Wikipedia, the
online ‘user generated content’ encyclopaedia carries articles about
Prem Rawat and the organisations that support him. Due to the
limitations under which Wikipedia operates, a large amount of readily
available information about Prem Rawat does not appear in the Wikipedia
articles; in addition even material that is allowed under Wikipedia
rule’s is routinely censored by Wikipedia editors who wish to present a
sanitised picture of Prem Rawat and his followers.
One of the most
bankrupt positions adopted by Wikipedia editors involves what Wikipedia
terms
‘exceptional claims’. The contorted logic often employed to justify
exclusion of a reference to a source which is legitimate even in
Wikipedia’s own terms, leaves Wikipedia choosing to quote unresearched
opinion and even wholly erroneous material simply on the basis that it
has been repeated by a number of authors. Authoritative academic work
which has not been ‘log rolled’ is excluded on the basis that it is an
exceptional claim.
The Wikipedia
articles on Prem Rawat, his father, their supporting organisations and
teachings are sourced on a very limited range of academics, with the
bulk of references being made to authors who have links to the cult
apologist organisation
CESNUR,
Much of the Wikipedia material about Prem Rawat is based on an
unreferenced biography published by Prem Rawat’s followers and heavily
promoted on followers’ web-sites
The following
articles have been created so that anyone interested in finding out
about Prem Rawat can have access to the widest possible sources of
information. Unlike Wikipedia these articles do include elements of
'original research'. Links to a wide range of original and secondary
sources are also given, and where relevant a link to Wikipedia is
provided for comparative reference. The website Ex-Premie.Org (EPO)
provides a substantial archive of legal documents, correspondence, media
publication, research and discussion, EPO is referenced widely in the
following articles, primarily as an archive, not the source of
authorship.
An excellent
deconstruction of Wikipedia’s treatment of Prem Rawat as a subject can
be read at:
Maharaji's
Divinity: False Academic Denial
Wikipedia:
False presentation of academic writing about
Prem Rawat
Sources: Relevant
academic writings excluded from Wikipedia
Referenced
articles about Prem Rawat that are free from censorship and
misrepresentation.
Prem Rawat:
An uncensored history
Hans Rawat:
Beliefs and teachings of an Advait Mat Guru
Prem Rawat:
Attenuation of a religious inheritance
Massimo Introvigne, CESNUR's founder