When George Worthmore, a well-known guitarist and singer, was touring the Michigan region recently he met Candice Wilmore at a local club where she asked him to play at what would later be called “Words and Music.”

The next time he came through Lansing, Candice and her friends rented a community center and invited people to hear him and watch a DVD about peace. The evening was billed simply: “Words and Music: Words from Prem Rawat; Music from George Worthmore.”

By the end of the evening, thirty people were bouncing their heads to George’s famous ragtime blues. A new way to introduce a simple message had arrived.

This first event with Worthmore drew several of his local fans — people who would probably not have come otherwise. Candice and her friends saw the potential — and so began what is now a series of live music and video presentations.

Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is regrettably best known for its violent past. In 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was unexpectedly assassinated there, sparking the first World War. More recently, it became the site of the longest running siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare, lasting from 1992 until 1996. Despite this recent period of civil unrest, a few individuals have continued to make a stand for peace: not just societal peace, but a tangible peace that can be felt within each individual.

In Spite of War

The message of Prem Rawat first came to Sarajevo in 1975 when Seid Trnka—who first heard about it in Germany—informed his local friends. Soon there were quite a few interested in learning more, many of whom ended up receiving the techniques of Knowledge, a practical method that Prem Rawat teaches to experience peace within. As a result, approximately 150 people were listening to Prem Rawat’s teachings in Sarajevo before the war began in March 1992. Interest was growing steadily.

The sight of an orange double-decker bus is drawing positive attention throughout the countryside of Eastern Europe. Wherever it goes, strangers can’t help being intrigued by this 1959 London relic with the words “Peace Bus” flanking its sides, the “a” in Peace the same flower that represented the “flower power” movement some 50 years ago, originally the symbol of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. It’s a nostalgic message that puts smiles on people’s faces.

The crew hails from the city of Ljubljana and, during the spring and summer, they travel from town to town throughout Slovenia and surrounding countries, often parking at festivals along the way. Wherever it goes, passersby are invited to climb the circular staircase to the upper level, where they can take time out to watch videos that talk about the possibility of peace within each individual.

“This gentleman’s words are very enjoyable. I like it a lot.”

“After listening to him I feel as if I’d just drunk a glass of fresh water.”

“When I heard the Introduction to The Keys, that night I slept as if I was under an air conditioner.”

With comments like these, people of the Republic of Cameroon have been expressing their appreciation, respect, and sincere thankfulness for the message of Prem Rawat, whose words have been enjoyed especially by those in the country’s villages via DVD presentations.