"Maharaji" at Nova University in Fort Lauderdale, Tuesday, April 22, 2003 - Introductory Event


After the "Special 3-Day Event" with Maharaji in Miami Beach, Florida of April 18th, 19th and 20th, there was an Introductory Event with Maharaji "live" (in person) at Nova University in the city of Davie (West Fort Lauderdale), Florida. The event was scheduled to take place at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 22, at the Nova University Campus, off University Drive and S.W. 30th Street, at their Theater of the Performing Arts. This event was of limited space and availability and it was the result of an invitation extended to Prem Rawat, from the University, to come and speak. The invitation was only for the Nova University students, staff and personnel.

Okay, as we all know, EV's been playing this game for years, pretending that M just gets "invited" to speak here there and everywhere, suggesting that he's so damn popular it's like winning the lottery for every lucky group whose invitation he chooses to accept.  Of course that's nonsense.  M goes where he wants, if and when he wants.  He has a standing invitation, not that he'd ever need one, to visit everyhere his cult members reside.  He doesn't have to ask.  Believe me, he doesn't have to ask.

But now we see this new spectre of M speaking at places OUTSIDE his cult, university campuses in particular, and also claiming that these various institutions "invited" him also.  Somehow, I found that a bit suspicious. What happened at Nova University?  Did they find a catalogue of washed out cult leaders from the seventies available to tour the speaking circuit?  Did they take one look at M and decide "Oh yeah, we've got to get that one!  He used to be the Lord of the Universe!  And look, it seems like he even had breast implants!"?  Or did they instead read his excellent interview in Leaders Magazine and decide that they simply needed more?  Actually, I found both scenarios unlikely.  I suspected something else.

So last week, I emailed Nova.  They didn't write back but Cynth's post reminded me to call and so I did.  What I got was an earful.

It turns out that some members of the cult approached the university to set up the program.  No one at Nova had ever heard of M.  No big surprise there, however this next bit is kind of fun.  Apparently,  once the program was scheduled, the cult requested that Nova send Rawat a letter "inviting" him there!  Now I wonder why that was...

Anyway, that got the school curious, as it would anyone.  They did send the letter but they had to wonder:  who exactly had they "invited"?  So what'd they do?  A Google search of course! That led them to EPO, they read it all. The woman I spoke with had the whole picture, I had no explaining to do.  None.

So Rawat shows up and, well, see how the announcement claims that the invitation was only for university people?  The place was packed but it was 90 per cent full of cult members.  That was the estimate my contact gave me.  Indeed, the whole event was "mayhem", she said.  They were so furious with the cult that they wrote them a letter of complaint afterwards.  She advised me that Rawat will never be back at Nova again.  I asked what if he simply wanted to take a few classes.  Nope, no way, Jose!  Lucky for M he's got the Knowledge You Can't Get in College (or does Satpal have that?), because this door to higher education's done been slammed in his face, I'm afraid.

Anyway, the woman advised me that Rawat apparently went on to speak at some university in Colorado immediately afterwards.  She asked me if I'd contacted them.  Anyone know anything about that.

I asked for a copy of the letter they sent Rawat's people but, not surprisingly, she suggested that I ask the cult itself for a copy.  This, then, is a request to whoever's monitoring the site today for the cult.  Would you please ask the powers that be if we could have a copy of that letter for EPO?  I can't guarantee that JM will post it but, well, there's a good chance he will.  What do you say, EV Monitor?  Won't you at least ask?