I’d like to talk about the gift of this life you have as a human being. What is a human being? What makes us so different? On one level, there isn’t a lot of difference between us and other animals. Maybe the difference is no greater than the difference between a cat and a dog, but we are different.

What is that difference? There are animals out there that can outrun us, so it’s not running. And there are animals out there that can out-jump us, so it’s not jumping. It’s not the smile, because monkeys smile quite frequently to show their teeth and let everybody else know they’re the boss. So it’s not smiling.

What is it? This is not based on science, but my inclination is that it is our power to appreciate, to enjoy, that makes us who we are. Dogs enjoy what they enjoy. There’s no question about it. They wag their tail, and their eyes light up. They even get a smile. They enjoy what they enjoy. Cats are the same way. They enjoy what they enjoy. And birds enjoy what they enjoy.

But there is something we can enjoy because of who we are. And that, in my opinion, is what makes us a little bit different.

Now look for a moment at plants. I was driving along one day, and I noticed that even though the ground was undulating, the trees were growing straight up, not perpendicular to the ground. Why? Because their roots are on this earth, but their relationship is with something that’s in the sky. They need to expose leaves to the sun, and the more the better. That’s their relationship.

A tree takes many things into account—storms, wind, and that relationship it has with the sun. There are plants in Antarctica that grow very close to the surface because they know about wind. They know that if they try to pop out, they’ll be gone, so they grow very, very close to the surface, but their relationship with the sun is still constant.

You see a myriad of designs—intricate leafs, branches, root systems, bark. And the tree has a relationship with something that is so far away from it. The tree doesn’t know how far the sun is. But everything in its design, in its existence—as we call it—is in balance. If that balance is compromised, it cannot exist.

If we were to take a look at our own existence, how balanced is it? Most of us think, “I’ve got to survive in this world, and whatever it takes to survive is all I need. Period. That’s it.”

But who do we have that ultimate relationship with? What is the single source of inspiration in our life every day? For me, it can’t be a hero. It can’t be something you learned. It can’t be an ideology or a great poet or artist or philosopher. It is something that resides in the heart.

The fact is that power is within everyone—period. But the only question is whether we  recognize it, whether it manifests. And that is what I am here to talk about.

I’m not here to fix your problems. What I want you to realize is that there is something real inside of you that is greater than the sum of all your goods and bads, regardless of how you see yourself. Whatever you have read or whatever you think, there is something that resides inside of you. And that is what can be the single point of inspiration in your life.

I hope you will discover and pay attention to that thing that is within you and that you will forge a relationship with it. For then you will not just survive, you will thrive.

Prem Rawat

Los Angeles, March 2008 — The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) responded quickly to aid victims of the violence that erupted following the December 2007 elections in Kenya. A significant contribution was made to the Friends of the World Food Program (FWFP) to help the UN World Food Programme (WFP) provide food for the hundreds of thousands of Kenyans who were displaced.

Over 300,000 people were forced to flee the violence that claimed 1,000 lives, and they  had nowhere to go. Makeshift camps, police stations and churches housed many refugees temporarily, but they sorely lacked food and basic supplies. TPRF’s contribution provided food for 3,000 displaced people for three months.                                                           

“The Prem Rawat Foundation’s generous contribution will help save hundreds of lives and prevent under-nutrition and hunger rates from skyrocketing,” said Karen Sendelback, President and CEO of Friends of WFP. “This donation will help WFP reach thousands more crisis victims with the much-needed food relief.”

Twenty-six-year-old Grace Omaribe, an educated mother of two young boys, described her situation. “There is no food left. It has all been burnt,” she said. “There are no blankets, no pots and pans. I am dressed the way I came—I have nothing else.”

Aid workers from WFP traveled to affected areas quickly, but it was not easy. One WFP Field Officer reported, “Even for our main partner, the Kenya Red Cross, getting into areas where some of the worst violence had taken place had been extremely difficult, but things were getting better by the day, and food was moving. It was a team effort with the lead agency, the Red Cross, providing government-donated maize and with WFP providing the rest.” 

He further reported that it was bizarre for him to arrive in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) settlements of Kenyans in Kenya, describing a scene of “thousands sleeping under the stars on cool clear nights; children beginning to suffer from the lack of shelter, coughing and sputtering, noses running; people complaining that they needed food, blankets and protection from those that in many cases continued to threaten them.”

With so many people at risk of starving, the WFP is working with the government of Kenya, fellow UN Agencies and local NGOs to provide food and other humanitarian assistance as quickly as possible. WFP is supplying beans, vegetable oil, corn-soya blend and ready-to-eat high-energy biscuits, along with trucks for transporting the food, while the government is providing a variety of cereals, and the Kenya Red Cross and other local NGOs are handling distribution.

Because it already has extensive programs in Kenya providing food for 700,000 affected by drought, over 1.1 million school children and over 60,000 HIV/AIDS patients, WFP has been able to respond to this new crisis with extraordinary speed by borrowing from established food stocks over the short term.

Fortunately, the situation is improving after a recent agreement between rivaling factions to form a coalition government. Thousands of displaced people are beginning to return to their farms with the hope of being able to plant crops for the next season and beginning the process of rebuilding their lives.

 

 

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TPRF advances the internationally acclaimed message of peace of Prem Rawat, known also as Maharaji. In addition, it helps provide the necessities of life for people most in need. The Foundation often partners with other humanitarian organizations to bring food, water and disaster relief rapidly where it is most required.

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

My message is not entwined in a philosophy. It does not come from a book. It is not a concept or an idea. It is based on one thing: you are alive. And because you are alive, there is a possibility that you can be content. You can have a joy in your life that is unaffected by anything, a joy that is independent of everything.

For some people, betterment means having a better job, being more successful or more productive. For some, betterment means having a better family, a bigger house or bigger car. But think about it: who are we? We are here on this planet Earth for a limited time. We think we will live forever, but that is just an illusion.

The reality is that one day you weren’t. Then you were born. Today, you exist. And one day, you will have to go. It’s a universal rule. Nobody is exempt. It applies to everyone, whether you are poor or rich, educated or not. It doesn’t matter.

Do you know who you are? Somebody calls your name and you say, “Yes, that’s me.” But have you understood that within you there is magic unfolding, and this magic is the reality of your existence? 

Before you were born, everybody wondered, “Boy or girl?” But when you actually came into this world, everybody’s focus was only one: breathing or not? And when you leave this world, everybody will watch for that last thing: breathing or not?

So, what is the big deal about breath? The big deal is: Without it, you are nothing. And with it, you are everything. With it, you can be an uncle, a father or a mother, a son or a daughter; you can be successful or a failure. You can laugh or cry. And without it, you are dust.

As long as there is breath, you’re not dust. With breath, you can say, “Come in! Welcome! Good morning!” Without it? People will say, “Take it away.”

The big deal is: Here is the most incredible blessing, and we don’t pay attention to it. We pay attention to what we consider a blessing: “Give me a child, give me a job, give me this, give me that.” But you are more blessed than you realize. And the day you begin to count your blessings, you will be amazed. That is when you will understand what it really means to be thankful. When the heart is truly full and you begin to understand, confusion vanishes and  clarity comes. You begin to see the simplicity of existence. It’s not about success and failure, but being grateful for this life.

Some people say, “My purpose in life. . .” Not your purpose in life. What is the purpose of you having life? What is this?

This body, due to breath, moves and dances and feels. All day long you’re feeling, feeling, feeling. You feel cold, hot, soft, rough. You are a feeling machine. And everyhuman being longs to feel joy. Since we were little, we wanted to feel that, even before we had a name for it.

The human heart is filled with a joy that you can feel whenever you want to, wherever you are—a joy that you can never have enough of. Do you know that you cannot tolerate sadness very well? You’re not made for it. When you are sad, you want to leave it as soon as possible. Joy—no problem. You would think that would give you a little clue as to what you are about. The clue is: there is no limit to joy, and we are extremely allergic to pain and suffering.

Have you found the source of endless joy? It is not far from you—by design. If you have a longing for joy, it would be pointless to have the source of that joy inaccessible to you. So, in the clever design of this life, the source of joy goes with you wherever you go.

Enjoyment in this life is a possibility. There are no restrictions. Find that infinite source of joy within you.

Prem Rawat

February 2008 — The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) recently made a significant contribution to the Betterment of Life Foundation in Thailand (BoLF) to provide clean, safe drinking water to more than 2,500 children attending 12 schools in remote areas of Thailand. Through this project, water tanks with pumps, filtering systems and taps where children can easily get water will be installed at each school.

Somchai Chansate, director of the Bangkok-based BoLF, reports that villagers in remote areas lack access to public utilities. They use water from ground wells and springs and do not have sufficient storage facilities to provide clean water. This is particularly so in the schools, which rely mainly on rainwater, and the children do not have clean water to drink in the dry season.

The contribution from TPRF will enable BoLF to provide clean, safe drinking water to each of the 12 remote schools and to maintain the systems for 18 months. After that, and through BoLF’s step-by-step methodology, ownership and maintenance of the systems is given to the schools, in collaboration with the local Water Authority, to ensure that the water remains clean and safe.

BoLF previously implemented a pilot project at a school in Khon Kaen Province, in the Northeast region of Thailand, which brought clean water to nearly 400 school children.  The school is 56 miles (90 kilometers) from the center of the town, and public utilities are unavailable. Through this pilot and the positive results gained, a good model was developed so the project can be replicated at other remote schools. Over 100 schools have now applied for clean water systems. BoLF is selecting 12 of the applicant schools with no access to public utilities to benefit from the TPRF grant.  

BoLF provides assistance to people to understand, realize and achieve their natural potential for a productive and self-sufficient life through the provision of basic needs, skills development and cultural and spiritual enrichment and does not undertake any political activity. In addition to other activities, BoLF also establishes and supports homes for orphaned and underprivileged children; provides them the basic necessities to achieve a productive life; and provides scholarships to students to study, develop life skills and engage in productive employment.

(Photo credits / Betterment of Life Foundation)

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The Prem Rawat Foundation was founded by Prem Rawat, known worldwide as Maharaji, whose aim is to improve the quality of life for people in need by providing food, water, medical care, and disaster relief.

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