Maharaji's Message of Inner Peace: It's Within
Prem Rawat aka Maharaji claims to have a powerful and unique message - that peace begins with each of us and is within inside of us. This message is about as un-unique as it is possible to be. It is a message probably as ancient as humankind. It is particularly strange that Rawat would make this claim of uniqueness when there are so many famous and well-respected people saturating popular culture with this very message. People who are known by and respected by millions of people thoughout the Western world. There are also hundreds of thousands of unknown yoga teachers, mindfullness meditation teachers, healers, counsellors, authors and all the other anonymous people of many faiths making this very statement. It would only take him 5 minutes on Google to understand. Even his own father taught that message.
Rawat has been repeating the message that "peace is within" all his career. He has also taught that he can allow people to access this peace through his empowered methods of meditation though these have changed - apparently that makes no difference. Everything involved in his teaching is at his whim and can be changed anytime.
The following quotes from Rawat's speeches, only a few of the many possibilities, shows that while much of his message and persona has changed, a core of his teachings has always been that peace is within.
How can it be accessed?
Shri Hans Rawat - Prem's father and Guru in December 1961
Addressing the audience at the 'Assembly of Saints' arranged by the Divya Sandesh Parishad at Animadhaula Park today, Shri Hans Ji Maharaj said that the source of real peace is within every human being. … Peace and equanimity are related to Spirit. Peace is impossible for the person whose Spirit is not still and tranquil. … He said, further that inner peace comes only from experiencing the Divine Light personally. The goal of Divya Sandesh Parishad is to open the Third Eye of mankind and show everyone the Inner Light. For the Parishad, national unity is not just a theory, but will occur of its own accord as the Knowledge of the Divine Light spreads. By revealing this Light to people of all castes and creeds, and thus threading them on the string of brotherly love, the Parishad was presenting a practical example of national unity.
Guru Mahaeraj Ji: Hunter College, New York City, October 8, 1971
God is within us, but until we realize Him, God won't come out. The Peace is within us, but if you want the spirit, you must put it in such a way that we can realize it. What is the aim and the purpose to come into this life, into this world? The only purpose is not to eat, drink and be merry. But the purpose is something else: to realize your God, realize your Father, Who is of all. But we have to know Him.
Maharaji: Message Of The Heart 1980
What is peace? I mean to me peace is a very simple stage of being. That peace is within me.
Nothing Celebrates Life … Like life 1998
there have been those who have said, "Look for your answers within you." Within you is the domain where you will find your peace. My peace is within me. Your peace is within you.
Inspire Electronic Magazine, Volume 1 2004
Peace is inside you. Wherever you go, peace goes with you. When you climb on a bus, peace goes with you. When you are fighting, peace goes with you. When you are asleep, peace is within you. When you are frustrated beyond imagination, peace is in you. No matter what you do, there is no place you can go where peace will not come with you. Because it's within you.
Inspire Electronic Magazine, Volume 3 2006
Until we recognize that the real peace is within, we are here but don't know why. We have questions: "Why have I come here? What am I doing here? Am I doing it right?" It's like a driver who doesn't know where he is going. But you are the driver of this bus of life. You have been given the key, and you cannot give it to anyone else. You cannot even give one breath, one moment, to anyone.
Inspire Electronic Magazine, Volume 4 2007
The call for peace has been there. We look everywhere, and sometimes we forget to look within ourselves for the thirst that we have. The thirst is within us, and the well is within us. The quest for peace is within us, and the solution for peace also lies within us.
Peace is within you. The thirst for peace is within you. Good news! What does it mean? It means you don't have to go search for it. … It lies in the realm where breath comes and goes and brings the gift of existence to you. This, my friends, is the miracle of miracles.
You might ask, "If peace is within me, how do I get to it?" First, truly understand that it is within you, because all this time, one thing you have been trying to avoid is accepting the possibility of peace being inside of you. … It begins with understanding that what I am looking for is truly within me. And then – and then alone – can I embark on the process of accepting peace in my life.
Learn who you are. Understand that peace is possible and that peace is within you.
Whatever happens in your life, whether you search for peace or you don't search for peace – remember one thing: Even if you're not looking for it, peace is within you. Even if you don't want it, even if you hate it, peace will always be within you. Wherever you go, you carry that peace in your heart.
Inspire Electronic Magazine, Volume 6 2009
The need for peace isn't just social. It is to find the root of who truly we are. If you understand that peace is within you and the thirst for peace is within you, you have just taken the biggest step toward realizing peace in your life.
That's all I have to say. Whatever you do in your life, always remember: you carry the peace in you. And not just a little bit. The whole ocean of peace is within you.