As he is doing the world over, Maharaji brought "good news" to Boulder, Colorado, September 13, 2009.

"Today I am here as the bearer of very good news," he said in his opening remarks to about 1,200 people at a public event held at the fabled Macky Auditorium Concert Hall on the campus of the University of Colorado at Boulder.

"This is a difficult time for people," he said, "but the good news has something to do with you. It’s pretty incredible. It’s so good that some people find it hard to believe.”

"The good news," he continued, "is, one: you are alive. To me, that’s as good as news can get. Two: the divine that you are searching for is within you. That gives birth to the third good news: whatever it is you are looking for is also within you."

Sunday dawned like a sparkling diamond, drenching the red-tiled roofs of the elegant brownstone campus buildings and Macky in exquisite late-summer sunshine. It wasn’t the first time Prem Rawat had spoken at Macky. He gave one of his earliest addresses in the West at Macky in August of 1971, where at age 13 he spoke to an eager crowd about finding peace within.

Waiting for the doors to the hall to open, people gathered in front of the Concert Hall for the late afternoon event, talking quietly in groups of twos and threes, some flashing smiles, some laughing. Doors opened at 4:00 pm, and the program began at 5:00 pm sharp, just as inky-gray thunderstorm clouds slowly piled up over Boulder and the handsome campus, lush with tall trees, bushes, and inviting grass lawns.

People came from near and far, each for very personal reasons. Laurie Gordon, a doctor of internal medicine who came all the way from New Canaan, Connecticut, said simply, "I came to see Maharaji because my heart was calling me."

Referring to having learned to find contentment within, retired Denver resident Rod Davidson said he came "to hear Maharaji and be reminded of what it is I have received."

Maharaji spoke of the importance of knowing the difference between what is real in our lives and what is fantasy, of being a knower as opposed to a believer. "Today," he said, "I am going to try to take this good news and make it current for you. In this life, it’s okay to believe, but you must know."

He invited the audience to imagine a make-believe cow right next to him on stage. "It’s a beautiful cow, cute," he said, evoking light laughter from the audience. "It's white, with a few black patches. Is there any problem in believing in this cow? Absolutely not." However, he said, if you're making tea and "you want some milk from this cow, you're going to have a problem, unless you are going to have make-believe tea. If you want real milk, this make-believe cow cannot help you. That's why it is important to know, because this life is real. This life is as real as real gets. The coming and going of this breath is not make-believe. Your ability to think and feel, your ability to have the thirst within you quenched is not make-believe. In this existence you cannot mix reality with make-believe."

What particularly struck Krysia Wirgamowicz, who drove to Boulder from Santa Fe, New Mexico, was Maharaji's comment about living in the realm of the imagination. "Sometimes," she said, "it's hard to tell the difference between reality and imagination till you come to an event like this and someone helps you see it. It brings me back to the reality of myself. I appreciate the reminder."

"I'm thrilled that he's doing all that he's doing," added Lisa Knudson from Washington, D.C., who works in advertising, publishing, and public relations. "I was afraid to believe what he was talking about, so I kind of gave up on him for a while, but he never quit on me, Knowledge, or his message of peace. It's so inspiring to see that. It gives me hope because he never quits."

Brenda Johnson, from Alberta, Canada, attended several events on this tour of North America. "It’s always a pleasure to be with Maharaji," she said. "I love how he can inspire me. He's put me in touch with the honor and dignity of my own life, and that’s not make-believe!"