I’d like to talk about something very beautiful: you are alive. That’s incredibly beautiful. And when we talk about the self, we are talking about recognizing, understanding who you are. When you think, “I am an Australian; I’m a New Zealander; I am English, Scottish, Irish,” you are forgetting who you are. You are a human being.

We hear about superheroes who have reached the ultimate state of being. What if I said that you have reached the ultimate state of being? You are alive. That’s the ultimate state of being. There isn’t a higher state than being alive. This is it.

People go to the movies to be entertained, for some action, some drama. They have a whole ritual of getting their popcorn, their candy, their soft drinks. Talk about planning! The army could learn a thing or two about discipline from these people. They know exactly what and how much to get. Then they sit down in their chosen seat. The movie starts, and the line between reality and the artificial blurs. Some people even start crying. If they could see the real shoot, they’d be laughing, because what they’re looking at is maybe the fifteenth take of the same scene.

We believe. Let’s believe for a minute that there is a cow in front of you, and the cow moos. Maybe there’s no harm in believing in it, but when you need milk, remember one thing: If this cow does give milk, it’s only make-believe milk. It’s not real. You won’t be able to drink it. You can imagine it, you can pretend you’re drinking milk, but it won’t satisfy your thirst. Everything about it has to be make-believe, because it’s all a fantasy.

In the arena of knowing, there’s no make-believe. You experience. This is what I talk about. It’s not a fantasyland. There is a longing within a human being so deep that it leaves you dry and, in the same moment, fills you up. It’s a magical dance of quenching the thirst within.

Have you ever had water when you were really, really thirsty? Water becomes sweet. The focus is on nothing else but to take that water and drink, drink, drink. After you finish drinking, you say, “Ah!” You’re satisfied.

What is water? It’s something that has no identity. It isn’t square and it isn’t round. It takes the shape of whatever contains it. It has no color. It flows out of the ground, sometimes out of rocks—unbelievable places. If you were to try to describe water for its physical appearance, you could not do a good job, because it would always sound insignificant. Yet its power is so incredible that nothing can stand in its way—no mountain, no rock. Over time, water will carve what we think could never be carved. Yet water has tenderness, gentleness, softness. It’s the softest feeling, and it can destroy mountains.

The lack of water has wiped out civilizations. Yet water has a clear understanding and sense of purpose. It comes from the ocean, it travels through the land, but water clearly knows its destination. It knows it has an appointment, a love affair with the ocean. When it merges with the ocean, its identity is gone. It’s stripped of all that it was. It’s home again.

Why am I telling you all this? How is this going to help you? Because you can learn from it—about the passion, the desire, the want in your life. You have a thirst in you. You have a thirst to be fulfilled, but many people don’t acknowledge it because they’re afraid. Why? Because they don’t know what will happen to them. They have some concept that if they really acknowledged this thirst in their lives, they might become a vegetable, they might become irresponsible, or they might not be able to hold down a job.

What you do in this world, you do. It has nothing to do with your inner passion, because it will never satisfy that inner passion. They are two different things.

I’m here to tell you to listen to that sweet thirst. How could you not desire true peace in your life? Understand the passion for peace and satisfaction in your life. You have been thirsty. Throw your bucket in the well. And when that bucket is full, reel it in, and you will have a reward. Your reward will be satisfaction.

Prem Rawat

Los Angeles, CA — Humanitarian and world-renowned advocate of peace, Prem Rawat was given the title of “Ambassador of Peace” for the province of Basilicata, Italy, after addressing a distinguished audience at an event on July 3rd. The invitation was extended to Prem Rawat by Basilicata President Vito de Filippo, and Mr. Rawat was welcomed by lifetime Senator Emilio Colombo, a former Prime Minister of Italy and former President of the European Parliament.

In his introduction at the event, titled “Peace: Human Heritage,” in the famous Conservatorio di Musica in the ancient mountainside town of Potenza in southern Italy, Governor de Filippo said, “Indeed, we look forward to this high level of thought from Prem Rawat. I believe deeply that embedded in our souls is the most solid foundation for bringing peace. Tonight an important seed will be planted that we will nurture and grow, for this is a land of peace.”

Senator Colombo greeted Prem Rawat: “My salute to you, for you are indeed an emissary of peace. Potenza is just a stage for you on your continued journey, and I hope it is a good one.” He quoted Mr. Rawat as saying, “If you want peace, then prepare for peace.” Prem Rawat thanked the Governor and President and said that neither technology nor education would bring peace; only people could do that. Alluding to the world population, he added that he had not just one million, but seven billion reasons for peace. “We have to learn to come together,” he said, “and that can only happen when we see the necessity.” 

Mr. Rawat continued, “Do you want to do something really fun? Work on bringing peace on earth. One lit candle can light a thousand. However many of us there are, if we can raise the interest for peace in this world, something beautiful will happen.” After being awarded a memorial plaque in recognition of his work as an advocate for peace, Prem Rawat was given a standing ovation.   

Notable guests also included Renato Cantore, Chief Editor of TGR News Media, the regional ministers of Health, of Industry and Tourism, of Infrastructure and Transport, as well as local Potenza business leaders, students from the Conservatorio di Musica, guests of the speakers, and several international attendees from Australia, Israel, and the United States. The event was broadcast for five days on the local TV channel, La Nuova. 

Life is simple. This existence should be simple. True love is simple. All the things that are good—in you, about you, and around you––are simple.

Peace is also simple, but if I ask, “What is peace to you?” everyone will give a different answer. If I ask, “What is God?” the answer will be based on your religion, your upbringing, what your parents told you, what your friends and other people told you.

You have always wanted to feel good. Your desire to feel good goes back a long way. In fact, it goes back to when you were an infant. You wanted to feel good—that was it. You didn’t have big agendas. When you didn’t feel good, you cried.

Who taught you to cry? This started from day one. When most people are born, the first thing they do is cry. If you didn’t, a doctor held you by the legs and gave you a little slap until you did. And most importantly, who taught you to be quiet when all was well? When you are satisfied, nothing needs to be done or said or expressed. All is well. This is you.

This is essentially the way you still behave. When all is well—great. When all is not well, it’s, “Why did you leave that door open? What’s wrong with you? Why are you looking at me? Why are you talking to me?” The very existence of another human being whom you actually may love can irritate you, just because all is not well. When all is well, everything is very simple, because life is simple.
Some people say, “You cannot say my life is simple. I have all these problems. My cat has left me, my wife is threatening to leave me, my kids keep sending me their bills…”

The complications that we bring into our lives—the good and the bad, right and the wrong, love and hate, doubt—are what make our lives so complicated. We all want simplicity. We have a relationship with joy, and simplicity has a unique way of bringing joy. The question is, how do we get it?

There is a joy that comes from the outside, and there is another joy that comes from inside. I’m not ignoring the joy that comes from outside. But there is a joy that comes from the inside, and it only comes when there is simplicity in your life.

It’s simple because since the day we took our first breath, this energy resides in us. All this time, even if we don’t know about it, it continues to reside in us. How utterly simple is that?

Life wants to be content. Life wants to be happy. You want to be happy. Something is going on here, isn’t it? You can move, you can talk, you can think, you can smile, you can cry. Something is going on here, and one day it won’t be. What is this thing that is going on? Is it your appointments? Is it your job? Is it all the things you do? Is it all your likes and dislikes?

There is something that keeps happening in my good days and in my bad days. All the things that I call good or bad are irrelevant to the fact that something else is going on. The coming and going of this breath is automatic, and due to this magnificent thing, I am alive. All the complicated will one day go away. So will you. The challenge seems to be to find the simple and hang onto it for dear life while you are alive.

Does this sound like a challenge––to find it and hang onto it for the rest of your life? It is possible. The joy that you have in you needs to be honored. The love needs to be honored. The greatest of all gifts, this most subtle and most beautiful breath, needs to be honored. Recognize it for what it is worth. Acknowledge this most magnificent but simplest of things in your life.

What happens when you honor this life within you? The energy within returns those honors, and the homage that is paid to you is called peace. Peace is your reward. It’s also called joy, understanding, clarity. This is how simple it is.

Prem Rawat

July, 2009—For most children in schools around the world, school lunches are part of their daily routine. But not at the Emndeni Junior Secondary School in Soweto, South Africa. This high school, located in an impoverished settlement area, had no feeding program at all and no cooking equipment. Now, thanks to a grant of US$30,000 to the African Children’s Feeding Scheme (ACFS) by The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF), 500 of the poorest students at the school will be receiving nutritious lunches.

The 500 children selected were those who came to school without lunchboxes, the poorest of the poor. A gas stove and steel pots were purchased so that nutritious meals prepared by an industrial catering company could be cooked each day. The meals consist of a variety of vegetables such as carrots, onions, potatoes, and green peppers. They include basic protein such as Grade-A minced meat, chicken fillets, or a special mixture of red speckled beans, yellow split peas, and barley, a specialty of the area and very nutritious. Carbohydrates such as macaroni, maize, and rice are also served, forming completely balanced meals.

To ensure the success of the program, the homes of the children were visited in order to involve the parents. Then, to continually measure the effectiveness of the program, the nutritional quality of the food and the progress of the students will be monitored. Community health workers, nursing sisters, and social workers work hand in hand with educators to monitor the program. Some of the teachers are also ACFS volunteers, who will examine the rate of absenteeism and truancy and the students’ progress in school.

The Executive Director of the ACFS, Sister Rejoice Nkutha, wrote, “On behalf of the African Children’s Feeding Scheme, I would like to thank The Prem Rawat Foundation most heartily for the grant of $30,000 which, when converted, came to R239,000 South African money. This will provide nutritious food to 500 children in Soweto through to December 2009, thus improving their quality of life. We also thank Prem Rawat for his message of peace to people around the world and providing essential humanitarian aid to the people in need.”