The Message of Prem Rawat DVD/06V2-DMI-D, 2005
This DVD and attached booklet became the spearhead of the outreach for Maharaji in 2005. On September 23rd in Melbourne he said to his Australian followers: "If you have any questions it is quite clearly spelled out in "Discovering More." The process of being able to receive the techniques, or being able to receive Knowledge is simpler than its ever been. It is incredibly, incredibly simple." Click here for details.
The DVD also contained this video "The Message of Prem Rawat" a compilation that included sections of his speech at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia and Oxford University in England. These speeches were made in rented rooms and were not speeches officially endorsed by the universities. Two campaigns were run at once often using the same material, 'Maharaji' would gradually be replaced by "Prem Rawat" and after 40 years who would remember his past as the Lord of the Universe and Incarnation of God, concepts that still drove his long term followers from the 1970s Divine Light Mission to bankroll these projects and to provide the necessary cheer squad for his public appearances.
In 2005 the project to make Prem Rawat a universally respected leading activist for Peace was well underway. The plan was simple. Pretend Prem Rawat is an internationally respected Teacher of Peace and not a minor cult leader until enough people accept his bona fides. He had been fearful of the press since the Millenium 73 press conference but it had been over 25 years since he was mentioned in the press at the time of the controversy caused by the Jonestown mass suicide and he must have believed it was safe to present a new improved version of his career.
A parallel system of boosting his status as an international philanthropist was also put into motion. The Prem Rawat Foundation donated an average of half a million dollars a year to charitable causes and created a blizzard of PR. Maximun publicity for minimum cost. It is commonplac for the nouveau riche to buy repsectability with philanthropy, Rawat's plan though was to do it cheaply and shamelessly. Some specific larger donations were targeted to provide some high profile photo opportunities. After the 2016 speech at Parliament House in London these expensive gestures were ended and staged gatherings of hundreds of thousands of Indians were used to get his name into the Guiness Book of Records for larges crowd at a book reading and similar.
It may be that Rawat was already realising that its a lot easier to gain phony respect than convince people to accept his religion and himself as their Master, teacher and spiritual inspiration. He'd been on the path for forty years by 2005 and the results were poor considering the financial cost. This may be balanced out by his love of flying in personal jets and being cheered and worshipped by his resilient band of ageing disciples who continue to bankroll his quest for fame and and respect.
In an attempt to make it appear that Rawat had ties with the UNO his folloewrs staged a phony 60th anniversary of the UN Charter sigining in San Francisco. They co-opted the UN 60th Anniversary logo and even decorated the hall with a row of international flags. This was the start of their use of UNAs NGOs, United Nations Associations, to give Rawat some spurious gravitas.
Rawat's understanding of people, of his personal charisma, of his talents and judgement was about to be tested without the burden of his followers of 35 years f**king it up. Over the next 25 years, the answer was always the same. Only in less successful and sophisticated societies could he make any headway. In Los Angeles, New York, Paris and Rome he was a nobody, beneath notice. In Havana, Abidjan, Dubrovnik and Ranchi he might not seem so lame and passé.
- Is my message associated with any religion - No. His message is his religion. A cult leader does not have the authority to claim his is not a cult
- Rawat's talks about religion (except his own) as if everyone has the most childish and ignorant beliefs. Heaven must be up, God is an old man wth a beard
- When people say "I'm not here to sell you anything" - caveat emptor
The Message of Prem Rawat DVD/06V2-DMI-D, 2005
People say in this world there needs to be peace. I say no, in your world there needs to be peace. It is within you. Do whatever is necessary and find peace in your life and be content. And if you find it, I can help. The search for meaning and fulfillment has been a fundamental endeavor for people throughout the ages.
Expressions of this search can be found in art and architecture, science and exploration, philosophy and religion. And yet for many the attainment of lasting fulfillment has been elusive. Prem Rawat, widely known by the honorary title Maharaji, has dedicated his life to spreading a simple message that each person has a source of peace and fulfillment inside themselves. He started inspiring people at an early age. As a child of three in India, he began speaking in front of audiences at events held by his father, an honored teacher. And at the age of eight he took on the commitment of bringing to the world a message of peace and to offer a practical way to attain it. - Maharaji has dedicated his life to promoting himself as an Incarnation of God, the Lord of the Universe, the Master and the internationally respected teacher of peace. All of these identities are spurious. He is able to continue this costly charade thanks to the ageing cohort of his 1970s hippie dippie converts who still worship him.
What is it that is so innate, that is so fundamental? And the desire to fulfill it is so fundamental that no one has to come along and teach us. No one has to introduce us to this. We know that we have a need for peace. We have to search for this. Nobody has to come and put a banner up in the sky that you need peace in your life. We know that because when you look at it, what is it like on those days when it is dark and it is gloomy and there is no reason in sight to go on, and yet something from the inside pushes us to continue? Is it a faith? Is it a belief? Is it an idea? Is it an ideology? Or is it something far more profound? Something that acknowledges our existence. The world doesn't. And when the world doesn't, sometimes we fail to ourselves. But something that acknowledges that I am alive, not because today I did something, but I am alive because a breath came into me. Into me. Into me. Whoever I am. And it brought a spectacular gift of existence. That again today, a gift of existence was given to me. This is besides the fact that I have a busy life and every minute counts and every hour counts and everything else counts.
But in that mishmash of seconds, in that mishmash of hours and days and months and years, that I exist. That of all the possibilities, that of this incredible universe, the fathomless universe, that one person also exists. Not forever, but does exist. And for that person, of all the things that can be, and for that one person, all the futures and fortunes that could be, and all the disasters that could be, and the pain that could be, and the suffering that could be, and the joy that could be, and the laughter that could be, and the smile that could be, that there was one more thing that also could be. And that is that that person, in their lifetime, could feel peace. Could feel content.
When he was 13, his simple yet powerful message began attracting the attention of people from around the world. And it wasn't long before he began receiving invitations to speak from nearly every continent - "Wherever just one spark of this Knowledge shines up, absolutely perfect. So that Knowledge I'm, I have got it here." - Prem Rawat
This is what I do. I've been doing this since I was very young. I've been doing it all my life, traveling and doing these events and talking to people and bringing the possibility of peace in their lives, city to city, country to country, continent to continent. This is what I do.
To date, he's spoken to audiences in 50 countries and over 250 cities. - Mostly speaking to the same core audience who pay for his travels
I go from country to country. I see different cultures. But you see, all these are just curtains. People have different languages, but we are saying the same thing. A curtain. And you open the curtain, and there's another curtain. But I look like this. You look like that. You are tall. I'm short. You are fat. I'm thin. Whatever it may be, that's just another curtain. You open that curtain too, and there is another curtain. But I am Malay. I am Indian. I am Australian. I am this. I am that. That's another curtain.
Open that curtain too. And what do you find? You find a human being. And we have come to believe in the differences. And I want to tell you about our similarities. The similarity of each human being on the face of this earth wanting from the heart, not from the mind, not from the mind, but from the heart to be fulfilled. What is the mind doing? Mind is saying to people, difference is good. Mind is saying to people, formulas are good. Mind is saying to people, yes, there is a difference. Mind is saying to people, it's okay, you are happy. You have this. You have this. You have this. You have this. You are happy. You are happy.
And the heart is saying no. We all have the same need on the face of this earth. We all have the same want on the face of this earth. We all need to be content. We cannot have a peace that is just a thought. We need to have a peace in our life which is actually felt every single day. Many people think there is no difference on what happens on the outside and what is on the inside. I say there is a big difference. Outside, you are always changing, changing, changing, changing, changing. On the inside, there is no change. No change. I have seen people who have gotten old. Their face looks different. Their body looks different. But inside, inside, they're the same. Their heart is the same because that heart is timeless. That immortal that you seek on the outside, that immortal is on the inside.
You know, people say, where is God? They point up. Wrong. Not there. Here. Here. In you, within you is the magic. Within you is the dance of life that is unfolding. Within you is that beautiful play that is unfolding. Do you want to witness it? Do you want to see it? Do you want to understand it? Why not find out what it is that is within you? Why not get in touch with that perfection that is within you? Why not understand? Understand what your heart is trying to say to you.
I'm not here to sell you anything. I'm here to remind you of what you already know. You know this. Everything that I have said today, you know this. You have known this since you were a little child, but you forgot. You forgot because everything else becomes important. So I go and I remind people of what is important. Balance this existence. Bring that joy that is inside of you. Bring that and feel that and understand that and be fulfilled. That's what it takes.
From the United Nations in New York to the United Nations Conference Center in Bangkok, he is regularly asked to present his message at international events. He's been a respected and honored guest at forums like the Universal Forum of Cultures in Barcelona and the Italian and Australian Parliament. He's addressed faculty, students, and invited guests at many universities such as Thammassat University in Bangkok, Thailand, the University of California at Berkeley and Harvard University in the US, the University of Salamanca in Spain, and Oxford University in the UK. - He is invited to speak in hired rooms at these places by his devotees/premies/lovers, not the universities. All part of a plan to gain him uwarranted fame and respect.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I am Professor Ron Geaves and it's my pleasure to welcome you to "Peace is Possible," tonight's event with Prem Rawat. In my professional life, there is a seamless join between my academic pursuit of Knowledge and my personal journey towards fulfillment. The boundaries have always been permeable and that owes much to Prem Rawat, over the years I've come to admire his passion for existence and I remain infused by the content of his message. In my own personal growth as a human being, it has been significant. Would you please join me in giving a very warm welcome to Prem Rawat. - Lets find out how Ron really feels about Prem Rawat: When he first saw him, "I cried the most beautiful tears of my life and prayed that I would never be cast adrift in the world alone again."
Well, I have a written speech um and what I need to talk about or say really is very simple. Is my message associated with any religion? Well, no, it's not. And just as I was hearing the introduction, I remembered when I was in Zambia a long time ago, a little boy asked me, what is your religion? And people have been asking me questions all my life and yet this little boy asking me a question, what is your religion, stumped me because I had never thought of it. What is my religion? And I said, well, I particularly have a religion because I believe in the universality of that power that exists in the heart of every single person and that there is no one way to get to that power, to that experience, to that joy.
The idea of peace is not new and this is not certainly, I mean, somebody made a comment recently, I was in Italy and somebody made a comment that, you know, you're capitalizing on the world situation today, talking about peace. Wrong. I've been talking about peace since those childhood pictures because I know that there is another face of peace. There is an idyllic face of peace that people paint in which nobody is fighting with anyone. Everyone, all they say is, hello, thank you, everything is wonderful, good morning, and that's it. All the children behave themselves all the time. No wars. All the countries live happily together, never ever saying, well, you know, I think that lake belongs to us. That river really is on our side. No, that little piece of land is on our side. You know what? Knowing human nature, I know how far that concept is going to fly, but there is a face of peace that does not rely on boundaries. There is a face of peace that has nothing to do with obedience. There is a face of peace that has nothing to do with your wishes, but rather a face of peace that lies in the heart of every single human being on the face of this earth.
This is the possibility, the reality that certain people have always visioned for, that know thyself, not know thy fence and inspect your fence every day in case the neighbor has moved it, but know thyself that the resources of that joy, the resources of that peace that you are looking for exist with you, that you have those tools that you need to accomplish those very aspirations that your heart desires in your life, regardless of all the external circumstances.
Over the years, Prem Rawat has received numerous keys to cities, commendations, and other awards from around the world in recognition of his work. - From the beginning of his career in the West he has pressured his followers to gather any meaningless award possible. The most meaningful presentation was in Chicago in 1973
I'm not about the world appreciating me. I would just want people to enjoy their existence, period. That's all I care about, enjoy their life. To me, you know, I have so many awards. The greatest award was given to me at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. It was the most wonderful accolade that I can receive. I remember that as clearly as I can.
When I was introduced to you and your message, you were 15, and I was young, confused, and cynical, but I was also thirsty. Something you said resounded inside of me, something that I had never heard before, a message that was very unique. The way I was raised, the concept of knowing one's heart was not a reality. Listening to you changed that in my life. I just want to tell you how much I appreciate what you have done for me in my life, and I want to thank you from the depths of my heart for all you've done for me. Thank you.
You're welcome.
Today, he travels the world, bringing his message to new audiences, and inspiring those already familiar with his message.
I am trying, and I will try, for as long as I can try, to bring peace (poor applause) to each individual. That's all I can do. That's all I can do. Some people come, people listen to me, they say, "Eh, I've heard this before." Good. Did you really hear it, or did you open up that incredible valve between the two ears, in one, out the other? "Oh, yes, yes, yes, you know, inner peace, that's, that's, that's, you know, they're more pressing issues." No, this is the pressing issue.
The precedent of it was laid long time ago. Know thyself. And until it is accomplished, the full potential of this life itself, the dignity of the life itself, will never be recognized. I'm not here to talk to you about anything new. I'm only here to remind you of what you already know. Because I think if I tell you something new, I have failed. If I remind you of what you know, I have succeeded. That's a good, that's my indicator. Did I do well tonight? Well, did I remind them of something they already knew? And if I did, I did well. If I told them something new, eh, I'll work on it. Because it's not about the new. It's not about the fancy.
It's about the good old heart that's always been there. It's about the good old breath. I cannot compare it to do, and I cannot compare it to the rising sun, and I cannot compare it to a new star, because when that breath comes into me, it is so new that it is incomparable. That's my potential. And I can be fulfilled like you can. We're different, yet we're the same. We're different the way we look, our tastes, but we're the same in the fundamental desire that we all have. We're no different.
In addition to addressing distinguished audiences and people in major cities around the globe, he also travels to remote villages in India to make his message available.
I want to go where I can be most useful, whether that is a small place or a big place. There are people who are waiting for me. They're not going to come here. They have a hard time getting a visa to go to the neighboring country, much less to come somewhere else. But I'd like to go there, to go to little villages. And it's not going to be those hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people. But there's going to be people who have a very simple life. They live in cities. And they are yearning to hear the message. That something is within inside of you. Their problems, they have their problems, their own set of problems. But then, they also have a heart and they want to hear the possibility of being fulfilled and it's the same possibility of being fulfilled that is brought to you.
The Prem Rawat Foundation was established as a charitable organisation dedicated to advancing his Message of Peace. His dedication to helping people extends to humanitarian work as well. The Foundation has providied substantial aid to victims of natural disasters throughout the world. The Foundation also provides ??? medical services like eye care to people in need. - TPRF is a PR organisation, not a charitable organisation. They provide $0.5 million pa for charitable causes.
TPRF is doing some good stuff and trying to take care of people who need the help (scattered applause) even though, you know, the greatest gift you can give anyone is the gift of joy. That is the tops. That is the greatest, greatest gift. The gift of peace is the greatest gift you can give anybody, hungry or not hungry. Believe me.
For thousands of people Prem Rawat has made a tangible difference in their lives for he simple fact that there is more to his message than words. He offers a practical way to achieve fulfillment. - The techniques of Rawat's meditation are simply sticking your fingers in your eyes, poking your thumbs in your ears, curling your tongue backwards and concentrating on your breath, listening to his speeches and believing everything he says, giving freely of time and money. It's a cult,duh.
A lot of people say, well, what you're missing, you got to find it. Not me. I'm not saying that. I'm saying, whatever you are looking for, whatever it happens to be, you've got it. You've got it. And if you happen to be looking for that peace, the good news is, you've got it. What do you need? You need a way to be able to go inside. How simple should it be? Well, it should be like a mirror. You look at yourself and you say, there's me. What really needs to happen is that here's a relationship that really needs to begin in earnest in a very simple way. And maybe it needs to begin with a nice introduction to yourself. Somebody who can introduce you to you. That's what I'm good at. I'm introducing people to themselves. Other people introduce other people to other people. I introduce you to you. To you.
And then you can look and see. And a lot of people are like, well, what would I want to take a look at myself for? Because you will see what you have never seen before. And if you ever want to see a wonder, a wonder, I suggest you take a look at yourself. Because you are, in that place within you, marvelously wonderful. Not the concepts. Not the ideas. Not the goods. Not the bads. Not the anger. Not the disappointments. But a purity. A timeless purity. Of existence. A witness. A witness to the beauty that is. You want to see the beautiful? Yes, you do. Ever wonder what inspires you to see the beautiful? Then it is the beauty in you. you want to see that beauty that inspires you to see the beauty? And what does it take? To admire the truest beauty. Then it takes a way to be able to go. And that's what I offer.