Rabi Maharaj (born 8 August 1947) is

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The country is home to people of many different national, ethnic and religious origins. As a ...

-born Indian author and evangelist. He is descendant of a long line of

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...

priests and gurus from the city of

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

( Banaras) in

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

, India. Before moving to London 1967, he converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, and then authored the book ''Death of a Guru'', the story of his conversion to Christianity , first published in 1977. The book has been translated into over 60 languages.

Biography

Maharaj grew up in a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

community in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. Trained as a

yogi A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297-299, 331 Th ...

, he eventually converted to Christianity After pre-medical studies in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, he received theological training at

London School of Theology The London School of Theology (LST), formerly London Bible College, is a British interdenominational evangelical theological college based in Northwood within the London Borough of Hillingdon. History During the 1930s A. J. Vereker, secreta ...

(''formerly London Bible College''), and then began charity work.

Maharaj's Work

Maharaj has worked with

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

, preached in thousands of churches, university campuses, and auditoriums all over the world. He also worked to rehabilitate drug addicts in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

in the 1970s. He is founder of East-West Gospel Ministries.

Lectures and Broadcasts

Maharaj's most popular lecture topics have included "Encounters with the Supernatural" and "Krishna, Buddha, Mohammad, or Christ?". His other speaking topics have included, "Sexual Mysticism", "Yoga and Meditation in the West", and "Death of a Guru: A Search for Truth". Maharaj has appeared in several documentaries including the Mystics and ''Gods of the New Age''.

References

External links

More on Rabi Maharaj's story

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maharaj, Rabi Trinidad and Tobago people of Indian descent Trinidad and Tobago Christians Christian writers Converts to Protestantism from Hinduism Living people 1947 births Alumni of the London School of Theology