The Universal Quest for Peace

An interview with Prem Rawat

Corporations quest for greater market share, higher stock prices, and increased profit margins. But what do individuals quest for?

Prem Rawat travels the world several times annually to address this very topic. He offers inspiration, guidance, and - for those who wish it - a practical means to make peace a reality in their lives which he calls Knowledge.

Knowledge is a way, accessible to each person, to experience peace by focusing within. Prem Rawat charges no fee for Knowledge. He says that Knowledge puts people in touch with an experience that is already inside them and that he simply shows how to get in touch with it.

Satellite Communications Engineer Claudio Lisman, from Argentina, is a practitioner of this Knowledge. Responsible for large-scale high-technology implementations, he usually works under tremendous pressure. "Being anchored in a place within where peace exists provides me with a unique perspective," he says. "When I am centered, when I experience a peaceful feeling, I make clear and practical decisions."

Prem Rawat, a child prodigy, began speaking publicly at age three, and his addresses were first published in his native India when he was four years old. When he was only thirteen, he was invited to speak in Europe and the United States. Since then he has conveyed his message to more than 5.5 million people worldwide and has instructed hundreds of thousands of individuals in the practice of Knowledge.

He said recently to an audience in the United States, "The tools that I give are to look within, to turn within. That's all. If you can benefit from my clarity, great."

Marta Montoya, manager of one hundred employees for a Colombian engineering firm, encountered Prem Rawat's teachings after a long search in books and spiritual practices. She says that through Knowledge she has found what she was looking for. "After I began to experience peace and contentment from within, I stopped trying to extract joy from my family, job, and friends. Oddly enough, this increased my appreciation for them."

Prem Rawat, also known by the honorary title Maharaji, is a successful investor and receives no compensation for teaching the techniques of Knowledge.

Packed audiences have heard him at London's Albert Hall, the Opera House in Sydney, New York's Lincoln Center, the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, and many other well-known venues.

His yearly itinerary typically includes speaking engagements in South America, with occasional visits to Chile.

We went to him for answers about learning and peace:

You have addressed literally millions of individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds and cultures. Do you see a common denominator in people everywhere?

All of us, wherever we live and whatever we do, have the same yearning. We might have different names, different skin colors, and different lifestyles, but, fundamentally, we are all alike. We tend to see our differences. I talk about our similarities. Our responsibilities are very similar, and our plight is very similar. What we are trying to achieve is exactly the same - to be fulfilled in our life, to make it meaningful, to feel alive, to feel joy.

Business by necessity is future oriented. Yet you say that the key to success for human beings is learning to totally appreciate the "now." Would you comment on this apparent paradox?

There is only one thing about the future we can be sure of: One day we will be no more. Of course it is important to make plans for the future, but it is in this moment called now that the most incredible thing is happening - our life. Yesterday can only come and go: It begins as tomorrow, and

once it is gone from the present moment, it becomes yesterday. It is here in the now that life is dancing a beautiful dance, in awe of the magnificent, yet simple, beauty of existence.

Our validity comes from now. If we are in the future or in the past, we don't exist. Now is when we exist. Now is where everything is in motion, and now is when we need clarity.

We can plan for tomorrow, but we don't need to be afraid of tomorrow. If we are firmly embedded in the moment called now, we can find the strength to face tomorrow. Tomorrow will take the shape that it has to take. If we are embedded in the moment, tomorrow holds no power over us. We hold the power over tomorrow.

You speak a lot about peace. What kind of peace are you speaking about? And how can it be found?

There are many ideas about peace, but the peace that each one of us can know for ourselves, can feel for ourselves, is in our heart. We can find it within.

Our ideas of peace may sound wonderful, but they're just ideas. We are the ones who need peace. We are the ones who struggle, we are the ones who feel pain, and we are the ones who yearn for peace. Yet each one of us has the potential to find the reality of peace within.

Finding peace is not up to someone else. No one will come with a magic wand and bring peace. Governments and institutions are not going to bring peace on this earth - only people will. Peace begins with every single one of us, and it begins with recognizing the importance of being alive.

Right now in this world there are a thousand explanations for why we should have wars, but hardly any of why we should have peace. So much research is done on how to efficiently destroy one another. What about some research on how to efficiently save each other? Peace is something that people have always wanted. It is not a new request. There needs to be a recognition that it is the heart that wants peace and it is the heart that can feel peace.

Are you saying that logic and rational thought are not necessarily the best tools for finding peace?

Logic abounds in our world, and yet we have become better and better only to become a little worse. While the technological advancements on the outside have accelerated, advancement on the inside has not happened.

Theory has its place, but when it comes to the essentials of life, theory will not suffice. Theory will not address our longing for peace, our desire to be free from confusion. Only experience can satisfy that thirst.

We need to use the mind for what the mind is good for. But we need to rely on the heart

for what can only be felt. Peace needs to be felt. Love needs to be felt. Joy needs to be felt. Feeling is our fundamental reality - whether we like it or not.

What kind of help do you offer people who want that kind of peace?

If you want peace in your heart, if you want joy in your heart, I offer a tool that I call Knowledge to go inside, to connect, and to feel.

This is where my message is dramatically different. I can show you the place inside you where there is always food - the food that the heart needs - so that wherever you venture and whenever you feel that hunger, you will have a place to go and feast.

Knowledge doesn't tell you how to live your life, nor does it say, "You must be happy." All it says is, "Here, turn on the light." And then you see what you always wanted to see. You see what your heart desires. You feel the thirst and understand what you are thirsty for. Each human being has the gift of being able to feel that peace.

For further information:

www.tprf.org

www.maharaji.net www.contactinfo.net

This article first appeared in Capital magazine, Chile.

It has been edited and reformatted for reprinting purposes.