PREM RAWAT FOUNDATION

Prem Rawat, known also by the honorary title Maharaji, has traveled the world for more than four decades, inspiring people to find peace within.

His message is simple and profound. Speaking at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand, he expressed, “Peace needs to be in everyone’s life. Of all the things we have tried in this world, there is one thing we have never given a chance. That one thing is peace. If we want to hope for something, maybe we could hope in our heart that peace will come in our life. The peace we are looking for is within. It is in the heart, waiting to be felt. It is not the world that needs peace; it is people. When people in the world are at peace within, the world will be at peace.”

For those who wish to make peace a reality in their life, he offers inspiration and guidance. “What I offer people is not just talk,” he says, “but a way to go inside and savor the peace that is within.”

Born in India, he started addressing audiences at the age of three and gave his first published address when he was only four. At eight, he started presenting his message of peace throughout the Indian subcontinent. At thirteen, he was invited to speak in London and Los Angeles. Since then, more than 10 million people in over 250 cities and 50 countries around the world have come to him for inspiration and guidance.

The dissemination of his message, which is made available in more than 88 countries and 70 languages, is entirely supported by voluntary contributions and the sale of related materials. He supports himself and his family through independent means.


How is it that we, as individuals, lose peace?
Each one of us has an invisible thief that follows us wherever we go. What does the thief do? He robs us. Neither doors, nor locks, nor alarms can stop him. This thief does not take money or clothes. He robs us of the most valuable assets we have. He robs us of joy, peace, contentment. He robs us of understanding. He robs us of all those things that are much more important than anything else.
When we say, “I want peace in my life, but . . . I will pursue it later,” we give permission to this invisible thief to come in. This is his signal. All he has to hear is, “Not now,” and the thief says, “Here is someone I can rob, because he is not protecting his most valuable asset. He is squandering it. He is throwing it away.” And in that moment, we are robbed of what is most important to us.

Does everyone have an innate desire to seek and experience peace?
Within everyone there is something that yearns for peace. In times of total chaos, there is a yearning for peace. When there is mistrust, there is a yearning for trust. When we are in pain, something within seeks a glimmer of hope, of relief.
A human being needs love—to love and to feel love. The question is, what is going to be the source of that love? A human being needs to trust, but what is going to be the source of that trust? What can be trusted that is trustworthy, that will provide the support that is needed in one's life? Similarly, there is no doubt that a human being needs peace. In fact, there is very little anyone can do about that. This is a thirst that is innate to all human beings. The question is, what is going to be the source of that peace?

How does one come to understand the peace you are speaking of?
Peace is not necessary in the mind; it is necessary in the heart. The mind and intellect cannot capture peace. They have a different function.
Peace, joy, and true happiness are not subjects for thought. They can only be felt. There is a feeling behind being alive. There are no explanations for it. It is the feeling that one has to get to—because that is where there is comfort, that is where there is joy, that is where there is satisfaction. It is in that feeling that we need to live our lives. Somehow, we think that we need an explanation of what peace is, but peace cannot be explained; it can only be felt.
Fulfillment needs to be felt. When we are fulfilled, something inside of us says, “Yes, I am fulfilled.” For a thirsty person, not even a thousand pictures of other people drinking water will do any good. Only drinking water will do.


Useful links :
Prem Rawat
Words of peace
What peobple say
Maharaji's quotes in many languages.