Hans Rām Singh Rawat, called Shrī Hans Jī Mahārāj and by various other honorifics (8 November 1900 – 19 July 1966), was an Indian religious leader.
Early life and backgroud
He was born in Garh Ki Serhia, north-east of Haridwar in present-day Uttarakhand, India. His parents were Ranjit Singh Rawat and Kalindi Devi. He was considered a Satguru by his students who called him affectionately "Shri Maharaj ji" or just "Guru Maharaj ji."
He had a daughter from his first wife Sinduri Devi, and four sons from his second wife Rajeshwari Devi, later known among followers as "Mata Ji" and "Shri Mata Ji".
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Life and work
At the age of eight, not long after starting at the village school, Hans Rām's mother died. From that time he was raised by his aunt. As a young adult he visited many holy men in the nearby mountains and pilgrimage towns in the area now the Pakistani provinces of Sindh, Baluchistan and Punjab. He was reportedly disenchanted with these and turned to the Arya Samaj, a popular movement formed to remove caste prejudices and idolatry from Hinduism. In 1923, Swami Swarupanand taught Hans the techniques of Knowledge or kriyas, an experience of which Hans later said: "I was given no mantra, but experienced Knowledge. I experienced the music and light of my heart. My mind was focused within". A strong bond of teacher/disciple was formed between them which Swami Swarupanand reportedly referred to as follows: "I am in Hans' heart and Hans is in my heart". who noted that Hans had married Sinduri Devi from a neighboring village in the district of Garwal, making him a "householder", a status that in their view as renunciates was not acceptable. After the rift, Hans was left with only a handful of people to help him continue his work. Hans branched out on his own with the understanding that he had his teacher's blessings, and continued teaching throughout the Indian sub-continent. as a first step to broadening the dissemination of his message.
During the next years, Hans traveled by foot and by train to towns and villages across north India, followed by three more in 1953 (Mahi Pāl), 1955 (Dharam Pāl), and 1957 (Prem Pāl), affectionately nicknamed "Sant Jī" by Hans. For nearly 30 years Hans disseminated his message without any formal organisation. After resisting suggestions for such an organisation, he finally gave in to growing pressure, and the Divine Light Mission was registered in Patna in 1960, to develop and structure the growing activities across India. The mission aims discussed are that "in principle all religions are one" and that the understanding that "peace is indivisible" and achievable by individuals and that "disgruntled individuals and dissatisfied nations can never promote lasting peace in the world." It also discusses some humanitarian initiatives. Though Prem Rawat was officially the leader of the DLM, because of his young age authority was shared by the whole family.
For the next eight years Hans's family supported Prem Rawat as his successor but the latter's decision to marry a Westerner in 1974 precipitated a struggle for control of DLM. Mata Ji returned to India and appointed her oldest son Satpal as the new head of DLM India claiming that Prem Rawat had broken his spiritual discipline by marrying and becoming a "playboy". The Western "premies" remained loyal to Prem Rawat but the marriage led to a permanent rift within the family and was also credited with causing a profound disruption in the movement.
Satpal became the new head of the organisation in India and later also became a prominent INC politician, being elected to the 11th and 15th Lok Sabha; he is considered a satguru by his followers.