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. Rather than a body of dogma, he emphasizes a direct experience of transcendence, which he claims is accessible through the four techniques of meditation which he teaches. He calls these techniques "Knowledge" and says that Knowledge will 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."
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. According to scholar and follower Ron Geaves, this lack of professed concepts allows his followers a freedom of expression which is spontaneous and personal. Rawat places no outer requirements or prohibitions on those taught the techniques, nor does he regard himself as an exemplary leader. Practitioners are asked not to reveal these techniques to anyone else, but to allow others to prepare to receive the experience for themselves. Rawat has been criticized for a lack of intellectual content in his public discourses.
History
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". 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. Sants believe that the Guru or Perfect Master is an embodiment of God and a fitting object of worship. Some of the more notable Sant gurus include Namdev (d.1350), Kabir (d.1518), Nanak (d.1539), Mirabai (d.1545), Surdas (d.1573), Tulsidas (d.1623), and Tukaram (d. 1650). 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. Hans Ji Maharaj, Rawat's father and guru, was a devotee of Swarupanand, and became a guru in 1936 on Swarupanand's death. He began presenting his message and teaching the techniques of Knowledge in the small town of Najibabad, near Haridwar. His talks were strongly influenced by the reformist philosophy of the Arya Samaj, and he viewed himself primarily as the "Guru of the Poor". His teachings were rich in metaphor and more concerned with practical applications than theory. Unusually for an Indian teacher, he accepted students irrespective of caste, religion or status, and drew his share of criticism from traditional Hindus. In 1936 he published a book Hans Yog Prakash as a first step to broadening the dissemination of his message.
Teachings
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. His central claim is that God resides in every human being and the human quest for fulfillment can be resolved by turning inward to discover a constant source of contentment and joy. He gives equal billing to all religions, quoting from Hindu, Muslim and Christian sources, but rather than rely on scriptures for inspiration and guidance, Rawat relies on the experience provided by the four techniques of Knowledge. This lack of professed concepts allow his followers a freedom of expression which is spontaneous and personal.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. Both saw [doctrines] as presenting more problems than advantages ... The young Guru explains that conceptual thinking, translated with the English word “mind” in German translations also, is the main enemy of direct religious experience. It is therefore hardly surprising that little firm information about DLM teachings can be obtained from his followers. 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.]</ref>