About Prem Rawat

Prem Rawat - Maharaji at various events
Prem Rawat - Maharaji at various events


For more than 50 years, Prem Rawat has traveled the world to spread his message of peace. A speaker, author and ardent advocate of basic human rights, he created the Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) in 2001, which developed the Food for People initiative and the Peace Education Program (PEP).

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'What I offer people is not just talk, but a way to go inside and savor the peace that is within

Since his teenage years, he has relentlessly addressed people around the world to raise awareness and encourage the individual discovery of peace. In total, he has visited more than 250 cities and has shared his experience with nearly 20 million people. The success of his message comes from its simplicity, strength and universal character. Prem Rawat addresses all human beings, regardless of their background. He regularly speaks at forums, Parliaments, including the European Parliament, international organizations such as the UN, prisons, and universities. He also takes part in television and radio programs to be able to reach a wider audience.

His Childhood

Prem Rawat - Maharaji

Born in a town near Dehradun, India (10th December, 1957), he started addressing audiences at the tender age of three. 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.

Coming to the West

In 1971, at the age of 13, he was invited to speak in England and, from there, Germany, France and the United States. He began training for jet aircrafts at the age of 15. So began a journey to take his message to the wider world. Ever since, he has reached to those who want to listen, no matter where in the world they may live.

1970s to Present

Prem Rawat - Maharaji

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.

Without advertising or charging fees to attend his events, 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.

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.

Humanitarian efforts

In 2001 he set up The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF), a non-profit foundation, which works to address the human needs of food, water, and peace. The TPRF Foundation sponsors numerous initiatives in support of vulnerable people: supplying drinking water, or medical equipment to hospitals, financing computer labs in schools, providing emergency relief following natural disasters et al.

Prem Rawat - Maharaji

The Foundation has developed two flagship programs: Food for People and the Peace Education Program (PEP).

Food for People (FFP) has been providing food and drinking water to children and the elderly since 2006 in poor rural communities in India, Nepal, and Ghana. The hot meals served in these three FFP centers are prepared according to traditional recipes, with local products or grown by the center. More than 500,000 meals a year are served, not to mention hygiene education taught to children to fight diseases. These centers are run by local people, which provides jobs in the kitchen or in the fields. Children are better nourished, their health improves as well as their school results. The school attendance has dramatically grown, with some students going on to high school. Some young people have even entered into higher education, which had never happened before in these disadvantaged regions.

The Peace Education Program (PEP) is a training course consisting of interactive workshops featuring video extracts of Prem Rawat’s events as well as personal moments for expressions and sharing. Each one of the ten sessions focuses on a different theme: Peace, Appreciation, Inner Strength, Self-Awareness, Clarity, Understanding, Dignity, Choice, Hope, and Contentment. The PEP has been adopted by a great number of private and public institutions: universities, associations, welfare centers, senior homes, correctional facilities, etc.

In 2008, due to the ever-increasing number of invitations received by Prem Rawat, the Words of Peace Global Foundation was established in order to support the outreach of his message, throughout the world, by organizing and funding public events. During the last ten years, Prem Rawat has visited a hundred countries addressing people in almost 4,700 events.

Personal life

Captain Prem Rawat

In addition to being a highly qualified pilot with over 14,000 hours of flying experience, 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.

International recognitions

In 2006, Prem Rawat was awarded the title of Peace Ambassador by the Brazilian University of Peace and three government agencies, including the Italian Senate and the European Parliament. In 2012, he was awarded the Asia Pacific Brands Foundation’s Brand Laureate Lifetime Achievement award, granted to statesmen and individuals whose efforts and work have positively impacted people’s lives and the world at large.
Regularly assessed by Charity Navigator, an American independent agency, the Prem Rawat Foundation displays an excellent score each time, in terms of transparency and funds management.

Partial list of recognitions:
Prem Rawat being honored