On a Mission of Peace: Prem Rawat’s Malaysian Tour

By Neal K

Prem Rawat’s biggest attribute as a Peace Ambassador, as he’s known around the globe, is his ability to speak with great candour from the heart. This inherent ability has been there from childhood, when from the age of four, he began displaying signs of spiritual precocity.

Still only a child, the cherubic youngster with his trademark heart-warming smile kicked off his international work before the age of 13. It is a journey of ‘meeting people and not nations’, says the soft-spoken spiritual guru frequently, who was in Kuala Lumpur recently.

Prem Rawat has been to Malaysia several times in the past and this time around he made himself available to speak at the launch of KIND Malaysia and also to a crowd of thousands at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. His focus in Malaysia has always been Peace for People and the beauty of his message is that it cuts across boundaries and focuses on just being human.

Prem Rawat takes it as his calling to go wherever he’s invited, to spread his special brand of love to people, regardless of nationality, race, creed, age or gender, in tandem with his well-established philosophy – “Human beings are the same. We have more similarities than we have differences. All of us, in the end, want the same things. We want to be happy, we want to feel peace and we want to experience fulfillment in this life.”

It is not uncommon for the revered speaker to clock around a hundred programmes annually in more than 35 international cities. His messages of peace, always peppered with humour, parables and a smile that reaches his eyes, are distributed in more than 80 countries in print and video.

In 2001, the Indian-born American citizen established The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRW), which focuses on Food for People, Special Aid Projects and Peace for People. In 2007, he started the Peace Education Programme (PEP) for prison inmates, which operates in more than 20 prisons across 10 countries.

An initiative that is close to his heart, the PEP is now translated into 36 different languages and is used in 84 countries. The programme consists of workshops featuring videos of Prem Rawat’s international talks on topics such as peace, inner strength, self-awareness, dignity, choice, hope and contentment.

Feedback from prisoners has been nothing short of amazing, even from the most hardened criminals, who can relate to the simple message of peace because it is spoken from the heart. Correctional facilities from around the world have been surprised and impressed by the programme’s success in helping rehabilitate inmates and improve their behaviour and outlook to life. Hundreds of inmates have benefited since volunteers started offering the PEP three years ago, reporting a range of positive outcomes, from a reduction in violence to improved family relationships.

Prem Rawat has been amply recognised and awarded for his tireless work and contributions, relying on his messages of love and peace that appear to hit home with many listeners and participants willing to look past the lack of scholarly titles to his name. His simple, straightforward method resonates in an increasingly volatile world environment and for this, Prem Rawat has received numerous awards including the Asia Pacific Brands Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, given in Malaysia six years ago “for his contributions in championing and promoting global peace”.

Prem Rawat’s Peace Education Programme has been successfully conducted in Malaysian institutes as well, including in Brickfields Asia College, KDU University College, Taylor’s University College, AIMST University, Kedah, MySkills Foundation, Yataka Legend, Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Association for the Blind and USM Doctor Alumni Association, to name a few.

There’s nothing not to like about this gentle man who carries not academic credentials, rather just Prem, love, in his name.

“Nothing happens in a vacuum.You have to have a heart that says DO SOMETHING. Do something for all that’s wrong… by the arrogance and ignorance of human beings. See, focus, recognise and do something. Be an exceptional pioneer.” – Prem Rawat’s keynote speech at the Water and Food Award (WAFA), Central Hall, Westminster, London.

For more information, visit https://www.premrawat.com/