The Blurb: "A calming collection of allegories, and illustrations from a world-renowned peace ambassador." I have no trouble believing that Rawat, himself, drew the sketches used in the book. It explains why they're given so much whitespace, so the text doesn't detract from their simple brilliance.

Publisher Penguin Life
Edition 1
Publication Date: 6 June 2019
Paperback: 144 pages
Best Sellers Rank: #314,892

With Peace Is Possible Rawat is recycling everything, including the title. Incredibly, he's even recycling the parable of the "Sugar Ant and the Salt Ant" … again:

I know I heard it many times back in the 1970s and dreaded the introduction. It was almost as bad as his retellings of the story of the Queen's Necklace. At least in these publications the story has been edited leaving Rawat's word-salad out.

This book is not just a book containing simplistic parables and amazing aphorisms, Prem Rawat explains the meaning of these stories, such as the Sugar Ant and the Salt Ant, the Two Frogs, the Learned Parrots, the Archer and the Oil Salesman, as only he knows how to do. There are his usual concepts: life (52), feel(ing) (43), peace (34), within (34), know (25), being (19), gratitude (16), choice (14), breath (10), clarity (3), though fewer of these as usual as the stories don't contain them. There are his usual slogans: World peace can only come when everyone has peace. Peace is inside you. Freedom is inside you. [Choose buzzword] is inside you.

Rawat writes: "There is a sickness eating away at humanity. Once you get this sickness it is difficult to cure. It is the disease of unconsciousness, of living this life unconsciously." When translated into direct English, he means nearly everyone alive on the face of the planet is sick because they don't follow Rawat's instructions and don't meditate using his meditation techniques which is the only way of living consciously. It was at this time (2019) that Rawat began using the phrase: "living this life consciously" and connecting this with "Know Yourself" and by 2022 it was one of his dominant themes which he related to courage and strength, words that had never been part of his teachings before when he stressed surrender, begging, worship.

Patient: Doctor, I am bored
Doctor: What have you been doing?
Patient: I have been reading books
Doctor: I see. The author must be Prem Rawat

Peace Is Possible by Prem RawatPeace Is Possible

Prem Rawat

* * *

PEACE IS POSSIBLE

Thoughts on Happiness, Success and Relationships for a Deeper Understanding of Life

01

If this life is your story, wouldn't you want to make sure it is an interesting one?
Some people want their story to be an adventure. They want to climb the Himalayas or do things no one has ever done. But the greatest adventure is looking within and getting to know the real you, the one that never changes, even as your body ages.
You will be with you all through this story, but will you befriend yourself? Are you willing to listen to what you really want? Something that you have always wanted, a want that will not go away. When you can feel that, you are ready to write your story.

02

You know about the people around you, but do you know yourself?

03

Patient: Doctor, I am in pain.
Doctor: Where does it hurt?
Patient: It hurts everywhere. When I touch my head it hurts. When I touch my jaw it hurts. My ear, my leg - everywhere it hurts.
Doctor: I see. I think your finger is broken.

04

Have you worked on your relationship with you? Or have you been more concerned with what other people think of you?
We worry about how our neighbours and colleagues see us. We have learned to measure ourselves with the scales of the world, to measure our status, our level of success.
What is important is how we feel about us. Do we feel good, do we feel at ease, or not?
Don't waste a moment measuring yourself. Begin to lend your ear to what is happening inside you. Get to know that companion, that strength.

08

The two ants

One day two ants happened to cross paths. One ant lived on a sugar hill and one on a salt hill. 'I haven't seen you around here before, where are you from?' said the salt ant. 'I live on the sugar hill,' replied the sugar ant. 'Sugar hill? What's sugar?' inquired the salt ant. 'Sugar is delicious and sweet. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water. Are you sure you've never eaten sugar before?' 'All we have around here is salt. You can eat it, but it makes you very thirsty. I like the sound of this sugar you speak of.' 'Well then, come and visit my sugar hill and see for yourself how good it tastes.' The two ants set a date and decided to meet at the sugar hill.
The sugar ant gave directions how to get there. As the day of the visit approached, the salt ant started to think. 'What if I don't like the sugar? I would have travelled such a long way and I will be hungry. Just in case, I'll take some salt with me in my mouth.' At the sugar hill, the sugar ant was waiting to greet the salt ant. 'Welcome to my sugar hill. Here, try some sugar and see how good it tastes.' The salt ant put some sugar into his mouth. 'Hmmm, this tastes just like my salt,' he said. Puzzled by this response, the sugar ant said, 'Are you sure? Sugar and salt taste very different. Try some more.' The salt ant put some more sugar in his mouth and after a moment said, 'Yep, this is the same taste as my salt. Around here you call it sugar, but where I live we call it salt. It's the same thing.' The sugar ant knew that salt and sugar tasted different, so he knew something was wrong. He thought for a while and then said, 'Open your mouth so I can see what's in there.' When the salt ant opened his mouth, sure enough there was a big lump of salt. 'There is the problem. Take out that salt and then taste the sugar again,' said the sugar ant. The salt ant took out the lump of salt and tasted the sugar. He finally got to taste the sweetness. 'Wow, this is incredible! So sweet. I'm never going back to my salt hill,' he said.

In life we have to leave one step behind in order to take the next. Success is built on our ability to evolve, to learn and to grow. To evolve, we must take along what's good, and leave behind what isn't needed. The more we can do this, the more successful we will be. This story also shows how, at times, we are our own worst enemy. We have a tendency to not accept things as they are and to see everything through our own filters. Some people ask me, 'Do I even have a choice? Isn't all this determined by the movements of the stars?' As if the cards have already been dealt and you are not the one making the decisions. The answer I give is, 'No, it's not the stars.' Our own confusion is what leads to bad choices, and that is what creates most of our problems. When we can let go of our ideas about how things should be, we can start to see things as they are. Then we have the full range of choice.

09

When we can start to make conscious choices, it is like a lamp being lit.
When a lamp is lit, no matter how small that lamp, we can see things we couldn't see in the darkness. Making conscious choices becomes your strength, your own lamp that gets rid of darkness.

PEACE

* * *

There are three levels at which conflicts take place.
The first is between two countries.
The second is between two people.
The third is the conflict that rages within an individual.
The conflict within an individual will lead to conflict between people, and conflict between people will lead to conflict between nations.

13

The wars we see in the world and the disagreements we have with those around us all start within human beings. The external wars can be temporarily ceased, but unless the conflict taking place within individuals is resolved, sooner or later it will re-ignite the external conflicts.
The first step is for individuals to nurture and practise peace within their own hearts. When enough individuals can do this, then the external wars can come to an end.

This is the state of the world today. Between people, between nations there is so much distrust, so much removing of each other's dignity. Rather than get on with what needs to be done, people are watching each other out of distrust. Rather than joining forces to tackle the real issues humanity is facing, we are busy pointing fingers at each other.
The reasons and systems of human beings have become more important than the humanity itself.
I have spent my life pointing to the peace inside us, the peace we need to feel, because that is the one missing element.
We are good at everything else. We have sent a rocket to the moon, we have made tiny mobile phones, we have removed money and can buy things with little plastic cards. So much progress in technology, but the peace inside us and human dignity are not progressing. We all need to develop our own inner understanding and then do whatever we can to increase the conscious awareness of humanity, so we can come together and tackle the issues that face us.

18

You invest a lot of energy in being comfortable. So you can feel comfortable at night you buy a nice bed. When you buy shoes you try them on and take a little walk around the shop to make sure they fit properly. This is an effort we all make in order to keep our bodies comfortable.
Do we also invest in being comfortable within ourselves?
Or do we just get used to feeling empty inside? To feeling confusion? To feeling anger?

24

Live this moment

We often hear that life is a gift.

25

If you want to understand why you are alive,
centre yourself in the moment called now.
Your life, being fulfilled, you existing -
these things all reside in the now.

Your journey of life began with your first breath.
Since then, the coming and
going of this breath has not stopped.
It will be with you throughout this life,
right until the last moment.
Be thankful that you are alive.
Appreciate this existence.

29

Breath brings you life.
Each breath, as it comes, is a true gift.
Pay attention to it as it comes into you.
When you can feel your own breath ushering in life,
it brings a comfort and a fulfilment.

31

You have an amazing ability to feel gratitude.
Not the gratitude you feel when someone opens a door for you and you say, 'Thank you.'
That is one kind of gratitude, but there is another.
When your ability to feel gratitude is tuned in to your existence, to the coming and going of your breath, it produces a unique kind of gratitude.
When you understand your ability to feel, your ability to find answers within you, your ability to be fulfilled, then gratitude wells up from within you.
Our ability to feel gratitude does not need to be improved upon.

39

There is a sickness eating away at humanity. Once you get this sickness it is difficult to cure. It is the disease of unconsciousness, of living this life unconsciously.
All around the world I say to people, 'Freedom is inside you.' I also speak about this freedom in prisons, to people we consider to be the least free.
What is freedom?
If you want to feel that freedom then you have to cure the disease of unconsciousness.
There is a cure, and it is understanding the value of your existence. Knowing its preciousness.
Then no matter where you are, you can feel the real freedom that exists inside you.

42

The heart overflowing with gratitude brings an incredible feeling of happiness.
When you understand and accept what is precious, it makes you feel good.
When you are not going back and forth between yesterday and tomorrow, and become firmly rooted in the moment called now, you feel good.
When your foundation is not built on theories or formulas or beliefs, but on the solid ground of knowing the inner self, you feel good.
When you know the greatest friend is always with you, inside you, that feels very good.
The most important thing in your life is to really feel good from inside.
Feel this life, be grateful and let your heart be full of joy.
Then you will truly begin to live.

RELATIONSHIPS

* * *

Prem Rawat: It might feel like your relationship with your boss is a source of stress and irritation, and perhaps it is, but there is another, more important element to consider: what is happening within you? When you are not fulfilled, any little thing can make you angry, but when you are fulfilled, in the exact same circumstances, you can just let it pass without getting bothered by it. So the most important element is to resolve the conflict inside you and build a peaceful relationship with you. From that platform you have a much better chance of achieving peaceful relationships with others. Also, anger is a natural human emotion that we all feel at times. But it's a problem if it starts to become your normal mode of operation. If you get angry every day, you are practising it, and you'll become an expert at getting angry.
I recommend you become an expert at feeling good within yourself. Little by little, every day, make a conscious effort and you will see a change.

Is it possible to feel peace through affectionate human relationships?

Prem Rawat: First be whole with yourself, otherwise you can't have a truly successful relationship. When you are strong in yourself then you will be a good partner, a good friend, a good mother. In relationships we lean on each other. There are times when we need that support. It is like a chair you sit in when you can't hold yourself up. But if that chair is weak it won't support you. It will break and you will fall flat on the ground. When two individuals have their own inner strength, they can lean on each other and they will be there for each other when they have a rough patch in life. But if you are weak on the inside, your relationships are more likely to fail.

What do you love and what do you fear in life?

Prem Rawat: I love life. I am fascinated that it changes and if I shape it right it evolves. With each day another gift is given, another flower opens.
I have fears too, lots of them. When I fly, as a pilot I am responsible for the lives of everyone on that plane. I am worried about the condition of the plane, the weather, the fuel.
I am afraid of lots of things. But I don't have to leave the fear as fear. I can take that fear and do something about it. Fear can either help you or disable you. You can take that fear and change it with your actions, your preparations. You can take steps to ensure that what you fear won't materialise. Your awareness and practical effort is needed. Living life consciously takes a lot of energy, but that is also when it becomes fun.

University student, Barcelona, Spain (2015)

I was wondering, did it ever happen to you that you had bad times, when the problems just never seemed to stop?

Prem Rawat: Of course I have had times like that. I am a human being. I have had problems it seemed I would never get out of. When the problems come they appear huge, as big as the world. But I try to remember something. My problems are only as big as the space between my ears. They only exist inside this little box we call a cranium. That's as big as they can get.
Most of the time my choices get me into the problems, and my choices can get me out.
This breath is coming into you and every time it does, do you know what it is saying to you? The most powerful thing, this breath, is saying, 'Go, move, transform, live, exist.'

A father of four and keen photographer

hen not busy travelling around the world, Prem gets to spend time relaxing with his family or pursuing some of his many hobbies. Prem enjoys painting, making music and photography. His eldest daughter, Wadi, says, 'My father is incredibly kind, good humoured and funny. He always makes us laugh. When we were younger he would tell us fantastic bedtime stories. He is very dedicated, both to his family and his work. I have learnt from watching him that if you remain clear, make good choices and maintain a consistent effort you can accomplish a lot.'