Here we are.

Somehow it all happened. There is this beautiful planet earth—just gorgeous. The blue is just amazing. The rivers—the way they run, the way they sound, the way the sunlight shines on them and creates all these ripples. The green leaves—the turning of the leaves in the fall, and then the dancing of each leaf in the wind. It is spectacular. Deserts—just sand and more sand and rock formations.

And then you, who can appreciate it all. This earth cooled down to just the right temperature so that you can exist. Variations. The seasons—winter and the thawing of winter turns into spring, where life begins anew.

You are placed on this earth. You’re not going to last for billions of years. This story unfolds from almost nothing. One part unfolds, then another and another. It does a little dance of unfolding, and then it folds back up into that nothing. From that nothing to the unfolding to the folding back again is your existence, your story. Not somebody else’s story or their story for you as drafted by them, but your story as drafted by you.

Some people say, “Destiny is prewritten; whatever is written on each one of those pages is already written.” So then why pray? Whose mind are you trying to change? And if you pray and you think it works, then you have to change the definition of destiny. It’s not prewritten; it can be influenced.

Other people say, “I am responsible for unfolding every bit. I am the one who writes everything.” How about a happy medium? The fact that each part of the story is going to unfold is destiny, but there’s nothing written on the pages. The paper feeder is automatic. You write the story. What would you like to write? What should your story be like? Should it be about suffering, pain, anger, and a list of all the things you don’t have? Or should it be a really interesting story? The adventure.

The biggest adventure is not climbing Mt. Everest. That’s been done. The biggest adventure that will ever unfold in your life is you finding you. The story is fun. It is delicious, and it is the biggest mystery: You are never far from yourself, ever. The closest you will ever be to anyone is you, and the one you don’t know is you. You know everybody else, and what you have to do is find you.

Talk about an adventure—this is Dragon Land. Here, dragons are not imagination. They really exist. If you don’t tame the dragon in your adventure, it will eat you. And if you do tame the dragon, you get to fly on its back wherever you want to go.

In this story, there are swords, but there is one sword that has unbelievable powers—the sword of clarity. Everyone has it but is afraid of it. They’re not afraid of the dragon. They should be, because the dragon has only one mission in mind: Food. And if you are not careful, some of your most treasured things will be taken away from you.

You are the protector, the knight in shining armor of this story. You have the sword of clarity that can make everything right, but you’re afraid to pull it out.

Does this adventure start from your birth and then there is a happy ending? No, this story plays out every single day. You get to make a happy ending and you get to be victorious every day. Can you change the story? That’s a million-dollar question. A lot of people will tell you, “No. You cannot.” Me? Yes, of course you can change the story. And not only that, I have seen it changed. Even in your most frustrated, darkest day, there’s a place inside of you where you can go, touch that place within, and your story has changed.

If you choose to change the story, I’m here to help and I can help. I’ve helped a lot of people. But the most important thing is that there is a lot of hope. If you really understand that you can change the story, there’s a tremendous amount of hope—hope that this life can be fulfilled every single day. And that is a mighty nice hope to have. And not only hope, but tools to make it real.

Maharaji

Prem Rawat talks about the miracle of existence. “Look around you as the sun rises, and…as the sun sets,” he says. “Look at you as the time envelops you and you pass into that time. Look at you. You are a world unto yourself.” Watch a video clip of an address by Prem Rawat

Los Angeles, March 15, 2007 — Following a grant by The Prem Rawat Foundation, five major community water projects have been completed as part of an initiative providing safe drinking water and improved sanitation in poor areas of Ghana.

These projects address the need for safe drinking water, community access to clean drinking water, eco-toilets to improve health conditions, reforestation to maintain the flow of water, and local management and maintenance. Accomplishments to date include eight hand-dug wells and one dam rehabilitation providing potable water to nearly 10,000 people, reforestation to protect spring water used by 3,500 people, public eco-toilets servicing thousands of people, and local committees trained and empowered to maintain and improve water and sanitation systems.

Nana Takyi XI, Chief of Kwasilansa community, said: “Today, Kwasilansa has come out of the doldrums of underdevelopment. We have good drinking water and excellent sanitation conditions. We have said good-bye to guinea worm infestation.” Magazia Saratu Mamuna of Sanga community said: “I can’t believe that we have good drinking water during the dry season. It has never happened before. It’s a miracle. We thank the people who have changed our lives.”

George Ortsin, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme Coordinator in Ghana, who is implementing the projects, said: “The funding provided by The Prem Rawat Foundation not only improves water supply and sanitation, but also enhances the welfare of women and children.”

Nick Remple, the GEF Small Grants Programme Deputy Manager, said: “We are proud to be a partner with The Prem Rawat Foundation in this important endeavor.”

Sally Timpson, Senior Advisor, Community Water Initiative, said: “In all of these projects special attention has been paid to community ownership, establishing community water committees, and training and empowering their members so that they can oversee the functioning of the systems and ensure their maintenance over time.”

The Global Environment Facility is an independent financial organization providing grants to developing countries for projects that benefit the global environment and promote sustainable livelihoods. GEF projects are managed by GEF Implementing Agencies: the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Development Programme, and the World Bank.

Since 1991, GEF has provided $6.8 billion in grants and generated $24 billion in co-financing from other sources to support 1,900 projects that produce global environmental benefits in more than 160 developing countries and countries with economies in transition.

The Prem Rawat Foundation supports significant humanitarian initiatives that improve the quality of life for people in need around the world by providing basic necessities such as food, water, medical care, and disaster relief. The Foundation also makes significant grants to effective relief organizations such as the United Nations World Food Programme.

In addition to its humanitarian activities, the Foundation also furthers the message of peace of Prem Rawat, widely known by the honorary title of Maharaji. Prem Rawat has spent the last four decades traveling the world with the message that each person can find fulfillment by discovering “a peace that is already within, waiting to be discovered.”

More than 10 million people have sought inspiration from him, and his message is now made available in more than 90 countries and 70 languages.

(Photos courtesy of George Ortsin)

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Discover more about Prem Rawat, his message of hope and peace, and the humanitarian activities of The Prem Rawat Foundation

I have a lot to say about something very, very simple: that you are alive. And because you are alive, there are amazing possibilities.

Recently, I saw a TV documentary titled “Death of the Sun.” It was very interesting. They were talking about what will happen to the sun. It is brighter now than it used to be a few million years ago because it’s burning up, tapping into more and more inner gases, which is also causing it to expand. It is growing so big that one day there will be no blue sky, only a massive red sun glowing. By this time, life on earth will be gone. The oceans will be dry. Because it has become so big, the sun will start pulling other planets away. Jupiter, Mercury—gone. Earth could possibly escape, but not likely.

When the documentary was over, I turned off the TV, closed my eyes and started to think. Everything we do has some implication for tomorrow. We go to sleep; we like to wake up. And that waking up will happen tomorrow. We eat today, but in a way that has some implication for the future. “I don’t want to eat this because it will make me feel sick.” Or, “I’m looking forward to a big dinner, so I’m only going to have a light snack.” To live, to exist has some implications for tomorrow. Going somewhere, coming from somewhere, doing something, talking to somebody—most things we do have implications for tomorrow.

So, to put it in perspective, the whole of humanity, as we know it, is definitely going down a road. Is it a good road or a bad road? I’m not here to pass judgment, but we’re going down a road. Some people are going down the road happily; some are being dragged down it but everyone is going down a road. But is it obvious to us? We know about our mortality, but it is not obvious to us. That’s when people get shocked—when it becomes obvious.

And here, on this road, as humanity is marching along, there is something coming the other way. It is not just a possibility. It is afoot. The destruction of the sun is afoot. It is in the process right now. After that documentary, the word “future” seems very wavy and twisty.

This isn’t going to happen tomorrow; it is supposed to take 500 billion years. But it is going to happen. So, what does it mean to you and me that this beautiful earth will no longer be? It means that every day you have must not be taken lightly. I know that may seem impractical, but this documentary put it in perspective.

Ultimately speaking, there cannot be any compromise in your existence. None. Do you know about your existence? You know about the things that happen in your existence—your responsibilities, your family—but do you really know about your existence? Do you know that all the things that matter to you so much do not matter to existence?

You have to understand the value of your life. Then, and only then, can you begin to reflect on the value of someone else’s life. Then, and only then, will it be possible to stop the wars. Will that bring peace? No. Because peace does not need to be brought. Peace is in the heart of every human being already. No one is born or dies without having that peace inside of them. When that becomes obvious, something changes. The value of every day, every single moment, needs to become obvious to you.

Knowing that it’s all going to end, what matters to you the most? What option do you have? If you were thirsty and water was leaking from your bottle of water, what would you do? By the time you could fix the hole, the water will have leaked out.

My advice? Drink as much as you can. What else are you going to do? Knowing that it’s all going to go, you may as well enjoy every day that you can. Don’t waste even one.

This is the story of an existence. In this story, there are beautiful things. The story should have hope. And hope is tied to clarity. Try to understand what your objective is. Clarity will bring hope. Hope will bring light and make it obvious: “That way.” And the strength comes.

Maharaji

In recognition of TPRF’s humanitarian work, Prem Rawat was invited to speak at the Argentine Senate by Claudio Jacoy, president of the National Forum for Human Rights and Humanitarian Action, and Ambassador Oscar Laborde, vice president of the White Helmets, a UN-affiliated humanitarian aid and peacekeeping agency. These three organizations are rolling out a pilot program where tapes from Prem Rawat’s message of peace, along with other materials, are made available to people in prisons in Argentina. Read more

Prem Rawat talks about the similarity in every human being: the want from the heart to be fulfilled. "Why not get in touch with that perfection that is within you?" he asks. "Why not understand what your heart is trying to say to you?"

Watch a video clip