Reception
Ron Geaves, a Professor of Religion at Liverpool Hope University in England and follower of Prem Rawat, says
Elan Vital was established to more effectively promote Maharaji's teachings in a way that was free from any particular religious or cultural association.
Sociologist Stephen J. Hunt, writes
For Elan Vital, the emphasis is on individual, subjective experience, rather than on a body of dogma. The teachings provide a kind of practical mysticism. Maharaji speaks not of God, but of the god or divinity within, the power that gives existence. He has occasionally referred to the existence of the two gods—the one created by humankind and the one which creates humankind. Although such references apparently suggest an acceptance of a creative, loving power, he distances himself and his teachings from any concept of religion...deliberately keeping a low profile has meant that the movement has generally managed to escape the gaze of publicity that surrounds other NRMs.
Elan Vital was listed as a cult in a 1996 French parliamentary commission report. The report was compiled by the general information division of the French National Police (Renseignements généraux) with the help of cult-watching groups. This list has no official statutory or regulatory authority, and in May 2005 the former prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin issued a circular indicating that the parliamentary report should no longer be used to identify cults. A 1998 article in Rocky Mountain News referred to Elan Vital as a "cult". In 2002 an article by the Australian Associated Press referred to the organization as the "Elan Vital cult."
Read more about this topic: Elan Vital (organization)
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