Photo by Greg Gorman

Throughout history men and women have sought answers to these most fundamental questions. Prem Rawat has dedicated his life to giving people the keys that will unlock those answers. He speaks to people around the world about the possibility of finding peace within — not as some utopian ideal or an absence of conflict, but as an immanent, personal experience.

‘What I offer people is not just talk’, he says, ‘but a way to go inside and savor the peace that is within’.

Prem Rawat directs his message at each individual, independent of their beliefs, circumstances, or background. His vision is far-reaching but simple. He wants to bring peace to humanity, individual by individual.

Peace needs to be in everyone's life. It is not the world that needs peace; it is people. When people in the world are at peace within, the world will be at peace.

The peace that we are looking for is within. It is in the heart, waiting to be felt, and I can help you get in touch with it.

Born in India in 1957, Prem Rawat — who is widely known by the honorary title, Maharaji — began speaking about peace at a very young age. At the age of eight, when his father and teacher, Sri Hans Ji Maharaj,  passed away, he began teaching. Despite his youth, for the next five years, he travelled across India, during school breaks, often addressing vast audiences.

In 1971, at the age of 13, he was invited to speak in England and, from there, Germany, France and the United States. So began a journey to take his message to the wider world.

In the four decades since, he has addressed over 12 million people on every continent, criss-crossing the globe countless times and reaching out to millions. He has a physically grueling schedule, traveling tirelessly to bring his message of peace to even the most remote places. A professional airplane and helicopter pilot, he regularly clocks up 100,000 miles and attends over two events a week, in an average year. 

He has spoken in places as far afield as Tokyo and Tenerife, Quito and Cotonou, Malmo and Miami, attracting audiences as large as 325,000 in Gaya, India, and as small as one hundred in Hapuna, Hawaii. Regardless of their size, people find that his conversational, interactive style often make his talks deeply personal experiences.

In 2006, he began taking his message beyond the world’s capitals to other towns and cities, as well as rural areas in India, to address people who could not travel to hear him.

While his public events can be very large, he is increasingly asked to speak as an honorary guest at smaller formal gatherings, including the Italian Senate and the Argentine Senate, in 2006, and Australia’s Parliament House, in 2005, where he spoke at an event organized in commemoration of the United Nations’ Day of Peace. 

Over the last three decades, Prem Rawat has been honored by the Governors and Mayors of states and cities across the United States and Europe, and has received the Keys and seals of cities in North America, South America and Japan. In 2006, he was awarded the title ‘Ambassador of Peace’, for the first time,  by the Rector of the International University of Peace (Unipaz), in Brazil.  

In his personal life, in addition to being a highly qualified pilot, Prem Rawat is a talented artist, poet, musician and inventor. A lifelong fascination with technology coupled with a passion for helping as many people as possible enable him to constantly explore new ways of delivering his message. His addresses are broadcast on television channels around the world and are available through a wide range of media, both online and offline. As a result, his message is now available in 97 countries and 70 languages.

In 2001, moved by the plight of malnourished children in north-eastern India, Prem Rawat founded The Prem Rawat Foundation and designed its model program, Food For People. It’s purpose is to address fundamental human needs so that people can live with dignity, peace and prosperity. In addition to establishing successful and sustainable nutritional facilities, TPRF also delivers humanitarian crisis relief.