Saya Pierce-Jones:
When we found out that Prem was going to be in Cape Town, I mean, he’s world-famous for promoting this idea of peace—and specifically in Cape Town and South Africa as well, we’re dealing with quite a few issues at the moment.
Onscreen text:
Saya Pierce-Jones
Smile 90.4FM Radio Presenter
Saya Pierce-Jones:
And having someone like Prem here to talk about peace and what peace really means from a global perspective is something that I think all of us need to hear and need to listen to, in terms of starting to deal with the problems that we’re facing here at home.
[From her interview with Prem Rawat]
Obviously, you know, our nation is a very, very young one at the moment—and post ‘94, that was our initial idea of, “What is peace now?” And at the moment, we are seeing kind of an upsurging of different tensions among different—whether it’s racial groups, whether it’s income groups….
That idea of peace that we had post ‘94 doesn’t seem to be the same one that we have now. Is that something that interests you as well?
Onscreen text:
Prem Rawat
Global Peace Ambassador
Prem Rawat:
Yes, very much so—because I think, anywhere you go on the face of this earth, people have their formulas of what peace is going to be: “Well, yeah, make me economically more viable, and I’ll be happy for the rest of my life.”
But in reality, peace or happiness is subjective, not objective. And people forget that, that they can’t just follow a list and say, “Yeah, I’m happy now, because I have this and I have this and I have this!”
But first of all, we have to understand ourselves: “Are we the source of our joy and peace or not?” Because if we’re not in the equation, then it doesn’t matter what happens around us; we are never going to be able to enjoy it or feel it.
So it becomes very, very important that we begin with ourselves. It is all about you; you are the one; you have to say, “Yes, I feel peace” or “No, I don’t feel peace,” because whatever the list is and how many things are marked on it has nothing to do with it. Because peace and happiness really are, very much so, subjective, not objective.
And I started speaking about peace to people when I was four years old. When I talk to people—and this is what I keep praying every day—that all I see is people. Not the color, not their suits, not their ties, not their hairdo, not their lipstick, not their faces, but I see people.
And I can look at every person…. And this is something that I really have to hone in on—that I am not looking at people from South Africa; I’m looking at human beings. And when I look at human beings, I see hope. I see a joy; I see a need that is unfulfilled.
We are human beings on this face of this earth; we all began our—mankind started from this continent, Africa. And I always say, “How incredible it would be, that this was the birthplace of mankind—and it would be incredible if this was also the birthplace of peace and hope for mankind.”
Saya Pierce-Jones:
That’s fantastic.
Onscreen text:
In 1950, the apartheid government of
South Africa introduced the Group Areas Act.
As a result, people of color were forcefully
moved to areas known as townships,
historically associated with gangsterism,
desperate poverty, and horrendous abuse.
Prem Rawat visited a school in one
of these most deprived townships—a
place stricken with gang warfare
and drug-addicted poverty, with little
hope for the future.
Prem spoke to children ages
seven to thirteen, many of whom
have suffered unthinkable abuse.
School sign:
Die Duine
Primary School
Onscreen text:
Anthea Adriaanse
Die Duine Primary School Principal
Anthea Adriaanse:
I think you see it as you travel to the school—you sort of look at the housing, and you can see immediately that it’s basically your underdeveloped, lots of poverty….
Onscreen text:
Prem Rawat
Global Peace Ambassador
Prem Rawat:
No matter how ugly the situation becomes, you are not ugly—because in you, there is a profound beautiful beauty. Know and understand that.
Onscreen text:
The Hero
In You
Die Duine Primary School
Anthea Adriaanse:
The challenges we face are absent parents, lack of a value system in our homes of learners, single parents, drug abuse by parents and sometimes learners, as well as gangsterism and violence. All of this has a negative impact on the learners—and then ultimately, on the teaching.
Prem Rawat:
That even in the middle of the chaos, you find your strength. That even in the middle of all the things that are wrong—and when there is no light, and when there is darkness, and when there is confusion, that there is a light in your heart.
Ben Caesar: [rap song]
I see you; well, what’s up?
I see you; I see you; I see you; I see you, hey!
Right in front of me, I’m looking at the future of this country,
It’s looking lovely. Oh, yes, yes, give me an up; what’s up with you?
I see you; I see you; I see you….
Prem Rawat:
I would like to talk to you a little bit about something very, very special. And what I want to talk to you about is the Superman in you. You know about Superman? [Audience: Yes, I do.] And he’s strong. Even when things on the outside are not good, he’s still strong.
And the same way, I want to talk to you about your strength. I know that there are problems—there are problems everywhere—but you have a strength. And you need to tap into that strength, because not all days are going to be good. But even when the days are good and even when the days are bad, you have a strength in you.
Let me tell you a story about knowing your self. Would you like to hear a story? [Audience: Yes!] So, one day, there was a lion, and he was in the jungle—and people were afraid to go into that jungle because they knew there was a big, big lion.
But there was also this farmer and he had some sheep, and he would take them grazing. And sometimes they would get a little close, too close to the jungle, and they would hear the roar of the lion and all the sheep would go running.
One day the farmer came across a little baby lion lying on the side of the road. And the lion was almost dead, very weak. So he picked up the baby lion and he took him home—and he put him under a nice blanket, and he gave him some warm milk and he took care of him. In a few days, the baby lion recovered.
And he started bouncing everywhere—you know, the little baby lion is going here, going there, “Aaa-whaa, ah-whaah, ah-whaah, ah-whaah.” So, he thought that the baby lion would tear up his whole house, so he took the baby lion and he put it with the sheep, where all the sheep stayed.
And the baby lion wanted to play with the sheep, and—at first, the sheep were afraid of the baby lion. But then they saw that it was just a baby; that it couldn’t really hurt anybody—so they became friends.
And every day, the farmer would let the sheep out, and the baby lion would go out—and he saw the sheep grazing and so he started grazing. And when the sheep would go, “Baah-hah-hah-hah,” he tried to go, “Baa-hah-hah-hah,” but he couldn’t. And day after day after day, being with the sheep, he too thought that he was a sheep. That’s all he knew.
One day that big lion from the jungle gave a big roar, and stepped out of the jungle towards the farm. And all the sheep, upon hearing this big, ferocious roar, got very afraid. And all the sheep ran to hide. And some went and hid under the barn, and some went and hid behind that tree, and some went and hid behind the bush….
And the baby lion, too—because what did he think he was? [Audience: A sheep.] Because he thought he was a sheep, also went and hid in the trunk of a tree—there was a big hollow and he went, and he’s shaking. All the sheep are shaking; he’s shaking. He’s afraid.
And the big lion comes into the farm…. And he sees all the sheep are afraid of him—but then he saw something really curious. He saw this lion—and he was afraid of the lion. And he sees this lion is shaking.
So, the big lion said, “I can understand why all the sheep are afraid, but why are you afraid?” And the little baby lion said, “Oh, please, please don’t eat me.”
“Eat you? Don’t you know you are a lion?” “Oh, yes, anything, anything you say, anything you say, but don’t eat me.”
“So, what’s wrong with you? Don’t you know who you are?” He said, “Oh, I’m just a poor little sheep. I’m just a poor little sheep. Don’t eat me.” And the big lion said, “No, you’re not. Come with me; I’ll show you who you are.”
So he took him by the lake, (still shaking), took him by the lake—and he said, “Look, look at your reflection—and see who you are.” And both the big lion and the little lion looked in the lake—and the little lion saw, he was not a sheep; he was a lion!
And at this, he looked up, looked up at the lion—and without fear, he too gave out a big roar. Not, “Eh-heh-heh-heh,” but a roar. And the big lion roared and the little lion roared. And he said, “Come with me. Come to the jungle, where you can be the king.” So, that’s the story.
We look at our problems; we look at this world; we look at what is going on—and we start to feel a part of it. But in reality, we are not a part of it. We are something else.
First of all, no matter what happens around us, we need to be our own island; we need to be our own strength; we need to be our own understanding.
If you look at this world—and if it was a map, on this map you will see many, many roads, many, many, many, many, many roads—but not all those roads take you to a nice place; not all those roads take you to a good place.
There is one road that does. And you have to go on that road; you have to be on that road. Because knowing yourself is also understanding who you are, what is your nature. Your nature is not anger; your nature is to love. Your nature—your nature is to be in peace. This is who you are.
And this is what makes you that Superman—that even in the middle of the chaos, you find your strength. That even in the middle of all the things that are wrong—and when there is no light, and when there is darkness, and when there is confusion, that there is a light in your heart—and you let that light shine. And there is a hope. When everything is hopeless, there is a hope.
Do you know, when I say Superman, I really mean it. And this is—I’m going to give you another example. Do you know you did something really incredible? You’ve all done something really incredible, but you don’t think about it.
Today—today, if you fail at something, do you become sad? Yes? And sometimes so sad that you give up? But do you know that you have done something where you failed—but you never accepted failure? That’s what Superman does. He fails—many times he fails, but he never accepts failure—and he tries again.
So, all of you, (you’re quite young), but when you even were younger, and you were learning how to walk…. I don’t think you remember that, do you? You do? [Child: Yes, we know this.] Have you seen other babies learning how to walk, maybe your brother, maybe your sister?
And so they get up—right? And they go, “Eeuuhh-ah-ahh….” And then they fall down. Right? Do they get sad? Do they accept failure? [Audience: No.] No, they get right back up.
And you did the same thing; you did exactly the same thing. You failed—but you never accepted failure—and you got up. You got up. Do you remember that? Have you seen that? That is wisdom! That’s genius. That’s Superman in action.
Learning how to walk: failing, but getting up. And one day, because that kept happening again and again and again and again, the baby finally took the steps and did not fall down. And the baby learned to walk.
You know how to walk, right? [Child: Right.] You know who taught you how to walk? Do you remember who taught you how to walk? [Audience: Yes.] Who? You! You taught yourself how to walk—because at that age, nobody could give you a lecture.
And that required courage; that required understanding; that required patience—and most importantly, that required never to accept failure.
Know who you are, because when you do know who you are, you will learn your powers; you will learn your strength; you will learn who you want to be. This will bring you happiness, even when the situation is sad. This will bring you joy. This can make your life, every day of your life a Christmas.
Do you know that every day you are given presents, every day you are given gifts—do you know that? And the most important gift that you are given is the gift of life. Every day, you are given a gift of life. Yours to do with, what you want to do. If you accept it, accept it.
You have something to do; you have a mission—Superman, you have a mission. And your mission is to shape yourself to face the world; be educated, so that you can go out in this world and accomplish what you want to accomplish.
Focus. Practice peace—and you will become good at it. So, if you just remember who you are—you’re not the problem. You’re not the problem. Remember that you have the strength in you. And remember that you are that lion, not the sheep. Also, remember, whatever you do the most, you will become good at it. And that’s how simple it is.
Because, if you understand, think—this is also one of the gifts you have. Know yourself; understand yourself—and with strength, go out into this world. Be the strength; be that power. And that’s what I wanted to come and tell you today.
No matter how ugly the situation becomes, you are not ugly—because in you, there is a profound beautiful beauty. Know and understand that.
So, that’s what I wanted to come and tell you today—it’s great to see you, great to meet you—and I really hope that you take what I have said to heart, so that you can have a beautiful, bright future. You don’t have to be a part of all that is wrong; you can be a part of all that is good, all that is right.