A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO PEACE
Posted on June 5th, 2010
Prem Rawat, known also by the honorary title Maharaji, has traveled the world for four decades, inspiring people to find peace within.
His message is simple and profound. It is independent of and compatible with any philosophy, religion, or spiritual path. At the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok, he said, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Peace needs to be in everyoneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s 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.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
The Prem Rawat Foundation, (www.tprf.org) which he founded, provides nutritious food and clean water to people most in need and holds free medical clinics. TPRF has distributed millions of free meals and operates a permanent food-aid program in a tribal area in northeastern India, where more than 100,000 free hot meals are distributed each year. TPRF did a great deal of aid work in Sri Lanka after the Tsunami and also during the war crisis, through the Shanthi Sandesa Sangamaya.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Prem RawatƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s message was shown to those in the IDP camps and over 200 of them have understood and embraced the message.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The TPRF dvds are shown in a large number of the prisons in USA & in India, where both the prisoners and the guards watch the dvds together.
The dissemination of his message of peace is made available in more than 90 countries and 70 languages. TPRFƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s humanitarian activities are entirely supported by voluntary contributions and the sale of related materials. As a private investor, pilot and patentor, he supports himself and his family through independent means.
Born in India, he started addressing audiences at the age of three. At eight, he began presenting his message of peace throughout India. At thirteen, he was invited to speak in London and Los Angeles. More than ten million people in 50 countries around the world have come to hear his message of hope and peace. He does not charge any money and all his talks are given on invitations from various countries. He does not try to change any oneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s religion nor does he try to change peopleƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s way of life. He tries to show the reality of nature, its insubstantiality and yet the incredible beauty and enjoyment we can experience within ourselves.
Here are some of the comments of people who have been supporting him and his work.
Emilio Colombo, former president of the European Parliament; former prime minister of Italy
ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-As public servants, we all seek, each in our own way, to make the world a better place to live. There is one thing, however, that we cannot do, and that is to enable people to feel happy, at peace, content. What intrigued me in Prem RawatƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s message is that he speaks of the possibility for every person to find within themselves a peace and happiness that is not dependent on circumstances. Peace, he says, is within, and it can be felt; we just have forgotten how to get in touch with it. What I also find interesting is that he sees peace not just as the absence of war, but rather as a feeling within to get connected with, to cultivate for oneself. I see his message as pointing out to us that everyone must find peace for themselves first before helping to bring peace in the worldƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚as sorely needed as it is. I am glad he is with us today.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚
Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, vice president of the Republic of India
ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-IƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢m convinced that the people of India and from other countries need to embrace in their hearts Prem RawatƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s call to peace. For the last forty years, as a messenger of peace, he has been making a constant effort to teach a lesson of peace. I would like to express my heartfelt feeling towards him as a most trusted and respected person who takes a message of joy to society, and society puts it into practice. Doing so is the greatest success there can be in life. I want his message to reach the people around the world.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚
Prof. Giulio Cossu, MD, president of the Italian Society for Cell and Developmental Biology; director of the Stem Cell Research Institute, Milan
ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Prem RawatƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s message is simple and straight to the Heart. He speaks in a unique and most valuable manner about real life, about how much there is to enjoy in life, and about how to appreciate what an incredible gift it is.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Web casts of his talks in the form of web casts can be watched on www.wopg.org. Words of Peace Global (WOPG) is an international charitable foundation, formed in the Netherlands in September 2008 with offices in Barcelona, Spain. WOPG promotes Prem Rawat’s message of peace through Live Events, Broadcasts, TV Series, and a variety of other communication channels.
Global activities are led by volunteers around the world and guided by the WOPG Team, who are working to provide the necessary tools and support to achieve our goals together. Our principle objective is to ensure that every person around the world has the opportunity to hear this message of peace.
June 5th, 2010 at 11:58 pm
As the numbers in his cult diminish, Mr Rawat seeks to legitimise himself with small but well advertised humanitarian efforts, and by associating himself with world leaders, and hiring rooms in UN buildings so that he can say he spoke at the UN.
To find out more about Prem Rawat, take a look at http://www.ex-premie.org/ and http://prem-rawat-maharaji.info/
June 7th, 2010 at 6:08 am
Prem Rawat teaches SELF KNOWLEDGE for no charge at all. It is not a Cult and not a Religion. People are free to move in & out of practicing of Self Knowledge, even though it may be to their detriment to move out of it ! No one supervises or punishes anyone for starting or stopping practice of Self Knowledge. It is wholly self dependent and therefore not a cult.
Both WOPG & TPRF are registered Charities. As such, none of the funds they hold are given to Prem Rawat. Accounts are audited and all activities are aboveboard. Prem Rawat is completely self sufficient. His private income supports him & his family entirely. He is a superb pilot & writes manuals for the Federal Aviation Authority. He has also patented many products. The events held all over the world are funded by contributions made to WOPG and manned by volunteers worldwide. TPRF is often the first organisation to be at disaster sites the world over and helped in Lanka with the Tsunami tragedy too.
What is written in the sites mentioned by some critics is not true at all. I cannot understand the purpose of such sites except to say that those writers have perhaps transferred some pain in their life to Prem Rawat. The picture of Prem Rawat being felicitated in India during the early years there, is in keeping with Indian traditions & culture. All his speeches the world over, have been made because of invitations extended to him, both by VIPs, the UN, and the poorest of the poor.
I have been one of the fortunates to have practiced Self Knowledge for over 28 yrs. I know the value of it in this uncertain world and our fragile human existence.
Prem Rawats contribution to the well being of humanity is immeasurable, and today over a Million people benefit from his teachings.
As the Buddha said “Ehi pachiko” (come and see).
By the way, the above article was not written by Prem Rawat, but by another person known to me.