Inspiring Stories
Written Expressions to Prem Rawat
Prem Rawat receives many messages through his website. This is a small selection.
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‘Thank you for being here and bringing the experience of Knowledge into my life when I was 22 years old in London, England. I am now 72 years old and living in Australia.
The inner connection has been the one constant in my life and I am very, very grateful. I can’t imagine how I could have enjoyed my lifetime without it.
The external story has been many experiences and stages, and when I look back now, I reflect on my inner experience and that journey of development with the Knowledge, I feel a dignity. Thank you so much for being here with me.’ -
‘Words are weak to express my gratitude. You address the deepest in me, the essence. I have Knowledge 23 years, and it keeps growing. I experience the most profound joy and gratitude. You are the most extraordinary thing that happened in my life. I am amazed.’
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‘After practicing Knowledge today, I remembered something you first said many years ago. It was: “What you are looking for is inside of you.” This morning I’m feeling how true this statement is for me. There is such a sweet fulfillment that practicing Knowledge brings to my heart. I am so grateful that you showed me where to look to find it.’
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‘I want to thank you for this gift of Knowledge and all of the guidance and inspiration that you’ve given me over many years. I don’t know how this all works, only that it does. I am continually amazed by this experience of life and feel like I’m sitting on the edge of my seat watching the most wonderful story unfold every day.
How is it that I can simply turn within and feel like I’m standing at the edge of a beautiful vista? How is it that I can listen to you or watch a video of you or simply read your words on a page and my heart opens up and fills with joy? None of these things make sense to the mind, but the experiences are as real as my fingers are on this keyboard. Who, except for you, knew that such possibilities exist? Nothing in the world points us toward this. And I am so deeply grateful that you and I met so that I could learn this from you.
Every day I try to apply what you have taught me, and it’s not always easy. I feel like being your student and practicing Knowledge takes the very best of me. Nothing is so demanding and at the same time so fulfilling. And I’m a slow learner, so some very basic things that you were speaking about years ago are finally sinking in. But you know what? I don’t mind being a slow learner, because it’s all been an amazing journey.’ -
‘My heart is filled with gratitude for what you have brought and are bringing into my life. You have taken me from darkness to light, shown me the way back home to my heart, so that I truly know myself and can experience and am in love with the Divine.
You lit my lamp long ago and showed me how to keep it lit. Our relationship is one of the purest forms of love. Thank you for reminding me what is most important in my life, which helps me experience heaven while I am walking through this very dark time.’ -
‘Thank you. I received Knowledge and I could have never imagined that life can be so beautiful and I feel so much in love. It’s so sweet and magical. I have never experienced such beauty before. Thank you.’
Asking for Knowledge
After completing ‘The Keys’ or ‘PEAK’ people write to Prem Rawat asking for Knowledge. Here are some of those messages.
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‘Anytime I watch your video, I feel something very strong in me that I can’t explain, but I feel at ease by watching you. I respectfully want to ask for Knowledge so that I can go to my home and really enjoy every breath of my life and quench my thirst.’
~Benin
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‘I would like to request the Knowledge of self. I have been waiting for this day, and finally, it’s my time. Thank you.’
~Fiji
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‘First of all, I want to thank you for so much for all that you have given me during the last ten years of my life in which I have been listening to your message. The truth is that this is priceless. My life has changed from heaven to earth, especially my inner world. Thanks to you, I was able to realize something I couldn’t see before.’
~Venezuela
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‘I have watched all of your Keys videos, even several times. They are touching me deeply. Always when I watch them or only think about them, my heart is glowing with longing. Hardly a day goes by without me thinking to write to you. And today I take courage and ask you for Knowledge from the bottom of my heart.’
~Germany
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‘I want so much to spend the rest of my days, however many that is, living in peace, joy and serenity. I want to feel alive and fulfilled. I want to feel the earth under my feet, the air in my lungs, the fire in my belly, and the blood flowing through my veins.
I am ready to receive this amazing gift of Knowledge. I realize to do this, I need the determination and commitment to practice, and I am prepared to prioritize this quest, so that I may live a fulfilled life, each moment of each day.
Days are running out for me – I am not prepared to waste any more time on external things that do not bring fulfilment. I would, therefore, request from you, Prem, that you impart to me your wonderful gift of Knowledge, if you do believe I am ready.’~United Kingdom
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‘Dear Prem, I ask you for Knowledge because it has touched me deeply in my heart and awakened my thirst. With Knowledge I can give more peace and joy to myself and my fellow human beings. Thanks for what you are doing.’
~Austria
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‘Since I listen to the message, I am full of joy. My life has a sense. I humbly want to ask for Knowledge so that I can experience the inside beauty you talk about.’
~Benin
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‘This letter is to ask you for Knowledge. Since I was shown your videos, I felt tranquility in my existence, which is why I am grateful to have seen and listened to your message of peace. Now I have realized that my need to experience inner peace is real.’
~Ecuador
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‘I am very grateful to you for showing me the way inside through The Keys to reach and know the love, peace and happiness that exists in my heart. I am ready to receive Knowledge. Thank you.’
~Bolivia
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‘I would like to say thank you. My heart is very still, looking at your videos. I have had these feelings quite in this order: anger, pain, anxiety, serenity, joy, peace, gratitude and a lot of tiredness, but also, for the first time in years, confidence in life. For all of this I have to say, “Thank you.” I ask you kindly to show me the way, to give me Knowledge as soon as possible. In this moment I feel that this is the thing that I desire the most in the world.’
~Italy
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‘I am ready and grateful and humbled for the experience to feel my heart every single moment of my life. I want that my heart is the judge. I want that my heart is in front and then the rest.
I have cried many times while watching your five videos. Your words touched my heart deeply, and I feel so connected to you. I feel more than words. Behind your words there seems to be so much more. Please allow me to feel that and to live my heart of a child. Thank you, Prem, from the deepest part of my heart.’~Switzerland
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I feel prepared to receive Knowledge. The Keys reached me at the right time and I want to continue because my heart asks for it. Gratitude for the guidance that allows me to be a better person for myself and those around me. I am grateful for this opportunity.
~ Portugal
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I have watched all five Keys, and I took my time to take in your message and let it grow. My heart feels a growing longing to receive Knowledge, to experience and practice it so that it can develop and grow inside of me. Now I am feeling very ready to ask you for Knowledge, and it would be a great pleasure to receive the four techniques of Knowledge from you.
~Germany
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I look forward, like a little child, to the gift of Knowledge. That contains also one of the many gifts, which you have already given me through the Keys, the Livestreams of your events, and the PEP: to feel life with the heart of a child. Thanks for that and thanks for how you talk to my heart. I ask you, Prem Rawat, from my heart to enter into this partnership with me and to grant me the gift of Knowledge.
~ Austria
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Please grant me the gift of all Knowledge (self-knowledge) so that I am able to connect with the infinite. Thank you for your wonderful words of peace. I have attended the Peace Education Program, which helped me a lot e.g understanding and removing my doubts. I really loved the PEP.
~ Fiji
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I feel a longing to constantly feel the peace, to be connected with the peace within. I feel ready; my heart says Yes! And so, I am asking Prem Rawat for Knowledge.Thank you for this possibility.
~ Germany
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My heartfelt gratitude to you. I have been listening to you since I was a child. I believe I am ready to now receive gift of Knowledge. I humbly, with my hands folded, request you to accept my request. Regards.
~ Singapore
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Listening to Prem Rawat has brought me immense peace and has changed my perception on life. I am eager to receive the techniques of Knowledge as I want to experience and practice this divine phenomenon that he describes.
~ South Africa
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Please teach me this Knowledge so that I can learn to allow my heart to feel peace and tranquility and practice gratitude and appreciation for each moment.
~ Taiwan
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I am 57 years old today. I am lucky, I live in a privileged country. Like everyone else, I have encountered some difficulties, experienced transient happiness, and yet nothing helps. I am always or almost always unsatisfied. I have only very rarely been present in the moment, so little that I remember each of these moments, even very old ones.
I know the teachings of Prem Rawat. My mother and my brother have been practicing Knowledge for over 30 years. Out of a spirit of rebellion, I sought my own way without being able to find it permanently.
Since a few months, I have been going along. I have seen the five Keys and I will do it again. I have watched Prem Rawat’s conferences on YouTube and now I wish to receive and practice Knowledge. Now, I feel Prem Rawat’s message of peace, after much resistance. I perceive the wonders of the world without feeling them. Knowledge seems to me to be the way to achieve this. And as Prem Rawat says, I don’t have that much time left. Thanks.~ France
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Respected Mr. Prem Rawat, I ask for your Knowledge. While listening to the five Keys, some episodes of my childhood came to my mind, which gave me a deep feeling of coming home and touched me deeply. I hope that my request will find favour. I remain with kind regards.
~ Switzerland
Video Stories
Interviews with people who have Knowledge, and expressions to Prem Rawat during his events.
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Tumi, South Africa
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Noma, South Africa
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Alexandra – The Comfort Inside
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Kerry – Little Cloud of Magic
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Amira – Finding Home
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Serena – Knowing is Everything
Peace Education Programme Reflections
The Peace Education Programme (PEP) runs in thousands of institutions worldwide. Below are some reflections shared by attendees in various settings
Reflections from Students and other PEP attendees
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‘I feel that I cannot live fully without peace. I was looking for it for a long time outside of myself. It is inside of me, and I can feel it now, thanks to Prem.’
~Lebanon
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‘Appreciation is being in awe of this marvellous gift of breath. What a loss it would be to spend our whole lives without appreciating the most outstanding gift we have inside.’
~Mexico
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‘Prem’s Peace Education Programme broadened my view of myself as a human being and gave me a higher perspective of myself and my work. All the themes were thought-provoking, and now, putting it all into practice is the best thing I can do.’
~Libya
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Thanks to the Peace Education Programme, I discovered that beyond all problems and suffering, there is a place inside of me that can give me peace, and the effort depends on me.
~Madagascar
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‘This programme made a huge difference in my life. Before this, I didn’t know anything about inner peace. Now I am aware of the peace within and can feel hope, no matter the situation.’
~University of Kashmir, India
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‘Without peace we have no future. In my difficult moments when I feel weak, I can connect inside myself. I can learn to live in the present. My strength is within my breath.’
~Mexico
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‘This programme brought a ray of hope, inner peace, and helped me understand myself deeply. This is really a noble act and will definitely have a strong effect on the world.’
~University of Kashmir, India
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‘I had suffered a lot. This programme helped me realize myself and make my life happy and comfortable. I wish this peace education would be compulsory for every stage of life.’
~University of Kashmir, India
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‘Prem’s wisdom helps me be a participant in life and grow inwardly with more self-awareness.’
~Albania
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‘I really enjoyed the Programme. It was an eye-opener. I now see Life in a better way, a healthy way. I look forward to sharing Prem’s message with my family and friends.’
~ Recovery Home, Arizona USA
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‘Today I felt something divine inside, a feeling of compassion for others. I could feel the strength of that feeling. Love is so powerful that it can defeat all obstacles, and even if things look dark, there’s always hope.’
~Mexico
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‘The Peace Education Programme helped me to focus and listen without judging myself or others. I have become more aware of my inner resources and have learned how powerful choice is. I appreciate my life and remember that there is always hope.’
~Argentina
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‘Since I’ve been participating in this programme, I face challenges with more hope. I no longer feel alone. I long to dive more deeply into the knowledge of myself.’
~Mexico
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‘I want to hear Prem’s wisdom again and again. When I really listen and practice following it, I feel better every day.’
~Australia
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‘Prem helped me understand how to improve myself with my inner strength. His Programme brought me awareness, much like turning on a light. Seeing life clearly makes my ride smoother.’
~Australia
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‘The Peace Education Programme helped me find peace in my life. This is a good programme. We all have the fundamental right to experience peace inside.’
~Recovery Home, Arizona, USA
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‘These are important and deep topics. I would like the programme to reach more people. It is a different course and one of personal recognition that we need more and more.’
~ Ecuador
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‘Prem sowed the seed of peace with his simple words, and I’m so glad to be the one who benefited through this workshop.’
~Athens, Greece
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‘When I listen to Prem Rawat and experience peace, something in me awakens, and I feel alive, happy and strong.’
~Athens, Greece
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‘I liked what Prem said, that the greatest adventure we can experience in our lives is to discover ourselves.’
~Athens, Greece
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‘I’ve learned that I need to choose those things that bring me closer to myself.’
~Athens, Greece
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‘The Peace Education Programme has shown me that by knowing myself and being at peace, there is always hope and I can make a difference in my life. Prem has lifted a weight off my shoulders. I recommend this course to anyone, to guide their life on a better path, as it has done for me.’
~Colombia
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‘Everything I learned from Prem has been useful in my daily life. I have been able to change some of my attitudes. And I have helped some young people who were feeling hopeless.’
~Colombia
Reflections from Inmates
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‘I’m learning to enjoy today, not tomorrow, to enjoy NOW.’
~Everglades Correctional Institution Miami, USA
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‘Choice is your weapon against ignorance. That’s right! Peace begins within.’
~Miami Dade County Women’s Correctional Facility
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‘Remember that the focus of life is joy.’
~Miami Dade County Women’s Correctional Facility
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‘I read books, I do yoga, I go to classes, but it felt so true when he said, “Be still.” Stop running around and around, when all the while it is right here.’
~Miami Dade County Women’s Correctional Facility
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‘Since I heard him speak, I have been reflecting every day on what he said. What really struck me is: First, your candle has to be lit, then you can light others. You are the angel in your life!’
~Miami Dade County Women’s Correctional Facility
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‘You can feel peace in the middle of a war because you have it inside you – it’s not the outer circumstances.’
~Miami Dade County Women’s Correctional Facility
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‘I have always wanted to help people. I learned today that if I want to help people, first I need to feel my own inner strength.’
~Miami Dade County Women’s Correctional Facility
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‘What I learned is that instead of being angry and hating I can start loving myself. If you change yourself here (within,) everything changes.’
~Miami Dade County Women’s Correctional Facility
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‘I’m learning to love myself again.’
~Miami Dade County Women’s Correctional Facility
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‘I lost my way. This is helping me.’
~Miami Dade County Women’s Correctional Facility
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‘I feel a lot. It’s a little overwhelming. I actually needed that. I’m reaching out to God, and then I heard Peace Class, and here I am.’
~Miami Dade County Women’s Correctional Facility
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‘It’s not about peace for the world but the peace within myself. Each of us must find our own peace before we can help others.’
~Everglades Correctional Institution Miami, USA
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‘You can’t ever be bored if you’re feeling your aliveness.’
~Everglades Correctional Institution Miami, USA
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‘Peace got forgotten somewhere along the way.’
~Everglades Correctional Institution Miami, USA
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‘By following Prem’s advice, I’m learning to be me.’
~Everglades Correctional Institution Miami, USA
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‘You get a new chance every single day.’
~Everglades Correctional Institution Miami, USA
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‘It’s about appreciating life, not how many days.’
~Everglades Correctional Institution Miami, USA
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‘All kinds of storms are within us, but the calm is also within us.’
~Everglades Correctional Institution Miami, USA
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‘You can have peace even in prison because you can find it wherever you are.’
~Everglades Correctional Institution Miami, USA
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‘Peace is a must-have, like air and water.’
~Everglades Correctional Institution Miami, USA
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‘The fact that we have the power to re-write our own story is so amazing! Every day that I’m alive I have that power. Wow!’
~Everglades Correctional Institution Miami, USA
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‘You always have a choice to keep doing what you’ve always done or to do something different.’
~Everglades Correctional Institution Miami, USA
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‘You can choose to appreciate what you do have, instead of being unhappy about what you don’t.’
~Everglades Correctional Institution Miami, USA
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‘Look within. Basically, we are seeking peace in other places. Dig down inside yourself.’
~Miami Dade County Women’s Correctional Facility
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‘When I am in the Peace Programme I forget I am in jail.
I want to carry my smile outside with me.’~His Majesty’s Prison Leeds, UK
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‘The feeling of being grateful for life and having peace in my heart is the most amazing feeling I have ever felt.’
~Correctional Facility, Brazil
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‘It’s not the fences out there, but the fences in the mind that stop you being free.’
~His Majesty’s Prison Leeds, UK
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‘When Prem Rawat talked about understanding, my whole perspective on life changed, and I was able to see much further than before. Life is good, and we have so much within us. I feel new horizons because of this wonderful course.’
~Correctional Facility, Brazil
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‘He says everyone has a lamp inside them – light it.
I am trying, I need to persist.’~His Majesty’s Prison Leeds, UK
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‘Anyone can relate to this course.
You don’t have to be a prisoner, everybody needs this.’~His Majesty’s Prison Leeds, UK
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‘I am so used to having bad things said about myself. It is hard to accept it if someone says something good about you. This course is uplifting.’
~His Majesty’s Prison Leeds, UK
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‘The Peace Education Programme has taught me not to waste time. Let’s start putting right what we did wrong.’
~His Majesty’s Prison Leeds, UK
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‘This programme meant a lot to me. I took it to heart when Prem said to be happy and thankful for today.’
~Hameenlinna Women’s Prison, Finland
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‘You can be your own worst enemy, or you can be your own best friend.’
~His Majesty’s Prison Leeds, UK
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‘My past cannot be changed, but my future can be. As long as I have breath, there is always hope for better days.’
~Correctional Facility, Brazil
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‘I’m not coming for the coffee anymore. I am on a journey looking for inner peace.’
~His Majesty’s Prison Leeds, UK
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‘I enjoyed everything about this programme, especially the joy that I now feel and the peace I am discovering within me. This has improved my day-to-day life and my ability to be with others.’
~Correctional Facility, Brazil
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‘Accept what happened yesterday and move on. You can’t change it. And then you can slowly start to find inner peace.’
~His Majesty’s Prison Leeds, UK
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‘Prem Rawat brought peace and kindness into my heart with his words of strength, focus, and hope. This is helping me to take a deep breath when I am angry, to be more patient, and to live better. I feel more in touch with myself and appreciate life so much more.’
~Correctional Facility, Brazil
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‘I really enjoyed this course and learned to deal better with challenges. Such a simple course to teach me so much about myself!’
~Correctional Facility, Brazil
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‘When things go wrong you shouldn’t take it out on other people. It’s all up to you.’
~His Majesty’s Prison Leeds, UK
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‘Prem helped me to understand and to want to change. I want to pass this on to my children, my relatives and my friends, as lessons for life.’
~Correctional Facility, Brazil
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‘We all have value.’
~His Majesty’s Prison Leeds, UK
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‘Prem helped me recognise things about myself I can control and change. I can feel peace even surrounded by problems. This change in me is fantastic!’
~Correctional Facility, Brazil
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‘This programme is enabling me to overcome my struggles and be more conscious in how I think and act. I am finding strength to live in peace, knowing it is inside me. If I could, I would stay in this course until the end of my life.’
~Correctional Facility, Brazil
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‘l like what he said that you don’t need wings to fly, you just need to cut the ropes that are holding you back.
Wow – you don’t hear that in life!’~His Majesty’s Prison Leeds, UK
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‘I was a disturbed person and without peace, but from the beginning of the programme, I’ve tried to apply the themes to my daily life.
Now I am calmer, more confident, and free of addictions.
Because of Prem Rawat, I am truly a winner.’~Correctional Facility, Brazil
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‘Conflict is internal and so is the resolution. My clarity is in knowing the value of today. The manifestation of peace comes from within me, not in my ideas but in my reality.’
~Twin Towers Correctional Facility, Los Angeles, USA
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‘What I am feeling from the Peace Education Programme is a waking up to life, something that has penetrated my heart.
My values were buried by difficulties, but this programme has been a gift from the divine, like water on a seed.
Now I have a reserve of strength to continue.’~Correctional Facility, Brazil
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‘Since going through this programme, my way of thinking has evolved.
I still have faults, but now I try to not judge anyone, rather look inside my own self and treat people as I would like to be treated – with empathy and compassion.’~Correctional Facility, Brazil
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‘I learned that you and I have the power to change, to be good or great, to never let anything put you down, to make a difference in the world.’
~Twin Towers Correctional Facility, Los Angeles, USA
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‘My choices are the reason why I am incarcerated. If I’m unhappy with my life, I need to make better choices. Choice is my weapon against ignorance. I am here now to grow and transform. My true wealth is peace, clarity and understanding.’
~Twin Towers Correctional Facility, Los Angeles, USA
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‘This course is changing the way I see life. By feeling peace and learning to know myself, I appreciate myself more and want to help bring peace to those who need it. Everything in my life is changing for the better. I am grateful for this miracle that is life.’
~Correctional Facility, Brazil
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Argentina, Buenos Aires – Melchor Romero Penitentiary, Unit 34 (Men) ‘Prem’s words are so powerful because he speaks from the abundance of his heart.’
~Melchor Romero Penitentiary, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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‘The essential thing is life, and it is never too late for a new start. I cannot change my past, but I can shape a better future. Prem inspired me to value my time here while I’m alive.’
~Correctional Facility, Brazil
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‘Peace is a fundamental need and reflects the light inside us. It will challenge the darkness that keeps away fulfilment.’
~ Men’s Central Jail, Los Angeles, USA
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‘What is on the inside can influence the outside. Peace is giving me more awareness of who I am, a chance to limit anger, doubt and ignorance.’
~Twin Towers Correctional Facility, Los Angeles, USA
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‘When people in the world feel peace within, there will be peace in the world. What I can do to help bring about peace is to feel it within myself.’
~ Men’s Central Jail, Los Angeles, USA
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‘We are raised with a mindset of conflict. There are things that divide us, but there are also things that can unite us. I cannot remove darkness, but I can find the light within.’
~Twin Towers Correctional Facility, Los Angeles, USA
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‘I’ve been involved with offending behaviour groups and engaging with prisoners for over 36 years now. I believe deeply that this programme is one of the most effective programmes not only Leeds delivers but now I know there’s 12 others that are delivering it. I’ve seen the change in these lads. I think we need to really get behind this now, and hopefully this event today will light the candle for many more. I’m really pleased with the event and I’m really, really pleased that Prem came. What a lovely man.’
~ Supervisor Officer Dave McPherson, His Majesty’s Prison Leeds, after Prem Rawat’s visit
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‘I’m a veteran, ex-army, serving nine months and due to be released on Friday. I was just on the wing and was doing the veteran’s in custody course and someone said why don’t you come along to the Peace Programme. At first I was a bit like ‘Peace?…’ But then the animations started and I just went WOW! It was like bliss. I was just thinking why didn’t we do this when we came out the army? When you’re getting re-civilianised it could be introduced then. I just like the way everything was simplified so everyone can understand it. It was different and something successful, instead of just another class we go to, to get a biscuit or a coffee. Anyone else can talk, and you’re like yeah, yeah yeah… but with him it sinks in. And I’m getting out on Friday and I’m actually looking forward to it… I don’t think I’m coming back, I genuinely don’t. It’s a relief. This is not just another crappy course, this is something different, something powerful.’
Inmate of His Majesty’s Prison Leeds, UK, after Prem Rawat’s visit
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‘It were brilliant to actually see Prem in person instead of all the short videos we get to see of him. He spoke to us exactly the same way. Instead of always acting on instinct maybe I’ll now take a back seat and process them thoughts first and come with a different outcome. I came to prison with an attitude that vengeance has no time limit, and that when I get out there’s things I’ll need to put right, but I can’t even be bothered with any of that now. It’s just a matter of getting on with my self, putting my self forward, making my self happy and in turn everyone around me will just fall into place and be fine.’
~ Inmate of His Majesty’s Prison Leeds, UK, after Prem Rawat’s visit
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‘Before doing this group I could have given you a dictionary definition of the word peace, but I wouldn’t have applied it to my life. So doing these sessions, the word peace and how I can use it, has been made relevant to me. And at the end of the talk today I had a mind to write down a lot of things that were beneficial when I get back to my cell, so I can make use of them in the future. I’m 45 years old now, I’ve come back to prison again for committing violence so I obviously still need to address my anger issues. I need to adopt a more peaceful mindset and not respond to things aggressively. I made realisations when he was talking and I don’t want them to be fleeting realisations, and then forgot about, I want to put them into practise.’
~ Inmate of His Majesty’s Prison Leeds, UK, after Prem Rawat’s visit
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‘I’ve been caught up in drugs since a young age, I saw a lot of things I shouldn’t have seen as a kid. Been in and out of prison since a teenager, there was no support, no rehabilitation. I’ve been in this jail about 7 times, it’s no good. Luckily this has come along at the right time when I needed it, it’s happened for a reason. I’m glad because I don’t know what I’d have done, really. I wanted this, but didn’t have the tools to do it. I’d not even heard of PEP before, I was shocked to hear how long it’s been going – thinking where’s it been? How come I’ve never heard of it? Today was good. It’s a pretty big deal Prem Rawat coming, it does give you that nice feeling seeing him in person and he’s got a good vibe about him, it’s good words, a good feeling. Gives me hope. I asked him about the chaos from a young age, can I change? Because it’s instilled into you. It confirmed what I was thinking, that it can be done. Sometimes you need to hear about it from someone else, and it helped me a lot. It were really good. I’m proper happy, and I’m humbled to be here today. And it doesn’t end here I’m going to continue on the outside.’
~ Inmate of His Majesty’s Prison Leeds, UK, after Prem Rawat’s visit
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‘Been smoking heroine and crack for 20 years now, I’m 35. I’ve had a lot of injuries, a lot of trauma… Billa told me about the PEP. It’s a different way of living, I love it. I’ve got a lot of mental health stuff, so it just makes me peaceful in my mind, and just dealing with situations in a peaceful way rather than being agitated about things. I still get worked up sometimes, but I’ve got my ways to deal with it. I read back the notes I’ve made in class. Today was ace, ‘lighting a candle’, it was a bit emotional. It’s amazing to see someone come in like that and take his time out for us lot as well. Cause we’re a tiny group compared to what he’s used to. Thanks for the volunteers, amazing amazing people. It’s changing my life in many ways.’
~ Inmate of His Majesty’s Prison Leeds, UK, after Prem Rawat’s visit
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‘I’m going to spend the next few years away. Got into a fight that went a bit wrong. I’m trying to find peace. I’ve been an addict for a long time, but clean for a few years. I like the videos, I like what he Prem has to say – never believed I’d see him in person. Today’s been brilliant, honestly brilliant. I didn’t know what to expect. The way he speaks is just like on the videos – he could read out the ingredients on the back of a cereal packet, and you’d be interested. Everything he said, every bit of it stood out for me, even the officers and the Governor, everyone getting involved. Just tell him thank you. Thanks to everyone.’
~ Inmate of His Majesty’s Prison Leeds, UK, after Prem Rawat’s visit
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I found out about PEP because I was on the prisoner information desk. The environment in the room is so peaceful, calming, and everything is easy to understand, there’s nothing complicated. And it actually gets to the issues. Me being a veteran, I beat myself up all the time, all the time, constantly, and it’s about learning to let it go, actually move on with your life. I liked the event a lot, I liked the bit about the candle, keep your candle burning and light other people’s, that will really stay with me. And the way he comes across, his demeanour is just dead calm, he’s really easy to understand. I really enjoyed today. I’m grateful for the opportunity to do the course and to actually try to find my inner peace, and rather than worry about what everyone else is doing, try and worry about myself for a change.’
~ Inmate of His Majesty’s Prison Leeds, UK, after Prem Rawat’s visit
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‘Been in prison 5 and half years. I first came across PEP a few months ago. I enjoy the message, I’ve lived a lot of my life in the past, now I like living here in the now. It’s clicked with me finally. We’ve all been in chaos in here, so just to move past that and learn to live in the now, that’s what stuck with me the most. It’s been a privilege.’
~ Inmate of His Majesty’s Prison Leeds, UK, after Prem Rawat’s visit
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‘I’ve been coming in and out of custody since I were 10, rough life. I come across PEP in prison this time. I’ve done all the 12 sessions and become a mentor. It’s amazing how you can know it all in life, but not know it all. Just to simply remember you, is what Prem does, that’s the bit that got me. And it’s just the way he is as a person, and he can’t half tell a story. I’m hoping this is going to make a difference, I’m hoping it is. It’s got me thinking differently, remembering me, celebrating life, like he says in his book. I think it’s extremely great advice, innit? So set in laymen’s terms but such wonderful, powerful advice and I’m going to continue doing it when I get home. Every time I listen to Prem he just captures me, brings me in. It was exactly the same today, and I actually got to shake the guy’s hand in person. I’m on board with it and I’m staying on board with it. I just want him to continue with what he’s doing because nowt else is making a difference. Why not roll with something that is. Proof’s in the pudding, innit?’
~ Inmate of His Majesty’s Prison Leeds, UK, after Prem Rawat’s visit
Reflections from Ex-combatants
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‘If I had known this message earlier in my life, I would never have gone to war.’
~Former Tamil Tiger
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‘If a guerrilla can get the message to the heart. Imagine what you can do to the rest of the world?’
~Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
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‘I thank you with all my heart for orienting us and teaching us to reflect for ourselves and for me I have nothing more to thank you’
~ Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
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‘I would like you to come and teach us, especially all the people who have gone through armed life and those who hold great resentment’
~ Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
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‘Thank you for everything you do, for the teaching, and one day I would like to meet you, to thank you for everything you have taught us.’
~ Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
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‘I understood that there are very good people in this world willing to teach and share their wisdom in exchange for the joy of someone else’s heart, as the master of these videos does.
If many more people were like this, the world would be different ‘~ Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
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‘I learned the importance of peace’
~ Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
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‘In me there was a great change because I learned to know myself from the inside and I learned that as a human being one is worth a lot’
~ Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
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‘He taught me that life has compassion and love.’
~ Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
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‘I learned to have no grudges with anyone and change my way of thinking; to be happy you have to do it yourself because no one else does it for you’
~ Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
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‘I think your message will help many generations.’
~ Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
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‘It would be good if these teachings are given to our companions and to all the people of the world, because we need to clear the way for our inner peace, so that there is peace in the world. ‘We have to be at peace with ourselves.’
~ Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia