying life to the full.
[42] In Sacred Journeys sociologist James V. Downton writes Aside from all the psychological and social explanations one could offer to explain their conversions, the fact is that, during the Knowledge session or afterward in meditation, these young people had a spiritual experience which deeply affected them and changed the course of their lives.
[43]Marc Galanter (MD), professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Division of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse at the New York University Medical Center, writes that "over the long term of membership, meditation also played an important role in supporting a convert's continuing involvement.
[44] Paul Schnabel a sociologist, references Van der Lans, a religious psychologist employed at the Catholic University of Nijmegen.
Van der Lans says 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.