Ron and Bina Present Prem Rawat, Reflections Dhruva Club 2014

Background intrumental song "Oh My Lord" by the Holi Band

MC: Am I audible? Yeah. So good evening everyone. Reflections Dhruva Club welcomes you for today's program titled "Personal Peace." So today's program will have one or several video presentation of lectures by Mr. Prem Rawat. Let me introduce Mr. Prem Rawat. He is a renowned international speaker. He has been called to various institutions all over the world to give talk. And he is also founder of the Prem Rawat Foundation. It is a non-profitable, it is a non-profit charitable organization. He is also awardee of Brand Laureate Lifetime Achievement Award. And he has also been honored as Ambassador of Peace by UNIPAZ in Brazil in 2012. So today's schedule is going to be, there are going to be several clips of lectures by Mr. Prem Rawat and then there will be two books, trailers, actually we have some books that you can purchase if you like. And we have made this new initiative that we get books from several authors and organizations which are inspirational and we keep them here for sale.

So if you know of any good book, please contact us. And then there will be interaction session with Professor Ron Geaves from Liverpool Hope University and also with Dr. Bina Chintalapuri. She is presently Honorary Director at Indian Council of Social Science Research, Southern Regional Center, ICSSR SRC. And then there will be memento and Thanksgiving session and then also meanwhile, we would appreciate if you could give your feedback, feedback forms will be distributed. And towards the end, after the program, especially first year and second year B.Tech students can apply for membership to our club. And some benefits that members have are like, you will get to, you will get an opportunity to organize these kind of inspirational programs. And also from next semester onwards, we will be having discussion circle in which we discuss from, we discuss inspirational content from various books, both spiritual and non-spiritual which gives a lot of boost in our lives. And there is going to be book sales also outside. So let's proceed with the video presentation.

Voiceover: Can you imagine a man who has sacrificed so much for the last 40 years, his life, his time so sacrificially to promote peace. Prem Rawat draws our attention to the universal character of our human thirst for peace. At heart, his message is simple and profound. Prem Rawat's commitment to peace has been lifelong. A husband, father of four, an accomplished pilot, Prem Rawat travels year round addressing the topic of peace from a uniquely humanistic perspective. It's not political peace. It's real peace. And only human beings can feel that. Each year, Prem Rawat travels an average of 105,000 nautical miles to speak to over half a million people in 57 cities across 25 countries. The intent is to bring them happiness, to bring them excitement, to bring some peace into their lives. And if I can play any part in it, I feel very privileged.

Prem Rawat: I really don't have a message for society, but I have a message for people. Peace does not begin by just one institution or one particular group of people. It has to begin by individuals.

His message of peace is welcomed by audiences of all kinds, whether he is speaking to inmates in prisons or at a prestigious gathering at Kensington Palace in London on the occasion of Her Majesty the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Prem Rawat: Peace is fundamental to human beings. And for a lot of people, it's an environment, it's a circumstance, it's a definition. But for me, it's something innate.

His dedication to the subject has earned Prem Rawat international recognition as an Ambassador of Peace. We give you the title of Ambassador of Peace.

For his unique perspective, he is invited to speak to audiences in developing nations, as well as at sophisticated forums like the Young Presidents Organization and Rotary International. In November 2011, he was invited for a second time to speak at the European Parliament

Prem Rawat: I'm not a politician, but I am a human being who holds very close to his heart the possibility of peace on this earth.

At this event, Prem Rawat and Jonny Patella, first Vice President of the European Parliament, were two of the 37 founding signatories to the document known as the Pledge to Peace, directly inspired by Prem Rawat's message. The Pledge to Peace is a call to action, a call towards peace in our lives, towards the well-beings of all peoples, and as Prem so eloquently said in his speech, a call not from the mind, but from the heart. Governments, cultures, and communities around the world can embrace Prem Rawat and his message. On April 9, 2013, Prem Rawat was awarded the citizenship of Sao Paulo in recognition of his lifelong efforts towards peace. He joined Bill Clinton, the Pope, and the Dalai Lama in being conferred such an honour from the largest city in Brazil. He has also received honorary citizenships in the Italian cities of Palermo, Corleone, Abrigento, and Mazzara del Vallo for the impact his message has had on community leaders and citizens. He has been honoured with the keys to many cities around the world, including the Freedom of the City of London. I'm delighted to welcome you, sir, as a fellow freedom and a fellow citizen of London.

To further support peace in the lives of individuals, in 2001, Prem Rawat created a humanitarian organization called the Prem Rawat Foundation. The foundation is built on the principle that peace is a fundamental right for all human beings. It strives to make this message of peace available around the world through special live events and programs like the Peace Education Program, which is utilized by an expanding array of groups, including prisoners, retirement communities, veterans, and university students. In addition to peace initiatives, TPRF spearheads humanitarian aid initiatives to assist people in great need of essential aid in the areas of food, water, and disaster relief.

Linda Pascotto We have this vision of the founder that people everywhere should have a chance to live their lives with dignity, with peace, and in prosperity. Acknowledged for his humanitarian work and extraordinary commitment to peace, Prem Rawat has received awards and gestures of appreciation from organizations and governmental officials around the world. I don't see that the awards are just for me.

I see that they are recognizing the involvement and the efforts of everyone who is interested in having peace on this earth. In 2012, he was honored with the Brand Laureate Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest and most prestigious of the Brand Laureate Awards, reserved for statesmen and illustrious individuals whose actions and work have impacted the lives of people and the world at large. There have only been three other recipients of this award, Nelson Mandela, Hillary Clinton, and President of Austria, Heinz Fischer. "We just thank him. Seven billion reasons to thank him for championing and promoting peace all over the world."

Changes.

Prem Rawat: For a lot of people, change is one of the things that either they're trying to resist or find themselves being struck by. But do we really understand what that means? What is a change? Because as we exist, as we live, in every breath that we take, we are in that swing of a change. If that breath comes, good, we're alive.

If it goes, we're getting very, very close to something, but we don't know what it is. And if it comes again, there, we just had another opportunity to be, to exist. And if it goes and doesn't come back, you'll be in the middle of a very big change. That's the mother of all changes. But it happens all the time. All the time. Day, night. But we don't perceive it as that. We perceive our life in terms of statistics. 60 years, 65 years, 70 years, average. Never thought of that. Never, never. 365 x 80, I don't know if that's right. I don't know. No more, no more. 250,000. My math is bad. Trying to do the math. 250,000 days. 20,000, I don't know. Yeah. No, go for 80,000. 80,000. 80,000. I want to live a long life. Hundreds of thousands. Yeah. Quite a few. Be quite a lot, yeah. We're not studying mathematics. A lot of days. And we hope so, a lot of days. Yeah.

Let me give you a bit of an economic lesson here. If I was to say, you're going to receive $25,550. Is that a lot of money? For some people, it's a lot of money. Some people, it's not a whole lot of money. $25,550 isn't going to quite buy you a house and a car, a refrigerator and a washing machine and pay for your food for too long. I mean, in this day and age, $25,550 is just not that much. And if this is all you had, this is it. You get no more of it. I think you'd be fairly depressed because it's not going to last that long. I mean, forget about any trips. You may have to walk to the grocery store. Forget about any luxury items. So why am I telling you about $25,550? What has that got to do with you? It does. Not quite dollars. On average, if a human being lives for 70 years, then that's how many days you get. 25,550 days. That's it. Really? That's not much. Wow. Life's short. When you break it down like that, yeah. A lot less than what I originally thought. Yeah, it's not that long. When you think about it. I get a little bit sad, to be quite honest. Well, not a lot. It sounds very little. If you realise it's short, or you count by days, there's nothing left. When I speak to people, I don't want to make them feel guilty. I try to, as subtly as I can sometimes, give a sense of urgency. Because people have so much happening in their life. And I just want to call their attention to themselves and their existence. Because after me, will this world go on? You bet.

Will flowers bloom? Yes. Will rain come down? Yes. Will the sun shine? Of course. Will the fish jump in the ocean? Of course. But the thing is, I won't be there to witness it. I won't be there to enjoy it. I won't be there to say, wow, that is beautiful. And so, 25,550 came up as a good way to attract your attention. And bring it to a point where you can start to see the urgency of this life. You are alive. And for a lot of people, well, that's not an earth-shattering message. But think about it. If somebody says to you, you're going to die, that is earth-shattering. So why is it in reverse? If a doctor tells you, you've got two months to live, people go, oh my God. Do we acknowledge what it means to be alive when we are alive? Or does it only enter our minds when that possibility is no more? Well, knowing that there are 25,000 days, of the days I have left, I guess what matters to me the most is to make the most of them doing what I really want and feeling that I'm not letting them pass as if I were a spectator of life. I guess what I want is to live. By putting a number on it, you are more aware of the days you have. That's for sure. And no regrets. A lot of days are lost because you're not living. Be happier about what you do every single day. Why waste time trying to be sad and that type of stuff. Yeah. You have to enjoy it every day, right? Well, what I'm saying is that there are very few. Well, I don't know, I said it like that. I've never said the truth more. That's why, to make the most of it. Because there's only one life. Because if you can understand the value, and if you can understand the importance, and if you can understand the beauty of each moment that you are being given right now, you will understand what immortality is all about. Because it is the kernel of life.

This thing called the moment is the kernel of life. This is where you exist. This is where you feel. This is where you understand. This is where clarity has some meaning. This is where you can express. This is where you can smile. This is where you can say, wow, I'm alive. We can laugh. Yes, we can cry, but we can laugh. And laugh is something special. Because in that laughter we express, I'm happy. That smile when all is well. That the moment came in your life, and you didn't let it just slip past, but you grabbed it. That this life means something to you. That every day that comes means something to you. Not just another day, another number, another label on a calendar, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. To be repeated again. Only to be distinguished by numbers. One, two, three, four, five, six. To be further distinguished by months. The groupings of these numbers. January, February, March. Life is 25,000, I don't know how many days, so we have to take advantage of that. I want to do something that makes me feel alive. If you think you've spent so many days, you're not living in the now, you're living in something that doesn't exist. And the future doesn't exist either. So the best thing is to think you're here now, and enjoy that. Also, the most important thing is not what you do, but how you do it, how you live it. If you're happy, it doesn't matter if you end up here or there. Then you've got a problem. I know what's going to happen tomorrow. Don't you know what's going to happen tomorrow? It'll never come. It seems you're stuck in this thing called today. Your whole life is just one long today. You want to know what the fallacy is? The fallacy is today is 24 hours long. No, it's not. Today is 25,550 days long. And it'll only come as today.

Did you know that you were waiting for this day for a very, very long time? Every time somebody sang happy birthday to you, and said may you have a long life, this day was included in that. Was it not? And have you not been waiting for this day? When you look at your age, you go, oh, I'm 40. I am 30. I am 50. I am 60. I am 70. I am 80. If you are 40, you waited for today for 40 years. So the value of today should be exceedingly high. You have to wait so long. So look at it differently. Don't look at it like now everything is over. No. God, I am getting, if you're 60, you're getting the day you had to wait 60 years for. And if you're 30, you're going to have to wait 30 more to get that day. Understand that. Nobody will tell you this. They will say it in other ways, but nobody will really tell you today. You have been waiting for today for a very, very long time. And it's here. And it is here. So that's what you were wishing for. Has your wish come true? Your wish comes true. But you don't think like that. You get up in the morning and you think about, now I have to do this, now I have to do this, now I have to do this. No, your wish came true. You're alive today. It's nice to have things put into perspective like that. It really does make you think. I think we don't stop living. We think about, now I'll finish talking here and I'll go somewhere else, but I won't really be in that place. I'll be thinking about what I'm going to do next, and what's coming next, and what's coming next. So I think it's worth dedicating the time you deserve to things.

Think about now, about what you're doing right now. And that's it. And the rest will come. And be happy. Above all, be very happy. That's what counts. 25,000. I'll think of that. The way I look at it, you get 25,550 tries to get it right. What did you do today? You should be in peace. Now. You should have the clarity in your life. Now. Your bank does not want you to pay your bills after you die. You don't want to book a vacation after you die. Why would you leave the most important thing in your life for after you die? You should have the happiness. Now. A troubled mind is very bad. And a fulfilled heart is very good. A troubled mind is not good at all. There's no goodness in it. Your goodness lies when your heart is fulfilled. And what do you think will fulfill your heart? I am not here to lay new rules. I'm not here to expose you to new rules. In fact, you know exactly what will fulfill your heart. You know it. But you have just gotten used to not knowing it. But you know it. And it is. When it has. That peace. When it has. That fulfillment. When it has. That clarity. Here. Here is today. Here. So.

Do you know how to work on being fulfilled? Did you work on that today? Or did you merely cope with today? And have you gotten used to coping every day? My friends. What do you want to buy with the dollar that you get every day for 25,550 days? Me? I want to buy the truest joy. I want for me to be fulfilled. What will tomorrow be like? In one sense, no different than today and no different than yesterday. And if you are fulfilled it will be unique. It will be different than today. And it will be different than yesterday. And the day before. And then. You don't count. The 25,550. Because it doesn't matter. This is the gift. Big gift. Not huge. Big 25,500. I just would like you to make the most of all the 25,550. Or whatever is remaining. Just one day is enough. One day is enough. To be in that appreciation. To be in that place. To be in that beauty. To be in that joy. To be in that contentment. Because if contentment wasn't contentment it wouldn't be called contentment. Content. And that too is within you. So how lucky can you get? Congratulations. Congratulations. Every time that breath comes into you. Blessings galore. Congratulations.

If that beauty, if that power can give you as a gift that breath that joy what could you give yourself? A little clarity? A little understanding? That's what I say. And whatever you do whatever you do know know that that blessing is coming to you. You're not alone. You're not left in this world to suffer. But you are graced and blessed inundated with blessing after blessing after blessing after blessing. That's how it is. Time has come not to ignore the obvious. Be fulfilled. Be fulfilled. This possibility exists.